< PreviousModern Drummer November 2021 8 I t took nearly two years of research, more than a couple of strategy and design meetings, and gear from four very different companies—including some rare Dragon Drums—but Ed Coughenour finally built his dream kit. There was also some hand wringing involved. Coughenour’s journey started out innocently enough with a curiosity about the sound of Bubinga drums he had heard over the years. The nerves entered the picture as prices for Bubinga wood started soaring and sourcing became extremely difficult. But Coughenour was undeterred. “I started discussing the idea with Bill Detamore, the founder of Pork Pie Percussion, and after several conversations, we decided to meet at his private ‘SPAMM’ studio during the 2020 NAMM show,” says Coughenour. “Bill had built a kit with a combination Mappa Burl and Bubinga ply finish for the show, so it was the perfect timing to meet. I sat down and played this beautiful kit, and we talked about sizes and construction, where to source the shells—Europe or the USA—and so on. Bill had so much great advice. I choose a Waterfall Bubinga veneer with seven-ply 10”, 12”, and 13” toms; eight-ply 16x16 and 16x18 floor toms; a nine-ply 16x24 bass drum; and a nine-ply 6.5x14 snare.” Then, a little thing like a worldwide pandemic entered the frame. The drum shells arrived just in the nick of time—about two weeks after COVID lockdowns were becoming the new normal. The kit was completed and ready for pickup on May 29, 2020. “I was smiling from ear to ear all the way home,” says Coughenour, who drove to Pork Pie’s shop in Canoga Park, California to claim his beauty. Lockdown also provided some “COVID creativity,” as the Bubinga dream rig developed further. “While stuck at home, I started thinking about designing a rack system that could accommodate a wide variety of cymbals, as well as integrate my vintage 1981 Dragon Drums acrylic octabans,” says Coughenour. “In addition, I had Pork Pie build me a Patina Brass 13” side snare for this kit, and I also wanted to utilize my Roland SPD-SX Special Edition Sampling Pad. I spent a ton of hours over a week designing the layout. I used Gibraltar Stealth Rack components for the platform, and then incorporated DW 9000 series hardware and the original 1981 Dragon Drums mount.” Coughenour now lives in Boise, Idaho, and performs with Stef & The Grove and the Billy Blues Band. He has acquired an impressive collective of drums—such as a 1962 Leedy brass snare and a Craviatto 10th Anniversary AK Black Beauty snare—and he actually bid on Bill Bruford’s set of six octabans that he played on King Crimson’s Discipline, but lost out to Tool drummer Danny Carey (“He outbid me by a lot”). “I realize my Bubinga rig is an extremely extravagant layout, but it includes every element I could want,” he says. “It’s truly a monster kit.” The original Pork Pie Bubinga kit that inspired Coughenour’s creation. An early schematic of Coughenour’s rack design. Bubinga Bonanza! By Michael MolendaBUY FROM YOUR FAVORITE MUSIC RETAILER CHECK OUT MORE AT MODERNDRUMMER.COM Available In Print and Digital Format Presents:Modern Drummer November 2021 10 I t doesn’t take long to become enthralled with South African drummer Dominic McNabb. His chops are next-level, his creativity is beyond-his-years masterful, his grooves are extremely tight and tasty, and he plays with an electrifying, inspiring energy. He has been interviewed on Sheila E. TV (episode 14), NBC News, and Drum Talk TV, and featured in the New York Times. McNabb won the Hudson Music Groove Essentials competition in 2020, and has performed at the South African Drummer Festival, Drumeo clinics in South Africa, and the 2021 Fusion tour. By the way, he’s only 14 years old. “At age two, my parents noticed me making cool beats and grooves using household tools—particularly screwdrivers,” says McNabb. “My family noticed that I had the gift of rhythm.” His parents bought him a toy drum kit when he turned four, and his bass-playing father started him on his music-performance journey by recruiting him to drum for their local church. “My dad taught me my first grooves and fills,” says McNabb. “My first beat was a straight four-on-the-floor groove. To encourage me to practice, my dad showed me YouTube videos of the world’s greatest drummers, such as Eric Moore, Dave Weckl, Buddy Rich, Dennis Chambers, Thomas Lang, Devin Taylor, Tony Taylor, and Tony Royster Jr. I took bits and pieces of each of their performances, interpreting and developing some of their ideas further. I picked up many linear fills from Aaron Spears and cross- over linear fills from Eric Moore. I studied Matt McGuire’s cross-over grooves and Tommy Igoe’s 16th-note triplet fills. I learned jazz Dominic McNabb By Dana ParkerNovember 2021 Modern Drummer 11 feathering [an early jazz technique of lightly hitting the bass drum] from studying Buddy Rich videos. I do read music, but I mostly learn songs by listening. “When I solo, I use different combinations of paradiddles and 16th-note triplet rudiments. But I don’t have a plan in mind when I’m playing. I’m not thinking of