Here's the current patron saint of the Cocktail Drum doing his thing with the John Mayer Trio at last year's "ReAct Now" Katrina benefit. Check out his technique on the drums and the way he's got them tuned, in particular.
Of course, even on a traditional kit, Steve uses some out-there tuning. In fact, it seems like the Club Jordan was designed at least partly around his signature sound, in terms of the drum sizes.
The Meters' "Cissy Strut" (you'll have to stare at Shakira for 20 seconds first):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xy-1Oj2781g
Mayer's "Gravity":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Q821vFSlI
John, you might want to use these in the media section? HTML code to embed YouTube videos is right on each of the above pages.
Steve Jordan cocktail drum videos
steve jordan/john mayer trio
Good video clips! Its always pretty cool watching anyone play cocktail kits live.I still wonder if anyone ever came across a clip of Steve playing last years Super Bowl.He did a great job on the kit on both recordings...good find Milwaukee!
Steve is the man, with or without a cocktail drum! His DVD should be required viewing for all drummers. (He's holding the 8" CJ snare on the cover, and there's video of his tech packing up a CJ, but no video of him playing it 
Still good viewing/listening though.)
Not cocktail, but one of the two kits he usually played with the Trio was a 2-pc with a 12x22" kick (that's 12x22, not 22x12), a piccolo snare, a 16" or 17" hi hat and one cymbal. Funky!
I can't quite tell because of the video quality, but it looks like he might be playing a CJ with a custom finish in those YouTube clips.
By the way, John does have a clip of the anthem from last year's Super Bowl up on the media page. Unfortunately, we can't hear much of the drums... (which I remember from watching the game -- I also remember annoying all my friends at the Super Bowl party by being a giddy dork about the cocktail drum...)
http://www.cocktaildrum.com/media.html
Still good viewing/listening though.)Not cocktail, but one of the two kits he usually played with the Trio was a 2-pc with a 12x22" kick (that's 12x22, not 22x12), a piccolo snare, a 16" or 17" hi hat and one cymbal. Funky!
I can't quite tell because of the video quality, but it looks like he might be playing a CJ with a custom finish in those YouTube clips.
By the way, John does have a clip of the anthem from last year's Super Bowl up on the media page. Unfortunately, we can't hear much of the drums... (which I remember from watching the game -- I also remember annoying all my friends at the Super Bowl party by being a giddy dork about the cocktail drum...)
http://www.cocktaildrum.com/media.html
I noticed that when Steve digs into the kick it bends up a bit. Very cool indeed.
That sound reminds me of my first experiences tuning my 24x14...before putting wrap on the sheel and changing heads and fussing fussing fussing with the freaking muffling and top/bottom intervals....now I've lost some of the cool shit trying to get it to thump. Well it now thumps but I do recall how awfully funky the whack tuning sounded.
Newbies: take note of the naive stuff before you finesse it to death. It's vailid too.
Sheeesh.
That sound reminds me of my first experiences tuning my 24x14...before putting wrap on the sheel and changing heads and fussing fussing fussing with the freaking muffling and top/bottom intervals....now I've lost some of the cool shit trying to get it to thump. Well it now thumps but I do recall how awfully funky the whack tuning sounded.
Newbies: take note of the naive stuff before you finesse it to death. It's vailid too.
Sheeesh.
SJ
Yeah, I noticed the 'timpani' sound as well. Honestly I think that that sound is the resonance of the top head of the main drum. Sounds like the mic is wide open on the top.
If you listen closely to the bending sound you will also notice a bit of subtle muting that goes on with the kick as well. Sounds to me like the kick is also a bit ringy. Sometimes he kicks it and lets the beater off of the head then a split second later rests the beater against the head, muting the sound and bending the pitch up. I have often found the same affect when playing a very ringy jazz kick.
- John
If you listen closely to the bending sound you will also notice a bit of subtle muting that goes on with the kick as well. Sounds to me like the kick is also a bit ringy. Sometimes he kicks it and lets the beater off of the head then a split second later rests the beater against the head, muting the sound and bending the pitch up. I have often found the same affect when playing a very ringy jazz kick.
