Chris DeChiara

drums, percussion, timpani

Filtering by Category: music

Sorrow & the Spire-Debut Single and Video

Last Sept. 2020, I wrote about recording six songs for Sorrow & the Spire, Navid Rashid’s solo EP. I’m happy to announce that the first single, “My Misery Calling,” is officially released with an accompanying video:

Here is a link for streaming audio. Click the pic!

Navid Rashid-Vocals, Guitar
Jeff Teets-Bass Guitar
Chris DeChiara-Drums, Percussion

Special Thanks to Steve Brown (Trixter, Tokyo Motor Fist, Def Leppard) for his dedication to the project and making it sound as good as it does.

Thanks to LJCreative for being so into the project and sweating just as much as we were!

It’s interesting to watch the final video knowing the ordeal that went into setting up the shoot. The venue was Graffiti Warehouse in Baltimore, MD. There were two studios inside and we didn’t know till we were able to start bringing equipment in that we were on the second floor - up two VERY steep and long sets of stairs. Of course, I had to bring the 6-piece DW kit, rack, drum riser, and a bunch of cymbals. Needless to say, it was the hardest load-in of my entire life. And that is with help! As luck would have it, the room we were in consisted mostly of windows…letting that nice hot sun add that special touch. The natural lighting did look good though!

Since we recorded three songs, the drums would have to move to a different part of the room for each one. Sounds easy, unless your drums are on a rack system on top of a drum riser, with uneven wooden floors. Moving the kit a couple feet was an ordeal itself!

After a couple hours of shooting each song 3-4 times each, our time was up and we needed to get everything out of the building ASAP. Going downstairs IS easier, but it was still brutal. Dump everything in the alley, do an interview, pack the car, and finally…pizza. I’m not sure pizza never tasted so good. Or water. But thank you Joe’s Squared for being open and for being so damn tasty.

I really hope this project takes off as all six songs on the EP are incredibly strong. Please check out the links above and follow the band if you’d like as well:

www.facebook.com/Sorrow-The-Spire-105463695020899
www.instagram.com/sorrowandthespire

Thanks for the support!

Chris










2020 has been interesting. And BUSY!

Late to the blog party again. It’s been since Neil Peart passing that I have written last. His untimely death prompted me to write about his influence on me and the tribute show I played with Sun Dogs.

Since then, we were/are bitten by COVID-19. It’s a sensitive subject because I know so many people who have lost jobs, relocated, and are seriously struggling financially. I’ve received calls from people for gigs that I couldn’t help them with because all my freelancing gigs went down the drain. I’ve always been grateful as hell for my US Navy Band job, but I couldn’t describe how lucky I am to have it during this time. It’s given me the chance to accomplish some things I never had the time for. I even wrote a book that I never intended to write.

I’m not one to sit around and watch TV all day, so it was time to tackle this stuff head-on. Tackle what? Besides the numerous Navy Band virtual collab videos I had to do, there were maybe ten Nowhere Men videos we put together as well. Writing it down doesn’t come across as being much, but trying to put together a quality video takes a TON of time! Even though we kept the NM videos pretty loose, there’s a ton of editing that goes on and since I’m quite the novice (but enjoy it) and I don’t have the right computer, it takes some time.

The two biggest musical accomplishments for myself have been finally starting producing courses (that I’m listing for sale here on my site) and a book on The Rite of Spring.

It’s been a goal of mine for over a year to start an online business. It’s been taking shape as beginner-intermediate courses and the first one, the single stroke roll, is finally finished. Just a couple of finishing touches and it will be for sale here soon. I plan on doing more courses like this focusing on what I think are the most important rudiments in drumming and how they apply not just to the pad/snare drum, but the drum kit, and orchestral percussion. The amount of video time clocks in at around 75 minutes, but it really feels like 3 hours! I feel there’s a lot of good information and I hope people get the chance to check it out and offer some feedback. If you’re interested, just head to the Store and you’ll see it in there.

Brown+Modern+Collage+Instagram+Post.jpg

I HAVE A STORE!

LESSONS

CONSULTATIONS

RITE OF SPRING BOOK (SOON!)

For over 20 years, I’ve been meaning to get an article I wrote in grad school published about the percussion section in The Rite of Spring. I didn’t know if it still had legs or not, but while organizing photo albums (damn COVID!) I came across the article again. It seemed like there was some life still left (assuming some grammar editing…) so I approached the Percussive Arts Society on possibly publishing it. They were very interested, so I got to work on the editing process. While editing, I was not just correcting things, but starting to ADD information that seemed worthy and really ended up going down a serious rabbit hole. What started as seven typed out pages (on an old electric typewriter-I’M OLD!) turned into over 68 pages chock full of incredible information and musical examples. I had some help along the way, but for 3 months, this was all I could set my mind to every day. I never thought I’d see the light at the end of the tunnel, but as we speak it’s being formatted for ebook and paperback formats. I kind of can’t believe it!