the next beat or phrase. My mind sort of becomes a blank canvas, and I’m just free flowing my fills.” In addition to his soaring drumming career, for the past four years, McNabb has been a gigging DJ, performing EDM sets at festivals and club venues. He sets up his turntables adjacent to his drum kit, and he toggles back-and-forth between the two—all the time engaging the crowd while dancing and singing to energize the flow of the show. Typically, McNabb mixes tracks with his own music, but he also incorporates tracks from other artists. “People see my videos on social media, and then we get a call,” he explains, when asked how a 14-year-old books gigs. “They send us the location, and then I have some fun.” Refreshingly, McNabb is not a young artist who is solely focused on attaining professional accolades. In fact, his dream is to give back to the community. He already teaches private drum lessons via Skype and Zoom to both children and adults, and he endeavors to do even more. “I want to share my talent with others who are willing to learn,” he says. “Teaching gives me a fresh perspective on old concepts. Experiencing the drum material through my students’ eyes has helped me better develop my own skills, but with a new light. You are always a student of music, and teaching not only makes me a better player, it also helps me think outside the box. When you teach, you keep learning in different ways—which only strengthens your relationship with music.” McNabb is extremely humble, and as he and his family have a deeply rooted faith, he credits god for his talent. “Right now, I am student of everything,” he says. “I want to know everything there is to know about piano. I want to gain a good understanding of music theory, and use those skills to boost my creativity in writing my songs. I want to be a great producer, too. I’m trying to absorb of all the knowledge I can, and I believe that everything I do is unto god. God always guides me and takes me further.” Dominic’s Devices Drums Yamaha Live Custom Hybrid Oak, magma-sunburst finish: 7x10 and 8x12 rack toms, 15x16 floor tom, 18x22 kick, 14" snare. Cymbals Paiste: 14" PST X Swiss Flanger Stack, 17" Signature Dark Energy Crash Mark I, 18" Signature Dark Energy Crash Mark I, 20" Signature Dark Energy Ride Mark II, 14" Formula 602 Modern Essentials hi-hat, 18" PST X Swiss Thin Crash, 10" Signature Dark Energy Splash Mark I. Sticks Dopestickz. Modern Drummer November 2021 12 The original Pork Pie Bubinga kit that inspired Coughenour’s creation. An early schematic of Coughenour’s rack design. That Great Gretsch Sound! By Michael Molenda T he Gretsch Company, which has been manufacturing instruments since its founding in Brooklyn, New York in 1883, now has a permanent museum to celebrate its legacy, promote music education for future generations, and even make some noise. That Great Gretsch Sound! was opened by Fred and Dinah Gretsch on November 18, 2021, along the river walk in Savannah, Georgia’s bustling Plant Riverside District. A partnership between the Fred and Dina Gretsch School of Music at Georgia Southern University and The Kessler Collection, the interactive museum is a featured attraction of District Live’s lobby and performance venue, and showcases 135 years of Gretsch instruments, as well as memorabilia from the Gretsch family archives. Although the walls and exhibit cases tend to highlight iconic Gretsch guitars— White Falcons, Duo Jets, and Chet Atkins, Duane Eddy, Bo Diddley, Malcolm Young, and Brian Setzer signature models (even a 1967 Monkees electric)—Gretsch drums are represented by a 125th Anniversary kit right at the front of the lobby, as well as numerous references to Gretsch greats such as Chick Webb and Charlie Watts on interactive sound-dome displays. Georgia Southern University’s school of music adopted the Gretsch name this year, as the family bestowed the institution with monetary support, company archives, and a vast collection of historic instruments. Georgia Southern will now be able to help catalog and document the musical and cultural impact of Gretsch across its three campuses, various academic departments, library, and museums. “We hope this new museum will preserve the long history and legacy of the Gretsch family and the Gretsch brand,” said Dinah Gretsch, who with Fred, represents the fourth generation of the company’s family leadership. “It is wonderful to share our history with the city of Savannah, loyal Gretsch fans, and all the tourists who will visit the museum.” Many thanks to Emi Keffer, Special Assistant to Fred Gretsch, and Andrew Shreve, Gretsch Drums Brand Manager/Artist Relations for their invaluable assistance. Gretsch Museum and Plant Riverside), Van Johnson (Mayor of Savannah), Richard Kessler (Chairman and CEO, The Kessler Enterprise, Inc.), Dinah Gretsch (Executive Vice President and CFO, the Gretsch Company), Fred Gretsch (President, the Gretsch Company), Lena Thomas (Business Manager, the Gretsch Company), Dr. Kyle Marrero (President, Georgia Southern University), Dr. Carl Reiber (Provost and Vice President Academic Affairs, Georgia Southern