Issue 13 - Matt McGuire - June 2020

INTERVIEWS LESSONS ARTICLES 

ISSUE 13 

June 2020 

Interviews 

& features 

Bruce becker 

ruan kruger 

brent harris 

get inspired 

By sean 'styx' nunan 

the art of 

sticking around 

MATT 

By travis marc 

MCGUIRE 

sa|drummer 

academy 

30 day free trial 

for Online lessons 

ts&cs Apply • more inside 

GET INVOLVED IN A BIGGER WAY. VOTING POWER AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENT. MORE INSIDE.

WHAT’S 

INSIDE 

ISSUE 12 

interviews & features 

6 

Ruan Kruger 

(Straatligkinders & Moses Metro Man) 

18 

Brent Harris 

(Just Jinjer) 

26 

Bruce Becker 

(Educator Royalty) 

34 

Quirky Questions 

(with Sheldon YOKO) 

articles & reviews 

17 

The Art Of 'Sticking Around' 

(by Travis Marc) 

24 

Let Me 

(Drum Chart - Matthew Mole) 

36 

Matt McGuire 

(The Chainsmokers) 

EXCLUSIVE! 

Become a Patron today and get exclusive 

benefits. Your name in the mag, voting 

power, exclusive content and loads more. 

CONTACT US 

Let us know what you would like to see in future 

issues or what you think of the mag, We’ll 

COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: DANILO LEWIS 

49 

Paradiddle Fills Part 1 

(Lesson - Warren van Wyk) 

50 

Get Inspired • Stay Motivated 

(by Sean 'Styx' Nunan) 

add our favourite letters to the next issues. 

info@SAdrummer.co.za 

FOLLOW US 

www.facebook.com/sadrummag 

www.instagram.com/sa.drummer 

www.youtube.com/SAdrummerTV

Editor’s Letter 

Chaos or Clarity 

What a crazy time we have been 

being so busy and also having 

living in. Speaking with different 

to hustle hustle hustle. Having 

people, it has become apparent 

the time, I decided to really re- 

how Covid-19 has affected every- 

flect on all the things I should be 

one in different ways. It has ei- 

more grateful for. Sometimes we 

ther been a negative or positive 

are so busy that we forget that we 

experience. For those that got 

are actually able to put food on 

infected, lost their lives, and the 

the table. We have health, legs to 

families and friends of the peo- 

walk on, and many other things 

ple that have lost their lives, we 

that other people can only dream 

are genuinely sorry. 

of having. When life gets busy, 

Going into this lockdown, 

and we are continually trying to 

many people became uncertain 

get to the next level, next income 

of how it would affect them. I 

bracket, next goal, we sometimes 

was, of course, one of them, but 

forget to appreciate how far we 

I decided to maintain a positive 

have already come. We forget to 

attitude and notice all the good 

appreciate the present moment 

that can come from the lock- 

and all the things that we can be 

down. The one that was true to 

grateful for. 

me was getting the time to do 

Another thing I loved was how 

and finish projects that I want- 

people just made things happen. 

ed to complete but never had the 

The music industry seemed to be 

time due to running SA Drum- 

doomed, and every musician was 

mer, playing shows, teaching, 

worried about the industry col- 

etc. It was also an incredible time 

lapsing. Yet, people adapted and 

to reflect on all the things that 

created online shows, and teach- 

we can be grateful for that we 

ers built online platforms. It is 

usually take for granted. I found 

that I hardly lived in the present 

moment as I am always focussing 

on the next thing. Once I 

reach a goal, I found that I didn't 

just enjoy that moment enough. 

I was immediately thinking of 

the next goal, and that seems to 

have become the trend with life 

amazing how, as humans, we 

can adapt to any situation that 

is thrown at us if we keep a positive 

and "can't keep us down" 

mindset going. 

WARREN VAN WYK 

EDITOR 

WvW 

Editors 

Content Editor 

Art Director 

Designer 

Senior Writer 

Junior Writer 

Contributors 

Louis R. Malherbe 

Warren van Wyk 






Travis Marc 

Sean Nunan 

PHOTOGRAPHY: DENEKA DANILO LEWIS PENISTON 

June 2020 | SA DRUMMER | 5

Ruan 

Kruger 

By Warren van Wyk 

The 

quintessential 

afrikaans drummer 

Hey Ruan, Thank you so much for taking the 

time out to chat. Seeing as you are in the 

thick of things with all of us South Africans 

during thi slockdown, How are things going 

on your end? 

Things are going great man, considering 

how strange this time is and what toll it 

took on our country we can't complain. 

If you can generate an income or just do 

something in this lockdown, you're doing 

great. I hope things are great at your end 

too? It looks like you guys are absolutely 

killing it at SA DRUMMER, congrats on 

that man! (Continues on the next page) 


RUAN KRUGER 

We really appreciate the kind words! Most 

people will know you from Straaligkinders. 

Can you give us more insight into 

your early beginnings, though? 

I started drums when I was 19. I saved 

and bought a kit at that age because a 

friend had a drumkit that I could not 

get off of. I remember watching all the 

music videos of Blink 182, Limp Bizkit, 

SUM41, and Good Charlotte and all 

those bands of the early 2000s that were 

cool. Also, at that time, I just started 

playing guitar. Eventually, I got hold of 

a P.O.D. DVD called "Paid my Dues," and 

after I watched that, I was totally convinced 

I needed to get a drumkit and 

start playing. 

Was Straaligkinders the first band that 

you ever played for? 

Straatligkinders was actually my 3rd 

band. I was a "Stand-in drummer" for 

my boet Hein and our guitarist Bennie's 

first band called "Playtime raid." 

I was drumming for about one or two 

months, and I had to play my first gig in 

Klerksdorp for them, and we had to do 

Korn, The Narrow, and Offspring covers. 

It was so scary and epic at the same 

time. After that I was part of a band 

called Toth which was a crazy prog-rock 

like group. Most of the musos in that 

band had grade 8 in their instruments 

or were busy studying classic stuff at 

the Potch university while I had only 

played for like a year, so rehearsing with 

those guys felt like a whole body and 

mind workout. I think that helped me 

so much with my drumming to date. 

8 | SA DRUMMER | June 2020 

PHOTOGRAPHY PREVIOUS SPREAD: WERNER BOTHA

“i find myself in a more 

composed arena of drumming 

and writing” 

Who were the local and international guys 

that inspired you when you first began, 

and who are the local and international 

drummers that inspire you now? 

Back then, I loved the style of guys like 

Morgan Rose from Sevendust, Abe 

Cunningham from Deftones, Joe Pasillas 

from Incubus, and Wuv from P.O.D. 

They had a very specific groove and 

style that was mesmerizing to me, and 

the art of not being too busy but not 

being boring was perfect! Locally, was 

the drummer from The Narrow. He had 

a similar style to the above mentioned. 

Today, I still enjoy listening to all of 

them and also adding the likes of Travis 

Barker (obviously) and Matt Greiner 

from August Burns Red. However, I do 

find myself in a more composed arena 

of drumming and writing. That's what 

happens when you mature as a musician. 

The song has a little more priority 

than my drumming, but only a little :-) 

Can you tell us about how Straaligkinders 

began, and how you guys met? 

Well, It was like the most perfectly 

timed thing ever. My brother and Bennie's 

band (Playtime Raid) broke up in 

the same week as my other band (Toth) 

broke up. Hein and Bennie approached 

me and asked if I would like to jam with 

them, and obviously I was super keen! 

Hein then suggested that we ask Bouwer, 

who is a year older than us and was 

in the same primary school as Hein 

and me, and in the same High school 

as Bennie. Just to clarify, Grade 6's trying 

to hang with Gr7's was only for the 

elite kind of kids, so we knew who Bouwer 

was, but we were never friends in 

school days. The same applies to Bennie 

PHOTOGRAPHY: WERNER BOTHA; 2 June 2020 | SA DRUMMER | 9

Ruan Kruger 

"By nature, we 

are positive 

dudes, and we 

try our best 

regardless of 

a band image to 

show that.”

university really gives the place a great 

atmosphere, and I would honestly not 

have chosen any other place to start or 

do this. 

I first saw Straatligkinders on the famous 

MK89 channel. How did MK89 help the 

band get out there? 

That was the big game-changer. Finally, 

there was another alternative to radio 

stations, and it didn't have to be 

radio-friendly to make it onto the chanand 

going to High school with Bouwer. 

Bennie did not even know Bouwer was 

the vice head boy when he was in matric. 

We somehow ended up going to the 

same youth church and seeing Bouwer 

there with his Tom de Longe Stratocaster, 

lip piercing, and green hair and 

he felt like he would be a good fit. Hein 

approached him, popped the question, 

and the rest is history. 

When you started Straatligkinders, did 

you think it would have taken off the way 

it did? Was that your intention, or did it 

happen unexpectedly? 

Well, as I mentioned earlier, Straatligkinders 

was just this perfectly timed 

thing. At the time we started, Fokofpolisiekar 

just took a break, so there 

were no real rock and roll/punk bands 

on MKatthetime. Th erewasthis 

huge gap that was waiting to be filled, 

and we didn't really realize or know 

it. I remember the music videos those 

days were very average as South Africa 

was only exposed to this properly 

when MKstarted,sothefactthatwe 

did such a good video (for that time) 

for "Die Beskermer" completely caught 

people by surprise. I also believe that 

we had a different outlook, vibe, and 

message about us that helped us be the 

one and only at that time. 

When did you guys realize that you had 

something special and that it was something 

you needed to pursue full-time? 

Man, I would never forget that. Our th 

live show as a band was at an Oppikoppi 

Easter festival. It got broadcasted 

live, which my mind was not ready for, 

and the live performance showed it, 

L.O.L. Shortly after that, we released the 

video for "Gedagte vir die dag," and we 

then played our first show in the Cape 

region at KKNK. That was the first time 

we traveled out of the Gauteng region 

to play a paid fee show the other side 

of the country. I remembered that every 

single person in the crowd knew every 

single word to every single song from 

our only album at that time. There were 

about - people in the hall. 

