Ed Toth & Michael Hossack, Doobie Brothers drummers, D&BC members
Catherine
http://www.promark-stix.com/news/news.cfm?news_id=e5a633d8-058c-4cd8-b540-01b5b45306d
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Focus Artist: Michael Hossack & Ed Toth – Drummers for Doobie Brothers
01.16.06 5:00 PM
Ed Toth and Mike Hossack make up the two-person team of drummers for the
long-standing band, the Doobie Brothers. The two, who were friends before Ed joined
the Doobie Brothers, have been drumming together now for the past year.
Ed, [formerly] of the band Vertical Horizon, grew up knowing that he would be a
musician. With his involvement in his high school’s drum line, Drum & Bugle Corps,
and a Bachelor of Music degree, Ed was exposed to varied playing environments,
musical styles, as well as musicians, which he all credits as helping him with the
unique playing situation he faces with the Doobie Brothers.
Mike also credits drum corps for teaching him the disciplines of playing with other
drummers. After a stint in the Navy and with the band, Mourning Reign, Mike became
the ‘original second’ drummer for the Doobie Brothers. An impromptu
jam-session-that-turned-job-offer landed Mike a drumming spot with the band and he
has now been with them for 25 of the last 35 years.
**Q: What is your current project?
Ed: Touring with the Doobie Brothers and concocting a jazz quartet record with my
dad. My dad's a guitar player and we have played together on many occasions but I am
really looking forward to making a record with him.
Mike: By current project I assume you mean musical project, in which case it is my
only project, the “Doobie Brothers.” We work regularly, about 90 shows a year, and
occasionally work on new music for any future recording opportunities that may come
our way.
**Q: How did you get involved with your current project?
Ed: I got a call from my friend Mike Hossack after the unfortunate passing of Keith
Knudsen. Mike said they would be auditioning and asked if I was interested. I was,
and was fortunate enough to get the call.
Mike: I was lucky enough to be hired by the “Doobs” after an audition in 1971 and
have been with them for 25 of the last 35 years.
**Q: If you teach, how many students do you have?
Ed: I do like to teach although I haven't in a while. I just relocated to Nashville
and was thinking of taking on some students during my down time. I'll have to see.
Mike: I do not have any students at this time.
**Q: How much traveling do you do in a year?
Ed: About 100 dates a year with the Doobies. I am a bit of a performance fiend. If
someone calls and I am available, I will go play.
Mike: We do a lot of traveling during the course of the year, mostly in the U.S. In
February 2004, we did 6 gigs in Europe. In December of this year we will spend a
month touring Australia and New Zealand. Asia should be coming up soon.
**Q: How long have you been playing?
Ed: I have been playing thirty years now. Since I was 6 years old although I do
believe I was born this way!
Mike: I started playing at age 12 when I joined a Drum & Bugle Corps in my hometown
back in New Jersey and continued a music curriculum in high school with both marching
and concert bands as well as my continued involvement with drum corps.
**Q: When did you decide to make music your profession?
Ed: At a very young age. I was lucky enough to be encouraged by my folks and by early
teachers. I was also fortunate enough to be in an educational system with music and
art in it. The public education system in our country is such a mess right now.
Mike: I decided when I was 16 years old that I would make a career of music. I don’t
know how realistic that was, but I did. I even made some mention of my intentions in
my graduation yearbook. I suppose I was moved to make such a bold choice for a couple
of reasons. I think I became addicted to the roar of the crowd and the performance
aspect of Drum Corps. In addition to that, I was inspired by artists I heard on the
radio and innocently thought, “That would be such a cool way to make a living!” Of
course I didn’t jump right into music as a full time career and had to do a lot of
other things to feed myself and pay the bills. So I found out the hard way that
becoming a professional musician wasn’t that easy.
**Q: Who/what are some of your major influences?
Ed: Early on it was guys that played on records my dad played a lot. So, David
Garabaldi, the Doobie drummers John Hartman and Mike, Harold Brown from War was an
influence too. Later on I discovered Stewart Copeland and Neil Peart. Today in
addition to those guys I enjoy Carter Beauford, Bill Stewart, and Matt Cameron a lot.