University), and Don Waters (Regent, University System of Georgia). Fred and Dinah Gretsch flank the museum’s Limited-Edition 125th Anniversary kit, manufactured in 2008 to celebrate the 1920s- and ‘30s-era Gretsch-American Series four-piece be-bop drum sets. The sign says it all. There are a lot of guitars on the walls, but drums are front and center in the lobby entrance. One of the exhibit cases displays two vintage Gretsch marching snares The museum houses a live- music venue/ event space with pieces of Gretsch’s storied history lining the walls.HIT ME WITH YOUR BEST SHOT audixusa.com | 800.966.8261 i5 The Ultimate Snare Mic Drummers beat things. It’s what they were born to do. So why would you use a mic that can’t take a hit? With its rugged, all-metal grille, VLM™ diaphragm for exceptional transient response, and a tight cardioid polar pattern, it’s easy to see why the i5 is the ultimate snare mic. Designed, assembled, and tested by Audix in the USA. Performance is Everything Learn more at audixusa.comModern Drummer November 2021 12 Recording Deep Purple’s Turning to Crime By Bob Girouard W hen fans and critics talk about the pantheon of British greatness in heavy- rock drumming, there are the beatmasters, such as John Bonham, Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Cozy Powell, Phil Rudd, Bill Ward, and so on. Then, there are a select few—the complete players—who can put the icing on the cake with massive chops on top to compliment the bottom end. Before anyone else, Ian Paice of Deep Purple did this with blazing speed, dexterity, articulation, and precision. As far as feel is concerned, Paice owns it, and he has defined the word “heavy,” rhythmically speaking, for more than a half century. With the passing of time, his passion for the instrument remains undaunted. He is both focused and fearless, but also with a self-effacing sense of humor—traits that have led to his amazing longevity in a perilously short-term occupation. Paice was named Modern Drummer’s Drummer of the Year in 2015, and was voted #21 in Rolling Stone’s “Greatest Drummers of All Time” poll. As a member of Deep Purple, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. Last interviewed by MD in 2014, we caught Paice in-between several interviews, as he had just returned from Germany to promote Deep Purple’s Turning to Crime—a collection of cover songs that is the band’s first album of tracks not written by its members. Ian Paice James PaiceNovember 2021 Modern Drummer 13Modern Drummer November 2021 14 The musical diversity on Turning to Crime is astounding, and the band’s interpretations of songs by Love, Bob Dylan, Johnny Rivers, Mitch Ryder, Booker T. and the MG’s, the Allman Bros., and Little Feat—played by four Brits and a Yank—are convincing as hell. You all play each track like you own it. Well, remember, the stuff we’ve played over the last 50 years had its origins in the States. Everything we have comes from something that was invented in your country—from the creation of jazz to rock and roll into what we have now. British music hadn’t touched us at all, but what you had came over to us here, and we fell in love with it. The idea of playing songs by American artists doesn’t come as a surprise to us. We loved it all, and we found a different way of doing it. But was it any challenge at all, though, having to re-record songs that are such classics? Of course, it was fun recording—and even more so when you’ve got the template in your head because you know the original song. You have a starting point. You try and pay respect to the original record, but, at the same time, you try to put your own stamp on it. When you start with somebody else’s music—music that you also enjoy— you’re already in the ballpark before you set up the kit. Due to the pandemic, the sessions for Turning to Crime were virtual. Is this the first time the band has recorded that way? I’ve done sessions remotely before, but with varying degrees of success. Because travel was not allowed due to the pandemic, this was really the only way we could record. That situation also influenced the concept of the album. Usually, the way we write new music is through a cooperative effort of jamming. As this album had to be recorded remotely, we felt that covering the songs of other artists was a nice idea. We weren’t sure if it would work. We knew we could make it technically possible, but to make it sound like we were all in the same room? That was difficult. I had my son engineer my parts. As a kid, he had a band, but he lost interest in being on stage. He found the technical side— as well as making his own music—far more appealing. He’s very good at it. When creating new drum tracks for the cover songs, how much did you want to incorporate new parts, versus leaving certain identifiable rhythms in place? These particular artists were important to us, so we were committed to playing these earMusic earMusicJoin a collective of artists, musicians, producers, and award-winning technicians and discover the best ways to accelerate your music career. 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