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 Interview by Adrian Griffin DrumThumper.com.au
If you're a drummer and you spend any time on the web looking at drum stuff (you're here now aren't ya??) then you've probably heard of Sickdrummer.com. Surely you would have seen some of their drummer vids and interviews on YouTube or checked out the website. I'm talking to Ian Macdonald from Grind Percussion about a very cool magazine that Sickdrummer is starting up for drummers. DT - Hey Ian, for those who don’t know, could you tell us a bit about Sickdrummer.com? SD - Sure... I started the site about 18 months ago, to try and give underground metal drummers a place of their own. Being a drummer of 20+ years myself, I have always been a fan of extreme metal drummers and always realized how much of "the shaft" these drummers have gotten. Not only are there tons of them just dripping with talent, I can't even name one that has been anything but nice, loyal, respecting and appreciative for all we have been doing. It's come a long way, but I want it to always be the place where up and coming metal drummers hang with the kings, ya know. DT - And what is Sickdrummer Magazine is all about. SD - Sick Drummer Magazine is our vision to take this genre and give it a mainstream media outlet. We plan on taking this magazine to the doors of all the other "big" mags and kicking them down. Not only will the magazine be informative & thorough, it will be a bridge to getting these drummers another step closer to the mass appreciation and distribution they deserve. We have teamed up with a few heavy hitting labels and can say that the first issue is already set to be exposed to nearly 60,000 fans of metal, drumming and target industry consumers. The initial issues will be available for free, to any registered member of our site. It will be available in a downloadable *pdf or a tentative Flash based "flipping" browser book that can hold audio samples, video and link directly to our advertisers sites. DT - I’ve heard you’ve got a bunch of awesome drummers contributing to the mag. Who are they? SD - We are both humbled and honored to announce that some of the regular contributing columnists are: Derek Roddy, Sean Reinert, Charlie Zeleny, John Merryman, Bobby Jarzombek, Dave Culross, Adam Jarvis, Elliot Hoffman, Tim Yeung, Duane Timlin, Eric Park, Gus Rios and others... We have 2 industry recording professionals that will also be writing about drum preparation for live & studio situations. DT - What sort of things will be covered? SD - Each issue will hold a changing number of columns from the sicko list above. They will be covering things like: gear, experiences, tour stories, tips, tricks, video instruction, audio, notation and more... We will also be covering news from the scene, running contests, holding competitions and doing exclusive interviews with many other types of drummers. DT - Will you be focussing mainly on metal drummers or other styles outside of metal too? SD - The main focus is obviously underground extreme metal, but we will be featuring legends as well. Another of our goals is to try and cross promote the genre's in a way that offers up and coming metal guys a look at the experiences and advice from drummers who have been successful in any genre. DT - Without giving too much away…who and what is going to be featured in the first issue? SD - haha, no problem... The first issue will hold columns fro Charlie Z, Sean Reinert, Gus Rios and also interviews with some of the following: Billy Cobham, Ray Luzier, John Longstreth, Romain Goulon or Charlie Benante. We are also doing stories on other topics like: The upcoming Misery Index Recording (with video), The "Blast Off" Drum Competiotion, an introductory column from Bruce Moore, one of our sound professionals and other assorted content. The magazine will also have a place for bands who want to advertise at a discounted rate and expose their music to another 60,000 people. DT - Will you be doing a print version in the future? SD - We are hoping that a regular print version will be the way it ends up, but there will be specific issues and/or seasonal print issues offered. DT - What other stuff can we expect to see down the track? SD - You can expect sickdrummer.com to remain the leader on the web for extreme metal drumming. You can expect Grindstix to be a much larger drumstick operation, you can expect the magazine to take over the world and for Sick Drummer Records to be in the position to sign individual bands. You can also look out for our Blast Off Drum Competition to be a worldwide event.... Thanks for the questions Adrian, good luck with DT! Ian Macdonald - Grind Percussion... So keep your eyes and ears peeled! Check out Sickdrummer Magazine or die! \m/ |
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