I’ve been learning “Heartbreaker” and “When the Levee Breaks” at lessons, and that’s given me a newfound appreciation of John Bonham. I’ve been really thinking hard the past several weeks about music. I played at a friend’s party last week with mixed results (i.e. the songs we practiced sounded really good, and the songs we didn’t practiced sucked). But playing at that party really made me want to be a better musician. Not like I think my drumming was terrible; it wasn’t. But I find myself at a place where I could be a better drummer, and I’m not, and I want to be serious about it.
I have more plans about that but I’ll talk about it later.
But for now…yes. Led Zeppelin. I watched the Celebration Day concert today and it was terrific. I still can’t believe I’ve seen both Robert Plant and John Paul Jones in concert.
There are three things exciting me lately about music.
1. Thom Yorke and Flea are teaming together to record an album together under the moniker Atoms for Peace. They will also be joined by Radiohead’s drummer, so it’s essentially a supergroup.
This is muy exciting.
2. I go through phases where I love listening to Alt Nation and when I think all the songs on there suck. Right now, I’m in the phase where I’m enjoying the songs. I really love this one:
The refrain is so pretty and bittersweet.
3. I saved the best for last and I’m about to nerd out big-time here and potentially embarrass myself but I don’t care, because
DAVE GROHL IS RETURNING TO QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE TO DRUM WITH THEM FOR ANOTHER ALBUM.
I found this out on Election Night and it was almost more exciting than the news that Obama was winning.
Foo Fighters went on hiatus and that bummed me out a bit since they haven’t hit Texas yet as part of their tour. But they’ve been touring for awhile and I’m sure they needed a break. I’m just really glad I was able to see them in Philly last year (the concert was on November 10, 2011…so literally, it’s been almost a year. Wow). I was really hoping that Dave would get back in the studio with Them Crooked Vultures, so I was pretty surprised to hear that he was re-teaming with QotSA. Not that I’m complaining or anything, because the album he did with them is awesome.
I’m going to try very hard not to sound like such a fan girl, but GUYS, Dave Grohl is the reason why I started playing drums in the first place, and I’ve been really hoping I’d have another chance to see him drum in concert. And now it looks like I have that chance. The album should be out next year, and I’m sure there will be tour dates associated with the release of the album, which means I get to watch him drum, which means
::fangirl explosion::
On a related note, Michael is having me learn “No One Knows,” a song I’ve been wanting to learn for a long time. It’s pretty easy and straightforward until it gets to the chorus.
I’m going to be working on this one for awhile, is all I’m saying.
Even though I’ve been out of school for five years now, I feel like my biological clock still follows some sort of latent academic calendar. In the summer, I feel like goofing off…and in the fall, I become more serious and focused.
Don’t get me wrong; I can’t say I was technically lazy this summer. I had a lot of field work, and I don’t recommend getting a puppy for anyone who wants to indulge in laziness. But a lot of my hobbies were neglected.
I feel like it’s time to re-embrace my favorite activities. The timing is right; it’s almost fall, which means the weather will (hopefully) become crisper and cozier. (We’re getting a “cold front” this weekend – highs of 95, lows of 75). I don’t have any foreseeable field work in the near future (slamming my knuckles heavily on wood). And my puppy continues to mature – though he has been in an ornery streak this week, he’s getting older and he’s getting a handle on our routine, which means I can return to mine.
This weekend I jammed for the first time in a long time. I hadn’t even touched my kit in months; I took a break with lessons at the end of April or May so I could focus on field work. It felt wonderful to jam, evoking memories of the “old” days. I had been struggling with the decision to return to drum lessons. Before I took a break, I’d gotten lazy with practicing – what if I wasn’t good anymore? What if I wasn’t meant to drum? But jamming reminded me just how fun drumming is to me still. Boyfriend was very encouraging about returning to lessons, so I decided to give it a try again.
I’ve been struggling about how to continue updating this blog, as I have a waning interest in blogging about my private life. But why not return to what makes me tick? My hobbies, my interests, my projects? To celebrate my return to drum lessons, I want to make this first post of the month about -
I’ve decided to pick up on “Heartbreaker,” since it makes me nostalgic for the beginning of the year (if it’s even possible to feel nostalgia for eight or nine months ago). I surprisingly can play some of it, even though I haven’t practiced it in ages. I realized yesterday that I am terrible at reading music. Rather, I can read, but I am lazy and like playing by ear. I need to stop doing this, because it gets me in trouble. I was playing a section, and my drum teacher Michael nodded his head. “That sounds awesome,” he said. Then I started playing a part I was too lazy to read. Trying to remember it by ear, I completely messed the phrase up. His expression changed from approval to puzzlement. “Aren’t you glad I’m back?” I asked.
