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Tag Archive for: The Bronx

Bill Ward by Colin Fuller

We’re all probably going bat shit crazy at the moments, and while we’ve been catering for our string playing friends in the form of practice amps to play at home, we can only imagine what our drummer compadres are going through, locked up and most of them unable to play as, let’s face it, drums aren’t exactly welcome in densely populated areas and cities. So, to shine a light on our drummer friends who are currently held up at home with an abundance of excess energy, we decided to ask a few drummers to share some of the songs that inspired them to start playing.

Massive thanks to Joey Castillo of The Bronx, Tomas Järmyr of Motorpsycho, Michael Amster of Nebula & Mondo Generator, Tom Marsh of Haggard Cat, Ken Pustelnik of The Groundhogs, Adam Bulgasem of Dommengang & Black Mountain, Thomas DiBendetto of Sacri Monti, Robby Staebler of All Them Witches, Rich Noakes of Derelics and Marco Ninni of Swedish Death Candy for contributing. Full playlist & artist overview of who picked which song below.

Joey Castillo, The Bronx, formerly of QOTSA

Circle Jerks – Red Tape
Motörhead – Motörhead
DEVO – Satisfaction
Led Zeppelin – Misty Mountain Hop
Fear – Camarillo

Tomas Järmyr, Motorpsycho

Meshuggga – Spasm
Cult of Luna – Finland
The Dillinger Escape Plan – 43% Burnt
Switchblade – 19:30
Tool – Schism

Michael Amster, Nebula & Mondo Generator

The Melvins – Honey Bucket 
Thin Lizzy – Massacre (LIVE) 
Poison Idea – Deep Sleep
Black Flag – The Bars (Live ’84-Live) 
Russian Circles – 309 

Ken Pustelnik, The Groundhogs

When asked about his top 5, Ken had this to say:

“This is tricky since I’ve spent my entire career trying to avoid listening to “just” the drumming for its merit alone. Why have I done that? Simply because I have attempted not to be influenced by other players so that I can preserve any natural originality in my own playing. Saying all that, here are 5 songs I have enjoyed today.”

The Who – Won’t Get Fooled Again
Mahavishnu Orchestra – Meeting of the Spirits
King Crimson – Starless (Live with 3 drummers)
Spirit – Fresh Garbage
Santana – Soul Sacrifice
Dave Brubeck – Take Five

Tom Marsh, Haggard Cat

Issac Hayes – Run Fay Run
The Mars Volta – Roulette Dares (The Haunt Of)
The Locust – Hot Tubs Full Of Brand New Fuel
Zach Hill – Face Tat
Lightning Bolt – 2 Towers 

Adam Bulgasem, Dommengang & Black Mountain

CAN – Pinch
The Police – Next to You
Mahavishnu Orchestra – One Word
Slayer – Jesus Saves
John Coltrane – A Love Supreme, PT, III

Thomas Dibendetto, Sacri Monti

Colosseum – The Kettle
Mahavishnu Orchestra – Vital Transformation
Dust – Chasin’ Ladies
Captain Beyond – Mesmerization Eclipse
Beck, Bogart, Appice – Lady

Robby Staebler, All Them Witches

Pink Floyd – Echoes
Led Zeppelin – Whole Lotta Love
Sun Ra – Dance of the Cosmos Aliens
Bill Frisell – Big Shoe
Miles Davis ‘Agharta’ full album

Rich Noakes, Derelics

Jimi Hendrix – Fire live at Woodstock (It has to be the Woodstock version) 
Jeff Beck – Led Boots
Dhaffer Youssef – Odd Elegy 
Mars Volta – Take the Veil Cerpin Taxt
Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra – Dirt and blood 

Marco Ninni, Swedish Death Candy

Black Sabbath – War Pigs
Deep Purple – Speed King
Queens of the Stone Age – Sick Sick Sick
Sleep – Dragonaut
The Claypool Lennon Delirium – Boomerang Baby

Follow us on Spotify for monthly playlists.

