< PreviousModern Drummer November 2021 46 particular track? I work all that stuff out before I hit the studio. In the past, I would just bring a sh*t ton of drums to the studio and start testing stuff right there in the room. Now, I think I have enough experience with my equipment to know what does what. I’ll write stuff down beforehand and ask my tech Nathaniel to set up whatever might be appropriate for the song we are doing that day. We demo everything, so during pre-production I’ll start thinking, “Okay, this new song is just dying for the F-250 snare.” It’s actually a 1970s Ludwig Supraphonic, which I call the standard Ford pickup trucks of snares. They’re on a million records. They sound great. They’re always a good place to start. So, the 5.5” Supraphonic is the F-150, and the 6.5” is the F-250. I typically end up using the aluminum SJC or the Dookie snare. But I also have a 1938 Leedy maple snare that’s just incredible. It sounds so good on the faster punk stuff. What about cymbals? That’s a whole ‘nother ballgame, because I’ve got zillions of cymbals that are organized in vibes: aggressive, unusual, sweeter-sounding, and the collection I call “butter”—which are just super, real buttery cymbals. I use them all. It’s fun to go through them. Again—so many tonal options... Yes. So, I’ll listen back to a track, and I’ll focus on what the high end does with the guitars and vocals. I know I must leave space for what the song is asking for, and for what Billie is doing on guitar, because he plays all kinds of different guitars and amps. He’s a lot like me in that respect. He makes very clear decisions on what his guitar is supposed to sound like, and he gets really great sounds. I don’t want my cymbals to be on the same frequency spectrum as the midrange and high end of his guitar, so I try to stay out of his way— to find my own space. I want our records to come across where you hear everybody, instead of just a wall of sound. I want space for the guitar to do its thing, the cymbals to do their thing, and the bass to do its thing—and Mike’s bass actually has quite a lot of high end to it. This gear talk reminds me of when we did the Charlie Watts tribute issue in October. Charlie had an amazing collection of vintage drums, but he was known to say things like, “They’re all in boxes. I never see them.” You appear to be the opposite of that because it seems like you’re putting your collection to work all the time. I have a warehouse, and everything is set up, ready to go, and pretty much tuned. Every drum set I’ve ever used that I didn’t light on fire is in there. Well, even some of the ones I did light on fire are there. It’s great that you actively craft your drum sounds to the song. I’ve recorded a lot of drummers who bring one kit, one snare, and one set of cymbals, and what you see is what you get. Yeah, no. Billie is such an amazing songwriter, singer, and guitar player. I’m not going to be Mongo on the drums and take over the whole song. I think Ringo Starr is the master of a songwriter’s drummer, and that’s what I want to be. I mean, look at the guys I get to play with. You’re obviously a big gear nerd who has tried a lot of different things. What has attracted you to some of the manufacturers you work with? Zildjian has been amazing to me my entire career. They’re the coolest company. They’ve made cymbals for Led Zeppelin, the Beatles, the Doors—everybody. They’ve been a family company since the 1400s or something, and they have the secret sauce for how a cymbal should sound. They’re really great to their artists. They work with you when you’re touring. If you break something, they’ll get it out to you. They don’t want their artists to be left high and dry. Their drumsticks are good, too. And it’s a damn fine logo they’ve got [laughs]. For drum kits, I can’t say enough about SJC. They let drummers be creative. Anything you can dream up, they’ll make for you. They have a lot of great people working there. Massachusetts is kind of the hub of all things drums in my opinion. If you play rock and roll, you have to get Remo heads. They have an attack that’s very much their own. I’ll typically do an Emperor on top and an Ambassador on the bottom. I think the reason why Remo is so great is because those heads make the drum come to life. You hear the true character of the drum with a Remo head—more so than with other makers. I also want to give a shoutout to AK Drums in Italy. They make sure amazing, handmade stuff. Dunnett is a rad dude. He’s definitely an artisan, and crazy enough to try things no one else has—like the titanium thing. Gretsch was really good to me. I loved them, and I love the way their drums sound, but I chose to leave Gretsch for SJC because I liked being able to shoot the sh*t with the owner. It was just a personal preference to figure things out directly with the Felepe Laverde Bubble Buddies During the pandemic, Cool and his wife and son