Friday, March 29, 2013

Robert "RZ" Zildjian--1923-2013

March 28, 2013 - Robert "RZ" Zildjian, founder of Sabian, one of the largest cymbal makers in the world, has died, according to the company's website.  He was 89.



It all goes back to 1618, in the city of Constantinople, where an Armenian man by the name of Avedis had hopes of becoming an alchemist. He was experimenting with different combinations of silver, iron and copper when he got an interesting end result from one batch - a sheet of metal that could make unique sounds without shattering! Instantly, Avedis realized what his discovery meant –cymbals forged from this metal would be better than other cymbals sold anywhere. Excited about the possibilities from his discovery, Avedis plotted to create a business making cymbals from his new metal alloy. He needed a name for the new company. Taking the Turkish word for a cymbal-maker (“zil”) and adding the Armenian suffix “ian” (meaning “son of”) to it, he came up with “Zildjian” meaning “son of cymbal maker”. In 1623, cymbal production at the new Avedis Zildjian Company got underway. 


Skip ahead a few years later and you now have Sabian Cymbals, thanks to a man known as"RZ".
Robert founded Sabian in 1981 following a dispute with his brother, Armand, over control of the Avedis Zildjian Company, which was founded in Boston by their father in 1928. The Zildjian family has been making cymbals in their native Turkey since the early-17th century. Zildjian chose the name Sabian by taking the first two letters of the names of his three children: Sally, Bill and Andy.
The two companies remain competitors and world leaders in the cymbal business.
Sabian cymbals are still made in the southern New Brunswick town where the Zildjian company once had its production line.

Zildjian ran the second-largest cymbal manufacturer in the world behind only the Avedis Zildjian Company, according to several music equipment websites.
Robert Zildjian is survived by his wife, Willi, their three children and eight grandchildren. A full biography on Zildjian’s life can be found at Sabian’s website.
“We draw comfort from the knowledge that his spirit will live on in the music made by artists the world over.”--Unkown

Saturday, March 23, 2013

Robert Breithaupt, April 5th Univ. of Madison, WI drum clinic

Robert Breithaupt is considered one of the nation's leaders in percussion education. He is Professor of Music and Department Chair of Performance Studies at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Since 1978, Breithaupt has developed one of the most recognized undergraduate percussion programs in the United States, producing students that are successful in performing, teaching and the music industry. He is the co-founder of the Summer Drum Set Workshops, the author of the textbook The Complete Percussionist, the DVD entitled Snare Drum Basics, presents clinics and seminars worldwide and is a past-president of the Percussive Arts Society.
Breithaupt is considered one of the nation’s leaders in percussion education. He is Professor of Music and Department Chair of Performance Studies at Capital University in Columbus, Ohio. Since 1978, Breithaupt has developed one of the most recognized undergraduate percussion programs in the United States, producing students that are successful in performing, teaching and the music industry. He is the co-founder of the Summer Drum Set Workshops, the author of the textbook The Complete Percussionist, the DVD entitled Snare Drum Basics, presents clinics and seminars worldwide and is a past-president of the Percussive Arts Society.
Breithaupt is an artist/endorser and consultant for the Yamaha Corporation, SABIAN, Ltd., and Remo, Inc.; he has his own signature drum stick line, produced by Innovative Percussion. As a businessman, Breithaupt was one of the founders of Columbus Pro Percussion, Inc. and served as vice-president for twenty-five years.

He will be coming to the Univ of  Madison, WI on April 5th for a drum clinic on behalf of Sabian cymbals, to share his knowledge and expertise on drums and percussion.
Don't miss out on this great event. A chance to meet an expert and maybe get a chance to pick his brain.








Sunday, March 3, 2013

Breaking Benjamin's Jeremy Hummel update.

Jeremy Hummel is in  my top 10 favorite drummers. He co-wrote and recorded their debut album, Saturate, as well as the follow-up platinum album, We Are Not Alone. He was also on the EP "So Cold", which contains an acoustic version of the title track as well as 2 previously unreleased studio tracks; 'Blow Me Away' & 'LadyBug'. One of my favorite rock bands of the 2000 era  is Breaking Benjamin, it's no surprise.
Unfortunately, Benjamin Burnley decided to part ways with Hummel after he became a father (I don't know all of the details involved with his decision) he had some legal troubles with the band and management and  hasn't played with them since 2004.
After numerous drummers they finally hooked up with drummer Chad Szeliga.  Personally I think he's a great drummer, and was a good replacement for Jeremy.  Since they split in '04, I've been wondering what Jeremy Hummel has been up to. So I looked around on the internet and found out that he's been doing online drum lessons at
 http://www.jeremyhummel.com/lessons.php.
He's also performing with a rock cover band called Into the Spin out of Sunbury PA.
Hummel is also a member of the ambient/acid-jazz band Electric Volcano Experiment with guitarist Alex Callenberger and bassist Andy Seal. He also performs with various artists including Bret Alexander of Saturation Acres. Hummel and Alexander are also currently co-producing Evolution of Sound, the first EP album by Harrisburg band Drop of Grey.  In 2012, Jeremy became an online drum lesson instructor for YourMusicMuse.com.
While doing all this he finds time to write for Modern Drummer magazine AND he's a father of 2 kids and loving husband.


While on tour with Breaking Benjamin, Hummel used Pearl Drums and Paiste Cymbals. Hummel has also been endorsed by Pearl Drums and Sabian cymbals. In 2012, Hummel switched drum companies and now endorses Ludwig drums.
Drum set: Masterworks Series, Emerald Green w/ Tamo, Gold hardware:
  • 20x18 bass drum - 10 ply (2 tamo/2 birch/6 mahogany and double bass pedal)
  • 10x6.5 tom - 6 ply (2 tamo/2 mahogany/2 birch)
  • 12x8.5 tom - 6 ply (2 tamo/2 mahogany/2 birch)
  • 16x12 floor tom - 6 ply (2 tamo/2 mahogany/2 birch)
  • 13x5 snare drum - 20 ply (2 tamo/14 maple/4 birch)
Cymbals: Sabian:
  • HHX 13" Stage Hats
  • AAX 10" Splash
  • HHX 20" Power Ride
  • Paragon 19" China
  • Paragon 16" Crash
  • Paragon 20" Crash