Ginger Baker, one of the all time legends of rock drumming, with a career spanning over 5 decades, one of the pioneers of the live drum solo who toured the world with his band Cream and many others, world renowned fo being one of the masters of time and rhythm, has only very recently started work on solo projects and clinic work after a long struggle with drug addiction.
Now In his early 70's, he spends most of his time at his secluded ranch in South Africa, to where he fled after having effectively been thrown out of other countries for different reasons to do with tax evasion and the like. He was known to be one of the worlds most flamboyant performers, to the point where people who saw him perform live said that they could see "The Devil" in him.
It is always sad to see a pioneering legend of an industry turn to drugs and for that to grind their career to a halt in such a way. He was always known to be of an extremely arrogant nature, he would say what he thought of you to his face. If someone had a problem with him, he wanted to come and say it to his face, not so he could sue you, so he could "hit you back". I personally don't think that the drugs would have helped this in any sense, I believe it would have made him even harder to have a conversation with. There are scenes from the recent documentary where he actually hits the journalist in the face, so there is proof of this rather than it just being word of mouth.
The independent article reads that every morning he would be living off a shot of morphine and basically live in his leather chair. I personally don't see why, knowing what drugs can leave you like, you would want to do down that road in the first place. Strangely, the article reads that after setting up his kit again (it had been moved by his girlfriend, who got a mouthful for moving it) even though he was so frail and on morphine, when he played it was like he was still on stage with Cream.
That being the case, I have come to realise that to say that outside influences like drugs, alcohol, depression etc. can effect someones "creative output" can be perceived as quite a vague term. I think that it definitely harmed Bakers social ability and possibly his drive to want to play to an audience, to want to play in a band, however if the creative ability is still in his person such to the point that he can still play drums as if not a day had passed, then I don't think its particularly fair to say that the drugs had harmed his creative output as a musician. Some people say that musicians or "creative" types write better material when they are suffering from things like depression or alcohol abuse as they are possibly more likely to show the pure feeling that is inside their mind. I personally think that it is hard to say whether these points are true or not unless you have been in that situation yourself, although to say that, everyone perceives different situations in their own way. One person could say that they had written the best songs of their career while "on drugs" whereas another could say that those songs were the worst of that persons career while they were "suffering from addiction".
Baker clearly had a massive down point in his career when he secluded himself away from the world, although I'm not particularly convinced that that was just down to the drugs. He was always known to be a nightmare to be around, so maybe it was partially his own conscious choice. The drugs clearly played a part in his health downturn, although he is still alive and playing now. He has allegedly now come off drugs, and has started doing drum clinics for Ludwig, although there are recent videos of him playing DW drums. He seems like quite a hard character to follow but its fair to say that the drugs never got the better of his drumming ability. When he talks, he sounds frail and weak, and even looks it on the surface, just not when he plays drums.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=endscreen&NR=1&v=fEzlj-Y8_H0 - Baker on Drums
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83XdEBl0KUg - Documentary clips
http://www.enotes.com/baker-ginger-reference/baker-ginger
http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music/ginger-baker-the-devil-looks-after-his-own-1879629.html
http://www.gongtopia.com/Discussion/Baker.html
Friday 30 March 2012
Thursday 29 March 2012
DPC class - Analysis of ZOHO Use
During the course of this year, we were involved in a project which involved us scouting bands for an audition in college. We were using the project management tool ZOHO to keep in touch and organise deadlines and tasks for each of us. Admittedly, I could have used ZOHO more productively, however when we were working in such a small group (3 of us) I found it much easier to either text or email if possible, as I personally was doing a lot of the work when I was not by a computer. I am aware that there is now an app for iphones that links with ZOHO and that the project tool can be used by email, however when I am out and about, I am not always able to use email due to reception issues in come cases.
ZOHO is a great tool, however with my recent experiences organising the tour, gigs, rehearsals, calls, studio time and meetings, I have found that if you are stringent in how you organise your emails and text contacts, this can be a very effective way of keeping in touch quickly and easily. I can see myself using ZOHO for larger scale projects which involve more people, I think would be a lot more useful in that type of setting. I personally spend most of my waking hours on my phone while on the move, so a fast, responsive, easy to use ZOHO app would be a great thing to have. Even when I was trying to use the emails that it sent, they were sometimes badly laid out to the point where I couldn't actually read what it said!! This, understandably, did not help.
