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AUGUST 2009 Alicia Warrington

The Many Sides of Alicia Warrington

THE BLACK PAGE 3rd Anniversary Edition:

Dedicated to James Forbes ChapinForward by Dom Famularo

I first met Jim in 1969 here on Long Island. He was friends with my teacher Al Miller, and

we would go to see Buddy Rich perform backstage. Jim would tell me what Buddy was doing and an-alyze it to the slightest movement. My visit with the “Chapin Magic” started.

Jim was always so sharing with his hard-earned knowledge. He simply taught the best drummers in the 20th century and was work-ing on the 21st century. His books, CDs and DVD is a university of information; owning them all is a must!

I have learned from him, taught with him, performed with him and even played for him while he sang. He loved life and music equally. I am a better person for having experienced the “Chapin Mag-ic!”

He was called the Father of Drumming Independence. How ironic of him to pass away on July 4th, America’s Independence. Jim will live long in his contributions ... I ask the future generations of drummers to continue in seeking out the wealth of sharing that Jim gave us. Now on the 4th of July, look up at the fireworks and cel-ebrate the magic of Jim Chapin!

Dom Famularo

THE BLACK PAGEAUGUST 2009

THE BLACK PAGE is distributed via PDF to email inboxes worldwide.

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Send us your feedback at:theblackpagemagazine@gmail.com Sean Mitchell PublisherJill Schettler Editor in ChiefJayson Brinkworth WriterRyan Carver Writer

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Alicia Warringtonby Sean Mitchell

Independence, eh?:by Sean Mitchell

The Kenny Aronoff Experience:by Jayson Brinkworth

Virg’n It Up Part IIby Ryan Carver

Global Educators Database

The Final Word

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Special Guest StarsSean Mitchell, Ben Ross, Moe hashie, Mark Marshall, Todd Mercer, and The Pete Lockett Cape Breton Percussion Ensemble.

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2010THE YEAR OF THE LEGENDS

Alicia Warringtonby Sean Mitchell

As a drummer it is often a prereq-uisite to wear two, three, even four different hats, metaphorical-

ly speaking. For, like the fashion con-scious, a drummer must also adhere to style-- but of the drumming sort.

Glendale, California’s own Alicia Warrington is proving that not only can she wear the hats, she can fit the shoes that go with, metaphorically speaking.

The 28-year-old drummer has stayed busy with some of pop’s biggest names including Hannah Montana, Kelly Os-bourne and Lillix, but before we apply any more labels, let us not forget that the talented Ms. Warrington grew up listening to the likes of Dokken and Motley Crue and even fronted her own death metal band from behind the kit.

Yet just when you might be tempted to brand the drum goddess a rocker, you would be wise to check out her lat-est effort with The All-Girl Boys Choir, as she struts her stuff on vocals, bass, guitar, production, engineering and co-writing on the duo’s country/blues in-fluenced EP entitled Walking Miracles. A sonic swagger down a catwalk of groove, Miracles shows she can be de-fined in just one word -- unforgettable.

Alicia, you are obviously very driven and practical in your approach to your musical career. Where do you feel you developed those qualities?

I was never told that I couldn’t do something

I really wanted in life. I wasn’t brought up thinking that there was a limit to suc-cess and in fulfilling

goals and dreams. I’ve always been encour-

aged and supported in my career decisions. “No” isn’t a final an-swer for me.

You play with various pop acts , but at one point

you were the singer be-hind a death metal band, and you grew up grooving

to stuff like like Dokken, Motley Crue etc. How did you end up in a pop vein when your roots are a little edgier?

I grew up with my grand-parents playing polka music in the house, my mom al-

ways had the R&B and clas-sic rock (Anita Baker to The Beatles), my sister was get-ting Ozzy tapes banned from our house, and my uncle was pushing Queensryche, Dok-ken and Quiet Riot at me. You see what I’m saying?

