Interview: Joe Stickney of Bear In Heaven @ Pitchfork Music Festival
One of my drum students alerted me to Bear In Heaven‘s intriguing sound and layered grooves after stumbling upon them at a bar. Less than a year later, they’re playing a great set at Pitchfork Music Festival. Particularly impressive is the way Joe Stickney keeps the band lock-and-step with solid time, intricate coordination, and dropping in with drum fills at just the right time. Listening to the records, I assumed that those layered drum parts were programmed – I was wrong. Joe is a great drummer, coordinating different parts on each limb. Passionately pushing the music forward while complementing synth-based music, you might say he’s sort of like the beating heart of the Tin Man. -Paul Goodenough and here’s recent performance of theirs where you can witness Joe in action. Watch it, then make sure you catch Bear In Heaven’s next show near...
Interview: Brandon Young of Delta Spirit
One of the best things about this TheBestDrummerInTheWorld gig is that I get to meet bands I don’t know shit about.Prior to tonight, all I knew about Delta Spirit was that they were on tour with Nada Surf. Ira Elliot of Nada Surf recommended that I interview Delta Spirit drummer Brandon Young. So, I did, and then I watched their set without ever having heard a note from them. They killed it. Let me warn you about Delta Spirit. They have more soul than you can handle. They also have more drummers than you can handle. Brandon Young could be called the lead drummer, but everyone else is an accomplished…drummer. One thing I’ve noticed about interviewing musicians and one thing I know about being a musician is most dont like to be pegged into some category. I think it would be a disservice to call Delta Spirit an alt-country band but this will give you some frame of reference. Their latest album is Ode To Sunshine. It’s not exactly happy go lucky music. But it is real. If you love or can relate to a tortured soul this could be the band to save yours. Think New Orleans and you’ll have some concept of the sound. But their live delivery is more like a religious sermon delivered by a jaded pastor who doesnt believe anymore and wonders if his flock knows he’s fakin it. The fact that the majority of the guys in the band have played drums can be seen in this great track from Ode to Sunshine. I got the instant groove in from drummer Brandon Young before the show. He didn’t warn me about what I was in for. Buy Ode to Sunshine if you want to feel...
Interview: Taylor Knox of The Golden Dogs
For a guy who started off in this band on bass, Taylor Knox of The Golden Dogs, KILLLLLLS on drums. The bestdrummerintheworld was interviewing Andrew Scott of Sloan (who rules) and Andrew said Taylor Knox IS the best drummer in the world. But I own the dot com part, so I’ll decide. Most of us have a network of friends or trusted sources who turn us on to new music. When you interview drummers you dig in bands you dig you get the bonus of getting turned on to the bands these guys dig enough to take on the road with them. So there’s a good chance you (I) will end up liking the opening band. In the case of The Golden Dogs from Toronto, I loved this band. They were absolutely amazing live. Understatement. Taylor Knox is an amazing drummer, and he calls himself a songwriter. I swear, those songwriters make the best drummers. The record Big Eye Little Eye was one of my most listened to records of the year. I hate to compare bands to other bands (mostly because I hate being compared to other bands) but if the Strokes are considered a “big” band, The Golden Dogs should be as big as U2. Here’s their video for the catchiest song you’re going to hear today. I edited the talk we had about where our families have cottages in Canada right down the road from each other, but we talk about the band, so here you go. TheBestDrummerInTheWorld interviewed Taylor Knox of The Golden Dogs. From Canada, like...
Interview: Ira Elliot of Nada Surf
Although Ira Elliot has probably heard it a million times, my story of my Nada Surf obsession is not a new story. My obsession with Nada Surf was sparked by Weezer. Ric Ocasek of the Cars who produced the first Weezer record which sounded amazing. (The fact that he messed with Guided By Voices we shall leave to another post) Around that time he also produced a record by a New York band called Nada Surf. They had a moderate hit with the song “Popular” and then were lost in major label confusion land. Ira Elliot, Matthew Caws and Daniel Lorca held fast and carried on. They “resurfaced” a few years ago on the hipster radar and a friend of mine turned me onto the “new” Nada Surf and I was blown away. Absolutely great songs. The truth is there was nothing new about the band except they just kept on doing what they do and persisted and the beauty is that they really have come out on top. They really seem to have found a smooth stride in phase 2 of a career where most bands don’t get a shot at a phase 2. This is a video for the song Weightless off their latest album Lucky. The band held a contest where fans could make the official video for the song. This video was a runner up, but I thought it encompassed the aesthetic of a great song. Come on, skydiving? That pretty much rules. Ira Elliot is trully a music fan and drum junkie. He loves talking drums and drumming and he used the term “Ringo School” which I’ve used, but he made it sound official. So I’m using it now all the time. TheBestDrummerInTheWorld interviews Ira Elliot, drummer of Nada...
Interview: Brian St Clair of Local H
I’m going to cut to the chase on this one. Local H drummer Brian St Clair is one of the best drummers alive. The first week I moved to Chicago in, I think 92, I saw a great gig every night that first week. I saw, Overwhelming Colorfast, Redd Kross, Guided By Voices at Lollapalooza, and a local band that had a huge influence on me. They were Triple Fast Action. And Brian St Clair was their drummer. Over the next several years I saw every Chicago show they did and was 100% blown away every time. Amazing songs , great front man (Wes Kidd who went on to manage Local H) and a total rock god drummer in Brian St Clair. They made 2 amazing records you can hunt down and buy. When the band faded away, Brian took over the drum spot in Local H. Really the only logical choice because….they’re a TWO piece!!!!!!! Cool before White Stripes and Black Keys. Local H bring the full rock Local H drummer Brian St Clair took time to site down with TheBestDrummerInTheWorld.com at the beginning of the 12 Angry Months tour. Being a drummer myself, I am not the best interviewer nor am I an editing genius, so bare with...
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