Mercury, for Sleeping at Last

Last month I had the pleasure of recording the Motor Rhythms set for a song entitled Mercury, by a talented artist named Ryan O'Neal.  Ryan is from the Chicago area, and has been writing and recording music for years under the name Sleeping At Last.  His current project was released on September 17th, and is called Space 1.   It is a 6 song EP drawing upon the solar system for inspiration.

You can find out more about Ryan here.....     Sleeping At Last

and check out the Space 1 EP on iTunes.

The Forgotten Foot lesson series part two

Here is the second foot pattern in The Forgotten Foot lesson series.  It is a three against four poly-rhythmic foot pattern.  Feel free to ask questions.  Enjoy!

Drum kit of the Month!

Next time your at the local book store or music store pick up a copy of the newest issue of Modern Drummer, and flip to the last page. There you will see that Motor Rhythms is the Drum kit of the Month for January 2013, and the cover article is about Vinnie Coluita, so that alone is worth checking out.

I want to say a big thanks to all the guys at MD for the interest they have taken in Motor Rhythms, it has been very cool.

The Donating Drummer

I read about an awesome guy this week and wanted to pass his story along.  Mark Powers is a percussionist who has stepped out of the box and created an amazing idea called The Donating Drummer.  You can read all about it at his site, but the basic idea is that he donates his own income from a gig to help someone else create, solve, learn, build, teach, or anything else you can think of.
So click below and think up something to submit!

The Donating Drummer


You can find out more about Mark at his personal website.

Powers Percussion

The Forgotten Foot lesson series part one

This is the first of two posts which will feature short lessons from my drum book, The Forgotten Foot.  The book was published in 2011 by Hal Leonard Publishing.  The lessons will give a brief look at some of the material in the book.  Each part will cover a different foot pattern; a triplet foot pattern, and a three against four foot pattern.  The first lesson is the triplet foot pattern.  Enjoy.   You can pick up a copy of The Forgotten Foot HERE. 

Build Your Own Octobans

It has been a little quite around the Motor Rhythms shop since the SoundWalk performance in September, but there is news about some magazine articles.

First off, in early October I had a photo session and interview with Hot Rod Magazine for a one page feature in an upcoming issue of the magazine.  It will be in the 'Hot Rod Anything' section, and it is due out early next year.

The Motor Rhythms drum set is also going to be featured as the "Drum Kit of the Month" early next year in Modern Drummer.

Currently, in the November 2012 issue of Modern Drummer I have an article on how to construct your own Octobans or tube toms using PVC pipes.  Here is the cover and the article from Modern Drummer.

SoundWalk 2012

Over Labor Day weekend, at the beginning of September, Motor Rhythms had its first public performance.  The kit was selected to be part of SoundWalk 2012 in Long Beach, California.  SoundWalk is an annual event featuring performances and installations that all explore sound.  I had a lot of fun playing and interacting with everyone who came out.
 

This was the best audience of the night.