Gavin Harrison at PASIC 2008: Double bass "patterns" in odd meter feels, Q & A

[spiderman170383]

"Here I am playing this in front to Derek Roddy", haha, classic. But one of the few drummers I respect because he's not full of himself and plays well at what he knows. Would love to meet him one day if he ever comes to Australia.

[DrummaMan75]

That was me that asked the question about his bass drum being so punchy!!!!!!! I was in the front row.

[DanDeePee]

im a guitarist and drummer, and an amp really doesnt sound great (especially when with a band) unless its turned up loud, then you get the punch from the cranked up speakers and wood movement and it sounds delicious

[aldodarin]

he doesn't think of himself as a double bassdrum player................ WHAT IF HE DID?!?

[bohdaaanek]

@aldodarin it would be the serious hell :D

[xavierpaquin]

@aldodarin *mind blown*

[ben10sk8r]

@aldodarin what then indeed. what then indeed....

[zudzowne]

@aldodarin Hahaha, lol!! He is not from this planet!!

[GeneralMillss]

It's very simple conceptually, yes. But man, simple to play my ass.

[xavierpaquin]

@GeneralMillss hehe

[jadey1928]

"It's very simple to-"

No, stop right there Gavin. It is not simple

[DrumsofEternity]

G; Here im playing this in front of Derek Roddy..

D: Sounds great !!!

[Thermingt0n]

I like how his lower floor tom makes the camera shake, it adds a good camera effect to the heaviness and drama of his playing =D

[manifestgtr]

Gavin: I'm no derek roddy

Derek: no you're actually good

hahahahahah

derek roddy is the man...he's humble and a fucking monster behind the kit

[thecooldrummer]

Only plays singles, fuck me he's a machine

[wjdsmith]

" I am not thinking about playing those notes"... damn...the guy doesn't even have to think to play his drums. Guy could probably eat, drink, have a conversation, watch t.v. and talk on the phone and play the shit out of his drums......just sayin!

[1991ant1991]

The Yoda or Gandald of drumming, I swear!

[godzillafireman]

Why are people comparing derek roddy with gavin? I don't think one is better than the other, they have different strengths. Derek's is the metal genre. Gavin's is softer, odd meter music. Both great players

[Maecenas22]

This man is insane. In the very best sense of that word.

[david30918]

holy shit

[corey0881]

When Gavin said "Unfortunately I'm not Derek Roddy", did someone say "yeah You're actually good" with Derek Roddy in the crowd?

[conjigalo]

@corey0881 I think it is Roddy who is filming this. I know i can hear Derek speaking.

[erikimba]

@conjigalo dont think so, Roddy uses Vater sticks not Vicfirth like the video :), maybe he is just next to the camera man

[evilcarnies]

@corey0881

Derek Roddy said that.

[KingZerxst]

Hahaha, Gavin is infinietly better than Derek Roddy as an overall drummer.

[Jamonga100]

not bad for someone who's 'not a double bass drum player' !!!

[DutchDrummerNL]

haha i love how he talks about his snare "when i blow up a snare drum" or "bottom head's gone" he says it like its a thing that happens very often. i've never "blown up" my snare before... and i play metal XD

but still my favorite drummer...

[shaygahweh]

GOD!

[SmileysRevenge100]

@shaygahweh And before the first day, Gavin Harrison created God.

[beneqisrael]

this video should show his feet

[blackzeus298]

Machinegun.......

[Dojadilomi]

4:25 - 8:46 , I don't understand xD Perfect drummer :D

[ldtdrums]

Mr.Harrison makes it look and sound so easy. pro.

[benboy19]

4:28.... WHAAAAAAAAAAT!!???

[Philzwhodrumz]

Love the sound of universal mumbling agreement at 7:27 haha.

[Philzwhodrumz]

6:09 That sound could kill a small child.

[Azured665]

@Philzwhodrumz More like at 9:20. LOL

[Philzwhodrumz]

@Philzwhodrumz That's ten children.