I’m playing this song right now and Apollo is barking his head off. If my dog isn’t a Zeppelin fan, then we have PROBLEMS.
So I was in a record store this weekend when this song started playing. My first impression was along the lines of, “What the hell is this weirdness?”
DISCLAIMER – I do not find this song weird because of its Bollywood influence. I like Bollywood music from what I’ve heard (my old college roommate used to play it all the time), and I find the instrumentation beautiful. About a minute and twenty seconds into this particular song, you hear some guttural chants and wails – I think it’s understandable why I would find this strange. Besides, the record itself says it’s “experimental Eastern music.”
Anyway, despite my initial impression, I found this song growing on me, and now I can’t get it out of my head. I hope you give it a chance. If it gets stuck in your head, YOU’RE WELCOME.
Tonight was the first Friday night I’ve had to myself since early December. At first, the prospect of being by myself on a Friday, without even my brother around to have adventures with, made me feel a little lonely. Then I hastily reminded myself that there was a period of several years where I was always by myself, so get over it, woman.
Luckily, my drum teacher called me at work this morning and asked if I’d like a free ticket to see Roy Haynes, a legendary jazz drummer, play with his quartet. I’d planned a quiet evening at home, watching TV, catching up on chores, playing my violin until my neighbors burned down my apartment in retaliation. But seeing a show sounded like a much better idea, so I said, “Hell yeah!”
The crazy thing about Roy Haynes is he’s eighty-seven-years old. You wouldn’t know it by the way he grooved on-stage fluidly or by the strong, confident hits on the snare and toms. He even had a tap-dance routine where he moved with such ease that I knew he was putting a lot of people in the audience decades younger than him to shame.
The concert was really enjoyable. Besides Mr. Haynes, there was a pianist, a bassist, and a saxophone player. They all did a fantastic job, but besides the drumming, I enjoyed the bass playing the most. The bassist was really incredible.
I’m really grateful to my drum teacher for giving me a free ticket. I was second row and had great seats. It was a treat to watch.
Side note- there was a douche in the audience who thought that yelling “YEAH!” when the rest of the room was quiet was totally appropriate. He kept talking back to Mr. Haynes at really weird times too. Like Mr. Haynes said, “You’re cool,” to one of the musicians, and the douche in the audience yelled, “NO, HE’S WARM.” I really wanted to punch him in the face. Man, it’s a jazz concert, not a Lynyrd Skynyrd show. Show some respect, seriously.
1. I’ve been listening to a lot of the Beatles lately. I go through phases where I listen obsessively to an artist; last fall, it was Queen. In the winter, it was Jeff Buckley. Now I’m using the Beatles to welcome spring.
When I was a little younger, I was very proud of the fact that I didn’t get the hype about the Beatles. ”They’re catchy,” I would say, “but overrated.” Now that I actually know and care more about music, I completely disown that opinion.
I know that this puts me in the category of, like, every teenager ever (“OMG, nobody loves them like I do! I hope no one else discovers them!111!!!!”)
I think I mentioned in a post last week that I was listening to the shit out of Magical Mystery Tour. I think it eclipsed Abbey Road as one of my favorite albums of theirs. It’s a hard choice. Just their music has been so soothing to me lately. I feel like the lyrics to some of their songs narrate my life like a soundtrack; it’s perfection. And I will find new meaning in songs I’ve heard a million times before. Like “Let It Be?”
I bet you all are grateful that I posted this song since it’s TOTALLY NOT A HUGELY POPULAR SONG OR ANYTHING. Anyway, I’ve heard this song a million times in my life but sometimes all it takes it just opening your mind to hearing it a different way. I found myself feeling a visceral emotional response to it, especially the line, “And when the night is cloudy, there is still a light that shines on me.” It’s rare for me to get emotional over a song, but I found myself tearing up over that line. It’s just so moving.
Yes, internet, there are times where I feel emotionally vulnerable. Like anytime I watch something from Pixar. NEXT.
2. Today I went to music lessons. I’m at the drum solo part on “Tom Sawyer.”
I can’t find a good video where Neil Peart is doing the solo himself, so skip to 2:30 in this video if you want to see it. Yeah? It kind of makes me want to cry.
