What makes them tick? I don't know. No idea. Drummers have always intrigued me, I guess partly due to the fact that they do something I never ever could. It's like I watch them and I feel like whatever they're doing can't be that hard, but then whenever I'm handed two sticks and sit behind that drumkit I realize I have absolutely no clue what to do next. I mean, what do you hit first? How hard? How many times? What's that pedal for? How do you tell cymbals apart? I don't know. Still, I love watching a good drummer at work, I love listening to Burn and I think Mackie might be the coolest human being that has ever walked this earth. So in order to gain some more insight into the mind of the drummer, I asked a bunch of questions to a bunch of awesome drummers. First up is one of my favourite human beings on the other side of the big pond: the one and only Shawn Foley. I love Shawn's style, dude goes all out. Doesn't matter whether he's drumming, getting stoked on Down in a live setting or drinking Red Bull. Blacklisted put out on incredible album called "Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God" a few months back and are currently touring Australia. 
Please give me your name and age, list the bands you've drummed for and tell me how long you have been doing that thing you do...Shawn Foley. 26. Decomposed (First band I played in while I was in High School). Punishment. Blacklisted! I've been playing drums since I was 15.
What made you decide to become a drummer? Was there one particular drummer that inspired you to pick up those sticks? Dave Grohl, John Bonham, Keith Moon, Tre Cool. Those drummers made me want to be a drummer. My mom played a big part in it too. She asked me when I was around 14 or so; "What do you wanna do with yourself, you should have a hobby or something"... So I told her that I wanted to play drums. Around 15 is when it became a serious obsession.
What was your first drumset? When did you get it? How did you pay for it?My first drumset was actually practice pads that I duct-taped to big cans, that was when I started gettin' the chops down, the first real kit (non-practice pads) was a put together kit that I had. It consisted of: one kick drum, one floor tom, a snare and like one hi-hat and a cymbal. I don't know how I paid for it, I think everything was trash picked! Haha.
As a drummer, how big do you think your influence is on the sound of a band? When you write songs with your band(s), is your role limited to providing the beat or do you also hum riffs or base songs around drum patterns/beats?I like to do more than just "provide a beat". Sometimes I hang back and just lay down a solid pattern, other times I feel as though the drums should be as important as the guitar, vocals etc. Every drummer that has inspired me has played a huge role in his band, so I like to think that I do the same. There is a certain way I feel as though I play and that if you threw someone else in the mix it would be easy to hear and say "That's not Shawn playing". I have drum parts that I create and I hear in my head how the rest of the music (especially the guitar) should play along with that. So I do hum some riffs sometimes and make the guitar player feel out a riff from listening to my drum pattern.
Do you feel like people often forget how crucial a good drummer is to a good band? I know a drummer that told me that no matter how good you are, you'll always be overshadowed by the guitarist and the singer... Is that so according to you?No, not at all. In every great band, every member stands out in his own way. You gotta make a name for yourself as a drummer because while it's true that the drummer can get forgotten about, it's only true if that drummer lets himself be forgotten about. Hit hard, play tight, make it look so easy that anyone thinks they can do it, but the truth is it's an illusion. Not everyone can do it. Zeppelin broke up because they knew that they could NEVER replace Bonham. Not every Zep song is hard but it's the way he played them that makes it hard and ultimately makes him impossible to replace.
Out of all the records you've drummed on, which one are you most proud of? Why? Does that also make it the best record you're on, or not?I'm most proud of "Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God". Not because it was a stand out record for me on drums but because it showed (to me at least) that a drummer could be an important part in writing a good song. I feel like a lot of them drum parts on that record went beyond being good drum parts but stepped into the area of being important to that actual song. Even if it was just the way I played a kick drum pattern and how it matched the vocal line, it's all relative.
Standing up on your drumstool midset... Is that something you've ever done or would do? Done it, did it - whatever. Sound And Fury 2006, the lights came on and I was on top of the drum throne then I jumped down off the throne and we kicked into "Eye For An Eye". It's documented on the Sound And Fury 2006 DVD. That's my Tommy Lee / Vinny Paul influence shining through there. Haha.