I love music. Period. If it’s good, I’m going to listen to it, I’m going to play it and I’m going to be influenced by it -- in one way or another. I grew up listening to abso-lutely everything and today, you will find just that in my collection. I like everything from En Vogue to Lamb of God. Tell me about your folks.

I am my mom’s biggest fan. She is a wonderful, wonder-ful woman who has been nothing but supportive of anything I’ve ever wanted to do in life. I come from a single-parent family, and my mom did an absolutely amaz-ing job of raising me and my older sister. She worked long, hard hours in Michigan’s struggling auto industry to make sure that her kids were

well taken care of. She bought me my first

guitar and two drum sets, turned a bedroom into a band rehearsal space for me, paid for guitar lessons, went to every show that I did in the area.

I’m not going to tell you the most interesting thing about her because then you’ll know too much about my mom.

What do you use for mo-tivation when you are go-ing through a learning process?

My higher power is always my biggest motivation. I know that things happen for a reason and that I have to make the most out of every situation. I try to step back and find the positive.

What is generally the first thought on your mind when you get up?

Coffee. I usually wake up with ideas and being ready to go and make the most of my day. Lately, I’ve been in the process of recording, so as soon as I wake up I’m thinking about something I want to change or approach differently in whatever I re-

corded the day before.

How do you think a drummer is influenced in their choice of stick? And what do you feel comfortable with?

I have tested many brands and started off using sticks from a company that would break all of the time. I wasn’t completely happy until I started using Vic Firth. I stopped searching after that. Choosing brands is completely personal preference.

In choosing a stick, you want to get the best playing experience as pos-sible. You want something that will project the sound you want, in addition to feeling right in your hands (the right weight, length, tip, etc). I am most comfortable with the Vic Firth 3A wood tip - for faster/light rock and the American Classic Rocks for full/heavier sounds.

Can you take us through any specific techniques and practice routines that really had an impact on the type of player you are today?

I taught myself drums (when I was around 11 years old) by watching and lis-tening to other drummers. My Uncle Kevin had a huge kit in his basement. It was set up on a platform with lights, fog machines, and huge speakers, and I would just put on a tape and play along to what I heard. I would play songs over and over again until I thought it sounded exactly like what I was hearing on the recording. I felt like a rockstar under the lights, with the music blast-ing. (laughs) I’ve been blessed with being able to play with artists of differ-

Click here to visit Alicia online

Click below to hear her new EP

ent genres and have had to learn their music in short periods of time. That way of practicing when I was younger has helped me be able to adapt to differ-ent styles quicker and to pick up drum parts easily on recordings. Today, I still implement that into my prac-ticing, but these days I mostly play along to a click track with the music in my head. I also work on different exercises, patterns and fills repeatedly. I like to check out other drummers live and on video for more inspiration.

How did you land the gig with Kel-ly Osbourne?

That was my first professional drum-ming job. I thank her and her family for opening the doors to my career. The Kelly gig felt like it happened overnight. I had a voice message from someone (late one night) asking me to audition for her the very next day. I rushed out to whatever store was still open and bought a copy of her single, “Papa Don’t Preach”.

I stayed up all night learning the song, went to the audition straight af-ter work. It was all a blur, really. The day after auditioning, I got a call to meet with Kelly and Sharon, played with her band a bit. I was handed a schedule for the next three months… the rest is history. I played with Kel-ly from 2002 to 2005 and then again this year (2009).

If you could switch lives with any-one in the world, living or dead, who would that be and why?

I actually wouldn’t want to. I’m

comfortable with me. You don’t know what oth-er people are really going through. All we know is what we think we know about them. We don’t know about their lives and struggles.

You talk about using bigger drums and more open tones. Where did you develop a taste for that sound?

That definitely comes from my rock and metal background, and being in love with the “arena rock” sound and visuals from an early age. I was also very influenced by the old Ludwig and Slingerland kits and seeing set-ups like those of John Bonham.