There were two kids from Wales, who 

moved to South Africa and came all the 

way from Cape town wanting to meet 

me, watch the show and ask for sticks, it 

was so surreal. After all that happened, 

I knew we had something great! 

Straatligkinders made a massive impact 

on music in Potchefstroom as you guys 

were pretty much the first rock band 

from there to really make it nationwide. 

Since then, you've become a rock revolution 

countrywide. What do you feel you 

guys did differently than other bands trying 

to make it? 

Well, it's very weird to claim it for yourself 

you know, but we have heard so 

many times that the band was part of 

completing someone's youth and even 

helped them through their toughest 

times, or without this album or band, 

they didn't know what their lives would 

be like. It's great to hear these things, 

and I definitely think we did play a role 

in developing a genre or defining a particular 

era of time. 

I don't know what it was those days, 

but if you were a band from Stellenbosch 

or Bellville, you were set and almost 

guaranteed to do well. We were 

the first band from Potch to reach "that 

level" if you know what I mean. I do also 

believe that we were the first in South 

Africa and Afrikaans to do the hardcore 

pop-punk sound, which played a 

big part in why people were so accepting 

of the band. But it doesn't mean 

that we were the only band from Potch, 

there was a healthy vibe of bands at 

that time. I just think we were exactly 

what M.K. and people needed at that 

time, and that we did not tick the classic 

rock and roll lifestyle box. 

Was it challenging to start and grow a 

band in a small town like Potch? 

Well, our biggest challenge was actually 

music shops in Potch. We had to 

drive an hour and a half to Joburg to get 

gear. The time Straatligkinders started, 

social media began with "MY SPACE," 

and then shortly after that, Facebook 

followed, which meant that we had 

the benefit of advertising ourselves no 

matter where the band was located. As 

I mentioned earlier, the timing of this 

band was just perfect, and social media 

was HUGE for us when we started. I 

think it was strange for people to hear 

that an alternative band from Potch was 

making waves because Potch is very 

well known to be very conservative. The 

"I just had this feeling 

that I wanted to 

be remembered for 

being or doing something 

significant." 

PHOTOGRAPHY: HEIN KRUGER 


Ruan Kruger 

“I mentioned how lucky we 

were with MK89 , but we really 

worked hard on this, every 

second of energy we had we 

poured into it.” 

nel. MK is one of the biggest reasons 

I can to this job still today, the platform 

that got created was enormous. It's the 

first thing people watched when they 

got back from school. I remember how 

many times Hein and I watched MTV 

(when there was still music) just to wait 

till our fave new song and video played. 

MKwasexactlythatfortheyouth. 

Do you think that a channel like MK89 

made it easier to get your music out 

there? 

It really did, I think it was a lot easier 

to get on M.K. than on a radio station. 

MK89's goal when it started was the 

youth and students, and it was precisely 

what the music industry never had 

and needed. 

Straatligkinders had a massive impact on 

the youth in South Africa. Why do you 

think that was the case? 

We had a different view on things, and 

the lyrics Bouwer wrote and what he 

spoke about on stage and in interviews 

showed that. By nature, we are positive 

dudes, and we try our best regardless 

of a band image to show that. We didn't 

really buy into the stigma that this is 


PHOTOGRAPHY: WERNER BOTHA; 2

how rock and roll bands should be, do 

or say. It's music, and we have learned 

that it can mean the world to someone 

you have never even met. 

If you had to start Straaligkinders from 

scratch today, do you think it would be 

easier or more difficult? 

Well, it will be a little more difficult, 

but then again, you have the amazing 

power of Spotify, iTunes, etc. to 

get your music out to the world in a 

few easy steps that we didn't have back 

then when we started. That's not even to 

mention how Facebook can benefit your 

band page and it's music. You can also 

record your album way faster now than 

ten odd years ago. The process of getting 

a certain amount of copies printed and 

June 2020 | SA DRUMMER | 13

Ruan Kruger 

out to the music stores was more time 

consuming and also expensive then it 

is now. I would say certain things are 

much easier now, but because we don't 

have something like MK at this moment, 

I do think it will be a tad more 

difficult to reach the height we did. 

Technology created very healthy competition 

amongst artists. There is a lot 

more happening now than just the odd 

album every two years with three music 

videos to go with it. Record labels 

are also turning into something of the 

past because the online world empowers 

you to do the marketing and business 

side yourself, and I think that is 

fantastic! 

When Straaligkinders decided to take a 

break, did you guys think that it was over 

for good, or was it always the plan to 

come back as you guys have? 

We always said we would come back 

together, and we knew that we would, 

but you could not help but have that 

% doubtthatitwouldneverhappen 

again. Luckily, we love each other and 

this baby of ours too much to stop yet. 

Do you feel that the break helped with 

the change of the band's sound in terms 

of maturity, etc? 

Yes, absolutely. We were hitting our mid 

to late s,andwedevotedsomuch 

time and energy into one space, which 

was the band. I do believe we needed to 

step outside the current situation just 

to change the view from where we were 

looking at. I felt that we needed to do 

that and also explore different ventures 

and opportunities to assist with this. It 

was not the easiest call to make at that 

time, but it was definitely the right one 

I feel. 

What other bands did you play for when 

Straatligkinders took a break? I know 

that you played guitar for another band 

as well? 

I played drums for a band called Moses 

Metro Man that I also managed 

and booked. That was an awesome side 

project and added so much dynamic 

to my playing and writing style. That 

happened shortly after the first break 

Straatlig took, and I'm grateful to have 

given so much for a project artistically. 

The band I played guitar for is a 

group called 'Ekhouvanjou, okay!' One 

could say I chose to play guitar in this 

band because I was over carrying my 

drum stuff alone and chose to stick to 

the minimum L.O.L. That group started 

before Straatligkinders took a break. I 

have no idea how to describe this band, 

all I can tell you is that is was pure pure 

fun. I guess we can call it comedy core 

or something, anyway, no one took 

things seriously, and we had one goal, 

% fun,andthatis whatit was. 

When Straatliginders came back, I 

went on tour with all three bands together 

in December. I played like 

shows and slept in a tent for the majority 

of the month. It was crazy. I got sick, 

got better, played a few shows, got sick, 

got better played a few shows. It was by 

far the best time of my life. 

Now that Straaligkinders is back, is the 

approach much different from how you 

did it in the past? 

We are actually trying to see it as starting 

over or starting from scratch. We 

love what we have always done, but we 

are also in love with what we still can 

do or have not yet done. We try to make 

better business calls, as all of us have 

other ventures and passion projects to 

keep ourselves busy. We are still 100% 

committed, but we have learned where 

to say no and where to say yes. We all 

just love performing, and we would 

love to play as much as possible and 

put out as much material as possible. 

Everyone in the band has other things going 

on outside of Straatligkinders, so do 

you feel that Straaligkinders will ever become 

a fulltime thing again? 

Well, I think we can consider this a fulltime 

thing with measures. To be completely 

honest, I don't think you can be 

a full-time band in South Africa like 

in the U.S. or Europe, just because we 

have so few venues and festivals in this 

small country. We should also remember 

that we have nine languages in our 

country, and the majority of people we 

cater to are only for a particular group 

of one of the languages. If you are in a 

band in the U.S., you have bigger states 

to travel through than South Africa. 

What are the plans for you and the band 

moving forward? 

We would just want to continue to put 

out new content and play live shows as 

much as we can. I think we have less 

pressure on ourselves because we all 

have other ventures and passion projects 

to do. Earlier years, we just had the 

band, and everything had to work out, 

or you would have nothing to do. 

What are your own personal goals in life 

and music? 

I really want to put hours into what 

means a lot to me, which is music, performing, 

writing, recording, and teaching. 

I remember when the band started, 

and I had this feeling that I just wanted 

to be remembered for being or doing 

something significant, whether it was 

for trying to be good at drums or just 

being a drummer in a band, that also 

challenged and changed a lot of what 

South Africans hear or know today. I'm 

very happy and extremely grateful for 

the opportunities that I had, but I know 

I/we still have more to bring and offer. 

Thank you so much once again for taking 

the time out to chat, man! Is there any 

encouragement or advice that you would 

like to give up and coming drummers and 

bands out there? 

For bands, I would just advise anyone 

never to give up and give it all you have 

while you have it. I mentioned how 

lucky we were with MK89 being there 

when we started and how the timing 

of the band helped a lot, but we really 

worked hard on this, every second of 

energy we had we poured into it. Ultimately, 

enjoying what you do is the 

most important, if you play just for 

yourself or for a band, being able to 

play is a privilege. 


PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN PUREN

Ruan Kruger 

instagram.com/ruan_ruan_ 

facebook.com/RuanKruger777 

Twitter.com/Ruandewdy 

PHOTOGRAPHY: BRANDON SOLOMONS

If you love what we do here at 

and you want more 

exclusive content, more 

control and more free issues... 

Join us on patreon and 

become part of the family.

By Travis Marc 

The Art Of 

'Sticking Around' 

Travis is a multi instrumentalist musician/songwriter originally 

from Jhb, South Africa now permanently living in New Orleans, 

Louisiana. He currently releases music with UK based band 

“Dead Days” and fronts alternative/rock band “Hyena Black”. 

Travis endorses Aquarian Drum Heads, Aston Microphones, Protection 

Racket Cases, Trailer Park Tees, Vater Drum Sticks, and 

Zildjian Cymbals. 

While thinking about 

some of the things 

I've done thus far in 

my career recently, 

I was hit with the following thought 

bubble, (that I then thought) might 

make for a decent subject to share 

with you all this months article. 

As I'm sure many of you reading 

this have - I've met (and gotten 

to know) many musicians over my 

years as a working musician. Some 

have been moderately talented, 

some have been incredibly talented 

and some have been, well, somewhere 

in-between the two. 

