Its been a while!

So sorry everyone! Life happens and I forget about the blog! :) haha. So a bunch of stuff recently, The Guitar Center Drum Off competition happened last Thursday. I was very fortunate to have so many friends and family come support me at the event. I had a blast and there was some pretty intense drumming going on. I was afraid my passion for drumming would go away soon after I competed but I still am way into it. I love my gear and have been extraordinarily lucky to be blessed with such great stuff.

 I am in the process of acquiring a Truth Custom snare drum. A few days ago I shot off an email asking if they had anything b-stock or returned or that was already made and just sitting around in the shop. I had forgotten I sent the message and had pretty much decided to wait and try and save up and get something custom made. Well sunday morning I get an email saying they have one in stock! For less then half of what it would cost to custom order! I told them I am interested and am hoping to go pick it up soon.  They are a pretty big name in the custom drum world and they cost $$$$ for a whole kit. They pretty much totally custom make the drums to whatever color material and finish you want! They are located in Beaverton so hopefully I can just go up to the shop instead of paying shipping.  This pic is similar to what I am interested in getting, The one they said they have is blue ripple, and will probably have metal rims and the one pictured has wood hoops and black ripple but is very similar to what I should be getting.

I also aquired a Line 6 M13 pedal last Sunday. This is my dream effects pedal. I have been wanting one for years! I knew about them for months before they ever came out and have been dying to get one. I was able to trade my old amp for it and I received cash as well. I used this along with my Orange amp on Saturday and made some sweet sounds!

I also have been experimenting with my drum setup a lot recently, I am trying to find something that works really well and looks really cool and unique as well.  I have liked using a 4 piece for a while but I saw some videos with different drummers and thought I would give this a try. I think it looks way cooler then anything and actually is pretty comfortable to play. The differences are I am just using one crash, my ride and hihats, not two crashes and my tom is almost totally flat in front of my snare. I also went from using the 12in tom and the 14in floor tom to using the 12in tom and 16in floor tom. I still have my 10in and 14in toms and am not sure what I might use them for. Someday I may get a smaller bass drum and have another smaller 4 piece kit. haha.

Its been a long time......

All right Blog WORLD......I have been busy practicing for the Guitar Center Drum Off, it is this thursday! Last thursday I went and watched some other competitors doing exactly what I will be doing. I came away with many ideas and it was pretty fun!!!!! Today I as driving by a school zone and I looked out into a school soccer field across the way. I remembered all the soccer games I played in school and thought about the coolest moment probably ever for me in soccer. See in elementary school or middle school soccer is played with the entire group and you figure out what team to be on by saying "oh we are going THIS way!". I remember sometime in elementary school I was driving the ball towards the goal, for some reason we had these massive white metal goal things, but anyway, I shot the ball and it went right above the goalies hands! there was no way he could have stopped it. Ever since I dont think my soccer experience was very exciting. It was just a funny thing I thought of today.

Latest Acquisition and Drum News

I acquired through a trade an Orange 30w all tube combo amp. These great amps are Made in England and have a very "British" tone. More or less, most british amplfiers are darker in the treble and upper mids but not as strong in the bass as "American" type amps. Really, this amp is great and has a warm sound. It also gets LOUD for a little amp and it has a great "dirty" sound. They call the two channels Natural and Dirty. The Orange amp is known obviously for its bright orange covering and they are very high quality almost boutique amps. It is the nicest (most expensive) amp I have ever had. I like it! I cant wait to jam out on it at practice and such.

I also have a new way of setting up my drums. I have been watching a lot of drumming vids lately so I have seen a lot of different setups. That combined with my experience in setting up drums inspired me to experiment. After all, Im the only one playing em right? So my new setup is snare right in front of me. Also in front are my two smallest toms. My bass drum is on my right foot, and the ride is on the right side of it. On the far right is my 14in floor tom. On the left of my snare is my two pedals and the 16in tom.....kinda cool. it works well, better then you would think. I also have my cymbals going from lowest to highest pitch and the heights are staggered so they are easy to hit and look really cool.

