Right on Beat with Gideon Waxman
Music, it’s all around us. And for some musicians, once we realize it a passion is ignited and it’s the start to a lifetime journey. For London-based percussion tutor, Gideon Waxman, this love took flame when he was just 10 years old.
Intrigued by the beauty of the wooden shells that made up beautiful drum kits, he knew he was destined to be a drummer. Waxman studied music at the University Of Westminster and through his website Drumhelper.com, provides his students and fans with the best advice possible for them to be successful.
The purpose of The SoundChick is to discover artists who defy the odds in the music scene. While not the traditional profile I cover, Waxman is undeniably one of these artists. The 26-year-old recently put together a video for his drum cover of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer.” According to Waxman, he completed this with no edits, quantizing, or samples. Whenever an artist covers a song, they should strive to keep the originality of the song alive, while incorporating their own style. Waxman does this with this cover. Not only is it obvious he has incredible footwork and beat, you can feel his passion for this flow throughout his mashing of the drum sticks. This is something I always love to see when I check out new music.
When asked what made him motivated to cover “Tom Sawyer,” Waxman replied with: “Neil Peart is, without a doubt, one of the best rock drummers to ever grace this planet. ‘Tom Sawyer’ represented a challenge and a milestone in my drumming, and I wanted to record the cover to the best of my ability without using any editing or recording tricks whatsoever. What you hear in my ‘Tom Sawyer’ cover is entirely natural drums and no quantizing. It's a genuine performance, and that's what the original is like. Unlike most modern drummers that rely heavily on editing and samples, Peart was an authentic drummer, and I now gravitate more towards these real music performances.”
After watching this cover, I’ve taken it upon myself to check out more of Waxman’s work. The versatility of his talent runs strong in his covers. If you pay attention, you can see him taking on new challenges toying with different genres of music, and definitely taking on difficult songs. If you’re in the London area looking for some extra help with your drumming skills, I would highly recommend reaching out to Waxman.
Editor’s Note: Have you tried watching a cover of your favorite song and the quality wasn’t up to par? Are you in need of some tips on how to create the best cover video? Look no further. Waxman has also put together a beginner’s guide for putting together a drum cover. Not only can you view Waxman’s cover for Rush’s “Tom Sawyer,” you can also get a step-by-step process for how to do something similar. It is so detailed, it even gets into the proper equipment you should be using to do this. Either way, keep tabs on him. He’s currently working on new projects and he’s looking forward to covering many new songs in the future. As Waxman states, "drummers, they're simply the most exciting to watch."