I taught myself on my uncle’s kit, which was a huge, 16-piece, stainless steel Ludwig. There were two 28” bass drums and the other sizes ranged from a 4” roto-tom to a 20 or 22” concert floor tom. I guess that helped in developing a taste for “that sound.”

Take us through your set up. How do you achieve the sound you get?

The gear that helps me get that sound I love… Ludwig, Aquarian, Sabian, Vic Firth and Djem-bes by dabeat, a small company from Denmark. My current set up is a 5-piece, maple, Ludwig kit: 16x24” kick, 10x12 tom, 16x16 floor, 18x18 floor and ever-changing snare drums. I’m using Sabian APX series: two 20” crashes, 22” ride, 14” hats and an 18” Ozone.

Aquarian has an amazing new coated snare head called Hi-Velocity. I use that on a couple of snares, as well as their Texture Coated snare heads, Response 2’s for the toms and SuperKick bass drum head.

You had an interesting adolescence. Tell me about the years when you were in Fudgegun.

Fudgegun, wow! That consisted (mainly) of myself, a lady named Marty Novak and a guy named Ken Sirignano, who was a very cool guitar player. We toured so much, and often in poor conditions. We were a young, very driven, very hard-working post-punk trio. I was involved on two recordings with Fudgegun: “If You Could See My Office” and “Behind Closed Doors.” We did what we had to in order to get our music out there (independently): booked our own tours, did our own promo and spent a lot of time together in a van. On the flipside, so much time spent in a van with two other people can wear on those involved.

What has being on tour taught you in later life?

It has taught me to be independent, self-

sufficient, mindful and respectful of oth-ers. Touring is the best! Especially when you start touring at a young age. For some-one like me, coming from a small town like Saginaw, MI, touring opened up my mind to so many different things in life. It showed me that there was much more to life than playing in bars, getting wrapped up in bad situations and being an angry teen in Saginaw. I had the opportunity to travel to 44 states and 2 countries by the time I was 18. Some people never get to experience that.

What do you have coming up in the near future?

Right now I am doing a project called The All-Girl Boys Choir. It is a duo with Marlene Hammerle from Gore Gore Girls, whom I toured 10 countries with last spring. Marlene is doing lead guitar, slide and harmonica. We really clicked and have been writing music for the past nine months or so. The AGBC is my debut on guitar, bass and vocals (in addition to drums). I am also producing/engineering/mixing our EP, which we’re looking to in-dependently release in summer 2009 (as of this publication, Alicia’s EP is currently available - Sean). It feels great to finally be able to do my own thing musically. The sound is a rockin blues, classic country, noise assault. I am also working with in-die/pop-rocksters The Bruises from San Francisco. I am doing some shows and possibly recording with them this year:. (www.myspace.com/thebruises) m

Independence Eh?

by Sean Mitchell

For us Canucks, Canada Day (July 1st) marks the day we ceased being part of the

British Empire, our true inde-pendence as it were. However, as unpatriotic as it sounds, this past July 1st came and went for me without even so much as a pang of pride, nor even a swell of true patriot love. I don’t think I uttered even a single “eh.” Now don’t get me wrong, I am not professing my anti-es-tablishment-ism (Eeesh, is that even a word?). I love Canada and all that is in it-- save for the bitterly cold weather in some parts of the aptly named Great White North. Instead, I took the opportunity on that very Cana-dian Day to reflect on one very appropriate (and now seemingly ironic) word: independence. Being that my life and choice of livelihood have taken on some drastic changes and chal-lenges as of late, I reflected on

my life as a full-time musician. Needless to say the independent drummer, writer, and business man persona has its quirks, as I am sure many of you can relate.

