My backline tech with Sara is a dude named Kris Mazzarisi, a great drummer in his own right and a killing tech. A week ago in St Louis he set up a GoPro on the overhead mic stand combined with a line out from my ear pack and out came the footage below.
This kind of thing is super narcissistic, but I know a lot of people enjoy it. And I assume if you’re bothering to click on the link (let alone read my blog) then you might enjoy it also. I watched some drumcam vids from Lester Estelle a few weeks ago that blew my mind. Go check those out when you’re done here.
A few notes about this video:
– This is the first tune of the show, and I included the show intro… because I made it. I took the piano/strings/perc stems from the album version of the song we’re playing and cut them up to create layers of energy while we enter the stage. That was a fun thing to do, and it was even more fun to hear a track I made echo through the cool venues that we’ve been playing.
– I’m in charge of all the tracks in Sara’s show (which I why I have the stems) and so I dictate the specifics regarding click track and count-ins and what not. That’s my daughter Suzy counting in the first verse of the tune. She does all the count-ins because she’s my daughter and I’m in charge. Ha. Also, the click doesn’t have any accent to it because I’ve always preferred to hear every note of the measure equally, and I don’t need the click to tell me where beat “1” is.
– The mix is a direct copy of my in-ear feed (with a little bit of crowd mic during the intro), which is why the drums and click are so hot. Chris Morrissey, Sara’s Bassist, is straight down the middle of the mix, but his vocal is panned hard left. I don’t know why it’s so loud – I’ve never really noticed that before making this video. I should do something about that. Sara’s piano and vocal are also straight down the middle but not as loud, and that’s partly because they come through so much in the house mains. Also panned hard left is Misty Boyce on keys, but her vocal is panned hard right, as well as guitarist Rich Hinman. Our two cellos are panned right and left, Cara Fox and Claire Indie respectively. In addition to all of this are some minimal tracks: a light tambourine loop that comes in and out, some string reinforcements, and a few big floor tom and clap hits.
– Yes, I’m wearing a bow tie.
– The snare is my 5×14 Canopus ash shell cranked pretty tight, but the key ingredient to the tone is the goat toenails, which hang from the rack tom hoop via a magnet. That way they stay in their place on the far side of the drum head while still sitting there and muffling the way they’re supposed to. My tech Kris thought of that. He’s smart. When the tune is over I just pull the magnet off the rack tom and stick it to the hihat stand until I need it again. Genius.
– The album version of the song doesn’t have any crash cymbals but rather uses some metal pieces falling to the ground as a “trashy” sample. That’s why I use the ride stack above my hihats, which is a 22″ Traditional light ride with a 21″ Dark Energy mk1 ride on top of it. Stacking cymbals is a big fad right now so it’s cool to have a reason to do it, but Sara’s music definitely provides a REAL reason to use stacked cymbals, instead of just doing the trendy thing for trend’s sake. The other cymbals in the rig are explained here.
– At the very end of the video you can see Kris helping me with a snare change going into the next tune (my RD 7×14 walnut stave). I start the click right away so Sara can dive into the piano part whenever she wants to. That song doesn’t use tracks so there isn’t a count off to worry about.
28 comments
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October 23, 2013 at 11:17 pm
Erik Anderson (@erikanderson)
Great video and explanation. I coincidentally had my Westones in while listening, and took note of where you had things panned, before reading your explanation. It does really help with definition and separation.
Are you still enjoying the Alclairs? I am hoping to spring for a set in the next six months or so, though I haven’t chosen which model to get. I’d love the RSMs, but I’m not sure I can justify the cost. We’ll see.
October 24, 2013 at 7:29 am
Blanton
That kick sound is sick! What’s the setup? drum and mic/processing…
October 25, 2013 at 2:58 am
Steve Goold
thanks! you know… I’m not sure. 🙂 the drum itself is a 15×20 mahogany shell. the mics and processing are somebody else’s job. Ha.
October 24, 2013 at 8:46 am
John Blanchard
Great to see a cool behind the scenes video of a great track!
Thanks for sharing this, and including all the technical details behind it as well.
October 24, 2013 at 9:07 am
drycanada
is everyone else in the band hearing the click as well?
October 25, 2013 at 2:58 am
Steve Goold
yeah man.. everybody who wants it.
October 28, 2013 at 9:09 am
drycanada
Steve, please do more videos like this. They are great learning tools. Being able to listen to the track on the album and then go listen to your live performance and see how certain things are played or changed up. It’s great.