The fact that I made it that far into the song says nothing about my actual skill level, because this song is so ridiculously beyond my skill level that the fact that I even wanted to learn it is laughable. It’s like a kid getting a microscope for Christmas and then deciding he’s going to find the cure for cancer before his next birthday.
Of the part I have “learned” so far, I can play maybe half of it. Then I fudge the rest of it, especially the fills.
The solo though? No. No. No. I can’t help keeping a “DEAR GOD, WHY?” look on my face when my teacher performs it for me.
It’s going to be awhile before I learn it, is what I’m saying. And by awhile, I mean, maybe after I turn thirty.
3. You know those days when you turn on the radio, and it’s playing all the songs you love? That happened to me this morning.
I don’t give a fuck what you all think about Foreigner, I love some of their songs. Some. Like this one, and “Hot Blooded.” I even like some cheesy 80′s Foreigner (though I hate “I Want to Know What Love Is” with every fiber of my existence).
3a. Bonus: this is my Facebook profile pic right now.
Is this not an awesome picture? Dave has inspired me in many ways, and continues to do so now…I will be a better drummer! I will run again! I am using too many exclamation points! This is the part where where someone yells, “WIN ROCKY, WIN!” and I run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art (WHICH I HAVE TOTALLY DONE, BY THE WAY.)
On Saturday night, my friend had an open-mic night themed party. We had been anticipating it for weeks. Of course, the only people who really performed were the core group who always performs, including me. We performed so many songs I love -”Rainbow in the Dark,” “Cowboys From Hell,” fucking Led Zeppelin -
I felt so alive when I started doing the drum solo at the end. I improv’d it; it was nowhere near as impressive as Bonham’s. There are few times when I feel like a real drummer; but after that song, as I looked to my guitarist for a cue to hit the final crash beat, I did. Someone commented that we all had an energy that they hadn’t seen in performances at past parties, and I believe it. Looking at your fellow performers and realizing they comprise a set of people you love the most in this world is an incredible feeling, and to say any more than that would cheapen the experience.
I will say that seeing partygoers mosh to “Cowboys From Hell” was fucking amazing.
I also busted the same knuckle twice as I flailed around the kit, so droplets of blood spilled all over my white stockings. It felt pretty rock and roll.
It’s amazing how such a simple night can end up being one of the best in your life.
I’m not going to lie. I wasn’t looking forward to drum lessons tonight.
I’d been out of town since Friday night, and just got back in last night. Since I hadn’t been near a drum kit, I couldn’t practice. After all my promises of improving, here I was showing up without having had practiced a beat.
I felt shame.
I’d sent my drum teacher an email giving him a head’s up about my lack of practice. I dragged my feet into lessons, sitting on the drum throne with dread. ”Do you want to start off with ‘Bridge Burning?’” he asked. ”I mean, it’s kind of a hard song to start off with without a warm-up, but you’ve been doing really well with it.”
Then he looked at me and said, “You know, I brag about you. I tell people that when you started with me, you didn’t know very much about drumming at all. And now here you are playing Foo Fighter songs.” I felt so happy with these words. I then apologized profusely, telling him how badly I’d felt last week going to lessons without practicing first.
“Don’t ever feel like you are letting me down when you don’t practice,” he said. “You’re not a junior high student. I understand that you have a job and a life. You just do what you can. Don’t be so hard on yourself.”
Don’t be so hard on yourself. It’s something my friends and family tell me time and time again, but I never listen.
The lesson was very fun after that. We played “Bridge Burning,” and I felt like I played it with more vigor and energy than I had in awhile. I learned the first line of “Tom Sawyer.” YEAHHHHHHH. That’s not really progress since it’s like eight pages long, but whatever.
I learned that all you can do is your best. As long as I make drumming fun and not a chore, then I will always enjoy it.
Ok, you guys. I’ve been sorely neglecting my drum kit lately. Like, I was never that great at practicing, but it’s been REALLY bad for the past month or so. There’s a lot going on, okay?! I mean, they’re all good things, but still. In between having my brother living with me and running all the time and blah blah blah excuses excuses excuses, I haven’t been practicing very much.
It’s terrible.
I went to lessons tonight. I missed a whole month’s worth of lessons so my teacher is letting me make them up with hour lessons. Man, you guys. I was so awful. I’ve been on “Heartbreaker” for God knows how long, and I still haven’t mastered it. Maybe if I actually READ my music instead of trying to play everything by ear, I could get it! But no. Then, I would start playing a beat that I had been playing successfully just five minutes before, and then totally bombing it.
My teacher looked very patient as I felt like disintegrating into the floor. Forever.