It would seem that my choice of “Final Word” last month turned to sad irony as our industry lost yet another true drumming giant and independence guru just two days after the issue went to pub-lication. Jim Chapin’s passing is very much a passing of the torch. It was a mentor of mine, Dom Famularo, (who was mentored by Jim) that wrote an appropri-ate forward for this edition of The Black Page, as we dedicate this issue to Jim’s memory. Upon hearing of Jim’s passing I asked Dom to write the forward for this issue to shed some light on how big an impact Jim really had in the industry. I mean can you imagine? This was one of the guys who taught Famularo

how to play! Yikes, talk about a monster! But it was Dom’s words that once again stressed that word independence, that had been resonating since my Canada Day ex-perience, to my state of consciousness: “He was called the Father of Drum-ming Independence. How ironic of him to pass away on July 4th, America’s Indepen-dence.” Independence. I can’t seem to escape this word lately. The last few months have seen me and my kit go through a major overhaul and drastic set up change. Many of the changes to my kit are to have at least 60% of my drums and cymbals on

my left side to encourage the south paw in me to come out of his shell. Indeed it has worked, as my lovely future wife and I toil over material for our first CD. I have taken it upon myself to first come up with some musical drum parts as a righty, then to switch hands and learn to play them as a lefty as well. This is still very much a work in progress. Think three-year-old riding a bike. But for me independence goes deeper than the old-jazz-ride-pattern-against-six-teenth-note-triplets routine (although that is a great little ditty to warm up with). I am talking about the independence that

shapes our very sound, the isms that come out when we play. That “insert your name here” sound. Jill (the lovely future wife, for those keeping score) recently asked me why I have such an affinity for one John Henry Bonham, which got me to thinking, what was it about John’s style that draws me in?

I have heard a million players ask a sound tech to give them “that Bonham kick.” What is this sound? Can it even be defined? If you (or Jeff Ocheltree, for that matter) tuned your kick just as Bonzo had, would you then get that sound? Doubtful.

What John had above all else was that inner independence. That “thing” that was just purely him. It wasn’t how he tuned the drum or how he played it; it was all of that and more. There is no such thing as that “Bonham kick sound” now that he is gone, because no one but him could achieve it. You may come close or even emulate it, but you will never achieve it.

Similar to a proprietary eponym (when a brand name becomes the generic descrip-tion of a product-- Xerox, Kleenex), what a huge accomplishment for a drummer that we now describe aspects of his playing as a particular sound. That Bonham kick, that Purdie shuffle, that Van Halen snare. This, my friends, is the independence we seek above all; letting the music inside come out. And Jim Chapin would be the first to attest to this.

Lately as I sit at the kit, I have been pay-ing attention to the mistakes I make. Not to correct them, rather I have been using

them as the blue light special. In my mind, anything that makes me take notice of something I have done (right or wrong) is myself saying, “Hey, check this out! That was authentically you. Build on that.”

In exploring some of these “blunders” I have come up with some incredibly cool concepts for the tunes Jill and I have writ-ten. I have come to believe that the only time we are truly being is when we have messed up. Why? Because we weren’t able to censor ourselves enough to prevent what came out. That lack of censorship is what I have come to trust is just the inside showing up to take part in the game. All that we have to say, all that we are capa-ble of, all that we need to accomplish our greatest feats is on the inside right now.

If it weren’t for all my fears and self doubt I’m sure I would find myself in a state of revelation on a daily basis. Mastering my independence is deeper than two limbs working simultaneously, yet separately, on the bigger musical picture. It is about uniqueness and everything Sean Mitchell does behind that kit while he’s there.

There is one mantra I feel we all must remember to assert to ourselves and insert into our playing: There is no one better at being the drummer you are; never will be, never was.

EXPERIENCE

TheKenny Aronoff

by Jayson Brinkworth

Ok, so here it is. Thursday June 4th and the big day has arrived. I have been promoting this drum clinic with

the one and only Kenny Aronoff for the past five months, and Kenny and I have been communicating for the last year. My music school, Music in the House, along with other sponsors (St John’s Music, SaskMusic, Zildjian, Tama, Shure, Remo, Meinl and Vic Firth) have all come together to make this happen.