Iron Maiden, Steve Harris

Iron Maiden ‘Beyond Flight 666’ by John McMurtrie

4 Stroke

Steve Harris, where do we begin with Steve Harris? The only constant member in legendary British hard rock band Iron Maiden alongside guitarist Dave Murray, and is also the primary songwriter of the band. Since the formation of Maiden in East London’s Leyton in 1975 the band has released sixteen studio albums, toured the world a countless time in their own airplane flown by singer Bruce Dickinson and made their mark as one of the biggest heavy metal bands in history. Steve Harris has developed a recognisable way of playing such as the “gallop”. Paired with drummer Nicko McBrain and his unexpected clever ways, three guitarists and Bruce Dickinson sprinting and jumping across the stage throughout every single Iron Maiden show, and let’s not forget, fights Maiden mascot Eddie on a regular basis, their shows are nothing but spectacular. In addition to his bass playing and songwriting, Steve Harris has also produced and co-produced their albums, directed live videos and played keys for the band while in the studio. A Jack of all trades, so say the least.

Glenn Hughes

Crush Bass 100
AD200 MK3 Head
OBC810 8×10 Bass Speaker

Glenn Hughes is not just an incredible bassist, but a remarkable singer with the most astonishing vocal range. He first made a name for himself while in Trapeze, before joining Deep Purple in 1973 where he shared vocal duties with David Coverdale, and brought the funkiest bass lines to the band. With Deep Purple MK III he released “Burn” and “Stormbringer”, before Ritchie Blackmore left the band and Tommy Bolin was brought in on guitar for Deep Purple MK IV. They released “Come taste the Band” in 1975, before all going their separate ways the following year. Since then, he’s released a one of album with Pat Travers’ guitarist Pat Thrall, recorded with Gary Moore and fronted Black Sabbath briefly in the 80s. In more recent years, he released a one off album with his short lived band ‘California Breed’ with Jason Bonham on drums and guitarist Andrew Watt, as well as playing in Black Country Communion with Joe Bonamassa, Derek Sherinian and again, Jason Bonham on drums. His latest venture is touring the world, twice, as “Glenn Hughes plays Deep Purple”, bringing back to life all the songs from way back when.

Rush, Geddy Lee

AD200 MK3 Head
OBC410 4×10 Bass Speaker
OBC810 8×10 Bass Speaker

Rush have over the past forty years pioneered progressive rock with their unusual compositions and musical craftsmanship, with each member repeatedly being listed as some of the most proficient players of their instruments. This has led to Rush being somewhat of a ‘musician’s favourite band, and they have been highly influential within their genre, although that has changed slightly over the course of the career. Geddy Lee first started playing music when he was around 10 years old, and got his first acoustic guitar at 14. Before this, he played drums, trumpet and clarinet. However, it wasn’t until he was introduced to popular music at the time and some of the great Brits such as Cream, Jeff Beck and Procul Harum, and cited Jack Bruce as one of his first and early influences.

The Bronx, Brad Magers

4 Stroke
AD200 MK3 Head

It wasn’t until in recent years that Bronx bassist Brad Magers got his hands on his first Orange and we are stoked to now have him as one of our artists. He’s got a few different set ups consisting of either the 4 Stroke, or an AD200, which he describes as: “A monster of an amp, it’s just such a simple set up but exactly what it needs to be. I hate when all these amps have all these annoying tweaks on them as there’s just a few things you really need. As long as there is gain I’m pretty much good to go – you set it up in like two seconds and then you’re just there like: “Well, that’s the best sound I’ve ever heard!”  When Brad isn’t busy with the Bronx, he puts on his mariachi suit and picks up the trumpet with side project Mariachi El Bronx. Rumour has it that there might be a surf band in the works as well, but we can’t say for sure – yet..

