Kinky Boots - Sammy Merendino - The Miller Machine

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Sammy Merendino's setup for the Broadway production of Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

Sammy's write-up and gear list below photos.

Sammy Merendino's setup for the Broadway production of Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

“This kit evolved over nine months during rehearsals and previews. I am responsible for running the click and backing sequences (percussion, arpeggiators, effects, etc).

The bulk of the show is played on my Sonor Kit, but I need to be able to switch quickly between acoustic and electronic. The electronic kick pedals are located to the right of my acoustic kick. I can turn slightly to my left to play the Roland V-Drums while still in position to play acoustic drums. There are various pedals on the ground to allow me to trigger sounds and/or click tracks with my heels. Other loops (located within Ableton Live) are triggered via a Roland SPD-SX Sample Pad.

My drum booth is on the 5th floor of the theater (100 steps) and the rest of the band is in the pit. I have a conductor and stage monitor to take cues from and the conductor has a ‘Sam Cam’ so he can see me.”

Drums: Sonor ProLite

22"x17" Bass Drum (Evans EQ3 Batter, Front head removed)
12"x8" Rack Tom (Evans Onyx top, Clear G1 bottom)
15"x15" Floor Tom (Evans Onyx top, Clear G1 bottom)
18"x16" Floor Tom (Evans Onyx top, Clear G1 bottom)

Snare:

Sonor 14"x6" Artist Bronze Series Snare (Evans EC1 Reverse Dot top, Hazy 300 bottom)

Hardware:

Sonor Giant Step Double Pedal
Porter & Davies BC Gigster Throne and Engine
Auralex HoverMat
Kelly SHU Kick-Miking System
Snare Weight and Drum Wallet Mufflers
DrumDial Drum Tuner
GK Isolation Headphones
Kitchen Sink

Cymbals: Paiste

15" 602 Medium Hats
19" Signature Full Crash
20" Signature Full Crash
22" Dark Energy Ride Mark II with 2 Brass Rivets
20" Rude Novo China

Electronics:

Roland TD-30 V-Drums
Roland SPD-SX Sample Pad
Apple Mac Mini and two RME Fireface interfaces and Ableton Live software
Radial SW8 Backing-Track Auto-Switcher
Roland KT10 Kick Pedal
Custom M.A.R.C. Footswitch Triggers (courtesy of Vincent Gutman)
Miktek and Neumann Mics
Drum Tech Pole Pad Pro

Percussion:

Grover Spectrasound Mark Tree
RhythmTech Tambourine

Sticks:

Vic Firth 3A drumsticks
Various Mallets

Sammy is a proud endorser of Sonor Drums, Paiste Cymbals, Vic Firth Sticks, Evans Drumheads, Porter and Davies, Miktek Audio, Roland US, Auralex, Kelly SHU Kick-Miking System, Snareweight, Drum Wallet, DrumDial Drum Tuner, Drum-Tec, and Prologix Practice Pads.

Kinky Boots - Broadway - Sammy Merendino
April 2013 thru April 2019

Sammy Merendino's setup for the Broadway production of Kinky Boots at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre.

Conducting a National Tour by Danny Taylor

"Conducting a National Tour is incredibly challenging, but so rewarding. Stepping on to the podium with a new orchestra every few weeks really keeps you on your toes. Every player responds differently so you are constantly adjusting to get the desired result. I would compare it to playing a multi-percussion piece where the instruments are constantly moving."

5 min read

Reporting from the Broadway Trenches by Jon Berger

"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

Drumming for "Ain’t Too Proud" by Clayton Craddock

"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."

7 min read

Kevin McNaughton's setup for the National Tour of Pretty Woman at the Old National Centre (formerly the Murat Theatre) in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Pretty Woman - Kevin McNaughton

"Different from the tour, the original Broadway production had acoustic drums, an acoustic set of timbales, and an acoustic tambourine - the tambourine is now programmed in the SPD-SX."

2 min read

Matilda Jr. - Alvaro Domingo

"With the space I had, I knew having an actual set of timpani would not be possible, so I opted to trigger them off of the Alesis Strike MultiPad. In addition to the timpani, all of the extra sound effects and other percussion were programmed into the MultiPad."