Winnstock Battle of the Bands

story by Norm Richards

As good a reason as any to raise money for charity I say, have a battle of the bands event. Sure, and why not? I much enjoyed my evening and the company I kept. The financial people of Winnipeg get together every year to do this. They throw together a desperate number of people together from the financial trade to be in the bands. They're given maybe a month at best to rehearse. They show up and maybe some magic happens. Sure enough. We were entertained by four groups.

The first group was called The Bailouts, the others were Prime + 1, The Bottom Line and The Wall Street. Good thing I wasn't a judge. That was left to Brad Oswald of the Winnipeg Free Press, Tracy Koga from Shaw TV and Howard Mandshein from 92 CITI-FM. I had friends in the third band up to perform. I might have chosen them. They had a couple of ringers in their lineup.

Kathy Kennedy is a well know Winnipeg blues rock singer and Ron Siwicki is often seen as her guitar accompaniment. They're good and worthy of praise any day of the week. But the evening went to The Wall Street, with a remake of The Wall by Pink Floyd. Norm Goodman lead the band with ripping lead guitar parts not far off from what David Gilmore of Pink Floyd would do. I was a little surprised. I'm used to seeing Goodman taking the bus home everyday from his accounting job. He's the guy with The Beatles' haircut but tonight he's trimmed to look like Gilmore more than Ringo. The acts were festooned with daily players in the financial investment community and not full time rock musicians. So, I give them praise for pulling it off. Great fun was had by all, especially those who ended up winning the fund raising prizes at the end. My tickets lay abandoned on the table as I write this.

I was graced by the fine company of Nygard executive Gordon Stein and his wife Denise. Gordon is a seven year member of the board of tonight's charity Manitoba Riding for the Disabled Association Inc. Winnstock.ca tonight helped raise $63,000 to assist disabled people enjoy life while attending horse riding events throughout the year. Denise shared many stories with me about those experiences and some of her own. One was when Princess Ann came to Winnipeg during the Pan Am Games and her and Gordon were boarding some of the horses in competition at Meadow Green Riding Academy when they owned it. Princess Ann visited and greeted participants at the Academy. My evening at this event was full and uplifting. I felt better being there rather then remaining home practising drums for my own next event.    

Music and it's influence on me.

Story by Norm Richards

I grew up in a small town in northern Manitoba a world away from everywhere. Few things brought us closer to the rest of the world or with any impact than music. Radio, newspapers and early television simply reminded us of our distance away.

But at the same time, family had it in them. I remember our patriarch play his fiddle and tap his feet to the best time I'd ever seen. I was six when he passed on but I still remember him like it was yesterday. The day dad brought home a piano for mom was a day of glory in our house. I was fascinated to see a blind man spend two days tuning and refurbishing it. Before he left mom asked him to play for us. He was smooth and elegant as he struck the keys to famous classic waltzes. His music was written in braille. he showed me how he read it by running his fingers over it.  

Mom took to that piano like there was nothing else in the world. Dad loved to dance I discovered. Years later, mom would put on a record and my parents would dance as if to show my sister and I they could. We loved it. These were the days performance became familiar for me. 

Things were so musical at home. Odd, but dad knew how to play his comb by making a homemade mouth organ out of it. He played the jew's harp and real mouth organ too. He knew how to jig and keep a beat over his legs as well but in my lifetime the skill had nearly passed him by since he was older by the time I came along. Love has no age and I loved my folks making music. My first drum was a tin tv table where I placed a table fork on one end and I could strike the other end to get a snare drum sound. I accompanied mom playing her favourite tunes. Mom told me her family played for others for over thirty six years.  

My sister and her pals played records at home. I heard Little Richard, Fats Domino and Elvis for the first time on records. The beginning of rock and roll was being heard even in our northern town. My sister got dressed up and went to dances and met boys. Mom took me to the local theater and it's here I first saw Elvis. His first movies weren't much for his rock and roll leadership. But when JAILHOUSE ROCK hit the theaters I was sold. Meanwhile I went to school and didn't quite excel. Going to Catholic school is another story. But suffice to say if rock and roll music was a corruptive force on the youth then my soul was committed.

             

Add Ons!

I picked up a new floor stand tom mount this week. The thing that I'm noticing is you can include different parts for adjustments to the playing space. Modern drummers seem to enjoy the flexibility from what I can see. You'll note in the opposite photos the two cymbal stands are locked in the straight up position. The boom mounts can't be utilized.

I started checking out other player setups. Wow, what variety. Putting this stand into my setup made me realize I can add another tom. Now I need to decide what size to order. Two up, two down is a good basic setup and a couple good cymbals plus the hats makes good music I know but it's wonderful to have more to call on.

