Drums

[i12tim]

**I was about to post this as a reply to the "gifts and curses" thread, but after I wrote it, I realized it was too long and had absolutely nothing to do with that song, so I made a new topic**

About the drums on get rad, Im glad that I got to hear some criticism about them, Im totally open to that....its amazing to hear feedback whether its positive or negative. Dan and I (we recorded the drums while Pete was on tour with YC) wanted to make the drums very solid and tasteful. We felt like that fit the style of the record and the songs we were working on. A lot of the songs were recorded at a slower tempo, and I kindof objected to that at first, but now I think they're fine. I feel like good drumming ( and I'm by no means saying that the drumming on Get Rad is good...I'm my biggest critic!) is not necessarily the hardest or the most creative, but its what fits with the songs that the band is playing. For example, the stuff that Travis plays for Blink is sooo creative and awesome to listen to, and it fits so well with their songs, but I don't think that would work on Get Rad. I think that my playing in The Softer Side (my other band), is a bit different than what I play with i12. But thats what I love the most about drums, is there's so much room for little changes (I think its fun to change fills and stuff live, to make certain parts a little stronger or just feel a little different). But like I said, I'm not right by any means about this, I basically posted cuz I like to hear what other people think about stuff....so leave some feedback if you want...sweet!

[wallyintally]

tim, its matt wallace. you know i think the drums are great and fit with the songs. we have talkeda about it so many times at shows and what not. live, they sound better i think. but thats just my opinion and im not a drummer.

[i12dude14]

tim,
sure,the drums are at a slower tempo,but isnt that what goes with the songs?its better to have a slower tempo with the songs than have a fast tempo that makes no sense.i dont play drums,but i admire ur drum playing and i think that the album is rad so rock on!
-garrett

[Radish]

I've been a fan of the band since I heard the original version of Nothing To Lose, a song I downloaded years ago. How I got the song was a complete fluke, and I've been trying to get a hold of Step Into the Fire with no luck, since then ( I live in Canada and you didn't have much on your site at the time).

Anyway, I wasn't too crazy about the new version of Nothing To Lose as far as the tempo sounded, but it's a great tune nonetheless.

And I agree that good sounding drummers know what to play and when to play it. If anyone else here is into drums, I recommend anything by Alkaline Trio, Dashboard Confessional, Senses Fail, RX Bandits, 311 and anything Josh Freese is in (Vandals/APC/....). Longineu from Yellowcard is a pretty solid drummer too. Ocean Avenue is a really fun song to play on the drums. I just learned to play Only One which is also a great sounding tune.

I've been playing drums for 3 years and I've been contemplating this for the longest time. Should I take drum lessons? I'm completely self-taught and am not sure if lessons will do me better. I don't know how to read music notes, but so far I've figured out how to cover songs without using tabs (it's not that hard). My drum rolls could improve though. I'd really like to be good at doing paradiddles. Any suggestions? Tim or anyone?

[i12tim]

Yeah I would definitely recommend taking lessons. I think a drummer can become good without taking lessons, there are many that have....but I think that if you completely understand what you are playing, like you could write it out if you had to, then you are really understanding exactly what you are doing, not just mimmicking what you hear with your ear...and that way you can think of so many different variations to things. Also, taking lessons really helps your technique and sticking and stuff...so yes, i'd say do it if you can.

Oh yeah, and that was a very good list of drummers. Chad Sexton is awesome, so is the drummer for Dashboard even though I never really got into them, and and Josh Freese is amazing as well. I LOVE listening to the drums of A Perfect Circles new album...he makes everything sound sooo good! LP of course is really good, and I like the drummer for Alkaline Trio a lot too...he's pretty ridiculous.

[InRecoveryARFWD]

Being a drummer, I have another suggestion:

Learn to play guitar.

Ever since I learned guitar, the parts that I write on drums in my bands fit better than they would if I'd never learned the relationship between guitar and drums. It makes a huge difference wheterh you realize it or not.

[DaveWonders]

Tim, totally agree with you on Mike Marsh (the Dashboard drummer). Did you ever see him play inSeville? Best fucking band. I was so pissed when he quit the band I loved to join what was popular and profitable.....OH WAIT! Anyway, I don't dig his drumming with Dash, but when he played and sang for Seville at the same time I got goose bumps.

Jordan Burns is one of my favorite drummers, along with Dave Raun (who we've talked about on other threads). Whoever plays in Hot Water Music is pretty good too. And how about the turn around Bad Religion has made with Brooks Wackerman? It's amazing. And the next time I listen to Get Rad I'm gonna note all the lil drum things that get me hard and we can all compare notes on what we like

[MrDave]

Hey, just thought i'd contribute to this as another drummer on the board.

First of all, i couldn't agree more that the drums on Get Rad fit totally with the songs and i absolutely love that. There is nothing to suggest that Tim is anything other than an awesome drummer but at the same time, song writer and musician. I have to admit that one of my weaknesses as a drummer is trying to play for the drums, not the songs. And i'm not even that good a drummer! People who can play for the song but also allow the world to hear that they're awesome drummers impress me a hell of a lot which is why i would quickly rank Tim as one of my favourite drummers alongside people like Tre Cool and Chad Smith.

Whoever recommended listening to Rx Bandits - good call my man (or woman). Chris Tsagakis must be my favourite drummer of all time. I believe www.bandvideos.tk has enough live audio and video to convince anyone that his boy can play. And play he does. Beautifully.

