These raids are centered around trade laws and ridiculous regulations that are presented as being environmental in nature but in fact do nothing to protect the environment.  Part of the problem here is that India’s laws have retroactively changed to make any non-indigenous working of the wood to be illegal.  Due to trade agreements we have signed on to, we are subject to India’s retroactive law changes.

Not that the laws are clear in any way.  Gibson’s chairman and CEO, Henry Juszkiewicz, said on The Alex Jones Show yesterday that he is not fully clear on what charges he faces.  He is actually suing just to be told what exactly he is under investigation for.

Piano manufacturers have also been targeted, drum manufacturers are probably next.  Barricade your doors, DW!

Here is one article on the Gibson matter.

Folks I suggest you take notice of the tyranny that is occurring everywhere around us.  This is just one example.  Go to infowars.com

Van Halen is, in my opinion, one of the great rock drummers.  One of the reasons for this is a swagger, a swing, a thing in Van Halen’s drumming that is not present in most of today’s rock drummers.  I think it is partially the Bohham influence responsible for this positive aspect to Alex’s playing. 

Strangely the Bonham influence on Alex Van Halen is rarely discussed.  Perhaps it is too obvious to mention?  Enjoy.

http://www.moderndrummer.com/updatefull/200001641/Alex%20Van%20Halen

   “Alex Van Halen never cited John Bonham as a pure influence, but the sound was always there. Perhaps more so than any drummer from the early 1980s to the present, Alex Van Halen inherited the Bonham mantle.

Van Halen’s drum work was, like Bonham, built from the ground up, with the deeply entrenched ability (his dad was a big band musician) to swing a rock groove like a tornado tearing down a city street.”

Particularly interesting is his discussion of electronic music, then still relatively new. He talks about the musical possibilities versus the potential for musical harm. Vinnie says, "Sound-wise, electronics opened a whole new area… But, what does it have to do with music and pure notes

? It's at a turning point and I am real interested to see which way it is going to go. If acoustic and electronic will be a successful marriage, or if one is going to tug too much away from the other side." Brilliant.

Often the "sonic coolness" side of things has won over actual good songwriting. In other words, for too many folks these days music is exciting only if it slaps them upside the head with electronic might. Contrast the integrity of songwriting between R&B hits of yesteryear and the hits of today…you get the point.

Click for source

Lebrew Jones had no blood anywhere on any clothing he possessed (which makes no sense at all given the mess of a crime scene), the timeline presented by the prosecution doesn't add up, and the mentally disabled Mr. Jones was easily led into making false statements by lazy, corrupt detectives.

I was sad to accidentally learn of this while researching Lebrew's father, and to see this happen to the son of such a great

and influential musician.

Click for source

Most interestingly the correlation between jam band music and other forms of improvisation are briefly mentioned, as well as the fact that the term "jam band" can be credited to Coleman Hawkins.

Click for source

The outspoken rapper/commentator and his outfit Public Enemy want to record another album. I have to say I support them. This is not only because I am an old-school P.E. fan. It is also because they are being creative with the way they seek funds to produce the record. They are having fans directly finance it through an organization called Sellaband, and are the first major act to do so.

Some ahead-of-the-curve indie artists have been doing this. I play for a brilliant artist named Janet Robin who financed her last record, “Everything Has Changed”, through fan dollars. Kudos to any artist who can pull that off at any level.

While I wish P.E. success and look forward to their album, I must admit I will not bother seeing them live. Unless they have a drummer. Period. How they can possibly not understand that the show would GO OFF with a drummer is beyond me.

I saw them live in college and left during the show. Suggestion: they should hire me. Second suggesion: if I am booked they should call ?uestlove.

Click for source

He represents a perfect marriage between tradition and modernism. In fact his traditional foundation enables him to play very adventurous, modern things and still keep a Jimmy Cobb-like hard swing going. Many drummers lose their swing feel the second they “take it out”.

Nash has ears and musicality that guide his technique in a way that has enabled him to play with such a wide variety of jazz artists. Anyone with an opportunity to hear him live will be rewarded with high inspiration.

Click for source

This is an under-covered subject in the media so good for him for serving as a soldier and continuing to serve as a citizen.

