New Todd Article

[Zan]

http://www.mikedolbear.com/story.asp?StoryID=2775

Nice write-up from a site in the UK. A lot of technical stuff too. I like when he talks about his kit.

Interview with Todd Sucherman - Styx

Todd Sucherman (Styx) - The methods and mechanics behind the power and innovation

Todd Sucherman is one of the hidden gems in the crown of iconic drummers. Hidden behind his humble persona lies a great technique with precision, power and innovation. He now prides himself in the drum seat for American Classic rock band Styx after the unfortunate death of original drummer John Panozzo in 1996. His CV also covers artists such as Brian Wilson, Peter Cetera, Eric Marienthal and Spinal Tap to name a few and he continues to hold a respected status amongst the field of recording artists.

From a drummer’s perspective and in performance Todd’s interaction with the band reveals not only his fluid versatility but his dynamic control. His slick nuances in a rock situation demonstrates a great example of how he blends grooves and licks in a band. Todd’s accolades include Modern Drummer awards for #1 Educational DVD ‘Methods and Mechanics for Useful Musical Drumming’ as well as #1 Rock Drummer in 2009 including #1 Drum Clinician in DRUM!

I caught up with him at LG NEC Arena in Birmingham during the UK and European tour with Journey and Foreigner.

It’s very obvious that your drumming oozes passion, where did this stem from?

It began with my father who was a drummer. I was in love with the drums ever since I was an infant. I would see my dad play and when he wasn’t working he would bring the set in the house, set it up and I was drawn to it like a moth to the flame.

My dad was a drummer and a doctor. He put himself through med school during the war era and he was 50 years old when I was born. He was gigging in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s and he was one of the house drummers in the Chez Paris nightclub in Chicago for eighteen years which was like the Cotton Club of Chicago. His career had slowed down a bit from playing by the time I came around so the drums were always in the house. My two older brothers played bass and piano respectively and it just made sense that I round up the rhythm section. I really started playing when I was two and by the time I was four, when my feet could reach the pedals, that’s when I was playing beats and my father went through different books teaching me how to read music. I did my first paying gig when I was six.

Where did the foundation of your drumming come from meaning your influences before you merged into your own style of playing?

Other than my father, my first drum hero was Danny Seraphine. I used to sit all day as an infant listening to Chicago II on my Mickey Mouse record player. That has imprinted itself into my musical DNA. It was such a great thing to be the youngest in a musical family because one day it’ll be Count Basie playing in the living room and then Led Zeppelin and then Beethoven. There were all these different kinds of music and to me it was just music. Aerosmith, Kiss and I remember my brother coming home with a Journey record when I was nine. So through coincidence, the fact that we toured with Journey in 2003 and now doing this run here in the UK it’s like a funny full circle.

Steve Smith’s playing spoke to me on a very deep level and I hunted down other records that he’d played on including the Jean Luc Ponty record called ‘Enigmatic Ocean’ which he played on in 1977. That for me was the fusion bible. When I heard that it was like the sun poking through the clouds and I was able to understand more complicated playing.

The basis of my playing is routed in jazz ‘cause I did have an early education and background and that’s where the instrument came from. I think that’s one reason why I don’t sound just like a rock drummer ‘cause I have that influence and understanding of the instrument. But I also grew up in the era of rock so I could fuse those two influences simultaneously as rock music was defining itself through the ''60’s and ''70’s when I was growing up. I think it’s steeped in history but I’m also looking forward, especially with Styx’s music. I didn’t play on the famous records so I have to honour the music and play certain flavours and feels that came before me. I’m a different human being and a different drummer than their original drummer John Panozzo was. What he left me were fun templates for me to try an update so I could bring my own style to the music while still keeping it in the same flavour that the fans know and love.

What, in your opinion, are the most important technical aspects to know as a drummer?

It’s important to really understand that technique is only a means to an end. I’ve heard that phrase over the years but the older I get, the truer it seems to ring. Everything we learn as a drummer from the rudiments, stickings and compound stickings and hybrid rudiments, all of this is the alphabet; it’s to say something on the instrument.

It’s like knowing what the letters are and knowing how to form them into words and then being able to put them into sentences and then into paragraphs but ultimately the outcome is the same; you’re trying to tell a story.

So whether you’re supporting the story of the song literally or trying to say something on the drums, it’s being able to make the correct choices. It’s like the writer being able to choose the right words for the story.

So you could be playing flam drags and patta fla fla’s all over the place but unless you’re actually saying something it doesn’t mean anything. The older I get I see the profound beauty in simple things.

I might see a guy with 27 pedals and I’ll think ‘wow!!!’ but then you see Steve Gadd just playing a simple press roll going back into a verse and you think that’s the loveliest thing I ever heard. It doesn’t take a lot of technique to do that. Now it may take touch, which is an entirely different subject.

