TNTT at Monto Water Rats. Photo by Syd Younson.
Hello beat-makers! Another couple of busy months have gone by and I can finally sit down and let you know what’s been happening in my neck of the woods. I played lots of gigs with my favorite bands as usual, which included TNTT at the renowned Monto Water Rats in London, Johnny Lazer at the 229 Club alongside the amazing Viktoria Modesta and DJ gigs with Disco Damage around London, including Pool Disco at Shoreditch House, one of the best parties around.
Johnny Lazer @229 Club Photo by Eddie Blagbrough
I also decided to update some of my drumkit and got myself this beautiful Pearl Masters Snare. It’s sounds amazing. It’s got a lovely “boxy” sound, but can be crisp if it’s tuned high. And the “Diamond Glitter” finish is stunning.
And I’m still on a mission to spread the Tom Tom love across Europe, which is going rather well, with subscriptions beginning to come in from every corner of the continent… as more and more female drummers are approaching me and want to be part of this “drummer-power-movement” that we’re creating. It feels good!
Finally, I’ve been talking to Sudha, the superstar percussionist from multi-million $ selling band Faithless and planning an exclusive interview with her for the next printed edition of Tom Tom. Here’s a little bit of her in action, check out her percussion set! Quite impressive. (She is on stage left while the other drummer is at a traditional trap stage right).
And to send you off, here’s a little exercise to improve your sticking technique. This accented 8ths exercise will help you be more fluent and diverse in terms of dynamics and dexterity. You can start by playing the whole page on the snare first, and then move your hands around the drumkit, and you’ll start hearing some cool patterns that you can incorporate as fills when you play. And it’s also a great tool to become more fluent when improvising. Try playing the accents on the toms!
Start at 100bpm and slowly go up to 160bpm when you’re comfortable with the accents.
Happy banging.
Laura Fares