Drummers that passed away in 2012

This list is not complete, you can help by adding.

Marvin Lavon (Levon) Helm (May 26, 1940-April 19th 2012) drummer of THE BAND passed away from cancer.

Thomas Robert "Tom" Ardolino (January 12, 1955 – January 6, 2012) was a rock drummer best known as a member of NRBQ (New Rhythm and Blues Quartet).

Robbie France (former drummer of Skunk Anansie, Diamond Head, and UFO) passed away on Jan. 14th in Spain. He was 52.

Peter Robert Jones (21 April 1963 – 18 May 2012) of Crowded House,  died from brain cancer on May 18, 2012 in Melbourne, aged 49.

Edward Cluade "Cas" Cassidy  (May 4, 1923 – December 6, 2012) was an American jazz and rock drummer who was one of the founders of the rock group Spirit in 1967. He died of cancer at age  89.

Michael Hossack (October 17, 1946 – March 12, 2012) drummer for The Doobie Brothers passed away after a motorcycle accident.

Tonmi Kristian Lillman (3 June 1973 – 14 February 2012) was a Finnish musician, best known as Otus the drummer of the band Lordi. The cause of death is still unknown.

Robby Karras former Bullet Boys drummer passed away. No details about the death have been confirmed, although it’s thought Karras had been ill for some time.

Robert Nix  who played with such greats as Roy Orbison and was the founding drummer of the Atlanta Rhythm Section, passed away in Memphis, TN on Sunday at the age of 67. It was said that he suffered from diabetes and was hospitalized for a month after an operation.

David L. Heim passed away on Friday, November 16, 2012 in Chicago, IL; he was 57.
From 1976 to 1983, Heim worked for Ludwig Drum Company,  On September 17, 2004 joined the Drummer Cafe - Community Forum, and since that time was an avid supporter, contributor and VIP Member of the Drummer Cafe.

Tom Donlinger passed away on April 20, 2012 following a long struggle with a terminal illness. He was 63. He played with such legendary Midwestern outfits as Rotary Connection, Aorta, and The Cryan’ Shames. His reputation soon spread across the continent and he was invited to join Lovecraft, a Northern Californian psychedelic band backed by Bill Graham.

Willie Ackerman, Nashville drummer, who played with artists such as Loretta Lynn, Willie Nelson and Louis Armstrong, has died. He was 73.

Pete Hayes, the drummer for South London dream pop band Echo Lake, died at age 25, cause of death has not been released.

James P.C. Stafford, drummer for Moto-X passed away on August 15, 2012.

Scotty Lockridge, drummer for High Flight Society,  passed away suddenly on Sunday, May 20th.  Cause of death was trauma to the head as a result of a seizure.

Marvim Mcquitty passed away after a short severe illness. He collaborated with everyone from the gospel artists Fred Hammond and Israel & New Breed to the pop stars Stevie Wonder and Jessica Simpson, passed away this week at age forty-six.

Scott Columbus of Manowar, passed away on April 4th. Cause of death still unknown. He was 54.

Cedric Sharpley (July 2, 1951-March 13, 2012) drummer and songwriter most notable for playing with Gary Numan, died of a heart attack.

Clive Welham of Joker's Wild, passed away on May 9, 2012. He had been ill for a long time and was said to have passed away peacefully. 

Richard Teeter of The Dictators and Twisted Sister, died at the age of 61. No other information could be found.

Uncle Lionel Batist (1931-2012) of the Treme Brass Band, died of cancer at the age of 81.

Mark "BAM BAM" McConnell, former Sebastian Bach drummer, passed away on May 24, 2012.
 McConnell's liver and kidneys shut down, which lead to brain damage.

Brad Parker of  Generation Esmeralda died of an apparent heart attack onstage. He was 59.

Robert "Bob" French Sr.(74) was the drummer and longtime leader of the Original Tuxedo Jazz Band and a radio DJ. He passed away after a long battle with dementia and diabetes and related complications.

Johnny Perez (69) Topanga drummer and songwriter died from complications of cirrhosis of the liver.

Terrance Conner of Total Slacker was killed in a hit and run accident on Oct.1 2012.

Tracy Richardson former drummer of The Hinsons, passed away on July 8 2012. Tracy had been battling health issues for some time, and was recently diagnosed with a rare blood disease.

Scott Johnson drum tech for Radiohead's drummer Philip Selway died when the stage collapsed.  He was 33. 

Once again, this list is not complete, if you know of more drummers/percussionists that have passed away this year please add them to this list.

Crescendo Drummer ear plugs.