If that wasn’t bad enough, for some reason, I thought that asking to learn the beat to “Tom Sawyer” would be a good idea.
My drum teacher handed me the sheets to the song, then went on to explain that even Neil Peart is all, “Oh yeah, this song is kind of hard,” and that if he plays the song correctly in concert, he will smile at the end. My teacher, who’s been playing as long as I’ve been alive and is fantastic, said that he’s played the song correctly maybe five times in his life.
Goddamn it.
I went through it, and it’s ridiculous. Just ridiculous. There are time signature changes everywhere and the fast high hat beats are played with only one hand. When I asked my drum teacher why Neil Peart decided to play them that way, the response was, “Because he’s a badass.”
I don’t know what I was thinking. Actually, I do. My boyfriend is a ridiculously amazing guitar player who’s classically trained and has been playing for forever, so being around him makes me feel really inspired to play songs way above my level. ”NOW I WANT TO LEARN THE DRUM PARTS TO RUSH AND LED ZEPPELIN SONGS SO WE CAN PLAY TOGETHER! MY SKILL LEVEL/LAZINESS BE DAMNED!”
My drum teacher went on to say that maybe I should break myself into it slowly. My brain filled in what he was too nice to say. If you can’t master “Heartbreaker,” then “Tom Sawyer” is not happening anytime soon.
If I didn’t feel shitty enough about my drumming, here’s a five-year-old playing “Tom Sawyer” better than I ever will:
I will use the shame I felt at lessons today for inspiration. I want to be better. I don’t want my teacher to think I’m wasting his time.
SKILL LEVEL/LAZINESS BE DAMNED. I AM LEARNING THIS SONG. THIS IS HAPPENING.
There are lots of little music tidbits I want to blog about, so instead of making five separate posts about them, I’ll consolidate them all into one.
1. SING TO ME, ROBERT PLANT
Last year, my brother and I sent to see Robert Plant and his Band of Joy in concert. It is my second-favorite show ever. Here’s a really shitty rendering of the show taken by my cell phone camera:
The sound quality is horrible, but it was one of those rare, awesome shows where my brother and I were SO CLOSE TO THE STAGE, and the audience was cool, and Robert Plant was in our field of vision the entire time. That show was pretty close to a religious experience. Some people were complaining that he didn’t sing “Stairway to Heaven,” and seriously, assholes? He could have pulled a Van Morrison on us and not perform any of his old stuff. Instead, he performed his solo stuff and NINE LED ZEPPELIN SONGS, including motherfucking “Rock and Roll.” Never in my life did I think I would be privileged enough to hear Led Zeppelin songs live from the original golden voice.
Seriously, if you went into this show thinking that Robert Plant is going to perform “Stairway to Heaven,” then you’re not a real Led Zeppelin fan. Period.
Anyway, I was talking to a friend from drum class yesterday, and he told me that one of his friends spotted Robert Plant at Walgreens. As in, our local Walgreens. “Wait, WHAT?!” I exclaimed. ”Yeah, Robert Plant is living here,” he said, then went on to say that he’s living in a really unassuming part of town with Patty Griffin, and that they took pictures with trick-or-treaters.
Holy shit. I have no idea what I would do if I ran into Robert Plant at a Walgreen’s. This man’s face adorned my dormitory wall freshman year of college. I have a Led Zeppelin bumper sticker on the back of Pearl Jr. It would be very hard not to say, “SING TO ME, ROBERT PLANT!”
I told Patrick that when he comes to visit next month, we’re going to be keeping an eye out for Robert Plant. I mean that in the most non-stalkerish way possible. We’re not going to be seeking out Robert Plant at any specific location. Just, you know, if we’re downtown or some other cool part of the city, we’re just going to be keeping our eyes open for any British men with long hair.
2. What the hell, John Bonham?
I haven’t practiced drums for two weeks since I was in Philly. I went for a lesson yesterday, and worked more on “Heartbreaker.” Holy crap, that song. I want to know what kind of uppers John Bonham was on when he came up with the drum beat for that song. Basically, it’s all, “Ok, so here are some 32nd notes on the bass drum scattered throughout the song for you to deal with, along with some random time signature changes thrown in there for fun. I’m glad you are no longer walking like an old lady after your marathon, because here’s a shitload of sixteenth notes that you have to play on the bass drum. Oh, and yeah, this is the part where you go from 97 beats per minute to 212 beats per minute. HAVE FUN!”
WHAT THE HELL, JOHN BONHAM?
