Chris DeChiara

drums, percussion, timpani

VA USA

Filtering by Tag: drummer

New release! Iris Divine - Mercurial

May 28, 2022  /  Chris DeChiara

Iris Divine released their latest album recently and it’s another MUST LISTEN. I had the honor of playing percussion on it again and even got an arranging and engineering credit!

Here are some of the reviews coming in:

“The focus on delivering the right riff and rhythm section combination…keeps Iris Divine away from being a mere ‘technically brilliant’ band only for the musician set – logical songwriting skills are paramount.” Dead Rhetoric

“An Iris Divine album always gives you a unique experience, but this time it comes with genuine bounce and swagger. This is an enjoyable album, taking the band in a more commercial direction, and another definite for the playlist. 9/10 Powerplay Magazine

"The musicianship from a trio is quite impressive...Brian Dobbs is also a monster on the bass guitar, playing with the fluidity of Geddy Lee and the ferocity of Les Claypool...an intelligent and sophisticated sense of songwriting. The production is also top notch. You don’t want to miss this one." Metal Temple

Navid was more than happy for me to come up with whatever ideas I had after listening to all the demos. A lot of the guitar and keyboard lines translated easily to mallet percussion (glockenspiel, vibraphone, marimba, and/ xylophone) in my head. The industrial aspects conjured up concert bass drum hits, brake drum clangs, thundersheet wallops, and gnarly sounding effect cymbals. We also experimented with cowbell, rototoms, darabuka, djembe, hand claps, gas can, shakers, bell tree, concert toms, a jazz ride cymbal, extra snare drums, vibraslap, and I’m sure a lot more. Some of the instruments like vibraphone, marimba, and glockenspiel play in unison or in harmony with the keys and/or guitar (the breakdown of “Sapphire” especially), some instruments play their usual role (cowbell and shaker) and some add texture and impact (bass drum, effect cymbals, thundersheet etc).

The idea was to at least HAVE the options to bring into the mixing stage and then cut the fat off. A lot made it, a lot didn’t. Of course the end result is tasteful as a lot ended up being superfluous anyway.

Here is an example of the mallet parts in “Sapphire”-

And here it is in context with the bass, keys, and guitar-

Some more pics-

Here are all the pertinent links. I hope you check out this great new album!

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3agYpE1

Apple: https://apple.co/3sQ9iTt

Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/album/312597437

Youtube: https://youtu.be/E5Za-QWwtMY

Bandcamp: https://irisdivine.bandcamp.com/

CDs and T-shirts: https://irisdivine.bigcartel.com/

CDs outside of North America: https://www.layered-reality.com/.../iris-divine-mercurial/

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categories / original music
tags / rock music, prog music, progressive metal, trio, new release, metal, heavy metal, percussion, percussionist, drums, drummer, drumming, iris divine, mercurial

Sorrow & the Spire-Debut Single and Video

June 10, 2021  /  Chris DeChiara

Last Sept. 2020, I wrote about recording six songs for Sorrow & the Spire, Navid Rashid’s solo EP. I’m happy to announce that the first single, “My Misery Calling,” is officially released with an accompanying video:

Here is a link for streaming audio. Click the pic!

Navid Rashid-Vocals, Guitar
Jeff Teets-Bass Guitar
Chris DeChiara-Drums, Percussion

Special Thanks to Steve Brown (Trixter, Tokyo Motor Fist, Def Leppard) for his dedication to the project and making it sound as good as it does.

Thanks to LJCreative for being so into the project and sweating just as much as we were!

It’s interesting to watch the final video knowing the ordeal that went into setting up the shoot. The venue was Graffiti Warehouse in Baltimore, MD. There were two studios inside and we didn’t know till we were able to start bringing equipment in that we were on the second floor - up two VERY steep and long sets of stairs. Of course, I had to bring the 6-piece DW kit, rack, drum riser, and a bunch of cymbals. Needless to say, it was the hardest load-in of my entire life. And that is with help! As luck would have it, the room we were in consisted mostly of windows…letting that nice hot sun add that special touch. The natural lighting did look good though!

Since we recorded three songs, the drums would have to move to a different part of the room for each one. Sounds easy, unless your drums are on a rack system on top of a drum riser, with uneven wooden floors. Moving the kit a couple feet was an ordeal itself!

After a couple hours of shooting each song 3-4 times each, our time was up and we needed to get everything out of the building ASAP. Going downstairs IS easier, but it was still brutal. Dump everything in the alley, do an interview, pack the car, and finally…pizza. I’m not sure pizza never tasted so good. Or water. But thank you Joe’s Squared for being open and for being so damn tasty.

