@flq., h +, Eis*u*'"rn*d}..+. *{% \Ahile playing with the Dap-Kings was back at it-no one noticed. I'm where I'll be like, "ba-boom-boom," occupies much of Steinweiss's time, kind of shocked that it worked. I'm a but using the left and right on the it's hardly his entire workload. Homer left-foot drummer now. " "ba-boom" instead of doubling up serves as the house drummer for MD caught up with Steinweiss as he on the left. many artists on the Dap-Kings'label, was resting both feet during some rare MD: Do you intend to get back to using Daptone, in addition to co-ornning downtime before the Dap-Kings' pre- your right foot on the kick? his or,nrr soul- and R&B-rooted label Christmas Australian dates. Homer: I don't know. This sryle is really and studio, Dunham Records and feeling good. Even the guys in the band Dunham Studios. MD: Using your left foot on the double say, "Ever since you went to the left And since the producer Mark pedal and keeping the hi-hat closed, foot, your time got better." I've thought Ronson used the Dap-Kings on Amy don't you miss the kicks where you about doing a double bass drum thing, Winehouse's 2007 breakthrough open and close the hi-hat? That's a with fwo different tones. I've thought album, Back To Black, Steinweiss has foundational element of a lot of soul about turning the drumset left-handed become an in-demand session drum- and funk drumming. and playing completely open, so I can mer, recording with Sheryl Crow, Al Homer: Yeah, I miss that every once in open the hi-hat with my right foot. But Green, Cee Lo, and most recently on awhile. But honestly, I like things my right foot is such a weird thing. It's Ronson's own cut-and-paste master- being taken away. \&Ihen I sit down at a hard to say if and when it will be better. piece, Record Collection. drumset and I don't like the way some- MD: \.\fhat are your roots as a Amazingly, Steinweiss has been thing sounds, I just remove that drum. drummer? keeping this busy pace for the last That's just part of my year-plus while suffering from the neu- thing. I'm a minimalist. rological condition focal dystonia. In Taking away that ele- layman's terms it means the brain isn't ment of my drumming telling a muscle or group of muscles makes a lot of other what to do, resulting in undesirable things open up. I feel I muscular contractions. In Steinweiss's had gotten into this case, his right foot was affected to the habit of opening up the point where it simplywasn't able to hi-hat every time I work the kick pedal. So he bought a would go into a flll, just double pedal, kept his hi-hat clamped to make some noise. I shut, and began using his left foot as think through my fills a his primary kick foot. lot more now. "It's something that happened over MD: \A/hat do you do a long period of time," the drummer with your right foot? explains. "Every once in awhile my Homer: For a long time ff I use vintage Ludwig kits," Steinweiss says. "The one in just right foot started feeling weird. I kept it was this sad little Ithe oicture is from '62 or'63. Not sure of the model, as practicing, and it just was not getting right foot that didn't do Ithink it's a bit of a transition drum for Ludwig. My studio is a Ludwig Club Date, with a 20" bass drum, a 12" rack better. It got to a point where I was any'thing. Now it's start- kit tom, a 16" floor tom, and a 14" Acrolite snare. My cymbals doing sessions and gigging all the time' ing to get some of its are all vintage'60s Zildjian A: 14" hi hats, 18" crash,20" ride. 'GuYs, skills back. So I basically and one day I just said, I can't My hardware includes a Ludwig flat-base cymbal stand, a just work right now-my right foot feels have been learning Pearl snare stand, a Yamaha hi-hat stand, and a DW 5000 weird.'I bought a double bass Pedal, a couple of really subtle double bass pedal. My sticks are Vater Cymbal Stick series tips-best sticks ever-and my heads are stuck it on there, and within a week I double bass things with teardrop Remo coated Ambassadors on top and clear Ambassadors on the bottom. My cases include a custom Glenn Cronkhite 20" leather cymbal bag and XL Protechtor Classic series hard cases." k HOMERSTEINWEISS artist, Louise Bourgeois, and she this stuff. So by the time I rvas four- Homer: My Parents are both musi- crazy by the sound teen, I was trying to iearn Meters and cians. \A4ren I was around nine or ten supposedly was inspired didn't get James Brown drumbeats. I was playing they said I should piay an instrument, of my druns, so we reallY "Cissy Strut". .I probably still can't and they asked what I wanted to play' I any compiaints. taking play that beat corlectly, but I figured it wanted to play the congas. So they got MD: Were Youl influences out. I learned the "Mother Popcorn" me a conga drum and I took a couPle shape then? influence beat, learned all that stufT on the snare lessons, and that was kind of the Homer: My first big drumset was drum and started doing those ghost Around ten or eleven I was probably Dave Grohl when I beginning. all eighth grade-I was strokes all the time. I rvas absorbing decided I wanted to play the drumset, in seventh or school, listening to it all the waY. Soundgarden, that stuff in high so my parents got me iessons with this Nirvana all those guys. I'd bring the day in and daY out. guy who had me on the Pad doing Nirvana, "Can MD: You aPPlv the ghost-stroke feel for a year' Then records to Matt and saY, You things like paradiddles patterns how to play 'Smells Like Teen to some of Your'16th-note I took lessons until I was around fifteen teach me "l'11 teach on the hi-hat, like on "If You Call" with Matt Patuto lauthol ol Drum Set Spirit'?" And he'd saY, You trolm I Learned The Hard WaY. contributorl' this, but you also have to learn fhls," S]rs/ems and an MD thing to me buY The Best OJ Homer: Yeah, it's my favorite Through him, I learned how to PlaY and he'd make learn "Green play. You hear it on a lot of old iames my parents eventualllr Booker T & The MGs and drumset, and I could something. lust learn how Brown and Joe Tex records. bought me a Pearl ExPolt kit. Onions" or play that all daY. in Manhattan, to play "boom-whack, boom-whack" MD: And You grew uP old- playing any fills. Looking back MD: You achieve a real1Y crisP where it's kind of hard to have a kit in without me uP' school drum sound on the records your house. on it, he hooked gravitating you play on. Is that a combination MY owned a MD: So You were alreadY Homer: ExactlY. Parents touch, soul at a age? of the kit you're using, Your brownstone at the time' and we Put toward R&B and Young so. I remember reallY and the mic Placement? the kit in this big room on the second Homer: I think "Green Onions" Homer: I like to think of it that rvay- floor. It was so loud in there, and I specificaily learning yeals that synthesis of the drumset, the way how to tune it' I thought' during my formative drumming didn't know the mics are This shit is badass' Matt that i plaY, and the waY This is going to be a disaster' But we and thinking, Brown tapes, all placed. I rnrould say the drumset would lived right next door to this famous would give me James probably be the least important thing. MD: Did you have any idea of how the huge influence. Even though I'm a I love vintage drums. I love my'60s songs were going to end up sounding soul/funk drummer, the musicality of Ludwig kits. But some of these records in terms of melody? the way Ringo Starr played was a huge are not necessarily recorded on old Homer: Actually, no. A lot of times we influence on the way I play. Even drums. They're recorded on drums we were just trying to develop a really cool though I'm always playing soul beats, think sound good. We put the mics in rhythm-section part that left space for I'm thinking, What would Ringo do the right place, and I just play. a melody. In that case you've just got right here? I like to think that I have a tone on to play as badass a rhythm track as you MD: You do a nice job of fusing the the set. We usually use only one or two can and hope it works with the melody. simplicity of Al Jackson's backbeats, mics on the kit, so I have to balance MD: You're clearly a well-versed stu- the busy-ness of the James Brown everything.