This in itself is not mind blowing 

thought, because if you gig long 

enough, or for a decent amount of 

time at least, you will understand 

that, eventually you just - see it all. 

The part that does however 'blow' 

my mind (personally) is the fact 

that many of the above mentioned 

individuals (across all levels) seem 

to simply “disappear” without a trace sometimes. 

And from what I've noticed, it is that 

they sadly (and usually) do so when it seems 

like they're just about to actually make their 

mark on this business. 

Now, you may be wondering why this is - 

and while I could entertain or even mention 

some hypothetical (or even real life) type 

scenarios as to why I’ve seen people get out 

of this crazy line of work. The truth is, that 

there are probably about a million reasons as 

to why so many come and go, (and at such a 

quick rate) in this beautifully/strange place 

we call the music industry. 

Life can be tough sometimes dudes and 

dudets and if you’re not paying attention, it 

can straight up slap you in the face (with a 

brick). We all get despondent and we all feel 

like giving up at different points along the 

way no matter what the work title may be, 

and let’s be honest - sometimes its easier to 

stay in bed all day than actually get up, and 

'get on with it' 

But... Let me share a little nugget of “old 

man wisdom” with you, that no one ever 

shared with me. 

Sometimes, just sticking around 

long enough can be a victory all on 

it's own. It can open up doors you 

didn’t even realize were there and 

possibly put you in positions you 

didn’t think you’d ever be in - purely 

because there was no one else left 

call. (Oh, and disclaimer I’m not old, 

yet)... 

Patience is a brilliant characteristic 

in this business. Put it in a little 

pot with some perseverance and 

you will find yourself with work 

for longer than you maybe thought 

you’d even be doing this whole “music 

thing”. Plus, longevity speaks 

volumes among your peers so just 

being “present” after many have 

disappeared can really work in your 

favour. 

So hang in there - because there’s 

a real art to “sticking around”. 

Goodluck to you all and I’m sure 

we’ll talk again soon. 

www.travismarc.com • www.deaddaysband.com • www.bonsaibeatsmusic.com 


Brent Harris 

BRENT 

HARRIS 

A literal part of South African music history, from being a 

member of iconic band, Just Jinjer to starting an entertainment 

company and solidifying his presence within the music industry. 


Photography by: Daniel Craig Johnson 

Howzit, Brent. Thank you so 

much for taking the time out 

to chat with us. What is happening 

in your world? 

Right now, we are in lockdown because 

of this Covid-issue,soI havebeen 

doing some home videos drumming to 

songs people have requested. 

Who are some of the drummers that influenced 

you throughout your career? 

I have to say Jeff Porcaro was my most 

significant influence. He grooved effortlessly 

and so comfortably in any genre 

he played. I had over albums the 

Toto drummer played on from Steely 

Dan to Lionel Richie to Michael Jackson 

and various GRP jazz records he did. 

Most people know you from Just Jinjer, 

but can you tell us about the early days 

and buildup to JJ? 

I started playing drums from an early 

age and got my first drum kit around 

/yearsold.Itwasa Premierkit,I 

could barely reach the kick drum pedal 

but slowly grew into it. I spent most 

of my time playing with my dad's big 

band records and everything I heard 

on the radio. It was the best lesson I 

could've asked for, and I was having 

loads of fun doing it. I went pro around 

17yrs old playing for a band called Soviet 

Blue. We did original gigs with No 

friends of Harry & Elemental at The 

Thunder Dome and Q's in town. A year 

later, I joined a cover band called Walk 

This Way, a huge departure from what 

I was playing with Soviet Blue. Walk 

this way was a powerhouse high energy 

club/corporate band that was more 

about the look than the musicianship. 

At ,I gottoplayatEllisParkbefore 

Paul Simon during his Graceland Tour 

in front of over people. I got to 

meet Steve Gadd and some other amazing 

musicians that day. As WTW, we 

did all the big Rand Show gigs and club 

gigs and played with Dr. Victor and Dr. 

Alban a few times. Around /, I lef 

WTW and started playing at Sun City 

with Verny Scholtz. 

I wanted to play rock music and a 

repertoire that interested and inspired 

me a little more like songs by The Police, 

Genesis, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, 

ZZ Top, Bob Marley, etc. I learned 

roughly songsin thefirstweek.It 

was then that I started singing a little 

while playing the drums. We had a huge 

repertoire. One week into the Sun City 

contract, we got to support Joe Cocker 

at The Superbowl, which was crazy as 

we were the first duo to play at The Superbowl 

in front of people. We 

were now called Two princes, which got 

stolen from a track on The Spin Doctors 

album. A year later, when Sting was in 

town, I got to meet Vinnie Calaiuta, 

crazy as it sounds we got to hang out 

a lot and even jammed together one 

afernoon for hours,thatwaspretty 

mind-blowing for me, and I'm sure for 

many drummers and musos. 

Afer doing The Miss World wrap party, 

Richard Marx, a few big corporates, 

and countless gigs at The Flamingo Bar, 

we lef Sun City and came back to Jhb, 

where we did the cover circuit pretty 

extensively. We were very busy; I remember 

only having one night off a 

week. I was also pretty busy doing studio 

sessions for Lucky Dube, Lebo M, 

and Soweto String Quartet. I also did a 

few ads, but the studio wasn't my happy 

place, I wanted to be on stage and feel 

the energy of the crowd. 

During this time, Tuxx joined the 

band on bass, and we were now called 

Tri Funk Era. I started singing a little 

more and wrote more original songs in 

amongst the covers we were doing. It 

was a good test to see if our originals 

stood up in between Led Zeppelin and 

Green Day on the dance floor. That was 

where I wrote Paradise in Summertime 

and Stand in your way with Verny. We 

actually did a double album as Tri Funk 

Era. Around early , I was restless 

and knew my voice or the voices in Tri 

Funk Era weren't strong or identifiable 

enough, so I went searching for a frontman 

vocalist. I heard Ard Matthews 

sing at The Randburg waterfront afer 

a jam with a band called Cat Chambers. 

18 | SA DRUMMER | June 2020

Brent Harris 

I now knew what needed to happen. Ard 

'auditioned' for the band. We recorded a 

few songs, and the rest, as they say, was 

history. We recorded a bunch of demos, 

some of our songs, and some of Ards. 

We dropped the Tri and became Funk 

Era for a while. These songs we recorded 

were so popular, and the cd sold like 

Hotcakes at our gigs, now we were ready 

to become JUST JINJER. 

Word has it that you had a very persistent 

approach for getting first-time radio play 

for JJ. How did this happen? 

Radio didn't want to play our first single 

Stand in your way, so I went to the 

stations and let myself in. My mission 

was to get the song played and let the 

people vote and decide. If they didn't 

vote kindly, we would submit a different 

track. Stand in your way became a 

massive hit for us afer fm playlisted 

it. All radio stations were playing the 

track, and it was a no. on Algoa Fm and 

Top onEastCoastaswellas..The 

following singles released didn't need 

as much convincing as Jinger was flying 

and packing out big venues by then. 

Shallow Waters (Ard's gem) was the second 

single, which was a no. all over 

the country followed by Father and Farther, 

which Ard and I co-wrote. These 

songs made our debut album 'All comes 

around' a household name selling over 

copies. 

Just Jinjer's debut album 'All Comes Round' 

became one of the best-selling rock albums 

in South African history. What did 

this feel like when the album hit this status? 

It was such a whirlwind experience and 

hard to put into words as no one expected 

this from a South African rock band 

in one of the smallest markets in the 

world. We were outselling U, Bush, No 

Doubt, and many international bands 

in SA. Crazy times, we would do a shop 

signing and sell merchandise for over 

hourswithqueuesaroundtheblock. 

We were very blessed and didn't really 

understand the magnitude this album 

had on people's lives. It kept selling, and 

we went from doing pub shows at Roxy's 

Rhythm Bar to doing school shows to 

todoingarenashows.LikeinPiet- 

ermaritzburg where people paid 

to get in, and we were the only band on 

the bill. Amazing memories. We needed 

security at all our events as people went 

crazy when we did shows. At that time 

we couldn't even walk around venues 

or signings without security. 


Was there a lot of pressure to maintain 

This hype with the next album? 

Yes, that is why we released the EP called 

"Something for now," as our label wanted 

to strike while the iron was hot. That 

album went gold in a few weeks with 

songs like Paradise in the summertime, 

Like you madly and the cover of Sugarman. 

It went on to sell around 

units. 

Just Jinjer moved overseas for a while to 

test the waters. Can you tell us about the 

high and lows that you guys experienced? 

The band moved to the UK for three 

years, and almost got a massive deal 

with Island records. Unfortunately, that 

fell through, so we decided to move to 

the US as we got a development deal 

with Capitol records. It was tough because 

we were so huge in SA for many 

years, and we were now in uncharted 

territories where people didn't know 

us and didn't really care at the time. We 

were in the US for almost seven years 

but never got a proper release album 

wise. We learned a lot as a band and 

grew as musicians living in LA. I loved 

it there as I had my beautiful wife Fiona 

with me, and it felt like home in California. 

My son Riley was born there. 

Just Jinjer (with the new spelling) 

released our self titled album in , 

which again did really well for us going 

gold and selling around copies 

in SA. We had one of our biggest songs 

to date 'What he means" on the album 

and 'Time of your life,' which got used 

on one of the world cup releases through 

SONY. You could hear the growth of the 

band musically in the production on 

this record. That was also the first time 

the band produced an album thoroughly 

thanks to Sandy Chila, our then producer, 

and guitarist. 

We came back home just before the 

soccer world cup in and started a 

new life back in SA. 

There must have been countless incredible 

highlights that you have experienced 

with JJ. Can you tell us about some of your 

fondest memories? 

Another highlight was Mandelas 

shows. Jinjer got to meet the man himself 

and played at two of the concerts 

with Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Live, 

and all the top SA bands at that time. 

