Evans Artist Spotlight - Scott Johnson - The Blue Devils

NAME: Scott Johnson

AGE: 50

CURRENT JOB(S): Director of Percussion - Concord Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps, Percussion Arranger & Clinician, Percussion Judge - WGI

YEARS AT CURRENT POSITION: Director of Percussion for the Blue Devils – 16 years, Arranger & Clinician (started arranging 34 years ago, at the ripe age of 16), WGI Percussion Judge – 10 years

THE EARLY YEARS: My musical training began at the age of four when I began taking drum lessons from a local percussion instructor. At the encouragement of this instructor I became involved in the drum and bugle corps activity. Before my fifth birthday, I joined the Red Knights Drum and Bell Corps from San Leandro, CA, and later graduated to the Royalairs Drum and Bugle Corps. I remained there until joining the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps at age 18. I was a marching member with the Blue Devils snare line from 1976 through 1979. I was hired as a member of the Blue Devil Percussion staff from 1978 through 1989 and later rejoined the organization in 1994 as Director of Percussion and Percussion Arranger.

During my four years away from the Blue Devils, I was hired as Director of Percussion and Percussion Arranger for the Santa Clara Vanguard Drum and Bugle Corps from 1991 through 1993, after one year as percussion consultant in 1990.
I was also the Percussion Arranger for Riverside Community College from 1999 through 2003, and through the years have arranged for many drum corps and marching bands across the United States, Japan and Europe.

Personal awards include twelve D.C.I. championships, eleven D.C.I. High Percussion titles, two W.G.I. championships, three DCA championships, two DCA High Percussion titles, ten DCE championships, nine DCE High Percussion titles, four High Percussion titles in Japan, and 1977 D.C.I. & P.A.S. Individual Snare champion.

ONE THING YOU ARE PRACTICING RIGHT NOW IS: Smoother putting stroke.

MY PLAYLIST OF “TOP (5) SONGS” WOULD INCLUDE: I am going to show my “old school”. I can’t get it down to five, songs, so how about five artists -- Sting, Genesis, Eric Clapton, Earth Wind and Fire, and Tower of Power

QUICK PRACTICE TIP: Always use a metronome. At the end of every practice session, challenge yourself by increasing the tempo on the metronome.

WORST NON-MUSIC RELATED JOB, DESCRIBE: Well, since I have been teaching drums since I was 14, there aren’t many. However, the year I lived in Oregon during high school I had a landscape maintenance job on a large ranch. I remember trying to mow really overgrown lawns – always in the rain.

HOBBIES INCLUDE: Sports. I love to play golf and basketball. I also go to every Oakland Raiders home game -- at least if I’m in town.
WHAT EVENT, PERSON, OR MOMENT HAD THE MOST IMPACT ON YOU AS A MUSICIAN? When I was 14 years old, I was in a small drum corps and we went to watch a drum corps show at Spartan Stadium in San Jose, CA. When I saw the eight members of the Anaheim Kingsmen snare line walk onto the field, they looked like they were ten feet tall. I said to my mom, “That is what I want to do!” I worked hard to make sure that I achieved my goal of becoming a member of a world-class snare line. As it turns out, years later I had the privilege of teaching along side Tom Float and Ralph Hardimon, both who were members of that 1972 snare line.

MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE OR TRIP: Following our gold medal performance at the WGI World Championships in 2002, the Riverside Community College drum line performed its winter drum line show at the Riverside School for the Deaf. The show, titled “The Sound of Silence”, was about a Deaf woman’s experience with music. Our show included a signing narrator, Holly, who was a student at the School for the Deaf. We held two performances --- one for the elementary age students and a second for the high school students, and included question/answer sessions and time for the students to come on the floor and play with the drummers. The students and performers both thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and it was a day I will never forget.

WHAT IMPORTANT MESSAGE OR ADVICE WOULD YOU PROVIDE TO YOUNG MUSICIANS? The most challenging part of being a musician is the hours of practice that is required. When you find yourself getting frustrated, try to find the “fun” in it. The motto I have used for years is: “IF YOU’RE NOT HAVING FUN, YOU’RE DOING IT WRONG!”

Meet Scott and other Evans artists at WGI 2009. Scott will be available for questions and autographs at the Evans booth located in the WGI marketplace during the following times...

