Drum Workout

I hate to exercise.  Yes, exercise is one of those necessary evils that shouldn’t be ignored, but I absolutely hate working out.  The thought of going to a gym makes my stomach turn and simultaneously fills me with anxiety.  Locker rooms, over-sized mirrors, public sweating, and tight clothing all make my skin crawl.  Bleck!  Besides all of that, I see going to the gym as a total waste of time and a completely unnecessary assault on my near-o.c.d. level of cleanliness.  What?  I have to leave my house, drive somewhere, change in front of strangers, use equipment that other sweaty humans use all day long and then shower in a public bathroom?  No thanks.

However, I’ve been playing drums for 26 years and I can tell you that exercising is a vital part of being a great drummer.  My drum mentor, Greg Caputo, swims laps a couple of times a week at the YMCA to make sure he is fit and ready for his big band gigs.  Also, most drummers who tour a lot will tell you that just playing the night’s set is not enough to burn off the insane amount of calories found in tour food, so they take up running or use hotel fitness centers.  Touring and even some recording sessions don’t allow for regular amounts of sleep either, and exercising can help cure insomnia and help you sleep more soundly when you do actually have the time to.

When I was in Tribe 8, our shows were at least 45 minutes long and every song was f-a-s-t FAST.  We often played in clubs with horrible sound and/or not enough microphones, so I was constantly pushed to play as loud as I could, pretty much as fast as I could.  Our shows and rehearsals kept me in tip-top performance shape and the rest of my life benefited greatly from that super-physical playing.

But I am no longer playing music like that on a regular basis, and when I sat down to play this past Christmas Eve after not playing for about a year, my arms felt like lead window weights.  Boy was I pissed!  What do you mean I can’t just pick up where I left off ?! Hello reality check.  I needed a plan of action and I needed it quick.

I developed a drumming workout for myself that is separate from (or additional to) the work I do as a professional drummer.  The workout gets my heart rate in the target zone, burns lots of calories (drumming burns an average of 262 calories an hour), and allows me to develop and grow as a musician.  The concept is very simple, and is a practice that I started when I was first playing rock drums as a teenager.  I play along to music with headphones (in-ear monitors).  These days, I am really interested in playing along to music that will not only get me in shape, but also help make me the most well-rounded musician I can be.  Admittedly, I’m not interested in being a drummer who can play epic solos wrought with flam taps and peradiddles for the big drum-off or whatever.  That’s just not my thing.

I choose songs for my playlists that demand different elements of musicianship.  I also design the order of the songs to challenge myself in ways that typical live sets or rehearsals or recording sessions may not.  If I’m playing with a specific artist, or preparing for a session, the playlists will, of course, be specific to that gig, but for the drum workouts, things are far more varied.  I also try to make my playlists run over two hours with the goal of playing for at least two hours.  From song to song, I switch up dynamic levels, speed, complexity, style, brain-busting tracks and endurance tracks.  If I design the list so I go from a mad-crazy, bombastically frenzied level of burning arms and legs jumping off pedals to a soft, slow, brainy little number, I force myself to switch physical gears as well as mental gears.  It’s not as easy as it seems, and by doing this, when the calls come in, I don’t hesitate.  I know I can play just about anything someone throws at me.

The easiest way to explain my method is to give you a portion of this week’s playlist.  Now, before I give it away, you should know that I choose the artists and songs in my playlists for different reasons.  Some musicians have issues telling people about the music they love and/or listen to because they don’t want their listeners to jump to conclusions about influences, etc.  Personally, I have nothing to hide.  Some songs are there because I love the artists and would maybe like to play with them someday, so working out while they sing to me is awesome and keeps the dream alive.  Some are there because the songs lend themselves to my drumming style or challenge me in certain ways.  There may also be a seemingly guilty pleasure or two in my playlists.  I can explain.

1. The Rain – Jen Schwartz

This is my new song and I am in the process of writing the drum part for it, so I work with it every day to prepare for recording.