What makes a gig awesome for a drummer? Is it playing tight as fuck and not missing a beat? Is it the overall vibe? Is it crowd response and energy? Just being on stage and playing the kit as hard as I possibly can does it for me. It's the vibe too, if I'm feeling really loose and good and I'm executing great fills and rolls then I feel like I'm on fire and nothing can stop me. Also a big part is acoustics. If the drum set sounds like shit on stage then I tend to hit harder for some reason in hopes that doing that will make them sound better? I dunno. All that does is make me tired way faster! Haha. If the kit sounds great on stage and I can hear my kick and snare loudly and proudly then I feel fuckin' great and probably play way better!
Do you singalong a lot while playing live? What's your favourite song to sing along to?"Canonized". I sing along a lot to certain parts, not every part, but a lot of times I sing to myself but "Canonized" is my jam that I always sing along to.
What are some of your favourite drummers ever? What sets those dudes apart from everyone else out there? How about current drummers, who's good? Who's got the chops?Dave Grohl will always be my favorite drummer ever and people that know me know that fact about me. His drumming is so easy to pick out, you know it's him from his drum sound to his beats. His drumming on Queens Of The Stone Age's "Songs For The Deaf" was a huge influence on me when writing "Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God". Tommy Lee has also been a big influence on me in the sense that he puts on a show man! He flips his sticks and snaps them off the snare and they fly up into the air (a trick that I just perfected on this last tour) and then he catches them when they come back down. I just seen that band Torche a week back and I really like their drummer. He hits hard, is solid and his kit sounds great! Three wishes for any drummer!
We all know guitarists sometimes "borrow" riffs from other bands... Do drummers sometimes "borrow" drumbeats or drumfills? Have you? What exactly did you "borrow" and where can we hear the result?Hahahaha, ahhhh Bjorn you're trying to get me to reveal my secrets huh? All I'm gonna say, and I stated this above, is "Songs For The Deaf" by Queens Of The Stone Age was a huge influence on me while writing and recording "Heavier Than Heaven, Lonelier Than God".
That's it. Thank you. Any closing comments or shout outs? Thank you dude. Play hard, play loud, play with confidence. Care about your gear, take pride in what you play. Shout outs to you Bjorn for letting me talk about my most favorite thing in the world for a little while. Peace.
Ries Doms, the octopus from Holland, has been in a huge amount of bands and is one of those drummers that you can watch throughout the whole set without even looking at the rest of the band. I met Ries in '00 when my old band crashed at his house in Tilburg, Holland. All I remember was that his shower didn't have a curtain. Now he has his own website. Life's crazy like that. Hooghwater recently put out an awesome CDEP, a review will be up here soon.
Please give me your name and age, list the bands you've drummed for and tell me how long you have been doing that thing you do...Hey, my name is Ries Doms and I’m 28 years old. I played for numorous bands over the past 10 years such as Reaching Forward, The Uncontrollable, The Spades, Bars, Powervice and I am currently playing for The Hydromatics, Hooghwater and Betonfraktion. It all brought me some interesting experiences and to some interesting places to say the least!
What made you decide to become a drummer? Was there one particular drummer that inspired you to pick up those sticks? I got my first toydrum when I was about 3 years old, I ruined it within’ a few hours and my dad figured he had to come up with something more professional to get things going. So for my 4th birthday I got a snaredrum. Then over the years I got an additional drum every birthday to end up with a complete set of drums when I turned 7. I went to music school from that age until I was about 18 years old. When I was about 7 years old my dad took me to see Dutch jazz drummer Han Bennink live. He played very free and very energetic and it made a huge impression on me. What I didn’t know was, that he was way ahead of his time playing this free and improvised music. So eventually I figured there was no way I would see anything like that any time soon. Also the recorded live version of "Get Ready" by The Rare Earth made a huge impression on me, together with the Woodstock and Santana records that I found around the house.