Drumming!!!!! w a VIDEO

This is me drumming, I made it so people could see my kit and hear a little of my playing. I have made a lot of progress but still have a lot to work on. I know its not perfect and the sound is ehhhh but it was a lot of fun to make. I am really trying to get better so I wont get destroyed when I go to the Guitar Center Drum Off. I am also not expecting to win but I will want to have fun and maybe throw in some tricks that havent been done before. Comment on this one and tell me what you think, etc.

4 day weekend!

Today at work, we had a meeting towards the end of the day. We had a lot to discuss as things are changing in the shop with the addition of a new project that may start up soon. Anyway, we are fairly busy and they needed volunteers to work on this one product assembly. The volunteers would get the upcoming Monday off but have to work the Friday of next week, which means getting a 4 day weekend this week and a 2 day weekend next week. We work 10 hour shifts, that is why we normally have 3 days off, I volunteered because the product we are building is one of the few that I really know how to do all of. I know how to build and package the entire thing as we have done several hundred in the past few weeks. Its some kind of lockbox for a cell phone tower? Anyway! I am planning several activities to occupy my spare time this weekend, mainly trying to play the drums and practice up for quite some time. I also am going to maybe try and either record a song and add drums, or make a video of me playing the drums or both. Today I acquired two new cymbals, through a Craigslist seller I have previous experience with. This seller has more drum equipment then really any individual I have ever met. Several kits and at least 20-30 cymbals maybe more and everything is for sale. I bought those two cymbals and didnt know the full background except that for my budget they were the best sounding. After I got home I did some research and found not only are they nice cymbals made of an expensive alloy, they are also rare as they were fairly quickly discontinued. BTW they are Paiste Innovations, made of their 2002 alloy. That metal is used on their very expensive cymbals and these have a dark sound and a fast decay. It makes for a great sound, and I hope to use them a lot in the near future.

Why everyone loves the drums. Or hates them. haha

I have recently come to own an OCDP Avalon 6 pc Maple shell pack. For those of you who may have no idea what any of those words meant, or who don't care perhaps, I bought a drum set. While up until Saturday I have been actively pursuing drumming and percussion for some time, I had yet to own my own kit. The reason I wanted my own kit? Besides it being a secret dream of mine for quite some time, I have been practicing for about the last month and a half for the Guitar Center Drum-Off competition. While I am definitely not expecting to win, I am expecting to have a lot of fun! And I absolutely love my new kit! It is so nice! i bought it used off of Craigslist after watching for months. I saw it up for sale and at first didnt think I could get the funds together, but I then I sold a few things and did. I am hoping to have pics up sometime soon. Maybe a video if I get enough time together.

I think the reason so many people like drumming, including myself, is that it enables you to easily and efficiently make very loud banging noises. More or less that is what it comes down to. I mean, anyone when they see a drum kit wants to go up and hit a few cymbals or tap on the various parts. Some will go so far as to sit on the throne and hit things for a bit. Most of the time, they don't really grasp how to hold beats and such, but just want to goof around. That is what is so great about music and musical instruments, they mean many different things to many different people. In the meantime, I find drumming fun, interesting and also a good workout, if I go long enough. Well got to go. work starts early.

Morning radio talk shows

At my current place of employment, the radio is constantly playing at a reasonble volume at work, its not super loud, but it is easy to hear if you listen a little. Anyway, as we start work at 6 am, the first four hours are dedicated to a morning talk show. While I don't approve of some of the jokes and there is a fair amount of inappropriate talk and such, they actually have some interesting bits during the show. They talk about sports, music, movies and always have lists of the ten best or ten worst etc.....I especially like when they have trivia games. The best part is guessing the answer while the people on the radio are trying to guess the answer as well. I love getting the answer right away and shouting it out along with my coworkers and either saying "ahhh man, I knew it!" or "What? that is lame." While I do appreciate my job, I also to a small degree appreciate the morning talk show. As it does on occasion make my day a little more interesting.