adam b Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 It's what cures Christophers Walkins fever, but does this odd instrument cause an annoying disturbance or a sound from the heavens? post your thoughts about the cowbell and the best ways to use it, when not to, and some of the best songs its used in. "I gotta have more cowbell baby!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 The cowbell is a wonderful piece of equipment, and a great addition to any drummer's kit. I just love those late 70's hard rock beats like KISS and Nazereth and Grand Funk Railroad are famous for. Some of my favorite songs with cowbell beats on them: 1) "American Band" - Grand Funk RR 2) "Calling Dr. Love" - Kiss 3) "Hair of the Dog" - Nazereth 4) "It's on the Rocks" - The Donnas 5) "All Messed Up" - The Donnas BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Speers Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 As a producer, not a drummer, cowbell and wood- block are indespensible parts of my arsenal. however, I'm not sure a cowbell needs to be part of the drumkit itself. I see it more as a percussion instrument for overdubs. also, of course, they vary like crazy between models. The most useful, IMO, is the LP ridge-rider, as they are vey dry, and have a lot of overtones instead of one specific note. YMMV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam b Posted August 26, 2003 Author Share Posted August 26, 2003 wow, you people sure are serious about a cowbell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 If they ain't right, cowbells sound ridiculous. When they are right, they're great. My fave cowbell-dominated track: Deep Purple's "You Fool No One" (live rendition, of course) I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tedly Nightshade Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 We do a little duet number: I do cowbell and woodblock, rosewood sticks, she does vibraphone. very umtempo african style. Hot damn. I stole that cowbell from a roommate- I needed it and love it more than he ever did. Shameless, but it's GOT to be the right cowbell! This one was actually once worn by a cow, or at least was not marketed as a musical instrument. I hate the LP ones. A WOP BOP A LU BOP, A LOP BAM BOOM! "There is nothing I regret so much as my good behavior. What demon possessed me that I behaved so well?" -Henry David Thoreau Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 I have an ancient Mambo cowbell. It is long and loud. I take a tennis ball and stuff it all the way in to the back of the bell. Provides just the right amount of muffling. That bell rocks! I am all about cowbell! Especially the one in the Saturday Night Live skit on Blue Oyster Cult! That is a riot. DJ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djarrett Posted August 26, 2003 Share Posted August 26, 2003 I Need More Cowbell ... BABY! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ss Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 I love to hear a cowbell by a drummer who know what they are doing, and not overusing it. As for me, its not my style but I can't knock it. ss Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jazzman Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 I saw the drummer for one band once use the cowbell with a seperate base drum pedal next to the hat. When he was doing a solo........WOW!!! I have a large LP one......can't remember what type. Have to look. I use every part of it(Hand held). Jazzman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam b Posted August 27, 2003 Author Share Posted August 27, 2003 hey jazzman i saw just what you were talking about in my musicians friend, its a clamp that goes onto the bottom end of a bass pedal that makes it so you can hold a cowbell up to the mallets and you can put a double bass up to it its just a little clamp but it costs like 30 bucks, its really cool though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
totemspock Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 Rolling Stones - Honky tonk women!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jode Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 Cowbell RULES. Three of my favorite cowbell players couldn't be more different: Carl Palmer blows me away with his cowbell patterns, while Tommy Lee and Alex Van Halen just RAWK with it. Suggested listening: "Mass" from Tarkus, ELP; "Black And Blue," "Dance The Night Away," Van Halen. Oh, and let's not forget Steve Gadd's mind-blowing, three-over-four, two-sticks-in-each-hand cowbell break in Paul Simon's "Late In The Evening." "I had to have something, and it wasn't there. I couldn't go down the street and buy it, so I built it." Les Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted August 27, 2003 Share Posted August 27, 2003 Originally posted by Allan Speers: also, of course, they vary like crazy between models. The most useful, IMO, is the LP ridge-rider, as they are vey dry, and have a lot of overtones instead of one specific note. YMMV.Is that the big, wide, flat cowbell with the yellow plastic bar on top or the big, regular-shaped cowbell with the red plastic? I've got the second one and I love it! It sounds very much like the cowbells used in the 70's. I've also got one of the red Jam-blocks, but it sounds lame beside the cowbell. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Speers Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 Red plastic model. Sounds like, dare I say it..... "Smoke On the Water." or even (Oh my god!) Mississipi Queen." there, I said it, but it was painful. Haven't tried the yellow plastic model, but you can never have enough cowbells.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted August 29, 2003 Share Posted August 29, 2003 There's NO cowbell in "Smoke on the Water" I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blue Strat Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 Originally posted by coyote: There's NO cowbell in "Smoke on the Water"Yep. I don't recall any cowbell in "Smoke on the Water" either, but there's some really great hi-hat work at the start of the song. BlueStrat a.k.a. "El Guapo" ...Better fuzz through science... http://geocities.com/teleman28056/index.