Gavin Harrison here!

Hi Gavin - Recently I ordered a few pairs of SHAR2's from my local music store. When I received them I notice they were light blue (they must had some old pairs laying around)....I have been playing the SHAR2's for a while now and all the pairs I have used are the royal blue color. My fingers got used to them and I love them. Well, now I know why they (Vic Firth) and you switched from the Vic Grip ...OMG, the light blue sticks shredded my fingers...blisters everywhere. I had blisters on callouses. Thankfully I used them up and they are kindling wood now...lol. I love your stick design and the feel of them is perfect. I also enjoyed the Zildjian video chat a few weeks back. I picked up a few of the Sweet Crashes. Love them, fast and brighter than I thought they would be. Looking forward to the new PT album. Stay safe. Hope to see PT in concert in the US in the future. Phil (Keith)
 
Hi Gavin! I just realized the Tama Cobra Clutch has been discontinued. I saw some older promo videos with you talking about them. Do you still use one? Do they last? If they're no longer available, would you go back to traditional ones? Have you ever seen anything else that works like this? Thanks.
Dora
 
Hi KeithEnglish Phil

Recently I ordered a few pairs of SHAR2's from my local music store. When I received them I notice they were light blue (they must had some old pairs laying around).

yes they were indeed old stock. In fact that version of the stick was only made for a very short period of time before we changed to the latest version...and now you know why.

I also enjoyed the Zildjian video chat a few weeks back. I picked up a few of the Sweet Crashes. Love them, fast and brighter than I thought they would be. Looking forward to the new PT album.

I love the Zildjian Sweet Crashes they really do work well in most situations. The new Pineapple Thief single is released today - here's a video of Bruce singing along.
the album will come out Sept 4th. I believe there will be other single releases before that time.

Hi Doraemon

I just realized the Tama Cobra Clutch has been discontinued. I saw some older promo videos with you talking about them. Do you still use one? Do they last? If they're no longer available, would you go back to traditional ones? Have you ever seen anything else that works like this?

I knew they were going to be discontinued. They do something that all other drop clutches can't do and I can tell you that they are very sturdy and reliable. I'm not using one right at the moment as I'm not really doing a gig that needs that particular facility, but I'll always have it in my armory. I saw that Tama have created another drop clutch called the "Sizzle Touch Drop Clutch" that looks very interesting.

Cheers
Gavin
 
Hey Gavin,
Thanks, I'm glad to hear they tend to be sturdy, I'm considering to pick up a used one (even those are rare now).

I love the new song!
Did you use any new gear for the recordings?
 
Loving the new TPT single Gavin - can't wait to hear the album, like the new direction it's taken!

Glad to see the dates have been officially rescheduled, see you in London next year ??
 
Hello Gavin, sorry if this has already been asked - but I couldn't find a clear answer on the internet. I'm currently looking for crashes for my drumset, and you always have been a reference to me in terms of sound. I especially enjoyed your cymbal setup used in this video :
and I was wondering wich cymbals they were because I can't find the references and sizes used.
Sorry again if this was already asked
Thank you. :)
 
Hey Gavin!

I had a quick thought just now about practising; when you were younger did you tend to practise playing along to songs more than focusing on technique? More recently I've combined home pad technique practice with later jumping on a kit and finding ideas naturally come out in musical applications, but for a vast majority of my initial years I'd only play along to songs, which I felt hindered my technical ability somewhat.

In recent years I'd only practised rudiments because I felt I had to, rather than understanding their musical purpose. I suppose I'm just wondering how much of your initial practice years were purely "song-learning" based and how much of that, if at all, helped you apply technique later on?

Sorry if it's more of a discussion rather than a direct question!

Cheers,
Alannah
 
Hi Samuel Balavoine

I'm currently looking for crashes for my drumset, and you always have been a reference to me in terms of sound. I especially enjoyed your cymbal setup used in this video :


The Zildjian cymbals in that particular video (to the best of my memory) are 13" K Hi Hats, 16" Oriental Trash China, 5 custom bells, 18" Crash Of Doom, 2 more custom bells, 15" K Crash, 20" K Ride, 18" K Custom Crash, 12" Oriental Trash China, 18" Z China (discontinued).

Hi Alannah

I had a quick thought just now about practising; when you were younger did you tend to practise playing along to songs more than focusing on technique? More recently I've combined home pad technique practice with later jumping on a kit and finding ideas naturally come out in musical applications, but for a vast majority of my initial years I'd only play along to songs, which I felt hindered my technical ability somewhat.
In recent years I'd only practised rudiments because I felt I had to, rather than understanding their musical purpose. I suppose I'm just wondering how much of your initial practice years were purely "song-learning" based and how much of that, if at all, helped you apply technique later on?


In my early years I pretty much only played along to records. My Dad would have me play along to all kinds of music (mostly jazz based). I guess (in the time before I had proper lessons) I developed my own techniques that I felt I needed to be able to play along (provided that it wasn't crazy fast or complicated). When I started having lessons and studied grip, rudiments, reading etc - I pretty much hated it as it felt so detached from playing along to the records. As the years went by I started to recognise where the general improvement of technique became helpful. I didn't really get serious about studying until I was about 17, 18 years old...but I always continued playing along to recordings and felt that I was developing some kind of musical understanding.

cheers
Gavin
 
When I started having lessons and studied grip, rudiments, reading etc - I pretty much hated it as it felt so detached from playing along to the records. As the years went by I started to recognise where the general improvement of technique became helpful. I didn't really get serious about studying until I was about 17, 18 years old...but I always continued playing along to recordings and felt that I was developing some kind of musical understanding.

