Victims and Weapons

From Left to Right- 19" AAXplosion, 17"AAXplosion, 18"AAXplosion (over kick drum is 1- 10" AAX splash) After wanting the a ride that was a bit dryer than my 20 "ping, Paul sent me a 21"HHRaw Bell Dry Ride that I absolutely Love! Moving on to the right side of the kit- 18"AAXplosion, next, I switch up either a 16, 17, or 18"AAXplosion crash. The last "crash" cymbal is another 19"AAXplosion. Now to the top level which I used only a few times for this tour, 2 19"AAX china's. Now for what's "under" the crashes. Left to right - 2, 12"AAX mini Chinese (depending on venue, my tech would at times change one of the 12's to a 12" china king max stax (at times with a 10"splash inside) on the right side under the crashes-1 15"HH Chinese, next to that was 1 12"AAXmini Chinese then 1 12"china king max stax.

Now for studio work, my set up changes with each session depending on the music. I can use from 2 crashes to 10 but usually rely on my specialty cymbals for the studio to get a more unique sound. What Sabian has provided for me in this area that I Love are the HHX Evolution O-zone crashes. These are crash cymbals that have holes going all the way around the cymbal creating a cross between a crash and a china sound. I use 16's and 18's. Another cymbal that I use a lot in the studio are the "Rocktagons." You may remember this cymbal from the 80's. They have an octagon shape and although I use to use the 18" Rocktagons, I was fooling around during a session in Austin, Texas and put up a 14."

When we listened to the playback, the cymbal sounded very much like a whip! Now I use them for every session. As far as crash cymbals for the studio, I may switch from AAXplosions to stage or studio crashes just depending on the room and what the artist likes. I Love every one of these cymbals as they each have a distinct sound. If you are using another brand of cymbals, try the new lines of Sabian as they are always coming out with new and cool sounding cymbals, bells, gongs, etc. So that said, once again, thank you Double B, Paul C, and everyone else on the great SABIAN Team!

MAPEX SATURN PRO SERIES DRUMS

From playing with a couple of bands that did all fly-ins meaning you use backline that's provided by the buyer of the show, even though my drum rider was very specific, there were shows that I would show up for sound check and there would be sitting a drum kit that was everything BUT what was on my rider. From these experiences there may not be a kit out there that I have not played at one time or another. I began to realize that Mapex drums seemed to be easy for the promoter/backline people to get in my sizes and set up. After playing on Mapex drums quite often for a year or so, I fell in love with them. The drums are so consistent and the hardware is very durable which is a must for my style.

A friend recommended that I contact the Artist Relations person and seek a deal. Before going with Mapex, Steve Ettleson had signed me with Yamaha which I loved, so switching companies was not really something I had thought of much. I really like to stay with a company for a long time. If the drums are what I am happy with, why change? After loosing Steve at Yamaha in a terrible freak accident, my contact guy that I really loved was not there so I wanted to see what Mapex would say. They gave me a pretty good deal and their kits are what I've been using for 3 or 4 years now and have been very happy with them. The second kit I used on the Lou Gramm tour was exactly what I had wanted but since the color was a custom order and the sizes were custom as well it took about 3 months for the kit to be made and shipped to me.

Here are the sizes of that kit. Kick Drum-24x18, toms to the left of hi hat-10x8 and 12x10, tom over kick-13x11, floor toms-16x16 & 18x16. The snares I use are Black Panthers. Sizes are 14x5.5, 14x6.5 plus a Saturn Pro 14x5.5 as well as a 10x6.5 that will tear your head off!! (in a good way). I have so much hardware that I just don't know where to begin..

All of the Mapex hardware is very strong plus easy to position. The Mapex double pedal Rocks! There's nothing I can say that's weak about the products at Mapex. I love my drums live as well as in the studio. The color is a black that fades into gold. Very unusual and gets a lot of attention! I'm, very happy with Mapex and hope to continue to grow for many years to come. Thank you Mapex!!