NAMM 2015 Interview Series on Drum Talk TV
 

NAMM 2015: President and CEO Joe Lamond joins us at the end of another NAMM Show for a recap.

 

Whether you are an exhibitor, an attendee or always wanted to know more about the NAMM Show, this is an informative interview. Joe talks about the NAMM Shows in Frankfurt, Russia and China; He explains that this year’s show in Anaheim had a record breaking number of exhibitors in NAMM’s 113-year history of as well as the number of brands represented; International attendance was up as well, and Joe talks about the NAMM Educational programs that are expanding.


About this Series:

We interviewed brands and artists; 160 in all. Keep checking back here, to see more. Videos are 3-10 mins.each.

Roy Burns

Roy Burns of Aquarian reflects on 55 years of attending the NAMM Show, the 35th anniversary of Aquarian, and finally, Roy gives great advice for how to approach drumming as a career.

Alan White

Alan White joins us in the Ludwig booth with an update on YES, an update on his work in his community such as a concert to benefit Autism and the Seattle Children’s Hospital; Dan and Alan discuss “the olden days” and in this case he talks about the fills on John Lennon’s “Instant Karma” from 1970 when Alan was 20! Alan also talks about playing 15 Ludwig kits in the 42 years he has been with them, what shells he prefers and why

Steve Smith

We got with Steve Smith to talk about his new ‘Tala Wands’ line of bamboo ‘not-so-drum-sticks’ made by Vic Firth; Steve shows us the Zildjian “Kerope” Cymbal line he uses, and updates us on the upcoming album and tour by his band Vital Information.

Tiny Biuso!

Anthony Tiny Bubz Biuso joins us to talk about what “Punk Rock” is to him vs. the stereotypical perceived culture of the genre, ‘giving back’ to the less fortunate, and advice to young drummers who want endorsement deals and have a misconception about what it really is.

Steve Moore

Steve Moore is known as “The Mad Drummer” and “The Drummer at the Wrong Gig.” He joins us to talk about how his “shtick” was born, and about the new big stage production he has developed around “The Drummer at the Wrong Gig.”

Mike Wrench

Mike Wrench joins us at the Sabian booth at the NAMM Show and talks about working with the D.A.D. Program “Drums and Disabilities,” and music therapy for the disabled, how Drum Channel and DW Drums have been involved, as well as other artists such as Sheila E., Rich Redmond and Chad Szeliga.

Aquarian: Jamie Harris

We joined Jamie Harris at the Aquarian booth for a run-down of their line. Jamie showed us and talked about the versatility of Superpads, Nu-Brite Drumhead film, their “Dot” series, including the mobile Power Dot; their own patented rigid hoops on their drumheads, their electronic drums and triggers developed with KAT and more!

Mark Schulman

Mark joins us to talk about his new book “Conquering Life’s Stage Fright,” staying busy with touring with Pink and Cher, recording, corporate gigs and house renovation and dreaming your future and making it happen!

Morton Microphones

Are you attracted to innovation? Check THIS out! Here’s the bass drum microphone that won “Best New Product” of 2014-2015 by LIVE DESIGN INTERNATIONAL Magazine. Watch Terry Morton with Morton Microphone Systems talk about this new innovation in bass drum micing!

Colin Bailey

We got with Colin Bailey to talk with ‘Mr. Bass Drum Technique’ on the 50th anniversary of his book, Bass Drum Control. Colin talks about the idea that started the book, what he thinks of the book’s longevity, as well as some insight to other materials of his, his personal influences, and who he takes notice of today.

Urbann Boards Drummer Shoes

We got with Rodrigo Castilhos of Urbann Boards Shoes to see their line of Drummer Shoes at their booth. Rodrigo talked about their Neil Peart, Virgil Donati, Aquiles Priester, Dennis Chambers signature models, as well a new ‘Urbann Boards Her’ line for women, and a line for kids. Rodrigo describes, among other benefits, the featherweight technology that goes into each shoe.

Peter Erskine

“From trio to full size orchestra!” Peter Erskine joins us at the Tama Booth and says he plans to make a Funk album this year (2015), which he has always wanted to do; and will be doing more performances of the Concerto for Drum Set and Orchestra, entitled, “Erskine.”