Kenny is to fly in on a commercial flight at 4:30, the clinic is at 7:30, and he will leave tomorrow morning at 10am to get back to Calgary and resume the John Fogerty tour. This is his only day off on the tour, so I am extremely lucky to have him do the clinic.

I am getting ready to leave the house around noon to get the drums re-skinned and make sure everything is in order before he arrives. My cell phone rings at 11:15am, and it is Kenny.

“Jayson is there any way we could cancel the flights and the hotel?”

I am confused and ask why. To this he responds, “There is a friend of mine here in Calgary who is an executive producer on a project I am doing, and he wants to get a private jet and bring me to the clinic and back.”

I am taken back a bit, but after further discussion, it seems like a good idea. So I cancel the hotel and the flights—I had backup flights booked as well. After all of this, I leave and resume my duty in getting things ready with my buddy Ross. Kenny keeps me posted all day on his status, and

they leave Calgary at 4:00. My head is still not processing all of this, but we go along setting up and getting everything ready.

I head to the airport to pick up Kenny, and whoever else came along, around 5:15. The jet has just landed and I greet Kenny and two other gentlemen, Mark (who rented the plane) and his friend Parker. Kenny can’t believe this has happened either and is also feeling very rockstar-like. This is a first for him as well.

We head to the venue and Kenny begins

If you have ever tried using drumsticks

as chopsticks,

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Saskatchewan’s hippest music school.

Click HERE to visitwww.musicinthehouse.ca

to setup and do sound check. It all goes great with the help of our soundman, JJ. In the meantime I am hanging out with Mark and Parker, who are great guys, and taking care of administrating the event. It was a treat to see Kenny work in sound check and setup. What a pro! This is why everyone hires this guy.

The clinic doors open at 7:15, and the people pile in. Some have been waiting for over an hour. Kenny and I hangout backstage running through the format of the event and making sure everything is in place. After everybody has made it in, we finally start around 8:00 with my introduction. Kenny hits the stage and is in non-stop playing and educating mode for two solid hours. He is a machine. He played every note like it was his last and was as excited about drumming as a beginner. The show wrapped up at 10:00 with his blazing version of “Straight No Chaser,” followed by a killer solo just to make sure

photo: Aimee hoffman

Click here to visit www.drummerconnection.com

The most complete online drum community.

everybody left totally mesmerized. We gave away a ton of prizes and Kenny

signed autographs for about 45 minutes. The clinic was amazing and the 200 plus in attendance were extremely motivated and excited. Now here is where the story takes a twist and gets even better.

After hanging out with Mark and Parker for the evening, we really hit it off. They are not musicians but love music and have never seen or heard of a clinic before. They were blown away! After the clinic, Mark said to me “Why don’t you come back to Calgary with us tonight on the jet, hangout for the day tomorrow? We will go and see Kenny play with John Fogerty tomorrow night, and you can come home on Saturday.” My first reaction was “absolutely” but after realizing my responsibilities here, I said I would love too, but I didn’t think so. Well, after getting a talking to by my amazing wife Laura, I answered “yes.”

We left the venue, I picked up a bag of clothes and stuff at home, and we were off. We boarded the jet, and I sat across from Kenny Aronoff for the one hour flight chatting about music and such. We arrived in Calgary, got into Mark’s car and drove to the hotel (Kenny drove us there as well!). Kenny retired for the evening, but Mark, Parker and myself hung out for a couple of hours.

The next day I woke up and thought, “What is happening here? How did I get this opportunity of a lifetime?” The day involved Mark and I hanging out chatting about music, business and life. That night we picked up our tickets and backstage passes to the John Fogerty show, and, man, did they rock! Kenny was on fire, and John Fogerty has the energy of a 15 year old.

We made our way backstage after the show to hangout with the band for an hour before they left for the next show. Again I am standing here thinking, “How did this

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all happen? This is my second night in a row hanging out with Kenny Aronoff.” We were also hanging out with two skiers from the Canadian Olympic team, Jan Hudec and Paul Stutz, more great people. Mark returned me to my hotel, and I just sat on my bed again, “WHAT JUST HAPPENED?” I was up early. My flight left at 11:00am. I got home at 12:00 and

started rehearsals at Music in the House at 1:00.