I am aware that the projects next year will be much more intense and on a much larger scale, so I think that ZOHO will come into much better use at that point, however it was good to get a taste of how it works and how effective it could potentially be when used in the right setting.
ZOHO is a great tool, however with my recent experiences organising the tour, gigs, rehearsals, calls, studio time and meetings, I have found that if you are stringent in how you organise your emails and text contacts, this can be a very effective way of keeping in touch quickly and easily. I can see myself using ZOHO for larger scale projects which involve more people, I think would be a lot more useful in that type of setting. I personally spend most of my waking hours on my phone while on the move, so a fast, responsive, easy to use ZOHO app would be a great thing to have. Even when I was trying to use the emails that it sent, they were sometimes badly laid out to the point where I couldn't actually read what it said!! This, understandably, did not help.
I am aware that the projects next year will be much more intense and on a much larger scale, so I think that ZOHO will come into much better use at that point, however it was good to get a taste of how it works and how effective it could potentially be when used in the right setting.
DPC class - Comparison of Professional Site
During the course of the year I have been working on my personal website -
www.stevenmorrisondrums.com
I have put a lot of work into it and I am keeping it up to date with all the current projects and gigs that I have running. I have a lot of information on it about me, my current bands, endorsements, gear, press, links and photos, amongst other things like having my own stevenmorrisondrums.com business cards and my steve@stevenmorrisondrums.com email address as I purchased the domain name.
I have chosen an industry professionals website to compare my personal one to. This industry professional is Steve Gadd.
http://www.drstevegadd.com/index.htm
Steve Gadd is a world renowned session drummer who started his drumming career in the late 1940's and is still to this day touring and playing around the world. Needless to say, his website has much more content and information about everything he has done over the years so there is a lot more to read.
Personally, I think that my site has most of the same ideas, like the personal biography, current projects, tour schedule, discography, endorsements and similar. Over the course of the past year when I have been building this site I have taken guidance from other professionals sites along the way which has led to my site having most of what I need, nothing too random, over the top or disinteresting.
I am not particularly convinced of the layout of Steve Gadd's Menu selection on the left hand side of his site. It runs in alphabetical order, although I find it quite easy to get a bit lost on the menu and it seems quite randomly ordered. I specifically tried to make my menu easy to navigate, without having too many page breaks I think it is a lot easier to find what you are looking for. I like the fact that he has a lot of personal information and pictures from around the world, you can find out a lot more than you could usually find on someones personal site. I just think that there is so much there, and It could possibly be laid out in a less complicated way which would make it much easier to navigate.
Clicking around his site, I think I have taken a lot of hints from professional sites, even things like the gear list and an in depth description of the gear I use are similar to what Steve has on his site. I think that if I keep going as I am with detailing everything I do and keep it all up to speed, with any luck in the future my site will eventually have a discography the same length as Steve Gadd's.
www.stevenmorrisondrums.com
I have put a lot of work into it and I am keeping it up to date with all the current projects and gigs that I have running. I have a lot of information on it about me, my current bands, endorsements, gear, press, links and photos, amongst other things like having my own stevenmorrisondrums.com business cards and my steve@stevenmorrisondrums.com email address as I purchased the domain name.
I have chosen an industry professionals website to compare my personal one to. This industry professional is Steve Gadd.
http://www.drstevegadd.com/index.htm
Steve Gadd is a world renowned session drummer who started his drumming career in the late 1940's and is still to this day touring and playing around the world. Needless to say, his website has much more content and information about everything he has done over the years so there is a lot more to read.
Personally, I think that my site has most of the same ideas, like the personal biography, current projects, tour schedule, discography, endorsements and similar. Over the course of the past year when I have been building this site I have taken guidance from other professionals sites along the way which has led to my site having most of what I need, nothing too random, over the top or disinteresting.
