Chris Pennie

LordQuas

Member
Does anybody of you know Chris Pennie from The Dillinger Escape Plan and what's your opinion about his drumming?
 
Re: Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan

I have heard some dillinger and the drumming is pretty outstanding,if a little hard to follow and understand!!! Maybe thats just me though!
 
Re: Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan

I recently went to a concert that included Dillinger Escape Plan, and they blew me away. Chris Pennie is a psycotic drummer with blazing speed.
 
Re: Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan

Found This if anyone wants to have a read

THERE IS NO ESCAPE! THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN

The Dillinger Escape Plan is a band to be reckoned with. They've got chops and their live show is as energetic and chaotic as they come. A furious blend of metal, jazz, and alternative styling define DEP. Their latest release is entitled Miss Machine and is available on Relapse Records. FPE Agent F had a chance to speak to drummer Chris Pennie in Los Angeles prior to the band's sold out stint at the El Ray Theater. Please Read ON!

FPE: Did you record Miss Machine using a click?

Chris Pennie: "Some songs and parts of songs were played to a click so we could add loops and orchestrations later on in the recording."

FPE: Who are you drumming influences?

CP: "Growing up I was influenced by drummers like Lars Ulrich and Stewart Copeland. Although they still are big influences I now tend to be influenced by musicians and producers not just drummers.

FPE: What drum heads are you using?

CP: "Evans Power Centers on my snare, G2's on tops and G1's on the bottoms of my toms, and the EMAD on my kick drum.

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FPE: We see that you received a producers credit on Miss Machine. Is it difficult to produce your own recordings?

CP: "It can be tricky producing your own material. You have to know when it's a good time to say you're finished, THAT'S IT,OVER."

FPE: Which songs on Miss Machine were the most challenging for you to record?

CP: "They were all challenging for different reasons. Recording each song required different levels of groove, technique, and stamina.

FPE: Songs such as "Sunshine the Werewolf" cover a wide range of tempos and styles. Is it difficult for you to remember all the unique sections to your songs when performing live?

CP: "No. I'd say live it's more a matter of stamina then memorization."


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FPE: Do you have a warm up routine prior to your shows?

CP: "Playing rudiments on the Real Feel all day and taking advantage of sound checks help me stay warm up and until the show.

FPE: DEP shows are really high energy. How do you keep up the momentum?

CP: "Again proper warm up and drinking lots of water prior to the show enable me to play the set without feeling tired.

FPE: Do you use two bass drums or a double-kick pedal?

CP: "Double Pedal."

FPE: What is DEP have in store for 2005?

CP: "Early 05 we're hitting Canada, Japan, Australia France, and Scandinavia.

FPE: What advice do you have for young drummers out there?

CP: "Do not be afraid to listen to and incorporate different genres of music into your playing. Become a good musician not just a good drummer.

Drums:

Mapex Orion series drums

Cymbals:

Sabian Cymbals

Sticks:

Vater Drumsticks

Heads:

Evans Drumheads
 
Re: Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan

I believe he recorded the new album with a three piece set and a select amount of cymbals, which is pretty good considering that most metal drummers have an outrageous kit size yet only use four drums, you know what I mean?

He's a pretty good drummer, though his speed and how he blends different styles is probably how he'll be remembered best. Great chops too, plus his playing (most of it) fits DEP pretty good.
 
Re: Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan

Sticksman said:
I believe he recorded the new album with a three piece set and a select amount of cymbals, which is pretty good considering that most metal drummers have an outrageous kit size yet only use four drums, you know what I mean?

He's a pretty good drummer, though his speed and how he blends different styles is probably how he'll be remembered best. Great chops too, plus his playing (most of it) fits DEP pretty good.

He's also different from most metal drummers in that he really doesn't hit hard at all. I've seen video of him playing and he doesn't even hit as hard as a lot of fusion drummers out there.
 
Re: Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan

Sticksman said:
I believe he recorded the new album with a three piece set and a select amount of cymbals, which is pretty good considering that most metal drummers have an outrageous kit size yet only use four drums, you know what I mean?

He's a pretty good drummer, though his speed and how he blends different styles is probably how he'll be remembered best. Great chops too, plus his playing (most of it) fits DEP pretty good.