I really hope this project takes off as all six songs on the EP are incredibly strong. Please check out the links above and follow the band if you’d like as well:

www.facebook.com/Sorrow-The-Spire-105463695020899
www.instagram.com/sorrowandthespire

Thanks for the support!

Chris










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categories / bands, cymbals, drums, music
tags / rock music, original music, sorrow & the spire, navid rashid, jeff teets, steve brown, ljcreative, video shoot, baltimore, maryland, dw drums, soultone cymbals, promark drumsticks, drums, drummer, drumming, percussionist, ep, bass guitar, guitars, electric guitar, vocals, trio

2020: The Wrap

December 30, 2020  /  Chris DeChiara

There isn’t much to say about 2020 that we don’t already know. It left a lot of people unemployed, furloughed, relocated, and struggling mentally as well. I’ve been holed up at home most of the time and grateful I have a job that supports me. It still isn’t easy not seeing people as much and I think we’ve realized how much we need human interaction. As great as Zoom is, it’s obviously not the same.

I had the time to put together some projects that would have NEVER have happened if it wasn’t for the pandemic. Not one to sit around, there ended up being a ton of music projects. And reading!

January started with a massive bang as Eyes of the Nile (Iron Maiden tribute) opened up a show at Tally Ho (first time!) to a pretty damn nice crowd. There’s some great footage here. A couple days later, I’d realize that I would be playing there again the following week.

I wrote about this in an earlier blog (RIP Neil Peart 1952-2020), but it was one of the craziest times of my life. I flew to NAMM (in Anaheim), flew back a couple days later (to Virginia), last minute sub gig (on one week notice) for the Rush tribute, Sun Dogs at a sold out Tally Ho Theatre (Neil Peart just died the week before), flew back to NAMM (Anaheim!) the next day, shot a video of Rush’s Limelight for Soultone Cymbals, and flew back to Virginia that same night/morning. This was in a span of 8 days. A couple hours later I was rehearsing a concert with the US Navy Band and Johan De Meij conducting his own works (some of the hardest xylophone I ever had to play). The same week, De Meij also conducted a program of his own arrangements for brass and percussion with Barclay Brass. Some of his timpani parts were a challenge!

A couple more Dr.FU, Eyes of the Nile, and Nowhere Men (acoustic Beatles tribute), and classical gigs later, the pandemic hit. Things got cancelled one by one and while the concerts with the Navy Band all got cancelled (including trips to Norway for the International Tattoo) and Singapore, funerals went on mostly as planned albeit “modified.” We started doing a ton of video productions from home and I contributed audio and video to these “virtual collabs":

  • When I’m 64 (drumset/vibes)

  • Luz for clarinet and percussion (cajon, claves, shaker)

  • Dance of the Rose Maidens mallet quartet (xylophone)

  • 1812 Overture finale (bass drum)

  • “Instruments from a Distance” which was a short percussion demo demonstrating the coolness of percussion:) I played a little drumset, cymbals, bass drum, snare drum, conga, marimba, glockenspiel, castanets, timpani, vibraphone, and tambourine.

  • Double Stroke Roll explanation

  • Stars and Stripes Forever (bass drum)

  • Mahler 2 (excerpt-timpani 1)

I also recorded Pomp and Circumstance (timpani and bass drum) for the virtual graduation for New England Conservatory graduates.

Nowhere Men recorded a bunch of collabs that I edited:

I recorded multi cam drum videos for these great songs:

The band collabs were:

  • Hang On For Your Life (Shooting Star)

  • Dreams (Van Halen-with musician friends)

  • The Evil That Men Do (Iron Maiden-with Eyes of the Nile)

  • Indians (Anthrax, updated with Navid singing and special guests)

  • Learning to Live (Dream Theater, updated with Zink on vocals)

These were fun duets where I played both parts:

I also recorded some albums for some amazing musician friends-

Two of the biggest projects were labors of love-my new book “The Rite of Spring- A Percussionist’s Guide” and my first teaching course called The Single Stroke Roll. I wrote about them already in detail, so check out the links! I also made a list of some of my biggest pieces of advice for musicians called 13 Strategies in Becoming a Successful Musician. I really feel like anyone can benefit from this (for life), so check it out!

And more:

  • Virtual masterclass for DMV Percussion Academy

  • Virtual masterclass for UMASS Lowell percussion studio

  • Friday Night Live live stream with Herr Metal and live show at Middle(metal!)burg Barn

  • Live stream (and podcast) with the all new viola duet “Violacentric” playing three Bach Inventions (marimba and viola)

  • Two live shows (the second closing out 2020 on NYE!) outside the State Theatre with Nowhere Men

  • Multiple podcasts with the metal folks at Somewhere in Time

NOT musically related, I got through these books:

  • I Will Teach You to Be Rish

  • Far and Wide (Neil Peart)

  • Far and Away (Neil Peart)

  • Random Acts of Kindness

  • The Infinite Variety of Music (Bernstein)

  • Sebastian Maniscalco autobiography

  • Liberty: Life, Billy, and the Pursuit of Happiness (Liberty Devitto)

  • Rules of Thumb

  • Bulletproof Diet

  • Leonard Bernstein autobiography (Burton)

  • Crime and Punishment

  • Confess (Rob Halford)

Homeownerwise, I had three trees cut down and a new roof put on!!

