New DVD Clip of Legendary Drummer Mike Clark: Loft Funk

[Lugak14]

those drums sound crazy excellent.

[evilmurderproduction]

um....complaining about tone..on a low quality digitally compressed video, well let's just say the term retard doesn't do justice

[jibsmokestack1]

Head sounds a bit like 'Freedom Jazz Dance'.

[1012egg]

MIKE CLARK IS THE DRUMMER IN CHARGE OF THE ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM!

[TLGDrum]

What ride is he using??!

[1012egg]

@TLGDrum

I think it's an ol' Paiste Black Label 2oo2...

[dagostinoification]

MIKE CLARK restera pour moi une référence primordiale! avec DAVID GARIBALDI ils sont des maitres du contrôle des ghost notes et des .décalages rythmiques.DIDIER D'AGOSTINO BATTEUR/COMPOSITEUR FRANCAIS et professeur de batterie au conservatoire de ballainvilliers 91 et en écoles privées.(site officiel:didier-dagostino-batt­eur.fr) VIDEOS SUR YOUTUBE ET DAILYMOTION. NOUVEAU :didier d'agostino test une nouvelle batterie en acrylique sur YOUTUBE. 

[EXALTEDDIRT]

Dennis Chambers is where it's at!

[59drumsrumpf]

advanced funk, floating free ..

[ZCsternchen]

shiny shiny cymbals *_*

[Loqucious]

I wish that main beat could be charted out and posted.

[ralfodrum]

It's that musical bass drum sound that a lot of jazz guys like---I play an 18'' BD but it's 17'' deep and on a lift,so I get a fatter sound.I do like this BD sound on some jazz gigs,I use a 16X16 BD for that sound,Not a rock sound,but it has it's uses.

[noisyneil]

why does everyone post "wow, for a white guy..." type comments? it's not as if funk is a genetic predetermination. it comes from exposure to good music, encouragement and hard work. it actually only gives black musicians less credit for their musical innovation by pretending it's just "in the blood".

[tyleryesta1]

I want that kit! what a great sound

[djphonics]

I'm sorry but that kick sound on the recording sucks even for a tight/open jazz tuning. It's realy the room doing it IMO.

REGARDLESS still a killer funky groove. Clark is the funkiest white drummer ever.

[bretzelesser]

OK it´s prominent in the mix but you seem to know little about different "kicksoundcultures"

Ever listen to Jazz? I recommend to listen bevor you write comments like this.

[numbbum85]

Haha. I love that facial expression at 3.16-17 "Well this is about as exciting as a comatose turd". Amazing. Mike kills on this tune.

[pampdog]

a delicious, tight groove. yummy-yum.

[troutmask1970]

if u like jazz the kick sounds great

[wowserstar]

You guys need to check out the soundman vs Jazz drummer video on youtube. It explains the jazz drummer kit for all you who don't get it about the bass drum sound.

[donaldshultz]

FYI that's an 18" kick and Mike gets an incredible kick sound. What you're hearing is probably a bad recording of it.

[numberonesuperman]

Brilliant Mike Clark is the man and great supporting artist as well

[bassgoose]

How about all you cats tune your bass drum the way you like it and let him tune his the way he likes it. Enough said. Enjoy!

[drandrummer]

Rudimental mastery with such a smooth funky effort....what STYLE!

[AshDrums7]

This is amazing.

[Delbonete]

nice cymbals ! anybody knows what they are?

[FUTUREPR00F1]

when i look at his left hand i just think 'that's not fair, that's cheating!' and sob

[tdude129]

this drummer is really good but the kick drum is just horrible seriously

[slap70s]

There is no better funk beat drummer! For 40 years this guy has been blowing my mind.  You young guys out there.....learn from this dude.

[groovemerchant19]

What's with all the ballyhoo about tuning ? So he's playing funk on a bebop kit ? Get over it ! What a slinky, funky-ass groove. Mike's one of the pioneers of this wonderful marriage of styles. Open ya' minds.

What kind of crash is that to his right ? I love it.

[groovemerchant19]

What's with all the ballyhoo about tuning ? So he's playing funk on a bebop kit....get over it !! Open your minds. Mike is one of the pioneers of this wonderful marriage of styles. Thanks for posting. What incredible feel and those cymbals! What's that crash to the right of his ride ? I love it.

[mminer58]

Great playing, and I can live with the kick drum sound. In fact, I accept it for what it is: his way of expressing the bass drum in this video. If he had wanted it muffled he could have done so easily. Yeah, I like the sound...digging it!

