Warm up tip for drummers during the winter

At first thought you'd might be incline to think "oh, another list of para diddles to drive everyone crazy while I warm up". And while that is certainly an important step in a playing situation it's not it. Do your dishes. That's right, fill the sink with how water and do a load of dishes! 10 to 15 minutes in the hot, soapy water will totally loosen you up for your rudiments and playing. Works every time guaranteed. Now, an important point, don't wear rubber gloves! It's not nearly as effective if you do.
While this is a great way to warm up at home, obviously you're not going to roaming the neighborhood at a gig looking for some one's dishes to do. Fill the sink in the men's room with hot water and immerse your hands, again for as long as you feel the need. You might make it a point of keeping a couple of universal sink plugs in your gig bag for this purpose.
Keep in mind that just keeping your hands in running water will not do the trick either. Nor, is placing them over heaters, radiators and similar heat sources.
One final note. After getting them nice and loose from this trick put on a pair of light gloves (or your drumming gloves) to retain the heat. They will chill down if there's too long a wait before playing.

Hot Rods and Tendonitis

by John Keyser

It occurred to me that maybe some of you older players may not be aware of a product that could cut down on the arm pain, mainly tendinitis, that you're probably experiencing after years of playing drums. They're call "Hot Rods". That's the Pro Mark version that I use. They're widely made under different names by various stick companies and come in different diameters, presumably for different effects.

While they're great for low volume gigs I especially like them because they don't transfer "shock" from playing, up your arms. And believe me, after 40 years of playing rock it can hurt pretty bad! With a little experimentation you could probably make your own too. I tend to "chew" them up on my hi hats. I picked up a bunch of shiskabob sticks for a buck in the local "Christmas Tree" shop and plan on hot-gluing them together. If you've already done this give me a shout on how yours turned out.

The coldest gig of the year!

As usual, playing on New Year's Eve can be a bitter sweet event. Most likely you're making the most money for one night in the calendar year you can ( club musicians ) but at the same time there can be all sorts of drawbacks. This year my girlfriend didn't make it. This is especially glum because she's hasn't seen me play in bands that much and was missing out because of difficulties like distance, out-of-state relatives in town and other annoying hindrances.
The other factor this year was bitter cold. I mean way below zero with the wind chill factor!
I'm told it definitely cut down on the crowds moving between venues.
But, in the end alls well that ends well. With check in hand I drove home, knowing I wouldn't be getting pulled over for drunk driving as I don't drink.
I hope your gig this year was good and you don't have any horror stories to tell. But if you do, drop me a comment.
John