January 1992
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VOLUME 16, NUMBER 1 FEATURES MEMPHIS DRUMMERS MIAMI SOUND MACHINE'S Though this southern city is ROBERT RODRIGUEZ experiencing a musical renais- MARK sance these days, newcomers & RAFAEL PADILLA might be surprised by some of BRZEZICKI the bands responsible for that Much of the credit for MSM's huge rebirth. In this special report, MD His work as an in-demand ses- success goes to its burning checks in with some local drum- sion player in England, as well Latin/pop rhythms. The messen- mers who are pushing as his landmark performances gers of that hot stuff are drummer the new Memphis with Big Country, Pete Rodriguez and percussionist sounds way past the Townshend, and the Cult, proved 30 Padilla. In this special story, MD city limits. Mark Brzezicki was one of the pokes its nose into the Sound • by Robert Santelli strongest drum voices of the Machine's kitchen and discovers past decade. The '90s look to be some of the secret as busy and exciting: In this recipes of their success. INSIDE exclusive interview, Mark dis- • by Robyn Flans cusses his new work with Procul 26 VIC FIRTH Harum, Big Country, and old crony Simon Townshend. A peek behind the scenes of one 20 of the industry's top drumstick • by Simon Goodwin makers—and at its dynamic namesake. • by Rick Van Horn 34 MD's YAMAHA DRUM RIG GIVEAWAY Your second chance to win a Yamaha Drum Rig worth 64 $12,400! COVER PHOTO BY EDMOND WALLACE COLUMNS Education 52 ROCK CHARTS Neil Peart: "Where's Equipment My Thing?" TRANSCRIBED BY JEFF WALD 40 PRODUCT CLOSE-UP 66 HEAD TALK Drum Workshop Departments Choosing The Products News Correct Job BY RICK VAN HORN 4 EDITOR'S AND CHAP OSTRANDER BY MICHAEL BLAIR OVERVIEW 8 UPDATE 41 Rhythm Tech Products BY RICK VAN HORN Neil Peart, Bill Bruford, 84 LATIN Steve Smith, Tony Impact Bags And 6 READERS' SYMPOSIUM 42 MacAlpine's Mike Cymbal Pockets Brazilian Rhythms: PLATFORM Terrana, and Smashing The Bossa Nova BY RICK VAN HORN Pumpkins' Jimmy BY CHUCK SILVERMAN 12 ASK A PRO Chamberlin, plus News 110 NEW AND 88 CONCEPTS NOTABLE 16 IT'S 108 INDUSTRY Applying Information QUESTIONABLE HAPPENINGS BY ROY BURNS 1991 DCI Championship Results 60 CRITIQUE 114 DRUM MARKET Profiles 46 PORTRAITS Ronnie Zito BY STEPHAN NIGOHOSIAN 94 ENCORE Billy Cobham: Birds Of Fire BY ROBERT SANTELLI EDITOR/PUBLISHER Ronald Spagnardi ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Isabel Spagnardi Editorial And Advertising MANAGING EDITOR Rick Van Horn FEATURES EDITOR William F. Miller ASSOCIATE EDITOR Adam J. Budofsky CONTRIBUTING EDITOR Rick Mattingly Ever notice how some magazines tend to vary in EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Karen Walsh size from issue to issue? Some months you'll find ART DIRECTOR Scott G. Bienstock your favorite magazine out at a whopping 150 to 200 pages. The next month that same publication ADMINISTRATIVE MANAGER Tracy A. Kearns may feel unusually light at 98 pages or less. What's ADVERTISING DIRECTOR Bob Berenson happening? Have the editors run short on materi- al? Is half the staff on vacation and hoping you ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Joan C. Stickel won't notice ? SALES AND MARKETING Crystal W Van Horn Not quite. Most publications have more editorial material than DIRECTOR they know what to do with. And with the exception of a few weeks CONSULTANT TO THE Arnold E. Abramson vacation alternated among editors, most magazines run at full-staff PUBLISHER capacity all year long. The truth is, it's a simple matter of eco- nomics. MODERN DRUMMER ADVISORY BOARD: Henry Adler, Kenny Though some portion of a publication's income is derived from Aronoff, Louie Bellson, Bill Bruford, Roy Burns, Jim Chapin, Alan its circulation, the bulk of it is actually generated from the sale of Dawson, Dennis DeLucia, Les DeMerle, Len DiMuzio, Charlie advertising space. Unless you're talking about TV Guide—which Donnelly, Peter Erskine, Vic Firth, Danny Gottlieb, Sonny Igoe, Jim Keltner, Larrie Londin, Peter Magadini, George Marsh, Joe Morello, Rod reportedly sells 17 million copies each week—most small con- Morgenstein, Andy Newmark, Neil Peart, Charlie Perry, Dave Samuels, sumer magazines rely on ad sales to pay their bills. Simply put, in John Santas, Ed Shaughnessy, Steve Smith, Ed Thigpen, Dave Weckl. certain months when ad sales go flat, a publication is compelled to CONTRIBUTING WRITERS: Robyn Flans, Simon Goodwin, Ken make adjustments that parallel its weak sales. And those adjust- Micallef, Jeff Potter, Teri Saccone, Robert Santelli. ments generally mean issues will thin out somewhat. Let's take this one step further and see how Modern Drummer is MODERN DRUMMER magazine (ISSN 0194-4533) is published monthly by MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc., 870 Pompton affected—not only by publishing