Join my mailing list to receive blog updates straight to your inbox! I rarely write more than once per week, so emails will be kept to a minimum.
Trumpet Wom’ just shared this candid shot of me laying it down in the studio back in January in Philadelphia. Ah, those were much simpler times! I can’t wait to hear the final product, which will be released in the coming months. More info on the session here.
Yesterday I got to participate in a reading of Lewis Flinn’s Hood in advance of its upcoming production in Sarasota. Let me tell ya, it was particularly delightful to make some music in a room with other people in these especially uncertain times. The percussion list for this one was big, much of which was provided by Centanni Percussion (thanks Barry!). Special shouts to music director and joyous human Brad Simmons as well as co-orchestrator Justin Goldner who gave me the call.
Thanks to the generosity of Jeremiah Fox, I got to play on a Yamaha Rick Marotta Hip Gig Kit for a show this weekend. We had one at Mannes so I was familiar with it, but I had never actually seen it all packed up. I didn’t use the rack tom because the arm mount was a bit stripped and I didn’t use the (very small) snare drum that mounts to the bass drum.
All of the drums fit into the bass drum and all of the hardware fits into the throne. The sound is great if you’re playing a small space and don’t need to produce a lot of acoustic volume. Convenient, yes but heavy as hell! I would still need to put them in a car to get to a gig comfortably. Might be a nice option as a small kit that stays set up in your home, however the price is on the higher end for sure.
I just finished a 4-show run of City of Angels with St. Bart’s Players, the longest running community theater in New York! The book is almost entirely swing so I wanted to use some of my “jazz” cymbals that don’t get a whole lot of use these days. Unfortunately, the gig was in a boomy church so I had to play extremely quietly and those dark, dry cymbals just don’t get enough rebound at soft dynamics, so I swapped them out for some old faithful As. I did, however, get to use my vintage Rogers snare which sounded particularly good for brushwork. It was great to play with my Grinch fam, Joe Graziosi, as well as MD Jon Audric Nelson.
Shot a quick excerpt of one of my favorite Selena songs as I was prepping for our set at Gold Sounds this Saturday (2/22). Enjoy and happy drumming!
I had a most excellent time playing with these ladies at the 2nd birthday for Ring of Keys at Joe’s Pub on Sunday night. Hearing Julianne Merrill on a grand piano was, frankly, mindblowing. And even though this was a cabaret, the bass was pumping and Meghan Rose was holding. it. down. Special thanks to Emily Erickson for all of her hard working prepping the music for us!
I had a fantastic 30-something hours in the Bahamas playing for presentations of the Karate Kid & Empire Records at the Broadway Across America conference. It was nice to see some old friends and make some new ones in a tropical climate in February! Congratulations to Drew Gasparini and Zoe Sarnak on their new shows! And shouts to the amazing Erica Rotstein who keeps one-upping herself on gig locations. I owe you, lady!
As you may recall, we had a helluva time doing a Selena tribute at Barbes a few months ago. Such a good time that we are doing it again! This time in Bushwick presented by Barrio Collection, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Selena’s last concert (it is a gift from God that footage from that event exists). We packed Barbes last time and hope to do it again at Gold Sounds (tickets available here). Hope to see you there!
I took a very unscientific poll on Instagram last night to gather some field evidence. So far, other than one reed player, the ONLY people who have said they haven’t seen Wicked are DRUMMERS! What does it mean??? Every musician working in theater has played a handful of these songs, so in many ways I feel like I already know the show. I suppose I should finally get my butt to the St. James!
This weekend I traveled down to Philadelphia’s Milkboy to record drums for Trumpet Wom’s (née, Trumpet Grrrl) next album.
In a rare occurrence for me, it was just drums being tracked. That offered me the freedom to start, stop, and record as I like. In some ways, it was difficult to not record with others (though I was playing over pre-recorded scratch tracks), but overall it was a more relaxing recording experience, especially since I was feeling adequately prepared despite having no prior rehearsals.
I pieced together a kit from Milkboy’s in-house gear. I used a Gretsch BD and rack, a Ludwig floor tom that our engineer Mike swore by, and a maple Pearl snare. Cymbals were a mix of brands, and they all sounded great! It was truly liberating to travel with just a backpack after hauling a giant suitcase across the country for six weeks with Grinch.
Stay tuned for this album in the coming months!
Ashley Baier is a NYC-based drummer and percussionist.