[kwinkzpower]

I was there, and yes to answer your question that was derek roddy saying " yeah your actually good "

[allstar550]

@kwinkzpower I thought that it sounded like him, he is such a jokester :p

[bsonor]

it's his use of accent that appeals to me...changing the accent makes a simple pattern sound funky and even complex or difficult when it's not...he was using one hand...and doing some really cool stuff with 3/5/7 etc.

[VerdiKtagrad]

@bsonor meh

[sp00naz]

So good

[VladjarK]

i'm hearing some "tractors" there man :D

[TtAbrams]

I love how everytime someone plays fast hertas on double bass, it's automatically "lol he's playing bleed by meshuggah"

hertas were around before that song came out, people

[SimenNaess]

@TtAbrams the real funny part is; that is not how the bassdrum in bleed goes!

[ElectricTurkey1]

@TtAbrams Oh my god, you read my mind...

[ransisua]

@TtAbrams really, hertas on bass drum is really really rare, especially for entire freakin song.

[thickpooxbox360]

@TtAbrams yea but thats what got it popular

[DrummaMan75]

@TtAbrams

That's right...Billy Cobham was doing WAAY back, then Dennis did it, now Carter does it.

[thickpooxbox360]

4:47..... what a douche....... have some respect

[LooEeeGee]

@thickpooxbox360 That was Derek Roddy that said that....

You hear him at the end as well saying "That was great!" after Gavin mentions him.

[thickpooxbox360]

@LooEeeGee haha thanks man i thought that alright when i heard him say it near the end :P

im just used to people taking the piss out of derreck and metal drummers by saying they can only play fast

[w9jon]

@thickpooxbox360 i think it is actually derek roddy who shouts that

[dakkar182]

@w9jon it is.

[STIXAHOY]

@thickpooxbox360

hey - I thought that -  the douche you mentioned was actually Derek himself. Taking the piss out of himself. it sounded like Derek.......really

[soundmind529]

I love how Gavin explains his approach to double bass drum playing. He makes it so easy to understand, and he only uses singles, leading with his right foot. In my opinion, thats the best way to play because it simplifies the variations in patterns you can play. Fastest? Not even close, but then its not about speed. He is showing everyone how to use a double pedal as a foundation for creating a solid groove or fill on a drum kit.

[MrNusecus]

he and anyone else can say what they like, but he is possibly the fastest double bass ive ever heard. and ive heard ALOT

[Humanoma]

I love double bass drumming but why in the hell out off all the chances that you get would you want to ask Gavin Harrison about it? What a waste of a great opportunity.

[ned2one]

@Humanoma People have come to see him, and they're probably into the music he plays and he does a lot of double kick stuff in those songs so I guess they wanted to know what he knows about double kick or at least how he plays... If people wanted to really know about double kicking they probs would have gone to a double kick show...

[DEVILCHILDFUCK]

3:32 Neil Peart's techs. ;)

[DRAG0NSIN7]

you people do know derek roddy was the one roasting himself right?

[Toshfunk]

That guy tryign to suck off Gavin every time he mentions Derek Roddy is so annoying....

[olliemedsy]

@Toshfunk you think derek roddy is annoying?

[Toshfunk]

@olliemedsy no, i thought my comment was fairly straight forward?

the guy in the audience is annoying

[olliemedsy]

@Toshfunk yeah derek roddy. he's jokily talking about derek roddy 'cause he's in the audience you fucking idiot

[Toshfunk]

@olliemedsy hahah, dont call me a 'fucking idiot' you child

WHEN YOU STILL DONT UNDERSTAND MY COMMENT

just shut up and leave it

[olliemedsy]

@Toshfunk yeah i do get. you don't get it! gavin is complimenting derek roddy 'cause derek is in the audience, and derek is also the "guy trying to suck off gavin" in the audience.

[olliemedsy]

@Toshfunk having difficulty there?