It’s a roundabout way of answering your question but that’s how I kinda think about it. It''s important to have knowledge of the building blocks of our instrument and use them musically in a supportive fashion.

In a conversation I had with Bernard Purdie, his take was that when you’re practising, to take note of the beats you play but when you’re in a band, take more notice of the space between the beats – what’s your take on this concept?

Absolutely, some of my favourite things I’ve recorded aren’t the fanciest or the flashiest, it’s where a certain big open fill does have those spaces, almost Ringo style and I’ll go yes, that’s exactly what I intended it to be. It’s amazing as you’re growing up and learning, you’re playing and you’re thinking it’s sounding one way and then you listen to a recording of it and you think ‘I didn’t mean for it to feel like that at all’ or it may feel a lot faster and more frantic when I was playing it.

I think it’s a good exercise to record yourself so you can hear those spaces better. I don’t think it’s a matter of me getting a little older but I’m finding that in a ‘live’ situation that I’m not ripping through the drums as hard as I used to. I see clips of me in my twenties making the cymbals scream, ripping through them, and now I wonder if that approach wasn''t really bringing the best attributes to the music. It may have looked OK in a showbiz sort of way but I don’t think it necessarily served me or the music in the way I thought it was.

I still play hard ‘live’ but drums and cymbals are only going to get so loud and it is nice to let the microphones do a little bit of the work. That’s what I think of it now, I think things breathe better and feel better if I’m not trying to shred through metal.

What comes to mind instinctively is the approach by reggae drummers, who haven’t had that technical upbringing and play for the song – they seem to message the rhythm well for the songs they’re playing?

There''s a lot to be learned by listening to those guys. Talk about leaving spaces. That''s what it''s all about there. All those tight crisp sounds highlight the spaces even more when you think about it. You have to really be aware of the spaces with sounds like that because a cranked up snare can give the illusion that things are on top feel wise. Whereas a puffy "baseball bat in the birthday cake" snare sound can give the illusion that things are more laid back, feel wise. So the fact that the great reggae player leave so much space with the tight sounds is all the more amazing when you listen to how they phrase those idiosyncratic feels.

Listening to a wide range of music can only help drummers from a rhythmic perspective. How important is it to not be trapped in one genre of music?

Being versatile will help you be employable for your whole life, if that''s what you desire to do. You have to be familiar and comfortable with a myriad of styles if you want to work - whether on the world stage or just doing weekend gigs around your town. If you want to do just one thing and stick to it, that''s fine and it''s your choice. But if you choose that, you''re creating a hard road for yourself if you have any interest in doing this for the long haul. A pop star has a short life span but a musician can work forever.

For me, doing other projects and playing other kinds of music is essential. I can then come back to the band refreshed with renewed vigour. I love food, and I don''t want to eat the same meal over and over. I crave variety and that can be equated to playing different music with different musicians. Variety is the spice of life, cliché as it may sound. If you have an open mind and open ears then you are on your way to being employable as a musician and not just a drummer in a band.

Let’s talk about your choice of equipment. Witnessing your performance, your whole drum sound was incredibly big and vibrant. Respecting that part of this is due to excellent drum maintenance by your drum tech and the soundman, what do you look for in your equipment sound in general?

Well, first I''m choosing the right gear for the music. But I''ve always gravitated towards thick shelled drums which I believe have a strong fundamental note which the microphone reads easier. Many thinner shelled toms have ‘boingy’ overtones making it harder for the mic to decipher. This is why I was drawn to the Pearl Masterworks, which I''ve been using for over ten years. They have to sound beautiful and look beautiful. So I go for a strong clear tone with a punchy attack, and clear Remo Ambassadors top and bottom give me that aquatic punch I hear in my head. The bottom heads are slightly higher in pitch which gives the tone a nice dip.

I''ve been tuning my snare lower recently for more fatness than pop. With cymbals, my choices are completely different live with Styx than what I might choose in the studio or use at clinics. I want it big and bright onstage, and I might choose darker thinner models for other sessions and projects. So again, it comes down to choosing the right tools for the job. For example, live I use Sabian Vault crashes with Styx but in my new DVD I''m using a few Artisans and AAX studio crashes and sometimes a Legacy and other bits depending on the track.

I also have a new limited edition signature snare drum coming out in conjunction with master builder Pete Stanbridge that''s a drum of unparalleled opulence. The entire package is something that''s never been done before, and I''m really excited about it. I use the drum in the upcoming "Methods and Mechanics II" DVD coming out in September. As far as my tech and front of house mixer, I consider them both the best in the business and I''m very fortunate to have them.

Phrasing and dynamics play an important part in your expression and performance; can you pass on any tips on the development of this aspect of technique?