[mrpicky510]

Bad Miking on the bass drum but fanatical drumming

[philateliceun]

that kick drum actually sounds like something, not like some wet towel is being thrown on the ground.

[paulwall1981]

I am not big on Jazz, but this guy so damm good. He is like solid on the groove. He makes every note count. Very good indeed.

[whitecastleawesome]

love the old school playin, not diggin the old school tuning though

[Sauron191]

I don't agree with you Heffsta02 ... he WAS the funkiest white dude EVER!!

[TubeMebro]

Great playing but that kick sound makes me feel embarrassed for you

[dagostinoification]

mike est passé dernierement dans la super salle de concert de ris orangis LE PLAN 91130!je lui ai offert ma méthode:groove basse-batterie avec pascal sarfati.il a apprécié!lui le maitre du funk!didier d'agostino sur youtube.

[8iamretarded8]

would be great if someone could explain how to achieve such a full tone openly resonating kick in a recording. batter heads/tuning/mic placement??

[TheDrumShed]

Bitchin'!!!!

[framamaas]

The kickdrum is great!! what do you listen to???? Metallica???

[scatterac]

I saw him in 78 at the bottom line with brand x, he was awesome in deadly nightshade!

[hwoodj20]

Actual Proof-ish

[drumpro85]

saw him at Kent State Univ. in 1980 playing w/ Brand X. Incredible

[freddysouth]

kick sounds hoooriblee!

[guitarjuncky2]

Killin' Mike!

[pearl7p]

that's pretty damn funky!!!

[drmmr456]

nice....wat ride is that?

[tellezluis]

Mike Clark & David Garibaldi

Funkiest White Men Alive (FWMA!!!!)

[HippieDrummer06]

how the FUCK does he just switch grips like that??? I dont get it.

[Stikit2M]

TheJkirsch... try closing your eyes and listen... he's right on. Outstanding track.

[TheJkirsch]

I am NOT trying to cheapen this track here. mike clark is a legend an innovator at his craft, It is a remarkable feat to remember 9 minutes of ANY material and lay it out totally clam free. nevermind something like this, he's an amazing drummer, this is an amazing track. i'm a drummer so i know what it feels like when your locked in and then you just fall of the rails for a millisecond and have to get your brain together. the track didn't suffer believe me, but he DID step on a clam. it happens

[TheJkirsch]

i'm not critiquing him either! i just related to that feeling of ripping through something just to have a little smudge at the end. it happens to everyone, and he strikes me as a perfectionist. i bet if you asked him he would say the same thing.

[TheJkirsch]

haha when he messes up at like 9:06 you can just see his face like "are you kidding me" he ripped through 9 minutes of amazingly intricate yet dirty ass funk just to step on a clam with like 30 seconds to go, argh!

[hardhitter0421]

Love that B3...miss the days when keyboard players use to carry on in their car...I just hated moving it at the end of the night. However, nothing is like the Hammond sound. great snare sound for his touch.

[GlitchHalo]

God of funk drumming. lol!

[VassilisPhilippou]

Cool !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[3chocolate3clock3]

my man's left hand is OFF thee hooookk

[JoeHeiderGuitar]

Mike is doing a master class and concert at my college tomorrow. I'm Pumped!

[JoeJacari]

Yes!

I heard this solo coming from my neighbor's computer and began to sing a song of my Alabama Apple home-style flapjack days.

I started flailing my arms like a funky jazz chicken, or turkey or whatnot.

My neighbor's wife came over and said who's that drumming? Sounds like he's been playing for a while.

I said, ahh, some Manhattan cool cat with smooth licks & flip stick tricks and kicks on the bass drum thumpin' Thumper Rabbit sounds.

She kissed me & said, "Baby you're hot!"

[jdosia]

Mike is the man- wish he still had his fro!

[Heffsta02]

I would love to jam with Mike. Possibly the funkiest white dude ever??

[Yamah12a]

@Heffsta02 - maybe but david garibaldi and steve gadd are very close

[MikeDrumsForFun]

@Heffsta02 David Garibaldi ;)

[Heffsta02]

@MikeDrumsForFun David would just laugh at how I'm not Rocco. :(

[brazilianbankrut]

MUITO ANIMAL... Esse cara é um deus do funk.... 2:53 é um momento especial..... keep it in the pocket

[Dragspelarn23]

Agree! sounds like shit!

