Mistress of the Cage - My new Jazz and Rock videos

[SuperPuss]

These two clips have been put together as a record of my drumming progress at 11 months and are the first clips of me playing in my cage (hence the title).

The Jazz kit is a heavily modified version of the TD12 Brushes kit and has been optimised to bring out the brush sweep sound and improve it's playability. I have tweaked the toms and cymbals for better response and sound with brushes too.

The Rock kit is one of my custom studio kits with a few extra sounds added for the Roto's. In this clip, there's eight toms (five rack toms with the lowest on the 4th rim, and three Roto's).

All recordings are directly out of my TD12, straight into my Sony DV recorder with no external processing. What you hear in these clips is exactly what came out of my TD12 master outs.


OK then, here's the clips -

Jazz clip
Jazz in the Cage
(high quality stereo for fast broadband, hosted on www.indiemusicclips.com)

Jazz in the Cage
(stereo Youtube version)


Rock clip
Mistress of the Cage
(high quality stereo for fast broadband, hosted on www.indiemusicclips.com)

Mistress of the Cage
(stereo Youtube version)

Update (13th June 2008) - Check out my newest clip
Funk Rock in the Cage - My 12 month progress

[Eric Pearl]

Nice Vids SP !!!!! Also nice to see more clothing on you !!! Don't get
me wrong, You are put together rather well but it is nice to let your
playing shine through and not the double d's !!! Very classy stuff indeed.
Also CONGRATS on your award ! You have much to be proud of !!! Give
your kitty a hug for me OK !!! Take care, Eric G.

[SuperPuss]

LOL about the clothing Eric
Thanks heaps for the compliments and yeah, getting an IAC award for best classic and progressive rock song of 2007 was a HUGE thrill. Being nominated was a major thrill but to win it was the icing on the cake

I will give Neo a big hug from you. He loves his cuddles

[daveybabes]

Superb!

Fantastic sounding kit, the cage looks the biz, great fluid freestyle playing, do u play heel down? mmm i must practice more.

Love the outfit, yummy

ps keep up the good work, u are fab x

[havyck]

Why not change the angle of the camera so we look straight at you? What's IAC?

[daveybabes]

Drums baby drums!

Why not change the angle of the camera so we look straight at you? What's IAC?

SP uses the best angle so we can see what she's playing, Vdrums ain't a peep show, it's all about sound and technique, i reckon in a few years SP may be the best female drummer in OZ and yer know? i've heard drummers say that they approach drums like an other instrument? well i think she uses expression very similar to playing piano ( not just wham, bang, fill!) but a flow of creativity ... yes top stuff.

Well done Superpuss ..

[SuperPuss]

Fantastic sounding kit, the cage looks the biz, great fluid freestyle playing, do u play heel down? mmm i must practice more.

Love the outfit, yummy

ps keep up the good work, u are fab x

Thanks Daveybabes
For the most part I play heel down except when doing fast stuff on the kick. I'm finding I'm preferring to practise getting my speed up on kick with my right foot rather than relying on the double pedal. It just feels better to me to be able to keep my left foot on the hat pedal. I'd love to be able to do all the double kick stuff with my right foot only..... practise practise

Why not change the angle of the camera so we look straight at you? What's IAC?

IAC is an acronym for Independent Artists Company and is, in my opinion, one of the best online indie communities on the web. The community spirit is awesome with plenty of people interacting and collaborating on projects. I VERY rarely listen to commercial radio now. There's so much more variety and quality on indie radio.
Check out my SuperPuss Top 20 Station for an example

I experimented at great length with various camera angles for my clips but front on angles obscured the kit too much. The angle I have gone with gets the most in with a single camera. I modified my tripod so it mounts to the Roland clamps and have mounted it on the very top of the cage with a wide angle lens to get as much in as possible.
If I can get hold of a second good quality camera, I'll do some demo's with multiple angles.

[SuperPuss]

SP uses the best angle so we can see what she's playing, Vdrums ain't a peep show, it's all about sound and technique, i reckon in a few years SP may be the best female drummer in OZ and yer know? i've heard drummers say that they approach drums like an other instrument? well i think she uses expression very similar to playing piano ( not just wham, bang, fill!) but a flow of creativity ... yes top stuff.

Well done Superpuss ..

Looks like we were posting at the same time
Thank you so much for such wonderful compliments Daveybabes. It's interesting that you mention piano. I'm not sure if you know but that is my main instrument. I've been playing piano for nearly 25 years and I do find I think in similar musical terms when on drums but I guess that is to be expected.
I am debating whether or not to get proper lessons on drums. There's two sides to the coin for me on that. On the one hand, I'll no doubt pick up some very valuable tips. On the other hand, I only ever had formal lessons on piano for a few weeks and the rest is self taught. I play piano in a way that many pianists consider 'wrong' but it is my style and something that feels natural and flows for me.
Another thing is that I am not really interested in playing covers, therefore, I don't need to be able to play what others play. I'd prefer to develop my playing style to match my writing style which is exactly what I've done with piano, guitar and bass.
Still, I'm totally into the idea of learning hints, tips and basic technique ideas from others. Those are invaluable progress tools, especially when picked up from a number of good sources.

