Gavin Harrison here!

hi all,

i'm a new chap around here and this is my first post....and a Gavin Harrison thread seems about the most appropriate one to make my introduction.

please add my name to the long list of Gavin admirers. absolutely stunning playing.

i've also penciled my diary the forthcoming PT UK tour....i'll be the the one at the Nottingham show in the front with my mouth wide open.

i would just like to say that i recently sent an email to Gavin, never thinking in a million years that i'd get a reply....but i did and within a few hours.

so we can add 'a true gentleman' to his other accolades.

i look forward to more chat on this site....

DWP
 
Hey Gavin

I just got my copy of the Feb. Modern Drummer. I loved the article on you. I have a question regarding metronomes. I looked through some other threads but couldn't find what I was looking for. Since a lot of your exercises in Horizons are in 5/8, 7/8, how do you set your metronome for those? I have a tama rhythm watch and can't seem to my head around how to get those settings. Or can you even set those? Why can't metonomes come with instructions on how to use it rather than how to change the batteries? If you could help me with this I would be "extremely grateful"!!!!

Thanks
Daniel
 
Hi drumher,
thanks for the compliments.

In 1999 I was fortunate enough to make a few gigs with the "Yoruba Jazz People" and one of the tunes they played was this arrangement of "Footprints".
The arrangement is by Sola Akingbola (the percussionist of Jamiroquai).

I knew the original as a kind of 6/8 jazz waltz. So when I first heard this new arrangement I was completely lost. The other thing that caught me out was that the bass drum plays on beats 2 and 3 - so there's no '1' on the bass drum and that the fills spill over the bar line and land on beat 2 of the following bar.

Cheers
Gavin
 
Hi Drumher,
I can play the same in terms of articulation on both the Sonor Giantstep and the Axis Longboards - I just found that I could play much louder with the Axis - so I tend to use those when I play live and sometimes in the studio too.

The Axis have a very particular feel that's strange at first - and once you're used to them - it's hard to go back to another pedal afterwards. My feet are pretty stubborn.

Cheers
Gavin
 
Gavin-

Contimuing talk about the Axis....I do not know much about the foot pedal. Would you say, the pedal has more action (speed) than any other traditional pedal since there are no springs or moving parts? Would this help an "average joe" build speed once use to the smoothness of the pedal.

Thanks,
Rob
 
Hi crookedrook,
I think you might be getting the Axis pedal confused with something else. There are springs and plenty of moving parts on it. I wouldn't say the pedal has any more speed in it than any other pedal - it just has a different kind of feel - that may or may not be helpful to you. I took to it very well - but that's not to say I could play as fast as drummers who use other brands.

Cheers
Gavin
 
I'm using a DW5002 double foot pedal right now. It has a few adjustments on the cam plus the springs. I have it adjusted loosely so it will have better action and return, but it just still feels like it is slow in action-I'll keep pluggin away at it. I'm still waiting on your DVD Rhythmic Horizons to arrive so I can watch it and sell my drums after that because I know I'll be taken to school and then some.

Thanks for your answers.

-Rob
 
Hi crookedrook,
I've got a DW 5002 double pedal too - I've got the accelerator cam on it with nylon straps - and it feels great. Since I played the Tama Flexi-flyer for so many years (also with an accelerator cam) I couldn't use a regular circular shaped cam again - it always felt kind of sluggish to me. I loved the DW pedal except the board was so short it was hurting the bridge of my foot. Then I moved over to Pearl pedals - but I managed to put the Tama cam on them and they were nice - then I got the Premier pedals (the ones with the rubber bands) they felt really good - had a nice longboard too - but the rubbers kept breaking. Then the Sonor’s and the Axis.

Maybe you should try an accelerator shaped cam and then keep the springs a little tighter for a faster return.

Cheers
Gavin
 
Hi Drumher,
I think the Pearl pedals I played were called "Eliminator" - but as I said I put the Tama Flexi-flyer accelerator cam on them. Yes my heels are up when I'm playing the bass drum pedals. My left foot is down when it's is on the hi hat...except when I'm playing something intricate or fast and then my left foot would be up on the hi hat too.

It's probably not the most comfortable thing to have your right heel up at all times - but I'm used to it - I don't even think about it - and I sit pretty low so my leg is kind of floating anyway.

Cheers
Gavin
 
Gavin,

Have you ever had issues with your nerves that you felt held your playing back ? I feel that I never play as good in front of people as I do in rehearsals. I dont think I get sloppy, It's just that I seem to hold back on more complex fills and take the easy way out. We are preparing to open for SevenDust in the begining of March and I am butterflies just thinking about it. I want to get over this but have had little luck even after 20 years of playing. Any suggestions ?

P.S I just bought Arriving Somewhere on dvd. Wow ! Its nice to have you over to play my drums. What I am trying to say is, that is how damn good the 5.1 mix is on that disc ! Wow ! It is one of the best live 5.1 mixes out of the 20 or so live concerts in my collection. Way to go !
 
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Hi Tyr, Drumher & Crazydrummer - thanks for the comments.


Liquid_Drummer,
yes I know what you mean about nerves - the first thing to fall apart (if I'm feeling a bit nervous) is my ghost notes - but I usually get over it after the first couple of tunes. Of course it's all a state of mind - and I say to myself - that apart from sleeping, I've probably spent more time behind the drums with a pair of sticks in my hands than anything else I've done in my life.

I have to have enough confidence in myself that no matter what happens I'm going to pull through...and even if I didn’t pull through and made a mistake it’s better than being crippled with nerves every night expecting that mistake to happen. The anticipation is always the worst part - you run through a few worst case scenarios in your head and imagine that's what'll happen tonight...and there's the problem - you go on stage already determined to have a bad time - and that just reinforces itself for next time.
I'm usually a bit tense the first couple of gigs of a new tour - but soon settle down after that. For quite a few years now I haven't felt nerves before a show - I try to mentally get in the right zone before the concert.
You might want to read "Effortless Mastery" by Kenny Werner - that helped my mental state - not really about nervousness - but more just getting my mind in a good positive state before performing.

Cheers
Gavin
 


Awesome chops Gavin - After hearing the Absetia CD, I couldn't believe PT had gone unnoticed for so long, so I added Deadwing to my collection and the Arriving somewhere DVD.

I had finished a book when I was younger called "New Directions in Rhythm" by Joe Morello - Independence studies in 3, 5 and 7/4 - awesome book. Favorites until I heard PT were Hakim and Manu Katche.

Love the sound on your Sonors - I am currently tuning to minor 3rds on a nice set of Slingerland maples - do you have a preference?

Best, Charterman
 
Hi crookedrook,
yes I tried the Trick pedal for 10 minutes in a shop and I thought it was nice - but not so unbelievably nice that I want to change from the Axis to it. I'd have to buy 2 double sets (one for at home and one for the road) and then spend a load of time getting used to them.

Hi Charterman50,
I just checked my 5 toms and they appear to be tuned like this.

tom 5 lowest
tom 4 augmented 5th above tom 5
tom 3 augmented 5th above tom 4
tom 2 perfect 4th above tom 3
tom 1 perfect 5th above tom 2

So tom 5 seems to be G
tom 4 Eb
tom 3 A
tom 2 D
tom 1 A

Cheers
Gavin
 
Hey Gavin

In your feature in Modern Drummer you said that Steve and yourself have a gameplan as to what is possible in rock songs as far as rhythms and time signatures. Could you elaborate on that a bit? Are there any plans for another concert DVD with the new album?

Cheers
Daniel
 
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