And finally, I want to share an excerpt from my current reading (The 12 Week Year). This hits the nail on the head for me:

In most areas of life, we have very little control over our outcomes - especially when dealing with other human beings.

We can try to INFLUENCE our outcomes. We can change what we are doing and see how that impacts our desired outcome. But we can’t control our outcomes.

So it’s critical to pay attention to and know what you do have control over, versus what you don't have control over.

By knowing this, you can both make smarter decisions, and have healthier reactions in all of life’s situations.

Here are some things you can control as we head into the new year…

You can control what time you get up in the morning.

You can control how much effort you put into today’s work.

You can control whether you ask for help when you need it.

You can control what percentage of time you let yourself be distracted throughout the day.

You can control what opportunities you pursue, and what energy and effort you put into realizing them.

You can control having the right equipment and supplies around you, and how you take care of them so they’ll be ready when you need them.

You can control your training and preparedness for whatever you will be taking on.

You can control where you focus your emotional and intellectual energy and intention.

You can control how you treat others.

You can control what you bring to any given situation.

You can control your decisions and actions.

You can control your mindset.

You can control you.

At a foundational level, you control your thinking and your actions, and that is about it. But that is enough, IF, you are intentional with it.

If you’ve made it this far (Bueller…Bueller…??), thanks for reading and Happy New Year!!!

-Chris

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tags / drums, drumming, drummer, percussion, percussionist, pandemic, collabs, quarantine, videos, studio, home studio, dr.fu, herr metal, violacentric, timpani, books, self published

New album by D.J. Sparr

October 08, 2020  /  Chris DeChiara

 

A couple months ago I was asked to record some songs for D.J. Sparr’s new album - Hard Metal Cantüs. Well, it’s finally out on Innova Records, the label of the American Composer’s Forum.

D.J. is an amazing guitarist and composer whom I met years ago when he was a soloist with the Great Noise Ensemble, where I was principal percussionist from 2005-2015. We also played some of his pieces and would perform together; he’s one of the few people I know that goes from classical to rock in a heartbeat.

One of the pieced that we played back then, “Folios,” was reinvented by taking electronic percussion/drums and performing them on acoustic drums. Now dubbed “The World Within,” I had to find a way to take a multilayered midi drum part and record all the layers myself. There were sections that were literally impossible to play, so I would record just snare and bass drum, then maybe hihat alone, or just splash cymbal chokes. For one song I used regular hihats to my left and a stack (a lot tighter) to my right, playing the complete hihat part divided between the two sets. Another hip-hop flavored song brought out my new Grover 5x10 snare and it received many rim shots.

The sounds were then manipulated and processed so that some of my drums don’t sound anything like how I recorded them-like completely different instruments. Very cool stuff. There’s elements of Zappa, Cowell, EDM, R+B, and Hip Hop.

If you’re interested in checking it out, head to the link below!

https://www.innova.mu/albums/d-j-sparr/hard-metal-cant%C3%BCs

“The album closes with a look inside. The World Within is our internal place, the world within our own mind…which if you learn to control, you become irresistible. Here we go from the outer worlds to our inner world. And then of course, even the worlds that are within ourselves. It is here that Sparr's rock-funk wah-wah guitars take the highest voice in the polyphonic tapestry. It uses the same musical processes as the previous works, but with hair tied up in Zappa-pig-tails accompanied by snare-cadence rock drums, a studio string section, Austin Texas Bass, and a wall of guitar amps.”

 
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tags / drums, percussion, percussionist, drummer, drumming, edm, frank zappa, hip hop, home studio, dj sparr, guitar

Welcome.

August 06, 2017  /  Chris DeChiara

Finally, a website! With social media taking over, it didn't seem as mandatory to have an actual website anymore. But it's time!
And this blog-a place where I can ramble about mostly drums and drumming. Maybe it will spark some conversation, maybe not. But this will be the place to jot down thoughts about performance, teaching, gigs, equipment (otherwise known as Gear Porn), and general musical observations. Maybe it'll be some kind of Drum Therapy...if you have any critiques of the site, general or video ideas, let me know.
Thanks for visiting and have a look around!
 
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categories / drums
tags / drums, gig, percussion, blog, website, drumming, drummer, sticks, mallets