2nd line drumming

[Lt. Bob]

been surprised a few times that musicians not from La. often don't really know 2nd line ..... which is that most New Orleans of rhythms>

So here is Johnny Vidocovich talking about it .... and he's one of the major N.O. drummers ...... I have jammed with him but I was also drunk so I don't remember a lot except having fun.

[Bill L]

I'm shocked at how many professional drummers can't groove on a second line. Thankfully up where I am there's tons of incredible drummers that do get it. My whole set list requires it.

As an aside, my bass player buddy and I are planning on a straight to New Orleans trip this May for our birthdays and hanging out for a couple of days. Should be great fun.

[Lt. Bob]

I'm shocked at how many professional drummers can't groove on a second line. Thankfully up where I am there's tons of incredible drummers that do get it. My whole set list requires it.

As an aside, my bass player buddy and I are planning on a straight to New Orleans trip this May for our birthdays and hanging out for a couple of days. Should be great fun.

Jazzfest runs thru May 9

[Bill L]

I'm shocked at how many professional drummers can't groove on a second line. Thankfully up where I am there's tons of incredible drummers that do get it. My whole set list requires it.

As an aside, my bass player buddy and I are planning on a straight to New Orleans trip this May for our birthdays and hanging out for a couple of days. Should be great fun.

Jazzfest runs thru May 9

We're planning on the following week. Much less expensive and more space for us to move around. We can get a place on Bourbon St for 4 days plus air fare for around $600 each. And most of the people we want to see will still be there playing their regular gigs. Man, I had a blast when we went and I can't wait to get back.

[vomitHatSteve]

I had never heard the term "second line drumming" before, but this dudes NO accent keeps cracking me up!

I still don't understand the term after watching, I'm afraid.

[Bill L]

I had never heard the term "second line drumming" before, but this dudes NO accent keeps cracking me up!

I still don't understand the term after watching, I'm afraid.

I think in context of a song, you would hear the accent. It's just subtle and syncopated. Here's a great second line groove.

[Tadpui]

The Maple Leaf on Oak sounds like an appropriate place for a "tree-o" to play

He definitely had an abstract way of describing it, but hearing it helped.

[Armistice]

The Maple Leaf on Oak sounds like an appropriate place for a "tree-o" to play

He definitely had an abstract way of describing it, but hearing it helped.

I found his attempts to describe it made it harder to understand. You're right - hearing him play it and I "got" it OK.

[Armistice]

I might have a play around in Reaper and attempt to plot the more simple version @Bill L referenced and see what it looks like. Always interested in learning new drum rhythms.

[Lt. Bob]

The Maple Leaf on Oak sounds like an appropriate place for a "tree-o" to play

I used to play the Maple Leaf with L'il Queenie & the Percolators ..... gig started at 3am .... it was 3-7 am and then people would leave talking about going to an after-hours place.


2nd line is basically a marching cadence like the snare drum corp might do but with very heavy syncopated accents usually on the and of two.
Take any cadence and put that 'jump' in it and it's 2nd line.

[Tadpui]

I used to play the Maple Leaf with L'il Queenie & the Percolators ..... gig started at 3am .... it was 3-7 am and then people would leave talking about going to an after-hours place.

Man, I thought that I was a night owl!

2nd line is basically a marching cadence like the snare drum corp might do but with very heavy syncopated accents usually on the and of two.
Take any cadence and put that 'jump' in it and it's 2nd line.

Now that's a good explanation that I can understand. 1&2&3&4& but with some swing to it.

[vomitHatSteve]

The Maple Leaf on Oak sounds like an appropriate place for a "tree-o" to play

I used to play the Maple Leaf with L'il Queenie & the Percolators ..... gig started at 3am .... it was 3-7 am and then people would leave talking about going to an after-hours place.


2nd line is basically a marching cadence like the snare drum corp might do but with very heavy syncopated accents usually on the and of two.
Take any cadence and put that 'jump' in it and it's 2nd line.

Ah, that makes sense.

So when I wiki'd second line, it talked about unofficial parade followers. Is the etymology related to that?

[Bill L]

I used to play the Maple Leaf with L'il Queenie & the Percolators ..... gig started at 3am .... it was 3-7 am and then people would leave talking about going to an after-hours place.


2nd line is basically a marching cadence like the snare drum corp might do but with very heavy syncopated accents usually on the and of two.
Take any cadence and put that 'jump' in it and it's 2nd line.

Ah, that makes sense.

So when I wiki'd second line, it talked about unofficial parade followers. Is the etymology related to that?

At the end of day, a second line is a modified march. Most ethnic dance music is also a modified march. Klezmer music, Greek music, etc, are all modified marches. And it kinda makes sense as they used marches for military purposes throughout history. The second line is a combination of that and the African/Caribbean rhythms that all found their way to the port in New Orleans. Here's a modified second line to fit into a rock song:



There's plenty of examples. Like Dr. John's Iko, Iko

[Lt. Bob]

I used to play the Maple Leaf with L'il Queenie & the Percolators ..... gig started at 3am .... it was 3-7 am and then people would leave talking about going to an after-hours place.


2nd line is basically a marching cadence like the snare drum corp might do but with very heavy syncopated accents usually on the and of two.
Take any cadence and put that 'jump' in it and it's 2nd line.

Ah, that makes sense.

So when I wiki'd second line, it talked about unofficial parade followers. Is the etymology related to that?

I don't really know .... I've always been aware of 2nd line because it's so pervasive here and I know I called it 2nd line back in high school.
But I've never really looked into where the name came from.

[Greg_L]

That's guy's accent and style seems pretty typical N.O. to me. They're all like that.

[Armistice]

Wow. I'm sure I posted the meaning of second line yesterday but it's not here. Easy to google, but I knew it anyway from the first season of Treme about 10 years back.

The people following the band in a parade in NO are the second line. How it got applied to drumming I'm not so sure.

[Lt. Bob]

That's guy's accent and style seems pretty typical N.O. to me. They're all like that.

Yeah ..... he basically sounds like a New Orleans native and they really all do sound like that ..... I'm told it can be hard to understand when you're not used to it .... I've heard it all my life so it sounds fairly normal to me ........ as for the drumming part, that's Vidocovich ..... a major N.O. legend and considered the best of the best.
In N.O. I'd brag about having played with him.

[JD01]

Jesus.... is he sober?

[vomitHatSteve]

Yeah ..... he basically sounds like a New Orleans native and they really all do sound like that ..... I'm told it can be hard to understand when you're not used to it .... I've heard it all my life so it sounds fairly normal to me

There's a tik-tocker (?) who does Cajun cooking that my partner likes. She says sometimes that she thinks he might be playing up his accent.

This guy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfU5tY ... E4DaxsTH-g

[Lt. Bob]

Yeah ..... he basically sounds like a New Orleans native and they really all do sound like that ..... I'm told it can be hard to understand when you're not used to it .... I've heard it all my life so it sounds fairly normal to me

There's a tik-tocker (?) who does Cajun cooking that my partner likes. She says sometimes that she thinks he might be playing up his accent.

This guy: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfU5tY ... E4DaxsTH-g

Not too much I don't think, real cajuns have a much thicker accent than that. ....... tonight I'm gonna go find a few vids with what i think of as a common normal NO accent because to be honest, to me, Vidocovich doesn't really have much of an accent at all and the cajun cook sounds fairly cajun but also not really as thick as I remember being a pretty normal accenmt.