Music | Jonny Yeu

Drum List

Posted on September 9, 2016 by jonnyyeu

When people learn that I’m a drummer, one of the most common questions I’m asked is how I practice to keep my chops up. Although I don’t have as much free time to practice as I used to, I’ve kept a similar regimen. I start with 15 minutes of anything: jamming, playing random beats, moving around the set, and getting everything out of my head that I’ve been thinking of. Once I’m all warmed up, I get to the basic stuff and work on the rudiments, things like snare cadences and syncopation, movement between limbs, and different note patterns. Once I’m all good with that, I move onto my drum list.

My drum list is a huge compilation playlist that I’ve been building since I’ve started learning the drums. It’s basically every song that I’ve ever had to learn or perform live, and totals over 100 songs. Some people may think that it’s easy to get sick of playing the same songs over and over, but repetition is the only way to really perfect a song. What’s the saying about mastery and 10,000 hours? Imagine reaching that mindset 4 minutes at a time.

So what I do is that I just toss on the headphones, press random, and see what happens. Of course, I have some favourites and certain songs that I select to play each time, because those songs are some of the toughest to nail and have some of the coolest beats I know. Below are some of my favourite songs to practice to.

Since I’ve Been Loving You – Led Zeppelin

During my time in The Crunge, I was able to learn so much from playing to John Bonham. The guy is a beast and it’s no wonder why he’s always near the top of drummer’s lists everywhere. Although there are some classic Zep tunes with some amazing drum parts, this song has always been one of my favourites. It has this wonderful 6/8 time signature that gives it a great feel, and even though the song starts soft, the dynamics throughout the song are off the charts. This is definitely a song that allows me to practice the feel and emotional changes in a song, and come on, have you heard that guitar solo? Nasty.

Adam’s Song – Blink 182

Another one of my favourite drummers, Travis Barker, just makes an amazing beat that fits this song so well. He’s moving around, hitting toms, cymbals, bells, rims, just everything on the set, and produces this amazing pattern that compliments the song so well. Where another drummer might just be using the usual hi-hat/snare/bass combo to make a beat for the verses, Travis has the creativity and chops to make this one of my favourite drum beats ever. I could never, ever be able to play at Travis’ level, but I’ve been trying to perfect this one for years.

Song for the Dead – Queens of the Stone Age

Dave Grohl on the drums for QOTSA? What a combo. As much as I love my Foo Fighters with Dave up front on the guitar, he’s just something else behind a kit. Just a hard hitting dude that grooves and knows when to put in a sick fill or crazy pattern into a song. This song is no different. Dave starts off the song with a cool drum intro, and right away you know you’re in for a treat. The songs grooves and has some cool drum parts throughout the song, but the real money maker is the awesome outro. As they’re speeding through the end, Dave just throws in this crazy triplet pattern between the snare, toms, and bass drum. When I first heard it, I could have sworn it was a double bass drum. But watching the live video, you can see it’s all Dave with one bass drum. Just an animal. Look at the reaction of the singer at the 6:00 mark of the video, and it says it all.

Geek USA – The Smashing Pumpkins

To be honest, I’ve tried to learn this song so many times and was so discouraged by it. I would listen to it, try and decipher the drum tab, and just give up on it. It’s a crazy drum song, with so many great parts, and drum hits that have to be so precise and exact to match up with the other instruments. But a few months ago, McSon decided to give the song another go, and I sat down to watch videos, listen countless times, and practice sections over and over. Nowadays, I have to say it’s one of the most fun songs on my list. Jimmy Chamberlin is an amazingly good drummer, just so technical and plays the perfect part of the song. As one of the more recent entries into my list, it’s definitely one that I play every time I’m behind the kit.

Everlong – Foo Fighters

Easy pick, it’s my favourite song, it’s got Dave on the drums, and the parts are just so fun. I’ve played this song hundreds, if not thousands, of times and I still love it. And the music video is tops!

Music Memories

Posted on August 22, 2016 by jonnyyeu

I’ve always been a music fan, and grew up surrounded of music of all kinds. I started playing the piano at age 6 through the Royal Conservatory of Music, so I learned all types of classical music from the masters, like Beethoven and Bach. My mother has a beautiful voice and loves to sing, so our home would occasionally turn into a karaoke studio, where the songs of Chinese opera and the Erhu (Chinese violin) would play throughout our home. And every Christmas, my father would dust off his vinyl collection and play Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas”, which would only get us to delve deeper into his collection, where he had some gems like Don McLean’s “American Pie”, and albums from ABBA, The Bee Gees , and The Beatles.

The biggest influence in my musical life, however, will have to be my sister. When I was young and impressionable, I always looked up to my sister and followed her musical tastes. I remember she was right in the middle of the grunge era, and still remember how upset she was the day Kurt Cobain died. I remember her huge crush on Ben Gillies of Silverchair, and how she liked to draw and paint to songs of Our Lady Peace. She also liked other styles, like hip hop and R&B with her love of Boyz II Men and Mariah Carey, while also respecting the classics like Michael Jackson and Motown artists. Then there was the downward spiral into boy band territory, but we’ll forgive her for that! (Though, to be fair, I do have a soft spot and certain respect for pop acts due to her love of catchy songs and top 40 hits). But the biggest influence my sister made was when she passed on her music collection to me.

The first CD I ever bought with my own money was Weird Al Yankovic’s “Bad Hair Day”. And, although it was a great album full of some classics, I don’t think I would have been a successful Polka-parody musician. Seeing as my collection was pretty bare, my sister decided to hand me down some of her albums, which changed my life forever. Within this collection were Metallica’s “Reload”, Nirvana’s “Nevermind”, and The Foo Fighter’s self-titled debut. That Foo album was the biggest one to me, and I still listen to it over and over. I still remember making a joke band with my friend, Bas, called the Food Fighters, and we couldn’t even play guitar or drums at that time. That self-titled album was followed by “The Colour and The Shape”, my favourite album of all time, containing my favourite song of all time, “Everlong”. My first ever concert was to see them at Arrow Hall, and have since seen them over 5 times. Their music has influenced me through every stage of my life, and I have a huge man crush on Dave Grohl.

It’s funny, I initially wanted to write this post as a shout out to The Tragically Hip on their final tour, and it ended up being a rambling trip down my musical memory lane. I’ve written too much already, so I’ll have to save it for another post. Toss on those headphones and listen to some old music you haven’t thought about in a while.

Gunslinger

Posted on February 12, 2015 by jonnyyeu

I’ve just gotten back from an exchange in Germany, and already I’m looking forward to playing a show with my band, McSon, again. One of the best feelings and experiences in the world for me is to be on stage with friends and to be able to play to an audience. The cheers and applause from the crowd are intoxicating, and is the main reason why I continue to play the drums. Here is our original song, Gunslinger, performed at Lee’s Palace, a venue where many of my heroes (such as The Foo Fighters) have played.

The Crunge

Posted on February 6, 2015 by jonnyyeu

A few years ago, I was in a Led Zeppelin cover band. We had some great memories, and this is definitely one of them. We were invited to play Sarnia Bayfest 2011, and to be the opening band on the first day. Here we are playing, “The Wanton Song”, by Led Zeppelin, the same night that KISS headlined.