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Blake's Interests
General
F.Y.I.: The song playing right now is me and my old bizand!
Learning the arts of Brazillian Jiu-jitsu, Muay Thai and wrestling (mixed martial arts). It's the most fun sport/excercise that I have tried and definatly worth trying no matter what your "ability." What's that? It's scary and barbaric? No, there's really nothing wrong with competetive martial arts. It's actually much safer in terms of injuries than many sports such as hockey, football and especially boxing, and yes, it can be a very artistic medium for self-expression. Not to mention great for releasing stress! NO, no one has ever died from MMA, unlike Boxing (w/ an average of 5 deaths a year). Yes, I'm only doing this to impress girls and look wicked tough. (;
Admitedly, I'm a Tool Army dork, which makes it easier to like what they like than to form my own opinions through "research." Think for yourself, question authority? Yeah, right! I'm pretty sure (and several of my freinds would agree) that Maynro floats approximatley 2" off the ground at all times and that Danny Carey may be cooler than anyone, ever (I know, I'm a lame obsessed nerd, I know i know). That being said, I'm equally obsessed with Elliott Smith. I'd like to believe, along with many others that knew him (from what I've heard) that his girlfriend killed him, but who am I to judge? It makes me feel better in a weird kind of way to think the arguably one of the most prolific songwriter/multi-instrumentalists of all-time didn't give up. Even if he did, (which he probably did) i guess that's ok too. Shit happens.
I'm pretty pseudo-intellectual about but am interested nonetheless in:
politics(knee-jerk socialist/bleeding heart), philosophy(existentialism seems cool. I Heart Huckabees and an intoductory course at Jerklee School of Spoiled Potheads is about the extent of my knowledge...And yes, i was one of those spoiled potheads. "Camous can doo-doo, but Sartre is smartre!"-Homer. Oh yeah, and I read the Plague, does that count?), psychology(that Jung dude was wicked smaht! The Collective Unconscious? How cool is that! Plus, I think Tool is into him!), religion (buddhism seems cool as well, those Tibbetans sure know how to turn the other cheek! I liked the Book of the Dead, at least what I understood. Plus, Alex Grey rules!), art (I only know H.R. Giger and Alex Grey's work, b/c they're flashy (and because Tool likes them)), comedy (Bill Hicks is my hero, also cuz Tool sez so), history (uhh.. Oh yeah, I know a historian and have even heard him speak a few times! Howard Zinn, bitches. Distiller of the gospel, divine revelations of pure truth), and other stuff. I've read a few other books that I liked, to my credit, like Daniel Quinn's Ishmael and the Story of B, Carl Jung's auto-biography, Chomsky's Hegemony of Survival, umm... I'll think of more to appear more intelligent (isn't self-degradating humor just a defense-mechanism security blanket thing? Shit! I couldn't even think of the word for when you make fun of yourself! Fuck! Oh yes, self-deprecating humor! Ahh, I feel better now.
I am kind of lame and not wicked smaht like that fuckin' Jung dude.
I enjoy reading the Guardian.co.uk and Counterpunch.com to feel informed in a healthily biased kind of a way, and feel more and more each day that we're all gonna die relatively soon (around 2012, preferably), which is fine by me.
P.S.- If you're sick of my fuckin' sissy premadonna bullshit, you're not alone. Cheers!