Troy is playing a small doumbek drum, presumably because it is light. It is interesting to hear, as he is playing military snare-type rhythms on a middle eastern hand drum. Troy is sponsored by Yamaha Drums (why the HELL did an American manufacturer not get behind this?????), Latin Percussion, and Sabian. Go Troy!

Click for source

It would often seem that young players want to emulate the Bonham hugeness-of-sound, but misinterpret this as being achievable simply by hitting really hard. Hitting hard is all fine and good but Bonham achieved his sound not by wailing, but by getting as huge and wide a tone out of his drums. He knew how to hit the drums and draw a big sound out without having to slam them.

I compare Bonham to the late great Art Blakey in this respect. Blakey was referred to as a “loud” drummer, but he was always in full control of his dynamics. He just had a very wide, sonically rich playing style that some people mistook for plain old loudness. Contrast this with many of today’s young drummers who hit the drums with a very loud transient and yet have a very thin tone!

At some point music will take a turn away from constant over-compression and drummers that have tone and know how to groove will shine again in rock music. Thanks to John Bonham for showing us how it is done!

Click for source

The impact that Jones and all of the studio musicians he worked with at Motown had cannot be overstated. Firstly, the Motown hits themselves would not have been what they were without the musicians that played on them. This in not meant to convey disrespect to the great singers that sang on the Motown hits. Nevertheless, as drummer Stanley Jordan (who is greatly influenced by the Motown drummers) stated: “you could’ve had Deputy Dawg singing on some of those records and they’d still be hits”.

The power of those hits was in the groove and spirit of the musicians and Uriel Jones was every bit the part of that. I have heard people describe the “Motown sound” as being attributable to everything from the microphones used to the density of the floorboards in the studio. These things have a small role but to gloss over the fact that the Motown sound IS the musicians that played on the tracks is a joke.

I am thankful to Uriel for setting a template of funkiness that rocks. When I play rock music I add funk to the feel. Not in an “R&B drummer playing rock” kind of way, I mean rock drumming on a stylistic level mixed with a funk feel. Part of what helps me do this is plenty of Uriel Jones in the listening diet.

One last thing I would like to say in tribute to Mr. Jones is that he was actively playing until just before his death. That means he lived, lived, and lived before he went to the next level.

He had health issues, but he didn’t just wait to die. He LIVED until he died. Thanks for the example, Mr. Jones, musically and personally.

Click for source

I would love to witness the editing process as it will be such a huge part of things. On the Miles 1967-1975 recordings, extensive tape splicing was employed making for a few bumpy transitions. I consider that to be part of the charm of those recordings.

I have seen Gerry play live with bassist Dave Carpenter in the past. Perhaps he would have been involved with the Electric Thrasher Orchestra sessions if he was still with us. Its a shame, Dave is missed by many in L.A. Kudos to Gerry Gibbs for tackling this tough music.

Click for source

Why would I be willing to give props to an artist I haven't even heard? Because I'm giving him marketing props, not musical. Nomy has managed to get himself a large amount of exposure without being signed to a record label. That makes him heroic on some level.

As the music industry is in the process of some very painful changes, one has to be very creative to find ways to get music out there. This guy has made great use of social networking sites and YouTube to market his product.

Check out this article, maybe you will be curious enough to go check out Nomy's music. Either way, good for him for finding a way to promote himself in the music industry's current baffling environment.

Click for source

The drummer, Darren King, plays some very interesting hi-hat and snare combinations that seem influenced by programmed drum patterns, Stewart Copeland (The Police), Larry Mullen Jr. (U2), and David Robinson of The Cars amongst other elements. Darren King's playing with MuteMath is certainly some of the more interesting pop drumming I have heard lately.

Let us all wish the "Spotlight On Haiti" event the best as we keep the people of Haiti in our prayers.

If you are in the Gulf area don't miss your opportunity to help the people of Haiti while hearing some great music.

Click for source

There was a palpable sense of joy to the information he was imparting, and even had some great stories to tell about his stellar performing career. I have no intention of minimizing that great performance career but here my comments focus on Mr. Chapin's educational impact.

Jim Chapin's book “Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, Volume I, Coordinated Independence as Applied to Jazz and Be-Bop" is one of the best drum set instructional books ever written. I myself grew tremendously while studying from it. Rest in peace, Mr. Chapin.

Click for source