formed a bubble with Jesse, Justin, Kevin, and Aimee of the Interrupters. It got so that they saw each other almost every weekend. “We didn’t go anywhere, or do anything, or see anybody, and neither did they,” says Cool. “We were friends already, so we said, ‘Okay, let’s bubble up,’ and they were the only people we saw at all. “So, it’s really great that Jesse is going to get into Modern Drummer. He’s an incredible drummer. He has excellent tempo, he hits hard, and he plays really tasty stuff. He also has chops you don’t see in the Interrupters. He has this band he does for fun called Sid and the Twins with his brother Justin on bass and this guy Sid on guitar. It’s more of a punk vibe, and Jesse really shines. Man, can he play! “Plus, it’s not even fair because he and Justin are identical twins. They’re just so connected on every level. They eat the same stuff every day—they even take poops at the same time. To have them as a rhythm section—come on—that’s every band’s dream. They are so locked in.”November 2021 Modern Drummer 47 drum makers, rather than take more of a corporate approach with a bigger company. Okay—let’s talk about selecting drums for the Hella Mega tour. Billie can still decide to use different guitars and amps, but it wouldn’t be an easy task for you to change out drums and cymbals during a set. How do you select a kit that’s going to do everything you need it to do for all the songs Green Day plays? I have to prepare before the tour. I have to keep up my relationship with my equipment. After I’m finished talking to you, I’m going to go down to my warehouse and fart around with drums, play with drum sounds, and practice. It’s a big challenge because I have to play 30 years’ worth of songs on one kit. It has to be able to do it all. The other complication is that when we record, I only have the things I need set up, because we go song by song. If there’s no China cymbal in a song, then it’s not in the room. If there are no rack toms on a tune, then there are no rack toms in the room. I don’t like those sympathetic tones that come from toms when you hit the kick and the snare. Those things make it harder to mix. But onstage, everything has to be set up for every song I have to play. Green Day was the first band to tour stadiums during COVID. Were there any situations you had to manage that crept into your usual tour logistics or personal preparation due to the pandemic? Everything single thing was affected by it. We didn’t go out. We didn’t meet fans. We didn’t sign stuff. If there were people hanging out around the hotel, we’d avoid them. The jobs of more than 200 people depended on us staying healthy, and we did not f**k around. Going out to bars and stuff like that wasn’t an option. Eating indoors wasn’t an option. We were super careful and we kept our bubble tight. As far as getting ready for the tour, we weren’t sitting around going nothing during the pandemic. Despite the tour’s postponements, we knew we were touring at some point. I was exercising and keeping my cardio up. I did a lot of paddle surfing and eating healthy and spending time with my family. I also have a two-and-a-half year old, and he really benefited from it, because I was home all the time. I got to pour myself into my son and my family. That was epic. The pandemic has sucked on a lot of levels, but on that level, it was good. He’s a cool kid, man. So, anyway, I had that whole tour rehearsed and ready to go in 2019, and I stayed ready until the buses finally left. By the time we stepped onstage, I was nailing it like it was no big deal. What did it feel like to finally rock out? It was awesome. It was the best tour. It was great to go out and prove to the world that we’re back. Music is possible. Togetherness is possible. We can move forward carefully. It was a big emotional Greg SchneiderModern Drummer November 2021 48 thing. People were crying. I cried several times on stage while playing drums. A lot of people died during the pandemic, so we didn’t take it lightly that we were out there. It was not an ordinary tour. It was overwhelming. In addition, the entire music industry was watching us very closely. “If Green Day can do it, maybe we can get started again.” After the first few weeks of Hella Mega, you started seeing other tours go on sale. It was like, “Okay, it’s on.” But we were the test dummies. We got put into speeding car, we smashed into a wall, and we walked away. The industry was like, “Cool. Seat belts work. Let’s go.” As careful as you and your crew were, however, you can’t manage the behavior of the crowd, and yet, there were no reports of super-spreader events coming out of Hella Mega stadiums. Something was watching over you guys and the audience. I’m really happy about that. It could have gone a different way. But we were also lucky to have “COVID Chris”— an office manager who made sure everybody always had masks, sanitizer, lots of testing, and a