Good stuff department: Bay Ratz Marching Battery

This is my friend Brian. 

He runs a drumline program for kids in his town. 

As long as they show up and practice, being in the drumline is free.

Brian is cool.

The end.

Brian and I found each other on Facebook a few years back, when he grabbed a video of mine (an early rendition of my song “Count To Four”) and shared it with his drum students. He explained that he didn’t know who this was, but that the combination of singing and Rudimental chopping was proof that rudimental drumming could be an art form. I was flattered, and reached out. We became friends and ever since I’ve followed his adventures as an independent drumline instructor.

Brian founded Bay Ratz in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi about nine years ago, and the group became a fixture in the town. An introductory group called the Mice gives younger players their start in drumming. And as long as the kids practice and show up regularly, they can be in the Bay Ratz for free, with all instruments and instruction provided by Brian and his tiny nonprofit. It fit my vision of a totally grassroots program that heartened back to my time in drum corps, and I became a supporter of Brian and his vision.

Periodically, I gather up a stack of used drum pads found for free or cheap, and ship them to Brian so that new incoming members have something to practice on. I’ve been doing this for about four years now, and he’s taken to calling me the Drum Pad Fairy Godmother of the Bay Ratz. One year, he and his wife sent me a Mardi Gras gift box filled with beads and a Bay Ratz t-shirt.

There was a hiatus during the pandemic but now the group is back at it, rehearsing and performing around town. And I am gathering more pads and sticks for their kids, many of whom cannot afford to buy their own.

A group like this would have a tough time getting off the ground in Portland; it’s too liberal and independent a city and most inner city drummers here would rather just bang on a drum kit than take time to learn rudiments and march in parades. And I’m getting too creaky to create something like that here anyway. So I’m happy to support Brian and the Bay Ratz from afar.

If you have an old drum practice you don’t use anymore, please consider donating it to a youth music group where you live. Pads and sticks cost money, and a lot of these smaller groups literally run on a shoestring. Any help they can get helps a kid who wants to learn to make music, and that’s a very good thing.

Or, if you prefer, send it to Brian for his growing drumline. Reach out to him at the Bay Ratz FB Page.

Cheapskate’s Corner: drum dampener

Keo Percussion has offered this lovely drum dampener for a few years.

It’s basically a hunk of wood and rubber with some magnets attached on the backside, so the pad will adhere to the inside wall of the drum rim.

It’s a smart design, and I went looking for one.

The only one I found was being sold used on Reverb, for twenty bucks.

Then I tried finding one new and saw that they start at $35 retail. If you can find one.

Apparently, Keo Percussion recently shut down and their products are now quite hard to find.

After pondering my options, I decided to try and make something similar for myself.

Using scraps of leather, drum mute foam, cork and some magnets, I created a similar product.

Since I don’t have commercial cutting tools at home, the best I could do was to use sharp scissors and cut my chosen shape over and over for each layer. 

The results weren’t gorgeous but they lined up well enough for m e to glue the layers together and call it good. (I may paint a little glue around the edges to seal the cork and keep it from crumbling.)

What turned out to be slightly off-canter also added a nice accidental feature: I affixed the magnets so that the dampener could be set two different ways to adjust the degree of dampening, something the Keo version didn’t look like it offered. It’s a nice bonus, and it works really well.

Always Mister Brown

I first met Mel Brown as an eighth-grader when he came and taught a drumming clinic for all the drum students in our school district. He talked about rudiments and technique, gave some demonstrations, and then invited brave students to come up and try playing his kit.

Several boys went up, gulped, and tried their hand at playing various rock beats. Lots of fills, lots of notes, a couple dropped sticks and blushes, lots of big sounds.

I was the last student who came up. The only girl, of course (it was 1978), and the only one who asked if he could lend me a pair of brushes. I wasn’t very confident on the drum kit yet but I knew how to accompany my parents with brushes when they sang.

Mr. Brown smiled broadly as I laid down a simple brush beat and kept it going, with only an occasional fill.

When I finished, he shook my hand in both of his and said, “that was some lovely brush work. Please keep playing. Please.”

I walked on air for the rest of the afternoon.

I’ve seen him in jazz clubs in Portland and it was wonderful to see him the other night at Revival Drum Shop. And to this day, I can’t bring myself to call him Mel. He remains in my heart, lovingly and with deep respect, Mr. Brown.

 

 

NARD solo -- DeMolay, by Joseph Soistman

Some of the solos in the NARD book are hard. Some are moderate in difficulty. And some are fairly easy, like this little gem from Joseph Soistman. DeMolay requires you to be comfortable with flam taps, flamadiddles and 5-stroke rolls. The challenge is figuring out which sticking provides the smoothest transition between figures, and that is left up to the drummer. FUN!

Benevolent Bill

From the old Nard Solos book, so beloved by rudimental drummers that it’s still in print ninety years on.

On my Rudimental Control pad, which I enjoy more every time I chop on it, with Cooperman #10 sticks. A great combination.

Full Review: Rudimental Control practice pad

My Rudimental Control pad arrived a couple days ago, and I have been putting it through its paces. My pad is custom-made to my specs, with a 13-inch head and eight tuning bolts.

Rudimental Control is the brainchild of drummer and teacher Nissan Ballard, who makes each pad himself here in the USA.

