This week’s drummer is one whose work I have admittedly not heard a lot of, but has had a great impact on me nonetheless. He is the modern day spearhead in drumming innovation and has inspired many newer drummers with his cutting-edge techniques and ideas. He is the kind of musician anyone of any instrument and genre should look up to in regards to persistence and the general strive to be greater. This man is no other than…
Jojo Mayer – Drummer for Nerve, Independent
Taken from https://hudsonmusic.com/jojo-mayer/
What I wouldn’t do to be able to pick this man’s brain for hours on end. He is responsible for developing several techniques that many drummers across the world use today, and continues to innovate new percussive tools that allow him to closely emulate desired sounds. To begin, let’s start with some of the technique he has brought to light that take advantage of physics to play much faster material with greater ease. Mayer is a pioneer of what is commonly referred to as the “push-pull” technique. To put it simply, this allows the drummer to get two hits out of one full motion; a strike with the wrist pushing downward, and a strike with the fingers with a pull upward. This sort of motion is commonly used in double strokes, but Mayer was one of the first to show how it could be used in a steady motion at a fast and consistent speed. I would like to point out that he did not necessarily invent it, but he did popularize and establish it. Here is a video demonstrating this technique:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X8Zfdank3rI
Although this may look easy, it takes a lot of practice. I have been working towards getting the handle of this technique myself for energy-conservation purposes during fast songs, and it has been quite the hurdle. Over the past few years, it has slowly become a goal of mine to master as many techniques and rudiments as I can so I can learn to apply them in parts that I track. I am a firm believer that technique is extremely important as a drummer; there are several drummers out there with insane speed, but also muscle their way through each song they play. As one gets older, muscles and joints cannot handle such strain as they once could, so it is important to develop good technique to allow yourself to conserve energy and your body overtime. Along with push-pull, here’s another technique that Mayer as popularized; the foot Moeller:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKkx5ZWwn-c
This technique does require specific pedal settings (low tension and a large beater angle) to work, but it is extremely effective for single pedal users or even in instances where a double pedal cannot be used (such as a closed hi-hat pattern). Again, just like with the push-pull technique, the multiple strikes Mayer is able to pull off here happens in one single motion. This sort of technique is very useful in gospel drumming, allowing the drummer to execute fast bass drum work whilst still incorporating the hi-hat pedal for flashy fill ideas. This is not a technique that I use myself (as I have been more intrigued with learning proper ankle motion relying on beater bounce and pedal tension), but it is obviously very worth knowing for many scenarios. Now, let’s take a look at a form of equipment Mayer has invented: the Hoop Crasher:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD3xeZ_RveQ
Jojo Mayer is typically a drum’n’bass musician, so he has taken time over the years to develop some technology to help him emulate new and innovative sounds. This Hoop Crasher is one result of this. His goal was to “augment the snare drum sound with metallic devices,” so he worked with Sabian to make it happen. Essentially, he can still play the snare drum normally, but when he chooses he can incorporate the sound of this to add an almost tambourine-like effect. I have also seen him make a similar cymbal to emulate the sound of someone clapping, and it certainly sounded convincing.
Overall, Jojo Mayer deserves a lot of credit for his contribution to the world of drumming. His popularization of many techniques and pieces of equipment have changed the game and inspired many newer drummers to expand on the innovative trends he has started. All of this aside, he is absolutely a top-tier world class drummer that every musician should be aware of. Many of his ideas with Nerve show that a drummer can definitely add a very unique element to electronic music, despite the growing belief that drummers are less necessary in today’s musical climate. To conclude, here is an absolutely unreal drum solo from Jojo Mayer. Thank you for reading!
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