very tight bubble. There was nothing backstage—no infiltrations—and the vaccine seemed to do its job, and so did COVID Chris. I don’t think the crowds were in harm’s way. Is it a struggle to get your monitoring dialed for stadium shows? When I talk to other drummers, they go through hell with monitors. But we have the same monitor guy that we had during the American Idiot era, and he’s freaking amazing. The monitors were perfect every night, and we played 21 stadium shows with no soundchecks. We got everything dialed in during the pre- production process, and after the first show, we might have refined a few things, but after that—nothing. It was set. What kind of monitor mix do you like? Drum heavy, obviously. The second loudest things are the vocals, then guitar, and then the bass. After that, it’s keyboards and maybe a touch of the background vocals. I have them pretty quiet, because when you’re playing big places, the crowd noise and everything leaks into the background-vocal mics, and there’s always some weird bounciness to the sound. It’s good to have a little ambience, as well, because wearing in-ear monitors can be isolating. You want to sound like you’re in the gig and playing. So, we’ll have a little bit of crowd noise added to the mix to keep that vibe and connection with the audience. Any final thoughts for this interview? If you’re making drums and you’re in the drum business, you’re cool. You’re making music. A lot of people get way too angry about music— like, “F**k this and f**k that.” Nah man. We’re all musicians. We need to look out for each other, and help each other out. We need to respect the game, baby. I get that a lot of musicians are competitive, but at the end of the day, we are all making music. You’re not doing a hedge fund or foreclosing on people. You’re doing something good for the world. Just keep that perspective when your guitar players are trying to out- noodle one another. Greg Schneider Greg Schneider23 exciting and exclusive interviews and jams with legendary artists and Chad being Chad. Drum Channel has 1000 Lesson Videos plus 400 Shows. Now available: “Modern Drummer Legends Chad Smith” special edition.Modern Drummer November 2021 50 T ré Cool is one of my favorite drummers. He is also one of the most interesting people I’ve worked with. He’s certainly one of few drummers who can ride the razor-thin line between control and chaos without ever actually falling into chaos. The excitement and energy he creates is fundamental to Green Day’s immediately recognizable sound. You might compare it to a high-speed motorcycle ride on a windy road where one wrong move would mean disaster. However, the thrill of the ride outweighs the fear of death. Like most great artists, Cool’s art deeply mirrors his personality. In our handful of encounters, he has always been unpredictable— seemingly erratic, but he always manages to come through far better than I could have ever imagined. Sometime around 2000, I got a call at my shop from a guy looking for a vintage Ludwig Black Beauty snare drum. I had a really nice one in stock. He was in Seattle for just one day, and he asked if I could bring it to him to take a look. I generally wouldn’t have agreed, but it was an expensive drum, and in the early days of my shop, a big sale like this would make a big difference. “Just come to the back door of the Paramount Theater and ask for Tré Cool,” he said. (Oh—why didn’t you say so earlier?) The guard at the door was expecting me, and I was walked right onto the stage where Green Day was in the middle of their soundcheck. I was already thrilled to be standing on the same stage where I’d grown up seeing all my favorite bands—let alone having the opportunity to witness Green Day at a private soundcheck. When they were finished, Cool eventually made his way over to check out the drum. One of the crew eventually needed his attention, and they wandered off without him saying whether he liked the drum or not. I was expecting him to finish with the crew member and come back, but after 15 minutes had passed, all of the band and crew had left, and I was standing alone on the dark Paramount stage wondering what I should do. I gave it a few more minutes before assuming he wasn’t interested, and I proceeded to find my way through the darkened backstage corridors and out of the theater. Suddenly, he appeared with a stack of hundreds in his hand. “Where did you go?” he asked. Then, in the back of one of their trucks, I saw the charred remains of a green Slingerland drum set piled in front of a stack of large, Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault Tré Cool’s Burnt Slingerland Kit By Donn Bennett The remains of Cool’s Slingerland Spitfire drum set. For an entire tour, he either burnt or demolished one of these sets at the end of each show. November 2021 Modern Drummer 51 unopened Slingerland boxes. When I asked him about it, he said, “I lit that one