FAQ #4: Why do you hold your sticks so high up?

Bad technique! Yep, it's as simple as that. Just before i started playing drums i hurt my right hand - more specifically the last two fingers on my right hand. This means i can't comfortably wrap them around the stick. Consequently, my double stroke rolls (and rudiments in general) have suffered.

Though, saying that, my singles are quite consistent, especially on AFI's Girl's Not Grey. So maybe it's all in my head!

General Update: Phew!

Over the last couple of days i've uploaded 8 or 9 new covers to Youtube, of varying quality. Only had a one-day window of opportunity to actually play my kit, so crammed in as much as possible.

I'm most happy with 'Up in Arms', 'Orestes' re-do and the piano cover. I don't really do many piano covers, as i'm never confident they will be well received. I've had a few 'Crap. Stick to drumming mate!' comments on them. I feel like Jim Carrey attempting a serious role: NOT WANTED. I do recommend that you listen to more of Ludovico Einaudi's work though, as it's the most chilled out, relaxing music going.

No new covers for a couple of weeks, but if anyone has any ideas for new ones, let me know here.

Drumming Heroes #3 - Danny Carey

Danny Carey. There simply aren't enough superlatives for this guy. Having learned his 'chops' in drum corps, Danny went on to study Jazz for a number of years before hooking up with Maynard James Keenan and guitarist Adam Jones and forming Tool. His drumming on albums such as Ænima, Lateralus and 10,000 Days has continued to push the drumming envelope, and made him the hero of lesser drummers all over the world (such as myself).

Lateralus in particular is a drumming tour de force. Admittedly, it does take a while to get your head around the various time signature changes, polyrhythms and complex rhythmic structures - but once you do you realise you're listening to a special album. And yes, at some points i did think the CD was skipping (During the middle part of The Grudge, for example). But this doesn't stop this album being, in my humble opinion, the best of the past 20 years.

I've been playing drums for getting on ten years now, so it's rare for me to listen to a song and think 'What the hell is the drummer playing there?' (because my ears have got used to hearing out the drums, not because i'm like the equivalent of the 'horse whisperer'...for drumming). Yet when i listen to Parabola (6:56 - 7:16) it makes my jaw drop [insert jaw-dropped emoticon here].

Annoyingly, there aren't many good quality videos on Youtube of Danny's playing. In the early days (before Youtube, if you can imagine that a world such as that once existed) the only place you could find videos of Tool were on torrent sites, when people uploaded shaky cam footage from gigs they'd been to. As if it wasn't bad enough that it made you feel like you were downloading pornography, these videos were also very poor quality, with people screaming 'Dude, this part fucking rocks...watch Maynard. Seriously, duuuuude, watch Maynard!'. All this 'watch Maynard' talk inevitably meant that the camera rarely focused on Danny. There was a rumour that there would be a dvd of the Lateralus tour - though that was 10 years ago, so i'll stop holding my breath for that.

The best you'll get is the attached video from some kind of promotion for Paiste cymbals. It's worth watching for the 'gong hit' pay-off alone.

What are you favourite Tool songs? Do you like any parts of a song in particular? If so, leave a comment underneath.

WOW! #3: 'Bernard Purdie 'splains something to you'

Quite possibly the coolest, most laid-back guy to ever sit on a drum stool. Watch as he 'splains how to play the 'Purdie Shuffle', laughs randomly at nothing, and uses the word 'splain' a lot.

General (Hospital) Update

Whoa...i didn't realise it had been so long since i last posted! This is just a general update to tell you what i've been doing recently.

I had some minor surgery a couple of weeks ago. All i've been able to do is sit in bed watching daytime tv in a drug-filled haze. Needless to say, this has put me out of action on the drums and will keep me away from the kit for a couple more weeks. This is probably for the best, as i think the spiders in there have mated and created a scene reminiscent of the end of that 'Arachnophobia' film with Jeff Daniels.

I've picked up a fair few subscribers recently (what i like to call the 'Blink-182 drum cover effect'. Maybe i'll do some more of their songs in a cynical ploy to bring in more traffic.) I'd just like to thank everyone who leaves comments on my playing, and for those who sub in general.

I might post an old MCR cover that i just found on my computer. It's with the old snare though, so i'll prepare myself for the inevitable 'turn your fuking snare on duuuuude!' comments.

Right, i'm off to continue my massive weight-gain (through lack of activity...and eating copious amounts of shit).