Seussical - Christopher Roberts
Christopher Roberts’ combined book for the Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School production of Seussical in South Hamilton, Massachusetts.
“As this was the fourth time I had played Seussical, I went into the first rehearsal feeling pretty well prepared for this production. This is always a fun show that flies by because of how much music exists in the show. However, this was the first time I was combining the books and using a primarily acoustic set up. This was something I was looking forward to as I've been enjoying playing more shows that??? a fully electric kit isn't required for space or logistic reasons.
Being in a high school, I had the feeling the pit would be a little tight. To limit my footprint, I opted to use a rack. This also helped as I was going directly into a new show the following week and wanted to work off the set up for that as much as possible. I wanted to have the ‘congas’ (triggered from a Roland TM-2) right in front of me so I could incorporate them into the mambo sections of ‘Amazing Mayzie’ and similar songs. I also used the ‘congas’ to thicken the orchestration with the jungle drums in ‘Horton Hears a Who’. This placed my toms to the right and I worked the small percussion around the drums as best I could. My LP Jam Block is mounted off the bass drum, the cowbell is mounted off a post from the rack over the floor tom, and the ratchet, triangle, and finger cymbal are located above that. My TreeWorks Chimes were placed in front of me so as to be far enough away to not hit accidentally but close enough to reach when needed.
There were a few cuts that limited the need for mallet parts, so I decided to simply trigger any necessary mallet parts from the Roland HandSonic HPD-20. I also had been asked to add sound effects (jungle sounds, wind blowing, explosion and monkeys) which I triggered from the HandSonic’s external pad.”
Drums: Yamaha Stage Custom (Natural Finish)
- 12"x8" Rack Tom
- 16"x15" Floor Tom
- 22"x17" Bass Drum
Snare: Yamaha Live Custom (Emerald Green Sunburst)
- 14"x5.5" Snare
Cymbals:
- Zildjian 16" K Dark Custom Crash
- Zildjian 20" K Dark Custom Ride
- Zildjian 14" K Dark Custom Hats
- Wuhan 10" Splash
Hardware:
- Pearl DR-80 Drum Rack with PC-8 Rack Clamps
- Pearl/Gibraltar Medium Weight Cymbal Arms
- Gibraltar Multi Accessory Post
- DW 5000 Single Bass Drum Pedal
- Jacques Capelle Hi Hat Stand
Percussion:
- Alan Abel 6" Symphonic Triangle mounted on a Miller Machine
- Zildjian Heavy Finger Cymbal mounted on a Miller Machine
- Steve Weiss Bell Tree
- Steve Weiss Ratchet
- LP Red Jam Block
- LP 8" Mambo Cowbell
- TreeWorks Single Row Chimes
Electronics:
- Roland HandSonic HPD-20 (PDX-8 as external pad) used for mallet parts, djembe and assorted sound effects
- Roland TM-2 Trigger Module (2 PD-105s) used for congas, Vibra-Slap, and shakers
Sticks/Mallets:
- Vic Firth 7A Drum Sticks
- Vic Firth SD6 (Swizzle B)
- Vic Firth Heritage Brushes
Not Pictured:
- Acme Siren Whistle (worn around neck)
- LP Samba Whistle (worn around neck)
- LP Standard Flex-A-Tone (hung off rack next to hi hat)
Seussical - Regional - Christopher Roberts
January 2017
