Product Close-Up: Carmichael Drum Throne

May 16, 2012 in Product Review

by Miguel Monroy

Many drummers are faced with the burden of back pain and fatigue as they enjoy their favorite hobby… playing drum set.  It was the desire to reduce that pain and fatigue that birthed the creation of the Carmichael Drum Throne.  The purpose of the throne is to reduce pressure to the tailbone, spine, and the prostate while encouraging good sitting posture.  ”These benefits alone greatly reduce fatigue and increase energy; allowing the user to rehearse, record and gig for longer periods of time and with much more comfort” as stated by the throne’s creator Dan Carmichael.  After testing the throne for several weeks, I found myself enjoying all the benefits that the throne had to offer; especially the reduced pressure to my tailbone and spine.  Both my private students and I enjoyed the reduced fatigued during lessons and performances, and were very satisfied with the comfort and quality of the throne.

The throne is offered in a variety of options to conveniently meet the needs of users with, or without an existing tripod base.  The company stated that since many drummers have an existing base, they are pleased to offer the seat equipped with all the necessary holes and threading to be interchangeable with the commonly used Roc-n-Soc seat mounts.  The Carmichael Throne Company also offers two great options for people that do not have existing hardware.  These two options include the seat with a heavy duty Roc-n-Soc tripod base featuring a manual spindle, or the seat with the Roc-n-Soc Nitro Stand.   In addition to the mounting options, the throne is also equipped with the necessary threading to install the Roc-n-Soc Back Rest.  To see the installation process and all the features of the Carmichael Throne, be sure to watch our product close-up video below.

To learn more about the Carmichael Throne you can visit their website at CarmichaelThrone.com.

Carmichael Throne Options

1.) CT-200: Carmichael Throne with a Roc-n-Soc base that features a manual spindle

2.) CT-201: Carmichael Throne with a Roc-n-Soc Nitro Base

3.) CT-200MS: Carmichael Throne with a Roc-n-Soc Manual Spindle Seat Mount

4.) CT-200NR: Carmichael Throne with a Roc-n-Soc Nitro Seat Mount

5.) CT-200SO: Carmichael Throne with out any additional hardware

Product Close-Up Video of the Carmichael Throne:

 

 

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Now Accepting New Drum Students In Louisville Area

April 27, 2012 in News

For those of you that live in the Louisville area, I am now accepting a limited number of drum set and percussion students.

For more information please contact me at: LouisvilleDrummer@gmail.com

Lessons are open to students of all skill levels.

Miguel Monroy

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Luke Gillespie Trio – Live at JEN 2012

April 10, 2012 in News

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
by Miguel Monroy

The Luke Gillespie Trio put on a wonderful performance during the 3rd Annual JEN Conference held in Louisville, KY last January.  Gillespie was accompanied by two fellow jazz educators and instrumental giants Jeremy Allen on double bass and Jason Tiemann on drums.  The performance was filled with selections from the trio’s most recent album Third Base Line, which was released in 2011 on Watercourse Records.  You can watch highlights from their performance in our exclusive footage below.

Luke Gillespie is an active performer and educator of jazz and classical piano music.  He is the recipient of numerous awards, including best performance from the Indianapolis Star in 1993, the 1990 Copland Piano Concerto Competition at Indiana University, and the 1994 Indianapolis Jazz Festival Competition, amongst many other musical accomplishments.  Luke has performed with Jamey Aebersold, Eric Alexander, Ron Blake, Benny Golson, Wycliffe Gordon, Bunky Green, Jimmy Heath, Steve Houghton, Clay Jenkins, Ingrid Jensen, David Liebman, James Moody, Ed Neumeister, Chris Potter, Rufus Reid, Jim Snidero, Rodney Whitaker, the Smithsonian Jazz Masterworks Orchestra and Pablo Ziegler.  His book, Stylistic II/V7/I Voicings for Keyboardists, is endorsed by Danilo Perez, Geoffrey Keezer, David Liebman, David Baker, and Frank Mantooth. His solo jazz piano CD, Footprints, was released on RIAX records (2003), and he has released two trio CDs, Live at the Station (2010) and the new Third Base Line (2011).

For more information on Luke Gillespie you can visit his faculty web page here.

