MUSINGS #60 saltine strut @

I STILL LOVE YOU, ANYWAY
i had forgotten about this amazing ballad from the BUDDY MILES 1970 record "them changes".
i wore this record out and this tune never got the attention i think it should have.
it is a beautiful ballad.
the challenge here, and this is why i picked it, is that the track has no drums. just guitar building up to the last chorus with the bass sneaking in with the choir of voices.
i love a great ballad and i love the challenge of orchestrating one for the kit.
many nuances here that i want you to pay special attention to:
i only use the butt end of the stick on the snare after the side stick intro and i never go to a rim shot throughout the entire song and i stay quite faithfully in the center of the head to get a consistent and strong 2 & 4.
the first half of each verse i start on the tip of my stick on the hats then as the energy builds in each verse i go to the neck of the stick to match the intensity of the verse.
in the first chorus i'm on the tip of the stick on the ride cymbal. in the second/last chorus i start to shift onto the neck of the stick, in the middle of the ride (not the edge), to open up the cymbal and let it "wash" to match what the choir is doing and to not over accentuate the 8th notes to make it so choppy.
these are very common techniques that i apply to most ballads like this.
fills should be minimal and follow the rhythm figures of the guitar or the lyric that buddy is singing.
i do take liberties on the one fill with the triplets near the end....... but the producer of this take, me, approved it.
relax
lay back
give special attention to every note you play
send me your take.
SALTINE STRUT
another from my GROOVE TUNES library.
a PURECUSSION bass drum (from the 80's made by the company that invented the R.I.M.S suspension system) a FAT CONGAS "BAJO" cajon a MOTHERLAND djembe and an original REMO tunable tubano. played with a VIC FIRTH "GROVER #3" orchestral bass drum mallet in my right hand on the cajon and a LUDWIG 1960's era marching bass drum mallet on the djembe and the tubano.
a simple melodic groove played unconventionally.
anything is viable when it's used purposefully.
try to combine the unusual with the usual.
create your own palette of sounds and ideas.
b