Monthly Roundup #3 - May '18 — Ed Chisholm Drums

May was another busy one, but a lot of fun! Variety was certainly the flavour of the month this time around, with a theatre show, some jazz, some church related events, and then drum tech'ing on a festival to wrap it all up! Here goes...

The first week of May I was on a theatre show doing a mixture of songs from different musicals. There were songs from shows such as West Side Story, Sweet Charity, Kiss Me Kate, Les Miserables, Little Shop Of Horrors, Rent, We Will Rock You and more, so as you can imagine if you're familiar with any of those shows, that's quite a variety! The challenge was switching from being in the mindset of one genre straight into another, be it rock, swing, pop, latin-ish or something more orchestral to name but a few, and going from reading cut-time show feels to swing, and odd-time percussion parts into straight ahead rock - however, it was a challenge that I really enjoyed! The band was relatively large (10 piece) and we didn't really have any connection to what was going on on-stage, so I did my best to try and keep my eyes on the MD and anchor everybody. To my delight, one of the brass players commented on how "grounded" the band felt with me on the kit, so that was the best compliment I could have hoped for in that situation! As I say, the wide musical variety that the show covered made it good fun!

While I was in the area doing the show, I booked in a lesson with Frank Tontoh (drummer for Amy Winehouse, Joss Stone, Craig David and more), as he's someone who's brains I'd like to pick on diving deeper into some of the finer stylistic details, particularly in the world of soul music and some different strains of latin. We had a great first session together getting to know one another a bit better, and planning out our course of action - watch this space for some updates on what we get up to!

At the end of the that first week with the show etc, I was invited to play over at my old church in Seaford on the Sunday morning, which was my home for the best part of 6 years or so! It's a smaller church that currently meets in a school hall, and so the idea of a drum kit seems a bit scary to some (let alone when they see a microphone in the bass drum and an overhead!), but it was a really nice opportunity to play very differently to how I normally have to - taking a much more "percussive" approach. There was a time when I played something like this week in, week out, but it's been about 2 years since I moved from the Seaford site to the Eastbourne one - and there it's all drum screens, close-mics, in-ears and talkbacks - so the complete opposite! But as I say, this made a really nice change. The highlight for me was getting to be in a band with my wife, who sometimes sings in church!

The second week was a gig-free one, but the teaching of course carried on and I had another lesson with Andrew, where we've been trying to nail the details of playing jazz time and shuffle patterns recently - even just a crotchet pulse at times - who knew there could be so much to think about with playing crotchets?! ;) But in all seriousness, having someone like Andrew listen to your playing and make you aware of things that you may not have noticed yourself is really liberating (if not a little scary at first when your weak spots are exposed!) - but it really reveals what needs working on, and indeed what the important aspects of being a drummer are!

Week three featured a Wednesday night jazz gig (trio plus singer) at a wonderful Italian restaurant... Made all the more enjoyable by the wonderful Gelato enjoyed during our break!! It's been a lot of fun playing a bit more jazz lately, as a lot of what I practice is jazz based, with the theory that if the jazz stuff is happening, everything else will follow!

That weekend I was away playing on an event called Thy Kingdom Come, again with my friend Pete James and the usual band (from Spring Harvest etc). We were also joined by a string and brass section, a gospel choir, and to top it off, an organ! It was a really special one, as it's not often that all those worlds collide (in my experience, at least!) - it was certainly powerful when it all came together! Practically for me, it was an interesting one... We were in a stunning venue (Methodist Central Hall, Westminster), but admittedly one that was probably originally designed more with the organ and choir in mind than a drum kit! So, I had to be sure to "play to the room"... As mentioned, there were a lot of people involved in the music from various backgrounds (not to mention the congregation!), so it rather fell on us in the band to anchor it all. With that being the case, I tried to stay mindful of the room I was playing in, and to keep it simple and solid so that everyone involved felt confident and comfortable with their time. That said, we decided not to play most of it to a click (with the exception of a couple of songs that were played with tracks), so that we had the option to move a little if necessary, rather than fight it! All in all, it was a really special night and one that was a pleasure to be a part of. Name drop alert; we had the Archbishop of Canterbury with us for the meeting (with the event being an initiative of his, as far as I understand), and the event took place on the Sunday - the day after the royal wedding which he conducted. He didn't say so in as many words, but I'd like to think we were the highlight of his weekend...! ;)

My setup from the Thy Kingdom Come event (managed to get a picture before the screen went around me!)

After another week of drum lessons, May finished and June began with a festival called Big Church Day Out, which I work as the in-house drum tech on. It's a lot of fun for me, as I'm able to unleash my inner gear-nut and spend the week tinkering with lots of lovely drums and meeting some incredible players! Essentially, my responsibilities there are to be based on the main stage of the event and ensure that all the drummers playing are happy with the backline they've been allocated and help them get comfortable, then to keep an eye out during the show for any drum emergencies! The way it works is there are three drum risers in play at any one time (or four when it really kicks off!), so while one artist is on stage, there are two kits being prepped backstage, and they rotate throughout the day. There are two days of the festival in Steyning for BCDO South, then two days in Macclesfield for BCDO North (with a few prep days thrown in too). Where South was all about getting the drummers comfortable and finding them gear they're happy with etc, North is about getting all the kits ready based on the drummers spec from South, using the help of my notes and photographs. I actually really enjoy the challenge of trying to replicate each drummer's setups the second week, and generally they're really impressed with how close we get them, and always massively appreciative of the support. Also, sitting at all the different setups often leaves me itching to get back to my own drums and try out something new, be it tom setups, cymbal positions or electronics. At the moment, I'm liking the idea of flipping the 14" and 16" floor toms around so the 16" floor tom is in the first position. Could be fun! Also, feeling the itch to try playing a bit more with a second snare to the left when space allows! Here's a few kit pics for those of you interested!

Antwane McMullin's setup with Crowder - although we added a splash stack over the rack tom by showtime!

Overall it's been another busy, varied month! It's been a lot of fun, especially the drum tech'ing at BCDO which is an annual highlight for me, but I must admit, I'm a bit knackered after all that and June isn't looking any quieter! Thanks once again for checking in, and as always, I hope someone out there is finding this stuff interesting! Let me know if so! Until next time, all the best! Ed.

Ed's Drum Diaries

Ed’s Drum Diaries

Monthly Roundup #3 - May '18