Music
First and foremost Toby Keith (for embodying everything soulless and wrong with the world), Pink Floyd, Tool, Beck, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Bjork, Beck, Elliott Smith, Nick Drake, the Shins, Beatles (especially George!) Deftones, Beirut, Bill Frissell, Chet Atkins, Carl Perkins, Les Paul, Merle Travis, Johnny and Santo, Tortoise, Ween, Tenacious D, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Pinback, Broken Social Scene, Ravi Shankar, Portished, Elysian Fields, Meshuggah, Andy Dick and Bitches of the Century, Stephen Lynch, Sean Cullen, Wilco, Jon Brion, Nick Drake, Aphex Twin, Grant Lee Phillips, Brian Eno, the the cool grunge bands (Sonic Youth, the Melvins, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc.) and many more! If you are at all like-minded I'd love to schedule an audition/jam. My favorite drummers include Danny Carey, Jimmy Chamberlain, Tim Alexander, Joey Waronker, Matt Cameron, Nick Mason, Ringo, Keith Jarvis, Tony Williams, Trilok Gurtu, Elliott Smith (most underrated drummer ever), etc. Favorite local bands everyone should know about (check out their myspaces! They are in my friends section.): Ellis Ashbrook (space prog-funk psychedelia w/ soul, I guess you could call it if you had to label them) and the Montgomerys (great pop-ish songwritery goodness, formerly the Irresponsibles discovered by Adrian Belew of King Crimson), and Lake Trout (one of Radiohead's influences from Baltimore, w/ one of the sickest drummers out there who basically invented the concept of making your drumset sound like electronic beats).
Movies
Battlefield Earth (lol), Grandma's Boy (yes, i'm being sarcastic), Children of Men, The Flaming Lips: Fearless Freaks, The Devil and Danial Johnston, Wilco: I am Trying to Break Your Heart, Blood Diamond, Girls Will Be Girls, the Endurance, Tibet, Orgazmo, Spinal Tap, Hudsucker Proxy, Pink Floyd Live at Pompeii, all Cohen Bros., David Lynch, Kubrick, Michel Gondry, Wes Anderson of course., Hijacking Catastrophe, THE GROUND TRUTH, The Fog of War, I Heart Huckabees, Human Nature
Television
House, Flight of the Conchords, Arrested Development, Mr. Show w/ Bob and David, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Upright Citizens Brigade, Simpsons, Seinfeld, Daily Show, Colbert Report, South Park, Ultimate Fighter (guilty pleasure!) and Entourage (because i'm in episode 24 called "A Day in the Valley"), City of Men
Books
A Fighters Heart by Sam Sheridan, Lucid Dreams by Stephen LaBerge, Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival, Quinn's Ishmael and the Story of B, Jung's Autobiography, Alex Grey's Transfigurations, Camous' the Plague, Zinn's A People's History, America: the Book. A New Earth. I should read more probably.
Heroes
Repeating myself now, again, but: Wanderlei Silva, Shogun Rua, Nick Diaz, Jeff Monson, Josh Barnett, Fedor, Bill Hicks, Tool, Carl Jung, a select group of teachers from Bizerklee that made life tolerable like Dr. Stephen-Wolf Foster and Mark Shilansky and Scott McCormick, my last drum teacher Dave Dicenso, my first drum teacher and longtime friend/mentor Andrew Poling, J.W. Durst and my mom for making me/dealing w/ me, have I mentioned Tool yet? Umm... David Cross and Bob Odenkirk, cool teachers from the Academy like Bucher (furry buddy) and Giles Pennington and Mr. Meek, last but not least my select group of friends that still call me after all these years..
About me: "That's the way the stomach rumbles
That's the way the bee bumbles
That's the way the needle pricks
That's the way the glue sticks
That's the way the potato mashes
That's the way the pan flashes
That's the way the market crashes
That's the way the whip lashes
That's the way the teeth knashes
That's the way the gravy stains
That's the way the moon wanes"
-Tom Waits and William S. Burroughs, The Black Rider----------------------------------------------------------------
Anyway--I want to do session work for YOU!!! I also teach drum lessons! Sorry, I'll try to take it down a notch. First, let me explain--You are listening to me rock the casbah right now with my old band, THE New West, YOU CAN HEAR MORE BY ADDING US----THE NEW WEST-----IN MY TOP 12!