Thirdly I would say supporting U2 in 

Cape Town was one for the books, the 

setting and all the emotions that came 

with it were just mind-blowing. 


Brent Harris 

What were some of the hard lessons that 

you learned through your journey with JJ? 

"It's nice to be important but far more 

important to be nice." 

There have been so many bands that have 

come and gone pretty quickly. Just Jinjer 

has been able to hold its ground as one 

of SA's top and iconic bands for over 20 

years. What do you feel JJ has done differently 

than other bands? 

Fans were loyal because we wrote timeless 

hits that meant so much to people. 

They would come back to our shows because 

we were always better live than 

on album. Jinjer went through many 

guitarists and is now a three-piece and 

have been for many years. We are a family, 

we have been through a lot together, 

we know each other very well, hardly 

rehearse and really are family. It shows 

when we're on stage or backstage. There's 

deep love there. 

Just Jinjer is still active and playing shows 

around SA. Could we expect a new album 

in the foreseeable future? 

Our last album was four years ago, we 

may do another one as long as we are 

having fun and being honest. We do 

shows from time to time and the odd 

corporate together, and when we do, 

it's always special. We all have our own 

thing going on and separate businesses. 

I have an entertainment agency Harris 

& Miller, with six bands. Denholm is a 

multi-instrumentalist for our company 

and a rock solid producer in his own 

right. Producing Prime Circle, Johnny 

Clegg, Jesse Clegg, and many more. Ard 

does solo stuff and keeps himself busy. 

With that voice, he will always be fine. 

Without a doubt, you have gained a ton 

amount of experience while being a part 

of JJ from the very bottom to the top. 

What advice would you give to SA bands 

that are trying to make it to the top? 

Keep the faith and believe you can accomplish 

anything that you put your 

mind to. 

Was it a big adjustment going from being 

mostly a drummer in a successful band to 

running a business like Harris and Miller? 

It was an adjustment, but it seemed 

pretty natural to start a business where 

I didn't have to be on stage every night. 

I could manage and do what I know for 

other bands and musicians behind the 

scenes. I had some health issues over 

the years for example open heart surgery 

yearsagoandaperforatedcolon 

where I needed opstocomeright.As 

a musician over the years, I could never 

miss a gig and played regardless of 

how sick I was. If you are not playing 

on stage, you're not earning. With Harris 

& Miller, I have an amazing business 

partner Natasha Miller who takes 

care of a lot of the business needs so I 

can take some days off while our other 

bands are earning. 


Who are some of the drummers that you 

currently use for these bands? 

Merlin Michaels, Warren van Wyk, Vinnie 

Henrico, and Denholm Harding are 

the drummers we mainly have used for 

our various other bands. 

If a drummer wants to work with Harris 

and Miller, what are some of the critical 

elements needed? 

Experience, groove, timing, and be neat 

and tidy as clients listen with their eyes. 

Be reliable and on time if you want to 

get regular work with our company. 

How important do you feel it is for drummers 

to have their eggs in many baskets? 

I think you need to drop all ego if you 

want to succeed in this business. Think 

of the bigger picture and not yourself. 

What songs work on the dance floor 

may not be your favourite tracks, but 

it's a business, do them with a smile 

and bring the energy. Good energy is 

important on and off stage. Be the energy 

you want to attract. 

You are a big-time family man. How do 

you balance running a business and gigging 

with maintaining a healthy family 

life? 

My family is everything to me, that is 

why I work so hard. I have a very understanding 

wife that has been through 

thick and thin with me for years. 

Now that I am home more, I get to see 

and spend valuable time with my kids. 

It cannot be argued that you have had 

an excellent drumming career for many 

years, and you have lived through many 

changes in the music scene in SA. How do 

you feel the music industry in SA can get 

improved? 

Not sure to be honest, SA rock isn't 

played that much on radio anymore, 

hip hop is huge right now. If you're a 

singer-songwriter, make sure you have 

a few covers up your sleeve as that may 

pay the bills one day while you are waiting 

for a song to be playlisted. 

Harris and Miller 

WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/USER/MACASSOC/VIDEOS 

Brent is sponsored by: 

• Marshall Music 

• DW Drums 

• Sabian Cymbals 

• Vater Drum Sticks 

• Meinl Percussion 


Photography by: Char Rowse 

“Teaching is a huge responsibility. 

It requires a real 

sense of patience, clear direction 

along with concept, 

experience, and passion! 

Not to be entered 

into frivolously.” 

BEING 

BRUCE 

BECKER 


Good to chat with you. What is currently 

happening on your side of the world? 

Hi Warren, good to speak with you as 

well! We're still under lockdown here 

in Los Angeles and just maintaining 

my teaching schedule and balancing 

the family life. I have two younger 

kids, my boy Thomas and my daughter 

Ellie, so we're just managing their 

activities and for Ellie, specifically her 

online schooling. Interesting times 

for sure! (Continues on the next page) 


Bruce Becker 

Can you begin by telling us 

about some of the early 

days as a drummer and how 

you got started? You have 

a cool story about how you 

got your first drumkit! 

I have two brother who always actively 

played records and made up that we were 

in a group. The Beatles and the Monkees 

were significant influences to start. Anyway, 

I always wanted to play guitar, and 

my brother David, who I worked with for 

years,co-leadingtheDavidBeckerTribune, 

always wanted to play drums. At 

one point, he got drum sticks and a Remo 

practice pad and the Buddy Rich book and 

was taking some lessons, but it just didn't 

resonate with him. I had the same experience 

with the guitar. So in the summer 

of ,weweresittingaroundwiththree 

other neighborhood kids, and we had this 

moment where we all declared we would 

start a rock band. Everybody quickly 

shouted out what instrument they were 

going to play, leaving the drums as the 

only choice left. Before I could think or 

say anything, four guys were staring at 

me, saying, "You're going to be our drummer!" 

I thought ok, but I will have to take 

lessons... And one of the guys opened up 

the Yellow Pages and found a Drum teacher 

dialed the number and said, "My friend 

wants to take drum lessons." Of course, I 

had to ask my Mom, and she agreed but 

added, "You show us you're serious for a 

year, and then we will get you a drum set." 

My thought was deal met! One year later, 

I had my first kit, a mid 's Ludwig. And 

that was my start. 

From there, I was active in the Concert 

band and Jazz band at my Jr. High School 

and later High School. I eventually started 

to play cover tunes with a guitarist that 

I met through my neighbors, and he also 

got me involved in doing the 9:45 mass 

at the Catholic Church. We were doing a 

folky kind of acoustic guitar and small 

chorus presentation. That was pretty cool 

because I was doing a church gig way before 

it became a "thing"! From there, the 

natural progression of gigging started 

to happen, playing parties, High School 

dances, and other functions. 

“I have been very fortunate 

to have had some high profile 

drummers come to me through 

the years. Currently, I have 

David Garibaldi.” 


Teaching Royalty 

Bruce Becker has 

been a regular contributor 

to Drumeo’s 

live-streamed lessons 


Bruce Becker 

Currently, you are primarily known as an 

iconic educator, but you have also enjoyed 

a tremendous and successful playing career. 

Can you tell us about some of the 

artists that you have worked with? 

Most of my musical paths was spent 

with my brother making recordings and 

touring. Our musical stylings would 

rest more in the Contemporary Jazz 

and Improvisational format. Through 

making records, I got to work with 

some fantastic people. One guy, in particular, 

is Ken Caillat, who most people 

would know as one of the Co-Producers 

and engineers of the Fleetwood 

Mac stuff from - . Ken co-produced 

two of our records, and then we 

worked together on a few other projects. 

Other highlights would be recording 

with Ron Carter, Mike Stern, John Abercrombie, 

and Russell Ferrante. Some 

live playing highlights would have 

been working with a Great Jazz Organist 

from Germany, Barbara Dennerlein, for 

about /years.We mainlydidclubs 

and more prominent Jazz Festivals. On 

the road, with my brother, we had some 

great double billings with Spyro Gyra, 

Yellowjackets, and Billy Cobham. All in 

all, when I look back, I am proud of the 

music I have been involved with . 

You arrange and co-produce the music for 

the David Becker Tribune. Can you give us 

more insight into how you go about this? 

As far as arranging and producing in 

collaboration with David, I have a keen 

ear for arrangement based on my "pop" 

sensibilities. Because we're brothers, 

I have a deep connection and insight 

into what my brother is trying to reach 

for, and I will make suggestions and arrangement 

ideas to help shape his ideas. 

That is a delicate balance, and I think, 

for the most part, we've agreed on musical 

direction, although we have definitely 

bumped heads. I also listen for 

overall performance and have strong 

opinions and ideas regarding solos and 

layering of instruments and building 

form from verse to choruses, etc. 

What have been some of your highlights 

and fondest memories with the David 

Becker Tribune? 

Standout experiences would be the recording 

of the CD "Batavia." We recorded 

that in three different countries, and 

it was a very personal musical experience 

as it was conceived to tell the story 

of a mother and her family before and 

during World War II. I also would say 

some of the places we traveled to play 

would be highlights for me. All over 

Europe. Being able to be immersed in 

different cultures is always a growing 

experience for me. I see that those experiences 

have given me a deeper view 

of humanity and music. Music is the in 

ternational language that immediately 

creates a bridge and bond to those I've 

met around the planet! 

When did your journey as a teacher begin? 

Teaching for me was always something 

I was interested in. I started to teach 

back in atalocalMusicstorecalled 

the Music Stop. Ironically, this is the 

same store where Freddie Gruber started 

his teaching career. I always ran the 

playing and teaching paths side by side. 

I never gave it too much thought. In my 

world, it was just normal to do both. 

Teaching allowed me to bring forward 

clarity for my own personal growth 

and see it from a different perspective. 

That drove me to learn more and to become 

a more effective communicator. 

