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FROM THE WORLD OF DRUMMING

YDOTY 09 Entries are now being accepted Speech Debelle’s drummer Toby for the eighth UK National Young Couling: suddenly rather busy Drummer of the Year Competition. The fi nals this year will be returning to the Royal Spa Centre in Leamington Spa. Entries for the under-16 competition will be accepted until 2 November 2009, so act fast. Head to www. SPEECH MAN SPEAKS youngdrummeroftheyear.co.uk Speech Debelle’s drummer tells Rhythm about winning the for full details. PLAY WITH t’s been a rollercoaster couple of Next thing I’m on the TV going nuts I like to cut beats up – I’m quite Tommy Lee’s newly reformed months for Toby Couling. Three about winning the prize, doing a infl uenced by dance music – but always Methods Of Mayhem outfi t have months ago the 24-year old was headline tour and supporting Basement leave space for the vocals.” invited fans, musicians and anyone with a great idea to help recruited to drum live with Jaxx. And my other band, 8 Fold, might Toby, who uses Drum Workshop, contribute their talents to the Ilittle-known British hip-hop act Speech support Speech too, so I’m pretty busy!” Zildjian and Vic Firth, is also working on recording of their upcoming Debelle, who’d sold just a couple of Toby’s controlled, funky playing expanding his musical horizons. “I’ve album. Participants will also have thousand copies of her debut album a chance to perform with the band at their US album release Speech Therapy. Then the record “I’ve been studying Speech’s album hard and show. Full details can be viewed scooped the Mercury Music Prize, at www.thepublicrecord.com. catapulting the rapper onto the adding my own bits. I like to cut beats up” front page of every national paper. CLASH MEMBERS RE-UNITE “It’s been crazy,” says Toby, as we compliments Speech’s impressive vocal been playing since I was eight, and I try Former members of The Clash, meet him before the band play a delivery perfectly on the live stage. as many different styles as possible – guitarist Mick Jones and coveted slot at jazz club Ronnie Scott’s. “She’s always coming up with new from drum’n’bass to jazz. It’s not just drummer Topper Headon, have “My brother and I run a studio in Forest things,” says Toby. “I’ve been studying good for my game, it’s my passion.” recorded a new version of their 1978 song, ‘Jail Guitar Doors’, in Hill, which is where we met Speech. the album hard and adding my own bits. Speech Therapy is out now on . aid of the campaign of the same name run by Billy Bragg. This was the fi rst time the Clash pair had been in the studio together for 30 years. DTXTREME III SEMINARS ANNOUNCED BEAT GETS BOWLD Sessions will help you make the most of Yamaha’s fl agship electro kit Edgoose, one of the UK’s leading The Beat 2009 event (full details exponents of the DTX, the sessions have on page 26) will include Yamaha’s UK pro music division has been created following requests from performances by special guest drummers Jason Bowld and Mark announced details of training seminars users and carefully designed to ensure Heaney (currently playing with for users and prospective customers of players are reaching the instrument’s Gang Of Four). Renowned drum the DTXtreme III electronic drum kit. maximum capability. All aspects of the teacher Toni Cannelli will also be The seminars will consist of in-depth, DTXtreme III will be covered, specifi cally on hand with some top tips. The event takes place on Sunday 15 one day sessions to be held at Yamaha’s its brand new brain, sampling capability November at Sheffi eld Hallam Milton Keynes headquarters between and voice editing technology. University Students Union. Visit 17 and 19 November, and will cost £120. Visit uk.yamaha.com or call 01908 369 www.drummersalliance.com for Led by session drummer Simon 293 for more info and booking details. more details and to buy tickets.

12 RHYTHM NOVEMBER 2009

RHY170.beat_news 12 9/10/09 10:03:2 am ON DRUMS... DRUM “My style has always included

LESSONS CRASH COURSE Mick Hutson/Redferns the ability to play slow or soft, 12 PAGES OF TUITION START ON PAGE 63. HERE’S A QUICK ONE TO BEGIN WITH but I have the capability to bring out the extreme elements of drums” – DAVE LOMBARDO VIDEO LESSON ON YOUR DISC FIVE-STROKE RUFFS When I’m not drumming... BACK SOON A challenging single-stroke MARK RICHARDSON fi gure applied to the kit SKUNK ANANSIE If we replace the double-strokes group of fi ve notes on the of a fi ve-stroke roll with same drum and slowly pick single-strokes we get a up the speed. This month’s challenging single-stroke fi gure examples also show how, as – the fi ve-stroke ruff. This tends well as playing them through to have a more intense sound triplets as in Example 1, they than its double-stroke brother, can also be phrased through I love… music, movies and books and the commercial fi x that goes and with a little work can be 16th-notes where the accents with buying them. I love gadgets, and getting in the gym and getting moved around the kit quite will move across the beat and fi t – it’s part of my job after all. And eating, I love food. effectively. Try playing each over the barline. I go dirt-biking… I used to go to motocross tracks to practise, but I mainly used to compete in Hare and Hounds endurance events – a EXAMPLE 1 15-20 mile circuit on enduro bikes (road legal motocross bikes) through fi elds, woodland, bogs and rivers and over logs, rocks, jumps and anything else in the way. I haven’t competed in a while now Skunk Anansie are back, we’re too busy, but as soon as I have time, I’ll be off again.

I travel… I love disappearing off into the world, which is handy considering what I do for a living. It’s such a EXAMPLE 2 small place now with air travel reaching places previous generations couldn’t, and it’s affordable too. I rode down through India with my girlfriend pillion on a Royal Enfi eld Bullet, from Goa to Kochi (about 2,500 km), right down the spine of the country. We went inland and really experienced the place. Such a beautiful country to see on a bike. EXAMPLE 3 I DJ… As we are doing DJ sets at aftershows on this tour, I’m loving that too. It’s another challenge and I haven’t listened to a rock song apart from our own for months… dubstep and indie disco all the way, baby – get those glow sticks out!

THE VERY BEST DRUM VIDEO ACTION ON THE NET

If you fi nd any bizarre, MULTI-SCREEN MATT BUDDY V ANIMAL MACHINE MADNESS GINGER’S TOAD SOLO fun or just plain ace drum The Arctic Monkeys sticksman in Buddy Rich on The Muppets, Will machines ever replace Ginger Baker’s famous and full control of his dynamic beats taking on Animal in a drum real drummers? Not on the brilliant solo in ‘Toad’, from videos online that you on ‘View From The Afternoon’ – battle. Sublime drumming evidence of this, they won’t. Cream’s Last Concert at the think the world should filmed from six angles! skills, and that Rich fella’s not It’s rubbish. Albert Hall in 1968. As good as see, email rhythmmag@ Search for: Matt Helders bad either. Search for: robot drummer they say. futurenet.com drumming Search for: Buddy Rich muppets rubbish drum machine Search for: Ginger Baker Toad

NOVEMBER 2009 RHYTHM 13

RHY170.beat_news 13 9/10/09 10:03:12 am