By Tim Kane

Long before the advent of the modern day drummer in America and women’s incredible contributions leading that movement, our country enjoyed early female drumming pioneers the likes of Viola Smith (née Schmitz). 

Born November 29, 1912 in Wisconsin, Viola was the first professional female jazz drummer and noted for using up to 15 drums in her trap set. Many of the early percussion instrument choices Viola used on her trap kit with her first family band the Smith Sisters are the same ones used today by jazz/rock drummers and in group drum circles. Viola approached the drum kit like an orchestral composer meets trained facilitator, surrounding herself with as many tools as possible to create the ultimate rhythm and sound. Sound familiar? Remember Keith Moon’s large double bass drum rock kit with The Who in the 1970s, Neil Peart’s mammoth 360-degree stage kit with Rush in the 1980s, or fellow jazz drumming great Billy Cobham’s 10-piece fiberglass “Fibes” kit playing with Miles Davis in the 1960s? Viola literally invented the large drum kit set-up. 

She particularly enjoyed the woodblocks, congas and more famously her unique innovation employing elevated tom toms on her right and left side, which are now an industry standard. Back in the 1930s, many tom-toms required real animal skin heads just like we use today on authentic djembes and frame drums. There are many parallels between what drummers do and use for gear today and the giant footprint Viola carved. She was also humble enough to seek more training attending renowned music college, Juilliard School, and by taking lessons with legendary drummer, teacher and snare drum builder, Billy Gladstone.

When I first heard of Viola’s death, I only had a vague understanding of her immense contributions to the women’s movement and drumming. She was known as the fastest girl drummer in the world and a female version of Gene Krupa. She began drumming at age 12 and took the stage soon after touring the United States and world in orchestras, swing bands, and popular music from the 1920s until 1975 – all during a musical time largely dominated by male drummers and other musicians. Who can forget Viola’s brilliant composition on “Snake Charmer” by the Coquettes – an all-female orchestra she started – where her elevated tom-tom sounds and patterns closely resembled West African Dunduns. Not surprisingly, her dad was also an orchestra leader and gifted cornet player. Viola drummed on Broadway and performed at the inauguration of President Truman. Bucking the female novelty stigma of her time, Viola also appeared on the cover of Billboard Magazine and wrote female musician-centric articles for DownBeat.

Viola was still playing her trap set at age 104. What many may not know is that in her final days before moving on into the universe this past October at age 107, she battled Alzheimer’s Disease at a faith-based community in southern California called Peacemakers. 

I’m exhausted just researching all of Viola’s incredible contributions to jazz music and the drumming community as a whole. Let her drum in peace.

• Tim Kane is a professional drum set musician, percussion instructor and drum circle facilitator who serves as newsletter curator for the Drum Circle Facilitators Guild. Learn more about him at www.kanedrums.com. 

Blending diverse rhythmic and musical styles into the mainstream scene with good taste has been Tim Kane’s forte as a Massachusetts-based drummer, percussionist and music educator for more than 25 years.

Kane began drumming and playing trombone in fourth grade. He graduated from Fitchburg State College where he was course and ensemble trained in jazz, concert and various school-based jam bands. He also studied and performed with a jazz quintet at the well-respected Indian Hill Music Conservatory in Littleton, Mass.

Today, Tim is entering his 10th year as the drum set and percussion instructor at Eagle Hill High School in Hardwick where he implemented an innovative new percussive arts and djembe group drum circle program for special needs students as well as teaching privately in his home recording studio. He also teaches songwriting and digital audio recording. He can help you record a cover or original song demo.

He endorses Vic Firth Drum Sticks and worked previously for several years as a professional educational and product writer for Dixon Drums and Gibraltar Hardware. He had a major story about famed Police drummer Stewart Copeland published in Modern Drummer magazine two years ago that is featured here.

Kane currently tours New England every summer in a trop-rock Jimmy Buffet-style tribute band, The Island Castaways Band, which released a new CD of original songs this past spring that is getting killer airwaves on a bevy of top island music radio stations. The band’s top single is linked here. TICB’s fan base ranges from a few hundred to thousands at indoor and outdoor public and private venues, including Boston Red Sox Fenway Park festivals.

Kane also holds down jazz drums for the Trinity Swing Big Band, performing most every Tuesday in and around Worcester and Central Mass.

In 2012, he published a full album of his own making, composing and recording 10 original songs and playing all instruments found streaming live at Spotify and located at Reverb Nation here.

Kane expanded his drum teaching and performance business eight years ago to host “All Together Drumming” offering fun, therapeutic group hand drumming circles using djembes and other percussion in private and public settings on a weekly basis year-round. Recent clients have included Stonehenge NH, YMCA, Worcester Art Museum, area schools, senior citizens, town commons, parks and recreation depts., and the Center for Autism Awareness of Central Massachusetts.

He is an active member of the national Drum Circle Facilitators Guild, Percussive Arts Society and Massachusetts Music Educators Association.

Learn more about Tim at kanedrums.com and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/timkanedrums/

Call or text him at: 774-757-7636

Email: tim@kanedrums.com

By Tim Kane
www.kanedrums.com

I once used a credit card as a makeshift screwdriver when my kick pedal decided to take 5 during a gig. I’m sure all of you have been there as well. When things go wrong with your drum hardware, we’re often left without easy alternatives and quick solutions.

