MUSIC

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"Our God is Powerful" 
In 2017 I had the great privilege to Produce, Engineer, play keys & synths, percussion, sing, and do all the artwork for the BEAR HUG BAND album 'Our God is Powerful'.
​(released October 27th 2017 through by BEC / Tooth and Nail / Super Big Robot) 
 iTunes   •   Amazon   •  ​Spotify  •  Superbigrobot.com
"Who's Got Their Armor On?" 
Back in the latter part of 2016 I received a message saying that "Who's Got Their Armor On?" an album I had the privilege to engineer, co-produce, and play on was nominated for a GMA ​Dove Award, for 'Children's Album of the Year'.
In November, I accompanied members of the Bear Hug Band to the GMA's in Nashville (see photo below).
Even though we didn't win, what an honor it was to have the project nominated, and to be able to attend the awards.
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on the 'Red Carpet' at the 2016 GMA Dove Awards, in Nashville.

SOME OF THE OTHER PROJECTS I'VE HAD THE PRIVILEGE TO PLAY ON, ENGINEER AND/OR PRODUCE​  
DRUMS
DRUMMING
A big chunk of what I do in life is musical; mostly playing drums, and so I figured it could be cool to share some of my experiences, influences and little tips and tricks I've stumbled across or gleaned from others over the last 2 decades of playing drums.
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Some of my favorites:
BRIEF DRUMMING BIOGRAPHY
• Started playing the drums in 1989 when I was asked to play in a punk band made up of skateboarder friends.
• Played for several different punk and indie rock bands prior to moving to the USA in 2001. Since then I've been blessed with many opportunities to travel, including trips to Nepal, Israel, England, Russia, Canada, and more.
• Festivals in both the USA and the UK.
• Many tour dates, Arena events, and fly-out dates in the continental USA and more
• Some people I've had the great blessing to play with since moving to the USA. (in no specific order): Scott Cunningham, Evan Wickham, The Kry, Paul Baloche, Sara Groves, Madison Cunningham, Danny Donnelly, Holland Davis, Paul Clark, James & Rebekah Caggegi, Smithfield, Jimmy Robeson, The Soul Reformation, Fairchild, The Warp and The Woof, Monovision, Brett Williams, Bear Hug Band, Wildwood Music, Cory Emery, The Sing Team, Lion & Bear, and more
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​MY DRUM SET-UP
1970's Ludwig - (Bowling Ball Blue wrap)
​13x9, 16x16, 22x14
14x6.5  Supraphonic snare w/ Millennium throw-off

CYMBALS
Istanbul Agop
2x Istanbul 14" crashes for hats
22" Istanbul Agop Signature Series Ride
21" Istanbul Jazz Ride
19" Istanbul Jazz Ride w/ Rivets

I also own and play a mahogany Gretsch Catalina Jazz with the copper sparkle finish... fun kit, great for smaller rooms, and traveling light.
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SEE BELOW FOR LINKS TO SOME OF THIS GEAR
Gear I love and own.
Some thoughts on drumming especially when it comes to 'Worship Music' 

KEEP GOOD TIME
Learning to play with a metronome is key to hearing good time. the more you and your team can rehearse with a metronome the tighter the band will be, especially in this day and ago of tap tempo delays, and arpeggiated synth parts.

PLAY TO THE ROOM
In a small room with people sitting close to you, you don’t need to shout at someone to have a conversation, maybe they can hear you just fine at a whisper. In a huge room, or perhaps outdoors, you may have to shout for your voice to make it all the way to the back. Either way volume is key to having a successful conversation.

Every room is sized and laid out a little differently. In a small room with only a handful of people a big set-up using thick sticks and super bright cymbals might be really offensive to the ears of those not only sitting in the front row, but to those sitting at the back. consider simplifying your set-up, lowering and angling your cymbals more towards you.
keep all your drums and cymbals within easy reach, the less you have to move the quite you can play, if you can play from the wrist more than the arm, the quieter you can play.
Sometimes even those changes may not be enough, maybe try lighter sticks, hot-rods or equivalents, mallets, brushes, or perhaps even your fingers.  

SUPPORT THE SONG
​When having a chat with someone, it could get a little weird if you or the person you’re talking with is responds to a question with some random unrelated answer. It’s really helpful to stick to the topic, to respond appropriately. Again using the idea of volume… If a loved one is sitting right beside you and the say something really soft like “I love you” … and you respond by yelling back “I LOVE YOU TOO!”
Although the words might be appropriate, the method of delivery may not be.
Play what is necessary so the song can move along with the right amount of energy, and the correct feel, so the Worship Leader can effectively lead well without distraction. Don't over complicate grooves and fills.

PLAY WITH CONFIDENCE
This doesn't mean smacking the tubs as hard as you can...it means commit to the part, be in control, play with passion... just like a conversation, if you speak a whole load of nonsense few people are going to understand, but if you are clear, concise, well versed so-to-speak your communication will come across clearly.
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 Some fun tips and tricks I've picked up over the years

TUNING
There is no hard and fast rule on tuning drums. It's a matter of preference. What sounds good to the ear.

​Several years ago during a recording session I realized the need to have my drums "in-tune" - not just in-tune with themselves, but in-tune with the song I was tracking. So since then I almost always tune my drums to the a D Chord. "How do you do that?" you may ask.
Well here's how I did it... I started by tuning each drum to what felt right by feeling the vibration of the drum shell, and then fine tune them from there.
My snare drum tension feels great, and sounds great (to my ears) tuned to  F#
My rack tom to  A, and the floor tom to D 
F#, A, and D form a D chord
Most of the time its hard to hear the actual pitch of a bass/kick drum But as much as my ears can tell, I try to tune it as close to a note that is in the key of D as I can. which could be any of these. 
D, E, F#, G, A, B, C#
I tune my kick drum around an A.
The keys of A and G also share those same notes A, D, E, F#
The keys of C and F share A, D, and E notes

SNARE DRUM CAPO?
One day in early 2012 I showed up to a studio up in the LA area to track drums on the Scott Cunningham Band album 'Come Away', and as I sat behind the studios kit to see how it sounded, I was instantly impressed by how deep the snare drum sounded. I looked down and noticed there was an extra drumhead sitting on top.
Although I didn't play that snare drum on the project I was still intrigued by it. Once the session was over and I'd returned home, I cut the rim off an older slightly used snare head to see if would have the same effect on my snare drum, and it did.
I would occasionally throw that on for a song or two playing live, just to sonically switch things up during a set.
What came as an unexpected side effect so-to-speak was it pitched my F# tuned snare drum down close to a D note... 'hmmmm?' I thought 'this is interesting,' so I trimmed it a little more until it was just about spot on. Now I can still play in the key of D, but down tune my snare in a split second. 
I did noticed however that I wasn't getting the same feel and response off the snare head, so I grabbed another snare head cut the rim off, and cut a hole in the middle to for a kind donut looking head... checked the tuning, it was close to an E note... So I trimmed it some more, and voila, now I can have my snare as F#, D, or E... which can be a lot of fun on songs where I want to play more percussive (snare wires off ) vibey grooves with mallets or brushes in specific keys.
Download a free copy of my drum curriculum
drumcurriculum_2014.pdf
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