Tommy Aldridge Clinic Lon&McQuade South,Edmonton Alberta.

baz

Silver Member
...In the absence of hockey, the Tommy Aldridge clinic had plenty of great stickhandling, back and forth action, and plenty of great hits.













To see this guy up close left me with the question, how can a guy this size hit with such power? Maybe it's the hair that gives him that Sampson like strength. Regardless of the how, this was a very entertaining evening, and I have a newfound respect for a drummer that I really never paid much attention to in the past. If you have a chance to catch this monster live or in clinic, I urge you to do so as it will be well worth it.

Barry
 
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I'm soooo upset I missed this. I didn't know he was in town till the day after.

How was the turnout?

-Jonathan
 
Great pictures - thanks for sharing! How was the interaction, feedback with Tommy?
 
I'm soooo upset I missed this. I didn't know he was in town till the day after.

How was the turnout?

-Jonathan

...Hello Jonathan.

I was scanning the crowd expecting to see you there, but was surprised by your absence. The turnout was pretty good, close to a full house. I did not stick around for the meet and greet afterwords as I had surgery the day before, and was still feeling some discomfort.

I was not sure that I would make it there myself as I was worried that my incision would open and I might spew a body part. Wrong genre for that drama, maybe if it was the drummer for Gwar.



This shot is from around a third of the way from the front. The two thirds behind me were fanned out in a pie shape, and were pretty much full.

See you at the next one.

Barry
 
I saw Tommy Aldridge back in 1985 at a drum clinic at Atlanta Pro Percussion....really good clinic..and the guy is a powerhouse...that's cool that he's still bringing it and doing clinics..I would guess that he's gotta be closing in on 60...:)
 
Great pictures - thanks for sharing! How was the interaction, feedback with Tommy?

...Thank You Ian.

For a man who makes a living playing the devils music, I was surprised by his spirituality, his humility, and his acknowledgement of his Christian convictions as the source of his success.

As I said earlier, I was not very familiar with Tommy Aldrige, aside from posts, bios, and articles that I have read. I had in mind that he would be this jaded stereotypical cliched "Rock Star", but that was not the case at all. In his presentation he was very passionate, professional, humble, and of course, his playing speaks for itself.

When I attend a clinic, I always bring my camera, and like to move around the room to shoot. I also tend to eaves drop to catch the buzz of the crowd, positive or negative. At this clinic, I almost thought that there were more than one Tommy, as so many people had so many comments on their favorite "Tommy" moments. Favorite songs, favorite concerts, videos, eras, drum kits. The vibe was overwhelmingly positive, and from what I observed, a good time was had by all.



Barry
 
Nice shots.

Tommy was a big influence back in late 80's/early 90's.
I saw him in clinic twice. I keep meaning to re-buy his ""Project Driver" album on CD. My old cassette copy has long since worn out.
 
Thanks a lot Barry!

Nice from you to have the time and patience by telling us such a great experience and moment with Tommy Aldridge. I am surprised as well by Tommy, being a lowly drummer and willing to share with the people present.

Ian

...Thank You Ian.

For a man who makes a living playing the devils music, I was surprised by his spirituality, his humility, and his acknowledgement of his Christian convictions as the source of his success.

As I said earlier, I was not very familiar with Tommy Aldrige, aside from posts, bios, and articles that I have read. I had in mind that he would be this jaded stereotypical cliched "Rock Star", but that was not the case at all. In his presentation he was very passionate, professional, humble, and of course, his playing speaks for itself.

When I attend a clinic, I always bring my camera, and like to move around the room to shoot. I also tend to eaves drop to catch the buzz of the crowd, positive or negative. At this clinic, I almost thought that there were more than one Tommy, as so many people had so many comments on their favorite "Tommy" moments. Favorite songs, favorite concerts, videos, eras, drum kits. The vibe was overwhelmingly positive, and from what I observed, a good time was had by all.



Barry
 
Very cool. Tommy has always been gracious when I talk to him. Had i known you were going, I would have told you to ask him whatever happened to his titanium rack he was having built.....
 
I first met Tommy in the mid 80's. He used to stay at the drumshop owners home when he did clinics for the store.
VERY down to earth, and nice man.

