Issue 13 - Matt McGuire - June 2020
Jack-of-all-trades, master of none...Not when we're talking about Matt McGuire, he has definitely mastered it all. From killing the youtube world to smashing stages with The Chainsmokers (Performing with them and actually planning the shows from a creative aspect). We bring you another jam-packed issue as South Africa finally nears the end of its Lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic. “America has 330 million people, so just the population density, the contrast, and their competitiveness was honestly great because I get fueled by Adrenaline” - Matt McGuire Industry superpowers, educator royalty, South African legends and Afrikaans pioneers: • Matt McGuire • Brent Harris • Ruan Kruger • Bruce Becker We add a cheeky interview with Sheldon YOKO to this issue, it's silly, it's lighthearted. It'll make you chuckle, and that's never a bad thing. We have Sean Nunan talking about staying motivated and finding that inspiration, something we all need in these scary times. We also have the incredible Travis Marc sharing some wisdom on "Sticking Around" We throw in the drum chart for Matthew Mole's "Let Me' into this issue. If you dig groovy pop music and broad triplet grooves, then this is the one for you! We even have a drum lesson in here where Warren shows you how to play a handful of unique and quite frankly killer paradiddle fills. Grab issue 13 now and kill the COVID-19 stay home boredom! – SA Drummer Team.
Jack-of-all-trades, master of none...Not when we're talking about Matt McGuire, he has definitely mastered it all. From killing the youtube world to smashing stages with The Chainsmokers (Performing with them and actually planning the shows from a creative aspect). We bring you another jam-packed issue as South Africa finally nears the end of its Lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“America has 330 million people, so just the population density, the contrast, and their competitiveness was honestly great because I get fueled by Adrenaline”
- Matt McGuire
Industry superpowers, educator royalty, South African legends and Afrikaans pioneers:
• Matt McGuire
• Brent Harris
• Ruan Kruger
• Bruce Becker
We add a cheeky interview with Sheldon YOKO to this issue, it's silly, it's lighthearted. It'll make you chuckle, and that's never a bad thing.
We have Sean Nunan talking about staying motivated and finding that inspiration, something we all need in these scary times. We also have the incredible Travis Marc sharing some wisdom on "Sticking Around"
We throw in the drum chart for Matthew Mole's "Let Me' into this issue. If you dig groovy pop music and broad triplet grooves, then this is the one for you! We even have a drum lesson in here where Warren shows you how to play a handful of unique and quite frankly killer paradiddle fills.
Grab issue 13 now and kill the COVID-19 stay home boredom!
– SA Drummer Team.
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INTERVIEWS LESSONS ARTICLES<br />
ISSUE <strong>13</strong><br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
Interviews<br />
& features<br />
Bruce becker<br />
ruan kruger<br />
brent harris<br />
get inspired<br />
By sean 'styx' nunan<br />
the art of<br />
sticking around<br />
MATT<br />
By travis marc<br />
MCGUIRE<br />
sa|drummer<br />
academy<br />
30 day free trial<br />
for Online lessons<br />
ts&cs Apply • more inside<br />
GET INVOLVED IN A BIGGER WAY. VOTING POWER AND EXCLUSIVE CONTENT. MORE INSIDE.
WHAT’S<br />
INSIDE<br />
ISSUE 12<br />
interviews & features<br />
6<br />
Ruan Kruger<br />
(Straatligkinders & Moses Metro Man)<br />
18<br />
Brent Harris<br />
(Just Jinjer)<br />
26<br />
Bruce Becker<br />
(Educator Royalty)<br />
34<br />
Quirky Questions<br />
(with Sheldon YOKO)<br />
articles & reviews<br />
17<br />
The Art Of 'Sticking Around'<br />
(by Travis Marc)<br />
24<br />
Let Me<br />
(Drum Chart - <strong>Matt</strong>hew Mole)<br />
36<br />
<strong>Matt</strong> <strong>McGuire</strong><br />
(The Chainsmokers)<br />
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COVER PHOTOGRAPHY: DANILO LEWIS<br />
49<br />
Paradiddle Fills Part 1<br />
(Lesson - Warren van Wyk)<br />
50<br />
Get Inspired • Stay Motivated<br />
(by Sean 'Styx' Nunan)<br />
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Editor’s Letter<br />
Chaos or Clarity<br />
What a crazy time we have been<br />
being so busy and also having<br />
living in. Speaking with different<br />
to hustle hustle hustle. Having<br />
people, it has become apparent<br />
the time, I decided to really re-<br />
how Covid-19 has affected every-<br />
flect on all the things I should be<br />
one in different ways. It has ei-<br />
more grateful for. Sometimes we<br />
ther been a negative or positive<br />
are so busy that we forget that we<br />
experience. For those that got<br />
are actually able to put food on<br />
infected, lost their lives, and the<br />
the table. We have health, legs to<br />
families and friends of the peo-<br />
walk on, and many other things<br />
ple that have lost their lives, we<br />
that other people can only dream<br />
are genuinely sorry.<br />
of having. When life gets busy,<br />
Going into this lockdown,<br />
and we are continually trying to<br />
many people became uncertain<br />
get to the next level, next income<br />
of how it would affect them. I<br />
bracket, next goal, we sometimes<br />
was, of course, one of them, but<br />
forget to appreciate how far we<br />
I decided to maintain a positive<br />
have already come. We forget to<br />
attitude and notice all the good<br />
appreciate the present moment<br />
that can come from the lock-<br />
and all the things that we can be<br />
down. The one that was true to<br />
grateful for.<br />
me was getting the time to do<br />
Another thing I loved was how<br />
and finish projects that I want-<br />
people just made things happen.<br />
ed to complete but never had the<br />
The music industry seemed to be<br />
time due to running SA Drum-<br />
doomed, and every musician was<br />
mer, playing shows, teaching,<br />
worried about the industry col-<br />
etc. It was also an incredible time<br />
lapsing. Yet, people adapted and<br />
to reflect on all the things that<br />
created online shows, and teach-<br />
we can be grateful for that we<br />
ers built online platforms. It is<br />
usually take for granted. I found<br />
that I hardly lived in the present<br />
moment as I am always focussing<br />
on the next thing. Once I<br />
reach a goal, I found that I didn't<br />
just enjoy that moment enough.<br />
I was immediately thinking of<br />
the next goal, and that seems to<br />
have become the trend with life<br />
amazing how, as humans, we<br />
can adapt to any situation that<br />
is thrown at us if we keep a positive<br />
and "can't keep us down"<br />
mindset going.<br />
WARREN VAN WYK<br />
EDITOR<br />
WvW<br />
Editors<br />
Content Editor<br />
Art Director<br />
Designer<br />
Senior Writer<br />
Junior Writer<br />
Contributors<br />
Louis R. Malherbe<br />
Warren van Wyk<br />
Louis R. Malherbe<br />
Louis R. Malherbe<br />
Warren van Wyk<br />
Warren van Wyk<br />
Louis R. Malherbe<br />
Travis Marc<br />
Sean Nunan<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY: DENEKA DANILO LEWIS PENISTON<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 5
Ruan<br />
Kruger<br />
By Warren van Wyk<br />
The<br />
quintessential<br />
afrikaans drummer<br />
Hey Ruan, Thank you so much for taking the<br />
time out to chat. Seeing as you are in the<br />
thick of things with all of us South Africans<br />
during thi slockdown, How are things going<br />
on your end?<br />
Things are going great man, considering<br />
how strange this time is and what toll it<br />
took on our country we can't complain.<br />
If you can generate an income or just do<br />
something in this lockdown, you're doing<br />
great. I hope things are great at your end<br />
too? It looks like you guys are absolutely<br />
killing it at SA DRUMMER, congrats on<br />
that man! (Continues on the next page)<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 7
RUAN KRUGER<br />
We really appreciate the kind words! Most<br />
people will know you from Straaligkinders.<br />
Can you give us more insight into<br />
your early beginnings, though?<br />
I started drums when I was 19. I saved<br />
and bought a kit at that age because a<br />
friend had a drumkit that I could not<br />
get off of. I remember watching all the<br />
music videos of Blink 182, Limp Bizkit,<br />
SUM41, and Good Charlotte and all<br />
those bands of the early 2000s that were<br />
cool. Also, at that time, I just started<br />
playing guitar. Eventually, I got hold of<br />
a P.O.D. DVD called "Paid my Dues," and<br />
after I watched that, I was totally convinced<br />
I needed to get a drumkit and<br />
start playing.<br />
Was Straaligkinders the first band that<br />
you ever played for?<br />
Straatligkinders was actually my 3rd<br />
band. I was a "Stand-in drummer" for<br />
my boet Hein and our guitarist Bennie's<br />
first band called "Playtime raid."<br />
I was drumming for about one or two<br />
months, and I had to play my first gig in<br />
Klerksdorp for them, and we had to do<br />
Korn, The Narrow, and Offspring covers.<br />
It was so scary and epic at the same<br />
time. After that I was part of a band<br />
called Toth which was a crazy prog-rock<br />
like group. Most of the musos in that<br />
band had grade 8 in their instruments<br />
or were busy studying classic stuff at<br />
the Potch university while I had only<br />
played for like a year, so rehearsing with<br />
those guys felt like a whole body and<br />
mind workout. I think that helped me<br />
so much with my drumming to date.<br />
8 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
PHOTOGRAPHY PREVIOUS SPREAD: WERNER BOTHA
“i find myself in a more<br />
composed arena of drumming<br />
and writing”<br />
Who were the local and international guys<br />
that inspired you when you first began,<br />
and who are the local and international<br />
drummers that inspire you now?<br />
Back then, I loved the style of guys like<br />
Morgan Rose from Sevendust, Abe<br />
Cunningham from Deftones, Joe Pasillas<br />
from Incubus, and Wuv from P.O.D.<br />
They had a very specific groove and<br />
style that was mesmerizing to me, and<br />
the art of not being too busy but not<br />
being boring was perfect! Locally, was<br />
the drummer from The Narrow. He had<br />
a similar style to the above mentioned.<br />
Today, I still enjoy listening to all of<br />
them and also adding the likes of Travis<br />
Barker (obviously) and <strong>Matt</strong> Greiner<br />
from August Burns Red. However, I do<br />
find myself in a more composed arena<br />
of drumming and writing. That's what<br />
happens when you mature as a musician.<br />
The song has a little more priority<br />
than my drumming, but only a little :-)<br />
Can you tell us about how Straaligkinders<br />
began, and how you guys met?<br />
Well, It was like the most perfectly<br />
timed thing ever. My brother and Bennie's<br />
band (Playtime Raid) broke up in<br />
the same week as my other band (Toth)<br />
broke up. Hein and Bennie approached<br />
me and asked if I would like to jam with<br />
them, and obviously I was super keen!<br />
Hein then suggested that we ask Bouwer,<br />
who is a year older than us and was<br />
in the same primary school as Hein<br />
and me, and in the same High school<br />
as Bennie. Just to clarify, Grade 6's trying<br />
to hang with Gr7's was only for the<br />
elite kind of kids, so we knew who Bouwer<br />
was, but we were never friends in<br />
school days. The same applies to Bennie<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY: WERNER BOTHA; 2 <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 9
Ruan Kruger<br />
"By nature, we<br />
are positive<br />
dudes, and we<br />
try our best<br />
regardless of<br />
a band image to<br />
show that.”
