Samuel Palán is a new member of our TRX family. In the interveiw below he talks about what he finds attractive about TRX cymbals, who he is playing with these days and what his drumming dreams are.
1. What is the story of you getting to play drums?
My parents introduced me to music when I was a small child. I’ve been playing piano since I was six. I started playing drums thanks to a friend of mine when I was thirteen and I started taking classes at the local music school.
2. How long did it take you to drum your way into READY KIRKEN? Whatother bands had you been a member of before that?
I got to Ready Kirken through my art school teacher who used to play drums with them, but later started playing with Marp and couldn’t find enough time for both bands. Before that I had played with Miro Šmajda and during my school years with Richard Scheuffler.
3. What other bands are you playing in these days?
Currently I’m investing most of my time in the band called Grapefruit Astronauts, which I co-founded together with guitarist Zdeněk Kaplan and bassman Jirka Kubík. I’m also doing gigs with Abraxas now and then and I’m on tour with Madam Royal.
4. How did you find TRX cymbals?
By accident. I saw Jarda Sivák play on them at one gig. That was the first time I heard TRX cymbals live. We spoke after the gig and stayed in touch. Then Jarda offered me to become a TRX artist.
5. What do you appreciate about TRX cymbals?
TRX are traditional Turkish cymbals, but they also bring in something new. I appreciate the wide range of products they offer.
6. What made you choose the TRX BRT series?
I played through the whole of summer 2019 using the TRX BRT cymbals which fitted the genre Ready Kirken play perfectly. Now I need something to play a bit of fusion, so I’m gonna get a set consisting mainly of the DRK cymbals.
7. How do you select your cymbals for live performance and how about those for use in studio?
I don’t make any difference between the two. In a studio you can always record it and play back in context of the song. So I usually record a few versions and then choose the one which suits the character of the particular song best.
8. Which songs on READY KIRKEN’s playlist do you enjoy most from your drum stool?
I enjoy Cofila most. That song gives me enough space for a proper piece of action. There’s even some room for a drum solo and it’s also a really energetic song, so I like it a lot.
9. Guitar players often boast about their sets of effect boxes; which part of your gear do you feel particularly proud of when talking to other players?
I love my TRX LTD crash ride. I play it on the edge a lot and it has a wonderful wash.
10. Which drummers have inspired the way you play?
My personal model drummer who motivated me the most was Thomas Lang. But it’s changed since then and right now I feel inspired by drummers like Thomas Pridgen, Aaron Spears and Geral Heyward.
11. Is there a piece of drum kit you dream of getting one day?
I’m currently playing on DW Performance and so I’d really like to get DW Collectors and also a collection of snares.
12. Rim-shot or ??????
Rimshot!