Peter tells us why he decided to get with Tama Drums and what he likes most about their Star Series. Peter says, “Whether a drummer is well-known or not, we are all the same. We want to play what makes us Happy.” Peter goes on to talk about how the sound and feel of his drums have changed his approach to playing: “The Iron Cobras feel like an old friend,” he says, and he explains the benefits of Tama’s Hardware as well.

Joe Franco

Joe Franco joins us at the Zildjian Booth to talk about being a Zildjian “Lifer,” What he has been using lately, the new work with Dee Snyder, work with children’s programming and how he stays in such great shape in his mid-60s!

Homero Chavez

Homero Chavez joins us at the KickPort booth to talk about his new musical project and new instructional material he has on the way. He describes his new musical endeavor as “New Orleans Funks meets Frank Zappa” – Makes sense to us!

Homero tells us more about his new instructional material for drums and percussion as well as why he loves KickPort products–what the KickPort, CajonPort, SnarePort and TomPorts do for his sound.

Daniel Glass

Daniel Glass joins us at the Vic Firth booth to talk about his new DVD, “Ragtime to Rock,” which covers the evolution of American popular music. Daniel is not only a world-class drummer, having played with The Brian Setzer Orchestra and Royal Crown Revue, Daniel is also part of our Master Educator Series and is a historian. He has two other very successful DVD’s on the history of drums and drumming: “The Century Project” and “Traps.” Check him out at www.danielglass.com

Didi Negron

Didi Negron visited with Drum Talk TV Italian Language Correspondent Giulia Lazzarino for an interview in English! Recorded at the KickPort booth during the NAMM Show 2015, Didi talks about her 3-year tour (so far) with the Cirque du Soleil show, “Amaluna.”

Didi also talked about what KickPort has done for her sound, taking out unwanted overtones from all her drums and adding low end frequencies to her bass drum – and how the sound engineers all love this! She also has great advice for all female drummers working on making a career playing.

Gergo Borlai

Gergo Borlai joins us at the Aerodrums booth to talk about his career, and give a demo of the highly innovative Aerodrums product. Gergo talks about the Joe Zawinul Legacy Band playing the music he grew up with, which pays tribute to the late Weather Report keyboardist; he tells us why he recently became a “Gretsch Guy;” and we learn who his drumming idol is. In fact, Gergo tells us what happened when he finally met Harvey Mason, in person this morning at NAMM!

Jonathan Moffett Jr.

Jonathan joins us to talk about many things: first, his collaboration on an Urbann Boards Drummer Shoe design; second, the bridge between his elaborate kits and the trouble he often got into as a kid; and third, his early influences, as well as younger players who he’s been watching!

Walfredo De los Reyes Sr.

Walfredo de los Reyes, Sr., multi-tasker extraordinaire, joins us at the KickPort booth to talk about his new instructional book on playing Latin rhythms–with one hand on Latin percussion instruments–and the other hand doing beats on the kit–ALL at the same time! He tells us about the setup he has been using since 1950, reflecting on some of the milestones of his 60+ year career. Learn about who he’s played & recorded with in the interview!

Andrew Hewitt of Can-Do Musos

Andrew Hewitt joined us at the Zildjian booth to talk about the lessons he gives to drum students with acquired brain damage (and Andrew himself has cerebral palsy!), the work he does with Can-Do Musos, which he founded with Dom Famularo, David Segal and Michael Mignogna.

This organization has hundreds of members with various disabilities who are drummers – from big names to every-day drumming enthusiasts – they all share the same passion to play. Andrew also talks about being a Zildjian artist. Watch this inspiring interview with “Australia’s Most Inspirational Drummer!”

Devadip Chunga

Peruvian artist Devadip Chunga joins us at the KickPort booth to talk about how KickPort gives him his signature sound–and gives his sound the versatility for all the styles he plays both live and as a session player. He says that KickPort eliminates unwanted sounds often hard to deal with in the studio. You will also see his Roland BT-1 trigger in action in the video that first introduced us to Devadip during the fall of 2014. Devadip also talks about his musical influences and his band Closed Circle.

John Good on the DW Acquisitions!