2. Land’s End – Siouxsie and the Banshees

This is one of the only songs on the list I play pretty much note for note.  It’s perfect.  It took me forever to figure out what the hell Budgie was doing during the verses on this track and now that I have figured it out, it thrills me every time I get to play it.  Budgie was inspired to write his drum part by listening to Paul Simon’s 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover and the moment I found that out, I sat down at the kit and got it.  This song is a drummer’s dream because it has just about everything: tom/kick rolls, speedy dual-handed unison fills, a wide dynamic range, and lots of changes to keep us from getting bored.

3. Witness – Sarah McLachlan

I’d listened to this song for years before I sat down to play it and discovered the drum part is deceptively complicated.  I don’t know where Ashwin Sood came up with this one, but the juxtaposition of shuffle-esque right hand with the syncopated kick drum accents are pretty unusual and not easy.  The song challenges my brain and limbs to think outside of the “rock box.”

4.  There Is Nobody – Yoav

I love playing to this song because it has no drums, only a looped kick drum sound Mr. Yoav gets by thumping his acoustic guitar.  I can make up whatever drum part I want, so I shut off the snares and play lots of toms during the verses.  For the choruses, I play a little housey micro snare and hi-hat thing.  Fun stuff.  This song also gets the kick foot working.

5.  Cish Cash – Basement Jaxx & Siouxsie

I love this song and it is definitely an endurance-building track.  This is where I push the BPMs up and start to really sweat.

6.  Dreaming – Blondie

Another endurance-building track.  Clem Burke has been in my headphones since 1979 (I was just a kid), from Blondie to Eurythmics and back to Blondie.  SICK drumming!!!

7.  Another White Dash – Butterfly Boucher

I take an endurance break here and practice being steady after an insane song like Dreaming.  My right hand has to go from full mutha effin’ bore to stripped-down hi-hat off beats.  Also, this song has a lot of changes and hits all around the kit, so it’s good for the fills and good for the brain.

8.  We Got The Beat – The Go-Go’s

Hello kick foot!  Gina = Thumper.

9.  Since You Been Gone – Kelly Clarkson

This song is all about dynamics and staying right in the pocket, since half of it is drum programming (I think).  If you want to play with top artists, you have to be able to play with drum machine precision.

10.  March of the Pigs – Nine Inch Nails

Fast, loud, weird time signature tricks (blink and you’ll miss it and the song will fall apart) with a break between moments of insanity.

11.  Cuts You Up – Peter Murphy

I use this song to practice drumming and singing at the same time.  It’s got a pretty straightforward drum part, so I concentrate on staying in the pocket while singing.

12.  Dress – PJ Harvey

I beat the crap out of my drums during this song and really go for it.  It’s got some unusual syncopation too, so I am happily pounding while keeping up with the subtle little changes and resisting the urge to hit just the 2 and 4.

13.  El Dia de los Muertos – Siouxsie and the Banshees

Very technical drum part with the right hand hitting off beats on the bell of the ride and the left doing lots of syncopated work between the snare and rack tom.  There are also lots of stops and drum treats all over the song, so keeping up with all of that keeps my brain working as well as my heart rate up.

14.  Carbon (alternate with Spark)– Tori Amos

Hold on to your hats if you try this one, but don’t give up.  The time signature changes all over the place, so this is what I call a “brain-buster.”  I initially got the chart for Spark and memorized it so I could play it without the sheet music.  Moving to Carbon was a lot easier after learning Spark.

15.  That’s How People Grow Up – Morrissey

This is simply a transition to get back to straight-ahead rocking and I do love me some Moz.

The playlist continues for about another hour after this and ends with what I call the cool-down track, which is just a slow, easy song I use to segue out of the drum workout.  I always take a little time to stretch after playing like this.  My muscles have been working hard and need to be tended to before I go on with the rest of my day.  Stretching feels great, helps avoid injury, and makes it so much easier to go back to the kit for sessions, rehearsals, or even the next day’s drum workout.