up last night in Portland. When we play outside, I burn them. When we’re inside, I only smash them up. I’ve got to make these remaining sets last through the end of the tour.” “Do you like the Slingerland sets,” I asked. “They’re great,” he replied. “They light up real good!” We got back to discussing the Black Beauty snare drum, and we worked out a deal that included some cash and what was left of his burned-up set. I’m not sure who was happier—me for getting my hands on what I considered an extraordinary piece of Green Day history, or him for swapping his demolished set for a beautiful vintage snare drum. The next time Green Day came to town, Cool showed up at my shop with his drum tech on a pair of brand-new motorcycles they’d just purchased from a local dealership. He had surprised his tech with a “tour gift” motorcycle so they would have a way to cruise around the cities they visited on the road. Our drum-repair guy even fixed the taillight on Cool’s new bike. Anything for a customer! A couple of years later, we basically repeated our first meeting with me bringing him a Black Beauty snare to check out before Green Day’s gig at the Key Arena—a venue ten times the size of the Paramount where we first met. It was the first show of the tour, and the band was doing a dress rehearsal. I arrived right after they started, so I ended getting a private Green Day concert for one in a 25,000-seat arena. You can always count on Tré Cool for some excitement—no matter what he’s doing. I’m looking forward to the next time we cross paths. Lighter fuel and a Slingerland Spitfire—an extremely volatile combination. Cool during Green Day’s soundcheck at the Paramount Theater, Seattle, 2000. My dismal, first-ever attempt at a selfie. Neither Cool nor I could figure out how to work my now-archaic digital camera.Modern Drummer November 2021 52 Vater Percussion Dom Famularo Pad Stick Back when he was taking lessons from Joe Morello, Shelly Manne, and Jim Chapin, renowned educator Dom Famularo asked them what sticks they practiced with. Their answer was the Bunken 3S. Manufactured by a husband-and-wife team (Bunny and Ken), Bunken was no longer in business when Famularo went on a quest for a pair. He found one stick at a local music store, which he used to develop this pad stick. It’s clear why Morello and others found the Bunken 3S helpful, as its large profile and big ball at the end promote over- exaggerated movements that stretch and strengthen the muscles. The Vater/Famularo version is specifically designed for practice-pad workouts, and is 16.5" long, .665" in diameter, and made from sugar maple. $19. domfamularo.com/store or vater.com. New Gear for the New Year Louson Drums Cajon Tab Well, here’s an instance of editorial synergy. Editor at Large Billy Amendola has been using Cajon Tabs, and he reports they sound great. I saw the Cajon Tab at a recent NAMM show, and I bought one for my wife, Cheryl Munoz, to add to her gig-percussion rig. The Cajon Tab—which comes in 10" and 12" versions— is a tricky, portable cajon that you can sling around your shoulder like a guitar and march, dance, or otherwise levitate while playing. Each model features an external snare, as well as a sound port that can be closed or opened to change the tone. Different woods are offered, depending on the model. $159 and up. lousondrums.com. W ouldn’t it be marvelous if 2022 offered drummers new opportunities, savvy ways to improve their technique, and just tons more fun? Cross those fingers, gang. If you’re up for some cool tools to help bring on that brighter, happier new year, check out these six options. Here’s to a wonderful year ahead—one filled with gigs, achievement, joy, and good health! —Michael Molenda Artiphon Orba Orba is mystifying and scary. It could be perhaps one of the greatest party tricks around, or a kick-ass musical device, or a looper, or a MIDI controller, or a metronome, or a shaker, or an active speaker system. It’s actually all of that and more—which brings on the scary part. What can’t this little egg-timer-shaped do? The parts my brain could handle without blowing a neural circuit is that you can create and play beats, bass, chords, synth lines, and samples by tapping buttons or waving the device, and you can also interface Orba with music apps and DAWs. Yeah. It’s frightening. But hella cool. $99. artiphon.com.November 2021 Modern Drummer 53 Full Circle Company Cymbal Jewelry Drummer and Full Circle founder Liz Aponte must attack her cymbals like some pissed-off superhero, because she apparently smashed up piles of them. In 2018, the carnage turned into a business after she asked herself, “What can I do with my broken cymbals?” The answer was to repurpose the metal beauties as bracelets, necklaces, earrings, bottle openers, keychains, and drum keys. Aponte rallied some friends, and—viola!