November 08, 2007
An interview with Drummer extrodinaire Dave Langguth
by Ron Hollywood

Dave Langguth spent many years playing drums with many of Canada’s biggest names like Rik Emmet, Sass Jordan, Alanah Myles, and most recently Nelly Furtado. Now he’s embarking on his drum clinic tour across Canada and was nice enough to talk with me about drumming, dancing and inspiration.

What was it that made you start to be a drummer instead of singer or guitarist?
It started at the age of two listening to Elvis Presley records. I was dancing. I think that drumming and dancing have a serious connection . They are parallels. So whenever I’d hear Elvis I’d run and grab my pencils and containers from the cupboard and bat away on those things driving my parents nuts. Then my uncle who was watching and picking up on this went out and bought me a snare drum and I went on to beat that to pieces. When I was three years old being a Muppet fan my mother bought me a Muppet drum kit just like the one Animal had. He became my next hero and from there it was Buddy Rich because he actually appeared on The Muppet Show ,but Animal still held his own.

In first grade I performed for my class in show and tell playing to Shaun Cassidy records. That was my first crowd and applause. From there I went on to a five-piece Rogers drum kit. I then took private lessons all the way through school and after graduating I went on to Berklee school of Music for two years and immediately went to the East Coast of Canada playing in bands there.

So while you’ve been doing all this drumming who were you looking up to?
My teachers, who were all great players and had grooving feel. So whether you understood the technical side or not you could understand the pulsating rhythm and the feel they were executing.
I was also listening to a lot of top 40 singles ,everything from Irene Cara and Eddie Grant to Maneater from Hall and Oates, which is a great track and was one of the first songs I learned to play on a drum kit. It had a great feel. This one female drum teacher I had who was an awesome drummer, gave me some Chuck Mangione records. They were really easy to get into. The drummers on those records were James Bradley Junior and Steve Gadd. So here I was playing along to these records and not knowing that I was emulating one of the greatest drummers of all time. So I was glad to be introduced to that.

Then it became Rush for five years. I learned every Rush song I could possibly play, bought all the transcripts and emulated Neil Peart. That took my head into the technical side of it. In the beginning it was all about feeling, now I was learning about counting while I was playing with time signatures and odd rhythms. It was making my limbs do things I couldn’t naturally do. I challenged myself with that.

Through high school I was studying with an amazing player and teacher Norman Calp, who was into Tower of Power, Buddy Rich, Tony Williams, Gene Krupa, more of the funk and jazz fusion stuff. He got me back into a traditional way of gripping the sticks. I also got into Chick Corea and lived that stuff for a while with the Dave Weckl attitude .

After High school I attended Berklee College of Music which really openned my mind and helped me to become more cultured . It was the greatest thing that could have happened to me and it really prepared me for what was to come.

Between semesters I had my first gig playing with the legendary, Dutch Mason, playing slow blues and fast shuffles ,totally flying by the seat of my pants .I was only 17 at the time and wasn’t even old enough to be in the club so my parents had to be there. .
After leaving Berklee I moved to Halifax and played in any and every cover band I could. It was one after the next. I never stopped playing. The last gig in Halifax was my first real tour with an original artist, Wayne Nicholson. The music director of that band was, Kevin MacMichael guitarist/song writer of the Cutting Crew and it was funded by, Andrew McCain, of the McCain food company, who put us on a bus across Canada. He had hired a phenomenal bass player from Toronto, Rob Laidlaw who was playing with Kim Mitchell, Rik Emmett, Alanah Myles, New Regime, Lee Aaron, you name it.

So where do you go from there?
It was thanks to Rob Laidlaw because he was my direct connection right there. He was good friends with drummer, Randy Cooke who was playing with Rik Emmett at the time. I was always into both Randy and Rik anyway so that was great. I told Rob I had to meet Randy. So Randy came out to see our show in Toronto and he told me to stay in touch. One day I got a call from Rik Emmett’s manager saying that Randy had given me the thumbs up and next thing I knew I was filling in with Rik Emmett. I got to play all those Triumph songs and we opened for Deep Purple, that was an awesome show. A good memory was when we played Texas for thousands of people. I was so privileged to experience that. Through some connections on the management side of things I got gigs playing for Allanah Myles and Sass Jordan. It was like “If Randy’s busy give Dave a call.” Then I got a call one day that Nelly Furtado was in need of a new drummer and I let them know I was available. I came on for her Folklore record and now I’ve been with her for five years.

What is Nelly Furtado really like?
She’s just a real wholesome down to earth girl. The first thing that caught my attention was that she was just a real person who didn’t come across with that star attitude. I think that’s why Europeans love her so much too. When she performs on stage she’s like that friend who hangs out with you on the week-end. I think the way she handles her star status is incredible, even taking care of her daughter on tour. Working with Nelly helps to keep me real because she’s an artist at star status who values life in the same way I do.