Mike: From the time I was about 8 or 9 years old, through my teen years and even into
my early twenties, I was influenced by all the music and the artists of the times. I
listened to all types of music. From Rock n’ Roll to R & B to Country to Jazz and
even some of the great Broadway Shows like “West Side Story” and “My Fair Lady”.
Quite an eclectic assortment for a kid from the inner city, but that was what I
listened to and I enjoyed it.
The drummers from that time of my life that still stand out in my mind are people
like Bernard Purdy, Grady Tate, Elvin Jones, Louie Bellson, Buddy Rich, Ginger Baker
and Mitch Mitchell.
Today I still listen to a diverse assortment of contemporary artists, including some
“Rap” and “Hip-Hop” and I am inspired and in awe of so many drummers that I couldn’t
name all of them for you, right here, right now. The obvious ones that come to mind
are Steve Gadd, Rick Marotta, Omar Hakim, Phil Collins, Russ Kunkel, Joe Vitale,
Richie Hayward and John Robinson as well as my “Doobie drum mates,” the late Mr.
Keith Knudsen and now my newest drum mate, the fabulous and very talented Ed Toth. Ed
was my friend before joining the “Doobs” so to say the least I’m very pleased.
**Q: Do you have any specific rehearsal and/or practice techniques?
Ed: Not as much as I should! I do marching band exercises for warm ups before shows.
And I listen an awful lot.
Mike: I just play when the mood strikes me. Sometimes it takes the form of
practice/rehearsal and sometimes I just crank up the stereo and play along with some
of my favorite stuff and before I know it 2 or 3 hours have passed, sometimes more
than that.
**Q: Studio, miking, or tuning techniques?
Ed: Tune to your ear. Every drum has a sweet spot. You’ll know it when you hear it
and as important, when you feel it. I leave the miking to the engineers, although I
have made a lot of mental notes over the years. My advice for drummers going into the
studio for the first time is to just stay relaxed. It's not rocket science you know!
Mike: I usually leave miking up to the engineer that I’m working with at the time and
try to work with him to achieve a sound that I like. Tuning is something that I’ve
instructed my techs how to do and usually leave that up to them. Depending on the
gauge of the head that we’re using, they will either tune both heads to the same note
or the bottom head an octave lower than the batter head. The note and tuning process
are helped along greatly by the wonderful team at DW (Drum Workshop) who check and
assign a note to each of my toms and write it in nice big bold letters, so an old guy
like me can see it, inside the shell of each drum.
**Q: What equipment you use?
Ed: DW drums and hardware, Zildjian cymbals, Pro-Mark drum sticks, Evans heads and
Gibraltar accessories.
Mike:
DW Drums: As mentioned earlier, I use DW (Drum Workshop) drums: 18” x 20” kick, 5 ½”x
10”, 6”x 12”, 10” x 14” and 12” x 16” Short Stack Toms, 14” x 7” Snare and all my
drums are finished in white lacquer. I have recently toyed with the idea of a new
finish or some graphics, but the jury is still out on that one.
Sabian Cymbals: I have used Sabian cymbals for the past 20 years and they have always
been quick to meet my needs. Here is what I use at this time. 10” splash, 14” HH w/
matching remote, 16” Thin CR, 17” Heavy CR, 18” Med. CR, 18” Heavy CR, 21” Heavy
Ride, 18” china.
Pro-Mark Sticks: The fabulous folks at Promark have kindly started making me a
personalized version of their “Jazz” stick. Other than Drum Corps where I used 3-S
sticks, I typically have never used very heavy sticks. I usually play with the big
end of the stick and the extra inch provides just a little more leverage and power.
For more delicate work, as in some recording sessions and certain live tunes, I use
the beaded end.
**Q: What’s in your CD/MP3 player right now?
Ed: You mean i-Pod right? CD player is sooooo twentieth century. I like to keep it on
shuffle. It's like having my own radio station. WEDT! But recent favorites are The
Mars Volta, The White Stripes, John Scofield's Ray Charles album, the new Garage a
Trois (Stanton Moore is another favorite), and Rufus Wainwright.
