(Here’s the complete “lead sheet making” video for the Eloy lesson. And here’s the transcribed lead sheet.)
By total coincidence, it ended up being “Brazil Week” on the 8020 channel.
In one corner, my podcast guest, one of the most acclaimed Brazilian jazz drummers in recent years, with a ton of energy and wisdom, and some amazing stories.
In the other, possibly the preeminent drummer in modern metal, recently of Sepultura, and now, of course, of Slipknot.
I’ve been following the rise of Eloy Casagrande with interest. As a jazzer, I’m still not ride-or-die for 100% of the modern metal aesthetic. But certain drummers, like podcast guest Matt Halpern, polyrhythm wizard Chris Turner, and Eloy, capture my attention because of their ability to create interest within the constraints of the idiom.
Luckily, none of that will matter in today’s video, because it’s not like I’m going head-to-head with Eloy Cassgrande playing blastbeats…or whatever.
Nope - we’re meeting on much more neutral territory. The drum parts of Theo Katzman, and Vulfpeck. Drumeo’s series in which great drummers learn unfamiliar songs was the perfect canvas. And, though I’m a casual Vulfpeck fan, I too was unfamiliar with today’s song - Christmas in LA.
So it happened that on the hottest day of the year, I set up the cameras, clicked the stop-watched, and tried to learn in real time the same song that Eloy Casagrande did at Drumeo. You’ll see me reacting to both my final take and Eloy’s. Unlike other challenges I’ve done in which I’ve had days to memorize and perfect things, this was all about getting a decent take in as few takes as possible, which ended up being 2.
And if you’re tempted to skip the shed today, Isac Jamba wants you to know that’s fine, but he won’t be joining you. Jamba, who fulfilled his dream to come to the US and play and teach drums professionally, has the “do or die”/”no excuses” energy that’s motivated me to practice even harder. Listening to Isac describe all the intricacies involved in a seemingly simple samba beat, and the great fore-bearers who changed the game with things as simple as continuous 16ths with one hand, it’s hard to be anything other than motivated.
I know you’ll enjoy this pairing!