I am not particularly convinced of the layout of Steve Gadd's Menu selection on the left hand side of his site. It runs in alphabetical order, although I find it quite easy to get a bit lost on the menu and it seems quite randomly ordered. I specifically tried to make my menu easy to navigate, without having too many page breaks I think it is a lot easier to find what you are looking for. I like the fact that he has a lot of personal information and pictures from around the world, you can find out a lot more than you could usually find on someones personal site. I just think that there is so much there, and It could possibly be laid out in a less complicated way which would make it much easier to navigate.
Clicking around his site, I think I have taken a lot of hints from professional sites, even things like the gear list and an in depth description of the gear I use are similar to what Steve has on his site. I think that if I keep going as I am with detailing everything I do and keep it all up to speed, with any luck in the future my site will eventually have a discography the same length as Steve Gadd's.
DPC class - Opportunities for Independent Musician
I think that the idea of 'making a living' in the music industry would generally be a dream come true for any budding musician, however through the opportunities I have had this year I have realised that there is a lot more to it than what meets the audience on the surface.
Obviously I am still trying to find my feet in the industry, although I am more or less certain that I will make myself a living one way or another in the industry, realising now that I have earned the right connections and opportunities to hopefully make that happen if I keep on working as hard as I currently am at it.
Through some online research, I have realised how many other drummers there are who more or less offer the same basic idea. They offer session playing and lessons in their local area along with usually playing in an original or covers band. It seems to be the standard. I believe that the problem I have with regards to getting into session work, is that the employers of session musicians would look for a wealth of experience over someone who is willing to learn and truly throw all they have at something. Usually it helps to be a session drummer who already has a name for yourself, unless you are hand picked through audition processes, or work for agencies.
Searching for "session drummer uk" this is the top hit on google -
http://www.mattmcdonough.co.uk/
A perfect example of what I have mentioned, and exactly where I would ideally like to be in my career within a couple of years.
Online session drumming seems to be a new way of doing things. The ideal positives about this are that you do not have to worry about any travel expense or carting your full set up back and forward from a studio. If you are lucky enough to have an entire studio set up capable of producing a high standard of audio recording then you are already set up for it, all you need are the drumming abilities to be able to cater to a wide range of artistic tastes.
I think this is a great idea, more and more people these days are using home set ups, so if you follow the trend then the likelihood is that the work will follow. I personally love being in the studio and pushing my abilities to get a great drum take. The downsides to this process are the fact that you are not actually playing in a live setting with the band to get a real feel for the track before you record it, also that you would have to have some really high standard gear to produce the same quality as a professional studio, so it would be a true investment to get that up and running in the first place.
Obviously I am still trying to find my feet in the industry, although I am more or less certain that I will make myself a living one way or another in the industry, realising now that I have earned the right connections and opportunities to hopefully make that happen if I keep on working as hard as I currently am at it.
Through some online research, I have realised how many other drummers there are who more or less offer the same basic idea. They offer session playing and lessons in their local area along with usually playing in an original or covers band. It seems to be the standard. I believe that the problem I have with regards to getting into session work, is that the employers of session musicians would look for a wealth of experience over someone who is willing to learn and truly throw all they have at something. Usually it helps to be a session drummer who already has a name for yourself, unless you are hand picked through audition processes, or work for agencies.
Searching for "session drummer uk" this is the top hit on google -
http://www.mattmcdonough.co.uk/
A perfect example of what I have mentioned, and exactly where I would ideally like to be in my career within a couple of years.
Online session drumming seems to be a new way of doing things. The ideal positives about this are that you do not have to worry about any travel expense or carting your full set up back and forward from a studio. If you are lucky enough to have an entire studio set up capable of producing a high standard of audio recording then you are already set up for it, all you need are the drumming abilities to be able to cater to a wide range of artistic tastes.
I think this is a great idea, more and more people these days are using home set ups, so if you follow the trend then the likelihood is that the work will follow. I personally love being in the studio and pushing my abilities to get a great drum take. The downsides to this process are the fact that you are not actually playing in a live setting with the band to get a real feel for the track before you record it, also that you would have to have some really high standard gear to produce the same quality as a professional studio, so it would be a true investment to get that up and running in the first place.
DPC class - Copyright on Personal Site
I personally can see copyright being a particularly grey area of the creative industry these days as I think that it is more than likely a lot easier to "get away" with infringement on a small scale than it was say 10 years ago before the take over of social network/youtube and other online sites like lime wire or mega upload (although there was a recent conviction of the founder of mega upload, however this was infringement on a huge scale and it was not a short process).
