Dave Weckl News

Hi everyone!

With about ten seconds to spare here in India (a whole ‘nother story), here’s a quick stab at part two of "where's 1?"

Last month (click “view back issues” at the top to read the February edition), we talked about the discovery Dave and I made years ago using rhythmic displacement, and how hearing his drum solo displaced by an 8^th or a 16^th note opened up a whole new world of ideas and possibilities.

The idea here is to “get out of your own way” – and let some new ideas come through. This can be more profound than you think, because our brain is often not what controls your playing!!

Huh? What was that?

This is only a hint of a deeper theory I have – which I will develop further into a method and publish at some point. But – part of the biggest rut musicians fall into is allowing their hands to control what they play.

Still confused? Good!! Let me explain a bit further...

There’s a big sand trap for all improvisational musicians...and nobody ever told us about it! Our minds are not the only place where memory resides. Every heard of “muscle memory?” Our hands also have memory and many solos come from the repetitive things we have physically played and become comfortable with. It's like going on "auto pilot."

Example: When you first sit down at your instrument – what’s the very first thing you play? Probably something you’ve played before, right? Maybe a little ‘ditty’ as a warm up or something? Next time you sit down – try playing something you’ve never played before. THEN – every time you practice, try to incorporate something new – at least one thing, if not two or three. Gotta break through the comfort zone no matter what instrument you play.

If you let your HANDS control what you play, then you’ll just rehash all the licks and patterns you’ve catalogued in your mental library. There’s only so much freshness you can muster this way. Bottom line: Practice using your mind to control what you play – and that starts with your ears. Listen first... come up with some ideas next... then implement those exact ideas. Let your hands follow your mind - not the other way around.

When Dave “goes off..."

“Whoa.. there he goes again…what was that? Where’s the "1"? Where’s the downbeat? Was that an odd time signature? What’s the secret to finding where the downbeat is?

If you’re a musician playing with a drummer that does this (like me) – the answer may not necessarily be the same as when you are simply listening to a Weckl record and wondering what happened to the downbeat, and what Dave must have been smoking to have done that!!

Actually – the secret is simply memorizing how certain things sound displaced. It’s just practice, really. Then, when the displacements begin to happen, it won’t sound so foreign, and it won’t throw you off.

Most musicians rely on the drums as the master of their personal clock. If the drummer plays something familiar, but suddenly displaced, it’s easy for everyone to abandon their personal clock and move to the “new place." It’s amazing how weak our personal clock can be. Practice is the only answer. You need to familiarize yourself with how things sound displaced. Then you can practice holding on to your own clock while the music does something odd.

Sounds simple right? But how do we practice that?

That’s the hard part. Unless you have some gear to help you out, perhaps a sequencer, it can be a bit difficult.

If you have no equipment to facilitate displacement manipulation, go ahead and put on that Weckl record – with the song that keeps throwing you off (try “Afrique” or “Dis-place This” on the "Hardwired" record). You may be amazed to learn that there are no odd time signatures in either of these songs! It’s all in 4/4 ("Afrique" is technically in 12/8, but can be counted in 4 just the same).

When the section comes where it always throws you off, know that it’s all in 4, and practice tapping the downbeat through that section. If you are unable to hold onto your own downbeat, then turn the music down low enough so you can hear your own playing louder then the recording. Keep doing this over and over until you are able to hold your own.

Then, NOTICE what the music sounds like as you hold the downbeat steady - Begin to memorize it this way, but start sneaking the volume back up gradually. Soon, you’ll be able to tap your own clock straight through the section.

By the way – a great trick if you’re stuck for musical ideas: play some music through your stereo and go into another room and shut the door. Now you are hearing only the muffled parts that stick out – and if the volume is set just right, you will ‘hear’ the music only partially, and your brain will recreate the rest, helping you come up with something new.

Hope this has helped. There’s always more !! Stay tuned...

- Jay Oliver

Editor's Note: look for more articles from Jay and others Dave collaborates with in upcoming issues of "Behind The Kit."

Hi everyone.

Welcome to the third installment of the newsletter! The Dave Weckl Band is just back from a very successful European tour, playing to packed houses in Moscow, through mainland EU and ending in Turkey, my first experience there, and it was great!

Although it was a fairly grueling schedule (16 shows in 19 days), we had a very comfortable tour bus on the mainland, and good routing by our agents (Janet Williamson and Patrizio Chiozza), so it wasn’t so bad. The end of it kicked all our butts however, having to fly into Turkey and play that night and the next, but the people there went out of their way to make us comfortable, and the shows were very good, some of the biggest houses on the tour.

We look forward to our next tour in the summer, where we will again play Europe during jazz festival season. We will also tour in the Fall in the States, so keep an eye out on the web site for scheduling (go to www.daveweckl.com and click "what's new" and then "tours and clinics" in the smaller window).

The new DWB CD will hit the streets in July now (the record company had to push it back a month). It will be called MULTIPLICITY and is in the hands of Concord Records. It's in the production stages right now - putting all the graphics together and planning for the marketing. We will put up some sound clips sometime in June, so stay tuned!

I’ve got a bit of home time now, to reacquaint with family, do a bit of teaching, and also will put my ‘engineering hat’ back on to start mixing the second CD of the great Cuban drummer, Horacio ‘El Negro’ Hernandez. I mixed his first CD, Italuba, which was released last year, and Italuba II, from what I’ve heard so far, sounds as if it will be just as energetic, with great playing by Horacio and his group.

I will start a five week engagement with Chick Corea and the boys coming up soon, starting on the northern west coast of the US at the end of this month (April), then we head off to Asia to play in Hong Kong and Japan. I will then do some clinics for Sabian in South Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, Beijing and Taiwan. See the web site for all the touring details.