To hear me playing on the toasty dub-reggae tune "Ribbons" click on my music page, blakedurst, in my top 12! I improvised in the studio along with this song and they ended up using it on the soundtrack for the classic "B" Horror movie Tommy Chong's Evil Bong. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I'm a professional musician.. I stress being a musician above labeling myself as just a drummer, because I think thinking about music cohesively as a whole is much more important than any one instrument's part. This philosophy has made me move away from focusing on "chops" and more on making music have meaning, to evoke thoughts and emotions...I moved to LA after studying/teaching drums and playing (gigging and doing studio work) in Albuquerque and Boston. Now I'm back in my hometown of Boise.
I'm a career musician and very meticulous and passionate about my craft. That being said, learning and playing music should be as FUN as much and as often as possible! I teach in Garden City and my private lesson rate is a very affordable $30/hr, or $20 for a half hour, with the first lesson half off. If you come in to try lessons and decide it's not for you this way you're only compensating me for my time/gas. House calls available depending on availablity and proximity. As far as studio session work goes, I strive to be a complete professional. I don't have as much studio experience as some, but I more than make up for it in ingenuity and hard work. I stress being an effective, yet AFFORDABLE hired hand. Also, my availability is virtually wide open during the day and on most weekends. As far as night time or late night sessions I'm flexible, but my availability may depend on what's going on any given night with gigs and rehearsals. I'm extremely easy and fun to work with and I'm a quick learner. I can read charts well and excel in getting parts down fast. I put emphasis on time and feel, doing everything I can to play what's tasteful and appropriate for each track. Last but not least, I have professional gear, including a DW Collector's series six piece set (as needed), great sounding Zildjian A and K custom cymbals and a sweet Anton Fig wood-hooped maple snare..oh yeah! I'm more than willing to lend as much as I can to additional perucssion needs whatever they may be as well.. As for my qualfications and credentials, I've been playing for over 11 years, teaching drums privately for four years, played in Jazz All-State in high-school (where I won several awards of achievement) as well as doing percussion in the symphonic band, attended Berklee College of Music (concentrating in drumset performance) and have studied with many greatly talented drumset teachers including Andrew Poling, Mike Mangini, Bob Moses and Dave Discenso. I played in succesful Boston alternative rock group The Gulf (thegulfmusic.com) and local hard rock favorite, Cuddlefish. Most recently I've done session work for acclaimed producer/engineer Paul McKenna (Tori Amos, Michael Jackson) recording with such acts as Moss Bluff, and also playing live with the beloved LA pop/art rock bands Shaped Like a Gun and, as I mentioned earlier, The New West.
Yes, in general I am partial to the various subgenres of rock and funk music. For example- Elliott Smith, Tool, the deftones, Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Radiohead, Sigur Ros, etc.. That being said however, I was trained in almost all styles of playing and am very capable of playing/teaching latin, jazz and funk/fusion. I've played in numerous bands across the musical spectrum such as latin, funk/fusion and jazz combos. If you would like to begin learning or continue improving your taste and skills playing the drumset, I would love to help you on your quest. Through improvising with eachother on seperate drumsets, learning songs/parts you listen to and would like to be able to play well, and critiqueing your playing in general (always in a friendly but honest and productive fashion, of course) you will ENJOY the learning process. Yes, I believe music should be FUN above all else, which means playing what you want to play...Of course I can help make you a versatlie all-around drummer able to play most styles well, if that is what you seek, but I do not believe in forcing what I enjoy on students. If you want to learn or work on reading drum music, we can work out of books and I can write out beats for you. If you prefer to learn by ear, we can have a blast doing that! Sometimes a combination of the two is best. Music is subjective and personal, so I can adapt to many differant teaching tactics/approaches appropriate to the student's tastes, learning style and the individually unique student/teacher rapport we co-create... I've had all kinds of students at all skill and age levels, so don't be shy if you're older and just getting back into drums again or just starting out. Beginners to intermediate/advanced come on down! Learning to read drum music notation/beats optional. Email me at radiodrumhead8@yahoo.com or call 505-259-2426 and leave your name, number and general availability. P.S.- I haven't been here long and have just begun looking for students, so get your ideal slot before I get filled up! Oh yes, again house calls may be available depending on availablilty and proximity.
