Bill Bachman

  • Tue, 12/01/2009 - 18:03

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself (background, age, family, education, only what you want people to know about you)?

Hello there! I’m a 35 year old drummer living in Nashville Tennessee with a wife and cat. I’m very much blessed in that I get to do what I love for a living, play drums!

2. What is your history in drumming? (Bands / artists, albums, tours, concerts, churches)

I started in 4th grade band class and loved playing the drums. In middle school I got a drumset and was turned on to 70’s Genesis progressive rock (I still love it!). In high school we got a drumline instructor who got me really fired up and that’s when I decided that I wanted to be a drummer for the rest of my life. I was practicing about 2-3 hours a day and ended up marching in Drumcorps and going to Berklee College of Music. After 12 summers of playing or teaching with Drumcorps I retired from that to focus on my drumset playing. I’d played set all through those years except for about 4 years when I didn’t have one and never played. Now I get to travel all over the world performing drum clinics supported by my sponsors. I’m blessed with a gig playing with Neal Morse whenever he has shows on this side of the Atlantic. I also spend a lot of time on creative projects and play a few gigs locally.

3. What did you or do you practice for drums / percussion?

I try to practice an hour a day, but sometimes life gets in the way. I’m always practicing with a met through isolation headphones or on a practice pad kit with a metronome for hands & feet chops development. On the drums I’ll usually set the metronome to a less comfortable tempo and play a less comfortable style grooving and soloing over it in order to build vocabulary and improve my concept of time/feel. I’ll inevitably run into something that I can’t quite pull off and make up an independence exercise of some sort until I’ve got it. On the pad kit I do a lot of chop work and independence building through playing things with opposite stickings/footings. My latest craze that I’m almost done with is playing through “The Funky Primer” book left handed/footed. I’ve also put myself on a daily plan to work on the exercises coming out in my Modern Drummer article series. Fun!

4. Is there any particular drum, percussion and cymbal brand you play with?

I endorse `Dynasty marching drums, Remo heads, Vic Firth sticks & Heavy Hitter Pads (which I designed!), and Zildjian cymbals. This is all great stuff! - http://www.myspace.com/billbachman

5. How are you at this point involved in church or in any other events, ministry, bands / artists – related to your drumming?

I play at my church from time to time on a rotation, though sometimes it’s hard because I’m out of town on a lot of weekends doing drum clinics.
I think of my entire drumming career as a ministry, or a seed planting mission. When I stand before the Lord He won’t be impressed with how well I can play or how many people love my drumming, but I hope to hear “Well done good & faithful servant” having done my best to put the kingdom and God’s glory over my own.

6. What advice would you give to young drummers who are serving or intend to serve in the worship department?

My answer here probably isn’t what many would expect, but here goes: Practice smart and practice a lot (with a metronome or tunes through isolation headphones in order to save your ears). Listen and study a wide variety of music, not just “Christian” music (whatever that actually means). The spiritual element of serving the Lord & people with no selfish ambition is a must, but I find that many Christian musicians focus almost purely on that and neglect the nuts and bolts of their craft. We are called to play skillfully and I try my best to honor the Lord with excellence using the gift He’s given me.

7. We all know that it takes talent and practice for a drummer to succeed (make progress). Is there anything else you want to add to that?

(see above)

8. Considering your experience, what advice would you give to the Romanian Christian drummers (those who play in a church or in a band)?

See question # 6, and: We are all one race and family, praise the Lord with your best musical effort no matter where you are in all circumstances! Col 3:23: “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”

9. I have seen that you also played with Neal Morse. How did you end up playing with him and how is / was this experience for you?

I made a friend on myspace who knew Neal and turned me on to his music. I instantly loved it and was amazed that it even had a Christian message. I got Neal's email from him and told Neal that I was a technically capable drummer and that if he ever needed a local guy that I would love to play with him. He wrote back saying that he'll keep me in mind. At least two years later a couple gigs in the US came up for him and he called to me to try out for his band. (I was the only one auditioning because he was pretty confident that I was the guy for the gig.) At first rehearsals were a bit scary, but Neal is the kindest and most encouraging boss you could ever ask for. Soon the whole band had become friends and we had a couple of really great gigs. There's nothing on his schedule right now so we're praying for some more opportunities to play out. It's a huge challenge (and a lot of fun) to perform about three hours of highly technical prog and I can't wait to do it again!

10. Do you have any other hobby, besides drums, music? How do you like to spend your spare (free) time?

I love to play racquetball and drink tea with my wife. There’s a lot of fun to be had and I try to enjoy the process in life, not just working towards some destination that I imagine will bring me contentment. “I’ll be happy when…” doesn’t really work because once you get there there will be some other goal that can leave you restless.

11. Any books, tapes, DVD’s you have out for sale?

I’m blessed in that I have a lot of products out. The one’s I recommend most to everybody who plays with sticks are my book Rudimental Logic and DVD Rudimental Beats. Those surely help drummers improve their fundamentals such that they can freely express more musically. - http://www.billbachman.net/products.html

12. Lastly, any message to the Christian Romanian drummers?

Love the Lord with all your heart, soul, & mind! Enjoy the process of musical development with your drumming and remember that God made you the way you are for a reason and did a good job. You’re pre-approved so whom shall we fear?

Interviu luat de Adrian Schiopu in exclusivitate pentru site-ul www.tobosaricrestini.ro
a se folosi doar cu acordul partilor