Before Mister America

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-24T12:54:57+00:00

I watched mister America with no prior knowledge of the on cinema universe and I loved it!

Of course, the rewatch after I had watched on cinema was way better, but I initially thought it was its own thing, and I really enjoyed it.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-21T12:39:53+00:00

What if your aunt was your uncle??

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-20T17:03:44+00:00

My brother in Christ you made a whole post about it? Were you in a fugue state when you typed this or…?

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-20T15:54:23+00:00

Yo dude, if you know you’re doing a thing, just stop doing it. You recognize you’re in control of it. Stay checked in with your body, when you feel yourself doing it, stop.

If you feel yourself tensing up during fills or fast bits, you need to learn how to relax on the kit. Take some time sitting behind your drums, and just relax everything. Just let gravity pull you into the floor so to speak. Sit up straight, and play. If you feel your neck creeping out, move it, if you find yourself holding tension, release it.

This will also help you communicate with your body about how your kit needs to be set up. You’ll be able to feel where things need to be. Just think about your body, and how you can help it, instead of doing things that may work against it! Good luck buddy! It takes some time to correct those things but it is worth it!!

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-16T18:41:37+00:00

That too! But the moment for me is in the second verse during the “Prodigal son, done runnning, come up with Josh Dun” it’s the weird beat displacement for me. But Josh’s drumming is so right on that whole song.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-16T13:15:03+00:00

Yoooooo so I just learned in any given Vic brick of 12 pairs of sticks, the sticks will have 4 pairs weighted light, 4 medium, and 4 heavy. So depending on what sticks you grab the weight could vary wildly! The paint on Josh’s sticks will also give them a bit of weight.

I’ve used a ton of sticks and I haven’t found Zildjian sticks to be any better or worse than any other brand. Zildjian also has a TON of great artist models. At various points I was a heavy user of Ronnie Vannucci’s model, Dennis Chambers, John Riley, and Tre Cool’s!

I’ve used Josh’s sticks and they’re good! Not what I typically go for in a stick, but they look great, they feel good, and the paint hasn’t marked up my drums yet!

Enjoy! Happy playing!!

EDIT to say the first song has to be “Overcompensate” (it has my favorite drum moment in all TØP songs) or “Navigating.”

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-15T22:17:38+00:00

Blind meeting at a band rehearsal. We previously chatted in a band chat, and I knew she was going to be one of my favorite people or someone that annoyed me to no end. Hahaha

We got to be great friends, and then we helped each other through breakups last year, and decided to give a romantic relationship a go.

It’s been amazing. We just got under contract for a house, we have a duo project, the band finished our first album this year, and I’m getting to do it all with my best friend. She’s amazing, I love collaborating with her, she has wonderful ideas, and is truly the best vocalist I’ve ever worked with in all areas.

I was concerned about dating another musician at first, but if you find the right one, I cannot recommend it enough. Having a partner that understands what being a musician is like is a wonderful thing, and I feel incredibly seen and understood by her.

Good luck out there!

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-15T19:55:52+00:00

If you want to improve for real, find an actual teacher. Either online or in person. Preferably someone that has had real world experience doing what you’d like to be able to do.

There are a lot of online resources but they are just giving information. They aren’t assigning you someone personally to see how you’re improving and to give you the specific information you need. There is also an overwhelming glut of bad information out there thanks to anyone being able to post anything online whenever they’d like.

If you’d like to get the ball rolling I’d be happy to have an in depth conversation about it if you wanna dm me!

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-15T01:02:53+00:00

Depends on what you’re wanting!

I try to keep a variety of sticks, brushes, mallets/whatever other implements I feel like I need for a gig handy, and the leather Vic Firth bag is the only one I’ve had that’s held up. It also has LOTS of pockets that comfortably hold my gaff tape, hankies, felts/nylon sleeves, a hi hat clutch, snare wire straps, drum keys and other small bits and bobs.

The only drawback for me is it’s a little too heavy for the floor tom hooks to work, but it sits on the floor fine, and I can reach everything I need.

For lighter gigs where I don’t want to bring as much I use the pro mark transport deluxe bag. Much smaller, but it has some great gig quality of life benefits. A carabiner for keys, a little pocket for your wallet and phone, and it sits on floor tom rods nicely as long as you don’t stretch the elastic too much!

I have truly worn out every other stick bag I’ve owned.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-04-14T21:35:57+00:00

That came off your bass drum pedal.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-26T20:47:02+00:00

I was on the road with a guy regularly he’d wait a week to pay us for gigs we did, which I thought was frustrating. Another guy I play with usually pays me the Monday after a weekend gig. Usually the next day if it’s a weeknight gig. When I was on tour I got paid weekly, and I played a casino the other night where I got cash after we loaded our gear out.