[Toshfunk]

@olliemedsy well really i didnt think it was worth arguing about

i find it hard to believe, i mean no matter who it is its not really funny so i assumed it wasnt derek

as for you, you really need to get a life

its pretty sad to be following up so much on your youtube debates

[olliemedsy]

@Toshfunk oh, i forgot dereks a comedian aswell as a drummer

and have no life? i barley have anything else to do at 11:30 pm

[thedigitalemotion]

Those bass drums sound like machine guns, excellent!

[mathcoreable]

So much wisdom on this vid!

[neelshiv]

Gavin is great, but I could have done without that douche bag stroking his cock from the front row.

[Sashamanxyz]

Derek Roddy SUCKS!

[gremlinkiller95]

@Sashamanxyz HAHAHAHAHA funny. Watch his NAMM vids.

[lvmdrummer92]

@gremlinkiller95 I can hear it's his voice

[hobes9]

i would absolutely love to have the honor to be there and listen to him

[allmetaliswelcome]

so he get's that sound by putting a HUGE pillow into it? gotta try that

[sparkles67]

@allmetaliswelcome i hate the way his kick sounds, clicky click.

[allmetaliswelcome]

@sparkles67 i just love it! i like clicky bassdrum sounds, but not triggers. like this sound has the nice big sound of a bassdrum.

[jeppekibsgaard]

He plays Bleed by Meshuggah 9:20

[CristianTejadaU]

1:33 oh my god, he can move the drum!!

[drumswhilegolfing101]

hes so right.. guitarists allways bitch about drummers being too loud and ruining the mix and i'm allways saying if they would maybe turn their amp down to 8 for a change drummers wouldn't have to be loud... just saying.

[JonasNMaximus]

Laughter @ 0:17 is hillarious

[KINGOFMETAL767]

@JonasNMaximus lmao im dieing. good find.

[HenriTrakinasXD]

i love how the camera shakes, especially when he hits the floor tom

[FeckledDoofer]

Did I hear someone say "That's sick!" at about 1:57?

[4revdrummer]

does anyone know what song thats from at 4:20???? thats an awesome lick.......

[TheOmegaeyes]

Lol @ the fanboy telling Gavin he's "actually good" compared to Roddy, two completely incomparable styles. What a greatly humble dude Harrison is in addition to being a phenomenal drummer!

[Blackmark456]

@TheOmegaeyes That was Roddy speaking mate :)

You can tell his voice from a mile off.

[TheOmegaeyes]

@Blackmark456 Okay, it stumped me as well as some others apperently, hahaha!

[astroandyborgloh]

When it matters, choose Gavin Harrison! He's the man!

[XxSharkBatexX]

At 9:15, it's like there's a horse galloping through the room! :D

[rittiedrummerol]

I like when musicans are inconspicuous with their awesomeness, it reflect good things as a person, and the personallity reflect other things when are playing like the maturity, to understand everything is in benefit to music.. (specially drummers) to not always saturate with everything "you know" in a song to try to impress? or be the fastest one, or things like that.. and particularity with Gavin thats why I ENJOY listen to him, the drums in their music just flow...

[BananaBobCheeseHat]

@DzagielAreq the guy in the crowd.

[InsanityType66]

by 2:23 i jizzed in my pants o.O

[jeffdrummer]

Gavin Harrison genio del tambor !!!!!

[metabog]

Wow, he's a great speaker.

[aligatorsandwitch72]

....Who told Gavin about the website?..

[MetalMaggo]

the only possible replacement for mike portnoy...

[Arapuk]

@MetalMaggo No way! Gavin's way too good for Dream Theater!

[InstinctualJealousy]

@MetalMaggo Sean Reinert and Gene Hoglan....

And many more.

But Gavin's among the absolute best, for sure.

[rockster07]

@InstinctualJealousy not familiar with Gene Hoglan, but I can easily say Gavin Harrison and Sean Reinert are both much better than Portnoy. llol

[XxSharkBatexX]

@rockster07 Porntoy is just a good drummer with a big kit. Harrison, Hoglan and Reinert are infinitely better and more creative than him, no doubt about that.

[InstinctualJealousy]

@rockster07 Gene's more of an extreme metal drummer (rather than jazz/all-around prog), but his accuracy does work well for progressive stuff.