[acdceric12345]

that kick sound is fucking terrible. it sounds like my first tom.

[tesnexus1]

tuned for feather bass bro. its supposed to be a subtle sound that you can only notice when it stops. and i bet if he really kicked the thing it would sound nice.

[branthehun]

haha dude do u understand the a true jazz player who played way back will have their kick sound like that

[moogoogaipan]

@acdceric12345

You sir, are an idiot

[et720]

@acdceric12345 Thats the way those jazz guys like it!

[catchme123581321]

yea its called a jazz bass drum you idiot !!!!!!!!!!!!

[wolfpack9iloilo]

@acdceric12345 It's jazz tuned bass drum my friend..

[gdbdrummer]

@wolfpack9iloilo You don't have to tune your bass drum like that to play jazz, a lot of guys just do. There are plenty of other guys who don't however. There's no such thing as a "jazz-tuned bass drum." The same goes for toms.

[wolfpack9iloilo]

@gdbdrummer its probably how you see it. a lot of guys that plays has overtones and don't muffle anything. I know there's no such thing as jazz tuned but you might research on how traditional drummers tune it..they love overtones and a lot of ringing. It depends bro, if u are more of a traditional jazz player, you would prefer this tuning. try to here art blakey, elvin jones, this guys love overtones.

[whvaugn]

@gdbdrummer Technically that's true, but it's widely accepted that jazz kits are tuned higher- specifically toms and bass. Also, bass tuning for bebop jazz usually tried to make the bass sound more like part of the family of toms- so it would just sound like the next biggest tom. Art Blakey did like to tune his drums so "you could hear the pygmy's"- at least that's what I've read. Kit tuning really can be VERY genre specific but it doesn't have to be either.

[gdbdrummer]

@whvaugn It is indeed very common for jazz drummers to tune their drums higher those in other genres- I don't disagree with you there. I simply dislike the term "jazz-tuned" because it implies that it is somehow mandatory to tune a certain way for a certain type of music. Historically, the high tuning came about simply because a higher-tuned drum projects more than a lower-tuned one. If playing without amplification in a large room, it makes sense to tune higher regardless of genre.

[whvaugn]

@gdbdrummer I absolutley agree- I'm not too fond of the term "jazz-tuned" either- the room and the context (other than genre- ie mic'd or not) are huge factors when tuning. I always tune a bit higher when I'm not mic'd up and need to "cut through" a bit more. I'm a bit of a drum geek, so I love playing with tuning to get different sounds out of the drums.

[gdbdrummer]

@whvaugn I'm with you there- I am always trying different tunings as well. I think that Mike Clark would play exquisitely no matter how his drums were tuned, and folks familiar with his playing will know, as I'm sure you do, that he has tuned his drums all sorts of ways over the years, and it hasn't diminished his playing a bit.

[sketchbager]

@acdceric12345 jazz bass drum.

[Shadowfury]

@acdceric12345 fucking herp derp, ur fucking retarded. well, no shit sherlock.. u stupid mother fucker. umad bro? this is a jazz kit so the tuning is a bit different, especially the bass drum. u need to fucking die u fucking whore

[acdceric12345]

@Shadowfury look up the tuning for jazz kits you little fuck, the kick is supposed to be tuned to a low crisp thump, not this street boogey shit hes got going. and didnt you fucking hear him say this was funk not jazz? and GTFO LOL ROFLCOPTER UMAD BRO NEW FAG LOLoLOL SAGE LOLOL OP IS A FAG HAHAH I BROWSE 4CHAN BUT I JUST TROLLL AHAHAHAHA ANANYMOUS!!!!!!!!!

[d3v4]

@acdceric12345 it's an old school drum sound character, it's not all the time bass drum sound have to be muted like new RnB kit, and it's another kind of Art expression too... have a lovely day! :)

[sweetfly66]

@acdceric12345 .... its not terrible , its just a different sound ... you are probably used to that really processed studio sort of DW controlled sound ....

[TubeYouScreen]

@acdceric12345 I dig it.

[punk9999643]

@acdceric12345 Just because his bass drum is a smaller size and ISN'T dampened/compressed to fucking hell doesn't mean the sound is terrible.

Lrn2Jazz, idiot.

[DancesWithNarwhals]

@punk9999643 That's not the way small, undampened bass drums sound. That's the way his tuning is.

