Blog - Los Angeles Session Drummer

29 Oct '18

Signing On With Ludwig – Feeling the Love

29/10/2018 | Comments: 1 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: Gear, General Musings

It isn’t just about the gear. It’s about a belief. A belief you have in yourself and a belief that a business has in you as a person, your abilities on your instrument, and your desire to be a positive ambassador of their brand. It’s also about a sound you envision. When you can play the sound you hear in your head, that inspires in so many ways. That’s why an endorsement can be so affirming. That’s why my excitement hasn’t abated one bit about the ‘official’ announcement of my relationship with Ludwig Drums.

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11 Oct '16

The Benefits of Saying ‘Yes’

11/10/2016 | Comments: 4 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: General Musings

I have been thinking a lot about the benefits of saying ‘yes’ to various playing opportunities. In this post I want to look at some of the obvious, and perhaps not so obvious benefits of saying ‘yes’.

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21 Jun '16

What’s Spinning? Summer 2016 Edition!

21/06/2016 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: What's Spinning?

I like to ask friends what they are listening to when we hang out. It’s definitely become a thing for me. I love the wide range of answers that I get and I often times come away with more than a few cool options to check out. So, I thought I would share some of the nuggets I’ve been checking out recently with you, good reader. Maybe some of the descriptions will get you intrigued enough to check some of the releases out yourself. That is my sincere hope. So, read on and enjoy! (Note: you’ll see a trend in format purchased).

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16 Jun '16

Ludwig Copper-Phonic: Penny For My Thoughts? Gladly!

16/06/2016 | Comments: 12 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: Gear

I get asked a lot about why I play and endorse the gear that I use.
“Do you get it for free?” – No. I get gear at a discount. I still buy it.
“Then why play it if they aren’t giving you stuff?” – Well, it’s the sound that I hear in my head. Why else would you play it?”

That is the simple honest truth. Despite having played and owned a wealth of drum kits from numerous manufacturers big and small, I love the sound of Ludwig. I love the look of Ludwig. I love the history of the Ludwig brand. They were the first kits I ever played when I started out and that’s why I play and endorse them with the enthusiasm I do today.

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20 Apr '16

Topher and Remo Drumheads – Feels Like Home

20/04/2016 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: Gear

I’ve written about endorsements before and I certainly have specific ideas about them. Not surprisingly, those ideas have changed over time (I think, for the better). I definitely don’t take the concept of an endorsement lightly. I know it’s a two-way street and I wouldn’t have it any other way. A two-way street means a lot of things. That informed my recent decisions to make a big change in my gear.

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12 Jan '16

One Drum Kit – Endless Sound Options

12/01/2016 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: Studio Sausage (Session Notes)

When we look at the drumset we are looking at a thoroughly modern invention. It was only since the turn of the 20th century that this instrument even EXISTED! We’ve gone from ‘low boy’ hi-hats and tacked head toms to remote cable hi-hats, every depth and diameter of tom, bass drum, and snare drum imaginable; not to mention enough cymbal varieties that we could sheath the great pyramid and still have bronze left over.

Here’s the thing though. Maybe you don’t have that much gear. Maybe you have a nice sounding 4 or 5 piece kit with a ride, a crash, and a set of hi-hats. Why do the cats with the big kits have to have all of the fun of making interesting noises? Have you ever asked yourself: ‘How can you get more sounds out of my kit?’

It’s easier than than you might think? In this post I hope to be able to offer some ideas (some my own, some I’ve knicked from fellow drummers, articles, etc…) These are just some of the ideas available for you to create your own unique sounds on your kit.

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10 Dec '15

Red Light Mentality – Being On Your Game

10/12/2015 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: General Musings

I recently did a session where we were doing minimal mic-ing, single take performances (no overdubs) AND shooting video. The results came out quite nice and that had no small part to do with the preparation that most all of the folks involved put in ahead of time. This experience, and many others besides over the last few years have coalesced into a philosophy I try to be mindful of all the time: “The Red Light is Always On”. It’s not just an axiom that holds true in the recording studio. Be it a rehearsal, a gig, etc… you are always being recorded. Maybe it’s a small recording device. Maybe it’s an iphone. Maybe it’s a full blown recording rig. It could just be the people in the room you’re working with paying especially close attention to what’s going on in a particular moment. The point is, it’s always happening. I’m not being paranoid or alarmist. It is a simple fact of the world we live in now. It’s posted on Facebook or YouTube. It’s shared amongst friends and fans of the people you are working with. It’s heard by colleagues and co-conspirators. This stuff gets out there in the world. It sticks around. This reality has one very important ramification: being on your game is imperative. All the time. You. Your gear. Everything.

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12 Nov '15

New Gear Love: Big Fat Snare Drum (BFSD) and Drum Concept’s ‘Switch Kick’

12/11/2015 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: Gear

I’m always checking around for/out new pieces of gear and sound options. Sometimes I will experiment with various little creations of my own and other times I will see something someone else created that just seems like a really cool bit to add to the drum set.

In the latter category can be added a couple of pieces of kit I’ve been using lately that I’ve truly fallen in love with. They are well thought out and designed, well made, and easy to use. The result is a wonderful extension to the sounds I’m able to create on my drum kit.

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04 Nov '15

Give the ‘e-drum’ some! (One drummer’s journey…)

04/11/2015 | Comments: 1 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: Gear

Despite their being around for over 30 years, there’s still a bit of a stigma associated with ‘electronic drums’. True, in the beginning you had the impossibly hard pads and limited sounds, etc.; but time marches on and the e-drum is still here. It’s still viable. In fact, more of us are using them than some may want to acknowledge. So, why does the stigma still stick? Do we just have to be primitive bashers of trees? For this drummer, I don’t think so. I’ve embraced e-drums for a variety of reasons and want to talk about some of them in this post. So, read on, intrepid and curious drum fan… read on…

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28 Jul '15

A Bit About My Gear… Beware: “Geek Zone” Ahead

28/07/2015 | Comments: 0 | Posted by: christopherallis | In: Gear

I once heard a story from Billy Ward that he took a lesson with Elvin Jones on a trip to New York City when he was a kid. The drum studio had this beat up kit and when Elvin sat down at it and played it, the kit sounded like a million bucks. Moral? It’s NOT the kit, it’s the player. That said, a nice kit sure makes your music making experience more fun and often times, more inspiring. I love drum gear – LOVE IT. As such, I have a fair bit of it kicking around. Of course, what I use depends on the gig, but here’s a list of goodies you might see at a gig or session.

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