[derekfairley]

Didn't know it was Roddy making the comment...now that's funny!

[MALSIV]

I love how the camera shakes when e play the base drum :D

[kikme778]

omg the drums sound like an earthquake

[Rickles]

Lol about the guitar amp joke, My drummer, Is all about big huge loud drums. He can't get enough. I have a solid state amp which sounds worse the louder it gets.., He also always plays with ear plugs, then complains he can't hear the guitar enough... Needless to say, We practice at deafening volumes...

[derekfairley]

That was a very insensitive comment about Derek Roddy made by the unknown person in the audience. I don't known Roddy's playing but am pretty sure he's better at what he does than the unknown person in the audience. I think that if you can't do better then keep quiet and be respectfull. Make sense?

[bradthebassdrumkicka]

@derekfairley That unknown person was Derek Roddy.... he was baggin on himself

[c0uchp0tat01]

@derekfairley the guy who said that was derek roddy haha he was there

[jez12]

@BananaBobCheeseHat

No.

[TheMakyoura]

@jez12 no he is saying he is really good 'cuz he is saying derek can play supper fast double bass without filling his bass drum

[MikePostDrums]

@BananaBobCheeseHat No, he's saying Roddy is a ridiculously fast drummer. To play speeds like Roddy, you need to be Roddy.

[salord09]

@BananaBobCheeseHat

nah he's givin him mad props, u can actually hear derek in the crowd

[BananaBobCheeseHat]

@salord09 no, i mean the guy in the crowd...it sounds like he doesn't like Derek R.

[salord09]

@BananaBobCheeseHat oh i didnt hear that part, wat a dick lol

[BananaBobCheeseHat]

@salord09 yeah sounds like a real dill-hole.

[nordmarkrieger]

@BananaBobCheeseHat

No, he says you need Derek Roddy to play what he's talking about the bass drum

[Werowarnar]

@BananaBobCheeseHat he's sort of praising him actually

[AllInDrummer]

@BananaBobCheeseHat "so i have to relly on other tricks"

[the23drummer]

@BananaBobCheeseHat

Derek Roddy is in the audience. He's saying Derek's much better than him.

[BigRooster747]

@BananaBobCheeseHat  he should have, derke roddy is no drummer at all just an impotent banger...

[themadtapper]

@BigRooster747 thats what i thought. roddy has some amazing skill, he just is stuck in metal and so his true rhythms can't be expressed, metal is extremely limiting to a drummer.

[chrisfrenette91]

@BananaBobCheeseHat of course not... roddy had just played before him

[olexiykolias]

@BananaBobCheeseHat I guess he said: "to do that kind of thing you need Derek Roddy"

[bombsawaydrums]

@BananaBobCheeseHat I think Gavin payed him more of a compliment then anything. Somebody in the crowd said Roddy wasnt good. Gavin said "you need Derek Roddy for something like that." someone in the crowd said "yea your actually good." Both completely different drummers, but both very good in my personal opinion. I do enjoy Gavins playing more as I think it is more musical.

[lvmdrummer92]

@bombsawaydrums actually it's derek roddy himself who says that gavin is actually good :)

[bombsawaydrums]

@lvmdrummer92 Thats pretty sweet, but how do you know?

[Mjbabycakes7072]

@BananaBobCheeseHat

He's saying that Derek is a superior double kick player. Someone in the audience was attempting to stroke Gavins cock by making that comment. Both excellent drummers. And I commend Gavin for being humble.

[lvmdrummer92]

@Mjbabycakes7072 actually it's derek roddy himself who says that gavin is actually good :)

[punk9999643]

9:24 Bleed by Meshuggah. Haha. This drummer really is fucking awesome.

[billzan0]

he can play with one hand...

[alfotis]

What would happen if he actually thought himself as a double bass drum player?! His pedals sound like machine guns!

[scarred2112]

"I don't really think of myself as a double bass drum player."

I suppose that's true if you think of that as players whose "main technique" is playing double bass, but in all other respects...