I like a solid crash for big accents and the medium thin crash to call on often. My ride is a ping but I've been testing bigger rides again and I might switch back. I used to own a twenty two inch medium ride back in the day and a twenty two sizzle crash on the other side. The rivets got annoying after awhile and I wanted change. I removed a few at first but that wasn't enough. The sound went flat. I needed better.

My buddies were getting antsy about their sound as well. (doing radio seven hundred miles north) We jumped in my car and drove all night listening to hot album rock on the way. On arrival in the city we satisfied our craving for change and improvements in sound. Now, I live in the city so it's easier to drop into the music shop and buy what I want.

DW Performance Series Bass Drum Arrives!

By Norm Richards, Drummer

I was at Mother’s Music drum shop talking to Carlos Copaban on Friday. He looked on the computer and thought the bass drum would be shipped direct to the head office in Edmonton from California before coming to Winnipeg. This would put it Winnipeg Friday March 25, 2011. I have a day off today from my day job so I visit Carlos again. He says, “First I have bad news and then I have good news.“ I say, “Give me the bad news first.” He says, “ I’ve tried to reach you since Monday and couldn’t reach you, but the the good news is, your bass drum is here.” I’m amazed and smiling. It’s nicely placed in the kit bag I previously purchased for it. Carlos instructs me in how to pack the drum in it’s case for later. I hardly hear him I’m so excited. We take it out and check it out. Man oh man, it’s wonderful. It’s “Black Mirra” colour in hard rock maple with seven ply HVX Technology on the shell. It’s nearly pre-tuned I discover later at home. The front skin is black with white lettering  and it’s vented with six quarter inch holes for air displacement. On the inside it has a special pillow built to muffle the head just enough to improve sound even further. I said goodbye to Carlos and high tailed it home as fast as I could so as to mate up this master drum with the rest of the kit. So here it is on the right side of the page. I entered a link to DW’s web site for the Performance Series drums. Enter by clicking on the second photo. I can’t wait to get playing and recording with the guys. Cheers!         

My first visit to the Drumtalk Festival

By Norm Richards, Drummer

I left home apprehensive. I thought it would be rinky-dink. Paid my dues in the business and now I’m going back to school? The forty dollar at the door felt expensive. I looked in the room and saw a lot of fathers and sons. Too bad my son can’t be with me, I thought, he’s a wicked drummer. He lives in another province and just can’t be with me, this time. But I wasn't sure what I was in for. Now, I should know better. I’ve been to many screenwriting workshops and one seminar or another and I’ve often been surprised at what I witnessed. Today was sure one of those days. I didn’t make the morning session so I arrived for the afternoon program. First up was a drummer from Quebec. Her name is Emmanuelle Caplette. Oh yes, a chick drummer. She wasted no time. She played an intro to music to demonstrate her play. She was smooth and convincing. She doesn’t need a big kit to show her stuff. Then, she spoke. It was neat because she excused herself for her accent. She’s French and obviously doesn’t function much in English. She proceeded. I think the room was amused. She grew on me. I’m a Manitoba French Métis and over time I’ve been reluctant to accept those French braggers from the east. Before long I found Emmanuelle’s presentation fun, interesting, professional and clearly spoken to me. I was taken through the basics of rudiment practise and form every drummer should know. It was a good refresher for me. On the language part, Emmanuelle was charming and very expressive, on the drum performance side she showed any doubters in the crowd just how good she was. I met her afterward and she heard me excuse myself for my English after greeting her in my Manitoba French.

The next drummer up was Daniel Glass who currently resides in New York City. He’s an acclaimed authority on classic American drumming says the press kit on him. He too, showed us he could play. Daniel got up and gave an extended talk on where he’s been. He told us he received a call one day out of the blue from Brian Setzer of Stay Cats fame and his Brian Setzer Orchestra. Anyone who’s watched the New Years shows would have seen Brian Setzer and his big band sound played to rockabilly style guitar playing and a hard paced blues shuffle on the drums. Well, Daniel Glass has been doing it for awhile with his “retro swing” group Royal Crown Revue. He told us about finding rehearsal space in New York. Can you imagine, in such a congested big city like New York how hard it must be finding a place to practise? Glass said he found a guy who owns a high rise building and every room is rented out by the hour for rehearsals twenty four hours a day. When he asked the guy what was available, he was told a slot from 6AM to 9PM is his if he wanted it. He took it. So now Daniel is preparing to play with the Brian Setzer Orchestra this coming April. He’s had six months to prepare and he warned, it will always take preparation for any gig you might want to do no matter how good you think you are. He’s the proof. I love what he does because he’s proficient on the blues shuffle and all it’s variations depending on the sound. Playing for Setzer is based on that upright bass slap and pull style which is very fast and so a hell of a workout for any drummer. I’ll be watching and listening next New Years for Daniel Glass and the Brian Setzer Orchestra. 

