Creating the "Indian Subsonic Bass Sound" Kit Part Two

Back in 2011, I embarked on building an "Indian Subsonic Bass Sound" Kit. This kit was inspired by the drum sets played by most notably, Trilok Gurtu and the likes of Pete Lockett and Selvaganesh Vinayakram. Although I was able to successfully build this kit, I hadn't been able to put it to good use in a live musical situation or recording session. Now, nearly ten years later I found myself performing the kind of world music that could lend itself to unique properties of this drum kit. A few years ago, I'd been invited to record with 7 string bassist Jason Everett for his "Moksha" project. For this recording, I used my Zendrum EXP, MIDI percussion controller. Jason had assembled an impressive array of world class musicians for this project as well; Guitarist Fareed Haque, Vishal Nagar, Suhail Yusef Khan, and the kanjira master from John McLaughlin's "Shakti", Selvaganesh Vinayakram.

 E."Doc" Smith and Selvaganesh Vinayakram
Selva not only played the kanjira, he also played a customized drum kit made in India. Selva's kit was also inspired by Trilok Gurtu. Made up of cymbals, frame drums, a popcorn snare, and kevlar, Selva's kit is a one-of-kind "contraption". Since Selva was a hand percussionist, he fashioned a unique way of playing his cymbals by cutting off the tips of drumsticks, screwing them to a rubber strip and then to the wing nut post of his ride cymbal, hi-hat stand and one of the tension rods on his snare drum.

With remarkable technique, Selva could play sticking patterns with his hands, without ever needing to hold a drumstick! Now Selva's kit didn't possess the any of the subsonic drums that Trilok employed, however I was fascinated with the sound of his Meinl cymbal stacks, his amazing konnakol vocal patterns, talas, and breathtaking virtuosity.

Following those recording sessions, I got to see Selva quite often with saxophonist George Brooks' incredible "Aspada" ensemble, featuring bassist Kai Eckhardt and keyboardist Oz Ezzelin. Selva used his kit to great effect in that group and I learned quite a bit watching them live. Selva continued to astound me when he joined Jason's "Deep Energy Orchestra" in Seattle, featuring Warr guitarist Trey Gunn of King Crimson, cellist Phil Hirschi of the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Anil Prasad on tabla, violinists Radhika Iyer, Rachel Nesvig and Alelda Gehrels. Their album "Playing with Fire" and their live DVD have been critically acclaimed gems. The DEO's live audience video format also used a similar concept successfully employed by the jazz group "Snarky Puppy".

Jason Everett and his Deep Energy Orchestra
Last October, Jason invited me to join them for their CD/DVD release shows when Selva was delayed by visa issues. Alongside their new tabla player Chaz Hastings, I performed live with the DEO for 3 shows. For those shows, I used my Zendrum EXP and Pete Lockett's incredible iPad app, "DrumJam". Pete's app not only featured his famed "Contraption" kit, but kanjira samples and a wide variety of Indian percussion instruments. In February, Selva was already committed to performances in India and so I rejoined them again for 3 more shows; This time with guitarist Fareed Haque and the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber Orchestra! I was also honored to record on their upcoming album, due to be released in early 2020.

With those experiences behind me, I was now motivated more than ever to complete the Indian Subsonic Bass Sound kit. Inspired now by Selva, Pete Lockett and Trilok, I experimented with a variety of set-ups to find the most practical and ergonomic. I also wanted to be able to play the parts I played on the Zendrum EXP with the Deep Energy Orchestra, as well as John Wubbenhorst's group "Facing East" on this kit, just in case I got an opportunity to use it live. I had a pretty good idea of the cymbal configuration I wanted to use; Stacked china and "EFX" cymbals, a ride, baby chinas and splashes. Thanks to my friend, keyboardist Jim Lang, I was able to fashion a drum rack made up of his old Ultimate Support Stands. Between the two of us, we had enough clamps, T-bars and rubber feet to make a go of it. After a dozen or so different set-ups, I finally came up with a practical, ergonomic placement of the subsonic drums. Believe it or not, I went back to how Trilok set up his kit with his 14" tom positioned to his lower right. Instead of placing the triple tom array to the left of the kick drum, I decided to place it directly over the kick in a more traditional way. the result is more natural.



With a nod to Jason's "OM" bass, I even got a customized head from Vintage Logos, complete with port hole for a microphone for my 16" x 8", six ply Maple kick drum. Additionally, I'm using a DW 5000 remote hi-hat, DW 5000 double bass pedal, 12" x 5" Pearl Firecracker snare; Assorted Sabian and Zildjian cymbals and Remo's new "Colortone" (in Green) heads with Remo Muffl' Rings for the 10" and 14" subsonic drums. Here's a little video and audio recording the Indian Subsonic Bass Sound Kit!

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