Not sure how long it’s been on the site, but the January Tool Newsletter is now available on Toolband and Toolarmy. It’s really just a bit of a recap of Tool-related news over the last couple of months, confirming that Tool aren’t doing much at the moment, and that Danny, Adam and Justin are all abroad (or have been) and that Maynard is busy with Puscifer and Caduceus stuff.
I stumbled across this extremely short interview with Danny by Artisan News Services on Youtube, where he mentions briefly that they might start writing a new album this year. Skip to about 1:20 for the 10 seconds or so of actual DC interview (the rest is just filler).
To be honest, it doesn’t say much, and the article is making a bigger deal of this than it really is, but it’s comforting to know that at least there are plans to get stuck into things, hopefully soon!
Some footage from Artisan News Service/Youtube has been released which shows some of the drum off between Danny and Brann from Mastodon with backing band VOLTO! at the recent Guitar Centre Drum Off:
Anyone who has some better footage/lengthier of this event should let me know! Thanks to Brian for the tip!
Danny’s website seems to be back online today, with the new redesign that has been promised for a while now. It’s quite Flash intensive, and features some cool sections. Amongst other things it has an extremely tasty video section…
Thanks to all of you who emailed me last night about this: I was too busy celebrating the arrival of 2010 to put this up! I them meantime, stay tuned for a best of 2009 article later today!
According to a recent post on Toolband, Danny has been holidaying in Bali, and girlfriend Rynne managed to take a snap of him playing a gamelan. Blair also hints that its “perhaps a sign of things to come?”. If I remember correctly, the gamelan was mentioned when 10,000 Days was in the wings as well…
AcousticPhenomena emailed me today to let me know that DGM Live are releasing a King Crimson live show, recorded on the Tool/King Crimson tour way back in 2001. While there are no plans to release the Tool set, the King Crimson set does feature Danny Carey on the second half of Red.
According to the blurb:
San Diego was the last of nine dates Crimson played opening for Tool and it catches them on dazzling form. The gigs were part of a wider KC roadtrip which took in a total of 21 concerts as the band tried and tested material for what would eventually become The Power To Believe.
Transfered directly from the multi-track ADAT tapes, and mixed by Alex “Stormy” Mundy, this truncated set acts as a first class introduction to King Crimson, which of course, for the many fans of Tool who made up the audience, is exactly what it was.
The swiping violence of the chokes on Level Five can make even the most battle-weary KC-vet stand back in wide-eyed admiration and this rendition of Deception of the Thrush captures both sides to Crimson’s musical personality, veering as it does between the terrifying and the transcendent.
The interlocking sections of TCOL are delivered with the kind of full-blooded passion that reminds us how tight a unit the Double Duo could be, whilst a truly knockout LTIA4 has a savage reading of the fast lines from Fripp and a classic squerning wern-fest Belew solo at the end.
A highly-charged gig where the team blow the doors off the venue with a tight uncompromising set in which even the older material sounds fresh out of the writing room. This is also the concert where during the second portion of Red, the team are joined by Tool drummer Danny Carey, who slips behind Pat’s kit to give it some thumping goodness.
One word describes this gig: Essential.
Audio samples are available on the site.
Mattia emailed me to let me know about the Guitar Center Drum Off Finals 2010, which will feature a collaboration between Danny and Mastodon’s Brann Dailor:
Guitar Center announced today that Tommy Lee and the Street Drum Corps’ Frank Zummo will present “Bezerk” – an exclusive project commissioned by Guitar Center, featuring some of today’s top drummers and artists – as part of the upcoming Drum-Off Grand Finals, taking place January 8, 2010 at The Wiltern in Los Angeles. Artists performing in “Bezerk” include Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Matt Sorum (Guns ‘N Roses, Velvet Revolver), José Pasillas (Incubus), DJ Aero, Sully Erna (Godsmack), Jay Weinberg, BANG! and others to be announced. Hosted by Stephen Perkins (Jane’s Addiction), this historic evening will also include a very special tribute to John Bonham by Jason Bonham, along with an exclusive collaborative performance by Danny Carey (Tool) and Brann Dailor (Mastodon).
These all-star drummers will all come together on one stage to celebrate the night’s main event: performances by the top five undiscovered drummers in the nation, who will compete in front of a capacity crowd and a panel of celebrity judges to see who will win a prize package worth more than $40,000 and the title of “Guitar Center Drum-Off Champion” – the nation’s top undiscovered drummer. Guitar Center will also induct drum icons Billy Cobham and John Bonham into Guitar Center’s Drum Legends as part of the evening’s festivities.
Tickets for the show are only $10, and are on sale now at LiveNation.com.
Find out more details Here!
Sounds like a fun night!
A few videos have come over my desk the last few days, and I’m finally getting around to posting them.
The first are a range of videos from the recent Danny Carey, Aloke Dutto, Terry Bozzio drum clinic in Kansas. There’s a stack of them out there, but here’s the best I found:
There’s also a video Maynard talking about his winery and the viability of the industry in Northern Arizona.