I am not sure what the lesson was in all of this, but I am more inspired than ever to play my @#$ off all of the time and to be the best musician/human being that I can every minute of everyday. Thank you, Kenny, Mark, Parker and Laura.

Jayson Brinkworth is an accomplished drummer, percussionist, vocalist, educator and writer.

Click HERE to visit him at www.jaysonbrinkworth.com

photo: Aimee hoffman

Ryan Carver is a member of the Academy of Drums faculty, the Vic Firth education team and PASIC. Click either link below to visit him on the web or to email Ryan your questions and groove requests.

www.carverdrums.com www.myspace.com/ryancarver

Virg’n It Up Part IIThis lesson is a continuation of the Virgil Donati inspired lesson from last month’s issue. hopefully you are still shedding part 1, the groups of 3 and 5. Now we will extend the phrases to groups of 7 and 9.

GLOBAL EDUCATOR DATABASE

mEducation is the life blood of any pursuit and must be accessible now more than ever as we enter a new age of wisdom and awareness. The Black Page proudly provides this database of ed-ucators from all over the world, for students of all ages who want to take the next step and get serious about playing. This listing is free for all pro and semi pro educators, with the intention of connecting the student to the teacher. To have your name listed in our database please contact Sean at theblackpagemagazine@gmail.com.

Dan SlaterMelbourne, VictoriaContact Info:slaterslater@hotmail.comwww.drumhappy.net

Bruce AitkenMarion Bridge, Nova ScotiaContact Info:bruce_cbidrumfest@yahoo.comwww.bruceaitken.net

Jayson BrinkworthRegina, SaskatchewanContact Info:jayzdrumz@yahoo.cawww.jaysonbrinkworth.comwww.musicinthehouse.ca

Adam hayToronto, OntarioContact Info:earthtoadam@gmail.comwww.adamhay.net

Mike MichalkowVancouver, BCContact Info:mikemichalkow@gmail.comwww.mikemichalkow.com

Randy RossWoodstock, New BrunswickContact Info:fnordpow@gmail.com

AUSTRALIA

CANADA

Stefano AshbridgeLos Angeles, CaliforniaContact Info:stefanoashbridge@gmail.comwww.drumlessonsinLA.com

Ryan CarverBrick, New JerseyContact Info:carverdrums@yahoo.comwww.carverdrums.com

Chris DeRosaNew York, New YorkContact Info:chris@chrisderosa.comwww.chrisderosa.com

Dom FamularoNew York, New YorkContact Info:www.domfamularo.com

Sean J. KennedyAmbler, PennsylvaniaContact Info:drummer@seanjkennedy.comwww.seanjkennedy.com

Dave McAfee Mount Juliet, TennesseeContact Info:davedrums4toby@comcast.netmyspace.com/davemcafee

David Northrup

Murfreesboro, TennesseeContact Info:www.davidnorthrup.com w Intermediate to Pro Level

Dyrol RandallDallas/Fort Worth,TexasContact Info:dyrolrandall@yahoo.comwww.dyrolrandall.com

Rich RedmondNashville, New York, Las Vegas, LAContact Info:www.richredmond.com

Billy WardNew York, New YorkContact Info:billy@billyward.comwww.billyward.com

THE BLACK PAGE WANTS YOUThe Black Page is looking for a few good educators. The global educa-tors database is published every month in The Black Page. To submit your name, email address/website to our database, email Sean at:

theblackpagemagazine@gmail.com

Listing is free for all pro/semi pro ed-ucators. Please provide some refer-ence material to be considered

USA

Jim Chapin1919 - 2009

“Think in terms of how do you relate to other musicians? How does it feel to them when you play? Do you make them hap-py? Do they make you happy? Is it a happy interrelation-ship?”