—a unique collection of cymbal-sourced fashion accessories was born. A visit to the Full Circle website will allay any fears that drum gear is being forged into holiday-festival flea-market kitsch. Most of the designs are sophisticated and subtle, and everything is eye-catching. $18 up. fullcirclecompany.co. Status Audio Core ANC Noise-Cancelling Headphones I’m not sure if the snarky “man in a yellow blazer with scarf” who appears in some Status Audio ads is seductive or bothersome, but he gets his point across—quality, noise-cancelling headphones don’t need to mount a scorched-earth campaign against your bank account. The value proposition may or may not have to do with the fact that founder James Bertuzzi is a drummer, and we all know how musicians love deals. The full-sized, closed-back Core ANC phones offer -30dB of active noise cancelling, Bluetooth or cable connectivity, external microphones, up to 30-hour battery life per charge, USB-C, plush vegan-leather earpads, and are available in three colors. $99. status.co. Big Bang Distribution Thumb Thang Drummer, teacher, and inventor Ed Bettinelli describes his Thumb Thang as a “hands-free, multitasking percussive accessory.” That’s a mouthful for what is essentially a shaker you wear on your hands, but it’s a pretty ingenious shaker. The three-pod shape may look like something out of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, but it balances the device on your thumb (or any finger you choose), while the non-weight bearing design doesn’t impede mobility or dexterity. You can add percussive textures to your drumming, of course, but Thumb Thang also works effortlessly when playing guitar, ukulele, bass, and whatever your imagination can devise—even hand percussion while doing your best dance moves. $19. bigbangdist.com or thumbthang.com.Modern Drummer November 2021 54 Sonor Perfect Balance Jojo Mayer Signature and Standard Pedals By Jon Christ W hen the futurist, educator, and genre-bending drummer Jojo Mayer turned his agile brain to designing a kick pedal, he distilled his concept into a single sentence: “The Perfect Balance pedal was designed with a principle in mind that reflects ultimate sophistication to me—simplicity.” He wasn’t kidding. At first look, the Perfect Balance pedals appear to be top-secret prototypes. There’s no obvious Sonor branding (although the footplate is shaped like the company logo), and the machining is so anonymous that you could mistake them for inexpensive, no-name beginner pedals—except for the fact the smooth, jewel-like finishes are as sophisticated as the lines of an Aston Martin. Beyond his minimalist aesthetic, part of the reason for the austere Perfect Balance pair is that Mayer sought vintage pedals from the ‘40s and ‘50s to create his own “perfect” model from bits and pieces that he liked. As a result of his homegrown builds, the straightforward concept for the Perfect Balance pedals was well tested by the time Mayer started working with Sonor. The Standard pedal is constructed much the same as the Signature. Both pedals are lightweight and low mass (there’s just one post on the left side), and the cam and the beater assembly are one piece (Sonor calls it a Linear Drive System). Both offer round, old-school felt beaters, as well as longboards so players can easily negotiate between heel up and heel down techniques. The strap is near- indestructible ballistic fiber. What the Signature delivers for its modest additional cost is a lacquered pedal (the Standard’s is stainless steel), a cagey apparatus that folds the pedal down flat (without scratching or otherwise harming the pedal), and it automatically clamps to your kick-drum hoop when pushed forward (you can adjust the clamp tension if you want a tighter fit). For me, the Signature features are nice refinements, but I’d be just fine with the Standard. While playing, the operation of both models is super smooth, the feel is even and solid, and there are no annoying squeaks or other noises. Conventional rock kicks on one and three—or punching quarter notes—felt effortless, as if the pedal was an extension of my foot. Performing fast triplets, however, took some work because the beater on my usual pedal snaps back to the drumhead almost automatically. The Perfect Balance pair waited for me to kick it. I’m sure that’s what Mayer intended (and wants), but I had to adjust my style just a little bit. Overall, you can’t beat simple and smooth, and both Perfect Balance pedals remove most every impediment to translating foot to drumhead. Signature, $279; Standard, $229. sonor.com Standard pedal Signature pedalROCK YOUR WALLS Collectible art from rock photographer and drummer Rob Shanahan. Gallery Fine Art Metal Canvas Acrylic VOLUME 1 with foreword by Ringo Starr Sign up for the newsletter and get behind the scenes access. 20% DISCOUNT for new customers 25 years photographing the biggest names in the music industry. NOW AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASE www.robshanahan.artNext >