drumming secrets

Hi Juan,

I saw a concert at the North Sea Jazz Festival where you played with Waylon! Great concert by the way! My question is: you were playing on a Ludwig drumkit, which obviously isn't your kit, right? I also saw you once in Leeuwarden at an amazing concert with the Stef Burns Group. That was very cool too! At that concert you were playing on your own Sonor Delight. I can recognize your sound, even when you play on somebody else's drumkit; how is this possible?

Thanks for the answer!

Robin Janssen (Uithoorn)

Hello Robin! 

Funny enough one of my examn students asked me this question as well! 

First of all you need to know that at Stef Burns' concert I played not only on my kit; the repertoire we play is partly co-written by me. I feel totally free when I play with the SBG.  

With Waylon the story is as follows: the band of Waylon is a band that have their own sound! It's a sound that is a bit vintage and they love it! I like it too and when I take place behind the kit of Bram Hakkens (Waylon's drummer), I need to make sure that I feel free and  at home as well behind his instrument.

You have to know that when I grew up as a young kid, it was common to play gigs and jams on different drumsets all the time. basically that was due to the lack of change over time between the acts or simply the owner of the place didn't want to have any hassle during his show! Anyway, as a kid I 've learned to be flexible with that....actually it took quite a while untill I was in the position to claim to be playing on my own kit. So I can say that this way I got used to playing on almost any kind of drum kit, no matter what sizes, sound or configuration!

I think soundwise I have learned to get the best out of any kit by 'quick tuning', and listening to what the drum sounded like. Sometimes it is even better to play in the way the kit sounds at it best, rather than forcing your way of playing to it!

At Waylon's concerts I really believe his music tells you what to play and more important: what NOT to play ! And also with what kind of  feel to play it! I simply follow my heart and adapt to the band's sound as good as possible. In the end it's all about making the band sound great as they are, isn't it?

But yeah, I do ask Bram if it's possible to tune his drums a little bit to my own taste and he has never had any problems with that. Of course I make some adjustments to make my own configuration a bit. But I do use my own Sonor Delight  snare, hardware and Paiste Twenty cymbals to make me feel at home completely though....And I guess when I feel like at home, I sound like who I am.

Thanks for that question Robin!

Juan