Twentyish Drummer Questions: Volume Sixty-Five: Nick Frisch!!!
YEAHMAN!!!!!!! (Photo courtesy Ryan Thomas/Coda Photography)
1. How long have you been a drummer?
17-18ish years? Is that possible? I had a drum set before band class really started in 5th or 6th grade. I’d say I’ve known how to drum for 15 years.
2. When/why did you decide to be a drummer?
I don’t know if there was a specific when/why. I had fun playing drum sets when they were around. My first set came with a trunk full of hardware, the drums themselves and a few cymbals. There wasn’t a whole lot of direction for setting them up, or tuning, so I kind of just played around with it until I figured things out. That was when I was 12 or so. I would play them all the time and just try to figure out some patterns from some songs, that was well before ear buds, I never really played to cd’s or tapes much, the headphones always fell off, and I was always playing too loud to hear the recording anyways. I really wanted to play guitar in a band, and that’s kind of where Mint 6 Ten started, we just couldn’t find a drummer, so I ended up playing drums and never turned back.
3. What kind of set do you play?
I think my current set is a Pearl set. I bought it on craigslist a few years ago and the wrap had been taken off and painted black. I recently did a major overhaul on them, cleaned every bit of hardware, re-wrapped them, put an iso mount on the floor tom and put all new heads on everything. The kit itself is a 22” Kick, 12” and 16” toms. This is the first kit I’ve ever had that has a 16” floor tom, and that was really the major selling point of the kit. I’d play friends kits, or record with a 16” tom and always wished I had one. I have a 14” Pearl Jimmy DeGrasso signature series snare. I wasn’t really in the market for one, but I got it for a great price. It’s all hammered brass and bright gold, it’s real ugly, but I love it. It sounds great too. Cymbals, I recently picked up a Zildjian A series pack, I like the new beat hi hats and the 18” crash that came with it, I’m still using an older 20” medium ride and still trying to feel out my other crash, in the past I’ve used a second 20” medium ride, currently I’m using the 21” sweet ride that came in the pack, but it’s not my favorite.
4. What album(s) did you learn to drum to? If not an album, with whom? Or did you just bang it out?
No specific album, whatever I was listening to at the time, I’d try to learn some of that, but I never really sat down and learned any songs front to back just for fun. I’d mostly just play around with patterns and fills, I imagine most drummers do that.
5. When you started out, did you buy so many accessories?
No, I played drums, but as a teenager, drum accessories were the last thing I wanted to spend my money on.
6. Single or double?
Single. Always.
7. Stick size/type?
Pro-Mark Shira Kashi Oak 2B. They are heavy and last forever.
8. Nylon tips, or wood?
Wood tips, but only because they nylon tips fly off. Sometimes I’d use nylon tips for recording and wood tips for practice/shows.
9. What brand of heads do you prefer?
Remo coated emperor on my snare. Evans EC2 Coated for the toms. Usually an Aquarian Super Kick II for my bass drum. I use Remo Ambassador snare side heads as the resonant heads on my snare but also the toms. I feel like they are a little more forgiving and warmer than other resonant heads.
10. What is your favorite cymbal ever?
I really like the 20” Zildjian Medium Ride. I’ve had a couple of those, just recently my oldest one cracked.
11. What are your thoughts on china cymbals?
In general, not a big fan. There are a few songs out there and one will pop up, and it’ll be like YES! That’s where it should be used!
12. How about splashes?
I’m too heavy handed for splash cymbals.
13. Where do you get your gear from?
None of the local shops carry the sticks I use, so usually Amazon for those. I got my current shells from craigslist. Guitar Center/Sam Ash for heads/accessories sometimes. DrumBuilder.com for some specialized parts.
14. How do you feel about the statement “any drummer with more than a four piece set is an asshole?”
I’ve never needed more than that, but some people do.
15. I know of just a few bands that you’ve been in. Would you mind listing all of them?
Currently, Buzz Bin
In the past:
Mint 6 Ten
A Voice Like Rhetoric
Growing Up A Ghost
Tall Tales
Daves The Say
I’ve also filled in for:
The Rusty Griswolds
Sayonara Tiger
16. Where is your best performance located? (This refers to physical media)
Studio: Mint 6 Ten - “Keep Your Pimp Hand Strong”. If I remember right, when we signed with Nice Guy Records, Jamie wanted us to demo a new song when trying to figure out who to record with. Aside from home recordings, we had recorded everything with Marcus Davies and we wanted to stick with him and Jamie was suggesting recording with Eric as he was getting Moonlight Studios started. We did this song with Marcus, took a couple hours to get drums set up and get sounds right and then recorded the drum track in one take. I remember wanting to record another song because that one had gone so well, and we were so happy with the drum sounds, but that wasn’t what we were there for, so we just have that one track from that session.
Live: A Voice Like Rhetoric - “Man Multiplication Is Hard” The part around the 5:00 mark in this song, switching between the hi hat and snare, I didn’t always pull it off. This is the best I ever played this song. Luckily Zach was there and filmed it and the audio quality was pretty good.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4WzHICbODXo
17. Who are your top three drummers now?
Chris Collis - TTNG (This Town Needs Guns)
Robert Wisely - Blakfish, &U&I
Rickie Mazzotta - mewithoutYou
18. Who were your initial top three drummers?
Chad Sexton - 311
Travis Barker - Blink 182
Tony Hajjar - At The Drive-In, Sparta
19. Have you ever actually stopped a cymbal crack?
Tried once, it didn’t work.
20. Do you play any other instruments, or do you feel like a drummer should just concentrate on doing their drummer job well?
I honestly spent more time playing along with songs on guitar than I did on drums when I was younger. I haven’t played in years which is a shame because I’ve had a really great guitar since I was a teenager, but the band needed a drummer and guitar took a back seat. I still play a little from time to time.
21. How do you feel about that “This drummer is at the wrong gig” video? That shit rules, right?
Of course it rules.
23. What is your signature move?
Signature move? I usually try to get in some good ride bell hits. I especially like it when there is a lot going on, and you can place some of those in, just to show some precision.
24. What cd do you put in just because the drums are amazing?
There are so many. Red Animal War - Black Phantom Crusades, Northstar - Pollyanna, A Wilhelm Scream - Career Suicide, Blakfish - Champions, Hey Mercedes - Loses Control, Alkaline Trio - Good Mourning. Those albums are all great, and the production on the drums. That’s how drums should sound.
25. What would be the most exciting fill in spot for you; the kind where you would puke from excitement before going onstage?
I’ve kept it together for some strange situations, not exactly as a “fill in” for an entire set, but Seat and I were pulled on stage during a Mighty Mighty Bosstones show at Bogarts when we were in high school. I was just handing the singer a flyer and asking him to announce our show to the crowd (a very high school move) and instead of doing that, he wanted us to come up on stage and show that we could play. We didn’t really play a song because we were just shocked at the entire situation, but we jammed on stage with the Bosstones and a guy from Simple Plan during the middle of a show in front of a huge crowd. Another similar situation happened at a sold out Harry Connick Jr. show at Music Hall when I was in high school, where I was pulled up on stage to sit in for a few minutes. I don’t like to be on stage, I really dislike drum risers, but put me up there with some other musicians and I settle in pretty quickly.
https://youtu.be/4WzHICbODXo