Will answer any question, and try to show anyone what they wanted to know.
I saw him from far away most of the time at shows, but close in clinic.

Some years ago I was able to catch him with Thin Lizzy from about 10 feet away.
THAT was very cool. A clinic is one thing (and cool), but ON THE JOB was something else.

GREAT pics Baz, thanks for sharing!
I hope you feel better soon too.
 
To me Tommy's playing is where everyone should start when trying to learn double bass. He's one of the guys who has mixed double bass drum playing into his time keeping and fills so there is not the ubiquitous 'dugga-dugga-dugga-dugga' that seems to be required from so many db players. If you want to hear him do some of his best, listen to pat Travers "Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights". I'm still not able to make it sound and feel like he does.

I saw him in the late 70's with Pat Travers and then at a clinic here in the L.A. area in the 80's.

He did seem to be a humble, friendly, accessible man who was actually funny during the clinic. He'd be right at home at a BBQ. :)

He's also aged really well. He was looking about the same in 1978 as he does now. I know he tries to bike ride even while on tour. I'm betting he's detoured around the heavy partying life style of many of the bands he's played in.

IMHO, he's an important drummer in rock evolution.

Jim
 
...The replies on this thread remind me of what it was like at the clinic.

Everybody had a favorite Tommy moment, or story. I did not hear one negative thing from anybody, which surprised me considering the diversity of the crowd.

As I said earlier, I did not know much about Tommy before attending the clinic, and was guilty of going in there with some preconceived notions based on the people, and bands he played with. Watching a sixty year old man with Chuck Taylors, dude shorts and a fro mounting the throne on a double bass arena rock monster kit at first reinforced these notions. After he started playing, and speaking, it did not take long before these notions were dispelled.

Shedboy hit the nail on the head about his double bass technique. There was a musical quality to it as opposed to the usual fugga dugga fugga dugga that seems to be the standard. The combination of speed, power, and musicality was very impressive. During the Q&As, he explained some of what he was doing, breaking it down to the rudiments he was using, and his reasoning behind them. The underlying message that I picked up was "this is not impossible. You can do this"

For all of the clinics that I have attended, I have been blown away by the drumming. That pretty much goes without saying, as most, if not all of the clinicians are certified grade a drum monsters. When you walk out at the end liking and respecting them as people, it is always a bonus.

Karl.

Thanks for the good wishes. I am feeling better and I am back on the drums again. It only hurts when I roll.

Barry
 
I saw him in Oshawa, I was impressed with just how solid and in the pocket he was. his chops vocabulary was not huge, but he showed why he is in demand. He stresses repitition resulting in perfect placement. What he does, he does really well.

It looks like they used a Phoenix kit out west? in Oshawa they used a cheap mahoghany Rock Tour set and gave the drums away at the end of the clinic.

6jlht0.jpg
 
I saw him in Oshawa, I was impressed with just how solid and in the pocket he was. his chops vocabulary was not huge, but he showed why he is in demand. He stresses repitition resulting in perfect placement. What he does, he does really well.

It looks like they used a Phoenix kit out west? in Oshawa they used a cheap mahoghany Rock Tour set and gave the drums away at the end of the clinic.

6jlht0.jpg

...Hello Union.

These were also Rock Tour drums. They brought them in for the clinic, and had them sold before the show. I was talking to the guy who bought them as he was showing off the snare that Tommy had signed on the inside of the shell.

I am not much for drum racks, but I was impressed with that Yamaha tinker toy. The picture that you posted shows it far better than any of the pictures that I took.

Barry
 
WoW!!!

l had no idea that this thread was still here and that it has been nine years.

Another take away from that night was Tommy extolling the benefit derived from his love of cycling. I mention this because l started cycling around six years ago and that has led to the greatest improvement in my drumming. I use an app that tracks my rides and l have logged close to 22,000 km since 2015. This has greatly improved my stamina, my strength, plus the exercise and the zen is pure bliss.

I am now a 61 year old drummer. No Chuck Taylors, no dude shorts and no afro, but l can handle the stress and rigors of gig day and still have a little gas in the tank. Nine years later , thank you Tommy Aldridge for this piece of non drumming drumming advice. I get it and it works for me.53602CCE-E6B3-413F-A43D-02C7B3E78026.jpeg
 
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