Crescendo Drummer (25dB)

Crescendo Drummer (25 dB) provides a tuned, flat attenuation response and is developed for very loud music situations such as drumming or music with a heavy bassline.

Crescendo Drummer 25

Crescendo hearing protection has been designed specifically for musicians, music lovers and concert goers. Dynamic Ear Company's Pro Musician ear tips provide state of the art hearing protection whilst maintaining clarity of sound with full music dynamic. Offering the most attenuation from a true music filter Crescendo Drummer is a must for the regular gig goer.

Normal music ear tips provide too much attenuation, especially at higher frequencies, this is due to the use of cheap materials and poor design. This imbalanced attenuation of sound muffles speech and makes the music sound unnatural reducing your aural experience. Crescendo provides a tuned, flat attenuation response so all frequencies are reduced by almost the same level, great for music as the listener loses nothing of the original sound, it's just brought down to a safe level, making Crescendo Pro Musician filters suitable for a wide range of applications 

Who uses Crescendo Pro Musician filters
Drummers and musicians playing in a loud environment
Concert goers, clubbers and DJ's - reduces amplified music to safe levels
Aircraft crew - reduces engine and wind noise
Sports events - reduced PA and crowd noise especially the Vuvuzela Motorcyclist and race fans - reduced wind noise, engine drone and crowds MUSICIANS! - protecting their own ears from (amplified) instruments.

source:  http://www.crescendo-hearingprotection.com/nc/products/product/crescendo-music-copy-1.html

DW's newest line of CONCRETE snare drums.

New from Drum Workshop...concrete snare drums!! Yes you heard right...CONCRETE.
Although it's closer to soapstone.
The company promises that the new 14" x 5.5" and 14" x 6.5" Collector’s Series Concrete snare drums deliver a sound that is completely different than either wood or metal – dry, focused, with lots of extra volume. The 5.5mm raw stone shell is cut with 45-degree bearing edges, and contrasts nicely with DW’s matte satin chrome hardware.
The Custom Shop drum also includes standard features such as: MAGTM throw-off system with 3PTM (3-position) butt-plate, True ToneTM snare wires, True PitchTM stainless steel tension rods, 3.0mm steel True HoopsTM, and DW Heads by Remo.
Retail prices for both sizes are $1,230.99.

New snare drums from TAMA

John Dolmayan’s signature snare drum features a stunning design covering based on his custom inlaid “Mosaic” kit, as well as custom tube lugs.

 Brand new Mike Portnoy signature snare drums! 5.5” x 14” and 5” x 12” Hammered steel shells in Matte Black finish, with a new badge design.

 JB145N – John Blackwell now has a 5” x 14” signature snare drum to go along with his 6.5” x 13”, and a new badge design on both!

Sitting in the back?

I've heard many complaints from drummers about having to set up in the back of the stage. They would much rather be in the front or just more visible in general. Well, there are solutions to this problem. But there is also a better remedy, look at it from the fans point-of-view; you are in the middle of the stage! You are technically the center of attention. Nevermind that little dude that may be blocking a very small portion of your set. You have the biggest piece of equipment on the stage. Nobody is missing you!! There's no way people can't see you or your drums.
But if that doesn't please you, just do what drummer Rob Rivera from NONPOINT does; turn your kit sideways. It's a cool effect. Or the drummer from 30 Seconds To Mars Shannon Leto does this too. Now I'm not saying that they do this for every single show, but I have seen them do it on occasion. It's different and most of the time it works on stage. However there are those clubs that are just too damn small to do this in. So the next best solution is to minimize your kit. Maybe bring your cymbals down a few inches, drop some rack toms if you can. This will give the crowd a better view of you and vice versa.

New Gibraltar Turning Point Series Hardware

Gibraltar Turning Point Hardware Tested!

Introducing the new Turning Point Series from Gibraltar!!

Gibraltar’s Turning Point cymbal tripod base is made from chrome plated L-stock aluminum in a sleek arrow design. Gives the stability of double bracing but the weight of single braced stand.
Gibraltar’s patented Swing Nut auto cymbal tilter. Just press down on the spring loaded tilter turn the swing nut, mount the cymbal and felt and that’s it, no wing to lose and you saves you time.

The "swing nut" design is only part of some of the new innovations that the folks at Gibraltar have come up with.
 The centerpiece of the Turning Point hardware series is the Swing Nut cymbal tilter. Eliminating the threaded tops and wing nuts of conventional tilters, the Swing Nut utilizes a straight post, split vertically with a centered hinge. This allows part of the post to replace the wing nut, cutting out all that tedious turning when mounting and removing cymbals.  Read more at:
http://www.drummagazine.com/gear/post/gibraltar-turning-point-hardware/

PEARL--PROJECT 108

Pearl, the world's largest manufacturer of drums & percussion, is asking drummers all around the world to send in videos of themselves playing at 108 beats per minute.