- John
That timpani effect is especially interesting to me after a recent dilemma. I usually leave my bass drum wide open (26x10, only a felt strip lightly touching the beater head), and the sound is great when I play alone, but it sounded awful with a full band. So I shoved a sleeping bag in the drum and got an awful disco thump, but it worked with the band. So now I'm unnerved about how to make an open bass drum sound work with a full band...Steve Jordan made it work, but it only seemed to work because the songs had lots of holes and space for the bass drum to work, plus the instrumentation was sparse and the volume was quiet, despite the size of the gig. Do you guys have any ideas about how to play a bass drum or bass cocktail drum wide open in a way that compliments the sound of the group instead of interfering with it?
A few observations/suggestions:
The muffling dilemma is real. For bass drum sounds in context, there are of course many many sounds to consider to work with a) the rest of the kit, b) the music, c) the other musicians and, d) the acoustic environment. Throw in e) if you?re recording and multiply the variables for the recording chain.
Complicated!
For cocktail bigdrum, I've been lucky to find several tuning combinations that work in different situations. Perhaps my favorite tuning/muffling solution is also the most flexible. But as with anything it also has its limitations. Here?s the recipe:
Almost equal tuning of top and bottom heads on a 24x14 maple drum. Top head is Evans G2, bottom head is a clear Pinstripe, but similar heads should give similar results. Start by tuning the bottom head to the lowest solid pitch using even tension. Tune top head to speak just a bit higher in pitch. Bottom head uses a kick pad and single strip of adhesive foam insulation across 2/3rds of the head. Hard felt beater. The top head muffling - none. This will work if the drum is tuned carefully to about the same pitch top & bottom to achieve best resonance.
Ok here are the pros/cons.
PROS: sounds big, great in almost any acoustic environment, kick side mics well (if applicable), not dead nor boomy sounding. Kick sound is full and can be played beater-into-head (for muting) or off-head (for tone). Can compliment most lower-volume music and smaller ensembles. Dynamic.
CONS: Top tom is rather low pitched, Kick tone is not much bigger/louder than top tom tone, less timbral difference (than if tuned differently) between top and bottom sounds since pitch is about the same. Top head doesn?t close mic well, especially if bottom is also mic?d.
The pros easily outweigh. This is just one solution, but it?s a good one!
Unfortunately I haven?t found a solution where the kick tone and tom tone are equally great (in their own way) for all settings.
Back to Steve Jordan?s kick sound. He?s well known for his eccentric tone no matter what drums he?s playing. Notice in these recordings that his kick sound is full of personality when exposed but it somewhat recedes in band context. Boomy sounds don?t really punch through the mix, even in a trio. Some of this is about micing and a TV mix, but it also seems that his cocktail kick sound doesn?t serve the same gut-kick-punch function as would a thumpy cocktail kick or a 22? kit kick does in a similar music setting.
The muffling dilemma is real. For bass drum sounds in context, there are of course many many sounds to consider to work with a) the rest of the kit, b) the music, c) the other musicians and, d) the acoustic environment. Throw in e) if you?re recording and multiply the variables for the recording chain.
Complicated!
For cocktail bigdrum, I've been lucky to find several tuning combinations that work in different situations. Perhaps my favorite tuning/muffling solution is also the most flexible. But as with anything it also has its limitations. Here?s the recipe:
Almost equal tuning of top and bottom heads on a 24x14 maple drum. Top head is Evans G2, bottom head is a clear Pinstripe, but similar heads should give similar results. Start by tuning the bottom head to the lowest solid pitch using even tension. Tune top head to speak just a bit higher in pitch. Bottom head uses a kick pad and single strip of adhesive foam insulation across 2/3rds of the head. Hard felt beater. The top head muffling - none. This will work if the drum is tuned carefully to about the same pitch top & bottom to achieve best resonance.
Ok here are the pros/cons.
PROS: sounds big, great in almost any acoustic environment, kick side mics well (if applicable), not dead nor boomy sounding. Kick sound is full and can be played beater-into-head (for muting) or off-head (for tone). Can compliment most lower-volume music and smaller ensembles. Dynamic.
CONS: Top tom is rather low pitched, Kick tone is not much bigger/louder than top tom tone, less timbral difference (than if tuned differently) between top and bottom sounds since pitch is about the same. Top head doesn?t close mic well, especially if bottom is also mic?d.
