Modern Drummer August 1996

Virgil Donati Australian Master
By Robyn Flans

For Virgil Donati, one of Australia’s top drummers, playing music is a lifestyle. And it’s obvious he’s committed to his art when people like Simon Phillips and Vinnie Colaiuta sing his praises.

To put it simply, Virgil is a monster.

Inspired by his musical parents, Virgil got his first drumset at the age of three, tapping along with his dad’s band and the big band records he’d play. The influence he discovered independently though, was Deep Purple’s heavyweight drummer Ian Paice. “I was blown away with his playing, his clarity”, Virgil says. “Back in the early ‘70s he seemed to be an articulate drummer with a lot of soul in his playing. I loved his power and strength and the way he articulated his phrasing. I loved his approach.”

Donati feels that joining a rock band at the age of fifteen was the most important step he took. “It’s fine to do a lot of practicing, but I was practicing during the day and playing five or six nights a week with a band.That’s where I really got my chops together –on stage, getting out there and traveling with the band. I was lucky to start so young with a touring band. All the other guys were sixteen and seventeen, and it was a great experience. Having that balance between the practice and the live performance was what got it together for me.”

His practice was intense, though. And because Australia was very isolated in the ‘70s and ‘80s, Virgil says self-motivation was crucial. “In those days there were no videos and very limited books,” he says. “We were basically relying on ourselves and listening to records. I never got to see any of my heroes. I just had the fire and inspiration to one day come to the U.S. and see all of those guys –and perhaps play. Music was my life and I never questioned it. I got up every day knowing that was what I was meant to do. It wasn’t hard for me to sit down and do four or five hours. It was just something I did.”

“I was very systematic with my practice in those days” Donati continues. “I’d do my hand work and then move on to certain coordination exercises among the four limbs. Then I would try to tackle different styles –jazz, latin, rock -and then the best part was paying along with records and transcribing the parts from different drummers. I also took up classical piano and did that for a couple of hours a day. I’m glad I did that then because it enables me to write today.”

Donati, thirty-five, has become known –even in this country- for his incredible feet. “ There are probably three or four distinct areas to look at for the feet,” he advices. “First of all, you have to get the left foot moving, which is an effort in itself. Most of us have had a few years’ experience playing with the right foot, so now if you’re going to lay double bass drum, you’ve got to start moving the left.”

Donati says he began playing double bass eleven years ago.

“The first thing I did in the early days was to work out of Colin Bailey’s Bass Drum Control book with my left foot, just to get flexibility and strength. Then I started to put both feet together, playing simple rudiments like single strokes, double strokes, and paradiddle combinations, just to get some coordination going between the feet. You also have to make sure your dynamics are even. From there I started doing a lot of alternating exercises, playing patterns from hands to feet –question and answer type things. The fourth area, which is the most difficult, relies on developing a lot of coordination and setting up patterns between the feet, whether it’s just a single-stroke roll or a broken single-stroke roll, or whatever it may be, and then learning to play freely with the hands on top of that. I think if you cover those four areas, you’ll be well on your way to having good facility with your feet.”

As for the hands, Virgil says, “ I was at the last PAS convention and saw something I had never seen –drumlines. We don’t have them in Australia. They’re quite amazing. We have some small drum corps, but it doesn’t play a big part in our educational system. That’s a great discipline for the hands. I would recommend to anyone to look into that side of things.

“I’ve been working out with such books as Joe Morello’s Master Studies, which is excellent for the hands. It covers everything –dynamics, speed, power, endurance. Endurance is very important when you get out there with a band live. It seperates the men from the boys.”

At nineteen, Virgil came to the U.S. to study at New York’s Drummers Collective, taking lessons from Philly Joe-Jones and Horacee Arnold. He then journeyed to L.A. to attend the now defunct Dick Grove’s Workshop to develop his composition, theory and arranging skills. Back in Australia he flourished in what he describes as a healthy music scene. “I think most people would be surprised to know so much is going on in Australia. It’s so far from the rest of the world that you don’t hear about it. But the music scene is alive down there. There are a lot of gigs. I’v never been out of work in Australia. A place like Melbourne, which is maybe a quarter  of the size of L.A. has just as many live venues and gigs. At the moment we’re going through a big cover-band cycle. The original bands just have to slug it out in the four-track studios and hope to get a record deal.”

Donati has kept himself busy playing on practically anything that’s prestegious in Australia, from studio to TV recording, to even working with a production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Now he thrives on the diversity of his pop band Southern Sons, and a more drumistic instrumental group, On the Virg, Explaining that he loves doing both. “I couldn’t choose one over the other” he says. “Music is music, wether it’s jazz or rock. I just enjoy getting out and playing. I just can’t draw a distinction as far as the enjoyment I get from playing with Southern Sons and On the Virg. Both feel good to me.”
Donati’s setup remains fairly consistent for both situations, with Premier drums, Vater sticks and Remo drumheads.

His Sabian cymbal setup is what changes the most. For the fusion band he uses a larger array of sounds: “ I’ll add a couple of small Chinas –a 16” and a 14” –and I’m thinking of getting a third hi-hat. But I’m always thinking about what I can do to change my setup to make it more interesting. I am also hanging som toms from a Pearl rack to create a third dimension. They’re up with the cymbals –it’s very visual.”

Donati also recently switched to nylon tips on his sticks. “ I played wood tips for the last fifteen years. When I signed an endorsement deal with Vic Firth they wanted to know which model I wanted to base my signature stick on, so I picked up a pair of 2B nylons and I really liked the shape. Plus I had been having a problem with splitting the wood tips, which obviously affects the sound. I wanted to try it and I was very happy with the brighter sound coming from the cymbals. Plus no more split tips.”

Virgil’s quest for musical advancement is ongoing. “My practice sessions aren’t as rigid as they used to be,” he reveals. “Now I’ve got the freedom to sit down and play. There might be a few specific things that I’m working on, and I need to keep my feet in shape, so there are certain exercises I’ll do. At the moment I’m doing a lot of coordination work again. I think coordination exercises require discipline. You really have to think, and it develops certain reflexes that help you. It gives you more facility on the drumkit. When I’m practicing I like to be very analytical and tear things apart. When I’m on stage I let instinct take over.”

Virgil admits that he is his own worst critic, which may account for his perfectionist attitude. “In the studio I’m never really happy with the playbacks. I’m always looking to improve my feel, the way things sit. Being in time with the click is one thing, but we’re dealing with all these creative ambiguous metaphysical things. Experience is the most important tool along the way. Nothing can replce that.”
But for the most part Donati is content with his approach to music and life –which for him are the same. It’s a lifestyle,” he says. “Every thing I do is with a view to my drumming, to enhance my performance –such as keeping fit. I do a lot of intense stretching, yoga, runnning and swimming. It helps my endurance, and it helps me get to the levels I like to take my drumming to. You need to stay in shape, just like an athlete.”