university really gives the place a great<br />
atmosphere, and I would honestly not<br />
have chosen any other place to start or<br />
do this.<br />
I first saw Straatligkinders on the famous<br />
MK89 channel. How did MK89 help the<br />
band get out there?<br />
That was the big game-changer. Finally,<br />
there was another alternative to radio<br />
stations, and it didn't have to be<br />
radio-friendly to make it onto the chanand<br />
going to High school with Bouwer.<br />
Bennie did not even know Bouwer was<br />
the vice head boy when he was in matric.<br />
We somehow ended up going to the<br />
same youth church and seeing Bouwer<br />
there with his Tom de Longe Stratocaster,<br />
lip piercing, and green hair and<br />
he felt like he would be a good fit. Hein<br />
approached him, popped the question,<br />
and the rest is history.<br />
When you started Straatligkinders, did<br />
you think it would have taken off the way<br />
it did? Was that your intention, or did it<br />
happen unexpectedly?<br />
Well, as I mentioned earlier, Straatligkinders<br />
was just this perfectly timed<br />
thing. At the time we started, Fokofpolisiekar<br />
just took a break, so there<br />
were no real rock and roll/punk bands<br />
on MKatthetime. Th erewasthis<br />
huge gap that was waiting to be filled,<br />
and we didn't really realize or know<br />
it. I remember the music videos those<br />
days were very average as South Africa<br />
was only exposed to this properly<br />
when MKstarted,sothefactthatwe<br />
did such a good video (for that time)<br />
for "Die Beskermer" completely caught<br />
people by surprise. I also believe that<br />
we had a different outlook, vibe, and<br />
message about us that helped us be the<br />
one and only at that time.<br />
When did you guys realize that you had<br />
something special and that it was something<br />
you needed to pursue full-time?<br />
Man, I would never forget that. Our th<br />
live show as a band was at an Oppikoppi<br />
Easter festival. It got broadcasted<br />
live, which my mind was not ready for,<br />
and the live performance showed it,<br />
L.O.L. Shortly after that, we released the<br />
video for "Gedagte vir die dag," and we<br />
then played our first show in the Cape<br />
region at KKNK. That was the first time<br />
we traveled out of the Gauteng region<br />
to play a paid fee show the other side<br />
of the country. I remembered that every<br />
single person in the crowd knew every<br />
single word to every single song from<br />
our only album at that time. There were<br />
about - people in the hall.<br />
There were two kids from Wales, who<br />
moved to South Africa and came all the<br />
way from Cape town wanting to meet<br />
me, watch the show and ask for sticks, it<br />
was so surreal. After all that happened,<br />
I knew we had something great!<br />
Straatligkinders made a massive impact<br />
on music in Potchefstroom as you guys<br />
were pretty much the first rock band<br />
from there to really make it nationwide.<br />
Since then, you've become a rock revolution<br />
countrywide. What do you feel you<br />
guys did differently than other bands trying<br />
to make it?<br />
Well, it's very weird to claim it for yourself<br />
you know, but we have heard so<br />
many times that the band was part of<br />
completing someone's youth and even<br />
helped them through their toughest<br />
times, or without this album or band,<br />
they didn't know what their lives would<br />
be like. It's great to hear these things,<br />
and I definitely think we did play a role<br />
in developing a genre or defining a particular<br />
era of time.<br />
I don't know what it was those days,<br />
but if you were a band from Stellenbosch<br />
or Bellville, you were set and almost<br />
guaranteed to do well. We were<br />
the first band from Potch to reach "that<br />
level" if you know what I mean. I do also<br />
believe that we were the first in South<br />
Africa and Afrikaans to do the hardcore<br />
pop-punk sound, which played a<br />
big part in why people were so accepting<br />
of the band. But it doesn't mean<br />
that we were the only band from Potch,<br />
there was a healthy vibe of bands at<br />
that time. I just think we were exactly<br />
what M.K. and people needed at that<br />
time, and that we did not tick the classic<br />
rock and roll lifestyle box.<br />
Was it challenging to start and grow a<br />
band in a small town like Potch?<br />
Well, our biggest challenge was actually<br />
music shops in Potch. We had to<br />
drive an hour and a half to Joburg to get<br />
gear. The time Straatligkinders started,<br />
social media began with "MY SPACE,"<br />
and then shortly after that, Facebook<br />
followed, which meant that we had<br />
the benefit of advertising ourselves no<br />
matter where the band was located. As<br />
I mentioned earlier, the timing of this<br />
band was just perfect, and social media<br />
was HUGE for us when we started. I<br />
think it was strange for people to hear<br />
that an alternative band from Potch was<br />
making waves because Potch is very<br />
well known to be very conservative. The<br />
"I just had this feeling<br />
that I wanted to<br />
be remembered for<br />
being or doing something<br />
significant."<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY: HEIN KRUGER<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 11
Ruan Kruger<br />
“I mentioned how lucky we<br />
were with MK89 , but we really<br />
worked hard on this, every<br />
second of energy we had we<br />
poured into it.”<br />
nel. MK is one of the biggest reasons<br />
I can to this job still today, the platform<br />
that got created was enormous. It's the<br />
first thing people watched when they<br />
got back from school. I remember how<br />
many times Hein and I watched MTV<br />
(when there was still music) just to wait<br />
till our fave new song and video played.<br />
MKwasexactlythatfortheyouth.<br />
Do you think that a channel like MK89<br />
made it easier to get your music out<br />
there?<br />
It really did, I think it was a lot easier<br />
to get on M.K. than on a radio station.<br />
MK89's goal when it started was the<br />
youth and students, and it was precisely<br />
what the music industry never had<br />
and needed.<br />
Straatligkinders had a massive impact on<br />
the youth in South Africa. Why do you<br />
think that was the case?<br />
We had a different view on things, and<br />
the lyrics Bouwer wrote and what he<br />
spoke about on stage and in interviews<br />
showed that. By nature, we are positive<br />
dudes, and we try our best regardless<br />
of a band image to show that. We didn't<br />
really buy into the stigma that this is<br />
12 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
PHOTOGRAPHY: WERNER BOTHA; 2
how rock and roll bands should be, do<br />
or say. It's music, and we have learned<br />
that it can mean the world to someone<br />
you have never even met.<br />
If you had to start Straaligkinders from<br />
scratch today, do you think it would be<br />
easier or more difficult?<br />
Well, it will be a little more difficult,<br />
but then again, you have the amazing<br />
power of Spotify, iTunes, etc. to<br />
get your music out to the world in a<br />
few easy steps that we didn't have back<br />
then when we started. That's not even to<br />
mention how Facebook can benefit your<br />
band page and it's music. You can also<br />
record your album way faster now than<br />
ten odd years ago. The process of getting<br />
a certain amount of copies printed and<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | <strong>13</strong>
Ruan Kruger<br />
out to the music stores was more time<br />
consuming and also expensive then it<br />
is now. I would say certain things are<br />
much easier now, but because we don't<br />
have something like MK at this moment,<br />
I do think it will be a tad more<br />
difficult to reach the height we did.<br />
Technology created very healthy competition<br />
amongst artists. There is a lot<br />
more happening now than just the odd<br />
album every two years with three music<br />
videos to go with it. Record labels<br />
are also turning into something of the<br />
past because the online world empowers<br />
you to do the marketing and business<br />
side yourself, and I think that is<br />
fantastic!<br />
When Straaligkinders decided to take a<br />
break, did you guys think that it was over<br />
for good, or was it always the plan to<br />
come back as you guys have?<br />
We always said we would come back<br />
together, and we knew that we would,<br />
but you could not help but have that<br />
% doubtthatitwouldneverhappen<br />
again. Luckily, we love each other and<br />
this baby of ours too much to stop yet.<br />
Do you feel that the break helped with<br />
the change of the band's sound in terms<br />
of maturity, etc?<br />
Yes, absolutely. We were hitting our mid<br />
to late s,andwedevotedsomuch<br />
time and energy into one space, which<br />
was the band. I do believe we needed to<br />
step outside the current situation just<br />
to change the view from where we were<br />
looking at. I felt that we needed to do<br />
that and also explore different ventures<br />
and opportunities to assist with this. It<br />
was not the easiest call to make at that<br />
time, but it was definitely the right one<br />
I feel.<br />
What other bands did you play for when<br />
Straatligkinders took a break? I know<br />
that you played guitar for another band<br />
as well?<br />
I played drums for a band called Moses<br />
Metro Man that I also managed<br />
and booked. That was an awesome side<br />
project and added so much dynamic<br />
to my playing and writing style. That<br />
happened shortly after the first break<br />
Straatlig took, and I'm grateful to have<br />
given so much for a project artistically.<br />
The band I played guitar for is a<br />
group called 'Ekhouvanjou, okay!' One<br />
could say I chose to play guitar in this<br />
band because I was over carrying my<br />
drum stuff alone and chose to stick to<br />
the minimum L.O.L. That group started<br />
before Straatligkinders took a break. I<br />
have no idea how to describe this band,<br />
all I can tell you is that is was pure pure<br />
fun. I guess we can call it comedy core<br />
or something, anyway, no one took<br />
things seriously, and we had one goal,<br />
% fun,andthatis whatit was.<br />
When Straatliginders came back, I<br />
went on tour with all three bands together<br />
in December. I played like <br />
shows and slept in a tent for the majority<br />
of the month. It was crazy. I got sick,<br />
got better, played a few shows, got sick,<br />
got better played a few shows. It was by<br />
far the best time of my life.<br />
Now that Straaligkinders is back, is the<br />
approach much different from how you<br />
did it in the past?<br />
We are actually trying to see it as starting<br />
over or starting from scratch. We<br />
love what we have always done, but we<br />
are also in love with what we still can<br />
do or have not yet done. We try to make<br />
better business calls, as all of us have<br />
other ventures and passion projects to<br />
keep ourselves busy. We are still 100%<br />
committed, but we have learned where<br />
to say no and where to say yes. We all<br />
just love performing, and we would<br />
love to play as much as possible and<br />
put out as much material as possible.<br />
Everyone in the band has other things going<br />
on outside of Straatligkinders, so do<br />
you feel that Straaligkinders will ever become<br />
a fulltime thing again?<br />
Well, I think we can consider this a fulltime<br />
thing with measures. To be completely<br />
honest, I don't think you can be<br />
a full-time band in South Africa like<br />
in the U.S. or Europe, just because we<br />
have so few venues and festivals in this<br />
small country. We should also remember<br />
that we have nine languages in our<br />
country, and the majority of people we<br />
cater to are only for a particular group<br />
of one of the languages. If you are in a<br />
band in the U.S., you have bigger states<br />
to travel through than South Africa.<br />
What are the plans for you and the band<br />
moving forward?<br />
We would just want to continue to put<br />
out new content and play live shows as<br />
much as we can. I think we have less<br />
pressure on ourselves because we all<br />
have other ventures and passion projects<br />
to do. Earlier years, we just had the<br />
band, and everything had to work out,<br />
or you would have nothing to do.<br />
What are your own personal goals in life<br />
and music?<br />
I really want to put hours into what<br />
means a lot to me, which is music, performing,<br />
writing, recording, and teaching.<br />
I remember when the band started,<br />
and I had this feeling that I just wanted<br />
to be remembered for being or doing<br />
something significant, whether it was<br />