[DaMadBlaqDrumma]

@acdceric12345 that kit is tuned for jazz

[salvador75]

@acdceric12345 Sounds more like a recording issue...kick is not mixed real well.

[phillips90210]

@acdceric12345 that's the reason I dont like jazz kits!! you right that bass drum sounds nasty!!

[Wooton7]

@acdceric12345 why would your tom sound like a bass drum?

[TIMMYDEEZ]

@acdceric12345 Its a jazz kit. If you play alot of bop, that kick sounds amazing. The acoustics go well with an upright bass. I hate the sound before playing jazz.

[sweetfly66]

@acdceric12345 .... its not terrible , its just different than what you are used to hearing . Frankly i am sick of that dull thud totally controlled sound typified by DW drums .... I really like this wide open bass drum ...it sounds like a real drum

[PrimusRush311]

@acdceric12345 Your first tom must sound terrible. That's a Jazz sounding kick btw.

[PrimusRush311]

My butt hole tightened up at 4:17.

[Pastiche7]

that sextuplet hat/snare work is dope as hell bro. again at 5:23!

[Illadelphism]

@PrimusRush311 HAHAHA. Awesome comment. Well done, sir.

[ackeiswetter]

Man he's gots some hands, what a touch. Love the four piece kit style.

[TheDrumma42]

that is serious shit. his hands are flawless!

[hinchman12]

damn he so tight

[Phantomedge]

what time signature is this song in?

[Bueller007]

I'm not a musician, but I'm pretty sure it's just common time.

[sumpe8erosmuzak]

it's an 8/4 great funk groove!!!

[stixx2000]

Appears to be 4/4 with a 2 measure "phrase".

[epasurr]

Im lvoing the kick drum sound, in a way, its a nice substitute for the sound you get from a double bass

[winnerbaby44]

yeah: go die

[NickoMcBrainRulez]

i sounds like the bass drum is triggered

[JayWaterman4000]

Isn't this Mike the drummer the guy who stole all of Gerry Gibbs music and musical styles.

[JerryBeatFreak]

Haha ;)

[thebeastishungry]

that kit has the perfect sound for what he's playin'...

s(l)ick groove...

[garapolo]

brilliant. genius. killllin it!

[jomaroal27]

soy de Costa Rica por eso escribo en español. Para mí Mike Clark es de los grandes bateristas de la historia. De los verdaderamente buenos. Cualquiera que quiera criticar solo tómese un momento y oiga ACTUAL PROOF. Gracias por toda esa carrera maestro!

[xronderful]

i want his chops..

great pocket!!

i really love the jazz sound.

[insanedrummer89]

just sounds like your bass is a floor tom lol

but u kick my ass, so congrads!

[jenko701]

Great drumming ,Bass drum sounds like crap.

[DaveCayo]

I can't stand the kick. Lower the tone, but keep the sustain, and I'd be dancin'.

[dougiebdrums]

man... if this doesn't free your ass up burn your sticks 'cause you've got no soul.

wish i could get after it with half the class as this cat.

[ADrock4321]

Mike Clark is a God and everyone should recognize... Off tune? Nope. Jazz/funk tuned my friends. Puuuurfect. If i see any negatively critical comments on this or any other Mike Clark videos i will; well i suppose i won't do anything really, but you losers will know who you are. Percuss and Discuss bitches!

[torylelandkirgiss]

Amen brotha.

[torylelandkirgiss]

i get goosebumps when that saxophone line starts

[gauchoheavy]

This playing reminds me instantly to Tony Williams. Not only drumming, he is also doing percussion work here.

[PS9rugby]

disgusting bass sound

[SqueakySpeedKing]

Big, bold, baddass drum sound!!! The ideas are even badder.

[billpeart]

great groove!!!

[zebonaut]

Cool, i only knew him from Brand X ("product " and "do the hurt?") and he played great stuff on these, much much weirder and harder than this stuff.

But this is very very cool!

[Sammo2988]

I love the sound of that snare.

And the other parts... maybe he likes that kind of sound, that's ok.

Anyway... is a drum master!!!

[Superterrestrial]

I despise that bass drum sound...it's so floppy..and his toms sound way too high for me. So, I can relate.

[bsm6776]

standard jazz tuning buddy

[Apocalypsesnowboards]

The bass to?

I dont know but i never heard that kind of sound before, but im not an expert on jazz tough

PS srry for bad english, working on it ;)

[ChazzLyons]

Awesome..

thanks for posting!

