You never know when you\u2019ll discover some indescribable drumming. Just such an experience awaits the listeners of the intriguing San Diego band Pinback, however \u2013 especially when they check out the group\u2019s fifth studio album, Information Retrieved. <\/p>\n
The drummer on this deliciously mysterious indie pop collection is Chris Prescott, who provides an unpredictable rhythmic core for Pinback founders Zach Smith (bass) and Rob Crow (vocals) to play off of. From behind his kit, Prescott has developed a very diplomatic role in helping the magic to unfold in a Pinback creation. <\/p>\n
\u201cEvery song is different, and every song is a negotiation,\u201d he explains. \u201cRob and Zach are opposites, so when a song comes together, it\u2019s like a truce between their perspectives. What you hear is them negotiating their views on music, and struggling with that \u2013 that\u2019s what makes the band interesting.\u201d <\/p>\n
But that\u2019s not the only thing that makes the band interesting: Prescott has a sizable share in that effect as well, and it\u2019s plain as day on \u201cProceed to Memory\u201d, the opening track of Information Retrieved. The muse of a calmly beautiful solo guitar leads off the song like a lucid dream until :19, when Prescott appears with a kick + rim pattern that\u2019s lovely to listen to \u2013 but devilishly hard to duplicate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s several songs on the record that have this two-against-three feel,\u201d Prescott says. \u201cThis is one of those rhythms where you have a strict quarter note on the rim, but the kick is playing a pattern that\u2019s based in three. Things are pulling against each other. It\u2019s actually very simple: an almost metronomic rim, with this contrast underneath it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prescott continues the pattern with almost no variation clear to :58. It\u2019s a characteristic of his playing that shows up again and again throughout Information Retrieved \u2013 and there\u2019s a reason for that. \u201cIt\u2019s about finding a good rhythm that\u2019s not fighting what\u2019s going on, with a hypnotic repetition,\u201d notes Prescott. \u201cI\u2019m a drum teacher as well, and now I\u2019m telling students things I didn\u2019t want to hear when I was a kid: \u2018Play simple, don\u2019t show off all the time, just keep a good groove.\u2019 <\/p>\n
\u201cRepetition is powerful \u2013 it creates an entrancing effect, and it provides a foundation to the song, instead of being the song. I find repeating parts to be really interesting, like in the music of Philip Glass or Steve Reich, and it\u2019s a cool element in pop music.\u201d <\/p>\n
At that aforementioned :58 mark, Prescott kicks off a rock beat that pulses without being aggressive, providing a good backbone for the chorus but with a lighter touch. \u201cWith the hi-hat coming in, the rhythm progresses and gets a little louder,\u201d he observes. \u201cThere\u2019s a sort of accent on the \u2018and\u2019 of two and three. The hi-hat cymbals come in to create this almost linear feel \u2013 there\u2019s an empty space, but it\u2019s going to the cymbals which are taking on that weight. The result is the same dynamic for the chorus as the verse, but a different color.\u201d <\/p>\n
At 1:34, Prescott plays what may be the first fill of the entire song \u2013 a single open high-hat strike that leads to the slightly harder version of the beat he was just playing. \u201cI think it sort of serves as a punctuation,\u201d he says of the subtly effective transition. \u201cA lot of times my role in the band is not to overdo it, trying to say what you need to say without too many flourishes. It\u2019s almost like an anti-fill, but it marks the section and that\u2019s the point. It\u2019s says, \u2018We\u2019re going somewhere new.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd honestly, a lot of times certain things are played simply because they\u2019re instinctual. I may talk about something and give a reason for it, but sometimes it\u2019s just what\u2019s happened.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 2:07, the \u201cProceed to Memory\u201d enters an energetic clearing of sorts \u2013 a bridge that\u2019s quietly charged by an influx of skipping ghost notes on the snare. \u201cThat\u2019s always a good feel!\u201d Prescott enthuses. \u201cAttention to dynamics is very important so that you don\u2019t get those parts too loud. Instead, sections like that are more textural. I don\u2019t want them to pop out as part of the rhythm \u2013 I want to keep the rhythm going, but if I add the ghost notes it won\u2019t change the foundations of the rhythm. <\/p>\n
\u201cAnd also, when those ghost notes appear, it means we\u2019re into the song. Things are loosening up, and that\u2019s a comfortable feel for me. It\u2019s not, \u2018Oh no, I\u2019m going to play ghost notes now.\u2019 It\u2019s, \u2018Yay! I\u2019m going to play ghost notes now!\u2019 It helps the rhythm fit together and flow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Presumably, Prescott gets downright ecstatic at 2:23, when the bridge blows up into a powerful surge, driving forward on rolling toms and single stroke roll shots on the snare. \u201cThat\u2019s the trickiest part of the whole song, for sure,\u201d he acknowledges. \u201cMy right hand is playing eighth notes on the floor tom, and my left hand is playing quarter notes on the hi hat. During this I\u2019m filling in all the offbeat sixteenth notes with my bass drum. The effect is a sort of quasi double-bass rhythm. Each pattern ends with a sixteenth note fill on the snare drum. When the rolls resolve to the downbeat you have to quickly move your left hand back to the hi hat from the snare in consecutive sixteenth notes without it sounding sketchy. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a big contrast to the part at the beginning, where was just a rim click and bass drum doing almost a drum machine feel. Since that\u2019s the peak of the song, that\u2019s where I\u2019m doing my fills and flourishes: There\u2019s room there to get a little crazier, and help bring the excitement up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The uplifting jam continues until 3:27, when the action culminates in a big cymbal crash that leads Prescott back to the simply spare rim-and-kick beat he began with. For this drummer that deftly blends intellect and instinct, \u201cProceed to Memory\u201d adds up to a winding musical adventure. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt definitely feels like a journey,\u201d he agrees. \u201cObviously, there\u2019s places where it\u2019s not totally moving in a straight line. One of the things that brings that element out is Rob\u2019s singing \u2013 he goes from whispering to belting it out, and as a more experienced player I\u2019m trying to follow that. When I started out I\u2019d think, \u2018Am I playing something cool?\u2019 But now I think, \u2018Am playing something that supports the vocalist?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
– David Weiss <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
You never know when you\u2019ll discover some indescribable drumming. Just such an experience awaits the listeners of the intriguing San Diego band Pinback, however \u2013 especially when they check out the group\u2019s fifth studio album, Information Retrieved. The drummer on … Read the rest of this entry