for trying to be good at drums or just<br />
being a drummer in a band, that also<br />
challenged and changed a lot of what<br />
South Africans hear or know today. I'm<br />
very happy and extremely grateful for<br />
the opportunities that I had, but I know<br />
I/we still have more to bring and offer.<br />
Thank you so much once again for taking<br />
the time out to chat, man! Is there any<br />
encouragement or advice that you would<br />
like to give up and coming drummers and<br />
bands out there?<br />
For bands, I would just advise anyone<br />
never to give up and give it all you have<br />
while you have it. I mentioned how<br />
lucky we were with MK89 being there<br />
when we started and how the timing<br />
of the band helped a lot, but we really<br />
worked hard on this, every second of<br />
energy we had we poured into it. Ultimately,<br />
enjoying what you do is the<br />
most important, if you play just for<br />
yourself or for a band, being able to<br />
play is a privilege.<br />
14 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
PHOTOGRAPHY: CHRISTIAN PUREN
Ruan Kruger<br />
instagram.com/ruan_ruan_<br />
facebook.com/RuanKruger777<br />
Twitter.com/Ruandewdy<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY: BRANDON SOLOMONS
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By Travis Marc<br />
The Art Of<br />
'Sticking Around'<br />
Travis is a multi instrumentalist musician/songwriter originally<br />
from Jhb, South Africa now permanently living in New Orleans,<br />
Louisiana. He currently releases music with UK based band<br />
“Dead Days” and fronts alternative/rock band “Hyena Black”.<br />
Travis endorses Aquarian Drum Heads, Aston Microphones, Protection<br />
Racket Cases, Trailer Park Tees, Vater Drum Sticks, and<br />
Zildjian Cymbals.<br />
While thinking about<br />
some of the things<br />
I've done thus far in<br />
my career recently,<br />
I was hit with the following thought<br />
bubble, (that I then thought) might<br />
make for a decent subject to share<br />
with you all this months article.<br />
As I'm sure many of you reading<br />
this have - I've met (and gotten<br />
to know) many musicians over my<br />
years as a working musician. Some<br />
have been moderately talented,<br />
some have been incredibly talented<br />
and some have been, well, somewhere<br />
in-between the two.<br />
This in itself is not mind blowing<br />
thought, because if you gig long<br />
enough, or for a decent amount of<br />
time at least, you will understand<br />
that, eventually you just - see it all.<br />
The part that does however 'blow'<br />
my mind (personally) is the fact<br />
that many of the above mentioned<br />
individuals (across all levels) seem<br />
to simply “disappear” without a trace sometimes.<br />
And from what I've noticed, it is that<br />
they sadly (and usually) do so when it seems<br />
like they're just about to actually make their<br />
mark on this business.<br />
Now, you may be wondering why this is -<br />
and while I could entertain or even mention<br />
some hypothetical (or even real life) type<br />
scenarios as to why I’ve seen people get out<br />
of this crazy line of work. The truth is, that<br />
there are probably about a million reasons as<br />
to why so many come and go, (and at such a<br />
quick rate) in this beautifully/strange place<br />
we call the music industry.<br />
Life can be tough sometimes dudes and<br />
dudets and if you’re not paying attention, it<br />
can straight up slap you in the face (with a<br />
brick). We all get despondent and we all feel<br />
like giving up at different points along the<br />
way no matter what the work title may be,<br />
and let’s be honest - sometimes its easier to<br />
stay in bed all day than actually get up, and<br />
'get on with it'<br />
But... Let me share a little nugget of “old<br />
man wisdom” with you, that no one ever<br />
shared with me.<br />
Sometimes, just sticking around<br />
long enough can be a victory all on<br />
it's own. It can open up doors you<br />
didn’t even realize were there and<br />
possibly put you in positions you<br />
didn’t think you’d ever be in - purely<br />
because there was no one else left<br />
call. (Oh, and disclaimer I’m not old,<br />
yet)...<br />
Patience is a brilliant characteristic<br />
in this business. Put it in a little<br />
pot with some perseverance and<br />
you will find yourself with work<br />
for longer than you maybe thought<br />
you’d even be doing this whole “music<br />
thing”. Plus, longevity speaks<br />
volumes among your peers so just<br />
being “present” after many have<br />
disappeared can really work in your<br />
favour.<br />
So hang in there - because there’s<br />
a real art to “sticking around”.<br />
Goodluck to you all and I’m sure<br />
we’ll talk again soon.<br />
www.travismarc.com • www.deaddaysband.com • www.bonsaibeatsmusic.com<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 17
Brent Harris<br />
BRENT<br />
HARRIS<br />
A literal part of South African music history, from being a<br />
member of iconic band, Just Jinjer to starting an entertainment<br />
company and solidifying his presence within the music industry.<br />
By Warren van Wyk<br />
Photography by: Daniel Craig Johnson<br />
Howzit, Brent. Thank you so<br />
much for taking the time out<br />
to chat with us. What is happening<br />
in your world?<br />
Right now, we are in lockdown because<br />
of this Covid-issue,soI havebeen<br />
doing some home videos drumming to<br />
songs people have requested.<br />
Who are some of the drummers that influenced<br />
you throughout your career?<br />
I have to say Jeff Porcaro was my most<br />
significant influence. He grooved effortlessly<br />
and so comfortably in any genre<br />
he played. I had over albums the<br />
Toto drummer played on from Steely<br />
Dan to Lionel Richie to Michael Jackson<br />
and various GRP jazz records he did.<br />
Most people know you from Just Jinjer,<br />
but can you tell us about the early days<br />
and buildup to JJ?<br />
I started playing drums from an early<br />
age and got my first drum kit around<br />
/yearsold.Itwasa Premierkit,I<br />
could barely reach the kick drum pedal<br />
but slowly grew into it. I spent most<br />
of my time playing with my dad's big<br />
band records and everything I heard<br />
on the radio. It was the best lesson I<br />
could've asked for, and I was having<br />
loads of fun doing it. I went pro around<br />
17yrs old playing for a band called Soviet<br />
Blue. We did original gigs with No<br />
friends of Harry & Elemental at The<br />
Thunder Dome and Q's in town. A year<br />
later, I joined a cover band called Walk<br />
This Way, a huge departure from what<br />
I was playing with Soviet Blue. Walk<br />
this way was a powerhouse high energy<br />
club/corporate band that was more<br />
about the look than the musicianship.<br />
At ,I gottoplayatEllisParkbefore<br />
Paul Simon during his Graceland Tour<br />
in front of over people. I got to<br />
meet Steve Gadd and some other amazing<br />
musicians that day. As WTW, we<br />
did all the big Rand Show gigs and club<br />
gigs and played with Dr. Victor and Dr.<br />
Alban a few times. Around /, I lef<br />
WTW and started playing at Sun City<br />
with Verny Scholtz.<br />
I wanted to play rock music and a<br />
repertoire that interested and inspired<br />
me a little more like songs by The Police,<br />
Genesis, Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin,<br />
ZZ Top, Bob Marley, etc. I learned<br />
roughly songsin thefirstweek.It<br />
was then that I started singing a little<br />
while playing the drums. We had a huge<br />
repertoire. One week into the Sun City<br />
contract, we got to support Joe Cocker<br />
at The Superbowl, which was crazy as<br />
we were the first duo to play at The Superbowl<br />
in front of people. We<br />
were now called Two princes, which got<br />
stolen from a track on The Spin Doctors<br />
album. A year later, when Sting was in<br />
town, I got to meet Vinnie Calaiuta,<br />
crazy as it sounds we got to hang out<br />
a lot and even jammed together one<br />
afernoon for hours,thatwaspretty<br />
mind-blowing for me, and I'm sure for<br />
many drummers and musos.<br />
Afer doing The Miss World wrap party,<br />
Richard Marx, a few big corporates,<br />
and countless gigs at The Flamingo Bar,<br />
we lef Sun City and came back to Jhb,<br />
where we did the cover circuit pretty<br />
extensively. We were very busy; I remember<br />
only having one night off a<br />
week. I was also pretty busy doing studio<br />
sessions for Lucky Dube, Lebo M,<br />
and Soweto String Quartet. I also did a<br />
few ads, but the studio wasn't my happy<br />
place, I wanted to be on stage and feel<br />
the energy of the crowd.<br />
During this time, Tuxx joined the<br />
band on bass, and we were now called<br />
Tri Funk Era. I started singing a little<br />
more and wrote more original songs in<br />
amongst the covers we were doing. It<br />
was a good test to see if our originals<br />
stood up in between Led Zeppelin and<br />
Green Day on the dance floor. That was<br />
where I wrote Paradise in Summertime<br />
and Stand in your way with Verny. We<br />
actually did a double album as Tri Funk<br />
Era. Around early , I was restless<br />
and knew my voice or the voices in Tri<br />
Funk Era weren't strong or identifiable<br />
enough, so I went searching for a frontman<br />
vocalist. I heard Ard <strong>Matt</strong>hews<br />
sing at The Randburg waterfront afer<br />
a jam with a band called Cat Chambers.<br />
18 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
Brent Harris<br />
I now knew what needed to happen. Ard<br />
'auditioned' for the band. We recorded a<br />
few songs, and the rest, as they say, was<br />
history. We recorded a bunch of demos,<br />
some of our songs, and some of Ards.<br />
We dropped the Tri and became Funk<br />
Era for a while. These songs we recorded<br />
were so popular, and the cd sold like<br />
Hotcakes at our gigs, now we were ready<br />
to become JUST JINJER.<br />
Word has it that you had a very persistent<br />
approach for getting first-time radio play<br />
for JJ. How did this happen?<br />
Radio didn't want to play our first single<br />
Stand in your way, so I went to the<br />
stations and let myself in. My mission<br />
was to get the song played and let the<br />
people vote and decide. If they didn't<br />
vote kindly, we would submit a different<br />
track. Stand in your way became a<br />
massive hit for us afer fm playlisted<br />
it. All radio stations were playing the<br />
track, and it was a no. on Algoa Fm and<br />
Top onEastCoastaswellas..The<br />
following singles released didn't need<br />
as much convincing as Jinger was flying<br />
and packing out big venues by then.<br />
Shallow Waters (Ard's gem) was the second<br />
single, which was a no. all over<br />
the country followed by Father and Farther,<br />
which Ard and I co-wrote. These<br />
songs made our debut album 'All comes<br />
around' a household name selling over<br />
copies.<br />
Just Jinjer's debut album 'All Comes Round'<br />
became one of the best-selling rock albums<br />
in South African history. What did<br />
this feel like when the album hit this status?<br />
It was such a whirlwind experience and<br />
hard to put into words as no one expected<br />
this from a South African rock band<br />
in one of the smallest markets in the<br />
world. We were outselling U, Bush, No<br />
Doubt, and many international bands<br />
in SA. Crazy times, we would do a shop<br />
signing and sell merchandise for over<br />
hourswithqueuesaroundtheblock.<br />
We were very blessed and didn't really<br />
understand the magnitude this album<br />
had on people's lives. It kept selling, and<br />
we went from doing pub shows at Roxy's<br />
Rhythm Bar to doing school shows to<br />
todoingarenashows.LikeinPiet-<br />
ermaritzburg where people paid<br />
to get in, and we were the only band on<br />
the bill. Amazing memories. We needed<br />
security at all our events as people went<br />
crazy when we did shows. At that time<br />
we couldn't even walk around venues<br />
or signings without security.<br />
20 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
Was there a lot of pressure to maintain<br />
This hype with the next album?<br />
Yes, that is why we released the EP called<br />
"Something for now," as our label wanted<br />
to strike while the iron was hot. That<br />
album went gold in a few weeks with<br />
songs like Paradise in the summertime,<br />
Like you madly and the cover of Sugarman.<br />
It went on to sell around <br />
units.<br />
Just Jinjer moved overseas for a while to<br />
test the waters. Can you tell us about the<br />
high and lows that you guys experienced?<br />
The band moved to the UK for three<br />
years, and almost got a massive deal<br />
with Island records. Unfortunately, that<br />
fell through, so we decided to move to<br />
the US as we got a development deal<br />
