A Milli

A Milli was introduced to the NC State drumline in 2008 by drum captain and tenor guru Brent Bass, and it was an immediate hit. Inspired, of course, by the Lil Wayne tune that was brand new at the time, it was fun to play and fun to hear, so it became a staple of the line’s repertoire. In 2010, I got a little indulgent with rewriting the snare part, trying to channel my inner Mike McIntosh, but the piece would certainly work perfectly well with a much simpler snare part (prior to 2010, it was rim click quarter notes with drum on beat 3, and the more intricate part was something 8th note based with rim shots on beat 3).

Because of the accessibility, adaptability, and popularity of this piece, I think it is worth sharing.

Since the character of the piece would be well-preserved with a much simpler snare part, I’m going to give this a “Green Circle” designation, even though the snare part is a bit demanding, as written.

Enjoy this one!

Game Day Grabbers: 10 Stadium Grooves

Game Day Grabbers: Grooves Good-to-Go showcases ten stadium grooves that were created by re-imagining existing cadences and lot jams with an eye toward brevity and ease of use. While these arrangements would serve any collegiate drumline and almost any high school drumline—at any time of year—they were conceived with particular regard for the month of October in football season: a time when it might be nice to throw something fresh into the rotation of beats, but when you don’t have all the time in the world to rehearse new music.

Edit 6 Jan 2022: Fixed typo in the last measure of bass part of Wet Air both in book and individual score.

Pep Seven

Pep Seven is a cheer-type stadium groove that hops through different feels “in seven” while keeping the game day spirit driving forward! Although the vocabulary is very simple, the sizable demands for ensemble cohesion and strong sense of pulse make this piece a little more challenging than it appears to be, but the “cool” factor will more than make up for how much work you have to put into it. Dig this!

Blowdown Drum

Blowdown Drum is a swung-style stadium groove that can be looped as needed for some smooth jamming.

Cooling Tower

Cooling Tower is an upbeat stadium groove with lots of tasty layering and shaping in the upper battery and a simple walking bass line to keep things moving along.

Steam Engine

Steam Engine is a bombastic stands beat with two different tempi. It should evoke the image of a massive locomotive starting up, and if you work on your fivelets, everything should fit together perfectly!

The Furnace

The Furnace is a heavy stadium groove that plays with timing and feel to create moments of build-up and release. Some things in here are deceptively easy, while others are unavoidably challenging. Tread carefully.

Givin' it All

Givin’ it All is a slammin’ Stadium Groove inspired by 7Horse’s “Meth Lab Zoso Sticker.” Give it some time to develop, and everyone is going to want to start moving!

Quit It

Quit It is a lot jam adapted from the classic NC State cadence “Hit It” by taking the main ideas and fitting them to 7/8 time. I wrote this as a tongue-in-cheek birthday present for John Antonelli, the my drumline instructor at NC State (and pedagogical godfather). There’s some hard stuff in here, but there are also some really cool moments that could be easily adapted into a stadium groove or onfield warm-up.

Mud

Mud is a stadium groove based on the groove from Primus's My Name is Mud. Tenors definitely have to do the most work here, but there should be a good payoff once all the parts fit together correctly.  

Smoked Salmon

Smoked Salmon is a shuffle-based stadium groove that should thump the stands so hard it makes you feel like you need a shower. It’s written around a simple pattern in the snare line which is actually a measure from the NC State travelling cadence, slowed down to 90 BPM and then swung. 

Just a Touch

Just a Touch is a simple stadium groove inspired by Judas Priest's "A Touch of Evil" from their 1990 Painkiller album. Execution should be very easy, apart from some scrape patterns in the quad part, and the groove should be very effective. 

Did Pat 2

Did Pat 1 is the stock diddles exercise that the NC State drumline plays. It was the only "did pat", though, so it became a sort of joke that there was this elusive "Did Pat 2" out there that nobody could play. Well, here it is... Did Pat 2 is a short stadium groove in which all of the stickings are unnecessarily forced into an RRLL sequence. That doesn’t stop it from grooving, though.