What was it like playing at the tribute for Princess Diana?
That was awesome and one of my favorite shows we’ve ever performed! It was just a great vibe and everyone was in sync so we were just rocking! We even got to do a real good sound check which is usually pretty hard in a festival setting with so many different bands. I thought it was really cool but bizarre to turn on the TV later and see Prince Harry and William dancing to my groove.

Is there a favorite song you love to play with Nelly Furtado?
I have a few. There’s one she doesn’t play anymore called Picture Perfect from her Folklore CD. It’s more of a floaty six-eight kind of vibe. A fun song is Glow which I get to have some fun with. There’s one called Showtime of the last record which I’m a huge fan of. On that song Nelly stretches herself more vocally towards the end . There’s this beautiful guitar solo that builds up and comes down on some big shots . The more she stretches herself vocally around the groove it allows me to stretch more. I have this very personal moment with her on stage which is an incredible feeling. It’s always improvised so I never know what fill I’m going to play. Where ever she goes I’m going with her.

It’s amazing to hear that from a drummer.
Drums and vocals, it’s the closest thing next to dancing. I watch the dancers during the night hitting every shot and every nuance in the groove with precision. I watch my rhythm come right back at me. We are extensions of one another. The bottom line is grooving.

What is the most memorable Spinal Tap moment you’ve had?
I had just played my first show with a cover band in Halifax. They traveled around in this five ton truck which was pretty high off the ground. Behind the seats was this sleeper and a bench with a little door. We had just taken our first turn onto the highway and of course I was the guy beside that door with no seatbelt on cause there wasn’t any and with the momentum and the force of the turn I flew to the side and of course the door flew open also ( just a little frightening ). I really thought it was a Spinal Tap moment I’d never know because I would have died.

Especially since the drummers in Spinal Tap always die.
(laughing) Exactly.

So what about your sponsorship with the various drum companies?
The way sponsorships work is that it helps musicians through these huge tours first and foremost and it’s great advertising for the companies. Typically a drum company will hook me up with a kit for Europe and if we have a one-off gig in India they will do what they can to get a drum kit there.
Playing a high profile gig is one of the keys to developing a relationship with companies because you are out there promoting them. If you’re playing only in cover bands it’s tougher to get endorsement, but if your playing on Letterman, Leno, The View, Conan O’Brien, millions of people are watching you and any products you are using, so it’s amazing exposure.
I was endorsed by Sabian I believe after they saw me on TV playing . I was always a fan of Sabian so that really worked out. Their selection is so huge and it really caters to the drummer. That company is all about interacting with the user and they want to hear what you think about their product. Sabian is the most innovative cymbal company on the planet by far.
The next thing I got hooked up with was a Vic Firth drumsticks endorsement which I had already been using for years. I was friends with Scott Atkins who works with Coast Music which deal with Vic Firth so he’s actually the one who connected me.
I was always talking with Scott and knew he was also connected with Sonor drums. To me, Sonor is like the Ferrari of the drum world. They are just pieces of art. For me, there’s a certain amount of tension and tone that I like when I play and Sonor drums provide me with that.
Remo makes the most consistent drumheads on the market. Every drumhead sits perfectly on my shell edges. I had used other companies in the past but sometimes had a problem with the heads buzzing on the shells. Whatever Remo uses it’s the right material that conforms. So all and all it’s just right.

So what is it that you hope to achieve from the festival and drum clinic tour?
I hope to convey my feelings and to move the audience in an honest manner in playing the best I can play. I’m going to be playing at the drum fest with a three piece band consisting of piano, bass and drums. It’s a band I started called Tension. It’s music with a lot of tension. The vibe is very seventies with Rhodes piano and synth and bass with the fuzzy and phasing sounds with moments from the psychedelic era but with odd time signatures in it. Playing fusion music is a huge interest of mine because that’s where I get to be me and I don’t have to play within the rules and I can express myself how I want. I’m starting my drum clinic tour right after.

Click here for all details about Dave Langguth’s tour.

So what is it that inspires you?
A lot of things inspire me. I’d say singers like Freddie Mercury inspire me. My favorite singer of all time, Steve Perry, inspires me. He’s one of the most honest singers out there and it’s all from the heart, which is what I want to be able to achieve. I also get that feeling from Wayne Gretzky, who was a big inspiration to me. Back in his day he did everything with such grace and honesty. It’s all about when people groove from the heart and it feels right . You can practice all you want , but when you’re on stage it has to come from the heart.

Beatles or Stones?
Stones.

Keith Moon or John Bonham?
John Bonham.

David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar?
Sammy Hagar.

Punk or grunge?
(thinking) Grunge.

Christina Aguilera or Mariah Carey?
Mariah Carey.

Saturday Night Fever or Grease?
Aren’t they the same thing?

Disco or techno?
Disco.

Hilary Duff or Lindsay Lohan?
(laughing) Lindsay.

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