with Capitol records. It was tough because<br />
we were so huge in SA for many<br />
years, and we were now in uncharted<br />
territories where people didn't know<br />
us and didn't really care at the time. We<br />
were in the US for almost seven years<br />
but never got a proper release album<br />
wise. We learned a lot as a band and<br />
grew as musicians living in LA. I loved<br />
it there as I had my beautiful wife Fiona<br />
with me, and it felt like home in California.<br />
My son Riley was born there.<br />
Just Jinjer (with the new spelling)<br />
released our self titled album in ,<br />
which again did really well for us going<br />
gold and selling around copies<br />
in SA. We had one of our biggest songs<br />
to date 'What he means" on the album<br />
and 'Time of your life,' which got used<br />
on one of the world cup releases through<br />
SONY. You could hear the growth of the<br />
band musically in the production on<br />
this record. That was also the first time<br />
the band produced an album thoroughly<br />
thanks to Sandy Chila, our then producer,<br />
and guitarist.<br />
We came back home just before the<br />
soccer world cup in and started a<br />
new life back in SA.<br />
There must have been countless incredible<br />
highlights that you have experienced<br />
with JJ. Can you tell us about some of your<br />
fondest memories?<br />
Another highlight was Mandelas <br />
shows. Jinjer got to meet the man himself<br />
and played at two of the concerts<br />
with Peter Gabriel, Annie Lennox, Live,<br />
and all the top SA bands at that time.<br />
Thirdly I would say supporting U2 in<br />
Cape Town was one for the books, the<br />
setting and all the emotions that came<br />
with it were just mind-blowing.<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 21
Brent Harris<br />
What were some of the hard lessons that<br />
you learned through your journey with JJ?<br />
"It's nice to be important but far more<br />
important to be nice."<br />
There have been so many bands that have<br />
come and gone pretty quickly. Just Jinjer<br />
has been able to hold its ground as one<br />
of SA's top and iconic bands for over 20<br />
years. What do you feel JJ has done differently<br />
than other bands?<br />
Fans were loyal because we wrote timeless<br />
hits that meant so much to people.<br />
They would come back to our shows because<br />
we were always better live than<br />
on album. Jinjer went through many<br />
guitarists and is now a three-piece and<br />
have been for many years. We are a family,<br />
we have been through a lot together,<br />
we know each other very well, hardly<br />
rehearse and really are family. It shows<br />
when we're on stage or backstage. There's<br />
deep love there.<br />
Just Jinjer is still active and playing shows<br />
around SA. Could we expect a new album<br />
in the foreseeable future?<br />
Our last album was four years ago, we<br />
may do another one as long as we are<br />
having fun and being honest. We do<br />
shows from time to time and the odd<br />
corporate together, and when we do,<br />
it's always special. We all have our own<br />
thing going on and separate businesses.<br />
I have an entertainment agency Harris<br />
& Miller, with six bands. Denholm is a<br />
multi-instrumentalist for our company<br />
and a rock solid producer in his own<br />
right. Producing Prime Circle, Johnny<br />
Clegg, Jesse Clegg, and many more. Ard<br />
does solo stuff and keeps himself busy.<br />
With that voice, he will always be fine.<br />
Without a doubt, you have gained a ton<br />
amount of experience while being a part<br />
of JJ from the very bottom to the top.<br />
What advice would you give to SA bands<br />
that are trying to make it to the top?<br />
Keep the faith and believe you can accomplish<br />
anything that you put your<br />
mind to.<br />
Was it a big adjustment going from being<br />
mostly a drummer in a successful band to<br />
running a business like Harris and Miller?<br />
It was an adjustment, but it seemed<br />
pretty natural to start a business where<br />
I didn't have to be on stage every night.<br />
I could manage and do what I know for<br />
other bands and musicians behind the<br />
scenes. I had some health issues over<br />
the years for example open heart surgery<br />
yearsagoandaperforatedcolon<br />
where I needed opstocomeright.As<br />
a musician over the years, I could never<br />
miss a gig and played regardless of<br />
how sick I was. If you are not playing<br />
on stage, you're not earning. With Harris<br />
& Miller, I have an amazing business<br />
partner Natasha Miller who takes<br />
care of a lot of the business needs so I<br />
can take some days off while our other<br />
bands are earning.<br />
22 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
Who are some of the drummers that you<br />
currently use for these bands?<br />
Merlin Michaels, Warren van Wyk, Vinnie<br />
Henrico, and Denholm Harding are<br />
the drummers we mainly have used for<br />
our various other bands.<br />
If a drummer wants to work with Harris<br />
and Miller, what are some of the critical<br />
elements needed?<br />
Experience, groove, timing, and be neat<br />
and tidy as clients listen with their eyes.<br />
Be reliable and on time if you want to<br />
get regular work with our company.<br />
How important do you feel it is for drummers<br />
to have their eggs in many baskets?<br />
I think you need to drop all ego if you<br />
want to succeed in this business. Think<br />
of the bigger picture and not yourself.<br />
What songs work on the dance floor<br />
may not be your favourite tracks, but<br />
it's a business, do them with a smile<br />
and bring the energy. Good energy is<br />
important on and off stage. Be the energy<br />
you want to attract.<br />
You are a big-time family man. How do<br />
you balance running a business and gigging<br />
with maintaining a healthy family<br />
life?<br />
My family is everything to me, that is<br />
why I work so hard. I have a very understanding<br />
wife that has been through<br />
thick and thin with me for years.<br />
Now that I am home more, I get to see<br />
and spend valuable time with my kids.<br />
It cannot be argued that you have had<br />
an excellent drumming career for many<br />
years, and you have lived through many<br />
changes in the music scene in SA. How do<br />
you feel the music industry in SA can get<br />
improved?<br />
Not sure to be honest, SA rock isn't<br />
played that much on radio anymore,<br />
hip hop is huge right now. If you're a<br />
singer-songwriter, make sure you have<br />
a few covers up your sleeve as that may<br />
pay the bills one day while you are waiting<br />
for a song to be playlisted.<br />
Harris and Miller<br />
WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/USER/MACASSOC/VIDEOS<br />
Brent is sponsored by:<br />
• Marshall Music<br />
• DW Drums<br />
• Sabian Cymbals<br />
• Vater Drum Sticks<br />
• Meinl Percussion<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 23
Photography by: Char Rowse<br />
“Teaching is a huge responsibility.<br />
It requires a real<br />
sense of patience, clear direction<br />
along with concept,<br />
experience, and passion!<br />
Not to be entered<br />
into frivolously.”<br />
BEING<br />
BRUCE<br />
BECKER<br />
By Warren van Wyk<br />
Good to chat with you. What is currently<br />
happening on your side of the world?<br />
Hi Warren, good to speak with you as<br />
well! We're still under lockdown here<br />
in Los Angeles and just maintaining<br />
my teaching schedule and balancing<br />
the family life. I have two younger<br />
kids, my boy Thomas and my daughter<br />
Ellie, so we're just managing their<br />
activities and for Ellie, specifically her<br />
online schooling. Interesting times<br />
for sure! (Continues on the next page)<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 27
Bruce Becker<br />
Can you begin by telling us<br />
about some of the early<br />
days as a drummer and how<br />
you got started? You have<br />
a cool story about how you<br />
got your first drumkit!<br />
I have two brother who always actively<br />
played records and made up that we were<br />
in a group. The Beatles and the Monkees<br />
were significant influences to start. Anyway,<br />
I always wanted to play guitar, and<br />
my brother David, who I worked with for<br />
years,co-leadingtheDavidBeckerTribune,<br />
always wanted to play drums. At<br />
one point, he got drum sticks and a Remo<br />
practice pad and the Buddy Rich book and<br />
was taking some lessons, but it just didn't<br />
resonate with him. I had the same experience<br />
with the guitar. So in the summer<br />
of ,weweresittingaroundwiththree<br />
other neighborhood kids, and we had this<br />
moment where we all declared we would<br />
start a rock band. Everybody quickly<br />
shouted out what instrument they were<br />
going to play, leaving the drums as the<br />
only choice left. Before I could think or<br />
say anything, four guys were staring at<br />
me, saying, "You're going to be our drummer!"<br />
I thought ok, but I will have to take<br />
lessons... And one of the guys opened up<br />
the Yellow Pages and found a Drum teacher<br />
dialed the number and said, "My friend<br />
wants to take drum lessons." Of course, I<br />
had to ask my Mom, and she agreed but<br />
added, "You show us you're serious for a<br />
year, and then we will get you a drum set."<br />
My thought was deal met! One year later,<br />
I had my first kit, a mid 's Ludwig. And<br />
that was my start.<br />
From there, I was active in the Concert<br />
band and Jazz band at my Jr. High School<br />
and later High School. I eventually started<br />
to play cover tunes with a guitarist that<br />
I met through my neighbors, and he also<br />
got me involved in doing the 9:45 mass<br />
at the Catholic Church. We were doing a<br />
folky kind of acoustic guitar and small<br />
chorus presentation. That was pretty cool<br />
because I was doing a church gig way before<br />
it became a "thing"! From there, the<br />
natural progression of gigging started<br />
to happen, playing parties, High School<br />
dances, and other functions.<br />
“I have been very fortunate<br />
to have had some high profile<br />
drummers come to me through<br />
the years. Currently, I have<br />
David Garibaldi.”<br />
28 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
Teaching Royalty<br />
Bruce Becker has<br />
been a regular contributor<br />
to Drumeo’s<br />
live-streamed lessons<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 29
Bruce Becker<br />
Currently, you are primarily known as an<br />
iconic educator, but you have also enjoyed<br />
a tremendous and successful playing career.<br />
Can you tell us about some of the<br />
artists that you have worked with?<br />
Most of my musical paths was spent<br />
with my brother making recordings and<br />
touring. Our musical stylings would<br />
rest more in the Contemporary Jazz<br />
and Improvisational format. Through<br />
making records, I got to work with<br />
some fantastic people. One guy, in particular,<br />
is Ken Caillat, who most people<br />
would know as one of the Co-Producers<br />
and engineers of the Fleetwood<br />
Mac stuff from - . Ken co-produced<br />
two of our records, and then we<br />
worked together on a few other projects.<br />
Other highlights would be recording<br />
with Ron Carter, Mike Stern, John Abercrombie,<br />
and Russell Ferrante. Some<br />
live playing highlights would have<br />
been working with a Great Jazz Organist<br />
from Germany, Barbara Dennerlein, for<br />
about /years.We mainlydidclubs<br />
and more prominent Jazz Festivals. On<br />
the road, with my brother, we had some<br />
great double billings with Spyro Gyra,<br />
Yellowjackets, and Billy Cobham. All in<br />
all, when I look back, I am proud of the<br />
music I have been involved with .<br />
You arrange and co-produce the music for<br />
the David Becker Tribune. Can you give us<br />
more insight into how you go about this?<br />
As far as arranging and producing in<br />
collaboration with David, I have a keen<br />
ear for arrangement based on my "pop"<br />
sensibilities. Because we're brothers,<br />
I have a deep connection and insight<br />
into what my brother is trying to reach<br />
for, and I will make suggestions and arrangement<br />
ideas to help shape his ideas.<br />
That is a delicate balance, and I think,<br />
for the most part, we've agreed on musical<br />
direction, although we have definitely<br />
bumped heads. I also listen for<br />
overall performance and have strong<br />
opinions and ideas regarding solos and<br />
layering of instruments and building<br />
form from verse to choruses, etc.<br />
What have been some of your highlights<br />
and fondest memories with the David<br />
Becker Tribune?<br />
Standout experiences would be the recording<br />
of the CD "Batavia." We recorded<br />
that in three different countries, and<br />
it was a very personal musical experience<br />