economics—but by the eco- Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ 07009. Second-Class Postage paid at Cedar nomics of the drum and percussion industry as a whole. Grove, NJ 07009 and at additional mailing offices. Copyright 1992 by During periods of recession, the average drum consumer is apt MODERN DRUMMER Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. to be a little more careful with his or her money—particularly on Reproduction without the permission of the publisher is prohibited. big-ticket items. This in turn has an adverse effect on thousands of EDITORIAL/ADVERTISING/ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES: MODERN music dealers, who react by slowing up their buying. When dealers DRUMMER Publications, 870 Pompton Avenue, Cedar Grove, NJ cut back, the manufacturers are next in line to feel the pinch. 07009. Tel.: (201) 239-4140. This is where we come into the picture. Though the manufac- MODERN DRUMMER welcomes manuscripts and photographic mate- turers have a number of cost-cutting options, you can rest assured rial, however, cannot assume responsibility for them. Such items must that—right or wrong—advertising expenditures will be one of the be accompanied by a self-addressed, stamped envelope. first things they'll consider cutting back on. And as those manufac- MUSIC DEALERS: Modern Drummer is available for resale at bulk turers run fewer ads, we in turn are forced to cut back on the size rates. Direct correspondence to Modern Drummer, Dealer Service, PO. of an issue to reduce our costs of producing it. Box 389, Mt. Morris, IL 61054. Tel.: (800) 334-DRUM or (815) 734- Of course, as the economy improves, the whole procedure 6013. reverses itself. When consumers spend more, dealers can increase SUBSCRIPTIONS: $27.95 per year; $49.95, two years. Single copies their purchasing, the manufacturers look to advertise their prod- $3.95. ucts more, and the overall size of an issue of MD will return to nor- SUBSCRIPTION CORRESPONDENCE: Modern Drummer, PO. Box mal levels. As you can see, though nothing would please us more 480, Mt. Morris, IL 61054-0480. Change of address: Allow at least six than to continually release extremely hefty issues of MD each weeks for a change. Please provide both old and new address. Toll Free month, sometimes the economics of publishing as they relate to Tel.: (800) 551-3786. the national economic picture simply don't allow it. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Modern Drummer, PO. Box So, the next time you notice a slightly lighter issue of your 480, Mt. Morris, IL 61054. favorite magazine, check out the advertising. If it appears to be on the low side, there's your answer. Or in our case, does it get back to the fact that you decided to wait until next year to buy that new drumset? Hmmm! READERS' PLATFORM Editor's Note: Articles and letters appear- Memorial Concert projects in the past, nal from the bass is plugged into channel ing in MD often generate follow-up corre- and we plan to continue that support. 2. The Russian Dragon will indicate if the spondence. This generally comes from However, we cannot go along with the bass is rushing or dragging—and show drummers/readers, but in some cases "new, modified" stick design concept. by how many milliseconds. comes from industry personalities, as well. Simply put: It's not Buddy. So if you really want to get serious This month, we thought we'd feature sev- The bottom line here is that Buddy Rich about your timekeeping, one of your tools eral such letters. used Pro-Mark 5^4 sticks for more than 20 should be the Russian Dragon. years, starting in the early '60s with our Jeanine Davis "Professional" oak model (1/8" shorter than Jeanius Electronics our 5A). For the last 2 1/2 years of this life San Antonio TX Herb Brochstein Buddy's primary stick choice was Mike On Buddy's Sticks Balter's hickory SA. Both the Pro-Mark I am compelled to respond to the and Mike Balter 5As, are considered to be "Disrespect For Buddy" letter from Josh true, traditional 5A designs—not longer, On Paiste's Carroll [October '91 MD] and Vic Firth's not thicker, and not "modified." Advertising Approach reply. Josh is correct: Buddy never used Herb Brochstein I am writing in response to what I hope the stick that today bears his name. The President, Pro-Mark Drumsticks does not become a trend in percussion current model is longer, has a larger diam- Houston TX industry advertising. The item in ques- eter, and is not at all what Buddy ever tion is a rather lengthy Paiste cymbal ad used—particularly since it lacks an acorn in the September '91 MD. This ad refers bead (tip). to a "large manufacturer in North With all due respect to Vic—my good Timekeeping With America," which, as anyone could easily friend and worthy competitor—I would The Russian Dragon recognize, is the Zildjian company.