How this works…
I’ve been playing DRUMS since the 7th grade and I still love everything about them. I love the way they look, sound, they way it feels when you smack the stick on the head or crash a cymbal. I love the cases they go in, the process of setting them up and tweaking them so that everything is in the perfect spot. It’s my personality in a nutshell; energetic, loud, explosive, rhythmic…
There are so many beautiful details in a DRUM. I started thinking about how much I enjoy visually looking at different drums. Maybe I’m the only one, but I don’t think.
So I wanted to create a VISUAL blog where other drummers could share pictures of their prized collections, share videos of their styles, tips, tricks, philosophies, you name it. The idea it to use very few words and just let your image or video handle the descriptive process.
NOW if you have an amazing story, I won’t deny it. I added a category for STORIES, too. Fill free to comment on the content, I think an amazing discussion can take place…
Send me your pics, stories, and video links to: droark AT gmail.com.
You can follow on Twitter @Tubelug
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Oh yeah, I’m Dawson, a daddy, a drummer and decoder…
“Ladies and Gentleman on the drums…”
If you met him in a bar or on the street, you probably wouldn’t think he was too much of a freak. Mostly, you’d think he looked like just about any 39-year old musician-type. Short hair, wait, NO hair. But as show time approaches, a disconcerting calm surrounds him and he focuses on the gig.
The first thing you notice is the way his hands move quickly, putting together his drum kit. He’s not a musician, you might think. He’s a mechanic. The stainless steel rods, brass cymbals, lacquered drum shells–they all come together as his fingers work among the nuts and clamps that formulate his kit. He adjusts the chair. He adjusts the snare. He adjusts it again.
This is not a drum set he’s setting up. It’s an instrument for recording results of a physics experiment. Maybe it’s used for performing eye surgery or isolating DNA. Each bar, each bolt he adjusts again and again until it’s perfect. No one is this meticulous about something they intend to bang on with sticks.
Dawson will mention the likes of Charlie Watts, Kenny Arnoff, Chad Wackerman, Josh Freese and a certain fellow named “Neil” when you ask who his favorite drummers are. But those names are meaningless when he finally settles behind his kit. What he intends to do there doesn’t really make reference to those drummers. What he does in that small space is something all his own.
Through the first few riffs, Dawson quickly moves from the realm of the technical into a whole other sphere. His mouth works to the music, as if he’s singing. But his singing is in a percussive language all his own, like he’s talking to the drums, telling them what he’s going to do next, what he likes, what he hates. If you’re sitting in the front row or maybe dancing, you will probably make eye contact with Dawson and he’ll raise his eyebrows unconsciously and continue in his non-speech, barking at you, explaining in no language what drumming is all about. You can smile nervously, look away, it doesn’t matter. He’s talking to the drums.
Although the music he plays is primarily alternative and pop rock and roll, he says that his greatest ambition is to play on a Prince record. He’ll explain that to you and then qualify it by saying he’d be happy to just pay off his credit cards. Either way, it will be with his drums. From hardware and steel to being completely lost in the music, in percussion. He only asks that when he dies, he wants to be buried in an Anvil Road Case, “preferably long enough to fit stands without having to break them down…oh, and with casters.” Appropriate enough.
Born: Dec. 31, 1970 New Years Eve, Irish Catholic, Native New Mexican.
Occupation: Professional musician playing live and studio session work in Raleigh, North Carolina. Current Projects: “Boot” • “Destroy All Sweaters” • “The Fiats”
Recordings: 2010 Boot – “Lunch” 2009 Destroy All Sweater (Weezer Tribute) remake of “Say it ain’t so” 2005 Boot—“Steel Toed Clown Boot” 1999 Lula’s Birthmark 1999 The Trout Band 1996-2000 Live. 1998 Various “Backyard and Frat Parties Caught on Tape.” 1996 CD release, “Bash” 1995 CD release, “Undone” 1994 Affections Official Commercial 1993 Five-song demo, “What She Said.” 1992 Rasta Record, “Green Eggs & Ham” 1992 Four-song demo, “What happened to…” Awards: 1995 Albuquerque Mic-Line Award-Best Alternative Song, “Need” 1995 Mark & Brian Morning Show Bumper music, “Green Eggs & Ham” 1994 Best of New Mexico Compilation Record 1992 Rasta Record contest winner, “Green Eggs & Ham”
Goals: Make cool sounds, have fun, and be happy. Seriously, I want my daughters to grow up learning to respect and love music as passionately as I do. I want to play in good health with other opened-minded musicians and continue to grow and diversify as a drummer, until I’m a very old man. That’s the goal.
Equipment: Drum Workshop, GMS, Gretsch, Paiste, Aquarian, Vater