as it was conceived to tell the story<br />
of a mother and her family before and<br />
during World War II. I also would say<br />
some of the places we traveled to play<br />
would be highlights for me. All over<br />
Europe. Being able to be immersed in<br />
different cultures is always a growing<br />
experience for me. I see that those experiences<br />
have given me a deeper view<br />
of humanity and music. Music is the in<br />
ternational language that immediately<br />
creates a bridge and bond to those I've<br />
met around the planet!<br />
When did your journey as a teacher begin?<br />
Teaching for me was always something<br />
I was interested in. I started to teach<br />
back in atalocalMusicstorecalled<br />
the Music Stop. Ironically, this is the<br />
same store where Freddie Gruber started<br />
his teaching career. I always ran the<br />
playing and teaching paths side by side.<br />
I never gave it too much thought. In my<br />
world, it was just normal to do both.<br />
Teaching allowed me to bring forward<br />
clarity for my own personal growth<br />
and see it from a different perspective.<br />
That drove me to learn more and to become<br />
a more effective communicator.<br />
In the early days, I knew what I wanted<br />
to bring out in my students, and I am<br />
sure my message was good, but I wanted<br />
to improve my communication skills<br />
significantly and my experience living<br />
in Europe and then returning dozens<br />
of times to do workshops really added<br />
value to that. Teaching in English to<br />
those who are not native English speakers<br />
was an excellent opportunity to get<br />
super transparent with my narrative. I<br />
am incredibly grateful for that experience<br />
and all that I gained from the five<br />
years of living in Europe.<br />
Was it a natural transition going from<br />
playing in a band to teaching?<br />
The transition from playing to mainly<br />
teaching slowly shifted about seven<br />
years ago. I didn't make a declaration or<br />
anything, but it just sort of happened.<br />
One thing that came to fruition was<br />
my DVD "Concepts and Philosophies"<br />
in .Thatwas amarkingpointfor<br />
me to get more active and focus on my<br />
educational message. As a result, other<br />
things started happening. I became a<br />
regular on Drum Channel for two years<br />
or so. That started to extend my reach<br />
and accessibility. Through that experience,<br />
I was able to connect with Jared<br />
Falk and Dave Atkinson of Drumeo.<br />
That added even more presence for me.<br />
I have worked very closely with Drumeo.<br />
It has given a larger platform to<br />
extend my educational message. I now<br />
find myself gigging occasionally, and I<br />
like to keep my feet in that world just to<br />
keep me on my game!<br />
You were a longtime student of Freddie<br />
Gruber. Can you tell us about how studying<br />
with Freddie impacted your drumming?<br />
What were some of the most vital<br />
things that you learned from him?<br />
Yes, indeed, I was a longtime student<br />
of Freddie's for /yearsandlaterjust<br />
became a regular hang with Freddie<br />
for close to years after studying with<br />
him. I caught Freddie at the height of<br />
his teaching career. I was fascinated<br />
with his quirkiness and his details.<br />
That being said, it didn't make it any<br />
easier to try to get clear answers from<br />
him. That took time to pull some clarity<br />
from him. But he opened my head to<br />
30 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
a vast array of valuable tools for me to<br />
develop a better sense of timing-related<br />
movement and build my own voice.<br />
I was also very fortunate to watch him<br />
teach hundreds of hours and was privileged<br />
to attend lessons with some notables.<br />
For instance, I got invited to lessons<br />
with Dave Weckl, Steve Smith,<br />
Steve Houghton, Tris Imboden, and a<br />
whole host of others. That allowed me to<br />
see his interaction with different guys.<br />
I also spent a lot of time with Freddie<br />
in Europe when I moved there. He was<br />
somewhat bummed that I was leaving<br />
Los Angeles. He made several trips to<br />
stay with me, and we did some master<br />
classes together, and I hung deep in the<br />
trenches with him. These hangs allowed<br />
me to get the clarity and start to see the<br />
depth of the building process and also a<br />
way to personalize it for different individuals.<br />
The other thing that was truly<br />
important for me was gigging and recording.<br />
Those experiences bring you to<br />
a place to solve some "feel" issues which<br />
can be rooted in your technical facility.<br />
The main take away would be to create<br />
harmony with the natural movement<br />
of the anatomy and the natural principles<br />
of gravity, balance, and motion to<br />
create a path of least resistance and attain<br />
a "flow"!<br />
You have developed and extended Gruber's<br />
ideas about drum technique, including<br />
"the balance and motion of the stick,"<br />
and understanding the natural principles<br />
of the physical body's interaction with the<br />
drum set. Can you tell us more about these<br />
concepts on technique that you teach?<br />
Well, that's not so easy to put into a<br />
few sentences but to put it into simple<br />
terms, I break up the hand into three<br />
parts. )Thumbandindexfinger,)<br />
middle finger, ) ring, and pinky fingers.<br />
Then the delivery system, the arm.<br />
You can deliver the stick to the surface<br />
from the shoulder, from the forearm,<br />
and the wrist. I want all those parts to<br />
be working in harmony with the momentum<br />
of the stick. I start by focusing<br />
on the relationship between hand<br />
and stick to specific pressure points to<br />
minimize tension. I want to use several<br />
components of the hand to add greater<br />
efficiency and get fine-tuned details to<br />
propel the stick with the "path of least<br />
resistance" with the emphasis on tone.<br />
There are progressive steps I take to initiate<br />
a better relationship with all parts<br />
of the hand along with the movement<br />
of the arm, then design calisthenics or<br />
flow exercises to enhance the feel and<br />
growth of those individual parts. In<br />
most cases, drummers get into a position<br />
of holding the stick with excessive<br />
tension, not allowing the stick to move<br />
inside the hand. That can add to tightness<br />
and fatigue and be debilitating to<br />
one's playing overtime. I realign to redesign<br />
and redefine your approach.<br />
You are a legend in drumming education,<br />
and you have taught and are currently<br />
teaching some notable names in the<br />
drumming business. Who are some of<br />
these drummers?<br />
I have been very fortunate to have had<br />
some high profile drummers come to<br />
me through the years. Some of the more<br />
recognizable names are Mark Schulman,<br />
Daniel Glass, Clayton Cameron,<br />
and Glen Sobel. Currently, I have David<br />
Garibaldi, Tris Imboden, Gabe Ford<br />
(Little Feat), and Jake Slichter (Semisonic).<br />
But I don't discriminate; I work with<br />
drummers of all strata. I truly enjoy<br />
the building process and getting into<br />
the nuance of the development. It really<br />
gives me such great satisfaction to<br />
watch the growth and facilitate changes!<br />
I am results-driven.<br />
“I make no judgments<br />
and don't have any restrictions.<br />
I look to<br />
collaborate with people<br />
and assist them on<br />
their path. As long as<br />
they are committed.“<br />
How do you approach these classes with<br />
drummers of this caliber? Do you access<br />
their playing and take it from there, or do<br />
they come to you for specific things that<br />
they feel they need to fix?<br />
Most people who come to me kind of<br />
already know about me and my reputation.<br />
I have a few different starting<br />
points, but I take into consideration<br />
where the individual is coming from<br />
musically as well as technically and assess<br />
what I can do to push them through<br />
the hoop. One thing I have developed<br />
through the many years of my teaching<br />
is my observational skills. I can see the<br />
smallest of details in movement and<br />
how the hand and arm are operating. I<br />
can vividly express things in tangible<br />
ways and break down mechanics and<br />
relate that to music, most importantly.<br />
I always say..." Book one lesson with me,<br />
and you will be better able to ascertain<br />
whether I'm the guy to push you up the<br />
ladder!"<br />
I am sure it must be quite intimidating<br />
having drummers of this caliber studying<br />
under you?<br />
I'm pretty inside my messaging, so that<br />
it doesn't throw me off. However, with<br />
David Garibaldi, it was a bit unnerving<br />
the first time. DG, for me, is the "architect"<br />
of funk drumming. He was a<br />
significant influence on me. So, when<br />
you're conversing with a drum hero, you<br />
have to pinch yourself and maintain a<br />
sense of stability, so you don't lose your<br />
focus. Now I am very secure with what<br />
I have to offer and the detailed insights<br />
I can get into with a highly developed<br />
drummer.<br />
What do you feel are the key elements<br />
that separate you from other teachers?<br />
Really comprehensive progressive steps<br />
to enhance your technical development,<br />
not only with the hands but also with<br />
the feet. My observational skills to spot<br />
and bring awareness to the slightest<br />
amount of resistance or tension. I am<br />
very keen on developing the mind and<br />
body with the breathe and relaxation<br />
component. I bring forward awareness<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 31
Bruce Becker<br />
to the touch and tone of the hand and<br />
feet. My communication skills to effectively<br />
carry forward the information. I<br />
also have deeper conceptual exercises<br />
to stretch the imagination for phrasing.<br />
I bring a vast amount of experience as I<br />
have been teaching now for years.<br />
Do you only teach drummers that already<br />
know how to play, or do you also work<br />
with absolute beginners?<br />
I am at the service of anyone who wants<br />
to learn and expand their drumming<br />
skills. I make no judgments and don't<br />
have any restrictions. I look to collaborate<br />
with people and assist them on<br />
their path. As long as they are committed,<br />
I am there for them.<br />
With regards to doing studio recordings.<br />
How can someone book you for their album,<br />
and do you take bookings for any<br />
style of music?<br />
I used to be more active. I am not a<br />
tech-savvy guy for Pro Tools or Logic.<br />
However, I have access to some studios<br />
if someone really wanted me to work on<br />
their project.<br />
As far as musical styles go, I have a<br />
broad base of experience. From Americana<br />
to Blues, R & B to Jazz, Pop to Rock,<br />
with the exception of Speed Metal, I<br />
have a great deal of experience.<br />
Drummers who have never taught before,<br />
or even hated teaching, are turning to<br />
giving drum lessons to make extra money,<br />
due to music and entertainment being<br />
locked down. Mike Johnston mentioned<br />
something on point during our chat him.<br />
He said that he doesn't understand why<br />
drummers feel that playing drums takes<br />
practice, but teaching doesn't.<br />
I wholeheartedly agree! Teaching is a<br />
huge responsibility. It requires a real<br />
sense of patience, clear direction along<br />
with concept, experience, and passion!<br />
Not to be entered into frivolously.<br />
Lastly, what advice do you have for drummers<br />
out there that would like to pursue<br />
a career as an educator?<br />
As far as advice for pursuing a career<br />
as an educator, I would say first, develop<br />
a concept that has multiple paths.<br />
Second, be passionate about your message.<br />
Part of the job is to motivate and<br />
instill enthusiasm for the instrument.<br />
Third, learn to communicate and learn<br />
how different people process information.<br />
It is not a one size fits all. Fourth,<br />
know your limitations and get to work<br />
to improve those skills that are lacking.<br />
Fifth, get familiar with the history of<br />
the different drum educators and recognize<br />
their contributions and research<br />
all the classic drum instruction books<br />
that are available. These are just some<br />
of the suggestions and pieces of advice<br />
I could give. If you are only teaching<br />
to fill in time for lack of gigs, then step<br />
back and let someone truly passionate<br />
about teaching do the job.<br />
FOLLOW<br />
BRUCE BECKER<br />
WWW.BRUCEBECKER.COM<br />
instagram.com/brucebeckerdrums<br />
facebook.com/brucebeckerdrums<br />
Youtube.com/brucebeckerdrums<br />
32 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
JOIN NOW!
