On your marks - music.usc.edu · Erskine’s e-experience Professor Peter Erskine’s interest in drumming is more than academic. Since picking up sticks at age four, he has played

Edition 12 NOVEMBER 2012

The global electronic drumming e-zine

On your marksItaly’s e-drum debut

trapKAT 5KS Peter Erskine Multipads

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Erskine’sErskine’se-experiencee-experience

Professor Peter Erskine’s interest in drumming ismore than academic. Since picking up sticks at agefour, he has played with some of the biggest namesof jazz, fusion and pop. Besides performance,Erskine has dedicated himself to drum education,and currently teaches at the University of SouthernCalifornia. And electronic percussion has never beenfar from his arsenal. Erskine shared some thoughtswith digitalDrummer editor Allan Leibowitz....

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digitalDrummer: You were certainly an earlystarter in drumming, reportedly picking upsticks at the age of four. Tell us how you gotstarted and how you stuck to drumming in thoseearly years.Peter Erskine: I have wanted to be a musician foras far back as I can remember. I began playing thedrums at age four and started taking drum lessonsat five. I have been studying music continuouslyever since, simply because I have always wanted tobe a musician. Luckily, my father had been amusician when he was in school (studying tobecome a doctor), and so I received a lot ofencouragement and support from him as well as myentire family.

dD: What disciplines and skills did you learn asa child that made you the drummer you aretoday?PE: Discipline came about as a result of goodparental guidance and example, combined with thefact that I simply enjoyed playing so much — I wouldpractise the drums before going to school in themorning as well as in the afternoon and eveningafter I came back home from school. And I wasalways listening to music. My first teacher was verypatient and loving, important qualities when dealingwith such a young student! Most of the drum heroesand mentors I have met throughout my life havebeen generous and nurturing when it comes tosharing their information and passion for this music.I learned to respect the music and the musiciansfrom these masters, many of whom I met at summerjazz camps. I attended these camps beginning in

1961 when I was seven years old, up until highschool ! whereupon I went away to the InterlochenArts Academy for year-round training in music.

dD: At what stage did you realise you wanted tobe a professional, and how did you go aboutmaking that happen?PE: Well, I got my American Federation ofMusicians union card when I was 14 years old, andbegan working that summer of 1968 at varioushotels and clubs in Atlantic City, New Jersey. But Iknew that I wanted to be a professional from thestart, and that’s also why I spent so much of my timepractising and listening to music. I calculated that Iplayed the drums — in practice and in concert —10,000 hours by the time I was asked to play withWeather Report in 1978.

dD: Speaking of Weather Report, your resumeincludes a who’s who of entertainment. Whathave been some of your recording andperformance highlights?PE: My new book “No Beethoven,” (available soonas an electronic book title from the Apple iBookstore, etc.) contains MANY stories that took place inthe studio or on tour ! here is a short story aboutmy first recording with Weather Report, after my firstrehearsal/audition, but before our first trip to Japanwhere I premiered as their drummer in concertduring the summer of 1978. My first recordingexperience was to do a hi-hat overdub on Joe’s tune“Young and Fine”. He wanted to tinker with the feelof the fine drum track that Gadd had played, and Iset up a hi-hat in a small iso-booth and played alongwith the track from start to finish while Joe watched

digitalDRUMMER, NOVEMBER 2012 31


a World Cup soccer game on TV in the controlroom. When I was finished, I took off myheadphones and climbed around the mic stand andwalked into the control room. Joe seems to beconcentrating on the game. I ask, “How was it?” tothe room. Zawinul replies: “You tell me.” And so Isay, “I think it was good.” “Okay, then,” he says.“Watch the game.”

That story told, I feel very blessed to have playedwith so many great and interesting musicians. Lovedthe albums I’ve done with vocalists Joni Mitchell,Mary Chapin Carpenter and Seth MacFarlane(“Music Is Better Than Words,” an incredibleswinger of an album) ... proud of the WeatherReport stuff, most excited by my own recordings onFuzzy Music! It’s a good life.

dD: You are very active in education – not onlyas a faculty member at Thornton, but throughclinics, books and DVDs. What motivates you towant to share your skills with others?PE: The art and craft of music includes the passingalong of information to next generations; I ammerely following in the footsteps of my own musicalheroes. Knowledge is best when shared. (My fatherwas a great teacher as well...).