Send us the Youtube link and you may be featured along with some of our top Pearl artists like Todd Sucherman, Terence Higgins, Scott Johnson, and Omar Hakim.

This is a call to ALL drummers. As long as you’re playing Pearl gear, you’re good. That means drumset, marching drums, hand percussion...any Pearl gear will do!

This is your chance to show the world what you’ve got. Impress us with your finely-tuned skills or show us your creativity with something we’ve never seen before!

These 4 bars are yours to do whatever you want and we can’t wait to see it!

You must submit your video by Wednesday January 2nd, 2013 to be included in Wave One of Project 108. 
http://www.pearlproject108.com/

Stone Sour's Roy Mayorga

Stone Sour's latest C.D. , is in my opinion, is their best to date. This band seems to get heavier as time goes on. Now that Slipknot has been on hiatus since Paul Gray's death, Stone Sour has had more time to write, record and perfect their sound and style.
Drummer Roy Mayorga is currently playing on a DW Collector's Custom Maple Kit with Vertical Low Timbre in Black Ice FinishPly finish with Satin Chrome Hardware. The drums sound great, not overpowering but they're not some wimpy child's play either. Personally a little compressed, but, overall they sound really good.
Roy definitely knows when to play for the song, but he also knows when to throw in some cool fills and double bass parts. I particularly like how they go from a song like The Travelers, which is heavy, and then go to a track like Tired, which starts out acoustic and then brings in guitars and string instruments and displays Corey's softer, deeper side.
And then you got RU486  that starts out punching you right in the face and won't stop!! This sounds like it could be a Slipknot song, although I'm sure people will disagree with me. However I can hear this song on the next Slipknot c.d. It sounds like Corey is bringing out his inner KNOT if you will.

Last Of The Real  should be their next single. This song just flat out rocks!
Going Sovereign/Absolute Zero go together perfectly. I love how they put the 2 songs together and made it 1 single for the radio. The first song is fast and heavy and then they bring it back a notch and  and drop a fat, heavy groove in your lap.
The album is really a good example of what a hard rock album should sound like – in sharp contrast to a lot of popular music that gets passed off as hard rock on the radio. The songs have hooks but they aren't over-dominated by the hooks; they just have their proper place in the song. Big choruses in several of the songs, a few heavier songs that go into the realm of metal and a few slower quieter songs mixed in. Fans of Stone Sour will not be disappointed.

Destruction of the local music scene

Originally posted on  The Love Of Rock And Metal

By Nicki Stapleton

I don't know if anyone else has noticed, but there has been a gradual destruction of the local music scene. Actually, most people don't notice because they aren't out there and that is the problem. Venues are closing, bands aren't playing out and when they do there isn't as much of a crowd. It makes me sad and angry every time I go to a show and I see only a handful of people. Here are some things you can do to help the local music scene get back on its feet and stay there:

1) GO TO SHOWS

First and foremost, get out and go to shows. Go see bands you love, go see bands you like, go see bands you've never seen before. The important thing is that you get out and to the shows. That is the number one way you can show your support for the bands, the music, and the scene. If there are no asses in the seats (or barstools), then there is no reason for venues to stay open and book bands. This is especially important for genres like metal where there is not as broad of a following as mainstream music.

2) BUY CDS and MERCH

While you are at the shows, check out the bands' merch booths. T-Shirts, hats, CDs, DVDs, anything they have to offer. Remember that these local bands aren't rich and famous. They have day jobs (sometimes more than one) and put their own money in to record albums and have t-shirts and other merchandise made just to get their names out there. They play in a band because they truly love it, not because they're paid millions to do it.

3) GET YOUR FRIENDS INVOLVED

When you go out to shows, drag your friends with you. Post information about bands on your Facebook or other social networking pages - photos, videos, band pages and websites, and anything else you can. Get the word out about the bands you find and love.

4) ENCOURAGE RADIO PLAY

Many radio stations have a local music platform. In Madison, WI, 94.1 WJJO has the JJO Local Stage every Sunday at 9pm. You can call in and requests the local bands you want to hear on the radio (608-321-0941 in Madison).  I'm sure bands like to hear their music played on the radio and it gets it out to that many more people.

 So basically, get involved. Get out and enjoy some music. Show the local scene that you want it to stick around otherwise one day there won't be any more.