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeronyne Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 Neil Peart used to have a cowbell tree, as I recall. His mini cowbell solo in Xanadu is kind of neat. I thought they were agogo's but I swear they look like cowbells. "For instance" is not proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Speers Posted August 31, 2003 Share Posted August 31, 2003 QUOTE: "I don't recall any cowbell in "Smoke on the Water" either, " Am I getting THAT senile already? Hmmm, I can hear it in my head, but don't have the album. Can someone check for sure, 'cause this is really gonna' bug me. -Now don't also tell me there's no cowbell in Mississipi queen, or I'll have to check into Bellvue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DRi Posted September 20, 2003 Share Posted September 20, 2003 believe it or not im doing two articles on the cowbell at the moment one is a humour piece for a small mag, the other a serious hsitroy/article for an online music site the joke came first, since i was making sample packs of old and lesser known drum machines. i was laughing my ass off at the cowbells... like why waste expensive EPROMs on a cowbell! were there really THAT many drummers in the 70s/80s wailing on their cowbells that programmers simply HAD to put that sound on their drum machines, or face commercial failure? but anyway, the more i looked into cowbell history (oh yes, dont grin, it has one!) the more i realised that it DOES have some interesting pedagogy so excuse me if i spam my articles on here when im done... if youre interested oh you know... you know.... ive got a fever http://analogik.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member 30687 Posted September 21, 2003 Share Posted September 21, 2003 Jimmy Miller's intro to "Honky Tonk Women" [don't start correcting me---I know Charlie Watts was their drummer but producer JM played this track] is one of the most recognized song starts in rock but check the early Beatle's track "You Can't Do That" for what John Lennon & Ringo could come up with in an effort to sound like a Wilson Pickett record! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted September 22, 2003 Share Posted September 22, 2003 Originally posted by member # 30687: Jimmy Miller's intro to "Honky Tonk Women" {don't start correecting me---I know Charlie Watts was their drummer but producer JM played this track] Wrong. Jimmy Miller played drums on "You Can't Always Get What You Want" but "Honky Tonk" is most definitely Charlie... I do believe that Jimmy Miller played the cowbell though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee Flier Posted September 22, 2003 Share Posted September 22, 2003 Originally posted by Jazzman: I saw the drummer for one band once use the cowbell with a seperate base drum pedal next to the hat.Our drummer does the same thing. It would suck to hear a cowbell on every song, but the songs that need cowbell, really NEED cowbell! It really kicks some songs into overdrive. I agree that "You Can't Do That" is a great use of cowbell. My band has played that one before, as well as "When I Get Home," another early Beatles tune with great cowbell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Gervais Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 Cowbells ROCK...... IMHO an indespensible part of any percussionist's arsenal..... although i now have my baby sister singing lead for us - and getting into some of the parts that i always had to do myself - makes so the old man don't have to work quite as hard any more........ I did the pedal thingy in the 70's - but i now have 4 pedals already - 3 of those for the right foot (I'm a lefty) - so annother one is sort of out of the question. Nei Peart could play a tin can and make it sound fantastic..... No bell in Smoke on the Water......... I do have a tape from David Garibldi where he did some bell work - he's another one who knows that sometimes less is more...... Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
member 30687 Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 It's a tangential question but has anyone considered the possibilities of switching the instrument assignments in songs that use either a cowbell or a heavy ride cymbal bell effect (replacing one with the other)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 If you forget to bring your cowbell, the cymbal bell is a potentially useful alternative. But if you're in a bar playing Mississippi Queen, you really oughta be playing a cowbell - it's a signature sound. I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rod Gervais Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 Personally, I re-arrange every song i play - i want to bring myself into the music - only retaining enough of the original that it still is recognizable. However - that having been said - if a song feels right with the cowbell - or with a cymbal bell - it would never feel right (for me) if they were to be switched. Rod Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bugsy34 Posted October 10, 2003 Share Posted October 10, 2003 QUOTE: "I don't recall any cowbell in "Smoke on the Water" either, " Am I getting THAT senile already? Hmmm, I can hear it in my head, but don't have the album. Can someone check for sure, 'cause this is really gonna' bug me. Sorry Allen, but there is no cowbell in Smoke on the Water, in fact there isn't one on the entire Machine Head album. But God those guys are great live! Also Rick Allen of Def Leppard on Rock of Ages I deffinately like cow bell! Just don't over play it. mine is a ridge rider LP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Platy Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 um... is Machine Head an album from deep purple? my only knowledge of machine head is a very heavy angry band Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coyote Posted October 15, 2003 Share Posted October 15, 2003 See, this is when you KNOW you're old.... lol OK, you younguns - there's a riff you've ALL heard. It goes (edited cos it didn't display right): da da Da da da DA Da da da Da Dah dun You've probably heard it played in a music store, or maybe even played it yourself. The song is called "Smoke On The Water", by a band called Deep Purple. The record is called Machine Head. At one time, Deep Purple were considered heavy metal. Their guitarist, Ritchie Blackmore, was the hard-rock shredder of his time. "Smoke" was their biggest hit, kids, and that's why even YOU know the riff when you hear it. BTW - since this is the drum forum, it bears notice that their drummer, Ian Paice, was quite excellent. Originally posted by Platy: um... is Machine Head an album from deep purple? my only knowledge of machine head is a very heavy angry band I used to think I was Libertarian. Until I saw their platform; now I know I'm no more Libertarian than I am RepubliCrat or neoCON or Liberal or Socialist. This ain't no track meet; this is football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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