GAVIN. IS. WRONG!! ;-)

[MrDeppness]

Machine gun bass pedals!!

[MrDeppness]

His drum kit sounds awesome and I like his bass drum sound.

[Ozkca]

lol at 0:18 ahaha

[2010ditta]

All the times that I have watched this video I still wish that there was a camera on Gavins feet showing him doing the double pedals. Just to see what his feet were doing.

[FractalFiend]

I love how he straight up says when he isn't good at something. How he only plays the singles, he's amazing.

[MALSIV]

Wow, what an underrated drummer!

[drummerkid904]

this helped, i'm working a lot with 5/8 lately and the fills are giving me hell

[dwdrummer1991]

his kit sounds like shit and his bass drum sounds like its triggered

[drummerkid904]

@dwdrummer1991 agreed

[maidenfan10210]

@dwdrummer1991 I know you must be asked this all the time, but I feel that I must know. Are you fucking retarded?

But really this stupid fucking trolling of yours needs to stop.

[SlavesOfNil]

@dwdrummer1991 I lol'd

[jonesn4drums]

@dwdrummer1991 I'd take a Sonor SQ2 kit over ANY DW kit any day! DW is by far the most overrated and overpriced equipment out there.

[dwdrummer1991]

@jonesn4drums You're fucked then, if you think Sonor is seriously better than DW. Sonor is beginner drums, intermediate at best, at pro prices. DW's may be expensive but they're worth every penny.

[jonesn4drums]

@dwdrummer1991 I guess Gavin Harrison, Thomas Haake, Steve Smith, Danny Carrey, Mikkey Dee, Benny Greb, and several other "beginner or intermediate" drummers must disagree with you.

[dwdrummer1991]

@jonesn4drums Funny, I've never heard of more than half of those drummers. Try Neil Peart, Tony Royster Jr., Danny Seraphine, Dave Abbruzzese, Marco Minnemann, Terry Bozzio, and Peter Erskine, renowned pro drummers for a long long time who know which drums are the best. In the end i guess sound is subjective though so I guess this argument is pointless anyway.

[Jaythedrummerman]

@dwdrummer1991 Its not the drum its the drummer bro. I know guys who make 200 dollar drum kits sound like your 2000 dollar DWs just by how they tune and their technique.

[punk9999643]

@dwdrummer1991 You're just saying that cause your opinion is fucking biased as hell. Sonors are great drums, as well as DW.

[tritonboy13]

@dwdrummer1991 Couldn't disagree more! As far as I'm concerned, this guy has a really amazing sound. Full, rich tone combined with punchy dynamics and great balance between the various drums and cymbals. I can't think of many players with a better sound, plus he definitely does NOT need triggers to make a bass drum sound right. ;)

[shortperson1026]

@tritonboy13 Yeah a lot of people are too lazy to put some good drum heads on their bass drums, and tune them properly... so they just use triggers :/

[fabioadias]

"Very simple".

Holy shit. LOL.

[drum1805]

Got to meet Gavin a month or 2 ago, he's a superb gentleman and fun to talk drums with. About as down to Earth as hanging out with an old friend. He really LOVES to talk drums, and gets excited to talk one on one with drummers. A true inspiration!!!

[LHondrums]

what does he say @ 5:18 .. outfront what? need to know..

[jez12]

@LHondrums "...out front, sound engineer gates it just a few milliseconds."

[thispagesux]

anyone who likes those double bass grooves, try this pattern. its easier than it sounds. RLR L RLR L RLR L RLR L RLR L. repeat.

or RLR L RLR L R L RLR L RLR L R L. repeat.

[BertRunars]

@thispagesux The 1st one is a rip-off of ''Bleed'' by Meshuggah.

[thispagesux]

@BertRunars, meshuggah didnt invent it. there were guys playing those grooves long before thomas haake did.

[BAAH4000]

he is the super drummer!

[hindisux]

9:23 - 9:26 ........ thts the double bass for meshuggah-bleed

[drummerkid904]

@hindisux

wrong, meshuggah is 4 with diff accents