In the early days, I knew what I wanted 

to bring out in my students, and I am 

sure my message was good, but I wanted 

to improve my communication skills 

significantly and my experience living 

in Europe and then returning dozens 

of times to do workshops really added 

value to that. Teaching in English to 

those who are not native English speakers 

was an excellent opportunity to get 

super transparent with my narrative. I 

am incredibly grateful for that experience 

and all that I gained from the five 

years of living in Europe. 

Was it a natural transition going from 

playing in a band to teaching? 

The transition from playing to mainly 

teaching slowly shifted about seven 

years ago. I didn't make a declaration or 

anything, but it just sort of happened. 

One thing that came to fruition was 

my DVD "Concepts and Philosophies" 

in .Thatwas amarkingpointfor 

me to get more active and focus on my 

educational message. As a result, other 

things started happening. I became a 

regular on Drum Channel for two years 

or so. That started to extend my reach 

and accessibility. Through that experience, 

I was able to connect with Jared 

Falk and Dave Atkinson of Drumeo. 

That added even more presence for me. 

I have worked very closely with Drumeo. 

It has given a larger platform to 

extend my educational message. I now 

find myself gigging occasionally, and I 

like to keep my feet in that world just to 

keep me on my game! 

You were a longtime student of Freddie 

Gruber. Can you tell us about how studying 

with Freddie impacted your drumming? 

What were some of the most vital 

things that you learned from him? 

Yes, indeed, I was a longtime student 

of Freddie's for /yearsandlaterjust 

became a regular hang with Freddie 

for close to years after studying with 

him. I caught Freddie at the height of 

his teaching career. I was fascinated 

with his quirkiness and his details. 

That being said, it didn't make it any 

easier to try to get clear answers from 

him. That took time to pull some clarity 

from him. But he opened my head to 


a vast array of valuable tools for me to 

develop a better sense of timing-related 

movement and build my own voice. 

I was also very fortunate to watch him 

teach hundreds of hours and was privileged 

to attend lessons with some notables. 

For instance, I got invited to lessons 

with Dave Weckl, Steve Smith, 

Steve Houghton, Tris Imboden, and a 

whole host of others. That allowed me to 

see his interaction with different guys. 

I also spent a lot of time with Freddie 

in Europe when I moved there. He was 

somewhat bummed that I was leaving 

Los Angeles. He made several trips to 

stay with me, and we did some master 

classes together, and I hung deep in the 

trenches with him. These hangs allowed 

me to get the clarity and start to see the 

depth of the building process and also a 

way to personalize it for different individuals. 

The other thing that was truly 

important for me was gigging and recording. 

Those experiences bring you to 

a place to solve some "feel" issues which 

can be rooted in your technical facility. 

The main take away would be to create 

harmony with the natural movement 

of the anatomy and the natural principles 

of gravity, balance, and motion to 

create a path of least resistance and attain 

a "flow"! 

You have developed and extended Gruber's 

ideas about drum technique, including 

"the balance and motion of the stick," 

and understanding the natural principles 

of the physical body's interaction with the 

drum set. Can you tell us more about these 

concepts on technique that you teach? 

Well, that's not so easy to put into a 

few sentences but to put it into simple 

terms, I break up the hand into three 

parts. )Thumbandindexfinger,) 

middle finger, ) ring, and pinky fingers. 

Then the delivery system, the arm. 

You can deliver the stick to the surface 

from the shoulder, from the forearm, 

and the wrist. I want all those parts to 

be working in harmony with the momentum 

of the stick. I start by focusing 

on the relationship between hand 

and stick to specific pressure points to 

minimize tension. I want to use several 

components of the hand to add greater 

efficiency and get fine-tuned details to 

propel the stick with the "path of least 

resistance" with the emphasis on tone. 

There are progressive steps I take to initiate 

a better relationship with all parts 

of the hand along with the movement 

of the arm, then design calisthenics or 

flow exercises to enhance the feel and 

growth of those individual parts. In 

most cases, drummers get into a position 

of holding the stick with excessive 

tension, not allowing the stick to move 

inside the hand. That can add to tightness 

and fatigue and be debilitating to 

one's playing overtime. I realign to redesign 

and redefine your approach. 

You are a legend in drumming education, 

and you have taught and are currently 

teaching some notable names in the 

drumming business. Who are some of 

these drummers? 

I have been very fortunate to have had 

some high profile drummers come to 

me through the years. Some of the more 

recognizable names are Mark Schulman, 

Daniel Glass, Clayton Cameron, 

and Glen Sobel. Currently, I have David 

Garibaldi, Tris Imboden, Gabe Ford 

(Little Feat), and Jake Slichter (Semisonic). 

But I don't discriminate; I work with 

drummers of all strata. I truly enjoy 

the building process and getting into 

the nuance of the development. It really 

gives me such great satisfaction to 

watch the growth and facilitate changes! 

I am results-driven. 

“I make no judgments 

and don't have any restrictions. 

I look to 

collaborate with people 

and assist them on 

their path. As long as 

they are committed.“ 

How do you approach these classes with 

drummers of this caliber? Do you access 

their playing and take it from there, or do 

they come to you for specific things that 

they feel they need to fix? 

Most people who come to me kind of 

already know about me and my reputation. 

I have a few different starting 

points, but I take into consideration 

where the individual is coming from 

musically as well as technically and assess 

what I can do to push them through 

the hoop. One thing I have developed 

through the many years of my teaching 

is my observational skills. I can see the 

smallest of details in movement and 

how the hand and arm are operating. I 

can vividly express things in tangible 

ways and break down mechanics and 

relate that to music, most importantly. 

I always say..." Book one lesson with me, 

and you will be better able to ascertain 

whether I'm the guy to push you up the 

ladder!" 

I am sure it must be quite intimidating 

having drummers of this caliber studying 

under you? 

I'm pretty inside my messaging, so that 

it doesn't throw me off. However, with 

David Garibaldi, it was a bit unnerving 

the first time. DG, for me, is the "architect" 

of funk drumming. He was a 

significant influence on me. So, when 

you're conversing with a drum hero, you 

have to pinch yourself and maintain a 

sense of stability, so you don't lose your 

focus. Now I am very secure with what 

I have to offer and the detailed insights 

I can get into with a highly developed 

drummer. 

What do you feel are the key elements 

that separate you from other teachers? 

Really comprehensive progressive steps 

to enhance your technical development, 

not only with the hands but also with 

the feet. My observational skills to spot 

and bring awareness to the slightest 

amount of resistance or tension. I am 

very keen on developing the mind and 

body with the breathe and relaxation 

component. I bring forward awareness 


Bruce Becker 

to the touch and tone of the hand and 

feet. My communication skills to effectively 

carry forward the information. I 

also have deeper conceptual exercises 

to stretch the imagination for phrasing. 

I bring a vast amount of experience as I 

have been teaching now for years. 

Do you only teach drummers that already 

know how to play, or do you also work 

with absolute beginners? 

I am at the service of anyone who wants 

to learn and expand their drumming 

skills. I make no judgments and don't 

have any restrictions. I look to collaborate 

with people and assist them on 

their path. As long as they are committed, 

I am there for them. 

With regards to doing studio recordings. 

How can someone book you for their album, 

and do you take bookings for any 

style of music? 

I used to be more active. I am not a 

tech-savvy guy for Pro Tools or Logic. 

However, I have access to some studios 

if someone really wanted me to work on 

their project. 

As far as musical styles go, I have a 

broad base of experience. From Americana 

to Blues, R & B to Jazz, Pop to Rock, 

with the exception of Speed Metal, I 

have a great deal of experience. 

Drummers who have never taught before, 

or even hated teaching, are turning to 

giving drum lessons to make extra money, 

due to music and entertainment being 

locked down. Mike Johnston mentioned 

something on point during our chat him. 

He said that he doesn't understand why 

drummers feel that playing drums takes 

practice, but teaching doesn't. 

I wholeheartedly agree! Teaching is a 

huge responsibility. It requires a real 

sense of patience, clear direction along 

with concept, experience, and passion! 

Not to be entered into frivolously. 

Lastly, what advice do you have for drummers 

out there that would like to pursue 

a career as an educator? 

As far as advice for pursuing a career 

as an educator, I would say first, develop 

a concept that has multiple paths. 

Second, be passionate about your message. 

Part of the job is to motivate and 

instill enthusiasm for the instrument. 

Third, learn to communicate and learn 

how different people process information. 

It is not a one size fits all. Fourth, 

know your limitations and get to work 

to improve those skills that are lacking. 

Fifth, get familiar with the history of 

the different drum educators and recognize 

their contributions and research 

all the classic drum instruction books 

that are available. These are just some 

of the suggestions and pieces of advice 

I could give. If you are only teaching 

to fill in time for lack of gigs, then step 

back and let someone truly passionate 

about teaching do the job. 

FOLLOW 

BRUCE BECKER 

WWW.BRUCEBECKER.COM 

instagram.com/brucebeckerdrums 

facebook.com/brucebeckerdrums 

Youtube.com/brucebeckerdrums 


JOIN NOW!

Quirky Questions 

SHELDON 

YOKO 

LIFE'S SERIOUS... SOMETIMES YOU 

JUST WANNA HAVE A CHUCKLE. 

With Warren van Wyk 

What do you think of garden 

Think of a song that best de- 

stupid that was afterwards 

You can't play drums any- 

gnomes? Would they be good 

scribes you. 

and wondered if it maybe hit 

more and given a choice to be 

drummers? 

At the moment, i think it's 

someone. We went out for a 

a professional triangle player 

I imagine they would sound 

probably Paranoid by Kanye. 

drink later and next thing 

or Tambourine player. What 

like everyone’s uncle that 

I know this guy introduces 

would you choose, and why? 

“used to play a bit”. They’d 

If you were a drum, what kind 

himself and says “Nice show 

Definitely a pro triangle 

probably down a beer and 

of drum would you be, and 

tonight, your stick hit me 

player. I’d also convert to 

then fire off into something 

why? 

in the head”. Luckily, he was 

Scientology at that point. 

from U. 