But getting in my teens I turned into this little angry boy, I got interested in heavy metal and eventually into hardcore and punkrock. I wanted my music loud and bought my first record: Deep Purple – "Live In Japan" when I was about 12. I didn’t have any "heroes" at the time, because I was just captured by the force and energy of the music. I didn’t care who played it, I just wanted to listen to bands. Then when you get older you kinda morph into a more open minded person, and from there I really started to learn from music and got more indept with it. Funny thing that happened to me was when I rediscovered The Who. When I was a little kid I knew The Who was this band that kicked over all their gear at shows, and then my dad bought the “Tommy” album and I couldn’t believe this band was supposed to be one of the wildest bands ever. That was a bummer! Then years later my friend Erik T. (Erik "Tilburg" Van Hest, Dutch hardcore/punk style icon, ex-Justice riffer and composer of "Light In The Dark" - ed.) figured out that Black Flag stole a couple of riffs from The Who and it turned out that they were the greatest rock'n'roll band that ever existed.
As a drummer, how big do you think your influence is on the sound of a band? When you write songs with your band(s), is your role limited to providing the beat or do you also hum riffs or base songs around drum patterns/beats?I think that people aren’t aware of the influence a drummer has on a band. Mostly because it’s not a melodic instrument, but also because it’s locked into a rhythm section. Drums are the backbone of a song and therefore I really believe in the idea of "less is more". A drummer doesn’t need to show all his chops in every song. A good rhythm track is the secret to the vibe a song has, it’s all about energy and drive. As a drummer you need to feel the music more than any member in the band. If you let it slide the whole band will sound sloppy or even worse: static. My role in the band usually depends on which group I’m playing with. I sure am the kinda guy who remembers the riffage from the day/rehearsal before which the guitarist couldn’t remember anymore. That’s where the humming comes in haha. I’m a fan of writing songs outta jams, first I just keep things simple and let the other members explore their parts and from there I’ll fit more stuff into it and make the drums more outstanding. But on the other hand, I was also in bands where all the songs and structures were written and I just had to add a beat to it.
Do you feel like people often forget how crucial a good drummer is to a good band? I know a drummer that told me that no matter how good you are, you'll always be overshadowed by the guitarist and the singer... Is that so according to you?It’s definitely a fact that drummers are usually overshadowed by singers and guitarists. The only thing that will get you in the spotlights is charisma. From the moment you get on stage, you gotta be in charge of the band and you got to show it to the people you’re playing with. The other members can go as wild as they want to go, but the drummer is the one who decides whether the band takes it up a notch or a notch down. By taking that upon yourself you don’t have to be a showoff to get the recognition you deserve.
Out of all the records you've drummed on, which one are you most proud of? Why? Does that also make it the best record you're on, or not?I’m proud of most of my recordings, unfortunately not all of them made it to the record stores (two of my bands broke up in the studio leaving an unfinished product). I think there was always something to it worth remembering. Eithter the people that I’ve worked with or how a specific record came together... I think my best drumming can be heard on the latest Hydromatics record, but due to the fact that we wrote the whole thing in one week and recorded it the next week, the record could have been way more balanced out. Another cool thing about this recording session was the fact that we played the whole record live in one single recording room and on top of that it was mostly done in one or two takes. With most recording sessions, drums are recorded first. I did about five sessions with nobody else in the room. No guide tracks, just all memory, imagination and a click track. I somehow managed to get some groovy drumtracks on tape this way. I kinda like it that way, you’re just totally focussed on the backbone of record. And you also don’t have to play songs more times than needed, just because somebody else fucked up haha.....
But I think that I still get better and better every time I record. It’s just the experience of being in more and more different studios. Too bad that the best sounding drumsets are recorded on the unreleased records. It’s a fact that some of those drums were sampled afterwards by that studio for other bands, because they couldn’t get their sound right.
Standing up on your drumstool midset... Is that something you've ever done or would do? NO!
