DRUMMER CAFE - Community Forum

This video shows where I'm going with feet and hands on my roots style kit.

Cool little set-up. You should share/talk about what you are using with your set-up and how you came up with everything.

Very cool Bongo!  Please tell us about the music as well as the setup!

Very cool. I really like that you have a double kick pedal on a log drum. :)

Well the setup has been evolutionary, I've put a lot of thought into it over the last years. I call it an Indigenous Roots kit.

On top are two plastic didgeridoos on a homemade rack. The conga drums are older oak Gon Bops. They have seed pods and nut shell rattles suspended off them on plastic coat hangers.

Below is a double pedal on a 14" djun djun, laid on a rolled blanket. The beaters hit it high off-center but it doesn't matter, the drum sounds good.

On the right is a pedal with horizontally mounted cow bell. The mount is my invention and it has a closer throw than the horizontally mounted ones, which give better control of volume and articulation.

To the left is a pedal with a Nigerian log drum, and next to it is a pedal with goat toenail shakers. Both have reverse style beaters for horizontal action. Both pedals are articulate and can be played with dynamics.

The piece of music is loosely inspired by Babatunde Olatunji's Jingo, which was covered by the original Santana Band. I have a number of other compositions, all based over foot rhythms, most in 4/4, some in 3/4 and 6/8.

Really nice. I particularly like the sound of your bass drum, and the crash/white noise effect of those hanging shaker-rattler thingies. Nice playing, too - some tricky independence and nice sonic choices. Bravo, Bongo!   ;D

Very nice Bongo

Crap, that's amazing.  I'm glad I decided to stroll by the percussion forum!

Amazing!! Inspired me to dust off the old djembe.

Here is short youTube clip.
Me again on my roots kit.

More stuff on youTube.

Here is a fast guaguanco on the indigenous roots kit, right foot cascara, left foot rumba clave.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFTZUjD_sIY

And here is slow version.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R-oQN-xmLWY

Love the setup.  Could you post a close up picture of the cowbell foot pedal contraption. 

There is a cockpit view of the pedals in my pics at myspace.com/bongodoggie. When I have time I'll take a side view closeup, but it will be a few days as I'm gigging on the coast.

At first I used an L-rod in the bass drum clamp, which gave a verticle post to mount the bell horizontally. The beater is a reverse type beater, which you could make yourself or buy one from Roland. I use a soft rubber dice beater head cause otherwise the bell is too loud. Recently I replaced the L-rod (which had started to slip even when clamped very tight) with a home made piece of flat bar with a straight rod welded to it. The flat bar can't slip now, the bass drum clamp holds it solid.

The beauty of this is it only has about a two inch throw, so you can play fast bell parts (see my fast guaguanco video).

Cool stuff bongo. I like the incorporation of singing in that clip, as well as the didge.

Here are vocals and 6/8 rhythms on the Roots Kit with a 6/8 left foot clave.
The composition is inspired by Olatunji's Shango with a some John Bonham thrown in.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVe32wjjSYQ


Note the congas are Volcanos.

Very nice Bongo.   ;)  Makes me want to go back to some of my old days on congas. Na, you made me look silly.   :-[

Very nice my friend, tremendo trabajo!

That's brilliant playing.  Great groove and great job!

That was Awesome Bongo.  Great Groove. Santana would love that 8).
Thank you for sharing.
                           Nutty

Sorry Gene, here is a double bass djun djun thing I call 'Djun Krupa'.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zydUmj2nVms

 8)

This beat is a hip hop style and I use a goat toenail rattle in my left hand to slap and slide on the conga drum. It creates a good snare drum substitute. I ride on a suspended nut shell shaker that has a doggie squeeky toy attached which I accent with. This setup can be used to good effect for shuffles, swing, and slow blues too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QpyYSDd64Ac

I call this rhythm the Elephant Beat. It reminds me of walking along a jungle trail. The beat is a simple foot vamp on bass djun and hollow log, with a three conga drum melody and improv on top.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZZF-p4Bhz4U

amazing sounding. You have got really good itdapendence too. i love the sound or African drums. Great sutup also

I build this solo up.
Quite a bit of double bass, shows a fusion between rock and african.
Some didgeridoo too.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2WydhyZ0MA

I got rid of that the old 'Homage to Jingo' and replaced it with what I think is a better one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zf9jCI-XLJE


Also put up a new fast guaguanco, where I try to break free a bit over the feet...,


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4ddvxUcYx8

wow thats really cool, nice job with that.

And by the way, the I cant get the first two videos to work, it says they're unavailable.