The Rhythm Team
You've read the magazine, browsed the website and spun the monthly CD, now you can meet the team behind Rhythm. Come find out our drumming heroes, experience behind the kit and get an insight into what's on our iPods as we fire up an even tenser than usual game of iPod shuffle roulette.
Chris Barnes
Chris cut his journalistic teeth at Portsmouth University where he spent three happy years writing for the student newspaper, interviewing bands and reviewing gigs. Soon after University he began working for Rhythm as Staff Writer. During his six years so far on the magazine Chris has put his hand to every aspect of the magazine from gear, to news and tuition, and interviewed many of his heroes including Vinnie Paul, ?uestlove, Dave Lombardo and Steve Smith. His fondest memory stems from his first few months on the mag when he had the opportunity to visit the Tama Starclassic factory in Japan.
Drumming Experience: Chris was originally a bass player who was taught his first 4/4 by the drummer in his band back in 1997. He has since played in a variety of bands from covers outfits to lo-fi punk bands and gigs regularly around the south-west.
Top 3 Drummers:
Stewart Copeland
JP Gaster
Vinnie Paul
iPod Shuffle:
Combat Wounded Veteran – ‘I Talk, You Listen’, I Know A Girl Who Develops Crime Scene Photos
Sub one-minute slice of intense hardcore punk. Reminds me of my youth!
Converge – ‘In Harm’s Way’, When Forever Comes Crashing
Third album by this ace band. Current drummer Ben Koller is a ferocious player, but this was their old guy, Damon Bellorado. A sign of great things to come.
Talking Heads – ‘Heaven’, Fear Of Music
Was never a huge fan, but I enjoy the precise, economical drumming from Chris Frantz on this track.
The Get Up Kids – ‘Close To Me’, Eudora
One of my favourite bands and a great cover of The Cure.
Horde – ‘Behold The Rising Of The Scarlet Moon’, Alive in Oslo
More heavy stuff. This time some lovely Christian Black Metal from Australia. I do have some other genres on my iPod... honest.
Dave Tupper
Dave was Deputy Editor, then Art Editor on Drummer magazine before going freelance in 2007 to “mess around” designing books and websites. He joined Rhythm in his current role two years ago and you’ll generally find him hunched over his computer monitor staring at Photoshop or Indesign whilst somehow forgetting to stop to eat. The rest of the Rhythm team swears he hates music, although really he just hates everything they like. He is also a guitarist of 15 years and a self-proclaimed music production geek.
Drumming Experience: 13 years
Top 3 Drummers:
Jeff Porcaro
Jon Theodore
Jimmy Chamberlin
iPod Shuffle:
Pink Floyd - ‘Money’, Darkside of the Moon
Everyone has some Pink Floyd, don’t they? Phew – this is a good start and much less embarrassing than expected.
Phoenix - ‘Fences (Friendly Fires remix)’, Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
The new album from the Parisian electro rockers is great – although Friendly Fires seems to have taken a decent band and made them sound like rubbish 90s dance on this track. Oh dear.
Joan As Police Woman - ‘Anyone’, Real Life
Actually, if you’re going to listen to any of Joan Wasser’s stuff, check out her 2004 self-titled EP which is a bit rockier and cooler than her later stuff, which just sounds like an Antony And The Johnsons covers band – although that’s kind-of forgivable since she was part of that band for a while.
Pavement - ‘Date w/IKEA’, Brighten the Corners
Classic band! For the perfect retro summer soundtrack, just add Weezer.
Julian Plenti - Fly As You Might, Julian Plenti is... Skyscraper
Great new album from Interpol’s frontman and this track is genuinely one of my favourites. Wow – I got through that without any of my questionable elevator jazz coming up. Ha! In your face, rest of Rhythm team!
Chris Burke
Starting out on the NME, Chris moved onto Loaded in its mid-’90s heyday and then spent 10 years writing Pornalikes, captions and rising to Associate Editor before relocating to the West Country and hooking up with Rhythm.
Drumming Experience:
Chris is a bass player, though he’s just starting to learn drums. He’s got a practice pad. Does anyone want to give him a kit?
Top 3 Drummers:
Brendan Canty
John Bonham
Travis Barker
iPod Shuffle:
The Jam - ‘David Watts’, All Mod Cons
Weller might be the Modfather, but the rhythm section of Buckler and Bruce Foxton were the best thing about The Jam.
Faith No More - ‘R N’ R’, Introduce Yourself
From FNM’s second album with Chuck Moseley on vocals. Mike Bordin’s one of my favourite ever drummers, a metal pioneer with a funky feel.
Rancid - ‘Ruby Soho’, And Out Come The Wolves
I love everything that Tim Armstrong and Lars Frederickson have been involved with. Rancid’s energetic drummer Brandon Steineckert is bang on the punk money.
Misfits - ‘Horror Business’, Horror Business
Misfits’ 1979 single featuring Joey Image on drums. Joey didn’t stay in the Misfits for long, but went on to drum for such punk giants as Whorelord and The Mary Tyler Whores. There’s a theme there.
Jonathan Richman - ‘Pablo Picasso’, Modern Lovers
Massachussetts’ punk poet manages to rhyme ‘Pablo Picasso’ and ‘a**hole’. I believe the drummer on this is David Robinson, who went on to join The Cars.
Rich Chamberlain
Rich is the newest member of the Rhythm team, having joined as Staff Writer in January. Since then he’s taken on the running of the Rhythm website, the magazine’s new bands section and also spends two days each month at the mag’s photo studio, where all of the beautiful gear you see reviewed each month is photographed. However, he can generally be found slumped in front of his computer scouring the net for new bands. Which is pretty much how he spent his days before joining Rhythm…
Drumming experience: Rich was taught his first beat by his dad and brother (it depends which one you ask) around 12 years ago. Since then he’s played in several bands with differing (from none at all to very little) levels of success gigging regularly around the hotbed of music that is the East Midlands.
Top 3 Drummers:
Phil Rudd
Chad Smith
Tommy Lee
Ipod Shuffle:
AC/DC – ‘Money Made’, Black Ice
Classic head down, blast it out rock from Phil Rudd and co.
Vince Neil – ‘Red Hot’, Live At The Whisky
Ah, a cut from Vince Neil’s ill-advised live album comprised pretty much exclusively of Mötley Crüe tracks. Brent Fitz’s drumming is great, but Vince’s yelping is less appealing.
Slash’s Snakepit – ‘Dime Store Rock’, It’s Five o’Clock Somewhere
Slash and Matt Sorum escape from Guns N’ Roses to record an often-overlooked album of classic rock gems.
Simon and Garfunkel – ‘Richard Cory’, Sound of Silence
Perhaps the finest ode to factory worker suicide ever recorded, and even better it features the drumming of the legendry Hal Blaine.
Amen – ‘Liberation’, Death Before Musick
Ah this takes me back to teenage angst. Powerful punk playing from Shannon Larkin helps make this track the audio equivalent of being repeatedly punched in the face. Which surprisingly is a good thing.