Phrasing and dynamics should play an essential role in any musician''s vocabulary or sense of expression. Without it, it would just be a constant din. So it''s imperative to use dynamics to shape and build a song so it lifts and has somewhere to go. You''re telling a story on your instrument but more importantly your supporting and helping get the story of the song across.

Phrasing comes from really wanting your fills to have a shape and a purpose. They have to mean something and propel the music into another section, or telegraph changes in the musical landscape. Whether simple or difficult, a fill should have purpose and not be there just to take up space. Otherwise it''s quite pointless. You have to listen to the great players and think why did these guys do certain things? Why does this work? Then record your practice sessions and figure out why you are not liking what you''re hearing and you have to be brutally honest with yourself. Most of the time it will come down to feel, dynamics and phrasing that''s the issue, and why some things may sound "professional" and other things sound "amateur."

Every note you play is a choice so you really have to think about what you''re painting on the kit. There''s no experience like experience and that comes from playing music with others all the time, recording yourself, and striving to improve every time you play.

Your DVD ''Methods & Mechanics'' has been described through reviews as "...astonishing technique, power with musicality in performance", what inspired your forthcoming DVD which is the sequel ''Methods & Mechanics II'' and what can we expect?

First off, thank you for going to my mom for a quote (laughs). Really, Methods and Mechanics II is a companion piece for the first one. I''m going on the assumption, pretentious as it may be that the viewers have the first one and are familiar with the materials from it. So there are more lesson type bits in the first DVD. The second one is more performance and philosophical based which I feel is a natural progression from "1". There are also threads that run through it that take you on the road and deals with being a touring musician. Bits about airports, airplanes, town cars, hotels, luggage and I breeze through these notions rather quickly as there''s nothing worse than labouring the point. I choose not to talk to everyone like they are five years old. My pace is brisk and I think that keeps continued interest. But it encompasses a whole side of this life that''s never been presented before, and they are things you need to know or at least think about if you want to do this for a living. It goes beyond basic "how to" instruction. It''s rather hard to describe.

There are 15 song performances with breakdowns, various solo improvisations, career navigational techniques, and various points of instruction. It''s really why the full title of the DVD is "Methods and Mechanics II: Life on the Road, Songs, Solos, Stories and Lessons." But I guess what inspired it is just really to pass on useful information to other musicians.

Many potential drummers fall by the wayside when entering this attractive business. Respecting that striking a balance with the love and passion for drumming and facing some of the harsh realities the music business has to offer can be a challenge. Can you offer any survival tips to upcoming new blood drummers?

Versatility is key. The more you know, the more gigs you can take, the more people you meet. But beyond that is that you really have to want to do this. You have to put in the time and do it while you''re still young before the responsibilities of the world start chipping into your free time. You must do it because you love playing, and if you''re seeking fame and fortune you''re barking up the wrong tree. You must be patient and persistent (without being pushy) and do all you can to create your own luck. Always be on time, show up prepared, show up with the right gear, know how to read music, nail the job, and leave everybody happy that you were there. That''s how I''ve tried to conduct my business, and the only thing you have control over are your own actions.

Equipment:

Pearl Masterworks drums with Bubinga finish inside and outside. 24K gold hardware.
(head sizes first)
8x7 tom
8x8 tom
10x8 tom
12x8 tom
14x14 floor tom
16x16 floor tom
20x14 gong drum
14x5 20 ply snare drum
(2) 22x18 bass drums

Sabian Cymbals all brilliant finish
19" AAX Extreme China
17" Vault Crash
6" AA Splash
14" AA Regular Hi Hats
8" AAX Splash
19" Vault Crash
10" AA Splash
22" Vault Precision Ride
13" AAX Stage Hats
18" Vault Crash
9" Prototype Bell
10" Chopper
22" AAX Extreme China
20" AA Medium Crash

Heads:
Remo clear Ambassadors top and bottom of toms
Remo clear Powerstroke 3 on bass drum batters
Custom designed Bubinga finish front heads by Drum Art
Remo coated Ambassador snare top, Hazy Ambassador snare side

Sticks:
Pro Mark Todd Sucherman Autograph Series SD330W

Hardware:
Pearl rack, cymbal stands, throne, bass drum pedals.
Sonor Signature legless hi hat

Microphones:
Audix in home studio
Audix and other models live

Endorsements:
Drums: Pearl
Cymbals: Sabian
Hardware: Pearl Hardware and Pedals
Heads: Remo Drumheads
Sticks: Promark
Microphones: Audix

For more information: www.toddsucherman.com
Interview: Jerome Marcus
Photography: Jerome Marcus
Additional Photography: Todd Sucherman
Website: www.jeromemarcus.com