Quirky Questions<br />
SHELDON<br />
YOKO<br />
LIFE'S SERIOUS... SOMETIMES YOU<br />
JUST WANNA HAVE A CHUCKLE.<br />
With Warren van Wyk<br />
What do you think of garden<br />
Think of a song that best de-<br />
stupid that was afterwards<br />
You can't play drums any-<br />
gnomes? Would they be good<br />
scribes you.<br />
and wondered if it maybe hit<br />
more and given a choice to be<br />
drummers?<br />
At the moment, i think it's<br />
someone. We went out for a<br />
a professional triangle player<br />
I imagine they would sound<br />
probably Paranoid by Kanye.<br />
drink later and next thing<br />
or Tambourine player. What<br />
like everyone’s uncle that<br />
I know this guy introduces<br />
would you choose, and why?<br />
“used to play a bit”. They’d<br />
If you were a drum, what kind<br />
himself and says “Nice show<br />
Definitely a pro triangle<br />
probably down a beer and<br />
of drum would you be, and<br />
tonight, your stick hit me<br />
player. I’d also convert to<br />
then fire off into something<br />
why?<br />
in the head”. Luckily, he was<br />
Scientology at that point.<br />
from U.<br />
During lockdown? Definite-<br />
super chilled about it, he ac-<br />
ly a detuned 14x8 snare but<br />
tually didn’t seem too fazed<br />
If you could compare your<br />
When you die, you get a<br />
on a good day, a maple 10”<br />
at all. I apologised profuse-<br />
drumming with any animal,<br />
chance to come back as any<br />
high tom. Those things just<br />
ly and he was like “can I buy<br />
which would it be and why?<br />
drummer, who would it be<br />
sound like a good time.<br />
you a shot”. Anyway, I won’t<br />
Right now, probably a doggo<br />
and why? Oh... It has to be a<br />
be doing that again.<br />
that hasn’t gone for walkies<br />
female.<br />
What was your most embar-<br />
in a week. #lockdown<br />
Cindy Blackman! Come on!<br />
rassing drum moment, and<br />
You've been given an ele-<br />
how did you recover?<br />
phant. You can't give it away<br />
Nominate the next victim for<br />
You get the chance to impress<br />
We once got our set cut short<br />
or sell it. What would you do<br />
these pointless questions?<br />
your girlfriend at a show with<br />
and so without thinking<br />
with the elephant?<br />
I've got to nominate Werner<br />
any drum beat, what beat<br />
anything of it, I threw my<br />
I guess we’d probably just<br />
Von Waltsleben & Jude Ken-<br />
would you play?<br />
sticks off stage and into the<br />
hang out. Watch Netflix,<br />
rick for this wild ride.<br />
Come Down - Anderson .Paak<br />
crowd. I thought about how<br />
make waffles etc.<br />
34 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong><br />
PHOTOGRAPHY: MICK CREATIVE
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 35
MATT<br />
MCGUIRE<br />
36 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
By Warren van Wyk<br />
Photography by: Danilo Lewis
<strong>Matt</strong> <strong>McGuire</strong><br />
Yo, <strong>Matt</strong>. Thank you for<br />
taking the time out to<br />
chat! Most people know<br />
you from your viral drum<br />
videos on YouTube and<br />
then becoming a member<br />
of the Chainsmokers. What we want to<br />
know is your journey before your drum<br />
videos, your early beginnings, bands, etc.?<br />
My journey started with drumming<br />
when I got my first drum kit at -years<br />
old. It was literally like a -piece bizarre<br />
little hip gig kit, which I think<br />
was made by Mapex. I was really into it<br />
up until I was about -years old, and by<br />
then, I knew that this was something<br />
that I wanted to pursue. My father, being<br />
the instigator of it all, decided to do<br />
it seriously and get a better kit. I got a<br />
new Mapex when I was nine and started<br />
getting into performing and started<br />
playing with my dad in his duo band,<br />
playing all Jazz tunes. I grew up playing<br />
Jazz or Rock, that was it. I either played<br />
Led Zeppelin, The Who, Iron Maiden,<br />
all that kind of stuff, and then Jazz and<br />
some pop. By the time I was 11 years old,<br />
I was deep into playing corporate gigs<br />
with my dad, which was a lot of fun. I<br />
was heavily involved in the music programs<br />
in school very early on as well.<br />
My first international tour was with a<br />
Jazz trio & big band when I was , and<br />
by the time I was , I was touring regularly.<br />
From there, I got into musical<br />
theatre, Jazz big bands, and premier big<br />
bands. I then went down the metal and<br />
punk route for a while, where I did my<br />
first bus tour and all that kind of stuff<br />
when I was years old. I then decided<br />
that I wanted to start doing something<br />
that made money because I was<br />
making no money. I was touring and<br />
performing through grades and .<br />
Every weekend I was playing festivals<br />
with massive DJs and bands and doing<br />
a lot of session work. I was also always<br />
really interested in the production side<br />
of the industry so I worked weekends<br />
with a company doing all the worst<br />
jobs which now when I look back I’m so<br />
thankful for as I was able to really learn<br />
from the ground up. I did all if that<br />
while touring as well, and then along<br />
came YouTube. I decided that I wanted<br />
to get better at drums, so I filmed myself<br />
playing drums to all these songs,<br />
watched myself back, and critiqued my<br />
playing. I also wanted to see if people<br />
thought I sucked or thought I was good.<br />
It was kind of like this learning thing<br />
and also an outlet to express myself.<br />
I thought it was super valuable. That<br />
eventually turned into a business. I had<br />
a manager at that point and started doing<br />
drum covers for artists as packages.<br />
They would release a song, and I would<br />
do a drum cover and push it out and get<br />
them hundred thousand views, which<br />
would help push their record. The whole<br />
thing kind of blew up. I was back and<br />
forth everywhere, playing for multiple<br />
different bands and DJ acts, and then<br />
along came Alex and Drew (The Chainsmokers)<br />
and said that they wanted to<br />
transfer their act over into the live world<br />
which was incredibly exciting obviously.<br />
They asked if I wanted to move to the<br />
US and before I knew it I was packing<br />
38 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
The Greatest Showman<br />
From flaming stick to incredible<br />
light shows. <strong>Matt</strong><br />
<strong>McGuire</strong> knows exactly<br />
what a show needs and<br />
what to give the audience<br />
“America has 330 million people, so just the<br />
population density, the contrasts, and their<br />
competitiveness was honestly great because<br />
I get fueled on adrenaline and competition.”<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 39
<strong>Matt</strong> <strong>McGuire</strong><br />
my bags & selling my stuff in Aus on<br />
my way over… it was very Youtube organic.<br />
They reached out to me after they<br />
saw the cover I put on Youtube for Don't<br />
Let Me Down.<br />
That must have been quite a dream come<br />
true and a significant change in your life?<br />
Yeah, it was mental. I mean Australia<br />
has like million people, and America<br />
has millionpeople,so justthepopulation<br />
density, the contrasts, and their<br />
competitiveness was honestly great because<br />
I get fueled by adrenaline. The<br />
most exciting thing was to try and get<br />
amongst that kind of energy and pace<br />
which ultimately is going from like nd<br />
gear to top gear.<br />
Not only are you the drummer for The<br />
Chainsmokers but the Musical Director.<br />
What's your approach to directing a band?<br />
It is a real trip because you create these<br />
massive live musical arrangements in<br />
the studio for these multiple platinum<br />
songs, and then you go and play them<br />
for the people. It is a surreal thing. It<br />
is an unreal thing to perform on stages<br />
and productions that you have thought<br />
of & been heavily a part of the process.<br />
The music direction is always a massive<br />
responsibility because everything<br />
starts with the music, but then again,<br />
back to what I said before, I am entirely<br />
driven on pressure, responsibility, and<br />
adrenaline, so if I have those components,<br />
I am set.<br />
Are you involved at all with the songwriting<br />
side of things with TCS?<br />
To be honest, not really. Alex and Drew<br />
have such a solidified method down. We<br />
split things up, they handle that, and I<br />
manage the production/musical direction/shows<br />
etc. That is the best way to<br />
describe it. Because there is so much to<br />
do in a band, if we all did everything,<br />
there would be no clarity, and it would<br />
be hard. There are times that we are in<br />
the studio, and Alex is coming up with<br />
lyrics, songwriting, and doing business<br />
stuff. Drew would be on Ableton, diving<br />
into plugins, and I am building stages<br />
off live, and I think<br />
that attracts a whole<br />
lot of people. It just<br />
gives you so much<br />
musical freedom on<br />
stage. With the band,<br />
you are in complete<br />
control of the music<br />
because it is all live.<br />
With a DJ that is only<br />
doing tracks, there<br />
is not a whole lot that<br />
you can do other than<br />
adding effects like de-<br />
"It is still something<br />
that gives me such a<br />
thrill. I think it is a<br />
kind of feeling that<br />
makes you want to go<br />
bigger, better, stronger,<br />
harder, and push<br />
every limit."<br />
and working out what the verses would Yeah, so basically it was a co-design<br />
sound like in a live musical arrangement.<br />
We got super lucky with the band ductionClub. My best friend Miguel<br />
with myself and a company called Pro-<br />
because we have never really argued in was the show and musical director. It<br />
the three years or had a disagreement was a -monthbuild,whichwestarted<br />
or anything, which is bizarre but some from scratch. We always wanted it to be<br />
things just work I guess. We are fortunate<br />
for that, that's for sure.<br />
flected on the contrast of light and dark<br />
this mad max, post-apocalypse that re-<br />
and have a show that is ultra-progressive<br />
and atmospheric in a sense. We did<br />
The electronic movement is massive at<br />
the moment, and it is so rad that a lot of arenashowsandputa ginormous<br />
it is starting to introduce live instruments amount of production into some of<br />
to the mix! The current tour is symbolic<br />
of the band's evolution from electronic we had elements in there that people<br />
these arenas. It was incredible because<br />
DJ duo to multi-disciplined musicians and hadn't done before, such as the globe of<br />
performers. How do you approach a "DJ death, which had motorcycles inside<br />
dance" typeset like The Chainsmokers? of it, all the way to some of the automation<br />
tricks that we pulled off. It was also<br />
Yeah it has always been around because<br />
people experiment with acoustic really cool having two drum kits on the<br />
and electronic elements I just think in stage where I used the B-kit specifically<br />
the last oryearsitbecamea harder for a drum solo and our last song Closer.<br />
It was really to design it from a thing to do and a harder thing to pull<br />
production<br />
point of view<br />
from scratch but also a<br />
musical point of view.<br />
I think our most significant<br />
benefit was<br />
to think about both<br />
of those things at the<br />
same time. I would be<br />
like "I want the production<br />
to be a certain<br />
thing" and then create<br />
something musical<br />
to fit rather than<br />
having the musical el-<br />
lays, phasers, flangers, etc. but the moment<br />
you add an acoustic element, it fit that. The intro got loaded with a craements<br />
and then trying to make stuff<br />
just opens the whole thing up. You can zy amount of lighting cues, and this<br />
do jam sections and all those kinds of massive three-way X that came down<br />
things that I think made a lot of people and hovered and lit on fire using strobe<br />
excited. Now you have bands like Rufus flares when we ran out. There was a pyro<br />
Du Sol, Illenium, Chemical Brothers & cue, an automation cue, a drum cue going<br />
into this whole explosion of energy.<br />
Odeza etc, who play with a full band.<br />
There are so many out there that are absolutely<br />
crushing it, and it is so sick to production elements and then build<br />
It was so cool to be able to take those<br />
see.<br />
the music or be like "this is the music<br />
that I definitely want to use on something<br />
and then build the production to<br />
The Chainsmokers have been super busy<br />
with the 42 date World War Joy Tour! The it. It was a lot, but now it is over & I can’t<br />
designs and concepts behind this tour are wait for the next tour.<br />
