Russ’ Blog 3/2016

I wanted to speak about our playing (“product”) development.  This topic is one, that I’m asked about a tremendous amount.  Also, I’ve found it to be one of the most difficult to speak about and work on myself!  One of the things I’ve mentioned a lot recently, was how I feel there are way too many drummers that “sound alike”, in the drumming field today.  Of course, this is nothing new.  Each musical era, has a wave of common approaches to playing the instrument.  There was a lot of drummers who played the same in the big band era as well!  Every era has even seen it’s share of drum kit emulation.  Of course, when the Beatles hit, everybody had to have the Ludwig “Oyster Black Pearl” Downbeat kit, and look & sound like Ringo.  We had the double bass era, the (8) concert tom era, the big drum kit (with some orchestral percussion era), the hanging floor...

Russ’ Blog - Jan 2016

Learning drums at a young (or older age)

I have the privilege of meeting players from all over the world. "I also meet many people that are interested in playing the drums but are torn about it. "Many of the excuses for not starting to play, are the same excuses for not working on progressing in one’s playing. "The most common discussions surround a few things:

"I should have started at an early age". "This is one of the main excuses for not starting to play. "I also hear a lot of players say this as an excuse for their current state of development. "The first point I'm trying to make here, is that there is a tremendous amount of time wasted at the beginning of study. "This is especially true when the student might be very young. Lack of focus and diligence is very common at younger ages. "Starting at a later age can remedy these shortcomings quickly. "You can progress much faster in adulthood than in your childhood, especially with solid...

Russ’ Blog - Dec. 2015

The Drum World in 2015

I want to discuss one of the most concerning things facing the drum world: Less

and less people playing and supporting the drums. More important, our roles in helping

with this issue!

The biggest hurdle the drumming industry is facing, is the diminishing number of

people playing the drums. I hear the same comment(s) from the instrument

manufacturers. Statements like, "The market isn't getting bigger, so all we can do is take

each other's market share". I believe this is due to a few things. First, our attention

spans are shortening dramatically. This is surely due to the fact that we can acquire

things quicker and easier than before. The internet is a perfect example. If a web site

doesn't load in 15 seconds, the user gets frustrated and moves on. Another example of

the “I want it now” philosophy, is the Guitar Hero video game. Young people would

happily invest money and hundreds of hours playing (and becoming...

Russ’ Blog - Nov. 2015

Negative attitudes and drumming on the internet

I have to admit, I’m not very excited about the whole “social” network thing. I

realize that I didn’t grow up with it and excepting anything “new” (especially something

that expects me to dance with it everyday) is not easy. But, it has surely become a

necessary in today’s market. A lot of the terminology also throws me for a loop. My

personal assistant is in her mid-twenties and is always on top of these things. I’m

usually asking her, “what does this mean?”. Awhile back, I was exposed to the term

“trolling” and I immediately went to her with a, “what’s this?” question. Of course, seeing

people be downright rude, inconsiderate and ignorant in the comments of internet

videos, was not new to me, just the term “trolling” was. For this month’s blog, I wanted

to ponder the “drummer troll” on...