dD: What’s your view on the impact of theInternet and video piracy on training DVDs andthe like? Is there still a future in the industrywhen people simply rip off your material andpost it on YouTube?PE: Today’s technology makes it easier than ever tooffer instruction and to share information. Somehow,in the giving, there is much reward, and the digitalrevolution is creating a new paradigm andrelationship between the musician and his or heraudience. It’s an exciting as well as frightening timeto be a musician, but mostly an exciting time to bean educator as well as a musician. The soberingreality is that the economics of the music businessare undergoing drastic change. Piracy has longbeen a problem, and the advent of digital technologyhas made it far more widespread than most of usmight have envisioned. But it’s a new reality thatmust be met more by smarts than a knee-jerk orbrute-force reaction. The challenge is in getting ouraudience to understand that ensemble music ofgood quality cannot be created solely on a machinein someone’s second bedroom. I am confident thatthe demand for good music will win in the end, andthe music community can take clever advantage ofthe possibilities that networking offers us. Like anyform of democratisation, there will always begrowing pains.

One very exciting development has been thecreation of the iPhone, iPad and the world of apps.

Imagine: a worldwide distribution network that notonly gets your creative enterprise out to as manypeople as possible – globally - but also allows thecreators to update their work and get those updatesto all of their customers automatically. This isgenius! So, I see the app as a very important part ofthe new paradigm in reaching our audience.Educationally as well as enthusiastically (i.e., theenthusiasm I have for my music), I created theErskine Joy Luck PlayAlong app with developerLucas Ives. Current music-minus-one offerings allowfor one tune, minus one instrument, to bedownloaded and used for 99 cents; with my app, the


With everything inmusic, one style orsong or sound caninfluence the nextmusical step ...


user has 11 songs, minus drums or minus bass orminus piano, along with scores, parts andtranscriptions, educational text plus extras like thealbum tracks as well as session photos, etc., all forUS$4.99. And now that the technology is in place,we plan on creating more and more PlayAlongprojects utilising different styles and instrumentation,to give aspiring musicians something aside fromfusion or big band-based practice tracks. The initialresponse to this is very encouraging; people seemto love it. I’ll also make one of these with the Rolandkit one of these days; certainly, Roland V-drums orthe like is an excellent way to utilise something likethe Erskine Joy Luck PlayAlong app by the end-user.

dD: Okay, now to the nitty gritty for our readers.Can you tell us about your electronic percussionexperiences? What gear have you owned overthe years?PE: I’ve long been interested in technology andgadgetry, from using reel-to-reel, sound-on-sound,tape-bouncing techniques to create my audition forhigh school (Interlochen, I quadruple-tracked apercussion ensemble piece for one of my auditionselections), to being part of the team that createdthe drum sounds on the Oberheim DMX drum“machine”, to creating a variety of sample libraries(for Yamaha, for “Living Drums” and, most recently,for Cymbal Masters’ “Virtual Erskine” library, whichjust won a Drum! magazine “Drummie” award forbest sampled library this year!) ... all along the wayutilising the best that the music industry has had tooffer in terms of electronic percussion, includingSynare, Simmons, Yamaha, KAT, Korg and Roland,et al. The good part is that a world of sound can beavailable at your fingertips with electronicpercussion; the bad part is when and if someonekicks out the electric cord: then there’s silence! Butwhen everything is working, then anything ispossible!

dD: What electronic percussion gear do youcurrently have – and how do you use it?PE: I currently use the Roland TDW-20 module andpads kit for electronic recording, practising andperformance. I’m eagerly awaiting the new RolandTD-30 kit for playing and triggering purposes. WhileI have played electronic drum sets in concert (withWeather Report, Joe Zawinul’s Weather Update,Vince Mendoza and Gary Burton), as well as onrecordings (Weather Report, Steps Ahead, RickieLee Jones and my own solo albums), I currently useelectronic percussion mostly as a compositional

In the next issue

Profile: Jonathan AtkinsonIf you can plug it in and power it up, JonAtkinson will be interested in hitting it.Currently on tour with Howard Jones,Atkinson has played with many of the ‘80sgreats like Paul Young, Midge Ure, BelindaCarlisle and Kim Wilde.

The iPad as an instrumentMore than a portable device for checkingmail, the iPad is becoming a seriouspercussion instrument, thanks to bold newapps and powerful interfaces. We check outsome of the current tools.