[palisse38]

Are those all Zildjian K Constantinoples ?? Oo what a sound

[SqueakySpeedKing]

Those are the Paiste Traditionals. Newer versions.

[nehansan]

a jazz drummer putting a pillow in his bassdrum... i don't think so.

problem here is horrible youtube audio distortion added, and maybe mic placement could have been better.

[Superterrestrial]

and possibly the tuning could have been better.

[LOUD7]

Bong,bong,bong,bong.AHHHH.For the love of all man kind put a pillow in that bass drum.I know i know to each his own.....but bong,bong,bong, is driving me CRAZY!!

[DylanK811]

hahaha coated heads do the trick too if u tune em properly. my ddrum bass drum has coated and its got no ring...i jus got some centennials too with coated on the front and it sounds perfecct

[fiddlercrab3]

Yeah, but you've gotta love bong hits... ;-)

[maciekomis]

i dont like that bass drum sound.

[pitman71]

It is definitely with it being ripped from the dvd. I just watched the actual dvd last night and it sounds a lot better than this

[kdista1]

it's a sound "vintage"...if you don't like vintage's sounds you don't like this sound hahaha

[tweakersmith]

that bass drum is stretched tight. just listen to that thing. whoom. works for him

[jkfar12]

this guy is a master

[AshDrums7]

I'm cringing.

[PlasmaFire3000]

Proficient in both matched and traditional grips. Nice!

[daehyun]

Great playing. Expresses the groove into the pocket, flows very smoothly. loving it!

[shadeofgrey07]

that snare is crrriiissspp!!!

[NDiesel31]

who gives a fuck about his drum sound. pay attention to the groove! some people...

[rjoyce021]

drum sounds also make the groove.

[martinezsuastegui]

I love how he tuns his bass drum tight without any muflling. When he drops bombs they are sweat...

[cuthbertallgood711]

that rim shot goes right through my skull.

[iteletnap]

great drumming but i hate the sound of those toms and bass drum :(

[DDriensky]

this isn't related to this video, but the combo of mike clark and bill summers is AMAZING, then you throw paul jackson in on and bass - now THATS funk

[phatphace]

I didn't fully understand the purpose of the intro to the song although once the groove was established the depth of the pocket became huge. I also liked the way his drum sound complements the style of the music.

[mechmove]

Nice stuff! I like the drum sounds and the traditional playing, it goes well with the style of music.

[whatshendrix]

It's called sNAre, not sANre ;)

[jipbouman]

Oh man that was sweet! I don't like the sound of the bass drum, but that's just personal

[jamesgarvey12345]

diggin the drum sound

[paradiddle1]

I always like when musicians talk about when they moved to this or that city to further their playing...it's quite inspiring...love it.

[checkabreak]

drummers ALWAYS got something NEGATIVE to say concerning how THEY feel about SOMEBODY else's SOUND....... RAWK Mr CLARK !!!

[jumborat12]

Maybe that's just his style making the bass drum sounds like that

[tubagirl93]

that is an aewsome sounding drum set!! I bet the bass drum sounds great live!!!

[cryptopsyskully]

his playing is very interesting but i have to say tuned loose or not, his bass drum sounds awful, it sounds like an out of tune tom mixed with feedback from a bass amp. and his cymbals are yuck too, i once (a very long time ago!) owned a set of omega cymbals (if you are thinking of buying omega cymbals, i beg you to rethink) and after i had literally ripped them to bits after the first few weeks of having them they sounded like the cymbals in this video

[420jaymac]

again ..hes a jazz player, a very talented jazz player, the bass sound is purposley placed to be on its own frequency.. its not rock where the bass guitar and bass drum are very similar and are hitting the same low end frequency, so what sounds awful to you is actually a very proper manner for a jazz drummer. neither the drums or cymbals are bad what so ever ..you are obviously unfamilar with this genre and style

[willrise]

I agree in some respects; but it is a bad recording, you can hear the distortion on the kick, which isn't a particularly classic jazz sound now is it?! Bet it sounded awesome in there. Absolutely amazing break that he's playing, what a legend.

[420jaymac]

the only distorted sounds i hear, if any, are from a dvd being ripped to a computer, then compressed for size and uploaded to an online server and lost quality amongst the journey of this wonderful clip

[PlasmaFire3000]

I agree, the DVD rip probably clipped the volume. Otherwise, the vid would've sounded even better than it does right now.

Something about having the bass drum in tune with the Hammond is just...right. Superb grooving.