Scott Elford's percussion setup for Newsies at the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center in Appleton, Wisconsin.
Photo below: "I blew out my Epstein Castanets on the tune 'King of New York' early in the run, so I put the Grover Pro Concert Castanets in the machine. Was glad they fit! There are two forte-piano castanet rolls in the middle of a bunch of xylophone licks during the tap dancing section of that tune, so the only way to do it was to use my xylophone mallets. I must have forted a little too hard!!"
"Playing the percussion book for Newsies was filled with high energy tunes including everything from xylophone licks, rudimental style field drum, rock conga grooves, and big impact bass drum!
Challenging aspects included some pretty quick transitions from xylophone to tambourine, and playing the tambourine while striking the cowbell. After a few different attempts, I found the best sound on both cowbell and tambourine was using a Gibraltar SC-CBPM Cowbell Bass Drum Pedal Mount.
The most enjoyable part for me was to work with an incredible team of not only traveling musicians, but also the sound tech crew."
Equipment:
- Adams 26" and 29" Philharmonic Light Cloyd Duff Series Timpani
- Yamaha Acoustalon Xylophone
- Malletech Glockenspiel
- Deagan Chimes
- Ludwig 26"x18" 1960's Gold Sparkle Bass Drum
- Black Swamp Symphonic Field Drum
- Bison Piccolo Snare
- LP Classic Model Wood Quinto
- LP Matador Wood Bongos
- Sabian 18" Artisan Traditional Symphonic Medium Heavy Extra Dark Piatti
- Sabian 18" Artisan Traditional Symphonic Suspended
- Zildjian 10" Zildjian A Splash
- LP Afuche Cabasa
- LP Vibraslap
- Steve Weiss Brand Classic Ratchet
- Grover 10" German Silver/Phosphor Bronze Tambourine with head removed
- Grover 6" Hand Hammered Triangle
- Grover 6" and 8" Maple Wood Blocks
- Grover Pro Concert Castanets (large Granadillo) on an Epstein Castanet Machine
- Pearl Hex Ganza Shaker (long)
- LP Granite Block
- LP Jam Block High Pitch (Blue)
- Acme Siren Whistle
- Black Swamp Wind Chimes
- Miller Machine with Alan Abel 6" Triangle
Sticks/Mallets:
- Malletech Bob Becker BB34 Medium Rattan Xylo/Bell Mallets "Becker Blues"
- Malletech Orchestra Series OR45R Hard Rattan Xylo/Bell Mallets
- Vic Firth SD1 Generals (because of all the rim abuse!)
- Homemade Bass Drum Mallet
- Homemade Glock/Timp Combos
"The homemade bass drum mallet was a college project. It's a maple handle glued into a foam ball with red stuffed animal material sewn around it. This is not my concert bass mallet, but perfect for the big impact bass drum hits in Newsies.
The homemade glock/timp combos started out as Promark PST3's (Performer Series Maple Timpani Mallets) that I drilled out and inserted what was left of a broken pair of Promark DFP250's (Dan Fyffe Xylo/Bell Mallets). These worked well for all the fast general purpose timpani to keyboard changes. Maybe for a suspended roll also!
I blew out my Epstein Castanets on the tune 'King of New York' early in the run, so I put the Grover Pro Concert Castanets in the machine. Was glad they fit! There are two fp castanet rolls in the middle of a bunch of xylophone licks during the tap dancing section of that tune, so the only way to do it was to use my xylophone mallets. I must have forted a little too hard!!"
Newsies - Regional - Scott Elford
February 2016
