Moderator Zildjian would like to once again welcome all of our Z Club members to our chat session with LARRY ABERMAN today starting at 8 PM, Eastern Standard Time. For those of you that would like to submit questions you may start doing that now and we ask that you try to keep your questions brief to allow for as many questions as possible in the time that we have available. Zildjian monitors all chats and cannot guarantee that every question will be answered during the time allotted. Larry will begin to respond to your questions promptly at 8 PM and we hope that you will enjoy the session that follows. LIVE from the LAS VEGAS STRIP ! Larry Aberman's career has taken him from the stage of the Avery Fisher Hall with the New York Philharmonic, to the studios of Memphis to record the Grammy winning CD "Family Style" with Stevie Ray and Jimmy Vaughan. Currently, he is in Las Vegas performing with Cirque du Soleil's "Zumanity" at the New York, New York Hotel and Casino. Find out what it takes to become a "First Call Drummer" in Las Vegas and much more. .Moderator Larry, thanks for joining our Z Club Chat Session Today Are kidding me? I'm honored! I really have to thank you all at Zildjian for all your incredible support all these years. Since 1990! I'm really excited to be here today. This is great, let's hit it! Moderator Before we start taking questions from our Z Club members, can you give us a little backgroud on how you started with drumming? Simple. My brother was in a band and his drummer left his drums at our house for rehearsal. One day I grabbed a floor tom and played along with one of my records. It was the theme to Hawaii 5-0. I played in perfect sync with the drum fill at the beginning of the song and I was hooked. I was 10 years old. 60 years later here we are.... ericbdrummin One of my favorite albums is Family Style with the Vaughn brothers, what was your favorite experience making that album? The first day we started was so exciting. We cut the song DFW that night. It was a magical experience. That song won a Grammy for best instrumental blues performance Moderator What education do you feel is needed to do what you do? All kinds! My present job at Cirque embraces pretty much everything I know. They really pick your brains! Not just musically. Whatever you can bring to the table is valuable. I'm glad I went to an Arts HS and then on to a music college but I also learned so much just growing up in NYC Vacher When "locked" into a show like the one in which you perform,how does one retain the organic aspect of a live show Actually Zumanity is far from being locked like a B'Way show. Being on this gig is exactly how Cirque describes it, it's the "human ZOO!" It gets pretty crazy, things move so fast. The show constantly changes because of new artists, injuries or whatever. I've been doing it for three years now and close to 1400 shows! I'm back to work on Friday and I'm excited about it. I know for a fact SOMETHING will be different. cymking from MA Before Las Vegas, what were the gigs you remember most? I love every minute that I work with Nile Rodgers. He's so fun and positive. Joe Sample was like going to a University. His musical history is so rich. ericbdrummin Larry, what kind of tonal qualities do you look for when choosing a cymbal? I'm probably into darker tones. I love the 17in K Dark Crash Med Thin. I like even sounding cymbals. Too much of one frequency is a drag. Recording with a cymbal that doesn't have a full spectrum can be a problem. If the cymbal is screaming in one range it's a problem, especially in a mix. thedrummingpuma from How did you get the gig with Cirque du Soleil? I was recomended to Cirque by a friend. I auditioned and a few months later they called me for Zumanity. The audition was a lot of fun. I wrote about the whole experience in a Modern Drummer article I did for them. It's up on my website. Moderator What is the environment you play in and how do you choose your cymbals accordingly? I'm in a smallish plexi room. Affectionately know as my fishbowl. If you come to the show, you'll see me! I HAVE to use thinner cymbals. I like the K Fast Crashes. Thick cymbals would ring for days in there. Comment from Larry Aberman BTW web address is: www.larryaberman.com thedrummingpuma from what's the music scene in Las Vegas like from your perspective? Man, I can see it growing on a weekly basis. So many notable musicians are moving here either to play a show or get on one. I go out and see a lot of good playing. I think with the studio at the Plam's opening a lot of possibilities open up. The city is changing so quickly anything is possible. muscular with cirque, what's the situation regarding subbing out shows? I do have a sub on Zumanity. Generally every Cirque show is set up differently. Different instrumentation. Different needs. Comment from Larry Aberman Earlier I meant to say the Studio at the PALMS Hotel and Casino...it's an amazing studio. What is a Plam anyway? Moderator Tell us a little more of your musical experiences before going to Las Vegas? I was on the road with Joe Sample for the three years before starting with Zumanity. I recorded his solo disc the Pecan Tree. I also did a lot touring with singer/songwriter Jonatha Brooke. She's incredible. ericbdrummin What do you most like about playing at Cirque du Soleil? It has to be the change. If it stayed the same things would get stale realy quickly. It's a new experience working with acrobats! They have a whole other mindset. I'm used to working with musicians, singers, dancers... thedrummingpuma from What suggestions would give someone as far as networking in the music business? The word networking suggests a traveling line of things inter connecting. So most importantly don't burn bridges as you go. Keep the lines alive. Create the lines by heading out to where live music is being played. Meet other musicians. Have a business card ready. A website with playing examples and resume is great so people can