What makes a gig awesome for a drummer? Is it playing tight as fuck and not missing a beat? Is it the overall vibe? Is it crowd response and energy?I mostly enjoy the energy that’s released during a live set. I love the point where I get sucked into the music and I just go without thinking. I can really enjoy listening to the others, usually during guitarsolos or regular jams. Ofcourse I enjoy the response of the audience, although I usually miss most of it because I’m totally concentrated on the music.
Do you singalong a lot while playing live? What's your favourite song to sing along to?No, I do make weird noises while I play though. Sometimes you can hear 'em through the overheads while listening back to my takes in the studio. It sounds like there is a dwarf in the mixingboard.... But I think drummers should not sing at all, unless they listen to the name Buddy Miles or Don Brewer!!!
What are some of your favourite drummers ever? What sets those dudes apart from everyone else out there? How about current drummers, who's good? Who's got the chops?My list of favourite drummers needs to kick off with Han Bennink. He’s one of the most influental musicians on the European avant garde jazz scene. It’s impossible to describe the power and energy of this guy. He has it all! Buddy Rich is a classic big band drummer and overall a great bandleader. His chops and rolls are just unreal, I regularly study from his book with snaredrum rudiment exercises. From the same era I really dig Max Roach, especially his solo record "Drums Unlimited", the first song on the record "The Drum Also Walses" was the blueprint for John Bonham’s solo in "Moby Dick". John Bonham, you can’t get around that guy. He’s just a powerhouse and never needed to show off during songs. You can definately hear he had a jazz background though. From that same era Keith Moon is definitely my favourite drummer. People remember him as that lunatic drummer who just wanted all the attention of the world, but people never really figured that he is actually playing along with vocal lines. That’s what makes him the most original rockdrummer of all time. A drummer not to be forgotten is Buddy Miles, he played with Jimi Hendrix and his Band Of Gypsys. He brought the soul into Jimi and is just a powerhouse. On top of that he’s one of the few drummers who’s allowed to sing! Another drummer in my “"to be forgotten" list is Jack DeJohnette. He playes on Miles Davis’ "Bitches Brew" record. Through him I found out about a whole new genre called chamber jazz and ECM records. He plays very messy, but somehow it all sounds really relaxed and it just gives me energy. For hardcore drummers, it should be clear to anyone that Mackie Jayson and Earl Hudson are my favorites. Current drummers I like are that bloke from Mastodon, the new drummer in The Mars Volta and for sure Alex Garcia-Rivera from Bloodhorse!
We all know guitarists sometimes "borrow" riffs from other bands... Do drummers sometimes "borrow" drumbeats or drumfills? Have you? What exactly did you "borrow" and where can we hear the result?It’s no secret that most of the beats are already brought to the surface. That’s why it’s a rhythmic instrument, because rhythms are there to accompany the music. But I always try to hide a Motown pick-up in every recording session I do.
That's it. Thank you. Any closing comments or shout outs? Not really, I just listened to about 12 amazing records while answering these questions. Be good!
A musical prodigy and chilled out entertainer (copyright Ricky Gervais), Shawn Costa is the real deal, yet he moves in mysterious ways. Dude goes on month long tours with a bag the size of a large apple and still looks fresh and clean every day. Both Verse and Have Heart have new albums out right about now, so check those out. What!?
Please give me your name and age, list the bands you've drummed for and tell me how long you have been doing that thing you do...What up g's. Shawn Costa. Age 23. Bands I've drummed in: Have Heart (05-present), Verse ('05-present), Learn ('04-'05), Meltdown ('05-'06). I've been drumming since July '99.
What made you decide to become a drummer? Was there one particular drummer that inspired you to pick up those sticks? As a youngster I always had a fascination with music. I began my musical "career" by strumming the old geeeetar (at 9 years of age), but always wanted to one day rock a drum set. As a kid I thought Tre Cool (of Green Day, if you didnt know...duh) was sick on the ol' kit. Probably my first inspiration to play.
