Another one in my continual quest to cover favorites from my youth (): "Consternation", from the album 'The Great Cold Distance' by #KATATONIA !

Katatonia is still one of my favorite bands their more recent albums are just as phenomenal as 'The Great Cold Distance' (which was released in 2006). In fact, I almost covered something off of one of their newer albums instead (& who knows, maybe I still will someday), but for now, I opted to cover something off of this album... it's just so nostalgic for me, I knew I'd have a blast playing it. & this song specifically... it wasn't one of the original singles from this album or anything, but dang I fuggin' love this song .

This is also another cover that wouldn't have been possible without goodbuddies Kevin Heiderich & Declan White! Kevin was also really into this album, so it wasn't too hard to convince him to do it. But he did an absolutely killer job. Kevin's also got a YouTube channel & he's an absolute ripper, so please show him some love & give him a follow!

   / @kevinheiderich  

& Declan not only mixed this one, but he ALSO played the bass! Which ALSO slams! Allaround killer sounds here (IMO!). I used an AI Stem Splitter to get a vocal stem... vocals are the only thing that those things seem to do an OKish job with IMO (at least, as of right now). I'm sure they'll continue to get better for everything else, but so long as I have sick friends that're down to do instrumentation for stuff every now & then, I'd always rather have that! But for the vocals, it worked out this time around. I did have to do some sneaky editing to it still, but once I was done... shoot. If you'd have told me it was the original album vocal mixstem, I'd have believed it.

ANYWAYZ: On to KIT SPECS! As you can see, I used a slightly different setup for this cover. Honestly ya'll, I would be so DANG stoked to play in a band like this, & use a setup like this, on tour. Don't get me wrong... I love a big ol' overthetop drum setup, too. But there's something about playing with a single rack tom... everything just feels a bit less cluttered. But I digress(!):

#TAMA Starclassic Maple (in Satin Aztec Gold)

13x7.5
16x13
18x15 (left side)
22x16
14x7 Cusworth Cast Bronze Snare w/ Cast Bronze Hoops

#MEINL Cymbals (from left to right, if sitting behind the kit)

18" Classics Custom Dual Crash
15" Byzance Traditional Medium HiHats
12" Classics Custom Dual Trash Splash
19" Classics Custom Dual Crash
18" Classics Dark Heavy China
21" Byzance Traditional Heavy Ride

#EVANS Drumheads

Toms Clear G2s (batter), Clear G1s (reso)
Snare Coated Heavyweight Dry (batter), Snare Side 300 (reso)
Kick Clear EQ4s (batter), Onyx w/ Port (reso)

You may also notice the Pro Mark sticks! I've used Pro Mark before... for awhile, actually when I left Vic Firth, but before my Tama Signature Stick was in full production. At any rate sadly, Tama has decided to discontinue ALL artist signature sticks in North America (I believe they are maintaining a few in Japan), & as such, I am in the market for new sticks. I've actually been using a lot of different stuff recently, & am taking my time, trying different stuff out, before I make a decision on where to permanently move to. In this video I used the Pro Mark Forward 2B's (wood tip)!

I also just want to say thanks to Tama for ever giving me a Signature Stick to begin with. I'm sad that they've decided to discontinue all of them, but I also understand. The stick market isn't an easy one. Absolutely nothing else about my relationship with Tama changes I still endorse their drums & hardware, & am glad to be part of the family! On the plus side, being a free agent for sticks has been kinda fun... I'm in no rush to figure it out, so you'll see me trying out a handful of things in the videos to come!

My podcast (new episodes weekly!):

Spotify: https://spoti.fi/3t5j9n1
Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/RantsAndRevelations

All other socials / links:

My (NEW) website: https://www.alexrudinger.com (SHOP NOW!)

  / alexrudinger  
  / alexrudingerofficial  
  / rudirudinger  
  / alexrudinger  
https://www.threads.net/alexrudinger

As always, thanks for watching & stay tuned for more!