Jeremy Allen has served on the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music since 2006. He has performed in the United States and abroad with such jazz luminaries as Fred Hersch, David Liebman, Kenny Wheeler, Bob Brookmeyer, Randy Brecker, Tim Hagans, Eric Alexander, Jerry Bergonzi, Rich Perry and George Garzone.

Jason Tiemann has performed in a vast and varied array of musical situations from the avant-garde to the modern big band as well as the mainstream and progressive jazz to rock and roll.  Over the years he has performed and/or recorded with veteran jazz musicians such as James Moody, Randy Brecker, Joanne Brackeen, Dick Oatts, Norah Jones, Mose Allison, Rich Perry, Rufus Ried, Jean-Michel Pilc, the Benny Goodman orchestra and others in virtually every prominent jazz venue throughout the midwest and east coast including the world famous Blue Note in New York City as well as the Jazz Showcase in Chicago, IL.

For more information on Jason Tiemann you can visit his website here.

The 3rd Annual JEN Conference was conducted by the Jazz Education Network, who is  dedicated to building the jazz arts community by advancing education, promoting performance and developing new audiences.

For more information on the Jazz Education Network visit: JazzEdNet.org

Luke Gillespie Trio – What is this thing called love

Luke Gillespie Trio – Tokaido Line

Luke Gillespie Trio – Take me out to the Ball Game

Luke Gillespie Trio – Star Dust

Luke Gillespie Trio – I’ll never be the same

All footage published with permission of the Luke Gillespie Trio.

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How to play drums – Guaguanco Drum Set Groove

March 30, 2012 in Lessons

 

 

by Miguel Monroy

For our latest free instructional drum video we take an in-depth look at the Guaguanco drum set goove.  Be sure to take advantage of both the transcription and instructional video, which are both included below.  Both the instructional video and transcription walk you through the groove one part at a time.  First you will learn the “Palito” rhythm on the ride cymbal.  Second we add the bass drum and hi-hat groove with the feet.  Last but not least we add the tom figures with the left hand.  As I mentioned in the video, this is a great groove to learn open handed too.  Most of us don’t get many opportunities to use these grooves in a live setting.  That being said, we can still certainly use these types of grooves as opportunities to work on independence, muscle memory, and so much more.  Have a great time with this groove and I wish you all the best on your musical endeavors.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Free Instructional Video

How to play drums – Guaguanco Drum Set Groove:

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Steve Houghton – Druming 101 Highlights from 2012 JEN Conference

March 27, 2012 in News

By Miguel Monroy

Steve Houghton presented a great seminar entitled “Drumming 101″ at the 3rd Annual JEN Conference.  The seminar was rich with educational pointers and tips for both jazz educators and jazz students.  The main theme that Steve promoted thoughout “Drumming 101″ was that both students and educators need to understand what their most valuble tool is…”your ears” as Steve stated.   Steve then explained that your ears are used for almost every valuble function as a musian and educator.  Your ears allow you to listen to the musicians around you, to feed off their energy, to understand which musical direction they are headed.  Your ears also allow you to listen to the generations of great musicians that preceeded you.  You can study what they have done, transcribe their parts, and add their musical knowledge to your own.  Steve also explained that there is a dangerous potential for students who focus only on the technical aspects of playing, while loosing sight of listening to the players around them and to the great musical examples of the past. 

When discussing how to work on the dynamic between musicans, such as bass and drums, Steve advocated recording your rehearsals.  Steve prompted that “The tape never lies,” and by listening to your rehearsals you can hear the tendancies from individual players.  Hearing those tendancies will bring up numerous oportunities to hone in and work on individual weakness and the overall dynamic between instrumentalists.    

For the duration of Steve’s seminar he discussed a variety of topics which included playing with different emotions and feels, melodic drumming and soloing, and much more.  Be sure to watch our video below which highlights over 16 minutes of highlights from Steve Houghton’s “Drumming 101″ seminar.

Steve Houghton is currently Professor of Percussion and Jazz at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music. Houghton is the Immediate Past- President of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS) and endorses Yamaha drums and percussion, Zildjian cymbals, Vic Firth sticks and mallets, and Remo world percussion products and drumheads.

For more information on Steve Houghtong visit: HoughtonMusic.com

The 3rd Annual JEN Conference was conducted by the Jazz Education Network, who is  dedicated to building the jazz arts community by advancing education, promoting performance and developing new audiences.

For more information on the Jazz Education Network visit: JazzEdNet.org

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