Press | Drum! | Mike Dupke - Eric Sardinas Band - The New Guy

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary:

Blues (blüz)

1. low spirits; melancholy

2. a song often of lamentation characterized by usually twelve-bar phrases, three-line stanzas in which the words of the second line usually repeat those of the first, and continual occurrence of blue notes in melody and harmony

3. jazz or popular music using harmonic and phrase structures of blues

The blues. It's more than just twelve bars and three-line stanzas. It's about soul. It's about heart. It's about pain. It's about an escape from pain. Perhaps no other musical form has pervaded our current musical idioms more. And that's about as far as this intro can go, because past that ... everyone has got an opinion about what is truly, authentically blues.

It's the artists carrying the torch, and the ones who lit it, who should be heard. Perhaps by giving a small (and by no means complete) cross-section of drummers, from up-and-comers to established veterans, we can get a taste of what really makes these guys tick. Whether hired guns, band anchors, backing up B.B. King or the late John Lee Hooker, or boldly pushing the boundaries of the form, here's a sample of drummers who are gladly, blessedly infected.

Sardinas had seen Dupke with HOTD, which led to a successful audition, which led to a couple quick rehearsals and jetting off to Germany for the first gig. "He just threw me in," he sighs. "Those guys, God bless them, were in my corner, but I must admit that I really was scared. After a couple of shows, once I started being a little bit less nervous, things did start to settle in."

The Sardinas trio is settled in, all right, touring in support of the guitarist's latest effort Devil's Train (Evidence). But really, are these relative young'ns getting their due respect? There's lots of tasty slide, and appropriate homage (like Elmore James' "My Kind Of Woman") in the act -- but isn't there some resistance from the 12-bar traditionalists?

"From my standpoint, I've got to say, not yet," Dupke claims. "I haven't experienced any of that stuff firsthand. I think Eric has a little bit. I know a couple of very, very traditional blues clubs that he's mentioned, where they might have considered what he was doing a little too over-the-top, or too loud. There's that, but I don't think anyone has any doubt that what you're seeing is a blues show. There are certain times when we'll pull a little bit from Hendrix, or I think, 'Maybe I'll play this a bit more John Bonham, or this a little more Gene Krupa.'

"But I think because the roots, especially Eric's roots, go back down to the Delta blues -- he does a Robert Johnson tune -- and his record collection ... I love it. He's got 78s of all this rare stuff. All of that makes up his base, and I think the one thing that's essential to playing in this type of band, because it is a blues base, is we need to be respectful of what has come before us. Eric pointed me out to Sam Carr who played with 'Sonny Boy' Williamson, or James 'Peck' Curtis who played a lot of the rural and field recordings with different guys. We're going to be respectful of that, while putting our own spin on it. I mean, what you're seeing is not going to be a metal show, but it will be very dynamic, and I think that was one of the things that drew me to Eric in the first place. It's not just soft and loud, it's blisteringly loud to going down to the point of almost being inaudible. I love that dynamic range and the different types of tempos and feels that I get to play. Not only playing simple and laying down the groove at times, but also having the leeway to make it complex.

"And I don't think a whole lot of bad feedback is coming in because Eric is so good. He just kicks ass all the time. To the hardcore blues purists, what Eric is playing might not be their absolute favorite, but they know, 'Okay, this guy has done his homework. This guy knows where his roots are and loves them.' Even if he did [get major criticism], I don't think he would change what he's doing. Eric's always striving to keep it fresh and new, and then we [the band] get enthused, and when we are always ready and anxious and loving to hit the stage -- I think that comes through to the audiences. I feel like I made Forbes Ten Luckiest Bastards list, because Eric has already been around the world, and lucky for me, he's going to continue to do so. This is the gig I'd always hoped for. You might find your perfect band, but you might not get to tour. Or you might get a lot of work, but you're playing drum rolls underneath a high wire act, you know?"

Drums: Pearl Prestige Custom MLX

See kit notes below.
1. 24" x 16" Bass Drum
2. 14" x 6 1/2" Snare
3. 12" x 10" Tom
4. 14" x 12" Tom
5. 16" x 16" Floor Tom

Cymbals: Sabian
Current setup, clockwise from Dupke by size:

14" 8" 10" 18" 19" 22" 20"

*. 8" AAX Splash (not shown)

A. 10" AAX Splash
B. 14" AAX Stage Hi-Hats
C. 18" AAX Stage Crash
D. 19" AAXplosion Crash
E. 22" Hand Hammered Power Bell Ride
F. 20" AAX China

Percussion: Latin Percussion
G. Jam Block

*. Rock Classic Ridge Rider Cowbell

(not shown)

Mike Dupke - Eric Sardinas Band

The New Guy

At the age of 28, Mike Dupke was all set for world domination when he moved from Nashville to Los Angeles in 1999. The Michigan native, Indiana University graduate, and former-student of Kenny Aronoff was manning the throne behind that rock juggernaut Hair Of The Dog (you remember them, right?). Well, turns out folks were a little too angry for HOTD's party rock, and the band members went their separate ways after one uneventful album.

"But the manager of that band also handled Steve Vai, Lit, and now [guitarist] Eric [Sardinas]," Dupke explains. "So I got to see this guitarist who was just blowin' the roof off every joint he played. I was a fan of Eric's and went to see him every chance I could, even before there was a possibility that I got to be in the band. He has this certain kind of electricity, for lack of a better word, when he plays that I think a lot of people are drawn to."

Sardinas, in his early-30s, may be something of an upstart to blues purists, but there's no doubt he leaves everything out on the stage whenever he plays. Dupke exclaims, "Eric gets people enthused about the blues who might not have otherwise been enthused about the blues. And that is not to say that he softens it up at all, like he's Pat Boone out there snappin' on 1 and 3, making it safe for the 'white audiences.' There is a certain vibe and enthusiasm that happens when the band hits the stage, and I'm especially happy to be a part of that enthusiasm now. We get up there and you couldn't peel the grin off my face with a crowbar. It's an absolute blast."