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9 to 5 - Alfie Pugh

Alfie Pugh's percussion setup for 9 to 5, at the Exmouth Pavilion, in Exmouth, United Kingdom.

Alfie's write-up below photos.

Alfie Pugh's percussion setup for 9 to 5, at the Exmouth Pavilion, in Exmouth, United Kingdom.Alfie Pugh's percussion setup for 9 to 5, at the Exmouth Pavilion, in Exmouth, United Kingdom.

"It was great to return to having full size bands, and to once again get all the gear out.

Two timpani in front, vibes to the right, xylophone to the left. Glock up and in between timpani and xylophone, with most of the mounted blocks, bells and Mark Tree, above the glock. And Miller Machine of course!

Congas behind xylophone, but bongos were better positioned actually on the xylophone, which was protected by the glockenspiel lid - there's not a great deal of bongo work. I had an LP mounted tambourine on its own stand, (I always put it by itself so it doesn't jingle from other things being hit) next to the congas for the 9 to 5 chorus conga groove with tambourine hits.

Concert bass drum tucked under xylophone on a padded mat, with a stick tray clamped to the xylophone legs to hold the bass drum beaters. Snare drum is set down low and in between timpani for one number on brushes - playing a train shuffle. Cymbals above trap tray to the right of the timpani - Sabian 18" HHX Evolution for crashes and suspended stuff, UFIP 10" Class Splash for effects, and Paiste 22" 602 Thin Crash with sizzle chain, for sizzle rolls.

The main trap tray held the timpani and drum sticks, shakers, caxixi, small tambourine and ratchet. I had a modified long trap tray with added carpet, mounted at an angle (on a Roland SPD-SX stand) for the vibes sticks so I could throw them away quickly. And a final tray mounted on the tam tam frame behind me, which held the slapstick, and two crotales on a custom three post mount.

Finally, I had the castanets on standby at the bottom of the xylophone which were moved to position during the one number they are featured in (this show has a very limited xylophone range), a single chime hanging from a mount on the tambourine stand, where the cabasa holder also lived. The main tambourine I used was originally a Grover headed orchestral tambourine, but when the head split I kept it on as a headless shaky rock tambourine, which had infinitely more punch than any of my LP's or Meinl's. I kept this on the snare drum in front of me for most of the show."

9 to 5 - International - Alfie Pugh
November 2021

Alfie Pugh's percussion setup for 9 to 5, at the Exmouth Pavilion, in Exmouth, United Kingdom.

Patrick Lehosky's percussion setup for In the Heights at the CM Performing Arts Center in Oakdale, New York.
Jay Mack's setup for the National Tour of If/Then at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Craig Given's percussion setup for Hairspray at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Christchurch, New Zealand, for Showbiz Christchurch.
"After a grueling four years at SUNY I still had one theory class left to finish. I was really depressed. A classmate of mine recommended me for a tour of a Broadway show. This completely changed the course of my life."
  • 7 min read
"When I first got the call to start working on Ain’t Too Proud - The Life And Times Of The Temptations, I was curious about which era the show was going to focus on. Their career began in the early 1960’s and they’re still releasing albums today."
"The unique part of Groundhog Day was that the drummer had to play on stage, in a groundhog costume, wearing a giant groundhog head. Since I could barely see out of the head, it was impossible to read a chart (and there wasn’t a music stand), so it had to be memorized."
  • 4 min read
Steve Gadd's drum solo from the track "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours". From the album Live Stuff (out of print) from the legendary 1970's New York based band Stuff.
Robbie Ameen's drum solo from the track "Spring Fling".

Gene Krupa's drum solo from "Gene's Blues" from the album Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich released November 1955.

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