The beaterless bassA new European e-drum maker turns thebass pedal trigger on its head with abeaterless pedal attachment. We put theKrigg to the test

Analogue DrumsIt’s not a name known to most VSTenthusiasts, but Analogue Drums has beenaround since 1999, producing drum samplesfrom tape. The Kontakt-based collectionincludes vintage kits from Ludwig,Slingerland, DW, Gretsch and Rogers

together with Zildjian, Sabian, Paist andBosphorus cymbals. We review some of theofferings.

All that and more in February ...

digitalDRUMMER, NOVEMBER 2012


device to help me envision or realise a musicalproject or dream. Music contains rhythm, melodyand harmony, but it’s all about SOUND and feeling.New sounds can help to create new feelings. Wehave a lot to thank Thomas Edison for!

dD: Let’s talk about your Platinum Samplesoffering. How did the Virtually Erskine projectcome about and how did you find the process ofrecording your gear and grooves?PE: Michael Vosbein deserves the credit for bringingme and the incredibly talented and knowledgeableJohn Emrich together. The electronic drum world ismost lacking in drum set sounds that convey orresemble what jazz drummers bring to the musicaltable in terms of touch and quality of sound. Ourchallenge was to capture what years of playingexperience and enthusiasm have brought to me sothat these qualities could be shared with morecreative musicians, drummers and non-drummersalike! We spent a lot of time recording MY drumsand cymbals in MY studio, with MY touch — Iplayed every single note ... many times and at manydynamic levels! John put everything togethermasterfully, and the result is as close to the realthing as I can imagine.

dD: John Emrich produced a video demo of theVirtually Erskine product featuring you playingyour acoustic kit and in split-screen playing theVST version on a TD-20 and the sound isshockingly close. What’s it like playing the VSTversion of your own acoustic kit – and do youhave to adjust your playing style in any wayfrom the acoustic to the electronic version?

PE: It felt like the real thing! Of course, when playingANY kit in a particular room or setting, one is facedwith making choices, and these happen prettyquickly in the scheme of things when playingimprovised music. That said, the demo is a first/one-take performance on both kits. Pretty clever idea ofMike and John’s, actually. It certainly shows howgood the samples “play” and sound, as well as howplayable the Roland V-Drum kit is.

dD: Okay, so you’re a Roland endorser but alsohave your name on a VST product. Do youenvisage that there will soon be a convergencethat allows you to play your own samples on aRoland kit and is this a direction you would liketo see happening?PE: “Convergence” is a good word as well as agood thing. With everything in music, one style orsong or sound can influence the next musical step... Joe Zawinul, master musician and synthesist,pioneered the acoustic playing of electronic sounds,i.e., his music always sounded organic because heheard his music that way. INTENTION has a lot todo with any musical venture, whether on an acousticor electronic instrument. The qualities of phrasing,rhythmic placement (consistency, accuracy, swing,funkiness, etc.) come through no matter theinstrument. Archimedes said “Give me a lever longenough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and Ishall move the world”. Give me a sound that’s goodenough, and I can move the world, too.

dD: As someone who clearly trained withacoustic drums and understands themintimately, do you see electronic percussion

This promo video shows Erskine on his acoustic kit and on the virtual version.

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ever replacing acoustic drums or do you see thetwo co-existing in the future?PE: Robots will not replace flesh and bloodhumanity, and machines or sample libraries will notreplace acoustic instruments — completely. ThereIS a displacement in the labour force - both musical

and otherwise. This is the price of technology. Butthere’s nothing sweeter than the sound of anacoustic guitar being played in a meadow, or congasand bongos being played on a summer day, or anacoustic jazz group swinging and burning in a jazzclub ... not to mention the sound of a symphonyorchestra in its full glory. Electronic instruments aretools, and any tool in the hands of a master canyield art, just as a mechanical tool in the hands of afool can result in a complete mess.

Aesthetics aside, the electronic drum set allows usat the Thornton School of Music at the University ofSouthern California to teach a classroom ofdrummers at one time versus one-at-a-timeinstruction. The drum lab class has become one ofthe more popular classes at the university, for musicmajor and non-music students alike! I like that, for astudent needing two hours of college credit,beginning drumming beats a course in MedievalGerman Literature, at least when it comes down tofun. And that’s what drumming should be, ultimately:fun. I have fun with my acoustic AND electronicdrums, and that’s part of what life is all about.

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On your marks - music.usc.edu · Erskine’s e-experience Professor Peter Erskine’s interest in drumming is more than academic. Since picking up sticks at age four, he has played