Alex Rudinger - KATATONIA - "CONSTERNATION" (ft. Kevin Heiderich & Declan White)
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 good-buddies 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! All-around 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 OK-ish 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 mix-stem, 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' over-the-top 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 Hi-Hats
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!):
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Apple Podcasts: http://bit.ly/RantsAndRevelations
All other socials / links:
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/ alexrudinger
/ alexrudingerofficial
/ rudirudinger
/ alexrudinger
https://www.threads.net/alexrudinger
As always, thanks for watching & stay tuned for more!