insane! Can you tell us more about the<br />
idea behind the design and structure? Can you describe the feeling when you see<br />
40 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
the whole show come together? It must<br />
be pretty surreal to seeing all of your your<br />
work, personal design, and what's been<br />
going on in your mind all come together<br />
into a visual thing?<br />
Yeah, it is odd to design something on<br />
your computer with your friends and<br />
then go and put it in a 20 000 seat arena.<br />
I don't know if it will ever get old<br />
to me, it never has. It is still something<br />
that gives me such a thrill. I think it is a<br />
kind of feeling that makes you want to<br />
go bigger, better, stronger, harder, and<br />
push every limit. We were fortunate to<br />
be able to assemble a team with the best<br />
crew on the planet that we flew in from<br />
around the world. Some of the guys on<br />
our team were stadium guys that came<br />
down to the arena world to work on<br />
this project because they were so excited<br />
about it. The things we did with our<br />
rigging and automation and squeezing<br />
this massive setup into some of these<br />
arenas challenged the crew. It was awesome<br />
to see people that have toured for<br />
25 to 30 years be like, "Holy shit, this<br />
is cool." That was so awesome because<br />
they have seen basically everything, so<br />
to kind of impress them was such an<br />
exciting thing. It was also a rewarding<br />
thing to know that you are doing something<br />
challenging, whether it is good<br />
or not haha.<br />
What is the connection between War and<br />
Joy? I know that there is a message behind<br />
the name of the tour.<br />
I think the best reference would be that<br />
'I am a legend' movie. There is a scene<br />
where the whole city wrecked, but there<br />
is that one patch that has grass. It's<br />
about no matter how crazy everything<br />
is; there is always going to be that one<br />
thing or object that is a happy element<br />
and that it is never only bad. That was<br />
the one perfect reference that we always<br />
came back on. Alex was really the main<br />
brains behind the name & concept before<br />
we started to execute it all.<br />
What inspired all of the insane visual<br />
images? I read that the design portrays<br />
things that are personal to you guys?<br />
Yeah! It was one of those things where<br />
we had an album, and then we were able<br />
to develop that album into live versions<br />
and production and tell a story. Building<br />
it over 9-months, we could put in<br />
an extremely personal message. There<br />
are many powerful moments like Alex's<br />
piano that has a powerful quote that we<br />
put in there. It was also just to try and<br />
stop the show and make people think<br />
that we are close and that we are family<br />
and that everybody in the room is in<br />
this together, and make everyone feel<br />
that we are all one on the planet and<br />
that we are all human. We wanted to<br />
make it super inclusive and intimate,<br />
and that is one of the reasons why we<br />
had that massive runway and the kit in<br />
the middle of the crowd. We had that<br />
floating bridge over the crowd as well. It<br />
was just those kinds of things we did to<br />
help bring us to the crowd rather than<br />
just being on a 60 by 40 stage. We wanted<br />
to be in there with them. We created<br />
all the visual images behind us in a<br />
way that accentuates what we are trying<br />
to do. So, for example, everything<br />
up until Don't Let Me Down has like<br />
blue and pink pastel colors, and then<br />
all the songs from there have black and<br />
red, and that is it. It makes you think<br />
like, "Ok, here we go." That is where we<br />
introduced flames, and I had distortion<br />
effects on my drums. I played massive,<br />
ridiculous drum fills, driving the drops<br />
with massive four on the floor grooves<br />
to give people that sense of like "Ok so<br />
you are in second gear, driving on the<br />
highway and then "Ok, now you are in<br />
full throttle." It was incredible to be able<br />
to take people onto that journey and tell<br />
visual and sonic story.<br />
The pyrotechnics that you have in the<br />
show are insane, but the one thing (as a<br />
drummer) that I loved the most was you<br />
setting your sticks on fire! Was it scary<br />
practicing this for the first time?<br />
We have a fantastic pyrotechnics crew<br />
that has been with us for a long time.<br />
I did some training with them and<br />
learned some fire safety stuff and had<br />
the sticks machine-made and done<br />
property. I tested the idea out in a car<br />
park at Production Club at like 3 am in<br />
the morning. When I first did it, I realized<br />
that it looked far more dangerous<br />
than it actually was. I don't recommend<br />
anyone that is reading this article to go<br />
and do it, though. The only time that<br />
it got crazy for me was when I did it on<br />
tour in the middle of the crowd 18 feet<br />
in the air surrounded by 20 000 people<br />
some nights, because if it went wrong,<br />
then it would go very wrong, hahaha!<br />
But it was still sick because I like adrenaline.<br />
Can you tell us more about your new Pearl<br />
kits and the design concept behind them?<br />
Do you incorporate the design of the current<br />
tour?<br />
I wanted the A kit, which is on the main<br />
stage, to have a murdered out low profile<br />
finish. My favourite colour is black,<br />
so I wanted to do something that looked<br />
like a total machine. It had this custom<br />
double rack set up that my drum tech<br />
Jay designed with Pearl out in Nashville.<br />
It was just this low rider, blacked<br />
out, chunky kit. It was so much fun,<br />
and it packed such a punch, especially<br />
with having Sabian cymbals and all<br />
that kind of stuff.<br />
The B kit is identical. I am lucky<br />
enough to actually have three identical<br />
kits, but on this tour, I only had two on<br />
stage. The second kit is identical, but<br />
instead of having the shells murdered<br />
out, I had them wrapped with all of<br />
the names of the songs on all of our albums.<br />
You have Sick Boy, Memories, Do<br />
Not Open and Paris, etc. It was in the<br />
middle of the crowd, so I wanted it to<br />
feel like you can connect to the drums<br />
in a sense because you can visually see<br />
things that you identify with.<br />
That is a Pearl Reference series, right?<br />
Yes, I believe it is. I did a video with<br />
Pearl, where my drum tech Jay went<br />
through all the specs and stuff. I can't<br />
exactly remember all of the fine details<br />
about it, but yeah, it is massive and so<br />
sick, haha! (Continues on the page )<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 41
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<br />
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.<br />
42 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
“It was a 9-month build, which<br />
we started from scratch. We<br />
always wanted it to be this<br />
mad max, post-apocalypse.”<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 43
<strong>Matt</strong> <strong>McGuire</strong><br />
You recently moved from Mapex drums<br />
and Soultone cymbals to Pearl and Sabian.<br />
What were your reasons for switching<br />
brands?<br />
Yeah, dude, the whole thing was pretty<br />
wild. I wanted to try something different<br />
going into that album cycle. It was<br />
hard because I like to think that I am a<br />
super loyal person across the board with<br />
everything in life, but with my drums<br />
and my cymbals, going into this new<br />
phase and pushing the band, I wanted<br />
to try something new and spice things<br />
up. I was with Mapex before Pearl, so I<br />
made the switch at the same time that<br />
I made the switch from Soultone to Sabian.<br />
The funny thing is that I was actually<br />
with Sabian before Soultone. I<br />
love Soultone, they are incredible cymbals,<br />
made well, and they sound great,<br />
but with having two kits on stage with<br />
the amount of touring and production<br />
we do and the sound that I was going<br />
for steered away from those hand<br />
made cymbals. I didn't need that type<br />
of sound anymore, and I thought that<br />
If I am going to change drums, then I<br />
am going to change cymbals as well. It<br />
is one of those things where everyone<br />
has their opinion as they should, but<br />
the full answer to the entire thing is<br />
that the sound of hand made cymbals<br />
and Pearl drums weren't vibing for me<br />
44 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
“their opinions are<br />
their opinions. If you<br />
feed into that and<br />
take it to heart, it will<br />
just manipulate your<br />
decision, and that is<br />
never a good way to<br />
decide on anything.“<br />
“remember that we all<br />
started playing to no one in<br />
a bedroom with an incredibly<br />
shitty drum kit.”<br />
so I just went back to the company that<br />
I always loved and that was it.<br />
There are drummers out there that feel as<br />
if changing brands is breaking some religion,<br />
haha, but there is usually a valid reason<br />
behind a drummer making the switch!<br />
Yeah, I mean look, everyone is going<br />
to say what they want to say and their<br />
opinions are their opinions. I don't care<br />
if someone says it is a terrible idea or a<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 45
<strong>Matt</strong> <strong>McGuire</strong><br />
great idea. If you feed into that and take<br />
it to heart, it will just manipulate your<br />
decision, and that is never a good way<br />
to decide on anything. But yeah, when<br />
I went to Pearl, it was savage, but you<br />
can't just do something to please people,<br />
you have to put yourself first sometimes<br />
and just roll with it. Pearl and Sabian<br />
have been amazing, and of course,<br />
Vater and Evans have always been rock<br />
solid. People are going to say what they<br />
are going to say. It is not the end of the<br />
world what drum you hit, as long as you<br />
are hitting it well and hitting it hard,<br />
who really cares?<br />
Everybody can agree that you have quite<br />
an insane, busy lifestyle with tons of fulfillment<br />
and creativity. What do you do<br />
in your downtime when you get a chance<br />
to be away from the drums, touring, and<br />
designing world-class shows?<br />
I love driving my car because I am an<br />
car freak and hanging out with my girlfriend<br />
Amy-Jane Brand. We had our 5th<br />
anniversary not long ago. She has been<br />
so rock solid. We met in 2012 when I<br />
headlined a festival with a DJ act, so she<br />
has been around for a lot of everything.<br />
She gets it, so whenever I have downtime,<br />
she is straight in there, haha!<br />
She is the priority of all my downtime,<br />
and yeah, I love driving and racing legally<br />
and not illegally, haha! I love the<br />
F1 and that kind of stuff and just anything<br />
that has to do with racing. That's<br />
it man, I am a pretty simple dude, and<br />
I stick to what I know and what I am<br />
good at. I don't really have any hobbies<br />
or any other interests. What you see is<br />
what you get, and that's it.<br />
Thank you so much for the chat, man.<br />
Lastly, what advice would you give to people<br />
out there that want to pursue a career<br />
in music?<br />
I get this question a lot, and my answer<br />
is always to be yourself, stay true<br />
to you, and don't be afraid to take risks<br />
that don't seem tangible at the time because<br />
you never know. There is always a<br />
percentage of possibility that you could<br />
pull it off, and if you do pull it off, the<br />
award completely outweighs the fear or<br />
risk. Today, it is a super over-saturated<br />
industry with millions of musicians<br />
and bands; however, there is only one of<br />
you. I know that sounds so cliche, but<br />
don't shy away because everybody has<br />
something to offer. That is something<br />
extremely valuable in itself. If you are<br />
out there and want to do what I am doing<br />
or something in the same kind of<br />
realm, remember that we all started<br />
playing to no one in a bedroom with an<br />
incredibly shitty drum kit.<br />
46 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
By: Warren van Wyk<br />
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Fill 2<br />
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PARADIDDLE FILLS - PART 01<br />
Fill 1 - All of the following fills are to be played with a RLRR LRLL sticking.<br />
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.CO.ZA<br />
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED - PERSONAL USE ONLY
"After many years of<br />
drumming, I have realized<br />
that it is difficult<br />
to stay motivated and<br />
inspired all the time.<br />
The longer you play, the<br />
more frustrating and<br />