Here it is!

Here it is!

A couple other projects coming up or recently finished:

  1. Working on recording new music by Navid Rashid. Recorded 2 of 6 tracks so far and the songs are killer!

  2. Recorded 4 songs for DJ Sparr’s upcoming album in October. These were a blast to record-lots of layering of instruments in different styles. Funk, hip hop, EDM, R+B. Gonna be a fun listen!

  3. Double stroke roll lesson is being planned out and video to be shot soon.

  4. Included Lessons and Consultations in the Store (besides the book and SSR lesson)

On the gig front, Herr Metal just did their first live stream in lieu of the usual Friday Night Live! series in Herndon, VA. This is usually one of the biggest shows of the year, but considering the circumstances, they went to a live stream format. I’m happy to say we received over 2.5 million views and turned ArtSpace Herndon into a Rock n’ Roll Hurricane!

The only other gig on the books is a drive-in style show with Herr Metal and The Darby Brothers. These guys know how to play and sing. We can’t wait to share the (big) stage with them. 9/5 at Middleburg Barn. This is also a benefit for SVERN Equine Rescue!

Here’s a link if you’re interested:

https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/4936908/tailgate-live-music-series-at-the-middleburg-barn-middleburg-the-middleburg-barn-at-fox-chase-farm?fbclid=IwAR27REDHoNRo2gdJUlX_Q6qml2cOhuUcCUfnaf9MVHBAtxaq1JhRv8zsthU

Stay safe and thanks for reading!

-Chris

Michael Colgrass (1932-2019)

In 1995, I was a sophomore at UMASS Lowell. My teacher and percussion ensemble director, Jeff Fisher, decided to do a “mini-Colgrass festival” that semester. Half of the program would be dedicated to some of Colgrass’s percussion works. Of course, I never heard of Michael Colgrass. I say “of course” because I was such a late bloomer to the classical world and wasn’t until college where I developed as a serious player, played mallets, and learned about classical percussion. Before this, I didn’t know a thing except playing drums in a band. Not that that was a bad thing and proved to be invaluable down the road, but…anyway…a friend and I were asked to perform a snare solo from his Six Unaccompanied Solos for Snare Drum. Considering I never played a “legit” solo in my life and the rest of the program were ensemble pieces, this felt like quite the honor. Here it is, hair and all. And getting out of there as soon as possible after for some reason…

When I was at UMASS Lowell in 1995, Jeff Fisher, the percussion ensemble director programmed a "mini Colgrass festival" consisting of one half of the program dedicated to Michael Colgrass's percussion pieces.

During the concert, Jeff mentioned a story about Colgrass freelancing in NYC. He was walking down the street and didn’t know whether or not he was coming or going to/from the gig! It was soon after that he decided to become a full time composer. This story stuck with me for some reason.

Three years later in 1998, I was a student at the New England Conservatory and the wind ensemble I was in was preparing Colgrass’s “Urban Requiem.” The piece was a beast to prepare-each percussionist’s station of instruments in specific locations around the stage. Mine consisted of 3 separate stations-a steel drum part (an instrument I never played before and included solo part with clarinet-that was hard!), general percussion, and a drumset station in front of the conductor where you were basically part of a jazz/bop combo later in the piece. I don’t remember if I knew that Colgrass would be there or not, but lo and behold, there was the man himself at one of the rehearsals. The story I heard years ago permanently etched in my brain, I enjoyed getting the chance to ask him about this. If it were today, there would be a selfie involved. I left Jeff a voice message telling him that I told Colgrass the story I heard years ago 3 years ago. He was floored that I met and told Colgrass this, but mostly that I heard and remembered the story at all!

Later that year at NEC, I learned about Colgrass’s book, My Lessons with Kumi (maybe he told me?) which was all about performance anxiety. Since I was playing recitals and starting to take orchestra auditions, I needed all the help I could get. I used a couple of the tactics inside, but mainly enjoyed the great “Karate Kid” like read.

Many years later while a member of the US Navy Band, I was performing a lot of “new music” on the side. In 2007, I finally had the chance to perform some movements of Colgrass’s “Variations for 4 Drums and Viola” with my friend Rebecca Kletzker-Steele. “4 Drums” (rototoms) has been a staple in the repertoire and I’ve been itching to do it forever. We played it on a couple occasions and was a blast to put together and perform. Check out the “Finale” here-

Even though I didn’t have a lot of experience with his pieces and our meeting was brief, his music was introduced to me while I was developing my classical musician skills. Many years later, it’s time to honor him and break out some of his music again! Where do I start?

RIP Michael Colgrass (1932-2019)