The pros easily outweigh. This is just one solution, but it?s a good one!
Unfortunately I haven?t found a solution where the kick tone and tom tone are equally great (in their own way) for all settings.
Back to Steve Jordan?s kick sound. He?s well known for his eccentric tone no matter what drums he?s playing. Notice in these recordings that his kick sound is full of personality when exposed but it somewhat recedes in band context. Boomy sounds don?t really punch through the mix, even in a trio. Some of this is about micing and a TV mix, but it also seems that his cocktail kick sound doesn?t serve the same gut-kick-punch function as would a thumpy cocktail kick or a 22? kit kick does in a similar music setting.
SOunds
A very important thing to think about live is working with the sound man/woman! First of all, try and establish a friendly relationship with them. Most sound people are excited to have something different to work with like a Cocktail Drum. Breaks up thee steady stream of regular rock bands.
As much as I like Jordan's timpani sound, I felt that it was sometimes a bit too much. Ppeople seem to have forgotten about gates for drums. probably a backlash against the 80s but used tastefully they can help control some of those persistant overtones!
I remember seeing a show a while back: prog rock band opened. 'Perfect' drum sounds. Wonderfully tuned drums with a very slick 'studio' sound on a live gig. Very impressive technical detail to the sound. The next band up was a rockabilly band with a 4-piece kit. 26" kick with heads on both sides and no muffling. The drummer just laid it down and the sound man didn't flinch. put a big old mic on the outside head and it rocked the house! I have to say it was such a relief to actually feel the drums after the band before. A very striking contrast and the odd man out completely won my drummin' heart.
- John
As much as I like Jordan's timpani sound, I felt that it was sometimes a bit too much. Ppeople seem to have forgotten about gates for drums. probably a backlash against the 80s but used tastefully they can help control some of those persistant overtones!
I remember seeing a show a while back: prog rock band opened. 'Perfect' drum sounds. Wonderfully tuned drums with a very slick 'studio' sound on a live gig. Very impressive technical detail to the sound. The next band up was a rockabilly band with a 4-piece kit. 26" kick with heads on both sides and no muffling. The drummer just laid it down and the sound man didn't flinch. put a big old mic on the outside head and it rocked the house! I have to say it was such a relief to actually feel the drums after the band before. A very striking contrast and the odd man out completely won my drummin' heart.
- John
The sound he's getting on the side snare is a riot, too - somewhere between a coffee can and a cross-stick.
On my Jordan, I've got that snare's batter tuned as low as it will go without getting too much 'stick bite' with every hit, and it sounds to my ears like a smaller, quieter version of a "regular" snare.
On the other hand, Steve's got no compunction about cranking that little beast (that might be aurally fatiguing after a while, but for a 2-song set, why not?)
On my Jordan, I've got that snare's batter tuned as low as it will go without getting too much 'stick bite' with every hit, and it sounds to my ears like a smaller, quieter version of a "regular" snare.
On the other hand, Steve's got no compunction about cranking that little beast (that might be aurally fatiguing after a while, but for a 2-song set, why not?)
-
Anonymous
Our man Steve has been touring with Clapton, and he used the cocktail kit for an acoustic set on the tour. This stuff is mostly Zapruder tape quality so the video and audio aren't great, but it's fun viewing for the true cocktail geek.
"Back Home":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bTYrurXtePw
"Nobody Knows" (warning, amateur backup vocals are very prominent):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=D76iFvlPmQM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=O7-25fkAxEI
There are a few more out there where Steve's actually playing a cajon off to the side, and the cocktail drum is visible in the background.
A still pic of the festivities:
More pics on this page:
http://www.radiobakerstreet.com/eric_cl ... _2006.html
"Back Home":
http://youtube.com/watch?v=bTYrurXtePw
"Nobody Knows" (warning, amateur backup vocals are very prominent):
http://youtube.com/watch?v=D76iFvlPmQM
http://youtube.com/watch?v=O7-25fkAxEI
There are a few more out there where Steve's actually playing a cajon off to the side, and the cocktail drum is visible in the background.
A still pic of the festivities:
More pics on this page:
http://www.radiobakerstreet.com/eric_cl ... _2006.html