Friday, April 17th - 11:30 am
Saturday, April 18th - 4:30 pm

For more information on Scott Johnson and the Blue Devils Drum and Bugle Corps visit http://www.evansdrumheads.com/

Evans Artist Spotlight - Chris Deviney - Philadelphia Orchestra

NAME: Chris Deviney

AGE: 43

CURRENT JOB: Principal Percussionist, Philadelphia Orchestra

YEARS AT CURRENT POSITION: 6

THE EARLY YEARS: (some information on where you grew up, where you studied, degree(s) earned) Grew up in North Carolina and Florida. Went to Florida State University for undergrad degree in Music Performance, Temple University for Master’s Degree.

ONE THING YOU ARE PRACTICING RIGHT NOW IS: Solo marimba literature and a marimba part to a percussion ensemble composition at Curtis.

MY PLAYLIST OF “TOP SONGS” WOULD INCLUDE: Anything by Pat Metheny, Gary Burton, or Chick Corea.

QUICK PRACTICE TIP: Practice slowly and only increase speed by two clicks of the metronome after you’ve played it perfectly 5 times in a row.

WORST NON-MUSIC RELATED JOB, DESCRIBE: Hardest was picking tobacco as a 14-yr. old; worst was working at a golf course putting in drainage lines (ditch digger).

HOBBIES INCLUDE: Recently learned to scuba dive; will golf anytime I’m available.

WHAT EVENT, PERSON, OR MOMENT HAD THE MOST IMPACT ON YOU AS A MUSICIAN? The person who has made the greatest impact on me as a musician is Alan Abel. He is a fabulous musician but also a kind-hearted individual who gives his all to anyone studying with him. His generosity knows no boundaries and his encouragement is legendary. He never settled for anything mediocre but always made you feel that you were important to him. Lessons were always at his house in his basement (with tea provided if you were so inclined) so you felt like you were a part of his immediate family. This kind of support system is rare these days but one that I try to recreate in my own teaching. Trying to emulate his special sense of caring and effort is the best tribute I can give to him.

MOST MEMORABLE PERFORMANCE OR TRIP: My first time getting to go on tour with the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1991 was especially memorable. It was my first time in Europe and the opportunity to perform in some of the best acoustic concert halls in the world was really special. Getting to play next to the percussionists in the Philly percussion section was also a treat. I learned so much just observing how they produced their sounds and how they presented themselves on stage. I also had a side project that was all my own that I still continue with today. I researched the locations of graves of famous composers (mostly in Paris and Vienna) and did grave rubbings of their tombstones on large sheets of parchment. They hang in my house in large black frames. It sounds strange, but seeing the graves of these people actually brought them to life for me in a way. They weren’t just names on a piece of paper but instead were real people who struggled with the same aspects of life we all struggle with.

WHAT WOULD YOU BE IF NOT A MUSICIAN, WHY? If I couldn’t be a musician but could pick any other job in the world, I would definitely be an NFL referee. I officiated high school football for 8 years and was on the field any Friday night I wanted until I moved to Texas in 1998 (where 8 years experience meant little compared to people with 12 years and more…). With a newborn daughter, I gave up officiating realizing that I wouldn’t see her grow up at the pace I was setting. It was a great hobby while it lasted and being on the field during a high energy football game was always a thrill and something I’ll never forget.

For more information about Chris Deviney

About Me - Jim Bailey (Part I)

I have always had a fascination with drums. This much has been obvious my entire life. As far back and any of my family members can remember, I have always had an inclination to ‘make music’ with pot, pans, and whatever else would make a noise when I hit it. My earliest significant memory when I actually gained clarity that I had a real fascination with drums and percussion was (funny enough) during an episode of Mr. Rogers when he went to visit his local music store. I remember only a few things, but those things I remember well. The local ‘drum guy’ gave Mr. Rogers a drum lesson on a beautiful gold sparkle snare drum. The drummer taught Mr. Rogers (and the viewers) two rudiments, the Paradiddle and the ratamaque. Two down (PAS 40 International Drum Rudiments) and thirty-eight to go!

That was somewhere in the mid to late 1970’s (if you couldn’t tell from the gold sparkle drum). It was a few years later that my obsession with marching percussion kicked in to high gear. When I was about 11 I saw my local high school marching band in a parade…probably the annual 4th of July parade. While watching the percussion section, my attention was drawn (for no particular reason) to the tenor section…of which consisted of two high school students playing tri-toms. I remember the sound to this day and I have to say, it was compelling! The deep, tangy sound of those tri-toms instantly hooked me and I became an instant lifer of the tenor drums. This became the instrument I marching in high school and drum corps before returning to drum corps as a tenor tech and eventually caption head of several drum corps.