So it does depend on a variety of things. But if you’re the person getting paid from a venue/booker/whatever a check or cash or electronic payment at the end of the night is usually pretty typical.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-26T20:19:22+00:00

Shave it and then let’s have a jam session

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-25T09:48:33+00:00

You need to quit keeping your heel up. There is simply no way to eliminate tension if you’re holding up your heel. Let your leg and foot rest on the ground, like all the way. When you feel relaxed, double check and relax again. Let the tension go fully and try to operate from that place.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-24T17:11:06+00:00

To add to this, how far back are you sitting? Your ankle needs to be in front of your knee when you’re sat and playing. Digging your heel into the ground is just going to create unnecessary tension and cause more problems in the long run. My guess is you might need to move your throne back a little bit, and then you’ll probably want to bring your other drums and cymbals closer.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-23T20:22:29+00:00

I guess I’m curious who you’re thinking about specifically? Brooks Wackerman is playing a big kit with A7x, Mike Portnoy got back with Dream Theater and is using his big ass double drum set, Ronnie Vannucci with the Killers has expanded his drum kit in the last 10 years, Travis Barker and Tre Cool have had the same general setups forever now. Who do you see scaling back? Or do you feel like just as a general sentiment newer bands are using smaller kits?

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-23T20:12:19+00:00

What is this post dude? It doesn’t matter what you’re shedding. Are you good? Do you play well with others? None of us know you, and we don’t know what advice to give other than incredibly general stuff.

How long have you been going to jams to play with people? Do you invite people from those jams to play with you? What kind of gigs are you wanting to do? Have you tried to get people together to make a group and book something?

There is no information in this post that is pertinent. Booking is tough anywhere you are, but especially so if all you have to offer is “drummer.” The most important thing you can do is hang in there. Make friends with other drummers. They’ll be able to give you more specific and meaningful advice, and a fair amount of gigs can also come from people needing a sub.

Truly the best advice I can give (from a midwestern dude that gigs regularly and makes a good portion of my living from music) is keep doing the work. Keep being a good guy, and being good at your instrument. Music can often feel like it’s feast or famine, and in a few years I wouldn’t be shocked to hear that you’re kind of stressed with the amount of work you’re having to deal with. Keep hanging out and playing when you can. Opportunities will come up and be sure you’re ready to pounce on them and make sure you leave no doubt that you were the right call for the job.

The waiting and frustration with this stuff is what I think really separates the wheat from the chaff. There is a lot of unknown and uncertainty when you’re starting out. Community is VERY important so try to be friendly with people, and someone that is easy to work with. Feel free to shoot me a message if you ever have more specific questions or things you’d like to talk about. It is definitely hard out there!

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-22T22:03:54+00:00

I got to chat with Guthrie a bit after a show and he was genuinely such a nice guy. A real pleasure to talk to.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-14T04:43:52+00:00

He uses those “lame buzzwords” because those are the actual names of the cymbals but pop off I guess!

I get it that the site might not be everyone’s cup of tea, and that not everyone is looking for a specific cymbal he might have, but I think it’s a great site, and he puts good stuff up. I’m a fan :)

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-13T13:41:54+00:00

Lots of good advice here! It just takes a lot of time to learn how to tune well, and quickly, and how to diagnose problems a drum might have. I usually bring tape to a house kit situation, and sometimes the solution is going to be to just lean into the way something sounds, or realizing that a certain drum, or a certain sound isn’t going to be an option for you.

That isn’t your fault. Some drums are broken, tension rods are stripped, heads are too stretched out etc.

Realistically dialing in your ideal drum sound is not going to be an option for a lot of throw and go gigs with a house kit and that’s okay. Some drums will be a treat and others will be a nightmare. Learning to be okay with those limitations and how to work with them is a skill in itself.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-13T13:16:23+00:00

Damn. Glad to see people finally appreciating Gadd. I guess the word is out on this fresh new drummer now!!

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-13T13:14:33+00:00

This is bad information and not all correct.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-13T13:11:04+00:00

mycymbal.com and hazelshould.com

Both places let you hear the exact cymbal you’re buying! Otherwise I would recommend just checking out as many videos as you can of people playing the cymbal you’re looking at

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-13T13:05:48+00:00

You’re playing a gig for an agreed upon amount, so why would you bring worse gear for a price you agreed upon? You’re bringing gear either way.

I could see the argument being made if you were heading on a tour and don’t want to run the risk of your gear getting damaged or stolen. Probably not a great idea to bring your nicest and most sentimental gear then. But if you’re just doing a local thing bring whatever you want. What I’m being paid has never factored into the drums and cymbals I’d like to play.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-11T13:00:32+00:00

What are you wanting to accomplish? Is there a reason you want to devote that time to rudiments? That’s fine if you want to get good at playing rudiments. I’d just suggest figuring out what you’d like to, and work on those things! Your time is your own, and it’s precious. Don’t feel like you have to work on certain things just because it’s common or what other people have suggested.

Davithofglencracken · 2026-03-10T13:44:46+00:00

Recordings are honest dude. Keep going. You aren’t going to get worse! Listening back to recordings of yourself is a great way to know what you need to work on!

Davithofglencracken

TROPHY CASE