Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Mute Math: Typical

I am sure the Indy-Rock Reaper is coming for me now, but I can't get enough of these guys:

9 comments:

nathan cookston said...

have all their albums. I love em love em. They are in concert Oct 5th in Seattle. Can't wait! You should check at their live album of leading worship at their church in '04. It is titled "elevator music". You might like it.

Bryan Hansen said...

Two questions...

1) What is it about these guys that remind me of Sting?

2) What is going on with the drummers high hat (and I noticed this with Steve Gadd too) that it rocks around so loosie-goosie? Is he just hitting it that hard, or is it a special kind of cymbal or what?

Ryan Phelps said...

Dude, I totally agree. I almost wrote that they were "Police-esque."

Ryan Phelps said...

Sorry, 2: You have to loosen the connector to the top hat a lot. You know, the two nuts that hold it on to the bolt. To get the slushiness you have to have more space as opposed to tightening them down all the way. They should always have some space for movement, but maybe not that much.

Maria. said...

They'll be in Boston on Nov. 12 @ the House of Blues.

Duane and I have been talking about how to be more relevant to the youth and now I've got it figured out...keytar.

Ryan Phelps said...

Dude I saw that. Anyone want to go? 20 bucks a ticket ain't bad.

If you can't afford the keytar, this is the nest best thing:

http://tiny.cc/xGOtW

Maria. said...

Duane has one!!! But it is more like an organ, like a Hammond B3. Two is always better than one.

Bryan Hansen said...

RE: #2--you mean the felt padded nuts inside?

Related, what is the little screw underneath for exactly? The one that makes the bottom cymbal slightly off level?

Ryan Phelps said...

Well, this conversation is just getting awkward.

The felt "nuts" are really washers. But the ones that actually determine the stiffness of the top hat are the metal ones that screw toward each other.

You want the bottom hat to be off-set so that the hats make an audible sound when you step on the pedal. If they are parallel to each other, you won't get much sound. This is especially important in jazz when keeping time on 2&4 with the hats.