This is right. He has got a very small kit.
 
Re: Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan

I got some older Dillinger stuff and I must say, Chris Pennie is so damn great.
 
Re: Chris Pennie of Dillinger Escape Plan

"Calculating Infinity" is my favorite album, and it's definitely Chris' best drumming album. Very fast, but more notably, alot more complex, with many more jazzy syncopations and what not. A very unique and creative take on an often cliche'd and uncreative style of drumming.
 
This guy is just incredible. Ever since I heard Calculating Infinity, he's been one of my favorite drummers. Some of the stuff he does is just mind-boggling. I just love listening to him and trying to pick apart what he's doing. What's funny is that I'm not really a fan of metal and hardcore, but I can listen to Dillinger Escape Plan all day because of him.


With that said, let's discuss the awesomeness that is Chris Pennie.
 
if you search youtube.com for chris, you will find three vidoes from a clinic he did a few weeks ago, one is a solo piece, one is him playing to a dillinger song, and the last is a short lesson on linear time, i had trouble posting the vids, so if someone knows how to, please do.
 
Yea am not going to lie guys... Chris Pennie is beast. And still he is one of the most underrated players out theyre today. And his able to blend/play so many different styles of music into one big "unstoppable" monster called The Dillinger Escape Plan. hahaha

But on a serious note:

Do you guys have any more Chris Pennie videos from that Clinic or any for that matter cause ive seen those before but cant seem to find anymore?

And Bernhard, pls, am begging you.... get Chris Pennie to do Q+A on drummerworld.com it would make my life.
 
hearing calculating infinity you can tell his blastbeats are a bit weak, which is not really criticism, but indicates to me judging from his blasts as compared to everything else that his background in learning drums was not primarily metal or hardcore.

so i think most of his unique playing has to do with him looking from outside the box, in a sense. i bet he started liking fusion and jazz music then later joined dillinger when it was an ordinary hardcore band. then that band allowed him to really apply that other source of learning.

this is just a theory.

definately one of my favorite drummers
 
low-tech said:
hearing calculating infinity you can tell his blastbeats are a bit weak, which is not really criticism, but indicates to me judging from his blasts as compared to everything else that his background in learning drums was not primarily metal or hardcore.

so i think most of his unique playing has to do with him looking from outside the box, in a sense. i bet he started liking fusion and jazz music then later joined dillinger when it was an ordinary hardcore band. then that band allowed him to really apply that other source of learning.

this is just a theory.

definately one of my favorite drummers

hmm, i don't agree with this. I don't think his blast beats are weak, I think he just has a better grasp of dynamics than most metal drummers.
Also, I have a feeling he co-founded DEP with Ben W (guitarist) but i could be wrong.
 
Mr. Bananagrabber said:
hmm, i don't agree with this. I don't think his blast beats are weak, I think he just has a better grasp of dynamics than most metal drummers.
Also, I have a feeling he co-founded DEP with Ben W (guitarist) but i could be wrong.


check thier first album, no blasts. calculatung infinity, weak bomb blasts, mostly what hes doing is thrash, albiet really,really technical. the stuff after im sure he got alot better, im mostly refering to those first two albums<im most familiar with those>

i just had a feeling he was, for that duration, a little behind the learning curve of playing grind style music<late 90s to 2000>, but lightyears ahead with being technical, playing rediculously off time stuff, playing double kick etc. and i think that ability came from studying up on completely unrelated genres. when calculating infinity was released, noone including the locust were doing anything even remotely similiar. that was a milestone seminal album for its time<2000, i think>i can only think of meshugah,melt banana,orchid of having drummers so unorthodox at that time but nowhere near as fast and refined. the first time i heard that album i couldnt believe my ears and i think most people hadnt heard anything like it.


its just an observation, i could be wrong so im not really disagreeing at all, just clarifying my point
 
I've never heard them, but I just sampled them on iTunes, after reading all the discussions about the singer. I like this band a lot! It is very intense for sure.

Here is the first thought that popped into my head about the singer on Miss Machine:

"The hired Animal from the muppets to sing lead?"
 
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