Here are my thoughts:

Construction. The pad is constructed very similarly to pads by Rudimental Drummers and Drumslinger, utilizing a wood platform, a real drum hoop and head with whatever padding or muffling material is placed underneath the head.

As with Drumslinger pads, the tuning bolts are topped with Allen heads that require a 3/16" Allen wrench. I'm not sure why SAE was selected over metric, but perhaps outside the world of bicycles (with which I'm most familiar) SAE is more commonly used. If I were building these pads I might favor actual lug bolts with a head that takes a standard drum key instead (like the ones found on Rudimental Drummers pads), but that's a personal preference and not a huge deal.

The bolts thread into nuts whose teeth sink into the wood from underneath. Each nut is covered with a thick felt pad for protection and so that the pad sits nicely on a tabletop. (I pulled back one of the felt pads, which are adhesive on one side, to see this for myself. The adhesive was fine for this brief peek and stuck back in place with no problem.)



One note: I found that the length of the nut's threaded portion is shorter than those used on my Rudimental Drummers Chop pad. (See photos for comparison.) I hope there's enough thread inside the depth of the wood to hold the tuning bolt steadily, and for now I'll assume that's the case. (I didn't want to disassemble the pad that much.)

I also noticed that the holes on the Rudimental Control pad don't appear quite as finished as the holes on my RD Chop pad. There are a few spots where a wood shaving was still stuck on an edge of a couple of the bolt holes. A carefully applied Exacto knife should sort that out.

Below: comparison between Rudimental Control bolt hole (top) and Rudimental Drummers bolt hole (bottom), showing finish of the hole and the threaded sleeve visible length.

The metal hoop is a standard, basic rim. I suppose if you wanted something fancier you could ask for it, but I saw no need for it here.

Appearance. I had inquired about a custom pad, personalized to my specs. In addition to my choice of paint (I opted for solid dark green with a white head, my college colors), I could also have my college crest incorporated into the design, by way of some sort of photo process that would imprint the design (also dark green in this case) onto a white surface that sits underneath the clear drum head.  My design was simple and clear enough for the photo process to come through clearly and cleanly. The design and its background do not seem to impede the sound or feel of the finished pad in any way, and it looks quite nice and centered.

Nissan had suggested that if I wanted to further customize my pad, I could have another design included on bottom. I chose to include my signature, and was able to send him a very clean copy to work from. Again, using some kind of photo process as a guide, he was able to incorporate my signature by leaving the green paint off that part. Is it "engraved"? It doesn't feel like it, so I'm guessing that the colored paint was excluded by a reverse stencil of some kind. The finish is very clean and neat and it adds an attractive touch to the pad.

The pad arrived in a box, wrapped in brown paper (both reused; thank you, Nissan, for thinking environmentally!). When I unwrapped the pad from its paper, I could see a few tiny spots(1/8" or smaller) where paint had either been nicked off or had not been fully applied. I believe it was something that probably happened in shipping. Since this is a pad that I intend to use anyway, those spots won't bother me. For future shipments, though, I would suggest wrapping in additional layers of paper and using crumpled paper in the corners to wedge it in the box more securely, to avoid this possibility.

Another thing I noticed is that the wood finish on this pad is more rough to the touch than the finish on the RD Chop pad. My feeling is that this is mostly a matter of personal preference, though an especially rough edge may catch and snag on something in transit, causing splinters to pull away and expose bare wood. Some sanding prior to applying the paint could reduce this risk.
Further, a more finished feel might be more in line with the price range on the market for this style of pad.

(Full disclosure: I paid full price for my pad and was in no way granted any perks by Rudimental Control.)

The other thing I noticed was that the plywood used as the base of this pad had been bumped on one edge of the round, resulting in this:

I can't say how this bump might have happened, but it is noticeable and may actually be an imperfection in the original round after it was cut. I was surprised to see this blemish pass through and get painted. If it happened during shipping, more packing material should help prevent this in the future. If it was a blemished board to begin with, perhaps better to use a different base (and cut the first one into a smaller round for a different pad).

Again, I won't quibble since it doesn't affect the function of the pad. But for the cost, someone else may squawk and it's worth slowing down the process a little to ensure consistent quality control.

How does it feel and sound? In a word, marvelous. Nissan and I are of the same generation, and we both came up playing on Mylar. When I told him I wanted a pad that felt like the drum I played in high school -- a 15-inch snare with a Remo Emperor head -- he knew exactly what I was talking about, and made a pad that matched my specs. The pad has a Remo Emperor head and a standard, basic rim that provide the feel I'm looking for. The head came a little more taut than I like and I was able to relax the tension a bit to suit my taste. It plays easily and beautifully, providing a very satisfying feel and sound.

Note: my Rudimental Drummers Chop pad was designed to be a quiet pad for use at home, and it does that job well. The Rudimental Control pad is MUCH louder, and the volume difference surprised me at first.

Here's an example of the sound and feel.



(Nissan tells me he is also able to construct a pad that will take greater tension, for modern drum corps players who need that tighter feel. If that's you, talk with him directly for the best results.)

Overall, I am pleased with the pad and will use it regularly and often.

Basic pads are available at the Rudimental Control web site.
Customized pads will cost more; reach out to Nissan with your questions and ideas.

Happy chopping!

DIY stick bag

Simple pattern for making your own stick bag from an old pair of jeans.