What was your first drumset? When did you get it? How did you pay for it? My first kit was a Tama Rockstar, silverish. Very decent kit to start off with, I aquired this gem in the summer of '99. I was 15 at the time, and pretty much all I did that summer was play drums, probably like 22 and a half hours a day ha. My dad bought me the drum set as a gift for my b-day. Had some wild times with this kit.
As a drummer, how big do you think your influence is on the sound of a band? When you write songs with your band(s), is your role limited to providing the beat or do you also hum riffs or base songs around drum patterns/beats? I think the drummer is a HUGE influence on the sound of a band. A great drummer can make a very mediocre band sound only a little mediocre. Now speaking from a personal standpoint, I also play guitar, and bass, so my role isn't very limited. I've written songs for just about every band I've drummed in (some more than others).
Do you feel like people often forget how crucial a good drummer is to a good band? I know a drummer that told me that no matter how good you are, you'll always be overshadowed by the guitarist and the singer... Is that so according to you? Personally, I don't really care/or focus on being overshadowed. It's a pretty natural thing, guitarists, and the singer are front and center(ish). Drummers are hidden in the back, so all in all it makes sense. I just chill in the back, and then hold the band together. No big whoop...ha.
Out of all the records you've drummed on, which one are you most proud of? Why? Does that also make it the best record you're on, or not? Interesting question. I'm gonna actually give 2 records. Verse "Aggression", and Have Heart "Songs To Scream At The Sun". I feel like both my performance, and also the sound of the kits on these records are far and above any of my previous work. Both records were fun to write, and track, and I really wanted to make sure I got to convey some interesting drum work. I feel I accomplished that. Also both records were recorded/mixed naturally, so no fancy triggering, just little ol' me rocking the kit. I also believe that both of these record are the best records I've ever been a part of. So, uh, Bam!
Standing up on your drumstool midset... Is that something you've ever done or would do? No, and no. I'm not hating on it, just not something I would do.
What makes a gig awesome for a drummer? Is it playing tight as fuck and not missing a beat? Is it the overall vibe? Is it crowd response and energy? I'd say a combo of all 3 of those things, but for me personally, I'm more focused on my performance. There are times where one of my bands will have a crazy set, and maybe it wasn't my best overall performance, and that will hinder my take on the show a bit.
Do you singalong a lot while playing live? What's your favourite song to sing along to? I used to sing along to a few Verse songs when I first joined. Haven't done that in years though. I think the song I most commonly sung along to for Verse was "Saying Goodbye"...had a cool groove in the middle, and it was one of my fav songs to play. What can I say, I got caught up in the moment!
What are some of your favourite drummers ever? What sets those dudes apart from everyone else out there? How about current drummers, who's good? Who's got the chops?Tough question. There are sooooo many great drummers that have inspired me. I'll keep it semi-simple though. Dennis Chambers (funk fusion MASTER), Chad Smith (say what you want about the Chili Peppers, homeboy shreds the kit) and Abe Cunningham (some of the most interesting, intricate drum work). Those dudes just kill it on drums, impeccable timing, they have the speed, but more importantly they have finesse, just great all around drummers. From a hardcore standpoint: Mackie, dude is just unbelievable, makes it all look easy, great chops. He's a legend. There are currently a sizeable amount of awesome drummers in hardcore bands, but I'll just keep the list simple, and only mention Mackie by name, ha.
We all know guitarists sometimes "borrow" riffs from other bands... Do drummers sometimes "borrow" drumbeats or drumfills? Have you? What exactly did you "borrow" and where can we hear the result? Well I can't really speak for other drummers, but I have personally been inspired by beats, or fills, but I always try to make sure that I incorporate some of my own flavor into it. I guess the most "blatant" example would be in Verse's "Old Guards, New Methods"... There's a kind of odd time snare/kick fill I do in the bridge before the end, inspired by an Abe Cunningham fill on "Lifter" by Deftones. Like I said though, it shouldnt be indistinguishable, I make sure to add my own touch to it.
That's it. Thank you. Any closing comments or shout outs? Thank you, Bjorn. Glad that you wanted my input for this. I appreciate it. Hang outs this summer, what! That about does it. Later.