[daveybabes]

Hi SP

Hiya, i have the UK mag called Rythym Magazine, it features an interactive Video of top drummers styles and little masterclasses from the dudes themselves Gavin Harrison just gave some great insights into his style, Steve White, Carl Palmer, Kenny Aronoff, it's a great mag covering jazz to metal and a beginners section (that's my baby he he) with a monthly drum rudiment.
I started last Autumn and got really hooked after christmas, playing daily and upgrading the kit. So the drums are a new path for me, i'm not very good but i like it

Dave x

ps your style is different i would forget lessons and maybe just absorb a few styles and tricks to add to your own talent. Yeah i can definately sense the piano, it's the way you flow, reminds me of the gentle flow of a river or stream. he he sorry i'm a bit deep today ...

Will send a snippet of Gavins technique as not to infringe on the mags copywrite but rather looking at it as showing a friend the mag with the view point that you may be a possible future customer/subscriber and it spreads the good word to another country xxx

[SuperPuss]

I think I'm going to have to have a poke around some of the mags at Music Den. They have the most awesome drum section and I'm getting to know the staff there quite well. They have a few good mags on their counter.

I bought Gavin's 'Rhythmic Horizons' DVD off him while he was here and that has heaps of good stuff on it which I have only just started to explore. I love his use of uncommon time signatures and have been playing around with 7/8 a little (jamming to Pink Floyd's 'Money').

It looks like we are somewhat kindred spirits on a similar path and at a similar stage too (playing and DIY wise). Oh, and I love 'a bit deep'. Much better than chatting about the weather!!!

If it isn't too much work, I'd love to take you up on your offer re the mag sections
Thanks again my friend

[cesco13]

The kit looks great! i've always been a fan of a kit with LOTS of toms

Also you've inspired me to try positioning the hi-hat in the center, it seems to make it much easier to play the hi-hat with my left hand when i tried "air-drumming" in that position.

well done on the clips! i agree with daveybabes - keep up the good work

[SuperPuss]

Thanks Cesco
Yeah, I'm loving the center hat / snare arrangement. I'm with you on lots of toms too. That's part of the reason I built the cage. Can't wait till my TD20 and my new toms arrive. Then I'll have eight brand new mesh 8" toms to play with and plenty of trigger options (TD12, TD20 and TMC-6 combined)

I was at David Jones' drum clinic last week and the variations he can get out of one drum are incredible....I'm going to need at least ten pads per each one of his drums to get close to those variations!!! ..... great excuse for me to feed my GAS

[drumslinger50]

Hey SP, I have listened to everything that you have out there and I am always impressed. The two new clips are great. Please keep up the "do it now and do it your way attitude". You are a fresh breeze in the drumming world. I truely believe the best drummers are born to it and not made in a lesson factory. I see over and over that so many "so & so" wannabe's sit around and analyze other peoples stuff when they should be trying to create. The progress you have made is outstanding. You have a very natural feel to your playing. I taught drums for many years and if you were my student, I would be listening to you not teaching you at this point. YOU WILL BECOME THE DRUMMER YOU WANT TO BE! The new cage set up looks great and must be fun to use, but as an old guy, I would have a hard time moving it 2 or 3 times a week. LOL

[havyck]

I experimented at great length with various camera angles for my clips but front on angles obscured the kit too much. The angle I have gone with gets the most in with a single camera. I modified my tripod so it mounts to the Roland clamps and have mounted it on the very top of the cage with a wide angle lens to get as much in as possible.
If I can get hold of a second good quality camera, I'll do some demo's with multiple angles.

I too and thinking about using multiple cameras, in this case to show the foot work. I'm getting a little bored of my one camera angle and I'm thinking of ways to make the videos more interesting. Of course that means a lot more work.

[SuperPuss]

Hey SP, I have listened to everything that you have out there and I am always impressed. The two new clips are great. Please keep up the "do it now and do it your way attitude". You are a fresh breeze in the drumming world. I truely believe the best drummers are born to it and not made in a lesson factory. I see over and over that so many "so & so" wannabe's sit around and analyze other peoples stuff when they should be trying to create. The progress you have made is outstanding. You have a very natural feel to your playing. I taught drums for many years and if you were my student, I would be listening to you not teaching you at this point. YOU WILL BECOME THE DRUMMER YOU WANT TO BE! The new cage set up looks great and must be fun to use, but as an old guy, I would have a hard time moving it 2 or 3 times a week. LOL

Wow! Coming from a teacher with your level of experience, that means worlds to me. Thank you so much for your compliments and affirmations!
As you can no doubt tell. I am loving drums and the cage is loads of fun. I am also more driven than ever before to go as far as possible with my SuperPuss project.....and I have some really big plans!! I like to bring my dreams to life

I too and thinking about using multiple cameras, in this case to show the foot work. I'm getting a little bored of my one camera angle and I'm thinking of ways to make the videos more interesting. Of course that means a lot more work.

Cool stuff Make sure you let us all know when your new clips are done