How to Drum Cover Confetti by Tori Kelly - The 80/20 Drummer

I'm not a hipster when it comes to my music tastes. I don't listen to much Mumford. I dig The National, but I'll usually skip over them to listen to Brotherly or Erykah Badu.

We musicians have two big biases: virtuosity and nuance. It's like chefs with sweetbreads. That's my theory at least.

Here's my point: I like Disclosure. I like Seal. And I like Tori Kelly. I guess she was on American Idol or something. I have no idea. But she can sing her ass off, and she plays the f*&% out of the guitar. She's a better drummer on the guitar than 99% of drummers I hear. And also, I first heard of her through the Guitar Center Drum-Off. That's enough to get you thrown off the hipster "force" on its own. ("Sorry, but I'm gonna need your shield and your weapon.")

Anyway, Tony Royster featured Tori at the 2015 Drum-Off finals, and they played the song that I'm going to feature in this lesson: Confetti. It's a great song to cover for a few reasons:

The original is drumless.

It's got a great pocket that's challenging to lock up with.

It's got an odd meter section you can pull out your chops over;)

A lot of people do drum covers, and a lot do lessons, but for this video I wanted to do a hybrid. It's kind of a "cover with commentary".

Anyway, here’s the transcription:

For the comments, are there any drum or music-nerd tracks on your playlist you’re afraid to show your hipster friends? Actually who am I kidding. You guys are probably all hipsters;)

Anyway, what’s on your playlist? What music are you getting inspired by?

N

Dana Hawkins Lick from the Christmas Shed - The 80/20 Drummer

I work best when I absorb new vocabulary in small bits. Think of a house that’s finished, painted, and furnished. You want to build an addition: I prefer a small addition, that I finish before I add anything new on. Reason - you’re using that house for guests constantly, and don’t want six months of “down time” with missing walls and contractors using your bathroom.

It took me about six weeks after NAMM to return to a baseline from which I could improvise again. I’d bitten off a lot of new vocab from folks like Forrest, Chris, and Maison, and was digesting as quickly as I could. Long story (as it usually is) short, I surfaced some time last week, ready to get after it again, and one of the first things that piqued my interest was the floor-tom-hi-hat-lick from Dana Hawkins’ rendition of OC at the Christmas Shed.

He was doing something different. Something I couldn’t recognize right away. In other words, perfect fodder for a Lesson of The Week.

Anyway, here's the transcription:

For the comments, are there any licks stumping you currently? What are they?

N

DRUM Q AND A 2 - NATE ANSWERS VIEWER QUESTIONS

I can't take credit for the idea for this week's lesson.

As you may know I've started sponsoring the Drummers Resource Podcast. It's been fun to hear my ads over interviews with people like Mike Johnston, and it's been a nice kick in the pants to make sure my lessons are on point for a bunch of new eyeballs Nick's sending my way.

Anyway, it's not like I've never answered questions on the 8020 channel. I did a Q and A session last summer. But none since. And this week, with at least 3 collaborations looming and most of my energy spent reshooting some intro videos, I was wondering what I'd talk about on the weekly lesson when I happened to tune into Drummers Resource, and Nick was answering listener questions.

So, idea: stolen. Thanks Nick.

This time I took to Instagram, and folks there gave me plenty to talk about.

Wondering what I discussed?

Get the lesson Here.

For the comments, do you have responses to the viewer questions as well? Let's keep the discush going.
 

Three New Gospel...Licks...for Drums - The 80/20 Drummer

Whatever you call them, the things gospel drummers play are here to stay and we love them.

I recorded this week’s lesson the week after returning from NAMM. Let talk a little more about that experience -

The NAMM show itself, as I remarked to my buddy Mark, is like “The Guitar Center From Hell.”

But it was the group of new friends I made, not the event itself, that made an impression that’s still burned into my memory. The feeling of belonging to the Drum Dojo, even as a white belt. And I’ve been torturing drummers much better than I with iphone videos and “virtual sheds” ever since. (And they - to a one, and to their credit - have been humoring me.)

So this lesson is a direct side effect of that spirit. I would be experimenting with something I was pretty sure I heard Sean Wright do (but which was probably not exactly it, but that’s okay too cause invented something new and individual), then pull out the iphone and shoot it over to one of my new drum buddies. The best few made it into this lesson.

Anyway, here's the transcription:

Also, quick news item: I’ll be in Austin on Memorial Day weekend and would love to do a clinic. I’ll keep you posted.

What should the new name for Gospel @#$% be? Leave a comment below!

N