The arrival of the VHS machine changed drumming forever. Its impact was as far reaching as plastic heads, the lifting of restrictions on imports from the US into the UK (of not just products but famous musicians too) and the breathalyser in the change it brought to the lives of players of all ages and ability levels.
We got one in about 1980, rented of course, as most machines were in that bygone era of DER, Radio Rentals and Visionhire, largely because I had begun to appear on television from time to time and it was nice to be able to record these things for posterity. Even better than that was the opportunity to record tv appearances by the greats, and I soon began to assemble a formidable visual reference library of the players I most admired. It quickly became apparent that watching and rewatching this material was a great way of picking up ideas and improving one's own playing. It was no surprise when a couple of years later adverts began to appear in Modern Drummer magazine to the effect that Drummers Collective in New York City had similarly identified the potential in video tuition and were releasing their own material. I bought them all, and the first ones I recall featured Ed Thigpen, Louie Bellson and Lenny White.
In addition there was another one.
It was called Steve Gadd Up Close.
I had become increasingly aware of Gadd's prowess over probably the previous four or five years, and his presence in my record collection was rapidly increasing but other than a fleeting glimpse on the Simon and Garfunkel reunion concert (broadcast on a mainstream TV channel, there weren't any others back then) I hadn't really seen him do his stuff.
So I put the bulky cassette in the the cumbersome top loading video recorder and pressed play.
An hour or so later I pressed the eject button a changed musician.
Unencumbered by visual effects, backing tracks or showboating, I had just witnessed undiluted mastery clearly explained. No mystery, no secrets, no smoke and mirrors. In conversation with Rob Wallis Steve explains key concepts and talks about his development as a player. There's nothing commercially oriented about this at all, just sharing knowledge and information gathered over an entire career.
More than any of the other video releases of the time Up Close was a game changer, and it created the opportunity for drummers from Antarctica to Zimbabwe to learn from a master. A trickle became a deluge over the next few years as all the biggest players of the day (with one very obvious exception) added to the drum video education canon. Then came drum performance videos, and if you were in for the long haul you could watch the entire Modern Drummer festival from the comfort of your own home. I'm not even sure if the Modern Drummer festival still goes on. Maybe so many people stayed at home waiting for the video to come out that nobody went to the gig any more. Think about that for a moment.
The other huge change that this brought about was access to information, to a point where the average drummer has an ability level unimaginable a few decades ago. Apparently skiing was one of the first areas to benefit from this approach to learning. More than half a century ago someone came up with the idea of filming expert, naturally talented skiers and watching the footage in slow motion.
Then of course along came the internet and incredibly affordable cameras, to say nothing of the first iPhone 10 years ago, and all of a sudden it was open season on drum video education.
Every day my Instagram feed is filled with video snapshots of often similar and worringly average playing. Just because you've got some drums, a camera and a wifi connection doesn’t necessarily mean..............(complete this yourself). Anyway before I get swept away on a tsunami of cynicism it has to be said that social media provides a great platform for upcoming players to make an impact. Not only that but it provides an opportunity for those of us of a certain age who have been around the block a handful of times to share some of the experience we have picked up along the way.
As many of you know I crowdfunded a video education project earlier this year and it is getting very close to the time when I shall unleash it on an unsuspecting world.
Having been so inspired by the Gadd video all those years ago I have done it on a similarly low budget as many of you reading this will know as you helped to finance the production.
No visual effects, no 9 minute backing tracks in 13, nor 13 minute backing tracks in 9 for that matter. I chose not to include any tracks given that we had an upper limit of 120 minutes playing time and I was eager to get as much information across as was possible, and that just to play would run the risk of self indulgence. Also (confession time!) I really only play my best when there is either a) a band, or b) an audience. With neither one present I struggle to summon up the necessary adrenalin rush without which a worthwhile performance is a struggle to attain. That's a big part of why my favourite part of my work as a musician is to play for people, and anyway, this is about sharing ideas. There's quite sufficient of my playing on Youtube already.
I tried to steer clear of information that is already freely available, things we've all heard dozens of times before. Over a lifetime of musical development but especially in the last two decades I have evolved a few key concepts that have revolutionised my playing, and unless you have studied with me on a one to one basis you won’t have seen them before.
Nor am I doing this to 'raise my profile'. I am quite satisfied with whatever profile I may already have. My fifties have happily freed me from the yoke of ambition and the quest for glory. These days I play music purely for its own sake.
The intended outcome is for the viewer to actually gain something from watching the programme, not to be impressed/intimidated by the content, as we all know how closely connected those two are. I approached this just like any other drum clinic (because essentially that's what it is), where the aim is to send the audience home with one thing they didn't have when they arrived (as long as it's not an infectious disease of course). One bit of demystification makes the process worth everybody's while.
As with most of my output I have one foot in the past, and I have decided to release this as a physical product, on the now rather quaint DVD format. It won't be available in the shops or on Amazon. The only way to get it is by mail order or at any of my clinics or other personal appearances.
Only 500 are being produced and over half that quantity are already spoken for. If you would like a copy too send an email you don't have to part with any money just yet and we will be in touch to arrange all that at the appropriate time, because you can't put a digital download on a bookshelf.
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