I'm a drummer first and foremost but play guitar/keys/tabla/hand-drums and sing harmonies well enough, too. You're listening to me play right now! Remember, simplicity is a virtue. Musicians I love include Pink Floyd, Tool, Beck, Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Bjork, Beck, Elliott Smith (my most recent obsession and biggest inspiration as a guitarist), Nick Drake, the Shins, Beatles (especially George!) Deftones, Team Sleep, Tortoise, Ween, Tenacious D, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Pinback, Broken Social Scene, Ravi Shankar, Andy Dick and Bitches of the Century, Stephen Lynch, Sean Cullen, Wilco, Jon Brion, Nick Drake, Aphex Twin, Grant Lee Phillips, Brian Eno, David Bowie, all the cool grunge bands (Sonic Youth, Alice in Chains, the Melvins, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Nirvana, etc.) and many more! My favorite drummers include Danny Carey, Jimmy Chamberlain, Tim Alexander, Joey Waronker, Matt Cameron, Nick Mason, Ringo, Keith Jarvis, Tony Williams, Trilok Gurtu, Elliott Smith (most underrated drummer ever), etc.
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As I've said, I've been playing drums for over eleven years. I've taken lessons most the time, went to Berklee (studied under Dave Dicenso, fucking awesome) for 2 years which was really cool as an experience, but I was forced to drop out b/c of nerdy music elitists (jazz nazis, I call them), soul-less human leech pop fucks (specifically Britney Spears/Justin Timberlake wannabes), bitter failed musician pseudo-teachers, last but not least, that place is WAY too fucking expensive! Did I mention I can also sing backup harmonies well, as well as play keyboards and (hippy) tabla drums in addition to guitar? Just making sure.
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My equipment is a DW Collector's Series set w/ an anton fig maple snare, sm57 mic and electrovoice bd mic, beautiful authentic tabla, theremin built into a nintendo console (really fun), a 90's thin body Ovation (also used by many lame people but cool w/ effects for lead acoustic lines), and my babies, a 72 Guild acoustic and a '66 Gibson ES-330 that both have amazing aged tone. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In case anyone is and still reading this for some reason and actually wants to know more about me., you must be
a. really bored,
b. a loser,
c. you like me, you really like me!
d. a gay guy who is trying to recruit/seduce me with drinks.
If your answer is A, fine. B-that's okay too. C- you appear genuinely interested in knowing more about me... I wouldn't recommend it, but it's your funeral, pal. D- There's nothing wrong with your infatuation, trust me, I'm used to it. I'm flattered nontheless.
;) Great German! I am still in Honduras and don..t know exactely when I will be back. But if I have time and will be back I would like to check out pengilly..s. Thanks for the invite. Take care
BUT UNLIKE YOUR BIG ASS GAS GUZZLER IT TAKES ONLY 35 BUCKS TO FILL UP AND I DO IT ONCE EVER WEEK AND A HALF TO TWO WEEKS.....what is your new band called do you have a page?
dude I love joe rogan and what he has to say in ways of dmt, isolations tanks, and dem funky green leaves. He's right about idaho but I am sure there is an active decent liberal base of sorts. come soon g
Holiday Special Buy 5 VIP, Floor Premier or Upper Concourse and get the 6th FREE!!!! click on flyer or go to www.Totalfighting.net to purchase before they sell out
what up bd. Good to here from you. Glad that you like the song and I hope you are doin well. You still playing? If so keep up dated on any projects your doing. -Nyberg
Thank you for being friends with Sean Thompson! Here are two DRM-free downloads for your listening enjoyment! Nothing Seems to Fit and One More. both are 48/320