3. If Y’all Don’t Know Who Three Dog Night Is, I’m Gonna Cry
My cousin Amanda and I were talking last week basically about how our fathers have led more interesting lives than we ever will. At one point, she said, “My dad was friends with Three Dog Night.” I responded with, “Shut up.” ”No, it’s true,” she said. ”They were next door neighbors and they used to hang out a lot. He was with them when they wrote ‘Joy to the World.’” I flipped my shit when she told me this, and confirmed with my uncle. Yes, they were neighbors, and he overheard them writing “Joy to the World” while he was in his backyard.
I was so excited about this information that I immediately told my friends. Their response was, “…who?”
WHAT.
I’m not saying I have every single Three Dog Night album on vinyl or anything, but come on, how can anyone NOT KNOW who Three Dog Night is? Their song “Shambala” is one of my favorites. It’s one of those, “THIS IS GONNA BE A GOOD DAY!” kind of songs when I hear it on the radio.
Last weekend, when I was at the marathon expo, “Joy to the World” came on over the loudspeakers. I pointed to the ceiling and said, “See! Three Dog Night!” to my friend, who had previously expressed ignorance. ”OHHHHHHHH,” he said in recognition.
4. SUCK IT, BARRE CHORDS
I have been playing guitar for nine months now. I’m a very lazy student. I don’t like learning anything exceedingly difficult. Thanks to the coordination that I learned as a drum player, I could sing and play at the same time pretty much from the first day I had my guitar (which my friends hated me for). So that was one hurdle I didn’t have to work through. In keeping with my extremely lazy approach to learning, I have stuck to songs with chords like A, D, G, C, Em, or Am. If I see an F (eff) chord or barre chord, I skip it.
But lately, all the songs I’ve really wanted to learn how to play have barre chords, and the variations almost seem harder than the actual barre chord. So finally this week, I gave in, and decided to learn barre chords. I can almost make F minor sound good. The eff barre chord still sounds like a cat regurgitated my guitar strings, but I’m working on it.
So I’m finally learning barre chords. You win, universe. YOU WIN.
5. Concerts I Am Not Cool Enough to Get Into
I found out yesterday that Green Day was playing a secret show downtown. I’ve seen Green Day once and they put on a great show. It was my first show that wasn’t in the pit, so I remember watching the whole time, feeling incredibly jealous that I wasn’t experiencing the pit energy. Seeing them in a small venue sounded like it would be an amazing experience. I freaking love bands that go the secret show route. At least for Green Day, it proves that they aren’t as corporate as everyone accuses them of being.
Of course, it was sold out.
My friends and I also tried to get Radiohead tickets. Yeah, that didn’t happen. The website froze completely for the first five minutes they went on sale. Then you were fooled into thinking you were going to get tickets because you could choose what tickets you wanted. Then the website was all, “Oh haha NO, these are already sold out lololololol.”
Tap told me afterward that it’s not a terrible thing that we didn’t get tickets, because Radiohead apparently is only playing songs from their last two albums. I mean, their last album was decent, but I would have been incredibly disappointed if I saw them live and didn’t hear something like “Paranoid Android.”
Maybe one day, I’ll be cool enough to get into a secret or hot-ticket item show.
Yesterday I went to drum lessons. I’ve been working on “Bridge Burning” for awhile now, and yesterday was the first day where I didn’t completely suck at it. I have the verse/chorus down (it’s actually not a hard song), but I still haven’t mastered the beginning 30 seconds.
I went home last weekend to visit family, which gave me ample opportunity to practice this song on my mom’s drum kit (my dad was thrilled about this, as you can imagine). That practice was worth it, because my teacher noted yesterday that I had more control at the beginning. Then he sent me an email today that said, “Your playing is really getting a lot stronger. Yay!”
YAY!
I know it’s completely obnoxious to make a post that’s all “YAYYY I GOT A COMPLIMENT SO I NEED TO TELL THE INTERNET ALL ABOUT IT,” but I’m a shitty drummer, so any positive feedback makes me really happy. Seriously, that comment made my day. I will never be Dave Grohl, but I can at least not be Meg White. I’m even more pumped about getting this song down now and practicing more.
I’ve also started “Heartbreaker.”
I’m excited to be learning this song, because come on, it’s John Bonham, and Led Zeppelin is also one of the best bands ever. There’s a reason why I have their band sticker on my truck.
On the other hand, I can’t say I’m too excited about the 32nd notes that I have to do on the bass drum. Yeah. That is going to be a challenge.