Yes I remember being given a sheet of rudiments when I started lessons and told to learn them, without any context it was hard for me to see them as anything more than a boring exercise. In the last five years I started understanding the importance of good technique and only within the last 2 has that practice started to seep into my subconscious when playing grooves and fills. I suppose I've always relied on my ear however it's nice now that I can incorporate technique into my practice to make the musical part more tasteful and interesting.

Thanks as always for your insight, many apologies for my waffling. ?
 
I always find it hard to break down your double stroke technique. I know you use a lot of wrist around the kit, fingers for fast single strokes, more wrist for ghost notes and thumb-index pinching for snare buzz, but when i slow down your doubles i see hardly any finger control.

Do you play doubles with wrist and only use fingers to "lift" the stick back up after the second stroke? That would imply you practised doubles with the technique of accenting the second stroke in order to neutralise the natural power of the first stroke at faster speed.

Ps. I want to be like you (as a musician at least, i will never become 6'2 lol)
 
I always find it hard to break down your double stroke technique. I know you use a lot of wrist around the kit, fingers for fast single strokes, more wrist for ghost notes and thumb-index pinching for snare buzz, but when i slow down your doubles i see hardly any finger control.
Do you play doubles with wrist and only use fingers to "lift" the stick back up after the second stroke? That would imply you practised doubles with the technique of accenting the second stroke in order to neutralise the natural power of the first stroke at faster speed.

Hi 20y-oNotAProdigy

that's an interesting question and something I haven't really thought about in a long time as it's such a subconscious thing. I don't practise doubles where I accent the second stroke - I don't think I ever did. Also I don't really utilise the bounce from the drum either so the first note being louder than the second isn't really an issue (although I am trying to make them sound even of course). I do play with a lot of wrist but the double stroke (once it's up to a reasonably speed) must have a finger squeeze-pick up for the second stroke.

cheers
Gavin
 
Hi Gavin!
The new song is so cool! Are those lights Drumlite or something else?
And is that your new birch kit? (too dark to see) Cheers,
Dora
 
Hi Dora
Yes they are Drumlite and the new Sonor Birch drumset.
Glad you enjoyed the song

cheers
Gavin

Thanks for the info, Gavin! Just ordered the boxset after reading "Also includes a 48-page book featuring lyrics, photos from the writing of the album & recent touring, drum notations from Gavin Harrison and handwritten lyrics." This is awesome! Even if it's only an excerpt as I imagine.. I've never seen any album coming with drum notes. I hope the TPT transcribing you mentioned on the live will happen, too.
 
Hi Dora

it's definitely not worth buying for the drum notations - they are just abstract images - (but most likely in the near future Terry Branam will do a proper book of the drum notation of The Pineapple Thief records that I worked on). However - I really do think it's worth it for the beautiful artwork and the extras disc with the alternative versions on. I worked really hard on those !

cheers
Gavin
 
However - I really do think it's worth it for the beautiful artwork and the extras disc with the alternative versions on. I worked really hard on those !

cheers
Gavin

I'm so excited for the marimba ? Is it of older songs or the new ones? Or will I just wait until September to hear for myself? ??

Alannah
 
Hi Dora

it's definitely not worth buying for the drum notations - they are just abstract images - (but most likely in the near future Terry Branam will do a proper book of the drum notation of The Pineapple Thief records that I worked on). However - I really do think it's worth it for the beautiful artwork and the extras disc with the alternative versions on. I worked really hard on those !

cheers
Gavin

Of course I'm getting it for the music, including your reworked songs, and the book, not to mention the signed art print. But I can see myself holding a big magnifier over those drum score fragments trying to extract any little piece I can. I hope they're based on real ones, haha. Can't wait!
 
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Hi Gavin. I'm really enjoying the new song Break it All. I have a question about the middle breakdown section. Around the 2:15 mark I hear a higher pitched tom fill. It doesn't sound like your 8" tom. By chance is that one of your maple Sonor log drums?
 
Hi Alannah,

I'm so excited for the marimba ? Is it of older songs or the new ones?

I played a bit of marimba on a couple of the new ones and a lot on the 'alternative versions' on the special edition extras disc.

Hi JeffV71

I'm really enjoying the new song Break it All. I have a question about the middle breakdown section. Around the 2:15 mark I hear a higher pitched tom fill. It doesn't sound like your 8" tom. By chance is that one of your maple Sonor log drums?

Actually it is the 8" tom but I rim-shotted it.

cheers
Gavin
 
Hi Gavin!

I have a question about your kick mics, but first, a little motivation. I've been playing drums since '07 and I've taken a lot of inspiration from you and Danny Cary. Of course, as a result, I often use double or triple hits on the kick during fills. Now, I'm getting into recording and mixing and finding it difficult to recreate that effect in a mix. I'm using Audix D6's inside and out, and adding more microphones a few feet away has done a lot for the overall tone of individual hits, but the faster stuff isn't quite fitting into the overall "line" that I'm playing with the faster fills.

I saw your list of microphones on your website, and it looks like you're using these on your kick? Shure SM91, Audix D6, Telefunken M82

So, my questions:
Where do you put each of these mics, and
Are there any other techniques you use to make your double/triple hits work within a mix?


Your stuff all sounds fantastic; I can't wait to see you live!

Warm Best!
Jeff

PS: Come through Kansas on your next North America tour!
 
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