The veteran of the stage and studio shares what it was like to work with Devin Townsend and Animals As Leaders, how Youtube is setting a bad precedent for aspiring musicians, and his appreciation for the art of drumming.
The latest episode of The Downbeat Podcast welcomes producer, mixer, and musician Adam “Nolly” Getgood for a lengthily discussion about the progression of modern drumming and evolution of recording.
Currently at the helm of GGD, Getgood Digital, the veteran of the stage and studio shared how his recent work in creating a sample library is aligning with a community of musicians that are putting out more content from the confines of their homes.
Nolly would also get into the prevalence of Youtube musicians and how some of the most popular players are using a bit of deception to convince the audience that what they are doing on camera is all real.
From his work with Devin Townsend and Animals As Leaders, Nolly’s experience and expertise makes for an incredibly thorough conversation that dives deep into the culture of craftsmanship at the core of being a musician.
Stream the conversation between Adam “Nolly Getgood and Craig Reynolds on the latest Downbeat below.
5:43 – Different regions of the world at better at keeping rhythm than others. This can be supported by an audience’s ability to clap on time during a concert. Makes sense.
8:23 – Getgood details how he has been keeping busy during the pandemic. Continuing to work mixing and occassinsaly producing, Adam explains that most of his focus recently has gone into GetGood Drums, which has evolved into GetGood Digital, recording drum sample libraries.
10:47 – Reynolds confides he’s a bit “top heavy” when it comes to playing the drums. Using the intensity of Eloy Casagrande (drummer for Sepultura) as a reference, Reynolds shares that he only needs to use about 20% of his energy to play drums very hard, top half only. If any double pedal is involved, the energy percentage shoots up to 90% regardless of what is happening with the top half of his body. Reynolds’ ability to kick lightly, just doesn’t exists.
14:34 – Getgood is officially christened as the best drum tuner on the planet. With Wil Putney coming in as a close second, Reynolds said that he can sit down behind a kit, begin to play and instantly know if “Nolly” had tuned it.
16:34 – The guys really begin to geek out with drums here. Lots of language specific discussion about the differences between wood kits, acrylic kits, the quality the bearing edges and the variation in recording with each.
22:22 – “This is the most I’ve talks about actual drums on the podcast for maybe six months,” said Reynolds. He’s always been hesitant to call The Downbeat a drum-focused podcast in an effort to keep the content varied but with Nolly being such a good friend and so knowledgable, the conversation naturally steers that way.
25:00 – Adam explains Getgood Drums and the evolution of MIDI packs for songwriters. Referencing people’s ability to make music at home and use technology in lieu of a jam with a drummer, he details why the MIDI pack now makes sense more than ever.
27:57 – Reynolds sings the praises of Leperous drummer Baard Kolstad.
30:00 – Reynolds explains the format of the podcast and the low-pressure environment of the show. Rather than grilling guests with pointed questions, he just aims to have an entertaining conversation.
30:53 – Getgood revisits his time working with Devin Townsend on the albums Transcendence and Empath. He also went into detail about the process of recording three different drummers in Morgan Ågren, Samus Paulicelli, and Anup Sastry each with very distinct styles and set ups.
36:35 – Reynolds explains how watching Morgan Ågren with Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah ultimately changed his life creatively. (Watch the performance – HERE)
38:58 – The guys go over Reynolds’ timeline as a drummer and how music college segued into his tenure with death metal band Viatrophy. He continued on to explain how he wavered from teaching drums to recording drums and weighed which made the most sense for him in terms of time and money.
44:15 – Reynolds explains how a reaction video he did to Eloy Casagrande’s drum cover to Slipknot’s “The Heretic Anthem” lead to an online tussle. Reynolds used the video to illustrate how what Eloy was doing on drums was all live, all real. Reynolds also asserted that other drummers often digital help to achieve that same same speed and sound and that pissed people off something serious.
47:16 – The guys begin to discuss how the prevalence of Youtube musicians presenting digitally aided performances as unaided performance videos sets a bad precedent for assuring musicians. It doesn’t negate the talent of the player, it just presents a very deceptive reality of what actually is. The guys reference the how Tom Morello tweeted the video from Charles Caswell’s video from Berried Alive as an example.
50:45 – Nolly and Reynolds dissect the incredible performances of Chris Turner and debate whether it’s all him without any aide. The guys seem to conclude that the drumming is all Turner. (See for yourself – HERE)
58:55 – Nolly shares that Benny Greb, Chris Coleman, Federico Paulovich and Matt Gartska of Animals As Leaders are among his favorite drummers both stylistically and professionally.
1:06:19 – Both Reynolds and Nolly start in on how gospel drummers are versatile and suited well to play other styles of music. They also detail how that style became integrated into metal music drumming.
1:12:15 – The guys discuss how bands like Haken and The Contortionist are pushing the boundaries of progressive music and modern drumming.
1:14:57 – Nolly and Reynolds use Brann Dailor of Mastodon as a prime example of how fans have become so used to triggered drums that they overlook raw talent like Dailor.
1:18:00 – Getgood shares that Sikth’s Bland Street Blues was a game changer for him.
1:26:10 – Nolly discussed his tenure with Drummer’s Review and how he recently ended his run with the platform. He shared that he really valued the unbiased voice the series presented and explained that he just felt like he had reached his creative ceiling there and felt like it was time to move on.
1:33:50 – Fielding questions from Patreon fans, the guys discuss Nolly’s love for espresso and how that seems to align with the meticulous nature of most creatives. The guys discuss how coffee, always seems to be a common denominator with people that are very detailed and artistic and how there are parallels in the process of making a good cup and being a skilled craftsman.
1:51:55 – Nolly shares that Gojira’s “The Art of Dying” stands alone on a creative pedestal with regards to it’s style, it’s presentation, and it’s impact.
1:52:25 – The Patreon community asks Nolly what some of his favorite albums are that he has produced. Among the more recent offerings, Nolly shares that he loves Car bombs ‘Mordial’ LP and Halen’s latest in ‘Virus’.
1:55:30 – Closing out the conversation, Nolly shares how formative his experience in working with Animals As Leaders was.
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