04_Ocotober 1977
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- OCTOBER 1977$1.75 Published Quarterly
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- BEYOND FOREVER: MD talks with LENNY WHITE by ARAN WALDLenny W h i t e was born in Queens, N. Y. and travelled to Forever. Excuse the forced pun, but it was with Chick Corea's Return to Forever, that Lenny made the reputation that engendered his foray as a solo act. "I got a call from a different guitar player every day for about a month," Lenny related. "When they heard about the breakup of R T F , they all wanted to play with me. There were some people who played better than others, but I was looking for versatility." That's the key word as far as his direction is concerned - versatility. Lenny wants the group - which was formed in the beginning of 1977 "to mesh into different kinds of styles, and to play any kind of music like post bop, space bop, jazz, rock - anything." That led to the discovery of different musicians who were at home in various phases of the music. Caught up in a busy schedule, Lenny and I sat down in a borrowed office to discuss some of the finer points of his musical career.
- Page 4Great artists. Great Drummer. Great Drums. Norlin
- Page 5Clifford rented the set and experimented with it. Within a month, he owned the set and was playing them in concert. "Red Hot," the Don Harrison Band's latest recording for Atlantic Records, features Clifford playing the full set of Toms and the Bass. "The only adjustment I had to make," says Clifford, "was to get used to the smaller heads. Each drum sounds bigger than its size. The six-inch Tom is one of the most unique instruments I've ever played, and the bass keeps going deeper when some conventional drums might loose their bottom end." Clifford went on to say that the smaller heads make for tight sharp attack, but that the sound stays tight and gets rounder and mellower, particularly in the bottom ranges. He claims he can get a bassy sound out of a small Tom. "All the Toms are loud, but they are not muddy," he remarked, "they turn out clear, directional, pointed sounds, but they don't hurt the listeners. I can get five Toms in the space I used to use for three conventional Toms. "They're integrated tonally, but each one is distinguishable, either live or recorded, so I can get a lot of movement on any track." (Clifford cultivates the image of an athlete. He is very active
- Page 6JUST DRUMS by ROB COOK Over 13,000 members of the music industry converged on Atlanta, Georgia, for the annual "NAMM International EXPO". For most exhibitors the NAMM EXPO is the major advertising and promotional event of the year; they naturally try their darndest to have new (or at least improved) products to introduce. Atlanta was certainly no disappointment for drummers in that respect there were new drums, new sticks and beaters, new pedals and accessories, new hardware, new cases, and exciting new electronics. 2 to 1 snare 12 lugs on the top head, 6 on the bottom.
- REMO DISPLAYED TWO NEW PRODUCT LINESThe Balter mallet company displayed new drum set beaters. Double thickness "Pin Stripe" heads for the "heavy" sound.
- Page 8ALSO R E P R E S E N T E D AT N A M M - LATIN P E R C U S S I O N
- THE SOUND HEARDALL OVER THE WORLD LENNY WHITE
- PETER ERSKINE (Maynard Ferguson Band)JOEY KRAMER (Aurosmith DIFFERENT STROKES FOR DIFFERENT FOLKS
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ALSO R E P R E S E N T E D AT N A M M -
LATIN P E R C U S S I O N
- ROGERS
- FIBES
- PREMIER
- NORTH
ASBA
LARGEST DRUM COMPANY IN F R A N C E Before you draw your final conclusions about what the NAMM-introduced products signify for today's drummers, where the industry is headed, and where it should be headed, it may be helpful to consider the comments of the proprietors of three of the largest percussion centers in the country — BOB Y E A G E R , of the PROFESSIONAL DRUM SHOP, HOLLYWOOD, C A L I F . There were a lot of very nice products, nice exhibits - a very good show. I handle all the major lines, so I don't want
.to hurt anyone's feelings by singling out specific products. The only plug I can think of is Joe Pollard's Syndrum. It's the first electronic drum that makes any sense. The others in the past have been all noise and distortion. MARTY LISHON, of FRANK'S DRUM SHOP, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS Overall, I think it was a good show - there was great dealer participation. There are a number of things that the companies could do better — all of the companies tend to confine the customer with stock drum sets that make him a drummer, not a total percussionist. If you look at the catalogs from 20 years ago, you see sets with accessories like temple blocks, etc. I think the companies should worry more about that than the skyscraper cymbal stand race. I think Larry Linkin of Slingerland really deserves credit for going against the "rock craze" grain with his display of marching percussion manikins. The endorsement thing has really gotten out of hand. I'd have 9 or 10 companies drag me into their booth and tell me the same people were using all of their products. There's very little credibility in endorsements anymore. I did see some new products with real potential especially the Syndrum. It's the first electronic device that really can make sounds like a drum. F R A N K IPPOLITO, of PROFESSION- AL PERCUSSION CENTER, NEW YORK CITY I couldn't wait to leave. The only reason I go to those things is to meet with friends who have drum shops . . . as far away as Hawaii. A lot of money was spent, and that's all the companies care about. There's no one there (at exhibitor's booths) that I can talk to about percussion; nobody really knows anything. You watch — the important innovations all come out of the big drum shops —then three years later the companies market the same ideas at a N A M M EXPO. If your local drum shop or music store cannot supply you with more information about the products reviewed in MD's N A M M EXPO coverage, write directly to the companies at the address listed below. They will be glad to send you literature, answer your questions, and in most cases send you the name of the dealers in your area who stock their products. AMBICO, INC., 101 Horton Ave. Lynbrook, N. Y. 1 1 5 6 3 ASBA, 1 1 , Rue H.-Barbusse, 94450 Brevannes, France M I K E B A L T E R M A L L E T S , 6 5 1 5 N. Seeley Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60645 DISTEX CORP., P.O. Box 958, Bremen, Georgia 30110 D U R A L I N E , 9014 Lindblade St., Culver City, California 90230 EVANS, Box 58, Dodge City, Kansas 67801 FIBES, 1500 New Highway, Farmingdale, L. I., New York 1 1 7 3 5 GRETSCH, 1801 Gilbert Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45202 LATIN PERCUSSION, 454 Commercial Ave., Palisades Park, New Jersey 07650 LUDWIG INDUSTRIES, 1728 S. Damen Ave., Chicago, Illinois 60647 McPERC, 475 Valencia, San Francisco, California 94103 NORTH DRUMS, c/o Music Tech. Inc. 105 Fifth Ave., Garden City Park, New York 11040 P E A R L DRUMS, 7373 N. Cicero Ave. Lincolnwood, Illinois 60646 PER DEL, 4466 Industrial St., Simi Valley, California 93063 POLLARD, 3749 South Robertson Blvd. Culver City, California 90230 PREMIER, c/o Selmer, Box 310, Elkhart, Indiana 46514 REMO, 12804 R a y m e r S t . , No. Hollywood, California 91605 ROGERS DRUM CO., 1300 E. Valencia, Fullerton, California 92631 S L I N G E R L A N D DRUM CO., 6633 MUwaukee Ave., Niles, Illinois 60648 SONOR, c/o Chas. Alden Music Co. Southwest Industrial Park, Westwood, Ma. 02090 TAMA, c/o Elger, P.O. Box 469, 16948 Winchester Rd., Cornwells Heights, Pa. 19020 STAR INSTRUMENTS, INC. P.O. Box 71, Stafford Springs, Conn. 06076