Radio Moscow, Anthony Meier

AD200 MK3 Head
OBC410 4×10 Bass Speaker
OBC115 1×15 Bass Speaker

Anthony Meier’s first encounter with Radio Moscow was back in 2012 when his other band Sacri Monti played a few gigs with some of Radio Moscow drummer Paul Marrone’s other bands, and they got chatting. However, it wasn’t until a year later when singer and guitarist Parker Griggs relocated to San Diego that the band started looking for a new bassist. Paul suggested Anthony and he was invited to jam with them. Needless to say, the jam worked out well, as Anthony’s still in the band over five years later. When not on the road with Radio Moscow, he still keeps busy with his other band Sacri Monti that’s due to come over to Europe this summer. He also DJs regularly at local San Diego / Oceanside bars, and is an skilled pool player, some might even say excellent.

Tom Petersson, Cheap Trick

Rockerverb 50 MKIII Head
PPC412 4×12 Speaker Cab
AD200 MK3 Head
OBC810 8×10

Cheap Trick bassist and Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee Tom Petersson turned heads in the early 70s when he came up with the idea of creating a 12 string bass. The reason behind this was wanting to make the band sound as big as humanly possible, and by adding (after inventing…) the 12 string bass, he was left with an instrument that almost sounded like bass and guitar all in one. This has become a vital part of the bands sound, and his amps plays a huge part in this. He is a big fan of both the AD50 and AD200, and plays them both straight out without any pedals.

Let’s dive straight into this – Orange, can you tell us about your history with the company?
Brad: Basically, I had an Ampeg deal back in the day so that’s where I started while Ken and Joby were the ones always using Orange cabs, and Joby having some sort of Orange connection. I always liked Orange, but I never had a deal, and the stuff I wanted was always a bit out of my price range, so it’s more in recent years I’ve gotten in on it as well. Joby reconnected with Orange recently and we did a bit of a revamp of our gear in the States and got some all blacked out Orange cabinets, and I got a 4 Stroke over there which I love.

Have you got the same set up for this UK and Europe tour?
Brad: On this tour I’ve got the AD200 which is a monster of an amp, it’s just such a simple set up but exactly what it needs to be. I hate when all these amps have all these annoying tweaks on them as there’s just a few things you really need. As long as there is gain I’m pretty much good to go – you set it up in like two seconds and then you’re just there like: “Well, that’s the best sound I’ve ever heard!” 

Any other Orange favourites…?
Brad: Definitely the It’s the Terror Bass which you guys don’t make anymore but should totally bring back! I still have the habit of bringing a spare amp with me on the road, but from my experiences with Orange I’ll probably never need it, but then again, you can never be too safe, right? It’s so great it could easily be your main amp as well, i
t’s just amazing that something that small can sound so good, that goes for the guitar one as well. Obviously as a bassist it’s driving mad that you’ve gotten rid of the bass one! When I got mine it was broken, and you cant really get the parts to fix it anywhere in the states. Luckily, my Orange guys in the states let me send it back here to the UK to get fixed. Everyone at Orange is so nice that it was the easiest thing to do ever.

With The Bronx we’ve also got Mariachi El Bronx, which is two bands from completely different sides of the spectrum – punk and mariachi, you must have a pretty wide musical background?
Brad: It’s interesting with me, I actually play trumpet in our other band, and that’s my main – or I guess I don’t really have a main instrument anymore, but you know, main instrument.  I started playing horn in 4th grade and did pretty well at it. It was never my intentions for that to become my life, or such a big deal, especially not that early on, I was kind of just doing my thing until it snowballed and it took me to college. Early on, I was more of a classical guy, and my mum was really into classical music as well, and I was a classical trumpet player.

Somewhere in middle school I discovered rock ‘n’ roll, started a band and went down the line of straight up old school rock like Stones, AC/DC and that sorta stuff, then that went into a punk fase. I’ve always been into a lot of stuff, and blues might be one of my favourite genres. What’s interesting to me, is that there’s actually quite a few musicians where bass and trumpet is the combo, Flea’s one of them. Obviously I can’t remember anyone else now, but oddly enough there is at least another 4-5 big musicians where that is the combo, which to me seems like the weirdest thing ever, and every time I hear about some other guy with that combo I’m just like ‘How did that even happen?’ For me it was just circumstances, I dabbled a bit between everything, guitar and drums as well – I could play them all but not well, and only ended up playing bass as the band I was in at high school needed a bassist, and here I am, years later.