NAGOYA, JAPAN “The BottomLine”
13/11/2008

This afternoon, I finally landed in Japan, mentally!

A big problem for me over the years, has been dealing with jetlag, especially when it comes to getting to locations like Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Siberia, South Africa, South America or China. I feel as if I am floating around in my head for a while before I become settled in my new surroundings and before I can really get down to performing in earnest. But, last night here in Nagoya, I started to get the hang of things enough to compile some more ‘food for thought’ as regards the Phoenix drum set.

I believe I mentioned in the past that drums don’t play themselves, one must have a plan to put through them or they will not present you as a player with a good understanding of what you have in mind to present to your audience during your performance. Well, the Phoenix is a great example of this. I believe that this is the legacy of these drums with conviction and authority or they will respond in no uncertain terms in a way that I won’t like. This is due to the fact that they are made with exceptional regard for the quality of the materials used at every point in the process of their development. It tells me that I must accept that I will make mistakes in my presentation but that these mistakes are part of my learning process so, I should not be frustrated by my inability to progress at a faster rate than what appears at the end of my work day.

We changed the front heads of the kit to a resonant head that was more in harmony with the EMAD series on the batter side and I found the results in the sound and projection of the bass drums to be very solid and full. I am still considering testing the new pedals with wooden beaters against the felt just to see what the results of that change will be so, more to come on that front. Oh, I forgot to mention that there is also a new Yamaha snare drum stand but I have not used it yet because the one I receive does not get over the 24” bass drums that I am using so, I await a taller one. I guess it’s “in the mail”…… I should see it at some point before the week is out, I hope. With EC2 clear heads on the rack toms and 16” floor, the drums are doing OK but I want to try G2 clears and see what the difference will be and, again, more on that later. The 18” floor has a G2 clear. I am playing a brass snare (6 ½) with Vintage hoops. I am not that thrilled with it but maybe I still haven’t landed in Japan yet (?) we’ll see at the end of the week how I feel and then I’ll get into that, if I don’t forget. 80)

There is an updated version of the current lug system that seems to be more “user friendly” than it’s predecessor. The rack system is “off the hook” I have become a follower of this concept and will look to use the rack as opposed to stands, wherever possible in the future. Everything set’s up quicker and more accurately once you go through the process of setting the location for all elements in your performance environment so, it’s a really good thing then, this new rack system.

Oh the concert! We get better with every performance. But, when you have characters like Tom Coster, Dean Brown and Victor Bailey in the band the standard is already very high. Dynamics has always been a credo for me, something that I like to enforce by act and not with words. We continue to explore that area of the music more and more and to great positive effect. Understanding the importance of good, solid technical support is also continuing to reveal itself as with the local support of the Japanese technicians and administration to support Faina (Road Manager) and Franz (F.O.H.) we are getting the job done.

OK, on to OSAKA!

 

 



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