check you out. It's mostly personal contacts. You have to be seen. muscular do you still practice? and if so, what things do you work on? I do practice a lot. I have to keep that going. If I do any one thing too much, like a show, somehow I forget how to play! Comment from Larry Aberman I recently pulled out the Wilcoxen Swing solos book muscular how much work do you do outside of your commitment to Zumanity in terms of recording, live shows, etc. Any work in L.A. ? I do work pretty often on my weekends down in LA. I also do a lot of sessions via the web from my home studio. Actually the last few years that I was in LA I was doing more and more work for guys in my studio that were only a few miles away! I wrote a Modern Drummer article about this that is also on my website. Ramona what will be the next thing for you in your profession Wow, the sky's the limit huh? I'd like to continue to expend my composing. Somethings I've written have been on different TV shows lately. I think the world of multimedia basically says it all. I'm always interested in combining different media. In the digital world mashing up visual/audio is a breeze. ledmaiden from Who are some of your favorite drummers? Oh man...well all my NY HS of Music and Art peeps: Omar, Justin DiCioccio, Sterling Cambell, Charley Drayton....there's Herman Mathews, Steve Jordan, Derrick McKenzie, Philly Joe, Blakey..most of all Elvin. Questlove, Stewart Copeland, Dave Grohl, Taylor Hawkins, Roy Haynes, Jack DeJohnette, Bonham, Gadd, Ferrone, my first teacher Armand Santarelli, Mr Beck at Eastman......oh Harvey Mason! Man....must ssssstop. muscular you are free to go to L.A. on the weekends? No Zumanity shows? My weekend is Wed-Thurs. I often go away either to LA or NYC...RED EYE! ledmaiden from What music are you listening to currently? WHat comes to mind......New Salif Keita - M'Bemba, Taylor Hawkin's solo disc, Sigur Ros' Takk, Jamiroquai - Dynamite, Kanye West - Late Registration (incredible Jon Brion orchestration!) I got the complete Miles in the 60's box set....Tony...OUCH! cymking from MA What type of drums do you use in the Plexiglass environment? And what sizes? DW Built in Bottom 22 BD, 10, 12, 16 Toms solid SD Comment from Larry Aberman The VLT technology they now have has so much tone it would shatter my booth! Check DW's site for more on VLT etc... ledmaiden from Ah, Sigur Ros, they're one of my favorite bands. Do you have an all-time favorite cymbal? I do actually. It's an old K my teacher Justin DiCioccio gave me back in HS. A K ride. It's very thick and unique. Actually the K Custom Dry Light Ride is very similar to it. I dream at night about my old K.. ericbdrummin How do you like Las Vegas? LV can be anything you want it to be. A big city, a small town, whatever. I do miss the water. I've never lived inland so that's been a big adjustment. A lot of the hype I see about Vegas seems to be a lot of hype really. Somehow I think people get the impression that you just show up and you're in some sort of fantasy land. Then reality sets in. The traffic on the strip is ridiculous! Finding good restaurants that are open after 11PM is a challenge. That shocked me. But with that said it is a pretty amazing place. I love it for so many reasons. I love how much Vegas is changing. Seems like every time I turn around a new casino just opened. thedrummingpuma from LA vs. Las Vegas in terms of opportunities from your perspective GOOD question. I think LA is probably a better place because there's so many different ways to make a living. It's a bigger place so I would think more possiblities. With that said, there are probably as many possibilties...proportionately. muscular Do you teach? Do you still take lessons? I haven't been teaching much lately but I do teach. I haven't taken a formal teacher-student lesson in a while BUT....listen to Elvin play on Crescent by Coltrane or go see Charley Drayton play......THAT's a lesson. I sat and watched my buddy Tommy Igoe from the pit at Lion King last month..another lesson. I go to UTUBE.com there's plenty of lessons there. Do a search for Weather Report.. muscular do you know if there are more Cirque shows opening in Vegas? Do you ever sub for any of the other existing shows? I hear a lot about new shows opening in Vegas so from what I hear there are a bunch still coming! If you want to contact them for an audition the best way is through their website. Click the casting link once there. Vacher with 2 shows a nite,how do you keep the weight up,drummer gotta eat right ? HHHHHHA drummer gotta EAT! I have no problem keeping the weight up, always trying to keep in down! ericbdrummin Are you currently working on any other projects in your studio? I just finished a score for a new special on commedians. I do a lot of TV and jingle stuff. I did a Korean artist's drum tracks here couple months ago. Comment from Larry Aberman Funny enough I played on tracks for the recent American Experience special on LV here in my studio. muscular what is the best way to get a gig with cirque? contact them on the website? do they hold auditions randomly? Cirque holds auditions all over the world. They'll give you the whole low down once you contact them. Moderator Larry, even though we have lots more questions pending, we have to declare that this Zildjian Chat Session is at an end. Thank you for taking the time to be with us today. Well this has been an incredible experience. Man the world is changing so fast. Chatting over the net is like second nature. Thank you to everyone for coming by, it's been great meeting you all. I hope we cross paths again soon. Till then stay positive and focused on your dreams. And most importantly everything I say is only my opinion based on my life experiences so far. Nothing I say is the only way to do it. Form your own opinions, make your own statements. To me that makes things more interesting! Be cool. Z People. Oh one more thing don't come to Vegas in July, it's hot like crazy now!