Meet fulkramick (NY, USA)
What is your current e-drum setup? Please be as specific as possible.
I am using the Roland V-Drums TD-17KVX kit with an Iron Cobra 600 single kick pedal, a Yamaha HS740 hi-hat stand, hitting it all with Promark 5B nylon tip sticks, monitoring with Sennheiser HD 202 headphones and sitting on a standard Pearl drum throne.
How do you record your e-drums?
I usually record drums first for a track, so without needing to hear any other sound source, I simply record direct to an SD card in the TD-17.
You mean you recorded this song without hearing any music or any idea what the music would sound like?
Yes.
That's crazy!
How did you approach making this video?
I thought about what I like about watching playthroughs - being able to see the stick work and foot technique. I play my kick "heel down", where the majority of drummers are "heel up", and I do enjoy seeing (what to me is) something different.
What does fulkramick mean?
fulkramick, as an artist name, is the umbrella under which I make music by myself. While I play and perform in several bands and find that experience very dear to me and my expression, being able to say everything vocally and on the instruments I'm using helps push that personal expression in a way I may not ask of the talented people I make music with. With them, my ideas are always embraced and worked with, but having that conversation with yourself about what does and doesn't work is its own growth-driven challenge. To me fulkramick is, at its core, an intensive on that personal expression.
Why did you decide to start playing e-drums?
It was a dark and stormy winter (as always where I live) and the rehearsal space I am fortunate enough to play at can be a challenging drive in the snowy months. It was starting to discourage me from playing drums outside of band practice, so I started researching what I thought could be a good alternative. It is never fair for drummers, really, that a guitarist could practice in their bathroom but they have to have a space typically not at their home.
What do you like about e-drums compared to acoustic?
I had sat down behind an e-kit about twenty years ago with no sticks, having to use turned around salad spoons for that jam session, so my expectations were not high. I was immediately surprised with the feel of the e-kit that I play on. The mesh heads are tactile and not overly responsive like I was afraid they would be, and the cymbals on this kit have a choke feature which I think is just neat. Compared to the acoustic setup, the hi-hat does seem to lack the nuance I am used to, but I am adjusting. I made sure to use the same model kick pedal for that muscle continuity between these and my acoustics. What I like the most so far is how every pre-loaded kit inspires a different set of ideas or rhythms, each one turns a dial in your mind for an instantaneous new perspective. For recording thus far, I made a user-kit modeled on each drum and cymbal of my acoustic with the same sizes and material (steel snare, wood toms, etc.) There is so much more to explore with it. As much as I love and will continue to play on the acoustic kit, I am super happy that I could now technically practice drums in the bathroom like those lucky guitarists (and even luckier shower singers).
Where can people find more of your work?
Solo work can be found at: fulkramick.bandcamp.com and on your preferred streaming service (Spotify, iTunes, etc.). I hope to have an album done using the Roland TD-17KVX by mid 2023. For my acoustic drumming in the band Heretofore: heretoforemusic.bandcamp.com (new record coming in 2023). I also play bass in Level:Memory - levelmemory.bandcamp.com and drums in the band: The Sound of Stars Communicating (recordings available in 2023).
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