In saying this, I am not in anyway implying that infringement is the right way to go because I also believe that free download/ file sharing sites are contributing to the fact that the music industry has come so far downhill in recent years. If you spend £6,000 writing, recording, publishing and touring an album, unless you have a lot of money to spare and are not trying to make a living from music, Ideally you would hope to make at least some or all of that money back through sales. I think that in the days before free file sharing sites, when the only way to get your hands on a decent reproduction of the album was to buy a hard copy, it could have been a lot more possible to make a decent amount back from your sales of records/ merch/ tickets. Obviously there were still things like cassette mixtape recordings and such from radio play but I don't think that would stunt your sales anywhere near the way free download sites do these days.
That said, when I was creating my site I had to be aware of copyright for different media aspects, including music recordings, photos, trademarked names (magazines/Newspapers/ brand logos), newspaper/magazine articles and videos.
Through a previous college course studying photography, I have a basic understanding of what photo copyright entails. It is similar to music copyright (in its simplest form) in that as long as you have the genuine permission of the copyright owner to use their photo, then it is usually ok to do so. I usually make sure that they are credited wherever possible for the photography and I provide a link to their site if possible.
There have been a couple of instances where the publishing of newspaper articles that I was involved in haven't been possible due to copyright. The Birthday Suit were featured in The Sun Newspaper and I was recently involved in a Press Release for the Scotsman and Evening News. Naturally, I wanted to show these articles on my website, the best way to do this would have been to scan the hard copy of the article and put this on my site, although after contacting the copyright department of The Sun they had said that this may not be a great idea "just incase" of any issues. Another slight problem was that I have the OK from the Evening News' Photographer that it is ok to use the photo from the press release on my site, along with a mention and link to say that the copyright is owned by the Scotsman however I am not able to use those photos for any other means. I asked about using them for another press release and was told, understandably, that this was not possible.
I don't actually have any music physically posted on my site other than links to youtube videos, however I do have links provided on my site to sites which feature music by my different bands. I have the permission to use these links and have them on my site by the people who built those sites (excluding the link to my personal facebook).
Another way in which I had to be careful with copyright was using my endorsement companies logos on my site, Although part of the endorsement agreement was that I promote each brand as much as I can so really it wasn't a problem after the agreement had been made.
I believe that I am complying with legal copyright requirements because I am not exploiting the media in any way, I am not making any money directly from it being on my site either. I simply am showing what I have been involved in so far in my career and all I really feel I am doing is advertising these papers, photographers and sites in a very positive way. Of course if a problem was to come up, I would like to get it sorted in the best way possible.
Friday 9 March 2012
Performance Blog, Tour With Rod, Sessions with Broxburn & Livingston Brass Band for Scottish Championships
The past few weeks have been hard work, however it has definitely payed off and I have learned a lot of lessons about time management, how the industry works with different promoters and gigging cultures around the uk, what it is like to be thrown in at the deep end with a high pressure reading gig and have to learn a lot of different techniques in a very short space of time, amongst many other lessons learned. Unfortunately, I missed the last couple of weeks of performance class, including Jazz week and Salsa week, as I have been on tour with Rod Jones and The Birthday Suit around the UK. I was still involved in a couple of rehearsals and recordings for these two weeks, I played "Take Five" and I was involved in percussion for "Guantanamera". Further analysis of these processes will be posted in a later blog.
Although I have been noting everything that happened, as I realised how much I have been learning when I was playing with these professional musicians out on the road.
