Robot Rock

AI takeover, Drumming Diaries and my Top 5 Vids of the Week

Author

Iain Potter
June 20, 2023

Hey fellow drummers!

I’m back again, bringing you more drumming content than you can shake a stick at! Or should I say “that” you can shake a stick at… 🥁 

Start shaking your sticks at…

  • Top 5 weekly video fix 📺️ 

  • A featured article on Artificial Intelligence 📰 

  • Drumming diaries, including a very exciting gig 🗓️ 

I’m off to Glastonbury Festival this week, so next week’s newsletter will be a little late…but it’ll be a Glasto Special, with LOADS of good stuff…

What’s been happening this week on the YooToobs? 📺️ 

Fascinating video from DrumDotPizza about the effect of types of wood on shell sound! A nice complement to last week’s article.

Modern Drummer speak with one of my favourite drummers, Gavin Harrison. It’s an archive video, re-released this week.

Quincy Davis offers some tips and insights on soloing at fast tempos using a limited set of rudiments. Something I definitely need to work on!

Sweetwater give an overview of using your eDrums with EZdrummer. (Look out for our upcoming article on using Superior Drummer 3…)

Improve your swing with some Jazz Sticking Patterns from “The Practice Pad Book”.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a very 🔥HOT🔥 topic right now, and is advancing at a tremendous rate.

Regardless of how you feel about it, it’s here to stay. 🤖 

What impact is it having on the music industry and drumming?

Read our featured article this week where we explore the topic a little further!

We Are The Robots

The Impact of AI on Drumming and the Music Industry

www.drumfusion.online/p/ai-drums

Last week, the singer from one of my bands got in touch to see if I’d be interested in attending a gig. He figured I’d be particularly interested in this band because it was “drummer-led” (his assumption was right).

The drummer and band in question? Graham Costello and Strata - or, to give them their full name, “Graham Costello’s Strata”. The drummer’s band? Quite right, too.

They weren’t on my radar, but they definitely should have been.

Wow!

A dynamic, hypnotic performance of minimalist tracks in two continuous 45-ish minute sets.

To be honest, sometimes I find that this style of music can become a bit pretentious and inaccessible, but that is absolutely NOT the case here.

At times, I found myself lost in the music and unaware of my surroundings - brilliant stuff.

Graham is an absolutely fantastic drummer, effortlessly playing polyrhythms and improv passages whilst leading the band.

His fellow musicians are also clearly on top of their game and the band is tight…

If you get a chance to catch them live, definitely take it.

I didn’t grab any videos, but did find a twitter post with a couple of videos of a previous gig in Leeds.

You can find out more about the band, as well as listening to their music, on their website.