During lockdown? Definite- 

super chilled about it, he ac- 

ly a detuned 14x8 snare but 

tually didn’t seem too fazed 

If you could compare your 

When you die, you get a 

on a good day, a maple 10” 

at all. I apologised profuse- 

drumming with any animal, 

chance to come back as any 

high tom. Those things just 

ly and he was like “can I buy 

which would it be and why? 

drummer, who would it be 

sound like a good time. 

you a shot”. Anyway, I won’t 

Right now, probably a doggo 

and why? Oh... It has to be a 

be doing that again. 

that hasn’t gone for walkies 

female. 

What was your most embar- 

in a week. #lockdown 

Cindy Blackman! Come on! 

rassing drum moment, and 

You've been given an ele- 

how did you recover? 

phant. You can't give it away 

Nominate the next victim for 

You get the chance to impress 

We once got our set cut short 

or sell it. What would you do 

these pointless questions? 

your girlfriend at a show with 

and so without thinking 

with the elephant? 

I've got to nominate Werner 

any drum beat, what beat 

anything of it, I threw my 

I guess we’d probably just 

Von Waltsleben & Jude Ken- 

would you play? 

sticks off stage and into the 

hang out. Watch Netflix, 

rick for this wild ride. 

Come Down - Anderson .Paak 

crowd. I thought about how 

make waffles etc. 


PHOTOGRAPHY: MICK CREATIVE


MATT 

MCGUIRE 



Photography by: Danilo Lewis


Yo, Matt. Thank you for 

taking the time out to 

chat! Most people know 

you from your viral drum 

videos on YouTube and 

then becoming a member 

of the Chainsmokers. What we want to 

know is your journey before your drum 

videos, your early beginnings, bands, etc.? 

My journey started with drumming 

when I got my first drum kit at -years 

old. It was literally like a -piece bizarre 

little hip gig kit, which I think 

was made by Mapex. I was really into it 

up until I was about -years old, and by 

then, I knew that this was something 

that I wanted to pursue. My father, being 

the instigator of it all, decided to do 

it seriously and get a better kit. I got a 

new Mapex when I was nine and started 

getting into performing and started 

playing with my dad in his duo band, 

playing all Jazz tunes. I grew up playing 

Jazz or Rock, that was it. I either played 

Led Zeppelin, The Who, Iron Maiden, 

all that kind of stuff, and then Jazz and 

some pop. By the time I was 11 years old, 

I was deep into playing corporate gigs 

with my dad, which was a lot of fun. I 

was heavily involved in the music programs 

in school very early on as well. 

My first international tour was with a 

Jazz trio & big band when I was , and 

by the time I was , I was touring regularly. 

From there, I got into musical 

theatre, Jazz big bands, and premier big 

bands. I then went down the metal and 

punk route for a while, where I did my 

first bus tour and all that kind of stuff 

when I was years old. I then decided 

that I wanted to start doing something 

that made money because I was 

making no money. I was touring and 

performing through grades and . 

Every weekend I was playing festivals 

with massive DJs and bands and doing 

a lot of session work. I was also always 

really interested in the production side 

of the industry so I worked weekends 

with a company doing all the worst 

jobs which now when I look back I’m so 

thankful for as I was able to really learn 

from the ground up. I did all if that 

while touring as well, and then along 

came YouTube. I decided that I wanted 

to get better at drums, so I filmed myself 

playing drums to all these songs, 

watched myself back, and critiqued my 

playing. I also wanted to see if people 

thought I sucked or thought I was good. 

It was kind of like this learning thing 

and also an outlet to express myself. 

I thought it was super valuable. That 

eventually turned into a business. I had 

a manager at that point and started doing 

drum covers for artists as packages. 

They would release a song, and I would 

do a drum cover and push it out and get 

them hundred thousand views, which 

would help push their record. The whole 

thing kind of blew up. I was back and 

forth everywhere, playing for multiple 

different bands and DJ acts, and then 

along came Alex and Drew (The Chainsmokers) 

and said that they wanted to 

transfer their act over into the live world 

which was incredibly exciting obviously. 

They asked if I wanted to move to the 

US and before I knew it I was packing 


The Greatest Showman 

From flaming stick to incredible 

light shows. Matt 

McGuire knows exactly 

what a show needs and 

what to give the audience 

“America has 330 million people, so just the 

population density, the contrasts, and their 

competitiveness was honestly great because 

I get fueled on adrenaline and competition.” 



my bags & selling my stuff in Aus on 

my way over… it was very Youtube organic. 

They reached out to me after they 

saw the cover I put on Youtube for Don't 

Let Me Down. 

That must have been quite a dream come 

true and a significant change in your life? 

Yeah, it was mental. I mean Australia 

has like million people, and America 

has millionpeople,so justthepopulation 

density, the contrasts, and their 

competitiveness was honestly great because 

I get fueled by adrenaline. The 

most exciting thing was to try and get 

amongst that kind of energy and pace 

which ultimately is going from like nd 

gear to top gear. 

Not only are you the drummer for The 

Chainsmokers but the Musical Director. 

What's your approach to directing a band? 

It is a real trip because you create these 

massive live musical arrangements in 

the studio for these multiple platinum 

songs, and then you go and play them 

for the people. It is a surreal thing. It 

is an unreal thing to perform on stages 

and productions that you have thought 

of & been heavily a part of the process. 

The music direction is always a massive 

responsibility because everything 

starts with the music, but then again, 

back to what I said before, I am entirely 

driven on pressure, responsibility, and 

adrenaline, so if I have those components, 

I am set. 

Are you involved at all with the songwriting 

side of things with TCS? 

To be honest, not really. Alex and Drew 

have such a solidified method down. We 

split things up, they handle that, and I 

manage the production/musical direction/shows 

etc. That is the best way to 

describe it. Because there is so much to 

do in a band, if we all did everything, 

there would be no clarity, and it would 

be hard. There are times that we are in 

the studio, and Alex is coming up with 

lyrics, songwriting, and doing business 

stuff. Drew would be on Ableton, diving 

into plugins, and I am building stages 

off live, and I think 

that attracts a whole 

lot of people. It just 

gives you so much 

musical freedom on 

stage. With the band, 

you are in complete 

control of the music 

because it is all live. 

With a DJ that is only 

doing tracks, there 

is not a whole lot that 

you can do other than 

adding effects like de- 

"It is still something 

that gives me such a 

thrill. I think it is a 

kind of feeling that 

makes you want to go 

bigger, better, stronger, 

harder, and push 

every limit." 

and working out what the verses would Yeah, so basically it was a co-design 

sound like in a live musical arrangement. 

We got super lucky with the band ductionClub. My best friend Miguel 

with myself and a company called Pro- 

because we have never really argued in was the show and musical director. It 

the three years or had a disagreement was a -monthbuild,whichwestarted 

or anything, which is bizarre but some from scratch. We always wanted it to be 

things just work I guess. We are fortunate 

for that, that's for sure. 

flected on the contrast of light and dark 

this mad max, post-apocalypse that re- 

and have a show that is ultra-progressive 

and atmospheric in a sense. We did 

The electronic movement is massive at 

the moment, and it is so rad that a lot of arenashowsandputa ginormous 

it is starting to introduce live instruments amount of production into some of 

to the mix! The current tour is symbolic 

of the band's evolution from electronic we had elements in there that people 

these arenas. It was incredible because 

DJ duo to multi-disciplined musicians and hadn't done before, such as the globe of 

performers. How do you approach a "DJ death, which had motorcycles inside 

dance" typeset like The Chainsmokers? of it, all the way to some of the automation 

tricks that we pulled off. It was also 

Yeah it has always been around because 

people experiment with acoustic really cool having two drum kits on the 

and electronic elements I just think in stage where I used the B-kit specifically 

the last oryearsitbecamea harder for a drum solo and our last song Closer. 

It was really to design it from a thing to do and a harder thing to pull 

production 

point of view 

from scratch but also a 

musical point of view. 

I think our most significant 

benefit was 

to think about both 

of those things at the 

same time. I would be 

like "I want the production 

to be a certain 

thing" and then create 

something musical 

to fit rather than 

having the musical el- 

lays, phasers, flangers, etc. but the moment 

you add an acoustic element, it fit that. The intro got loaded with a craements 

and then trying to make stuff 

just opens the whole thing up. You can zy amount of lighting cues, and this 

do jam sections and all those kinds of massive three-way X that came down 

things that I think made a lot of people and hovered and lit on fire using strobe 

excited. Now you have bands like Rufus flares when we ran out. There was a pyro 

Du Sol, Illenium, Chemical Brothers & cue, an automation cue, a drum cue going 

into this whole explosion of energy. 

Odeza etc, who play with a full band. 

There are so many out there that are absolutely 

crushing it, and it is so sick to production elements and then build 

It was so cool to be able to take those 

see. 

the music or be like "this is the music 

that I definitely want to use on something 

and then build the production to 

The Chainsmokers have been super busy 

with the 42 date World War Joy Tour! The it. It was a lot, but now it is over & I can’t 

designs and concepts behind this tour are wait for the next tour. 

insane! Can you tell us more about the 

idea behind the design and structure? Can you describe the feeling when you see 


the whole show come together? It must 

be pretty surreal to seeing all of your your 

work, personal design, and what's been 

going on in your mind all come together 

into a visual thing? 

Yeah, it is odd to design something on 

your computer with your friends and 

then go and put it in a 20 000 seat arena. 

I don't know if it will ever get old 

to me, it never has. It is still something 

that gives me such a thrill. I think it is a 

kind of feeling that makes you want to 

go bigger, better, stronger, harder, and 

push every limit. We were fortunate to 

be able to assemble a team with the best 

crew on the planet that we flew in from 

around the world. Some of the guys on 

our team were stadium guys that came 

down to the arena world to work on 

this project because they were so excited 

about it. The things we did with our 

rigging and automation and squeezing 

this massive setup into some of these 

arenas challenged the crew. It was awesome 

to see people that have toured for 

25 to 30 years be like, "Holy shit, this 

is cool." That was so awesome because 

they have seen basically everything, so 

to kind of impress them was such an 

exciting thing. It was also a rewarding 

thing to know that you are doing something 

challenging, whether it is good 

or not haha. 

