In Pictures: Derek Grant Kit Shots
Last night Rhythm caught up with Alkaline Trio before their awesome, anthem filled headlining show at the Bristol O2 Academy. We checked out drummer Derek Grant’s kit and spoke to him about his choice of gear, his penchant for huge bass drums and his unorthodox dampening methods. Check it all out for yourself…
The Alkaline Trio stage set-up
"The kit I use over here is vastly different to the kit I use in the States. The kit I use here is a kit I’ve had for six or seven years and I shipped it over here and it lives over here. This kit is the kit I would have played in the States six or seven years ago which is a 24” kick drum, a 13” tom and a 16” floor tom. It’s built by C&C, which is a company I’ve been with for about ten years."
Derek's 24" bass drum
"In the States over the last five years or so I’ve gone from a 24” to a 26” to a 28” kick and the toms have got slightly bigger as well. So, the kit Ive got used to playing is quite a bit beefier than ths one. Anytime I come here and play this kit there’s a certain learning curve. I tend to hit more rims and the kick drum sounds totally different. But, it’s a beautiful kit, it sounds great and I really enjoy playing it. One of these days I’ll have to get replica kits over here."
Derek's kit
"I like to have everything nice and tight. I don’t like to over extend myself reaching for a drum. I feel like by doing that I’m conserving energy that I need for certain drum fills and songs."
Floor tom
Derek's 16" C&C floor tom - which he interchanges with his bass drum throughout his playing to create his signature punchy sound - all miked-up and ready to go.
Heads...
"I’ve always used Remo heads, whether or not I had a deal with them I always used them in the studio. Now I work with them exclusively so I get to use them live and they’re without a doubt my favourite heads."
One up..
"I use a little bit of Moon Gel on the toms. I don’t like overtly ringing toms. I like the tubbier sound. When I was a kid I wanted such a dead sound that I used to take a full sheet of paper and tape it to the drum heads. Thankfully I’ve gotten away from that."
