Who?
Pat Torpey, the former drummer of Mr. Big, stopped by the Philippines to give a drum clinic yesterday at the Hard Rock Cafe in Makati. The event was sponsored by Audiophile and TAMA drums, and attracted a significant amount of people to the venue.
Our tickets state that the clinic starts at 4pm, so we tried to be there at around 3pm. When we got to the Hard Rock Cafe, we could already hear the drum's sound being checked, and so being the jerkoffs that we are, we immediately assumed that some drum tech is trying to show off. Well that drum tech turned out to be Pat Torpey himself. Oops.
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Well, 4pm rolled around and the event started on time. Pat took the stage and chunked out a drum solo that lasted for around 7-10 minutes. After he finished his introductory solo, people went nuts. Pat then said, "It's great to be in a place where you don't need an interpreter!" The crowd applauds. Haha, take that, non-english speaking countries!
Before the lessons began, Pat reminded the crowd that any question would almost certainly be entertained. Whether it's about drumming in general, Mr. Big or whatnot. So the whole clinic was made up of an exchange between him giving lessons and the crowd asking questions.
The majority of the lessons he taught were really entertaining and informative, even to those who don't play the drums. Basically, he demonstrated how to improvise and make the most out of every limb you've got, and to not be stuck in the common set-up of the right hand being stuck in the hi-hat cymbal and the left hand stuck to the snare drum.
He demonstrated how he gets that fast bass drum action, how he alternates his left foot between the hi-hat and the cowbell, how to alternate jobs between his left and right hands, and how simple improvisations to basic beats can spice up the drum track. While his demos were very elaborate, you could see very well how he practices what he preaches.
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As for the questions, the most entertaining ones we could remember were the following:
Can you play 'Take Cover?': We were all surprised by how simple the drum beat as well as the drum break of this song was played. He played it out in slow-mo too, so that everybody could catch up. While we're sure that a lot of practice would be needed to master the song, it was pretty amazing to see how simple it was for him to play it.
Were you sad when Paul Gilbert left?: Awww. He said he was, and that before he actually left the band, he had written him a letter expressing how he thought he should stick it out with the band. He even suggested that maybe all Mr. Gilbert needed was to take a break. On a lighter note, that question was a little too "The Buzz" and showbiz, that's why it's entertaining :)
Can I 'arbor' your sticks?: We swear that's true. This guy actually used the word 'arbor.' We don't really remember how Pat replied, because we were too busy chuckling like little kids. When it wasn't a chuckle really, it was laughter. And I mean the whole place was laughing.
It should be interesting to note that before anyone could even ask, he already addressed that he would want a Mr. Big reunion, but that it wasn't up to him. We're guessing he wanted to get that out of the way since that's probably a topic he gets faced with questions from most of the time. It was at this point when we stopped raising our hands. Kidding.
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After the question and answer portion, Pat played one last drum solo. A very, very long drum solo that the crowd absolutely ate up. We then proceeded to the autograph line where we had stuff like CD covers, tickets and flyers signed, as well as pictures taken with the man. The event wasn't bad at all. People learned stuff about drumming, we got to hear stories about the origins of some songs, and everybody had an awesome time. It was great just… to… be… with… him!
Get it?
(Drum roll!)
Ayos,
-MP