Drum Hang

Wow. I’d never heard of drumhang.com until Chris McHugh posted it on the Facebooks just now. Streaming today is a video of a recent clinic Chris did in Nashville. Great stuff… but I have to say that I don’t really understand the tendency for drum clinics to revolve around watching the drummer play along with tracks. I’ve got a mountain of live show dvds for that. Personally, I’d much rather hear him speak more about his philosophy/approach, and the various things he’s learned through his experiences. He does some of that, but I can always go for more.

PS… note the video’s deft spellcheck on the “tuning” question…

Nashville Drummers Project

Hey everybody.  We had the first Go Fish show of the summer at the KTIS festival last weekend and it went great.  The award for sounding super good at the festival goes to Brandon Heath’s band.  They played right after us, and my man Josh Robinson was making it happen and looking good doing it.

I grabbed drinks with Heath’s band afterwards and had a chance to meet and hang with a very good dude named Dustin Ransom, a multi-instrumentalist from Nashville who was playing keys with Heath.  Dustin runs a Tumblr blog called The Nashville Drummers Project, full of interviews and information on some of the lesser-known players in that town (i.e., not McHugh/Needham/Cromwell/Leim/etc).  I’ve been reading these for the past couple days and learning a ton, not to mention getting inspired.

PS… Speaking of McHugh, he posted this picture on FB a few weeks’s ago.  Um, that’s just the LEFT SIDE of his kit…

Want To Own Some Of Chris McHugh’s Drums?

A dope 80’s Gretsch kit in some killer rock sizes appeared on the Nashville Craigslist on Tuesday, turns out they’re owned by McHugh. You all know my respect for that guy and his playing, but alas… the financial landscape at the Goold house doesn’t allow for purchasing a kit like this right now. Dang it.

Next best option: somebody from the blog purchases it so I can get a first-hand report on how they sound! Ha. Of course we know they sound awesome, no doubt having appeared on many of the records for which we all know and love Chris. I spoke with him on FB about it for a little while the other night and he vouches for their authenticity as his kit… not a rumor here.

Think about it. Pray about it.  I’m talking to YOU, Dan Noraker…

UPDATE: Well, nevermind. Chris just told me he sold it already. Sorry for the tease!

Chris McHugh vs. Matt Chamberlain

I am sitting in the 7th Street Entry right now, listening to this band called The Daredevil Christopher Wright. I have to say, they are very cool. Eccentric, but cool. You should check them out if you ever get the chance.

So, I’ve been on this Chris McHugh kick lately.  Man.  Just love that guy.  The recent Keith Urban record is killer, and same with the last two Rascal Flatts records.  However, after much listening, I’m still liking the self-titled Owsley record as mt favorite Chris McHugh performance, as well as Keith Urban’s previous album (Love, Pain, and the Whole Crazy Thing), and I included both of those records on the AEDSK list.

Anyway…

This post is just a presentation of a theory I have after listening to Carrie Underwood’s 2nd album, Carnival Ride.  McHugh plays on that record, which is of course why I’ve been listening to it lately, and why I’ve taken to theorizing about it.  However, the interesting thing about that record is that Matt Chamberlain plays on it too, but the tracks aren’t labeled as to which drummer played on what.  The liner notes read simply, “Drums: Chris McHugh, Matt Chamberlain.”  So, I’ve spent a ton of time trying to decifer which drummer is playing on which track.  Actually, my 4-year-old daughter Betty really likes Carrie Underwood, so the truth is I’ve spent far more time than I care to admit listening to Carrie Underwood.  Let’s just say I know both her albums top to bottom from memory.  And… after all this listening… I’ve come to a conclusion about who is drumming on each track.

I think Chamberlain only plays on track two, the radio single called “All-American Girl.”  That’s it.  The rest of it is McHugh.  I’m saying this because only “All-American Girl” exhibits any Chamberlain-esque playing, and all the other tracks have very signature McHugh moments.  Feel, tones, patterns, sequences, fills… these two players have VERY finger-print characteristics, and I’m pretty confident at this point about my ID-ing track two as the only Chamberlain track.

So, my theory is this: the whole record was tracked in Nashville with McHugh (and all the other usual suspects for A-list Nashville records).  Then, “All-American Girl” was discovered last-minute as a viable song for the record, and it was deemed necessary to be included.  McHugh wasn’t available for the session, so Chamberlain did it.

Makes sense, right?  I think so.  Give it a listen and tell me what you think.

Chris McHugh…

… is one of my favorite studio players. The session at Masters Studio yesterday was for a rock-country record, and I found myself constantly referencing McHugh’s playing as I worked through the songs.

I’ve looked for clips of him on youtube before and not had much luck, but it turns out all you need to do is search “Keith Urban” and there’s suddenly tons of footage of McHugh in action. This is the best one I found.