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After leaving the sunny shores of South Africa, S.A.
Drummer emailed Van Romaine some questions and here's what he had to say: Q:
Tell us a bit about your musical training?
VR: I had drum lessons
at the age of 8, I then majored in Studio music and performance at the University
of Miami. I also studied around my tour schedule with Gary Chester author of the
book A New Breed for two years. Q: Who are some drummers that have influenced
you?
VR: Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Jimmy Cobb, Stewart Copeland, Al
Jackson, Harvey Mason, Al Foster, John Bonham, Steve Jordan, Buddy Miles, Charlie
Watts, Ringo and many others. Q: What are some of your strengths and
weaknesses?
VR: Strengths - Knowing the right people who I can trust and
who inspire me.
Weaknesses - Late night partying. Q: You play a lot
of electronics, do you have any suggestions for someone who wants to add electronics
to their setups?
VR: Start simple and work your way up. Computers are
the way of the future in my opinion. It soon will be the combination of a recording
studio and drum brain, as soon as drum technology catches up to the rest of the
world. Q: You recently got endorsed by Gretsch, how did that come about?
VR: Gretsch was purchased by Kaman Music (Gibraltar, Taco, LP, Ovation) Choosing
an endorsement company is as much about having a connection with the people there
as it is liking the equipment. Having worked with Kaman for 14 years, it was a
very natural move for me. Q: On tour you go all over the world and you
get to see many different cultures. Do you ever get the chance to see what the
local drummers do?
VR: Unfortunately not enough. The first thing I want
to see in a new place is the culture itself. Getting to experience the music would
be the icing on the cake. There are a lot of countries like Brazil or Africa where
I go out of my way to hear the local music and buy the local instruments. Q:
Do you think the cultures influence you in anyway, like all the time you spend
in Germany?
VR: Yes, although my home town of New York city is quite a
melting pot. The German culture is similar in many ways to the UK or the US. I
feel more influence to cultures that are much different than mine like Japan and
Africa. Q: Obviously avoiding injury is very important, do you have a
warm up routine before a show?
VR: I've had tendonitis before, a good
thing to avoid. I got it because my left shoulder wasn't flexing correctly and
all the impact was directed to my tennis elbow tendon. In this case, it was stretching
that helped me not warming up with sticks. Warming up on a pad does make me play
a lot better and more relaxed so I do it often. To me it's also important to be
in a good mood before I play, sometimes warming up doesn't help. I'll try anything,
jump rope, push ups and a good phone call. Q: How vital is a click to
beginner drummers?
VR: I hate to preach, but if you don't have good time,
drumming just sounds like carpentry to me. Also, having good time and being comfortable
playing with a click does not make drummers sound like drum machines. It's not
important to play live with a click, I rarely do because often I like the time
to breath. Q: Do you do an improvising on stage?
VR: Every situation
is different, but even with a pop gig like Enrique the show takes on a different
personality every night. For me I pay full respect to the song and reacting to
the band. Q: What are your plans when you finish the tour?
VR:
I'm starting work with German pop star Nena. She had a huge triple platinum CD
last year and we're getting ready to start recording the songs we wrote with her.
There's also talk of another Steve Morse Band CD and tour in the US which is long
overdue. I also might be playing with a new exciting artist on Atlantic called
Stacey Wilde. I recorded her CD the beginning of 2004 with bassist Jack Daley
(Lenny Kravitz) and Richard Fortus (Guns and Roses) and producer Dave Bellochio
so I'm hoping my schedule can work around that. S.A. Drummer thanks Van
Romaine for taking the time to answer our questions. If you would like to read
more about Van Romaine go to www.vanromaine.com. | 
