2010 Current Setup .png)
Yamaha Recording Custom Series (Black Maple Kit) Kick - 14 x 20 Black Panther Walnut Snare - 6 x 14, 10 lug... Yeah baby! Spare Vintage Maple Yamaha Snare - 4 x 14 Tom1 - 7 x 10 Tom2 - 8 x 12 Tom3 - 12 x 14 Hi Hat - 13" Zildian (Old K's), 13" Zildian A Custom, !5" Zildian Quick Beat Crash1 - 15" Zildian A Custom Crash2 - 17" Zildian K Dark Session Crash3 - 19" Zildian K Dark Splash1 - 6" A Custom Splash2 - 8" K Custom Ride 1 (Bell) - 22" Zildian K Custom Hand Hammered Ride 2- 20" Zildian K Custom Dark Hand Hammered Flat Cowbells - LP Bongo Bell & *Mambo Bell/DW 5000 Single Pedal Dbl Bass Pedal - DW 5000 Hi Hat Pedal - DW 5000 Delta (2 Leg) Drum Heads/ Toms - Evans G2's coated, EC2's, J1's Etched or combinations of all. Drum Heads/Snare - Evans G2 Coated on top & Hazy 300 on bottom Drum Heads/Kick - EQ3 Coated Batter Side & EQ3 Black on Front Sticks - Vater Fatback 3A Brushes & Mallets - Vic Firth Seat - Roc-n-Sok Mic's Kick - AKG D112 (Inside) & Yamaha Subkick (Outside) Snare - Shure Beta 57A Tom1 - Shure SM 98 or Sennheiser MD 421 Tom2 - Shure SM 98 or Sennheiser MD 421 Tom3 - Shure Beta 52 Hi Hat - Shure KSM 141 Over Heads - Two Audio Technica 4047 SV's, Two Shure SM 81's or a Rode NT4 (Both sets are stereo paired) Room/Vocal/General - Two Rode NT2A's or a Rode NT4 and Shure SM 57... Purchased in 1984 & still going strong! - Not Shown - ddrum Triggers, DrumKAT Turbo, LP Wood Block, Matador Bongos, Meile 20th Anniversary congas, Tambourines, Shakers and various ethnic percussion. My only music store for drums and accessories... Ritchie's Music Center in Rockaway New Jersey! http://ritchiesmusic.com/ A BIG G thank you to: Owner Jim Head of the drum dept. George Sigler & A.J. "I've known George for over 20 years and I respect his judgment calls on any equipment question. His willingness to go out of his way for students, customers and myself has proven to be the deciding factor (even during holiday times) that other music stores fail to. 
On a final note... "Inspiration" Play your best... Rehearsing or in a recording session - A musical approach Just about anything can inspire you in music... (If you're listening as musicians first). The musical drummer is applying his/hers technique in a musical way. I'm a student of life, ever listening to my surroundings. With regard to the people I meet and converse with, or during a walk around the neighborhood, even riding in the car, on a bus, train or plane. It doesn't stop... their are sounds, rhythms and harmonies happening all the time. It doesn't matter... I'm listening and for the most part accept it for what it is - sound. When I step into "Studio Big G mode", my ears are dead spot on the phat bass line, hip percussion track or maybe a cool drum loop. It all has helped me in the past to understand that listening to the each notes full value helps me balance between my desire create a slammin' groove while maintaining "created space" which is ultimately communicating a kind of inert balance in my music. The musical approach is what turns the key and locks me into the feel. This is where I begin and things start to gel and sound more organic... ( please don't just toss salad). So, why wait till the day of your recording to find out? It's your musical world. Look inside and out of your strength's & weakness. Listen closely before saying or playing just anything. Take a step back and be willing to play less and build from there Give a listen to old records, cd's, videos of all kinds of drummers. Whatever it is, do it because you love music! Knowing what is driving your inspiration has obviously kept you trying up till now - Don't quit and you'll see, it will encourage band mates to do the same. Set one goal - Be prepared by your recording session date. Know your material inside and out. Lock down each tempo, use dynamics for a musical approach rather than some beefy machine gun type fill... "Hey Mom... Look At Me" ... I can play really fast but my teacher says "That's great but "Got Groove"? ( My 2 cents ) .png)
Oh man! He has all that fancy stuff! That's gotta be why he nails it! Nope... My secret is I practice what I'm not good at, while I keep it simple, listening to everything in relation to my playing and do the best you can. Finally... Know your gear and be prepared to have a backup snare drum, heads, pedal etc. Bring everything if it will help the track. I used to bring a spare snare, even in high school. A drummer friend broke his snare head and I was there for him and he has never forgotten (still talks about it). Be prepared - it paid off! A broken snare head + spare snare = keep playing & very cool! Best wishes, George Mickel .png)
Got groove ? Groove, tempo, times signature, selected notes, created space, metering your internal time, using dynamics to express your ideas without any self-destructive... "Hey Mom Look At Me" drum fills every other measure... It all adds up to good groove. Once you get there, then keep... Doing it & Doing it & Doing it & Doing it! "If you taught a monkey to play the drums... would it groove?" 
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