One of the two students playing tenors that day would not only influence me to follow my passion with percussion, but also motivate me to march with the drum corps that became my other obsession, The Cavaliers. Those of you who follow marching percussion with particular detail may know my mentor, Pat McGowan. Pat played in the Cavalier tenor line from 1988 until 1991 and was one of the most significant people to help development the Cavalier tenor style that became so definitive in the early 90’s. If you don’t know him by name, you surely know his cadence, “Bunco Rules”, which he wrote for the Cavaliers drumline in 1990. This cadence became an instant classic and was performed by the Cavalier drumline from 1990 until I wrote a cadence called Cobham’s Revenge, which replaced it almost 12 years later. After that parade I ran home and convinced my parents to let me join band. I enrolled into summer percussion class right away and began to study percussion with a few of my neighborhood friends.

Percussion in high school was fun. The band was not all that great, and we didn’t go to huge festivals like BOA, PASIC. The Spartan Festival (Chicago) was too far and WGI had barely started its percussion circuit. Nonetheless drumline was fun because everyone enjoyed it and wanted to be great. Practices were carefully balanced with standard drumline antics and the right amount of serious work needed to bring all of us together. We had no instructor. Only armed with a handful of DCI videos and the inspiration of a fellow Highland band member now Cavalier. The practice fields of Highland, Indiana is where I got my first real taste of the type of dedication and work needed to function and succeed in a top 12 caliber drumline. In 1989 I decided to get my first real taste of drum corps. I signed up to audition for the Cavaliers drumline. I was 13 years old. As you can imagine, this was quite a schooling for me. Despite being immediate cut from tenors, I did manage to survive two cuts from the bass drum line that weekend. I was pretty proud of myself. In hindsight, I am sure the staff was simply investing in my future and allowing me to get a full weekend of experience before getting news that would simply devastate any 13 year old. I promised myself I would never return to that camp again unless I was 100% certain I would not walk away disappointed. Six years passed as I gained more experience necessary to ace the audition and claim a spot in the drum corps of my dreams. (to be continued…)

Understand Tenor Head Options

In recent years I have have the privilege of interacting with many different educators at a variety of levels...from percussion specialists with a wealth of knowledge to band directors with quite a bit less experience in percussion. In both 'camps' I have found that questions exist with how exactly to get a desired sound by varying the choice of drum heads. I am constantly asked of my opinion on which heads to use for a given application. it seems like a logical starting point for this blog.

Understanding the right tool for the right job starts with understanding head construction and how design decisions alter the basic proprieties of sound. My goal for this post is to speak to percussionists and non-percussionists alike so i will keep my explanations simple and to the point.

Coated vs. Uncoated

One of the most basic design elements for drum head options is coated vs. uncoated. While there is a variety of ways to coat a head (spray, laminate, other) the fact remains that anything that is done will ultimately effect the sound (color) of the head. This is (in part) due to the result of how a coating reduces certain frequencies of that head. Let's look at two different heads as an example...

The Evans Corps Clear tenor head is an uncoated 2 ply head. Because it is uncoated, it provides a high degree of resonance that includes all frequencies of the it's harmonic spectrum. To your ears the head will sound full and bright, thus projecting well in an ensemble setting.

On the other hand you have the Evans MX Frost tenor head which is a coated 2 ply head. The 'frost' coating on this head helps to reduce upper frequencies associated with the 'bright' sound of an uncoated head. To your ear the heads will sound darker, warmer sound that tends to blend easily.

1 Ply vs. 2 Ply Heads
There is a very simple 'generic' rule when selecting 1 ply vs 2 ply heads. 1 ply heads inherently have more resonance while 2 ply heads promote more of the attack characteristic of the head. While all of Evans tenor heads are 2 ply heads (MX White, MX Black, MX, Frost, and Corps Clear), the use of 1 ply heads is not complete uncommon...especially when trying to achieve a warm 'concert tom' or traditional 'tenor drum' sound. If you desire such a sound I recommend starting to look at Evans G1 (coated or clear) or even the slightly thicker GPlus (also coated or uncoated).

Additional Resources
I have provided a couple of key additional resources to help you find the sound you are looking for. The first is a Tenor Tuning Video which illustrates proper head exchange and tuning. the second resource is one of a series of 5 tuning and instrument care guides which can be found on our media site http://www.tothestage.com/. The Marching Percussion Survival Guide is a great resource for tuning and care tips for your marching percussion section.



See more marching videos and lessons at The Stage or visit our Marching Landing page at Evans.