Danny Carey, along with Aloke Dutta and Terry Bozzio held a Drum Clinic in Kansas over the weekend, and Fourtheye reader Sniper36 was happy to share his review of the event:
So I went to the clinic from Denver, flew in Saturday and out Sunday. All in all it was worth it, but thats just me being optimistic. I did really enjoy it, however there were a few things that kinda sucked. First off, I was lucky enough to have absolutely nothing to do, so I got there early. Unfortunately, the show started about an hour and fifteen late. They said they were sound checking, and because so, the 1200 or so ppl there had to wait in an enormous line outside. since I got there early I was probably somewhere around #20-30 in line. Met some cool locals, and some cool out-of-towners.
Aloke was pretty entertaining. He seems like he has a good sense of humor and because so, he’s pretty goofy and funny. His fingers are amazingly fast, but the track he played as a bed to each of his songs was the exact same loop…very sleep-inducing. He and Danny then jammed together, did some trade fours which was again funny. Aloke would play something so ridiculously fast that he knew Danny couldn’t mirror it on a set, so he’d look at him like “Go ahead, try THAT!”.
Danny then came on and started playing right away. This was pretty cool, but it was just a jam. It was what any musician does when they sit down and just play what comes to mind first…but still on a “Danny” level. Then he spoke a little, saying that he was going to address some FAQ’s from his website (Compound Signatures, Polyrythyms, 4-way independence). He was really funny on stage, he seemed extremely nervous and humble, fidgeting with his mic stand and sticks,nervously laughing and saying, “I don’t really know if I should even try to address odd timing after Aloke just played” and, “I should probably leave the polyrythyms to Terry”. He played Jambi (odd timing), Then The Pot (Polyrythym). He was pretty rough around the edges during the songs. It sounded like maybe he couldn’t hear himself, or the music track enough. A few times he was pretty damn off. He also talked a bit about rudiments, and how his favorite is the swissy (swiss triplet). He said he probably overuses it in tracks like Third Eye, Aenima, Lateralus, Rosetta Stoned, etc. Then to demonstrate he played part of Third Eye, all of Rosetta Stoned, and all of Aenima. The drum breakdown in Rosetta is all Swiss’s on the hands, for those drummers who haven’t figured that one out yet (myself included).
He also explained Jambi a bit, saying that when Justin brought in the bass part it reminded him of Pee Wee’s Playhouse..makalaka hai maka hiney ho. Then Maynard thought of the genie, Jambi and started writing about making wishes. Go figure.
Terry was badass, but in another disappointment of the show, he didn’t have his personal set. He had a 9 or 10 peice DW that he called a “little hot rod”. After Terry, All three came out to play together, and that was ok. it was mostly Terry and Aloke though, since Danny played a basic beat with Rodz sticks. It def. didn’t seem rehearsed at all, as it just kinda fizzled at the end. I thought it would be cool to leave it open, but write an ending that would end the show with some energy.
Again, it was cool but those few moments when Danny messed up pretty bad were disappointing. He just didn’t seem “on” in those moments. He also seemed very clumsy behind the set, which is amazing to see someone tear it up like a master while at the same time looking clunky. He’s so damn huge that he can’t help but beat the living shit out of his set. The atmosphere was really cool and personal, Danny was so humble and nervous that it just didn’t seem like the same guy on stage at Tool shows. He stood up after Rosetta and said “Damn, I butchered that” and under his breath, “we didn’t tour enough this year”. Some one in the crowd yelled back “We all agree” and Danny shook his head as if to say “You’re telling me”. Danny’s dad and family were there as well, his dad rolled up in a caddy with plates that said “TOOLDAD”. Kinda cool.
There’s no doubt I’d travel to see another clinic, but I would hope he’d practice for a few days before it next time. Maybe his nerves are the reason he’s only done 5 or so in his whole career. Anyone else that went, correct me if I got something wrong. I apologize for the length, but there was def. some cool stuff I wanted to share.
p.s., to ppl looking to learn something, there wasn’t much. When Danny brought up 4-way-independence and polyrythms, he just said “I don’t really know what to tell you besides practice. You have to just put in the time in order to gain freedom”. He also recommended the books that are already on his website, The New Breed and either Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer or 4-Way Coordination, I forgot which. Any drummers without those books should run to the store before playing again, I’ve had them since I started playing 15 years ago and you can never really master them, as you can always add on to the lessons, and play faster.
Sounds like a good event! If anyone else has anything to add, including pictures then let me know and I’ll happily post them.
Blair has released the August 2009 Tool newsletter. He talks about several things, including him being sick, Danny hosting a BBQ for the stage crew, Puscifer tour dates, and a list of events coming up. He also mentions that November 12th will be here soon (whatever that means).
He also talks about, and shows a picture of Danny’s new Gong.
Finally, he goes on to say “What do you think of that, Mr. Bottrill?”
Let the speculation commence!