Rhythmic Sketchin' Collection
You may preview any of the below items here on the bandcamp player
A living work that will continue to grow in the coming days. These "rhythmic sketches" are captured extemporaneous arrangements that I hear in my head as I'm playing them. Some are congruent shapes, others are musical cul-de-sacs that seem to not have any sort of rhyme or reason. (Continue Reading...)
Blog Tings
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Paul Gilbert's "Great Guitar Escape" July 5-9, 2021 L.I., NY
Jun. 2021
I will be playing drums for Paul Gilbert at his "Great Guitar Escape" camp on Long Island, NY July 5-9. It also seems I'll be backing up Greg Howe, Tony MacAlpine, George Lynch, Eric Gales and Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal.
Read more: Paul Gilbert's "Great Guitar Escape" July 5-9, 2021 L.I., NY
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May 15- Drum Clinic at West Coast Drum Shop
Mar. 2021
I will be performing a drum clinic at West Coast Drum Shop, located in Bellevue, WA. on May 15th. If you got to here from the posters at the store or advertised locally, thank you for showing up. Here's a bit more of who I am: My Work With Paul Gilbert billraydrums · Paul Gilbert- BillRayDrums My Work With Ike Turner
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Rhythmic Sketchin' Series- Drum Inspiration For Your Projects Now Available!
Jan. 2021
I've been creating an ongoing series called "Rhythmic Sketchin'" that is geared towards providing inspiration for musicians who have hit a wall in their composition endeavors. For about 15 years now, I've recorded my "braindroppings" and posted them to the internet for people. During this time, about 50 full-length albums, 3000+ individual tracks have been sent back to me. Too many to keep track of, for sure! However, it's managed to get my name on a bunch of things and I'm thankful for that. The...
Read more: Rhythmic Sketchin' Series- Drum Inspiration For Your Projects Now Available!
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My Livestream Rig
Dec. 2020
Preliminary side note: Zoom the camera/audio manufacturer, and "Zoom" the conferencing app are two entirely separate companies which can cause confusion when talking about "Zoom Cameras". Know the difference going in! TL;DR- Multiple cam/dual computer setup eGPU with OBS (a linked list of my hardware/software is at the bottom of this article.) Zoom Cameras, model Q2n4K. Zoom L-20 Livetrak for sound input. Zoom cams plug into powered USB hubs, with each hub in a separate USB port. I try to...
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Number Four-iollo of Oriollo in my Drumiollo Collectio....llo?
Mar. 2020
I have an affinity for the work of Vukan Karadzic, a Serbian metalsmith who has been building drums under his brand Oriollo for a while now, and they are incredible. I told him I was not gonna quit until I had a dozen of his pieces. So in late 2018 I acquired my first #1, which was a 5x14 Bell Bronze (Bellmaker series). I then saw one of his aluminum drums, an homage to a 5.5x14 Acrolite in American Music in Seattle on the used rack and that became Oriollo #2. In 2019 I ordered a custom...
Read more: Number Four-iollo of Oriollo in my Drumiollo Collectio....llo?
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New Snare Drum! Oriollo 5x14 Bell Bronze
Dec. 2019
"The Bellmaker". I have always wanted a bell brass snare drum; the clarity of their tone, the poignant attack they offer, something about them is truly unique. The problem was, I didn't want to spend upwards of $2000 on a snare drum to achieve this! I've always been a fan of the underdog. The small business owner whom, armed with a dream and experience, does something so good, unique and cool that envelops passion and love into the final product... a lot of the large companies seem to have...
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Verbal Abuse- When Is It OK?
Oct. 2019
Recently I did a weekend house concert-type gig with an independent, somewhat well-known regional artist. House concerts are fun because the crowds are more intimate and there's usually a nice spread of fine food and libation and the band are the "guests of honor". And because of the smaller venues, well.. .They're smaller venues! And being able to play congruent to that situation is a skill that is carefully developed over time. Playing in the "tiny space" is a completely different...
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4:7 Polyrhythm
Jun. 2021
Here's a very easy way to play in 7, but throw in an even "crosscurrent" of 4 even beats. The places where the "4" lay into the 7 are the following: The One, Ah of 2, & of 4 and e of 6.
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Review of 22" Sabian Phoenix Ride Cymbal
Oct. 2019
There's two things that drummers will constantly be on the hunt for- the perfect snare drum and the perfect ride cymbal. I've been a Sabian artist now going on a year and am really in love with the sounds they create. When I ordered my set of cymbals last year upon signing on as an artist I think that the choices made were all pretty much spot-on in regards to "what will work for me" being that I'm oftentimes called to play so many various types of music and in many different settings. I got a set of...
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Flying Solo!
Oct. 2014
So I decided to throw caution to the wind and take the drumkit out to a bar and play along to some tracks of artists who are not known to the general public, but really, really ought to be. Get Sub Rosa at CD Baby.com 2 + 2 = Chicken by Schmaltz I do not use a click track when playing to these tracks; I just have to know where to step. Playing without a click makes me listen into the song and it's a deeper level of congruence for me, to lock into the more subtle rhythmic "handholds". It's a...
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Some tips for the GC Drum-Off
Sep. 2015
I am now teaching via Skype and in Seattle, WA. Contact me to schedule a lesson! I have had a long and interesting history with the Guitar Center Drum-Off. In 1989 I had just relocated to the West Coast and somehow I learned that there was a drum solo contest and it was that very day; I called the store and got a slot to play, and tied for first place with another guy. When it was all over, I think we each got a snare drum and we walked across the street and the judges bought us a pizza. It's a...
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Backwards Progress or "The Big Sandpile"
Jul. 2014
Response to a guy on a drum forum who is "giving up" because he "thinks he's not getting any better" Oftentimes when you feel as if you're getting worse it's not because you are "getting worse" but because your awareness is expanding and you hear more things that you used to didn't perceive. It's like this- when you begin any activity you're going into a darkened room. You know the room is infinite but all you can see is the tiny space that your tiny light allows you to see. As you begin to...
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Tracking for the Mike Watson Stuff...
Feb. 2013
Getting geared up to go into the studio and start round three of the Mike Watson project.
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An Interview with drummer Bill Ray, his afire passion for the beat has done popular as musician & teacher
Feb. 2013
Michalis Limnios of Blues.gr hooked up a great interview.