Mike: In my CD player right now I have Steely Dan “Two Against Nature”, Steve Winwood
“Higher Love,” Eric Clapton “The Best of-Clapton Chronicles,” Los Lobos “This Time,”
Anastacia “Freak of Nature,” Tony Braxton “Ultimate Toni Braxton,” and Annie Lennox
“Medusa.” In my I-Pod I have over 2300 songs and artists from A to Z and just as
varied.
**Q: Do you have any family (Husband, wife, kids, pets)?
Ed: Wife and daughter and a cat named Sherman.
Mike: I have a son, Mike, age 30 and a daughter, Erica, age 23. My daughter, her
husband, Chris, and their two sons, Ethan age 3 and Justin age 1, live with me in
Wyoming as well as my Chocolate Lab, Jake, age 8.
**Q: How do you spend your free time? Hobbies?
Ed: Napping! Seriously, music fills up most of my time. I do go to a lot of baseball
games. I have been enjoying the Little League World Series on TV quite a bit.
Mike: I spend my free time enjoying the outdoors with my family and friends. I live
in a very small town surrounded by 2.5 million acres of BLM land and National Forest.
The spectacle of nature has always appealed to me.
**Q: Any life lessons or important philosophies you have learned along the way?
Ed: “Whatever happens, make it work.” – Herbie Hancock (via Miles, I think)
Mike: Try to enjoy every day that God has given you. Don’t waste the gift of family
and friends. Keep putting one foot in front of the other and enjoy the journey for
what it is.
**Q: What’s your best and most memorable experience?
Ed: Playing in Cologne, Germany with Vertical Horizon. Best gig ever. A place we had
never been, people that had never seen us, and didn't speak English, on a hot night.
They sang along to every song so loudly it was overwhelming. I was actually moved to
tears several times. I will never forget it. Just one of those moments where band and
audience connect 100%.
Mike: My most memorable experiences have been the births of my children and
grandchildren. In the world of music, I suppose it would be my return to work with
the “Doobs” after my near fatal motorcycle accident in June of 2001.
**Q: Any embarrassing moments you’d care to share with us?
Ed: In Connecticut I was goofing around with various acknowledgments to the crowd on
my way off of the drum riser, and I fell right on my face. I had a bunch of family in
the house that night. It was a very grounding experience. (No pun intended).
Mike: As far as embarrassing moments go, there are just too many to list and the list
keeps growing. You just need a good sense of humor and you can enjoy those moments
too.
**Q: What drives you crazy?
Ed: The sound of finger nails being clipped is a sound I can't stand. So is Hilary
Duff. Reality TV is annoying as is the current administration. That's enough to drive
you crazy right there!
Mike: Educated people who “think” they know it all but have no common sense and
liars. Those kinds of people make me think “bad thoughts!”
**Q: Any advice for aspiring musicians and students?
Ed: Stick with it. Nothing happens overnight but the rewards are limitless! If you
are truly driven to follow music as a career then go for it!
Mike: To the student I would simply say “Enjoy yourself; music can be a lot of fun.”
To the aspiring professional musician I’d say, be a realist. Know what you’re getting
into. It’s like they say, “If it was easy, everybody’d be doin’ it!” First you must
love doing what you do. Then you must have real commitment, talent and belief in
yourself. Then you must understand that a “career” in music is like riding a
motorcycle and they say there are only two kinds of motorcycle riders……”them that’s
been down and them that’s goin’ down!” Some go down harder than others. It’s just a
matter of getting back on again or not. If you can live with the reality of those
kinds of odds, then maybe you can think about a career in music. Again, “If it was
easy, everybody’d be doin’ it!”
**Q: Anything else that you want the world to know about you?
Ed: Not now. The world and I can take our time getting to know each other.
Relationships work out better that way. Don't they?
Mike: I like to think of myself as someone that my friends and family can count on to
do the right thing in any situation. At the end of the day, like anyone else, I would
like to be appreciated and respected for the good things that I have done and
forgiven for my mistakes. But most of all, I guess I’d like to be remembered as a
good father to my family and a good friend to those who were “truly” my friends.
Nev
flu...@msn.com
George
Phantom is from Illinois. no?
Nev
Shawn Hines
On 1/18/06 03:56, in article p9ednRZPCrA...@whidbeytel.com, "Nev"
<n...@whidbey.com> wrote:
> What corps???
>
>
Ed was in the Bridgemen, I believe.