And...finally i'd say get lessons if you can. I've never had them but would really love to at some stage when i can afford it. I know a lot of drummers that play in bands local to me and its pretty obvious the ones that have had lessons and those that haven't! I would love to have the technique and stick control of some of those who i have seen had lessons. I'd guess getting lessons sooner rather than later would make sense before you get too firmly cemented in your ways. But then there are some pretty phenomenal self taught drummers out there so who knows! In fact i think Mike Marsh himself is self taught...damn. I just killed my whole argument for lessons. But shit, do whatever you please sir Radish!

[i12tim]

This is turning into a pretty sweet topic. Tre Cool is one of my favorite and most influential drummers of all time....just listen to Green Days albums....the drums are so freakin' powerful! And when Green Day plays live, just listen to how powerful his drumming is....I used to tape everything that Green Day had on tv when I was in like middle school, all of the live performances and stuff, and I even set my drums up like his from the start....I think they're actually still pretty similar to his (or at least how his used to be).

And to Dave-I'll really have to check out inSeville. I saw some Dashboard stuff live on tv....and he had such amazing technique and such a unique style of playing, I was really impressed. But yeah, I could see how it would be really cool to hear him play different songs...so I'll definitely check them out.

Brooks is awesome in Bad Religion. I've always loved them, and they've had some pretty sub-par drummers over the years, so it's really cool that they have such an awesome on now...finally. The drums on their new album are great.

Thanks for the compliments about Get Rad also! I really feel like that was a learning process for me. I'm happy with the drumming, I mean I know theres some stuff that could have been done differently and everything. But I've learned so much about drums in the past few years, and recording that album was a huge part of that learning....because it was the first time where I got to take my time recording...and the first time I felt like I was doing a "real" album kinda...so now I've learned a lot from that. I'm anxious for some of you who want to to hear the new Softer Side album when we're done...which should be soon. The drums were recorded pretty quickly, much faster than for Get Rad, but I'd like to see what people think.

[inspectionstare]

it seems like there are so many amazing drummers coming out latly. my personal favorite is Thrice's drummer. he is awesome.

[DaveWonders]

Tim go to www.fiddlerrecords.com then click on releases and then Seville's EP Waiting in Seville. They have an awesome song called Reformer you can stream. He has such a powerful voice it's a shame he's wasting his talent in DC.

[needmorecowbell]

To comment on the lesson or not thing... I would definitely recommend to take a lesson or two just to try it out and see for yourself. Even though I have been playing for a relatively short time, I found that the two lessons that I did take have helped a considerable amount. I started self teaching and did alright but my first lesson redirected me in the RIGHT direction and I have found that I reflect on those early principals all the time. Also, I am still at the beginning of a very long road for reading music, but what I do know has actually helped my understanding of the placement of beats as to how I see them. Playing by ear seems to be easier. Can't say that I will do a lot of lessons($$), although I probably would if I could, but so far it has helped me a great deal.
As far as Tim's drumming goes on Get Rad, I will say that my tastes have evolved a lot for punk, from the straight forward style of Pennywise, early Blink, early Lagwagon to today's more melodic/creative styles. Get Rad is the perfect example of how a drummer can add so much more to a song than just a beat. Tim's style is almost "gourmet" in the sense that he adds texture and mood to the songs in a very complimenting way. Yeah I still like a good jamming song, but you can hear that anywhere. Seems like today's movement has been towards the more unique drums and sounds(Bad Astronaut, The Weakerthans, Grandaddy, i12). Even Blink recognized the need and came forth, making their latest a favorite on my list for drums. Tim definetely fits in just fine.

[karagetsrad]

The drums on Get Rad really fit Inspection 12 as a band who represents growth and evolution. I love them...every song. Great work, Tim.

[Radish]

Thanks for the suggestions, guys. I really appreciate it. I will make an effort to find a really good drum teacher before the summer's over. I could learn some new tricks or even relearn/improve old ones. I hate being ignorant anyway.

As for Tré Cool. Green Day is my favorite band and if it weren't for him, I wouldn't be playing drums. Seriously! I've been their biggest fan since I was 10 (1994). I just think Tré makes drumming sound effortless when I see him live.

Some other drum-oriented bands, you should check out:

Glasseater - Everything's Beautiful When You Don't Look Down (their new drummer is incredible),

Alice In Chains - Over Now (this track sounds simple, but the hi-hat, splash fills that he throws in, shows that the slightest things really DO make a song sound good).

Snot - Snot (Jamie Miller is a very underrated drummer. The Used drummer, says this guy is one of his biggest influences). The Used are great too.

anything and everything by Strung Out, Alien Ant Farm, the Flaming Lips and Nothingface.

One thing that I enjoy about playing an instrument is that it's opened me up to a diverse range of music, that I would never have listened to, otherwise. And it's good to talk to like-minded individuals here on this board.

[CypressDrummer]

Hey Tim...first off...did you ever get that DVD I told you about a while back. The one with all the greats like Buddy Rich and others from the 50s. If anyone else on this thread goes to George's Music in Orange Park in the near future...pick it up. It is humbling and amazing at the same time.

Also, what equipment did you use? I like how fat and solid your snare sounds along with a lot of the other pieces of your set. Thanks man, and hope the rumors are true...I need another Inspection 12 CD BAAAAAAAAAD.