What is the connection between War and 

Joy? I know that there is a message behind 

the name of the tour. 

I think the best reference would be that 

'I am a legend' movie. There is a scene 

where the whole city wrecked, but there 

is that one patch that has grass. It's 

about no matter how crazy everything 

is; there is always going to be that one 

thing or object that is a happy element 

and that it is never only bad. That was 

the one perfect reference that we always 

came back on. Alex was really the main 

brains behind the name & concept before 

we started to execute it all. 

What inspired all of the insane visual 

images? I read that the design portrays 

things that are personal to you guys? 

Yeah! It was one of those things where 

we had an album, and then we were able 

to develop that album into live versions 

and production and tell a story. Building 

it over 9-months, we could put in 

an extremely personal message. There 

are many powerful moments like Alex's 

piano that has a powerful quote that we 

put in there. It was also just to try and 

stop the show and make people think 

that we are close and that we are family 

and that everybody in the room is in 

this together, and make everyone feel 

that we are all one on the planet and 

that we are all human. We wanted to 

make it super inclusive and intimate, 

and that is one of the reasons why we 

had that massive runway and the kit in 

the middle of the crowd. We had that 

floating bridge over the crowd as well. It 

was just those kinds of things we did to 

help bring us to the crowd rather than 

just being on a 60 by 40 stage. We wanted 

to be in there with them. We created 

all the visual images behind us in a 

way that accentuates what we are trying 

to do. So, for example, everything 

up until Don't Let Me Down has like 

blue and pink pastel colors, and then 

all the songs from there have black and 

red, and that is it. It makes you think 

like, "Ok, here we go." That is where we 

introduced flames, and I had distortion 

effects on my drums. I played massive, 

ridiculous drum fills, driving the drops 

with massive four on the floor grooves 

to give people that sense of like "Ok so 

you are in second gear, driving on the 

highway and then "Ok, now you are in 

full throttle." It was incredible to be able 

to take people onto that journey and tell 

visual and sonic story. 

The pyrotechnics that you have in the 

show are insane, but the one thing (as a 

drummer) that I loved the most was you 

setting your sticks on fire! Was it scary 

practicing this for the first time? 

We have a fantastic pyrotechnics crew 

that has been with us for a long time. 

I did some training with them and 

learned some fire safety stuff and had 

the sticks machine-made and done 

property. I tested the idea out in a car 

park at Production Club at like 3 am in 

the morning. When I first did it, I realized 

that it looked far more dangerous 

than it actually was. I don't recommend 

anyone that is reading this article to go 

and do it, though. The only time that 

it got crazy for me was when I did it on 

tour in the middle of the crowd 18 feet 

in the air surrounded by 20 000 people 

some nights, because if it went wrong, 

then it would go very wrong, hahaha! 

But it was still sick because I like adrenaline. 

Can you tell us more about your new Pearl 

kits and the design concept behind them? 

Do you incorporate the design of the current 

tour? 

I wanted the A kit, which is on the main 

stage, to have a murdered out low profile 

finish. My favourite colour is black, 

so I wanted to do something that looked 

like a total machine. It had this custom 

double rack set up that my drum tech 

Jay designed with Pearl out in Nashville. 

It was just this low rider, blacked 

out, chunky kit. It was so much fun, 

and it packed such a punch, especially 

with having Sabian cymbals and all 

that kind of stuff. 

The B kit is identical. I am lucky 

enough to actually have three identical 

kits, but on this tour, I only had two on 

stage. The second kit is identical, but 

instead of having the shells murdered 

out, I had them wrapped with all of 

the names of the songs on all of our albums. 

You have Sick Boy, Memories, Do 

Not Open and Paris, etc. It was in the 

middle of the crowd, so I wanted it to 

feel like you can connect to the drums 

in a sense because you can visually see 

things that you identify with. 

That is a Pearl Reference series, right? 

Yes, I believe it is. I did a video with 

Pearl, where my drum tech Jay went 

through all the specs and stuff. I can't 

exactly remember all of the fine details 

about it, but yeah, it is massive and so 

sick, haha! (Continues on the page ) 


MAD MAX Photos from the 42 date World War Joy Tour, showcasing some of the design aspects, including, carefuly planned lighting, lasers and even a 'Globe of 

death' with three motorcycles in it all playing on the idea of a post-apocalyptic theme that reflects on the contrast of light and dark. 


“It was a 9-month build, which 

we started from scratch. We 

always wanted it to be this 

mad max, post-apocalypse.” 



You recently moved from Mapex drums 

and Soultone cymbals to Pearl and Sabian. 

What were your reasons for switching 

brands? 

Yeah, dude, the whole thing was pretty 

wild. I wanted to try something different 

going into that album cycle. It was 

hard because I like to think that I am a 

super loyal person across the board with 

everything in life, but with my drums 

and my cymbals, going into this new 

phase and pushing the band, I wanted 

to try something new and spice things 

up. I was with Mapex before Pearl, so I 

made the switch at the same time that 

I made the switch from Soultone to Sabian. 

The funny thing is that I was actually 

with Sabian before Soultone. I 

love Soultone, they are incredible cymbals, 

made well, and they sound great, 

but with having two kits on stage with 

the amount of touring and production 

we do and the sound that I was going 

for steered away from those hand 

made cymbals. I didn't need that type 

of sound anymore, and I thought that 

If I am going to change drums, then I 

am going to change cymbals as well. It 

is one of those things where everyone 

has their opinion as they should, but 

the full answer to the entire thing is 

that the sound of hand made cymbals 

and Pearl drums weren't vibing for me 


“their opinions are 

their opinions. If you 

feed into that and 

take it to heart, it will 

just manipulate your 

decision, and that is 

never a good way to 

decide on anything.“ 

“remember that we all 

started playing to no one in 

a bedroom with an incredibly 

shitty drum kit.” 

so I just went back to the company that 

I always loved and that was it. 

There are drummers out there that feel as 

if changing brands is breaking some religion, 

haha, but there is usually a valid reason 

behind a drummer making the switch! 

Yeah, I mean look, everyone is going 

to say what they want to say and their 

opinions are their opinions. I don't care 

if someone says it is a terrible idea or a 



great idea. If you feed into that and take 

it to heart, it will just manipulate your 

decision, and that is never a good way 

to decide on anything. But yeah, when 

I went to Pearl, it was savage, but you 

can't just do something to please people, 

you have to put yourself first sometimes 

and just roll with it. Pearl and Sabian 

have been amazing, and of course, 

Vater and Evans have always been rock 

solid. People are going to say what they 

are going to say. It is not the end of the 

world what drum you hit, as long as you 

are hitting it well and hitting it hard, 

who really cares? 

Everybody can agree that you have quite 

an insane, busy lifestyle with tons of fulfillment 

and creativity. What do you do 

in your downtime when you get a chance 

to be away from the drums, touring, and 

designing world-class shows? 

I love driving my car because I am an 

car freak and hanging out with my girlfriend 

Amy-Jane Brand. We had our 5th 

anniversary not long ago. She has been 

so rock solid. We met in 2012 when I 

headlined a festival with a DJ act, so she 

has been around for a lot of everything. 

She gets it, so whenever I have downtime, 

she is straight in there, haha! 

She is the priority of all my downtime, 

and yeah, I love driving and racing legally 

and not illegally, haha! I love the 

F1 and that kind of stuff and just anything 

that has to do with racing. That's 

it man, I am a pretty simple dude, and 

I stick to what I know and what I am 

good at. I don't really have any hobbies 

or any other interests. What you see is 

what you get, and that's it. 

Thank you so much for the chat, man. 

Lastly, what advice would you give to people 

out there that want to pursue a career 

in music? 

I get this question a lot, and my answer 

is always to be yourself, stay true 

to you, and don't be afraid to take risks 

that don't seem tangible at the time because 

you never know. There is always a 

percentage of possibility that you could 

pull it off, and if you do pull it off, the 

award completely outweighs the fear or 

risk. Today, it is a super over-saturated 

industry with millions of musicians 

and bands; however, there is only one of 

you. I know that sounds so cliche, but 

don't shy away because everybody has 

something to offer. That is something 

extremely valuable in itself. If you are 

out there and want to do what I am doing 

or something in the same kind of 

realm, remember that we all started 

playing to no one in a bedroom with an 

incredibly shitty drum kit. 


By: Warren van Wyk 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fill 2 

Fill 3 

Fill 4 

Fill 5 

Fill 6 

Fill 7 

 

 

PARADIDDLE FILLS - PART 01 

Fill 1 - All of the following fills are to be played with a RLRR LRLL sticking. 

 

 

 

 

.CO.ZA 

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - PERSONAL USE ONLY

"After many years of 

drumming, I have realized 

that it is difficult 

to stay motivated and 

inspired all the time. 

The longer you play, the 

more frustrating and 

the harder it gets." 

A 

•GET 

INSPIRED 

•STAY 

MOTIVATED 

s you set bigger challenges and goals 

and start tackling more intense songs or 

genres that are out of your comfort zone. 

All drummers of all ages and skill levels 

know exactly what I'm talking about. 

These 10 tips that I have outlined below 

should help you to keep things fresh, 

keep things moving forward, and most 

of all, keep things drumming. 

There have been many times in my career 

that I wanted to GIVE UP and stop 

drumming completely over the years 

because despite of all the hours of study 

and practice that I put in, I often felt as if 

I was inadequate, not good enough and 

not improving at the rate that I wanted 

to. In hindsight, I hate to think what 

would have happened if I had stopped 

drumming – because drumming has 

been my career and main source of income 

for the last 28 years. It's my calling, 

my passion, my life, my happy place, and 

it has given me many fun experiences, 

loads of laughs, great and not so great 

gigs too. I have traveled the world playing 

music, and I have made many incredible 

memories and special friends. 