The tour with Rod was an unbelievable experience, playing all over the UK to so many different people as the headlining band was a truly amazing thing to do. Seeing press reviews, advertising and other online presence along with people approaching us at gigs for photos and autographs was a lot to take in, although It has definitely set my sights on where I want to be and where I am aiming for with my career in music. Rehearsals for the tour were relatively short and sweet. With the main two being two weeks before the tour for four hours, and one other a week prior to the tour, again for four hours. That being said, with the level of musicianship of the members of the band, that was all we needed. Its great to know that you can relax in the thought that the other members of the band know exactly what they are doing and they will always be on top form when they need to be. That way you can relax into your own part and not have to stress about whether or not everyone else is with you. That being said, being on absolute top form every night is hard work on your mind as well as physically, especially when you are playing every night putting on a visual performance and a technical performance, and on the road for at least a few hours everyday. On top of that, occasionally the setlist would change and songs would get "pulled out of the bag" on the night, so being able to keep up with that was a real test of character. Another unbelievable test of nerve was when the full set in Manchester was filmed and recorded professionally, 5 or 6 cameramen all onstage and around the crowd (which was around 100 strong), along with one right next to me filming my every move. It was a great experience, although truly a nervewracking one to know that everything I did was going to be evidenced on film AND recorded audio. The lesson learned was that if you play like you are known to and always do, then the camera will capture this and show everyone how much you love what you are doing. This is exactly what I did. Throughout the tour I had been told by many people, most I had never met, that I was interesting and entertaining to watch on stage simply because I get so lost in the music and just enjoy being on stage playing drums, so I am looking forward to seeing the final product.
Reading this back it seems that it sounds that I didn't enjoy the hard work, that is far from the case. I live to push my boundaries and challenge myself and I am actually really proud of how I have handled the past few weeks. I feel that I really had my head screwed on and made good impressions with people, including Rod and the guys from The Birthday Suit, the promoters from around the UK, Sean Murtagh who deals with my stick endorsement with Los Cabos Drumsticks, Clare Truan who deals with my endorsement with Lion Cajon Drums amongst others I met on tour like the guys from The Birthday Suits PR company A Badge Of Friendship, Producer Dave Eringa and all the other bands who supported and opened for us at the shows. I already have dates in the calander for Wickerman Festival, Rhythms Of The World Festival in Hertfordshire and also waiting on confirmation on T in the Park to play with the Birthday Suit plus other dates currently being arranged. Another surreal experience was going to John Henry's and Matt Snowball's Music suppliers in central london, seeing accomplished session musicians just walking around the street outside and also tech supply sheets for Matt Cardle, Noah & The Whale and The Vaccines, I have made a connection with Kent who deals with the Idlewild account in Matt Snowball's suppliers so I can get gear shipped from London if needs be. A strange lesson I learned in Manchester was when I was talking to a few people after the show about everything that had been going on, how we had trouble with a van that failed it's MOT and the desperate struggle to find a replacement. A few days later, a review appeared online written by one of the people who I had been talking to, quoting me, my name, age and things I had said. Obviously I had been telling good stories and had nothing in anyway negative to say but it made me realise that in that situation of being the "headline" band, you really have to watch what you say and how you act at all times as you never know who could be in the crowd or who you are talking to.
Alongside this, I was asked to play with the percussion section in Broxburn & Livingston Brass Band for the Scottish Championships on the 11th March. This has been a steep learning curve as I had never really attempted to play in a section before. Also, I had no idea that the week before the contest, there would be a late rehearsal practically every night that week and also an early one on the day of the championships, still having college and work to deal with alongside these rehearsals has been really hard going, although I feel quite good about keeping everything afloat and being able to deal with having so much on at once. Admittedly I unfortunately missed my drum lesson on the friday due to me stupidly messing up my schedules, although I am keeping on top of everything that I am doing in my lessons and everything for my solo assessments. I can definitely feel that everything I'm doing is counting towards developing my overall musicianship and playing skills, helping me make important contacts in the industry and just getting the vital experience that I need to get to the next stage.
The past month has without a doubt been hard work although I have lapped up the experience for all it was worth, loved every second of it and really learned a lot from it all. I can feel in myself that I have progressed in my playing, as well as in my mind with how I deal with the pressure of having lots of different things to do. My diary is always full, although I don't see this as a problem in the slightest. I live to be busy and I enjoy the rush and buzz. I especially love the feeling of accomplishment when you pull it off, put on a great show and everyone goes home happy.
Although I have been noting everything that happened, as I realised how much I have been learning when I was playing with these professional musicians out on the road.
