You've come this far, so read on and find out what's been happening with the various musical comings and goings...

The summer is upon us and for those of you that know me well, you know I'm a bit of a polar bear so I'll be keeping large ice teas and bottles of water close by as I move (slowly) through the dog days of and gloom often associated with living out here in Southern California. I think I may finally break down and use the A/C in my car from time to time. But, undaunted I go forth with lovely music to make and lovely people to make it with.

Playing News

With the new year in swing, new albums are iminent from the following lovely ladies:

Ali Handal (www.alihandal.com)
Lea Herman (www.leaherman.com)
Carrie Wade (www.myspace.com/carriewade)
Circe Link (www.circelink.com)

I look forward to bringing you news about the release of all of these 'albums' in the near future.

I wasalso fortunate enough to have been asked to record tracks for the upcoming Vox Lumiere production of "Phantom of the Opera" (www.voxlumiere.com). Kevin Hayes and Victoria Levy were most generous to ask me to be part of such a great organization. The music was a challenge and a joy to play.

A new jazz project with myself and John Classick should be coming due soon as well. This will be a first for me in that some of my own tunes will be included in the set. I'm excited and nervous to be starting this very new chapter of my musical career. There are plenty of people though that are saying 'it's about damn time!' To them I say, thank you and patience. ha ha ha

You can check out John and his musical comings and goings at (www.myspace.com/johnclassick).

More sessions should be on the way soon including tracking with Deb Tala (www.myspace.com/debtala), a wicked fun new group I'm working with called Freddie & Francine, as well as Maureen Davis and her group The Flutterbies (http://www.myspace.com/theflutterbiesmo). All good stuff.

Finally, I'm very VERY excited about having been asked by Steuart Liebig (bass extraordinaire) (www.stigsite.com) to join a new ensemble he is putting together which will include Andrew Pask on woodwind instruments and Wayne Peet on keyboards. This will be a wide and varied mix of music with rhythms reminiscent of drum & bass, Zepplin-esque groove, Bjork-like flavors, and a healthy dose of much jazz and 'new' music. It's a stew of beautiful sonic goodness and I'm feeling challenged and invigorated by it. Stay tuned for more details.

Gear News

I'm hoping to have my new Ddrum kit soon (a Dios Bubinga kit). There's been a bit of a hold up as I like to use 18" and 20" bass drums so I had to wait a bit longer as those are special order sizes. Upon receipt, not only will you be able to see them on stage and in the studio, but also on a soon to be filmed B-Band promo video for the new UKKO pickup system as well as some much needed new promo shots. Stay tuned for more.

I'm still blown away by the amazing practice pedals made by the good folks at Hansenfutz (www.hansenfutz.com). I've been pleased as punch to be able to work on my foot technique and not annoy everyone around me. These things are GREAT.

I took receipt of my 4.5x14 carbon fiber snare drum from Paul Mason at Tempus Drums just recently and it is KILLER! The beautiful bronze sparkle finish and the amazing sound of this drum was something I had to have in my arsenal once we started talking at NAMM and I had the chance to play the drums. Paul is doing amazing work and he's a sweetheart of a guy as well. I wonder what I'll ask him to make me next?

Video clips of my shows with Ali Handal at the Fender Live stage are up at www.youtube.com. Just type in Ali Handal and you'll be able to see videos from NAMM as well as from last year's Tempe Music Festival. If you google me, you will also fine me doing a demo from the Winter NAMM show for B-band guitar pick-ups. I find this hilarious but I guess I did a good enough job for the guys to give me the thumbs up to post it.

My continue thanks, as always, go out to the fantastic companies that have continued to support me in my musical adventures. All of the folks at Vater drumsticks, Attack Drumheads, Istanbul Agop cymbals, Ddrum Acoustics, B-band pick ups, and Factory Metal Percussion.  These companies and their products help me do what I do and I appreciate all of their efforts and am happy and honored to support and recommend them to all of my percussively minded friends.  As always, check out the Gear Geek page for a more detailed list of these and all of my gear goodies. Hopefully, I will have some new news regarding new gear and companies soon.

Look for more updates as we move forward and stay tuned for a new calendar section.  Also, check me out at www.myspace.com/topherdrum for additional info, pics, madness and overall weirdness.  Thank you for checking out the site and I hope you find your way back again soon.

Cheers,
the management