With Sean ‘Styx’ Nunan 


1.DRUMMING IS ALL ABOUT YOU 

First and foremost, you must AL- 

WAYS play for you. DRUMMING 

SHOULD ALWAYS BE FUN! Play songs 

that you like and practice things that 

you really want to develop, stuff that 

you want to achieve that will help you 

grow as a person and a drummer. You 

will stay consistent for years to come if 

you feel like you are in control of your 

playing and that you are doing what you 

know is right. If you want to explore a 

particular genre, then follow your instincts 

and go for it. Don't let others 

dictate or influence you that what you 

want to improve on is irrelevant or 'not 

cool' etc. I got called a 'sell-out' many 

years ago because I decided to become a 

cover drummer and play predominantly 

on an electronic kit. Hey, I am still a 

working drummer earning a good living 

playing the drums. 

2.SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS THAT 

CAN BE MEASURED 

Setting large long term goals 

and short term practice goals is a great 

way to keep you excited about playing. 

Say, for instance, that you want to be 

a working professional in three years 

with a brand new DW kit, top of the 

range cymbals of choice loaded neatly 

into your brand new Land Rover 4x4, 

then what are the steps that you would 

need to take to get there? How much 

practice will you do daily? Who are the 

people that you need to build contacts 

with? How much will you need to save 

up to by that gear and car and to be able 

to sustain yourself until the paid gigs 

and studio sessions start coming in? 

Figure out what you need to do each day, 

monitor and track your progress, and 

keep YOUR dreams alive at all times. 

3.MIX IT UP! WATCH LISTEN AND 

LEARN 

Go to live gigs, listen to incredible 

music, and how other drummers 

and musicians approach songs and 

grooves. Doing these things will MO- 

TIVATE you to want to improve. Dom 

Famularo always says 'Steal with your 

eyes, and then go and give it away to 

others that need it. Share your knowledge. 

Check out drum clips and drum 

covers on YouTube. If you are always 

exposed to drumming and players that 

blow you away, then you can't help but 

want to get better. Watching and listening 

to other drummers is time well 

spent and will INSPIRE you to get the 

music and ideas that you will need to 

grow and progress in your drumming 

journey. 

4.FIND A MENTOR 

Having a drum teacher is one 

thing, but finding a mentor 

can be life-changing. 

Sometimes your 

drum teacher can also 

become your mentor. 

If you are under the 

tutelage of someone 

you really want to emulate, 

you will come 

on leaps and bounds. 

Their success, drive, 

and enthusiasm will 

rub off on you, and 

you, too, will find 

yourself on an accelerated 

learning curve. 

I am fortunate that I 

have more than one 

mentor. Georg Voros 

and Dennis Donnelly 

are my go-to guys; 

both these two fine 

drummers have always 

been my INSPI- 

RATION for advice 

and guidance. Both are seasoned musicians, 

and I value and listen to any advice 

or input that they offer me. Their 

knowledge and wisdom of the music 

industry are priceless. 

5.HAVE A HUMBLE BUT COMPET- 

ITIVE SPIRIT 

It is good to be competitive 

amongst your drumming peers. But it 

must be a healthy, constructive competition. 

For some unknown reason, I'm 

not sure why, but musicians tend to shy 

Follow 

Sean 

to see his words 

in action 

Instagram 

/sean_styx_nunan 

Facebook 

/drummerabsolutelyfabulousduo 

away from competition as if it's a bad 

thing. But think about it. How do top 

athletes become so damn good year after 

year? It's the competition pushing 

them to reach new heights of ability 

and performance. If mediocre players 

surround you, nothing is forcing you to 

improve, but if great players surround 

you, then your competitive streak will 

kick in and drive you to practice better 

and more often. Never have an arrogant 

attitude that you are better than other 

drummers. Mike Johnston explains it 

so well in one of his YouTube videos. 

He uses a drum stick analogy to signify 

our drumming journey, and wherever 

you place yourself 

on the drum stick, remember 

that you used 

to be like those drummers 

behind you, so 

help them, encourage 

them, motivate them 

and inspire them. 

On the other side of 

where you are on the 

stick, don't be jealous 

of those ahead of you, 

aspire to be like them, 

study them, emulate 

them, and, if possible, 

ask them what they 

have done to get as far 

as they have. 

6. 

QUESTION 

YOUR MO- 

TIVES. ASK 

YOURSELF 'WHY AM I 

DOING THIS?' 

If you have a big enough WHY then 

you can motivate yourself to do almost 

anything. Ask yourself these questions 

daily, 'WHY do I play the drums?' HOW 

does drumming make me feel? WHAT 

will happen if I don't practice? For some 

people, it could mean the difference between 

happiness and depression, having 

to work a job or not, paying the 

bills, or not having to live from hand 

to mouth. The bigger your list of WHY's 

and the stronger your list of WHY's, the 

more inspired and motivated you will 

PHOTOGRAPHY: ROLAND SOUTH AFRICA 


Get Inspired • Stay Motivated 

become. Write down your WHY's and 

refer to them often. 

7.ALWAYS BE TEACHABLE 

If you are teachable and have a 

humble spirit, you will grow as a 

drummer and as a human being. Open 

your mind to new ideas, new grooves, 

and new genres of music—the bigger 

your drumming toolbox and vocabulary, 

the more in demand that you will 

become. Find a good teacher, learn to 

read drum music, aspire to become a 

better drummer daily, put in the hours, 

and you will succeed. Always have a 

PLAN: create a consistent practice routine 

and stick to it. 

8.TAKE TIME OUT WHENEVER 

YOU GET INTO A RUT 

When I ask all of my mates 

who are working musicians how they 

keep things fresh, they always say it 

is important to TAKE A BREAK! Take 

some time out. Just a little time off here 

and there to go for a run, read a book, 

play tennis or do something not related 

to drumming. You'd be surprised 

how creative and disciplined you'll be 

when you come back to it. Relax as often 

as possible, and always think positive 

thoughts about your drumming 

ability. 

9.WORK ON GRADED BOOKS 

LIKE ROCK SCHOOL OR TRIN- 

ITY LONDON ETC. 

It sounds obvious, but grades are literally 

a form of monitoring how good you 

are. It feels pretty good to get a piece of 

paper that says, 'Yes, you are this good.' 

But you might not be the kind of drummer 

who takes exams and quests for 

certificates, and that's totally fine. However, 

you can still track your abilities 

by playing through pieces from Trinity 

London or Rock School graded exam 

books. For example, if you passed your 

exam with pieces A, B, and a particularly 

fiendish rudimental study – have 

you ever even looked at pieces C, D, E, 

F, and G? Grade books are full of styles 

that you would never come across in 

your drumming life and in that way, 

they're full of fresh challenges. 

10.KEEP PRACTICING 

Make regular practice a 

consistent routine. Human 

beings are conditioned from little 

to stick to a routine. Never stop trying 

new things. Buy a book that goes over a 

style you are not familiar with. That'll 

help you develop and change your feel 

more than you can ever imagine. I know 

things get repetitive doing rudiments 

with a metronome, but if you stop doing 

that, you will lose touch with it quickly. 

But it is easy to get back into the rhythm 

again. Consistency is 

Key! Neil Peart, May 

he RIP, for example, 

was always at the top 

of his game. He was 

considered one of the 

best in the world, but 

he continued to study 

with Freddy Gruber, 

which changed 

his playing dramatically. 

He said he was 

still playing the same 

songs, but with the 

new fresh approach, 

they felt completely 

different to play. 

Even when he was at 

his best, he tried to 

be better himself as a 

drummer and to feel 

the same thing from a 

different angle. 

We can get bored doing 

the same thing 

over and over, that's 

natural for any drummer. 

So, find an angle 

at which you are 

not familiar with and 

explore it. Try limiting 

or increasing the 

number of drums 

you use. Try playing 

left-handed (if you are predominantly 

right-handed). Never stop practicing. 

You can always find ways to improve, 

and once you find that niche anything 

you are not familiar with, you can then 

implement it in your own playing environment. 

We will all have a lull every 

once in a while. Its completely normal, 

but remember, even the best drummers 

in the world are continually adapting 

and changing the way they approach 

the drum kit. 

Airto 

Moreira: 

"INSPIRATION is not 

inside of us. INSPIRA- 

TION comes from outside. 

It comes from our 

spiritual guides and 

from different energies 

that are in the 

universe. If we keep in 

touch with God and 

our spiritual guides, 

just knowing that 

they exist and that 

they are there for us, 

gives us the strength 

to say well this is a 

bad phase, but it's going 

to end, and when 

it ends I'm going to do 

something good and 

come out stronger." 

SO IN CONCLUSION. Enjoy playing the 

drums. When you are in enjoyment 

mode, you get a lot of new ideas, and as 

these ideas come up, they will INSPIRE 

you. This type of inspiration makes you 

want to apply these ideas to the drum 

set and motivates you 

to be your best possible 

self. 

Go out and listen to 

music, go out and listen 

to new bands and 

new drummers. Listen 

to what they are 

doing and how they 

are interpreting what 

they do. Real-life experiences 

and situations 

can motivate you 

in different ways to 

make music through 

emotions that you feel 

at different times like 

sadness, happiness, 

love, loss, positive and 

negative feelings. It's 

a yin and yang energy 

that will flow to your 

drum set. 

There is a famous 

quote by 'Airto' Moreira, 

who is a Brazilian 

drummer who remains 

one of popular 

music's most in-demand 

percussionists. 

His collection of instruments, 

along with 

his knack for playing 

the right sound at the right moment, 

has made him the first choice of many 

producers and bandleaders.

Issue 13 - Matt McGuire - June 2020

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?