So dude...do you play?
We'll call this the shameless promotion area of DrumART.com. This is where I answer the frequently asked question, "So dude, do you play?"
The answer is a resounding YES! It was and remains my love of music and the drums that is the driving force for DrumART.com. That said, here are a handful of tunes from my current projects as well as a few of the better bands I've been with over the years...
IRONWEED:
 Born from the ashes of the critically-acclaimed GREATDAYFORUP, Ironweed combines the raw power of GDFU veterans Mike Vitali (guitar), Brendon Slater (bass) and Jim Feck (drums) with the amazing vocal abilities of newcomer Rocco DiDonna, formerly of Idols Never Die. The band continues the upward trajectory of members' previous projects while blazing a new, but not unfamiliar, path. The power and volume are the same, but the songwriting and arrangements are completely new. This is definitely a great band for me -- heavy, musically dense, complex but with a deep pocket.
Ironweed's debut album is in the works. In the meantime, the following tunes are practice recordings done in my basement in April, 2007. Nasty!
- A World Away -- Great tune, quick, groovy and heavy. Plus I get to steal Jeff Porcaro's Rosanna groove and use it in the choruses. Not that you can tell! Plus it has has a killer opening line.
- Vertigo -- Dark and complex. Guitars, bass and drums all weave in and out of each other on this one. I love the effect. And the ending is an absolute steamroller. Dig it.
- Moth -- Anselmo, anyone? A complicated "tribal" intro that gives way to a complicated song.
- The Bride -- Dark and beautiful with a true stoner vibe. A tough one to play because it's so #@!$&* slow!
GREATDAYFORUP:
 Winner of Metroland Magazine's "Best Metal Band" for 2005, GDFU recently broke up with rhythm section and guitar player reforming as Ironweed. The band was a great combo of stoner rock sludge, metal attitude and monumental volume. From the band bio by Mr. Bill Ketzer:
"To some, amplification is more than a way to mark territory - it's a claim to divinity. Upstate New York's GREATDAYFORUP have nurtured this concept since 1999, with a reputation for stunning live performances at Stegosaurus-killing volumes, their bruising, riff-encrusted wares a welcome occupying force in a local scene laden with drunken, overly-sensitive males. Your beard will grow several inches with one listen (same goes for you ladies). The stuff is munificent, car-crushing and concentrated toward the task at hand, that task being to conquer nations, salt their fields and mock the lamentations of their weak. Call it what you will. Doom is in the room, baby, and the long stick goes boom. So mark your territory. It's divine."
- August, 1979 - A true stoner-rock juggernaut. This tune will stomp your guts out and then have a snack.
- Sinner Takes All - Off the new record, Sinner combines metal and doom oh so well!
- Deme Su Coolo - Another one off the new record.
Whisper to Apocalypse:
A good project I recently had to give up as DrumART.com has gotten busier.
Secretguy:
Winner of Metroland Magazine's "Best Hard Rock Band" for 2002, the reign of The 'Guy was a magic moment in time. Another band with me, Metal Matt, Shawnyflakes and one Albert von Schaaf, mad musical genius.
Self-coined and defined as "hayseed metal" -- a perfect description. This is some good stuff.
hANDSOMERODNEY:
Definitely the heaviest, most ecclectic band I've been in, and the one with the best story behind the name (which I can't repeat here). This band was with Shawnyflakes and B-Man, as well as one Shawn Snow, an amazing visual artist in addition to being a gifted and maniacal frontman and singer.
Rodney? Well, I can't really describe it...you'll just have to check it out for yourselves. Be afraid. Be very afraid...
I hope you enjoy this stuff half as much as I enjoy playing it! :)
--Jim.
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