um, yeah! If it's the one I'm thinking of, the key is to keep "four on the floor" with the kick, ride cymbal 8th notes, and then let the left hand go with accents, etc. It's a jazz technique, but the heavy quarters on the kick make it rock.

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could you give me a listen suggestion? - you dont mean the surf party/the pier rhythm, right?

WR

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WR
could you give me a listen suggestion? - you dont mean the surf party/the pier rhythm, right?

Yes I do, it's on Surf Party and The Pier as well as on many other of their 1963-64 recordings.

tonybologna
it definitely adds a different vibe than the regular surf beat.

Yeah, and I think that drum beat is a very important part of the Astronauts sound.

T H E ✠ S U R F I T E S

Almost retarded/near masterpiece? What's your real opinion on that song, Danny? The Hearse is my favorite Astronauts cut definitely, and I do (only now) just realize that the drumming is very cool as well, though I was always distracted by the grumbly rhythm guitar.

I just gave the pier and suf party a listen, by the astronauts (from rarities) and from the nebulas.

it's hard to make out as I don't have my eq connected, but I really cant hear a kick on the 2. (and I can hear it on the 1, 3 and 4) might be because of the rhyhtm tho, the snare pushing it to the background oin the 2 and not on the 4. Maybe TFJ can chime in how he recorded them?
also, both the pier and surf party (again, from rarities) have ride on the 8ths.

anyway, our drummer plays it like that: kick on 1 3 and 4, snare on 2, 3+ and 4+, ride on the 8ths. it gets the flow reasonably well, I think its more a matter of just being that one particular drummer with that particular feel, to get it pefect.

from memory (as i cant find theoutsiders right now.) if you leave away the 4 on the klick, you get a completly differnet rhyth/feel, that's how the outsiders do it, I think.

WR

Rules to live by #314:
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WR
where can I find the hearse? is it on a comp?

WR

It's on this one:

They have it listed on Amazon, and you can hear a 30 second clip of it. Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.com/Competition-Coupe-Surfin-Astronauts/dp/B000001AVI/sr=1-8/qid=1157316357/ref=sr_1_8/104-8829486-8620760?ie=UTF8&s=music

It's kinda easy to miss by name amongst all the cheasy hotrod vocals, but stands out head and shoulders above them once you start listening.

I know I've mentioned it before, but "the Astronauts beat" is one of the signature elements of the genre and certainly one that distinguishes the Astronauts - and Jim Gallagher in particular - apart from the other bands of the period. I can't say enough about him and that crazy beat. To this day, I'm still trying to figure out how to play it right or at least cop the feel in a respectable fashion. The bottom line, in my opionion, is that Jim Gallagher probably had some formal training - most likely in the jazz idiom, as the style involves playing straight time (more or less) on the bass drum & ride cymbal, while 'comping,' or adding syncopated flavor on the snare drum with the left hand (which is what jazz drummers do, although they swing the beat, while the Astronauts is not swung). I think Jim was only about 19 when he recorded that stuff & he looks about 12 in the album pics, so he was either still in high school band, or fresh out of it. The best way I can describe it is that Jim's left hand dances on and around the "2" and "4" with the accents being on the "&" of 3 and the "&" of 4. Sometimes he plays the snare on "4," sometimes not. Sometimes he plays a ghost note (quiet note) on the "&" of 1 like in Hot Doggin' In most of their songs (even the vocals), he's playing some variation of this - even in "Baja," this technique is employed on the cymbal bell. For the most part, the things that hold the songs together are the "four on floor" with the bass drum combined with the steady 8th note chunk - that gives the left hand a little more freedom to do more than just play a backbeat - or at least have some fun with the backbeat while still keeping the songs danceable (although he syncopates the bass drum in the chrorus of Hot Doggin, which is a slight departure, but you can still dance to it) If you're a drummer and/or a fan of Jim's style, I would also pick up the Astronauts Live double CD (Everything is A-OK / Orbit Kampus) - there is no surf or instro on these, but the sound is good and the drumming is great. 'Surfin With..."/"Competition Coupe" and 'Rarities" are also essential listening, so buy them all before they go out of print again and you see them on e-bay next to SP's "Creature Feature" for $50.

One of the best examples of this drumming in recent years can be found on the early Boss Martians albums (s/t; 13 Evil Tales and particularly Invasion of the Live Boss Martians). Dan Israel really nailed that beat. I just try and hack my way through it without screwing the song up (and, yes, I play all four on the floor - I don't skip "2")

hope that helps. Astronauts rule.

tfj

wooza
The Hearse is my favorite Astronauts cut definitely

gave The Hearse a listen last night. I thought it was a pretty strong melody with or without the astronauts signature beat. nice sort of melancholy vibe to it. Like it's your 86 year old granny in the coffin, not your 28 year lover.

WR

TFJ
The bottom line, in my opionion, is that Jim Gallagher probably had some formal training - most likely in the jazz idiom

I can hear what you mean definitly. apart from losing the swing rhythm, I think he also hits harder.

incidently, have you listened to all those euro-instro videos Ivan posted? (and other late fifties/early sixties euro-instro music) ... Seems to me that the jazzy style of drumming (with the "dancing snare" you described) and less powerful attack was used much more in euro-instro then in surf. of course the astronauts were way more poweful.

WR

(PS It's awesome that we now have a serious drum thread. we should get more of those. this thread shows drums are just as important in surf as guitars.)

Rules to live by #314:
"When in Italy, if the menu says something's grilled, don't assume it is."

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TFJ,
Thank you for putting it so eloquently, especially compared to my clumsy attempt earlier:

spskins
um, yeah! If it's the one I'm thinking of, the key is to keep "four on the floor" with the kick, ride cymbal 8th notes, and then let the left hand go with accents, etc. It's a jazz technique, but the heavy quarters on the kick make it rock.

http://www.satanspilgrims.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Satans-Pilgrims/8210228553
https://satanspilgrims.bandcamp.com/
http://www.surfyindustries.com