Uploaded April 2018 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago
So here is something completely different. Two epic tracks by 1960s band The Shadows - Apache and Footapper. I've used drumless tracks so what you hear here is all Pearl Mimic (and me!).
I'm using VExpressions 'Origins' expansion for the drum sound (see below), a Drum-Tec Pro Series kit, and a mix of ATV and Roland cymbals, including ATV hats and ride.
Most of you will not know that a few years ago I was asked to learn 12 Shadows tracks as part of a series of live 'Cliff & The Shadows' shows I was asked to play. Let me tell you straight - playing this stuff was pretty much the hardest most intense learning experience of my drumming career to date! As a rock drummer, I simply did not have the chops, swing, style, fluidity and touch of Brian Bennett, the drummer who I was trying to copy. It took me three months to get 12 Shadows instrumentals learned and memorised. I had to learn a whole new approach and way of playing......and I LOVED IT. I came out the other side a much better drummer.
The shows scared me to death, but they went really well. And the other musicians I worked with and the audiences all said I did it very well, which was incredible. Every now and then I get to play this stuff live still (I have a show later this year) and with my band in Germany, we often throw in Apache and Footapper. Always goes down a treat.
If you have not tried drumming along to The Shads before, I thoroughly recommend it. Brian Bennett makes it look easy, as a jazz influenced drummer invariably does. I however get very purple in the face and there is far too much arm movement! But Hey Ho, I ain't no Brian Bennett!
I recorded this using the internal Mimic recorder, which means what you hear is simply Master outs. Nice and simple, and a good result, I think.
This is not a default Mimic drum sound. This is a VExpressions 'Origins' drum kit, loaded into the Mimic. Same Mimic (Steven Slate) samples, but with module tweaks. It is the 'Maple Works' kit which I have decided is a beauty. That ride is a joy - especially live - a sampled 21" zildjian sweet ride :)
Drums are Drum-Tec, Pro Series in white. Most beautiful electronic drums in the world, but I am rather biased!
Cymbals are a mix of ATV (hat, ride, 16 and 14" crash) and Roland (CY14s and CY15).
Hope you enjoy the sound, appreciate the backing track, and are entertained by my performance!
This was my 4th take of Footapper - done one after the other. It was 25 degrees in the room, getting hotter and I was getting frantic - I kept making mistakes. By the time I finished this take, I was completely out of breath, and sweating like crazy. So yes, I was quite pleased at the end!
Incidentally, then ending of both these tracks is not what I am used to at all - I had to quickly learn them for this video. Also, I swear Footapper is about 10% faster than it is supposed to be!!!!
So here is something completely different. Two epic tracks by 1960s band The Shadows - Apache and Footapper. I've used drumless tracks so what you hear here is all Pearl Mimic (and me!).
I'm using VExpressions 'Origins' expansion for the drum sound (see below), a Drum-Tec Pro Series kit, and a mix of ATV and Roland cymbals, including ATV hats and ride.
Most of you will not know that a few years ago I was asked to learn 12 Shadows tracks as part of a series of live 'Cliff & The Shadows' shows I was asked to play. Let me tell you straight - playing this stuff was pretty much the hardest most intense learning experience of my drumming career to date! As a rock drummer, I simply did not have the chops, swing, style, fluidity and touch of Brian Bennett, the drummer who I was trying to copy. It took me three months to get 12 Shadows instrumentals learned and memorised. I had to learn a whole new approach and way of playing......and I LOVED IT. I came out the other side a much better drummer.
The shows scared me to death, but they went really well. And the other musicians I worked with and the audiences all said I did it very well, which was incredible. Every now and then I get to play this stuff live still (I have a show later this year) and with my band in Germany, we often throw in Apache and Footapper. Always goes down a treat.
If you have not tried drumming along to The Shads before, I thoroughly recommend it. Brian Bennett makes it look easy, as a jazz influenced drummer invariably does. I however get very purple in the face and there is far too much arm movement! But Hey Ho, I ain't no Brian Bennett!
I recorded this using the internal Mimic recorder, which means what you hear is simply Master outs. Nice and simple, and a good result, I think.
This is not a default Mimic drum sound. This is a VExpressions 'Origins' drum kit, loaded into the Mimic. Same Mimic (Steven Slate) samples, but with module tweaks. It is the 'Maple Works' kit which I have decided is a beauty. That ride is a joy - especially live - a sampled 21" zildjian sweet ride :)
Drums are Drum-Tec, Pro Series in white. Most beautiful electronic drums in the world, but I am rather biased!
Cymbals are a mix of ATV (hat, ride, 16 and 14" crash) and Roland (CY14s and CY15).
Hope you enjoy the sound, appreciate the backing track, and are entertained by my performance!
This was my 4th take of Footapper - done one after the other. It was 25 degrees in the room, getting hotter and I was getting frantic - I kept making mistakes. By the time I finished this take, I was completely out of breath, and sweating like crazy. So yes, I was quite pleased at the end!
Incidentally, then ending of both these tracks is not what I am used to at all - I had to quickly learn them for this video. Also, I swear Footapper is about 10% faster than it is supposed to be!!!!
