I've been given a song list

rhumbagirl

Senior Member
Well I think this is an opportunity for me to get into a real band for a change. They've heard my promo material and have stopped looking at other drummers. Here is the song list. I was so excited I couldn't sleep last night. I managed to work out the intricate drum part to "Shake Your Body" by Michael Jackson. I even charted "Boogie Oogie Oogie" by Taste Of Honey on my iPad, which worked pleasantly well. They don't have any gigs until October, so there's plenty of time to nail down the material. It would really suck though to put the work in and have October pushed out to sometime next year. Anyway, it's a new challenge for me, especially getting the right sounds out of my kit, post-processing, and rendering onto a mp3 - I'm still new to mixing. The kick sound I have is nowhere close to the thump I need for this disco stuff. Anyway, let me know if you like the gig, whether you think it's a challenge, whatever.

Boogie Oogie Oogie (Taste of Honey)
Hit me With Your Best Shot (Pat Benatar)
Love Shack
Dreams (Fleetwood Mac)
Chain of Fools (Trammps version)
Mustang Sally
Le Freak (Chic)
Hot Stuff (Donna Summers)
Bad Girls (Donna Summers)
Shake Your Body Down to the Ground (Michael Jackson)
Billie Jean (Michael Jackson)
Beat it (Michael Jackson
Give it to me Baby (Rick James)
Smooth Operator (Sade)
Brick House (Commodores)
 
I just got the Shure Beta91A PZM mic for the bass drum and it rests on top of a folded towel inside. That mic will give you the thump you need for this stuff.
I'll give it a look at. How much does it cost? I'm currently using the Beta52 positioned right at the porthole. Kick is a Tama Granstar birch 22x16, with a Evans EMAD2. Oops I should mention I'm trying to keep the cost down LOL.
 
I'll give it a look at. How much does it cost? I'm currently using the Beta52 positioned right at the porthole. Kick is a Tama Granstar birch 22x16, with a Evans EMAD2. Oops I should mention I'm trying to keep the cost down LOL.
Ah! I have the Beta 52 too. That one will work too. No need to spend more money. I went with the PZM because I wanted to eliminate all my mic stands.
 
Congrats on landing the gig. Looks like a tremendously fun list to me. My two favorites to play would be "Dreams" and "Billie Jean." But everything has merit, except "Mustang Sally." It's just overdone in my book. "Chain of Fools" has one sweet groove. Stay loose for all of this stuff, and slip into subconscious mode. Everything on the list overflows with immaterial feel.

Tony Thompson recorded "Le Freak" with Chic. He's one of my favorites ever, though he admitted to overplaying back in those days.
 
Ah! I have the Beta 52 too. That one will work too. No need to spend more money. I went with the PZM because I wanted to eliminate all my mic stands.
Whew! I was getting worried there for a second :)
 
Looks fun. Just about every new band uptake is a great growing adventure.
I don't want to get ahead of myself. I've yet to play with them and see if everything is up to snuff. However the sooner I learn the material, or some material, the sooner we can get together for a rehearsal. But I've spent the last 6 months moving my frail jazz hands to more forceful contemporary style (thanks to the noise-cancelling headphones) and so I am more than ready for this. They did mention gigs at casinos. I think those pay well. :p :p :p
 
Congrats on landing the gig. Looks like a tremendously fun list to me. My two favorites to play would be "Dreams" and "Billie Jean." But everything has merit, except "Mustang Sally." It's just overdone in my book. "Chain of Fools" has one sweet groove. Stay loose for all of this stuff, and slip into subconscious mode. Everything on the list overflows with immaterial feel.

Tony Thompson recorded "Le Freak" with Chic. He's one of my favorites ever, though he admitted to overplaying back in those days.
Yeah, it is a sweet list. It hasn't been 24 hrs since the list was given to me and I've already intently listened to 6 of the tunes, Le Freak being my first choice. YouTube is indispensable in finding others' take on these covers. Here is one - solid player with a great sound, and doing it with a 3-pc:

 
Band sounds fun. The Beta52 should work great. You may want to try it inside the kick. You can mount it inside or lay it on a blanket or pillow.
 
Yeah, it is a sweet list. It hasn't been 24 hrs since the list was given to me and I've already intently listened to 6 of the tunes, Le Freak being my first choice. YouTube is indispensable in finding others' take on these covers. Here is one - solid player with a great sound, and doing it with a 3-pc:


I know what it's like to be excited about a new arrangement. Don't overthink it. Play the way you play. Make the songs your own. Every cover is ultimately embossed with the identities of the musicians who interpret it. Don't hesitate to be creative.

Good luck!
 
