PS has used Jim Oblon (a Nashville guy, also a singer/songwriter and guitarist) on drums lately. He sounds great, understated and simple. He lets Jamey Haddad shine on percussion and most of the other band members add drums and percussion on various tunes. He released a live DVD from NYC in 2011 tha...

This clip does have the vibe of a band just trying to get through the night (the tenor player is already sitting down by the 4min mark of the gig), bit the audience also seems very sedate. Just a low-energy vibe all around... What I am hearing from Carlock is a top-heavy sound, driving the time with...

Charley Drayton has had a cymbal set like that for a while. I think it must be to access the underside of the cymbal OR to get an almost perpendicular strike against the edge for a loud washy crash/ride sound? I think it is definitely a "third cymbal" situation, where one already has a cou...

Rest up as much you. Sorry to hear about the pain! I had bad back problems in my early 20s from horrible drumming posture. I was basically leaning over to the left all the time (my ears were heading towards my hihat...), and all the muscles on one side of my spine seized up, pushing my back "ou...

I think there is a consensus that brand-switching is primarily a business decision; that most drummers play on a variety of brands regardless of their career stature or endorsement status. It happens, sometimes by choice (a certain drum sounds better for a certain application) or by chance (festival...

Regarding the late-career brand switching... I don't remember where I heard this (this is not my original thought), but it seemed a pretty valid speculation: Vinnie's new gear may reflect a change in how he is actually hearing the instruments. Meaning, if he has experienced hearing loss/damage over ...

Looks like Recording Customs to me. Yeah, they definitely look like RCs. What I was alluding to was that it appears that the logo has been taped-over, and I was curious if perhaps he'd already left Yamaha by the time of this clinic, thus the reason for the tape. It would seem odd to have the logo t...

Was this during his transition from Yamaha to Gretsch? It seems like the YAMAHA logo is taped over on the bass drum head. I remember Vinnie playing a prototype Yamaha maple kit (natural finish, old Tour-style lugs) on one of the Sting tours (1990?) and then he got "caught" in a few Sting p...