The tour with Rod was an unbelievable experience, playing all over the UK to so many different people as the headlining band was a truly amazing thing to do. Seeing press reviews, advertising and other online presence along with people approaching us at gigs for photos and autographs was a lot to take in, although It has definitely set my sights on where I want to be and where I am aiming for with my career in music. Rehearsals for the tour were relatively short and sweet. With the main two being two weeks before the tour for four hours, and one other a week prior to the tour, again for four hours. That being said, with the level of musicianship of the members of the band, that was all we needed. Its great to know that you can relax in the thought that the other members of the band know exactly what they are doing and they will always be on top form when they need to be. That way you can relax into your own part and not have to stress about whether or not everyone else is with you. That being said, being on absolute top form every night is hard work on your mind as well as physically, especially when you are playing every night putting on a visual performance and a technical performance, and on the road for at least a few hours everyday. On top of that, occasionally the setlist would change and songs would get "pulled out of the bag" on the night, so being able to keep up with that was a real test of character. Another unbelievable test of nerve was when the full set in Manchester was filmed and recorded professionally, 5 or 6 cameramen all onstage and around the crowd (which was around 100 strong), along with one right next to me filming my every move. It was a great experience, although truly a nervewracking one to know that everything I did was going to be evidenced on film AND recorded audio. The lesson learned was that if you play like you are known to and always do, then the camera will capture this and show everyone how much you love what you are doing. This is exactly what I did. Throughout the tour I had been told by many people, most I had never met, that I was interesting and entertaining to watch on stage simply because I get so lost in the music and just enjoy being on stage playing drums, so I am looking forward to seeing the final product.
Reading this back it seems that it sounds that I didn't enjoy the hard work, that is far from the case. I live to push my boundaries and challenge myself and I am actually really proud of how I have handled the past few weeks. I feel that I really had my head screwed on and made good impressions with people, including Rod and the guys from The Birthday Suit, the promoters from around the UK, Sean Murtagh who deals with my stick endorsement with Los Cabos Drumsticks, Clare Truan who deals with my endorsement with Lion Cajon Drums amongst others I met on tour like the guys from The Birthday Suits PR company A Badge Of Friendship, Producer Dave Eringa and all the other bands who supported and opened for us at the shows. I already have dates in the calander for Wickerman Festival, Rhythms Of The World Festival in Hertfordshire and also waiting on confirmation on T in the Park to play with the Birthday Suit plus other dates currently being arranged. Another surreal experience was going to John Henry's and Matt Snowball's Music suppliers in central london, seeing accomplished session musicians just walking around the street outside and also tech supply sheets for Matt Cardle, Noah & The Whale and The Vaccines, I have made a connection with Kent who deals with the Idlewild account in Matt Snowball's suppliers so I can get gear shipped from London if needs be. A strange lesson I learned in Manchester was when I was talking to a few people after the show about everything that had been going on, how we had trouble with a van that failed it's MOT and the desperate struggle to find a replacement. A few days later, a review appeared online written by one of the people who I had been talking to, quoting me, my name, age and things I had said. Obviously I had been telling good stories and had nothing in anyway negative to say but it made me realise that in that situation of being the "headline" band, you really have to watch what you say and how you act at all times as you never know who could be in the crowd or who you are talking to.
Alongside this, I was asked to play with the percussion section in Broxburn & Livingston Brass Band for the Scottish Championships on the 11th March. This has been a steep learning curve as I had never really attempted to play in a section before. Also, I had no idea that the week before the contest, there would be a late rehearsal practically every night that week and also an early one on the day of the championships, still having college and work to deal with alongside these rehearsals has been really hard going, although I feel quite good about keeping everything afloat and being able to deal with having so much on at once. Admittedly I unfortunately missed my drum lesson on the friday due to me stupidly messing up my schedules, although I am keeping on top of everything that I am doing in my lessons and everything for my solo assessments. I can definitely feel that everything I'm doing is counting towards developing my overall musicianship and playing skills, helping me make important contacts in the industry and just getting the vital experience that I need to get to the next stage.
The past month has without a doubt been hard work although I have lapped up the experience for all it was worth, loved every second of it and really learned a lot from it all. I can feel in myself that I have progressed in my playing, as well as in my mind with how I deal with the pressure of having lots of different things to do. My diary is always full, although I don't see this as a problem in the slightest. I live to be busy and I enjoy the rush and buzz. I especially love the feeling of accomplishment when you pull it off, put on a great show and everyone goes home happy.
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