As a general rule of thumb, I never play a gig or practice without a spare hi-hat stand and second kick drum pedal at the ready. You lose either component live and you’re cooked. Stuff does breakdown from time to time, so I have compiled these top 10 drum hardware problems as a way to help the working and practicing drummer become better prepared.

1 – DETHRONED

Most drummers sit while playing so the stool or throne they own is an essential component and natural extension of the drum kit itself. What can go bump in the night with drum seats is support failure. First, it is very important that you own a seat that is comfortable and provides maximum support for your body. Otherwise, get ready for back pain and possible future spinal injuries. Spend the extra money on a good quality throne.

Most often the chief problem with seats is they become wobbly. Another common symptom with gas lift thrones is they could eventually leak and lose height-positioning finesse. And anther common issue involves the leg support bar becoming separated from its center support pole.

If beyond warranty coverage, check first with our parts department or your local office furniture manufacturer or retailer to see if they can repair your gas lift system. You’d also be amazed with what your car repair guy can fix with all of his neat gadgets and know-how.

As for annoying wobbles, the most likely culprit is because you purchased a chair with a threaded shaft, requiring you to tighten the wing nut holding the seat into its height. Those holes can become stripped over time, but the larger problem is that the thread itself – not the wing nut – is damaged. One of the best recommendations I can offer is to invest in a universal back rest. Most wobbles begin to occur because drummers are shifting around on the chair too much changing posture positions. Drummers should remain in a relatively straight position while playing and a backrest helps that effort as does buying the right seat.

When a rivet holding your leg’s horizontal support bar to the center pole falls out or snaps, you do have a few options to exercise. Beside pulling a MacGyver and putting a nut and bolt of similar size in the open hole, you may want to avoid that happenstance entirely by investing in one of our double braced throne bases. The extra strength engineered into the supports prevents rivet erosion for occurring in most cases.

2 – BEAT IT

Beyond your seat, one of the top things that can wrong on your drum kit is with kick drum pedals. Before a gig or crucial practice, check the condition of your pedal’s springs, beater nut, beater and tension rods to avoid losing use your bass drum in the middle of a song. Re-tighten and check everything. But what happens when one of these critical ingredients of your pedal system goes down? The first sign of trouble is your bass beater doesn’t spring back like it once did. The most common problem is the nut attached to your spring is too loose or has just fallen off. I carry around spare nut and pedal spring assemblies on my key ring for that very reason. As for squeaks, a non-lubricated pedal chain or spring can sound like someone dragging their fingernails down a chalkboard over mics. Best option is to carry lubricant with you to gigs and practices.

3 – DON’T WING IT

The best way to deal with a wing nut that will not screw back on securely is to not further tighten it. Often times, drummers will purchase or place the wrong sized wing nut atop their cymbal tilter, thus eventually stripping its threads. Routinely lubing your tilters with oil or WD40 will help extend their lives, too. But if a wing nut breaks or flies off in the middle of a show, your best medicine is to have some wire at the ready. When unable to properly attach a wing nut, you can temporarily lock it to the tilter’s screw by winding wire around the threads extending beyond the nut. That will get you through until you can replace the nut or purchase a new tilter.

4 -WHAT’S THAT BUZZ?

There is nothing worse than too much buzz emanating from your snare strands. This is often evident in the interaction between your drum and bassist’s amp and monitors. It’s an annoyance that can be fixed for the most part. As is the resounding theme of this blog, a bit of pre-gig maintenance can solve a whole lot of worries later. For a full check, take your snares completely off your resonant head. Lay them on a flat surface such as your batter side floor drum head. If all the wires are evenly spaced with no slight bends, they are OK. If some (or even one) is slightly bent, they need replacing.

Another tuning method to consider for reduced buzz involves how the wires interact with the head. I usually tune the lugs closest to the wires either looser for thicker tone or tighter for more sensitivity.

Those are the easy fixes for snare related issues. But what happens when you have tightened your snare-tensioning knob beyond what is reasonable and still lack a proper buzz? I always bring a back-up snare drum to gigs, but not everyone owns one. In most cases, your strainer’s tape or string that attaches to the wires’ butt plate has issues. If you forgot to bring Gibraltar spares, I have cut a makeshift strap from a drum head in the past. Another option is to buy a few extra nylon strips. And if all else fails, use shoelaces or old guitar strings for strainer cords that break.

If the wires or strainer connections are not the issue, then there is a problem with your tension knob control itself. On the fly, apply a drumstick between the bottom of the snare throw off and your hoop to tighten things down. If all else fails, duct tape your snares to the bottom head. After the gig, you should assess the working value of your strainer system, which we carry plenty of models on, and see if your shell bearing edges are worn.

5 – RACKING IT UP

For drum kit rack system owners, we could write an entire blog on how to resolve challenges. In our minds, the worst possible thing that can happen to a heavily used rack system – beyond the components mentioned elsewhere here – is your bar connection points failing. Patch-it methods won’t last long. Owning a few extras or reinvesting in rack clamps will resolve many of your challenges.

Like anything, drum hardware does vibrate and excessive noise does not bode well for miced musicians. I have heard of drummers with rack systems actually stuffing their tubes with packing popcorn, insulation or foam to dampen them and hopefully reduce crosstalk issues. The reality is that is not normally needed. One simpler method to try is to replace your bars’ stock plastic end-caps with rubber stoppers as a dampening method.

– Tim Kane is an independent drummer, instructor and writer living in Massachusetts. http://www.kaneschoolofdrums.com