S
sticks4drums
Guest
Last night, my best friend and I went to Waterloo Ontario to spend a night with Gavin Harrison. Some of you might know him as the drummer for Porcupine tree.
Up until a couple of months ago, I had not even heard about Gavin Harrison, and very little about Porcupine tree. Not sure why, but I hadn't.
This was you typical product push of Sonor, Zildjian, Vic-Firth equipment. They had a Sonor Delite kit with what I think was a new finish for this year. I was a little bit disappointed that he did not have his Sonor SQ2 kit from Drum solo week. I thought that was the best sounding kit of the Letterman drum solo week's.
They opened up the night with the usual introductions, and a few give aways of Gavin's dvd's, sticks, and other small trinkets, of which my buddy and I won none.
Then it was time for Gavin.
Gavin came in and introduced himself, and played along with a couple of Porcupine Tree songs. They had cameras above him, and on his feet, that they projected on the large screen, behind and too the right of him. This was all done in a beautifully, recently remodeled church, that held about 300 people, that was filled to capacity.
Half way through, it was time for Gavin to answer questions from the crowd. I saw a few start to rise and go back to the mic location and decided to follow. Gavin did a great job answering peoples questions. He seemed like a very relaxed and friendly guy. Many of the answer's he performed on his kit, to reveal some of his magic tricks to all. He really has a firm grasp of all the time signatures, and the ability to intertwine them. Finally it was time for my question. I proceeded to tell Gavin that I had not heard of him up until drum solo week, and that I was very impressed with his playing, and was now going to pay special attention to his work. I then told him that I thought his drums sounded amazing during solo week and I wanted to know his secret. He told us about his special SQ2 kit that he had sent to California for the event. Luckily he had someone give him free storage.
They asked him what mics he wanted to use, and he told them that he preferred the Sennheiser MD421's. He played his solo, and then they asked him if he wanted to listen to the mix, and change anything. He said yes and adjusted to his liking. Wouldn't we all like to have this option when playing out somewhere. Well he did a great job on his mix.
After the question period he played a couple of more songs from his solo material, and one from his new solo project that had never been played live before. It was a Jazz piece that he played with great feel, and it ebbed and flowed beautifully. It was my favorite piece of the night.
At the end of his clinic, he was thanked and it was time for more giveaways. The prizes were bigger now, cymbal, lower level Sonor snare, but unfortunately the same outcome for my buddy and I . Oh well.
Out in the foyer Gavin signed autographs for people. As the hord funneled through, I being the shy guy that I am asked the the gentleman in charge if we could have photos taken with Gavin. He reluctantly agreed, and I opened a can of worms. Everyone pulled out there iphones and other photo devices to get a photo taken with Gavin. While he was signing his Sonor picture for me, I slipped around the table to get in place for my picture. I tapped him on the arm, and told him he did a great job, then I took the opportunity to ask him if he listens to Neil Peart at all. He looked at me and just said No. He told me he had not listened to RUSH until he was in his 40's, and that it was not his kind of music. Crushed! Oh well, at least he was honest.
It was a great night out listening to a nice guy, play some great drumming. For those of you wondering how much to practice, Gavin told us that he plays everyday, two times a day for several hours. He said he lives drums, but he would not want to be doing anything else. It pretty much fills his life. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Glen.
Up until a couple of months ago, I had not even heard about Gavin Harrison, and very little about Porcupine tree. Not sure why, but I hadn't.
This was you typical product push of Sonor, Zildjian, Vic-Firth equipment. They had a Sonor Delite kit with what I think was a new finish for this year. I was a little bit disappointed that he did not have his Sonor SQ2 kit from Drum solo week. I thought that was the best sounding kit of the Letterman drum solo week's.
They opened up the night with the usual introductions, and a few give aways of Gavin's dvd's, sticks, and other small trinkets, of which my buddy and I won none.
Then it was time for Gavin. Gavin came in and introduced himself, and played along with a couple of Porcupine Tree songs. They had cameras above him, and on his feet, that they projected on the large screen, behind and too the right of him. This was all done in a beautifully, recently remodeled church, that held about 300 people, that was filled to capacity.
Half way through, it was time for Gavin to answer questions from the crowd. I saw a few start to rise and go back to the mic location and decided to follow. Gavin did a great job answering peoples questions. He seemed like a very relaxed and friendly guy. Many of the answer's he performed on his kit, to reveal some of his magic tricks to all. He really has a firm grasp of all the time signatures, and the ability to intertwine them. Finally it was time for my question. I proceeded to tell Gavin that I had not heard of him up until drum solo week, and that I was very impressed with his playing, and was now going to pay special attention to his work. I then told him that I thought his drums sounded amazing during solo week and I wanted to know his secret. He told us about his special SQ2 kit that he had sent to California for the event. Luckily he had someone give him free storage.
They asked him what mics he wanted to use, and he told them that he preferred the Sennheiser MD421's. He played his solo, and then they asked him if he wanted to listen to the mix, and change anything. He said yes and adjusted to his liking. Wouldn't we all like to have this option when playing out somewhere. Well he did a great job on his mix.
After the question period he played a couple of more songs from his solo material, and one from his new solo project that had never been played live before. It was a Jazz piece that he played with great feel, and it ebbed and flowed beautifully. It was my favorite piece of the night.
At the end of his clinic, he was thanked and it was time for more giveaways. The prizes were bigger now, cymbal, lower level Sonor snare, but unfortunately the same outcome for my buddy and I . Oh well.
Out in the foyer Gavin signed autographs for people. As the hord funneled through, I being the shy guy that I am asked the the gentleman in charge if we could have photos taken with Gavin. He reluctantly agreed, and I opened a can of worms. Everyone pulled out there iphones and other photo devices to get a photo taken with Gavin. While he was signing his Sonor picture for me, I slipped around the table to get in place for my picture. I tapped him on the arm, and told him he did a great job, then I took the opportunity to ask him if he listens to Neil Peart at all. He looked at me and just said No. He told me he had not listened to RUSH until he was in his 40's, and that it was not his kind of music. Crushed!
Oh well, at least he was honest. It was a great night out listening to a nice guy, play some great drumming. For those of you wondering how much to practice, Gavin told us that he plays everyday, two times a day for several hours. He said he lives drums, but he would not want to be doing anything else. It pretty much fills his life. Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed. Glen.