the harder it gets."<br />
A<br />
•GET<br />
INSPIRED<br />
•STAY<br />
MOTIVATED<br />
s you set bigger challenges and goals<br />
and start tackling more intense songs or<br />
genres that are out of your comfort zone.<br />
All drummers of all ages and skill levels<br />
know exactly what I'm talking about.<br />
These 10 tips that I have outlined below<br />
should help you to keep things fresh,<br />
keep things moving forward, and most<br />
of all, keep things drumming.<br />
There have been many times in my career<br />
that I wanted to GIVE UP and stop<br />
drumming completely over the years<br />
because despite of all the hours of study<br />
and practice that I put in, I often felt as if<br />
I was inadequate, not good enough and<br />
not improving at the rate that I wanted<br />
to. In hindsight, I hate to think what<br />
would have happened if I had stopped<br />
drumming – because drumming has<br />
been my career and main source of income<br />
for the last 28 years. It's my calling,<br />
my passion, my life, my happy place, and<br />
it has given me many fun experiences,<br />
loads of laughs, great and not so great<br />
gigs too. I have traveled the world playing<br />
music, and I have made many incredible<br />
memories and special friends.<br />
With Sean ‘Styx’ Nunan<br />
50 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>
1.DRUMMING IS ALL ABOUT YOU<br />
First and foremost, you must AL-<br />
WAYS play for you. DRUMMING<br />
SHOULD ALWAYS BE FUN! Play songs<br />
that you like and practice things that<br />
you really want to develop, stuff that<br />
you want to achieve that will help you<br />
grow as a person and a drummer. You<br />
will stay consistent for years to come if<br />
you feel like you are in control of your<br />
playing and that you are doing what you<br />
know is right. If you want to explore a<br />
particular genre, then follow your instincts<br />
and go for it. Don't let others<br />
dictate or influence you that what you<br />
want to improve on is irrelevant or 'not<br />
cool' etc. I got called a 'sell-out' many<br />
years ago because I decided to become a<br />
cover drummer and play predominantly<br />
on an electronic kit. Hey, I am still a<br />
working drummer earning a good living<br />
playing the drums.<br />
2.SET ACHIEVABLE GOALS THAT<br />
CAN BE MEASURED<br />
Setting large long term goals<br />
and short term practice goals is a great<br />
way to keep you excited about playing.<br />
Say, for instance, that you want to be<br />
a working professional in three years<br />
with a brand new DW kit, top of the<br />
range cymbals of choice loaded neatly<br />
into your brand new Land Rover 4x4,<br />
then what are the steps that you would<br />
need to take to get there? How much<br />
practice will you do daily? Who are the<br />
people that you need to build contacts<br />
with? How much will you need to save<br />
up to by that gear and car and to be able<br />
to sustain yourself until the paid gigs<br />
and studio sessions start coming in?<br />
Figure out what you need to do each day,<br />
monitor and track your progress, and<br />
keep YOUR dreams alive at all times.<br />
3.MIX IT UP! WATCH LISTEN AND<br />
LEARN<br />
Go to live gigs, listen to incredible<br />
music, and how other drummers<br />
and musicians approach songs and<br />
grooves. Doing these things will MO-<br />
TIVATE you to want to improve. Dom<br />
Famularo always says 'Steal with your<br />
eyes, and then go and give it away to<br />
others that need it. Share your knowledge.<br />
Check out drum clips and drum<br />
covers on YouTube. If you are always<br />
exposed to drumming and players that<br />
blow you away, then you can't help but<br />
want to get better. Watching and listening<br />
to other drummers is time well<br />
spent and will INSPIRE you to get the<br />
music and ideas that you will need to<br />
grow and progress in your drumming<br />
journey.<br />
4.FIND A MENTOR<br />
Having a drum teacher is one<br />
thing, but finding a mentor<br />
can be life-changing.<br />
Sometimes your<br />
drum teacher can also<br />
become your mentor.<br />
If you are under the<br />
tutelage of someone<br />
you really want to emulate,<br />
you will come<br />
on leaps and bounds.<br />
Their success, drive,<br />
and enthusiasm will<br />
rub off on you, and<br />
you, too, will find<br />
yourself on an accelerated<br />
learning curve.<br />
I am fortunate that I<br />
have more than one<br />
mentor. Georg Voros<br />
and Dennis Donnelly<br />
are my go-to guys;<br />
both these two fine<br />
drummers have always<br />
been my INSPI-<br />
RATION for advice<br />
and guidance. Both are seasoned musicians,<br />
and I value and listen to any advice<br />
or input that they offer me. Their<br />
knowledge and wisdom of the music<br />
industry are priceless.<br />
5.HAVE A HUMBLE BUT COMPET-<br />
ITIVE SPIRIT<br />
It is good to be competitive<br />
amongst your drumming peers. But it<br />
must be a healthy, constructive competition.<br />
For some unknown reason, I'm<br />
not sure why, but musicians tend to shy<br />
Follow<br />
Sean<br />
to see his words<br />
in action<br />
Instagram<br />
/sean_styx_nunan<br />
Facebook<br />
/drummerabsolutelyfabulousduo<br />
away from competition as if it's a bad<br />
thing. But think about it. How do top<br />
athletes become so damn good year after<br />
year? It's the competition pushing<br />
them to reach new heights of ability<br />
and performance. If mediocre players<br />
surround you, nothing is forcing you to<br />
improve, but if great players surround<br />
you, then your competitive streak will<br />
kick in and drive you to practice better<br />
and more often. Never have an arrogant<br />
attitude that you are better than other<br />
drummers. Mike Johnston explains it<br />
so well in one of his YouTube videos.<br />
He uses a drum stick analogy to signify<br />
our drumming journey, and wherever<br />
you place yourself<br />
on the drum stick, remember<br />
that you used<br />
to be like those drummers<br />
behind you, so<br />
help them, encourage<br />
them, motivate them<br />
and inspire them.<br />
On the other side of<br />
where you are on the<br />
stick, don't be jealous<br />
of those ahead of you,<br />
aspire to be like them,<br />
study them, emulate<br />
them, and, if possible,<br />
ask them what they<br />
have done to get as far<br />
as they have.<br />
6.<br />
QUESTION<br />
YOUR MO-<br />
TIVES. ASK<br />
YOURSELF 'WHY AM I<br />
DOING THIS?'<br />
If you have a big enough WHY then<br />
you can motivate yourself to do almost<br />
anything. Ask yourself these questions<br />
daily, 'WHY do I play the drums?' HOW<br />
does drumming make me feel? WHAT<br />
will happen if I don't practice? For some<br />
people, it could mean the difference between<br />
happiness and depression, having<br />
to work a job or not, paying the<br />
bills, or not having to live from hand<br />
to mouth. The bigger your list of WHY's<br />
and the stronger your list of WHY's, the<br />
more inspired and motivated you will<br />
PHOTOGRAPHY: ROLAND SOUTH AFRICA<br />
<strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong> | SA DRUMMER | 51
Get Inspired • Stay Motivated<br />
become. Write down your WHY's and<br />
refer to them often.<br />
7.ALWAYS BE TEACHABLE<br />
If you are teachable and have a<br />
humble spirit, you will grow as a<br />
drummer and as a human being. Open<br />
your mind to new ideas, new grooves,<br />
and new genres of music—the bigger<br />
your drumming toolbox and vocabulary,<br />
the more in demand that you will<br />
become. Find a good teacher, learn to<br />
read drum music, aspire to become a<br />
better drummer daily, put in the hours,<br />
and you will succeed. Always have a<br />
PLAN: create a consistent practice routine<br />
and stick to it.<br />
8.TAKE TIME OUT WHENEVER<br />
YOU GET INTO A RUT<br />
When I ask all of my mates<br />
who are working musicians how they<br />
keep things fresh, they always say it<br />
is important to TAKE A BREAK! Take<br />
some time out. Just a little time off here<br />
and there to go for a run, read a book,<br />
play tennis or do something not related<br />
to drumming. You'd be surprised<br />
how creative and disciplined you'll be<br />
when you come back to it. Relax as often<br />
as possible, and always think positive<br />
thoughts about your drumming<br />
ability.<br />
9.WORK ON GRADED BOOKS<br />
LIKE ROCK SCHOOL OR TRIN-<br />
ITY LONDON ETC.<br />
It sounds obvious, but grades are literally<br />
a form of monitoring how good you<br />
are. It feels pretty good to get a piece of<br />
paper that says, 'Yes, you are this good.'<br />
But you might not be the kind of drummer<br />
who takes exams and quests for<br />
certificates, and that's totally fine. However,<br />
you can still track your abilities<br />
by playing through pieces from Trinity<br />
London or Rock School graded exam<br />
books. For example, if you passed your<br />
exam with pieces A, B, and a particularly<br />
fiendish rudimental study – have<br />
you ever even looked at pieces C, D, E,<br />
F, and G? Grade books are full of styles<br />
that you would never come across in<br />
your drumming life and in that way,<br />
they're full of fresh challenges.<br />
10.KEEP PRACTICING<br />
Make regular practice a<br />
consistent routine. Human<br />
beings are conditioned from little<br />
to stick to a routine. Never stop trying<br />
new things. Buy a book that goes over a<br />
style you are not familiar with. That'll<br />
help you develop and change your feel<br />
more than you can ever imagine. I know<br />
things get repetitive doing rudiments<br />
with a metronome, but if you stop doing<br />
that, you will lose touch with it quickly.<br />
But it is easy to get back into the rhythm<br />
again. Consistency is<br />
Key! Neil Peart, May<br />
he RIP, for example,<br />
was always at the top<br />
of his game. He was<br />
considered one of the<br />
best in the world, but<br />
he continued to study<br />
with Freddy Gruber,<br />
which changed<br />
his playing dramatically.<br />
He said he was<br />
still playing the same<br />
songs, but with the<br />
new fresh approach,<br />
they felt completely<br />
different to play.<br />
Even when he was at<br />
his best, he tried to<br />
be better himself as a<br />
drummer and to feel<br />
the same thing from a<br />
different angle.<br />
We can get bored doing<br />
the same thing<br />
over and over, that's<br />
natural for any drummer.<br />
So, find an angle<br />
at which you are<br />
not familiar with and<br />
explore it. Try limiting<br />
or increasing the<br />
number of drums<br />
you use. Try playing<br />
left-handed (if you are predominantly<br />
right-handed). Never stop practicing.<br />
You can always find ways to improve,<br />
and once you find that niche anything<br />
you are not familiar with, you can then<br />
implement it in your own playing environment.<br />
We will all have a lull every<br />
once in a while. Its completely normal,<br />
but remember, even the best drummers<br />
in the world are continually adapting<br />
and changing the way they approach<br />
the drum kit.<br />
Airto<br />
Moreira:<br />
"INSPIRATION is not<br />
inside of us. INSPIRA-<br />
TION comes from outside.<br />
It comes from our<br />
spiritual guides and<br />
from different energies<br />
that are in the<br />
universe. If we keep in<br />
touch with God and<br />
our spiritual guides,<br />
just knowing that<br />
they exist and that<br />
they are there for us,<br />
gives us the strength<br />
to say well this is a<br />
bad phase, but it's going<br />
to end, and when<br />
it ends I'm going to do<br />
something good and<br />
come out stronger."<br />
SO IN CONCLUSION. Enjoy playing the<br />
drums. When you are in enjoyment<br />
mode, you get a lot of new ideas, and as<br />
these ideas come up, they will INSPIRE<br />
you. This type of inspiration makes you<br />
want to apply these ideas to the drum<br />
set and motivates you<br />
to be your best possible<br />
self.<br />
Go out and listen to<br />
music, go out and listen<br />
to new bands and<br />
new drummers. Listen<br />
to what they are<br />
doing and how they<br />
are interpreting what<br />
they do. Real-life experiences<br />
and situations<br />
can motivate you<br />
in different ways to<br />
make music through<br />
emotions that you feel<br />
at different times like<br />
sadness, happiness,<br />
love, loss, positive and<br />
negative feelings. It's<br />
a yin and yang energy<br />
that will flow to your<br />
drum set.<br />
There is a famous<br />
quote by 'Airto' Moreira,<br />
who is a Brazilian<br />
drummer who remains<br />
one of popular<br />
music's most in-demand<br />
percussionists.<br />
His collection of instruments,<br />
along with<br />
his knack for playing<br />
the right sound at the right moment,<br />
has made him the first choice of many<br />
producers and bandleaders.<br />
52 | SA DRUMMER | <strong>June</strong> <strong>2020</strong>