In this interview DW’s John Good answers questions about the acquisitions of several brands from Fender, including Gretsch Drums, Latin Percussion (LP), Toca, KAT, Gibraltar and more.

John explains the DW strategy, that this is more of a “guild,” and how it will help the industry–answering some of the concerns that have been voiced in the musical instruments community.

DW's John Good - What's New in 2015!

We visited with John Good at the DW booth to see what’s new from Drum Workshop for 2015. New finishes, new faux leather hoops, new hardware finishes, a handy device for you to help tune your drums and change heads on and more!

GoPro 2015

We joined Katie Kilbride during the Winter NAMM Show 2015 at the GoPro booth to talk about the Hero4 Black and Silver models. Katie shows us some great new features in audio/video quality improvements, as well as a back screen that comes on the units, which can be used for record viewing, playback and navigating through the camera’s modes.

There is also a “Flagging” feature, which you can activate during recording to mark points of interest to save time searching through a lot of footage. Also talked about are options such as adapters to mount on a standard tripod or mic stand, as well as info on external mic hook-ups!

Aerodrums

We joined the folks at Aerodrums to have co-inventor Richard Lee give us the scoop on this innovative product. Invisible drums! Dan jumps in to try them out, but then Gergo Borlai gives a great demo! Imagine drums you can fold up in your laptop and carry with you, with a motion capture camera and a few reflectors.

This is no gimmick–this serves several very important purposes for all drummers. Ever wanted to play in an environment where you might disturb sleeping family or roommates? Or how about in a really small space? Well now you can. They are great for finger development, writing/song development sessions – and you can design any sized kit and import any sampled sound to add to the vast sound library included with the product.

Johnny Rabb

Johnny Rabb joins us at the KickPort booth to talk about Collective Soul’s new album and tour, and what he loves about KickPort products.

James Michael McLester

There is a very inspiring book out by drummer James Michael McLester who not only got past the depths of addiction and saved his own life, but is now battling again to survive. He’s battling kidney disease brought on by mercury in his dental fillings–if you’re a baby boomer you know those fillings. Recorded at the Zildjian booth, James tells what he is dealing with, how you can help, and help others (and yourself) who may not be aware of their own susceptibility. Oh – they talk drumming and Zildjian too!

Odery Drums (English)

Drum Talk TV Correspondent Gustavo Campos joins Maurício Odery at the Odery booth. Maurício shows us a high quality kit for kids that they don’t have to ever grow out of! Why? Because when they’re older, they can use it for gigs when space is tight. We also see drums of bass wood, bubinga, and more, with custom finishes.

Odery has a program where you can actually select your own piece of wood to be made into your shells; they’ve got a satin finish sparkle, cooper hardware options, aluminum shells and hoops, and an adjustable vented multi-port system that they’ve had in their line for 10 years, and more!

Jason Bittner

Jason Bittner joins us at the KickPort booth with updates on Flotsam and Jetsam, Shadow Fall and why he loves KickPort and what it does for his sound. He says that when he uses lower- to mid-range kits, the KickPort makes the 22″ bass drum “sound like it’s $3,000 more than it is.”

John Good: Neil Peart's R40 Kit

In this segment of our interview with John Good of DW Drums, John shows and tells the story of the discovery of the 1,500-year-old Romanian River Oak he acquired, which was also used for Neil Peart’s R40 Kit, for what is said to be the last big Rush tour of its kind (Kit is on-hand for the interview). John also tells us how this particular wood was chosen for Neil’s kit and other products now available.

Meet the NAMM 15 Coverage Team

  Go to Team page

Event Coverage: Learn about Brian Tichy & Joe Sutton’s fantastic production “The Ox & The Loon” a tribute to Keith Moon and John Entwistle, The Who’s legendary rhythm section!

  Go to the page

Event Coverage: Learn about Brian Tichy & Joe Sutton’s ‘The Bonzo Bash’ – a tribute to John Bonham’s lasting legacy–with today’s top drummers (and bassists, singers, guitarists, keyboardists, and more!)!

  Go to the page

Check out some of the gear interviews from Winter NAMM 2014!

  Go to Sprockets & Cogs
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