That’s about it for now. Thanks for stopping by!

- Dave

Hi Dave. Happy New Year.

I've been wondering what is that second ride that you use sometimes above your hi-hats? Is it some kinda of a HHX prototype? I love that thing, keep up that awesome playing.

- Plamen

Hey Plamen, the cymbal you are referring to is a prototype of a new line Sabian and I are working on…. We hope to get it out later this year, or early next year. It is meant to be part of an acoustic music cymbal collection, but will work for a lot of different things, sort of in line with the concept of HHX Evolution, but with more air to the sound.

- Dave

I would appreciate your advice on recording as I am interested in recording my own records but have no idea where to start. Did you teach yourself how to use pro-tools? If so can you recommend any books and methods you used while learning pro-tools. Also how did you balance practicing and learning pro tools with your playing engagements. At times I feel overwhelmed by the amount I want to learn and the time I have to learn.

I would appreciate any advice you can give me. Thank you for helping inspire me to forge ahead in music and drumming.

- Reynaldo

Thanks for the kind words Reynaldo…. Yes, it is a constant dilemma for me, trying to balance time for everything I want and need to do. Concerning the Pro Tools element (or any new program/concept/foreign subject), I find it best to hire someone (or offer a trade of service, like your playing on a track or something)
that really knows a lot about what you are trying to learn. There is nothing like ‘hands on’ learning/watching/absorbing, so that is how I usually approach things like that. After that, it takes constant ‘doing’, learning while you go, not being afraid to use the dreaded manual or pick up the phone if you are stuck. Mixing and recording is as much of an art as playing, so it must be approached that way. Your drum kit and all the other instruments are a ‘canvas’ for your creation, and you have to find a place for everything to be heard, and presented in the way you envision. There are of course technical things to learn, about processing and equalization, but experimentation, and always comparing the sound you are getting to something you think sounds really good (your favorite CD for example) are good ways to practice. But there is no substitute for knowledge. Surround yourself with it so that you may obtain it.

- Dave

Hi Dave and thanks for this opportunity.

Candidly, do you ever lose track by listening to your fellow players? Especially when the rhythms become multi faceted amongst each individual player?

I find that even within my own drumming, if I listen too close, I get balled up between listening and execution. Any hints?

- Dave Bruno

Hi Dave. Your ear can definitely pull you in a direction away from the time if you let it. I find that always concentrating on the pulse, and where you are in the time will get you through it. The more studying you do of polyrhythms, the more your brain will allow you to ‘hear’ certain phrasings that may be foreign to you now. That’s providing of course your band mates are playing something that works in a mathematical sense where polyrhythms are concerned, which is not always the case! At any rate, remember your job as the drummer is to provide a solid constant time feel (with some flexibility of course), so no matter what anyone else does, concentrate and keep it solid!

- Dave

Editor's Note: Jay approaches this subject in his article (to the left) and in the February edition. Click on "view back issues, above, to read the February edition.

Have a question for Dave? About his music? His career? The musicians he's played with? A practicing tip? This is the place to ask.

Each month, Dave will answer your questions right here. He can't answer them all - and can't answer them individually - but using this forum, he'll answer the most interesting ones he gets.

To submit a question, send an e-mail to questions@davewecklnews.com .

-Get "Multiplicity" Early?

Dave and Jay Oliver's company, The Player's Circle, is talking to Concord Records about a special presale offer for subscribers to this newsletter. More details to come soon! If you haven't subscribed, click here!

As Dave mentioned, above, the new record will be called "Multiplicity." It's release is scheduled for July 12. Ric Fierabracci plays bass on a few tunes that
he was involved with in the composing stage, while Richie Garcia plays some amazing percussion sounds and Paul Pesco laid down some funky guitar
tracks. Look for some tunes posted on www.daveweckl.com soon! Just click "what's new" on the start page.

New Yamaha Dave Weckl Snare Drums

Click here to read the whole story on the Yamaha web site.

Learn Online with Dave

You can now learn online through the Virtual Drummer School, an exciting new interactive learning system that features Dave and many great international drummers.

The Virtual Drummer School features a wide range of curriculum, including interactive lessons and demonstrations by the artists, tools to assess the right level of learning for each student, a focus on ethnic music, history and a focus on equipment. And that's just the beginning...

Go to www.virtualdrummerschool.com to learn more.

Make sure to check out the new video clip Dave posted on his official site: www.daveweckl.com. It's a drum solo from the song "Braziluba," recorded on the band's recent European tour. Dave says he has more footage to come - he just needs to find some time to edit it all! So, check back periodically for more great stuff.

Dave and the Elektric Band will play some Northern California dates the last week in April, then travel to the Far East through much of May. This will include clinics for Sabian. Keep an eye for North American Dave Weckl Band shows this Fall!

Go to www.daveweckl.com, click "what's new" and then "tours and clinics" for the full schedule, which is updated regularly.

Did Dave really play with Robert Plant and the Honeydrippers? Madonna? Barry Manilow? Spyro Gyra's Tom Schumann?

Click here to see the comprehensive Dave Weckl discography. Special thanks to Chris Aleo for all the hard work!

Have a site that Dave Weckl fans might want to see? Send us an e-mail at questions@davewecklnews.com and maybe we'll throw it in.

Here are some great sites to check:

www.concordrecords.com - great information about all the artists on Dave's label.

www.drummerworld.com - check out the fantastic page they have devoted to Dave! Great videos and information.

http://www.erjn.it/ - a great jazz site brought to you by the Europe Jazz Network.

http://www.drumnetwork.co.uk/ - news and reviews you can use.

http://www.thedrumland.com - great all around information for all drummers and a nice tribute to Dave.