I know what it's like to be excited about a new arrangement. Don't overthink it. Play the way you play. Make the songs your own. Every cover is ultimately embossed with the identities of the musicians who interpret it. Don't hesitate to be creative.
Good luck!

rhumbagirl -- Let me add my congrats on landing the gig. You're gonna kill it!!

As usual, C.M. nailed it with his advice. Here's proof: 4/5 of the originals doing a cover of their own original...
The drummer does take liberties with fills. There really aren't any on the original if I'm not mistaken...ahhh...the magic of looping in the studio.

Edited to correct stupidity and repetitiveness:mad:
Just try to ignore the corny antics of the orchestra (or at least try to).
Ignore the corny antics of the orchestra (or at least try to)
 
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Kick is a Tama Granstar birch 22x16, with a Evans EMAD2. Oops I should mention I'm trying to keep the cost down LOL.
Emad should give you the thump. I'm more of an Aquarian Superkick user .... but I do have one kick with an Emad. They're very similar. I'd play/tweek with the reso. Maybe a head with no port ..... maybe a head with a little muffling (like a felt strip). Maybe get the mic. into the bass drum (I use a Carvin D44) if you have a short mic boom stand. I'm sure you'll work it out.

Congrats on landing the gig.
 
rhumbagirl -- Let me add my congrats on landing the gig. You're gonna kill it!!

As usual, C.M. nailed it with his advice. Here's proof: 4/5 of the originals doing a cover of their own original...
The drummer does take liberties with fills. There really aren't any on the original if I'm not mistaken...ahhh...the magic of looping in the studio.

Just try to ignore the corny antics of the orchestra (or at least try to).

Thanks, planoranger. I've seen a lot of musicians over the years cripple themselves with the belief that someone out there is performing a given song better than they are and that they'll be held to some widely recognized standard of excellence that simply doesn't exist. Here's what I know: Whenever I've been brought on board to do anything behind a drum set -- whether a single session, a three-week project, or a long-term band situation -- the parties who made the decision selected me for my drumming, not for my ability to drum like someone else. I've always given them that and nothing more. When you play like no one but yourself, you can never go wrong.
 
I know EXACTLY what you are talking about. I don't know anybody that was hired because they sounded like <insert famous drummer here>. They were hired on their own merits.

I mentioned in the "Name 3 drummers who influenced you" (or whatever the actual title was) that two drummers that I tried to emulate were Joe LaBarbera and Ed Thigpen, two wildly different styles. By taking what appeals to me most about them and mixing together with my own musical sensibilities results in...my style. Like you said...after all is said and done, the people you are playing with are going after what you bring to the table.

On that note...this is rhumbagirl's thread...let's help her shine.
 
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Thanks, planoranger. I've seen a lot of musicians over the years cripple themselves with the belief that someone out there is performing a given song better than they are and that they'll be held to some widely recognized standard of excellence that simply doesn't exist. Here's what I know: Whenever I've been brought on board to do anything behind a drum set -- whether a single session, a three-week project, or a long-term band situation -- the parties who made the decision selected me for my drumming, not for my ability to drum like someone else. I've always given them that and nothing more. When you play like no one but yourself, you can never go wrong.
I appreciate that MJ but I'm going to try and capture the essence as much as I can, especially since I seem to do well with the transcription thing. Some songs have no room for deviation - eg "Shake Your Body" has a signature drum pattern throughout the song and so a cover has to have some semblance of that to register with the dancing crowd who's heard the song thousands of times over the course of years, and in some cases decades:

Code:
|1...2...3...4...|1...2...3...4...|
|RLRL L  LL    RL|xxxx x  xx    xx| HH
|           R    |           x    | T1
|    R       L   |    x       x   | SD
|       R        |       x        | FT
|x       x       |x       x       | BD
 
I appreciate that MJ but I'm going to try and capture the essence as much as I can, especially since I seem to do well with the transcription thing. Some songs have no room for deviation - eg "Shake Your Body" has a signature drum pattern throughout the song and so a cover has to have some semblance of that to register with the dancing crowd who's heard the song thousands of times over the course of years, and in some cases decades:

Code:
|1...2...3...4...|1...2...3...4...|
|RLRL L  LL    RL|xxxx x  xx    xx| HH
|           R    |           x    | T1
|    R       L   |    x       x   | SD
|       R        |       x        | FT
|x       x       |x       x       | BD

Absolutely. If that's your preferred methodology, by all means stick with it. That's exactly what I'm emphasizing. Take what you do well, and whatever allows you to do it well, and run with it.

And yes, dismantling covers so that they're scarcely recognizable can often be a mistake. Their perennial appeal is their familiarity. My central point previously was that no two drummers are identical. We'll always demonstrate unique attributes in whatever we play, even if we attempt to copy each other. I've always believed that accepting such uniqueness makes a lot more sense than trying to overcome it.
 
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