Steve Smith

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Paul Marangoni
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby Paul Marangoni » Wed Oct 23, 2013 4:46 pm

Jim Richman
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby Jim Richman » Fri Oct 25, 2013 4:08 am

Paul Marangoni wrote:

Look at me!! I can play left hand lead almost as good as my right. I'm also playing exercise 2B and moving my hand from the ride to the hihat etc...
Keith Mansfield rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rodge
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby Rodge » Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:18 am

Exactly what I think Jim.

BUT, I'd like take a lesson with him, I don't know why, I'm sure he must be a very good teacher.
I come from Tain, Vinnie, Omar, Jeff, Fish, Stewart, and many more...
Jim Richman
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby Jim Richman » Fri Oct 25, 2013 6:36 am

Rodge wrote:Exactly what I think Jim.

BUT, I'd like take a lesson with him, I don't know why, I'm sure he must be a very good teacher.
Just play exercise 2B and move your hand from the ride to the hihat. lol
Keith Mansfield rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
renardvert
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby renardvert » Fri Oct 25, 2013 7:05 am

I'd love to sit down with Steve Smith too. He seems to know his shit inside out.
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Paul Marangoni
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby Paul Marangoni » Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:00 am

Love the guy, but he needs to get rid of the Black Dots, and use heavier sticks or something. His tone isn't what it used to be.
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nomsgmusic
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby nomsgmusic » Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:43 am

Sorry I gotta stick up for a good friend here,

Steve has been playing open handed for a LONG time, there were actually a few tunes he played open handed with Journey (besides the Don't Stop Believin' groove.) For those tunes, as he has told me, he was going for a sound that he felt that could get more "accurately" or "authentically" with open handed playing (a little more rough and raucous, for lack of a better term.) There is even (if my memory serves correctly) a part of the classic 1981 Houston Drum solo that is open handed as well.

His open handed playing today is more need based, as his left hand has had some soreness issues for a while. He started playing open handed to help allieviate these issues, NOT because it was a "look what I can do now" type of thing. He has taken some lessons in applying the concept, is practicing it A LOT, and it is starting to sneak into his playing slowly.

When he is shown doing it on this clip, it looks like a soundcheck (warm-up) situation that the guys from the TV show were filming.

Now we criticize based on what people do at soundcheck, geez. I don't know a whole lot of people that could stand up to that type of critique.

And Paul, I agree with you, I don't really dig that black dots either (I didn't like them wen Tony used them either.) Steve and I have had some good conversations about it, I couldn't convince him, but I tried!

Thanks for posting that clip, now I'll have to work on my foreign language skills to understand it.
But good for those 2 guys for starting a jazz rock show!

And YES to all the thoughts that he is a fantastic teacher! I have many (happy) "lesson scars" to prove it!

And for the people who don't dig his recent playing check out the record that he did with Schon. I can also tell you that the new one (not out or finished yet) is even MORE over the top! Pure over the top rock, on the edge, blowing! Pretty ridiculous stuff!

MSG
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Julián Fernández
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby Julián Fernández » Fri Oct 25, 2013 9:52 am

Standing on the shoulders of giants is a great DVD... Both Steve and John provide tons of cool ideas and stories...

Mark... would you share about how your lessons went with Steve? Is he still into The New Breed? Thanks!
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nomsgmusic
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby nomsgmusic » Fri Oct 25, 2013 10:35 am

I worked on the Standing DVD a good deal as well, so thanks. Yes John did a great job as well (he is also an old teacher of mine.)

Julian, They were not really lessons "per se." Steve and I are longtime friends. We have worked on a lot of stuff together, talk and email almost constantly, but we really don't get together and play much!

So it was Steve and I hanging out here at the house, and him saying let's go downstairs and play! Then us going into my drum room, and him saying (I kid you not) "Teach me something?" (yeah right.) Then me showing him what I had been working on (some Chaffee stuff, some double bass stuff, some Tony-isms.) Him asking me some questions about various jazz stuff, me asking him about some technique issues, him pulling out an iphone and filming me play some pad, and him suggesting some minor changes. Then we traded fours and eights for a few hours. I then asked him about how I look at me set (physically.) Hey how often do you get a lesson on your own set-up? We talked about some more "physical" issues at the set (Gruber-ish stuff.) He then taught me a bunch of Cobham and Narada stuff and showed me how it has really become a real part of Steve's vocabulary. Then we traded for a few more hours.

After several hours we went up stairs and my wife asked me if we were ever going to eat dinner? We ate and drank wine for the rest of the day and night.

That night (he was in the process of learning a bunch of new Hiromi music) he pulled out the charts and the CD's and we talked down almost all of her music, and I asked him some stuff about memorizing and conceptualizing he music, and we "analyzed" Simon's KILLING performances on the CD's.

Not really lessons, but A LOT of learning, and butt kicking (him kicking mine, NOT vice versa!)
He's one of the REALLY good guys in this business!!

MSG
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[url][/url]vicfirth.com/artists/mark_griffith.html
Rodge
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Re: Steve Smith

Postby Rodge » Fri Oct 25, 2013 3:55 pm

Great story Mark, I like read his kind of story, yeah !!!

But, I must add, and in MY taste of course, SS, awesome drummer, terrible musician, I can't help, it's what I feel.
I come from Tain, Vinnie, Omar, Jeff, Fish, Stewart, and many more...

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