Posts Tagged ‘reggae drummer’

There are thousands of instructional DVDS for drummers out there, anywhere from jazz to heavy metal. But there are none that cover reggae drumming correctly. I’ve been looking for years, and any drummer who tries to teach reggae drumming is always terrible in my opinion.

Well, that is, until now.

Dyrol Randal has released an amazing DVD instructional called Dryol Randall Reggae Drumming. It is the absolute first of it’s kind and is presented by a talented reggae artist.

This 2-part DVD package first starts off by covering the correct way to tune reggae drums, which is refreshing to see. Not only does Dyrol cover the basic tuning of the drums, but he also covers why the drums should be tuned a certain way in order to get the crisp and snappy sound that kicks you right in the jaw.

There are many different beats in reggae but the foundational one is the one drop. This is the first beat the Dyrol covers, and it’s great to see someone demonstrate and play properly, which is the key.

After the one drop, Dyrol covers many other beats such as:

• Stepper
• One Two
• Dancehall

… along with some very cool hi-hat variations that will keep you amazed and trying to figure them out for a long time. Now I see where Stewart Copeland stole his hi-hat variations from!!!

I was truly amazed by the second DVD because it offers a wealth of different fills and lead in fills. Reggae is known for creative drum lead in fills, and the ones Dyrol plays are incredibly tasty.

After the fill variations, Dryol outdoes himself with many different pattern variations of the original beats that were in the first DVD.

These variations are not for the feint of heart. They sound ( and look! ) incredibly cool, but man, are they tough. They are not too tough or technical to sound great with music, however, as Dyrol demonstrates with his bass player friend who is playing along with him for the whole series.

This package is the most comprehensive compilation of reggae drumming styles I have ever seen. They cover techniques that can be used by both beginners and advanced drummers of all genres. In addition to this, there is such a wealth of knowledge in what Dyrol demonstrates, this series can remain in your archive for a very long time.

Dyrol Randall does a tremendous job teaching the very elusive intricacies of reggae drumming, and his approach, attitude, style, feel and sheer warmth are a breath of fresh air.

I have been waiting a very long time for a series like this. I suggest you don’t. If you want to play reggae drums like a pro, buy this DVD series. You will not be disappointed.

Click here to visit Dyrol Randall’s reggae drumming site.

Driving across the country with a reggae band was always an adventure. Imagine 4 smoked up rastas ( plus me ) crusing across the United States… no wives, no girlfriends…. just 10 cities to visit, play music and explore.

… Now you’re getting the picture.

Jamming with Rising Lion was especially fun, because Danny Dread was a cool and funny guy.  I still have contact with him to this day, and he should be releasing a new single very soon.

Here is a clip of Danny in action.

We were cruising through the Arizona desert and were running out of gas. If you’ve ever been in the middle of nowhere on those hot desert highways, you’ll know that you never EVER want to run out of gas.

We pulled into a gas station/restaurant that looked like something from a Stephen King movie.  It was old and creepy. Tumbleweeds bounced down the street and the air was extremely hot and oppressive.

As we jumped out of the van, I knew it was going to be a weird experience. Not only have these people perhaps never seen a black person in their lives, but there is no way in hell they ever saw 5 at once, most of whom had dreadlocks down to their ankles.

We walked into a room full of people who were all eating and talking with each other. But as soon as we entered the building I saw astonishment mixed with fear mixed with hate spread across everyone’s faces.

What was a a loud and busy room immediately grew silent…. the record scratched off the turntable.

I cant explain fully the amount of awkwardness I felt as we walked up to pay for the gas, but those few moments felt like hours. I had no idea what was going to happen, but the fear was certainly there.

We quickly paid for our gas and got the hell out of dodge. You should have seen the dust fly as we screached out of the parking lot.

Although nothing did happen … something could have.

…whew

One of the coolest reggae bands I have played with is Ishmael and the Peacemakers.

Ishmael and the Peacemakers is led by ( you guessed it! ) Ishmael. He is a reggae drummer, songwriter and lyricist from Barbados.

Ishmael Sealy was the drummer for the Killer Bees from Austin Texas, as well as for the BlackSheep from Philly/DC. He really made a name for himself with those bands.

Most top reggae musicians know exactly who he is when you mention his name.

Since I mention Ishmael so much in previous posts, it should be no surprise to you that he was a heavy influence in my development as a drummer. When I first started playing with him, he pointed out a lot of intricacies about reggae music that I had no idea existed before.

Things such as:

• The major differences between different types of reggae beats
• Varying tempos between songs
• Song structure
• Roots, culture and history
• Being creative without sacrificing the basics
• .. the list goes on and on

All these things have stuck with me over the years and continue to help me along the way.

Take a listen to Ishamel’s wicked song called “Burning Van”.

Aside from being a great musician, Ishmael is a great human being. You can learn a lot from his music as well as from him personally.

I invite you to become a friend of his:

• Peacemaker Facebook Page
• Peacemaker Myspace Page

Peace!

There is something powerful about the Stepper riddim. It really gets the blood pumping and your feet moving.

The Stepper is unique to reggae and is driven by the heavy four “steps” that the drummer plays on the kick drum. The right hand can play either cross sticks on the snare or hit the drum itself. no biggie, but you gotta keep those “steps” on the kick drum steady, and of course your hi-hat rockin’ on the upbeats.

As seen by this cool Black Uhuru video, the Stepper really gets people up and moving.

Now THIS is what live reggae should sound like.

Also, as mentioned in my post “Does the World Love Reggae?”, take notice that they are in Germany! And they are grooving hard, son!

What’s cool about dis riddim is that it can sound really modern and less “islandy”, because just because you are playing reggae, you don’t have to sound like Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass Band.

You can hit with some balls.

In a little bit, I will post some more stepper beats for ya!

-Peace

Update:
I found a near perfectly played stepper by this gentlemman. Notice the four beats on the floor

This will be the first post in a series designed to help you learn about reggae rhythms ( from now on we’ll call them “riddims” ) and how they are used in reggae music.

Listen to this tune by Bob Marley, appropriately named, One Drop.

The one drop is the most recognizable beat in reggae. It is the beat that Bob made popular and is most likely the riddim that runs through your mind when you think of reggae music.

The key component on this groove is the ONE BIG DROP that the drummer plays. The whole flow is based around the drop. The drummer plays the drop with the bass drum and cross stick.  Boomf!

It should sound ( and feel ) like a 50lb sandbag hitting you in the chest.

Watch crazy gorilla play some variations of the one drop.

If you take notice to my man, Gorilla, you will see that his left drum stick and bass drum fall of the same beat. That, my friends, is the drop!

Take a listen to these other great examples of one drop riddims!

In our next lesson, we’ll take a look at the skank and how it applies to reggae riddims.