The final talk and performance came from Randy Black from Edmonton. Randy is a world leading Metal Rock drummer. He did his dues in Canada doing bars and as he got better, toured and met many other players. He moved to Berlin, Germany to be with his fiancée and teach drums at a local drum store. He played with several Berlin bands until he was recruited by Stuttgart based Metal group ‘Primal Fear’ during his performance at the 2003 Frankfurt Music Messe. He’s recorded and toured with them since that first invite. The minute Randy gets on the kit you know he’s there. He did sound check and everyone began to pay attention. I love drummers who have a solid left hand. This guy has both. He strikes the snare in performance with both left and right hands with equal ability. If anyone’s as close to Neil Peart, John Bonham or Carmine Appice this guys got it. He sits in the middle of a wall of drums and cymbals. He hits everyone of them with zeal and solid effort. He has a ride cymbal on each side and a high hat on both sides. The rest are accents and and finishes second to none. He goes for just what sound best no matter the brand, although he has his favourites. He surprised me a little. He played his intro performance and got off the kit to come down and talk to us. He began with a soft sell lecture on the need for hearing protection. For emphasis he pointed out on his computer big screen presentation other well know musicians how debilitating it is to have Tinnitus and other hearing damage from playing loud over many years. Having a constant ringing in your ears is not pleasant. He wrapped up his day with fine performances on his big kit. Drums today are amplified too. Every drum is hooked up to a separate microphone and the cymbals are too. It gives some control to the strength and aggression for the sound from a drummer. For Metal Rock it’s complete necessity. So Randy’s sound played back to us was loud but clear and in time with the music that he accompanied. He plays with ear plug monitors rather than having a big speaker set up beside him to blast the sound at him while he plays. This is duplicated in his real live performances on tour. That way volume is controlled and ones hearing is protected from open sound. He favours it and most drummers and musicians should too. Life is good!

PS. Thanks to David Schneider DrumTalk Organizer and Kent Hart for his photos.    

Music in Winnipeg’s downtown

 

I checked out a new restaurant and bar in downtown Winnipeg in the past week. There were a couple warm up acts if you want to call them that before Tim Butler and his players performed. The Modern Restaurant and Lounge at Portage and Carlton hosts a weekly parade of Blues, Rock and Folk Rock musicians from across the city. The place is small but so what. I remember visiting the Baked Potato behind the Hollywood Hills in Los Angeles co-owned, I might ad, by a fellow Winnipegger in the 80’s where Don Randy played that bar. The Potato had a few school desks as tables and my heavens,  he had a baby grand piano in the middle of the room, drums, a wicked bass player and a full horn section. People ate it up. The place was popular and they lined up outside. I can’t imagine lining up outside in 20 below here but summers could be cool at the Modern. Don’t wait until summer to check it out. So far. two main players in town are host musicians. Tim Butler is doing it another night while Kathy Kennedy and The Shadow Band is there on Thursday nights. Kathy is a fine blues singer and has a good band backing her. Now, she’s invited people to jam too so I’m not sure how that’s going to turn out. Judging from the other blues bars in Winnipeg we don’t suffer from musicians to fill the bill. I’ll tell you more after I’ve visited Kathy’s show later this week.           

Musicians and Memory

I challenge anyone who's ever thought less of The Rolling Stones or rock and roll musicians of any kind to read "Life" by Keith Richards. It's over 500 pages of real experiences and insight. Who would ever thought a drug scared musician would have so much to say and extremely well said at the same time. We're lead to think memory is the first thing that goes. Not so. Well sure, James Fox gives him a hand but Keith said he kept notes over the years. I imagine if you write songs and are used to writing things down, experiences and daily happening get jotted down too. Keith did that. I've truly enjoyed his passages so far. Hey, I'm still reading the book. It takes time to get through 565 pages. War and Peace man! Delighted to learn he wrote his mom often while on the road or travelling the world in search of one high or another. He kept real in different ways. Delighted to know he's shy with women. He loves the blues. He started many things you will be surprised to read about. Who he befriends might surprise you and if you are a musician yourself, you'll simply tell yourself, " Of course man." He's truthful about his view on drugs. I'm pleased to know that. Well, take my word for it, Keith is worth reading about.