October 30, 2013 at 11:59 am
Steve Goold
Ok Derek! More coming soon!
October 28, 2013 at 8:09 pm
Bryan McWhite
I’m completely geeking about this. And I’m not even a drum geek. Just kind of a Steve and music geek.
Leslie’s comment (from the kitchen): WHAT is that BEEPing sound? Ugh…
October 30, 2013 at 12:00 pm
Steve Goold
Tell Leslie she can lower her click level in her own mix. Just talk to the monitor engineer during soundcheck. Super easy.
October 29, 2013 at 1:29 pm
robernst
Awesome video Steve! What interface do you run the tracks through? Basically, what gear do you use for the tracks? Rack setup, etc
October 30, 2013 at 11:59 am
Steve Goold
Hey Rob! I’m running a MOTU mk3 lite… but beyond that I’m not sure (as far as DIs or other processing on the board). The Ableton-MOTU combo has been bullet proof for me. Never had an issue.
October 30, 2013 at 12:21 pm
robernst
Awesome man! Thank you so much for the response!
October 30, 2013 at 9:42 am
Tracey
Steve, it sounds like there are some hand claps sounding when you whack that floor tom. Is there a loop playing behind the band, or are you triggering that sound when you hit the tom?
That’s a fun video, and I really like your groove on that song.
October 30, 2013 at 11:58 am
Steve Goold
Yeah dude… a light tambo loop, some tom hits, and some clap hits are what’s in the track. The track content varies from tune to tune… many have nothing at all and a few have pretty thick track layers.
October 30, 2013 at 2:59 pm
alexanderyoungdrums
I couldn’t help but notice you don’t have double kick OR a china. This video is still pretty cool though…
(I love the recurring floor tom fill and how you integrate it and the off-beat hats to the bridge groove.)
October 30, 2013 at 3:49 pm
Steve Goold
Thanks Alex. I was thinking of YOU when I realized I forgot my dbl kick and china. And thanks for noticing the floor tom thing… I’m proud of that one. 🙂
October 30, 2013 at 3:47 pm
camdrum
Awesome, your snare sounded sooo good! Where might one find these goat toenails? Thanks man!
October 30, 2013 at 3:50 pm
Steve Goold
Hey man! You know… I got them at GC years ago. I mean, like 15 years ago. No idea where to get them these days.
October 30, 2013 at 3:58 pm
camdrum
Haha okay, sorry, don’t wanna bug you too much but are these close to what you’re using? http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003ZJKUVM
October 31, 2013 at 2:24 pm
Bill R
I’ve seen the goat hooves things around. I own a version made out of seeds instead of hooves. Does the same thing. Found them years ago at GC. I use the rope that they are attached to to hook over one of my bolts on the rim. But I think I like the magnet idea. That would be slick. Any closeups of that, Steve?
October 31, 2013 at 3:38 pm
Davide
Steve, what was the thing on the snare?
October 31, 2013 at 4:18 pm
Daniel Rirvera
This video is really awesome! Gave me a really good understanding a reaffirmed that my set up is on track with the pros haha. I am using Ableton with a Presonus interface to trigger scenes that have a click and some samples. Do you just trigger with the laptop keyboard or do you use any footpedals? If you do us footpedals, what would you recommend? Thanks!
November 1, 2013 at 7:55 am
Alex Ángeles
Great video & great explanation!!! Regards from México 😉
April 22, 2014 at 1:50 pm
Matt
Does the entire group get click in the ears? Are there backing tracks in sync?
April 23, 2014 at 9:05 pm
Steve Goold
Yes… to both. But the level of the click (or anything else) all depends on the preference of the player, because we all get our own mixes.
April 23, 2014 at 9:41 pm
Matt
Cool. Thanks for the reply Steve. If you’d be so kind, do you guys run a set sequence start to end or will you trigger one track at a time? Last one, can’t imagine it happens much but, what if you guys get off? Kill switch? Guess it’s not a big deal if no backing tracks. Thanks!
May 4, 2014 at 10:36 pm
doug k
Do you have earphones in/on both ears? Do u ever take them off after a while and your cymbals sound harsh ? What is creating the click track ? I use the Tama RhythmWatch (?) but it’s too soft and I need a “Boosteroo” to make it louder, sometimes it’s not loud enough.