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$10 Ships FREE within 2 business days !
Or.. Download NOW or listen to samples HERE!
Money received from the purchase of this CD goes directly toward scholarships for kids in our community who otherwise would not have the opportunity to take music lessons.
Information about our Scholarship Program.
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TRACK LIST
1) Rock U / JLM - 2:30
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Buster Notes
Bucket Busters who performed on the CD are:
Guitars/bass on Wipe Out: Darren Johnson, Jade Sadeghian, Runar Samuel.
Cameron Bauer, Jonathan Gallardo, Lance Overduin, Nathan Gold.
Barrett Grimsley, Brian Monzel, Micah Grogg, Steve Hilstein, Wyatt Lund.
Cover concept and design: Steve & Stefanie Hilstein
Produced by Steve Hilstein September 2010
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Many Thanks To...
A very special THANK YOU to Rita's Rainbows, and John & Roberta Ozanich who generously funded duplication/production costs so that every dollar spent for the CD will go toward music scholarships!
• Rita's Rainbows website link
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Reviews:
"...as this CD shows, you can get a lot of great drumming sounds from trash cans. Throw in some water bottles and buckets and you’ve got a real dynamic percussion setup. The Bucket Busters, who perform regularly are led by Steve Hilstein, who teaches at Drum School 101 in San Luis Obispo. Here his students ditch the drum sets and take up buckets, rocking out to plastic versions of “Wipe Out” and original drum compositions." -Patrick S. Pemberton, San Luis Obispo Tribune (December 16, 2010)
"Time Trippin'' is worth the ten bucks alone!!" -Shawn Edwards (December 13, 2010)
"Buckets of Fire rocks! This CD is very unique (in a positive and great way) the tracks are progressively hotter as the CD plays toward MBHS!" -Greg Grossman, San Mateo, California (December 6, 2010)
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Producer's Notes
Every song has a story behind it and there is certainly no exception here. This studio recording, based off the Bucket Busters set list is virtually how they sound live, minus a few studio effects and a whole lot of raw energy! All the “drum” sounds you hear are actually 5 gallon plastic buckets, large metal trash cans and lids, and plastic 1-5 gallon water bottles. You’ll soon forget about that as you witness just how musical these 11-16 year old kids can be.
Rock U is our lead-in song that attempts to gets the crowd warmed up (and us too) at our live shows. We recorded a shortened version because it worked better for the CD. The Busters had a great time singing it multiple times in the studio. There were only about 9 of us so we did 3 takes to make us sound like 27, added some “big room” effects and, voila! Instant crowd. You’ll have too hear it for yourself.
JLM are initials for that hit song from childhood that still rings true, “Jesus Loves Me”. This adaption came to me very early one morning in 2005. I scribbled the notes on a piece of paper that hid in a folder until we started rehearsing in October 2008. You might say it’s my personal praise song! You can actually sing the song in rhythm while playing it on a bucket.
Olodum “Busterized” ...was introduced to us by my friends, drummers, and educators, Ed Roscetti and Maria Martinez. It’s a Brazilian piece normally played on traditional hand percussion instruments, but of course we “Busterized” it. Each Buster played a different part with every track recorded separately. Then I did my favorite part of the recording process, piecing it all together like a puzzle! Buster, Darren Johnson came in later and did the solos.
Hot Sand ...was written exclusively for Bucket Busters by Drum School 101 instructor, and fine jazz drummer, Mike Raynor. I think this is one of our most impressive pieces. The notes were written on sheet music, and the Busters had to actually read the chart. What a concept! Mike came into the studio last year to record a demo for the Busters to learn. I added a couple solos, but other than that, he did the whole thing and that’s what we used on this album.
Wipe Out ...came from an idea I had for us to play a piece based on well known drum solos. That idea turned into “Wipe Out,” possibly the most recognizable drum solo ever. Last year I asked some of the Busters who also play guitar and bass to come into the studio and record the song to use at our live shows. We added the percussion to that original recording. The bass is played by, Runar Samuel. Guitars, by Darren Johnson, and Jade Sadeghian. On the “trash-kit” (a drum set made from trash cans and lids) is Darren Johnson who also played the first solo on a trash can. Matt Stone and Cameron Casey played the water bottles solos, and all the Busters played the last solo in unison on buckets. People often ask me if we had to pay royalties to put Wipe Out on our album? Yes, we did.
Buckets Of Fire - This is one of my favorite stories that I’ve yet to share with but a few people. It was May 8, 2010 at a high point in our popularity, with a calendar full of gigs, and we had just lost five members. For the first time, I was seriously doubting our future. My assistant leader, Wyatt, recently left so I had just brought Micah on board to replace him. I was wondering to myself if Bucket Busters had run its course. In a desperate effort to breathe some new life into the group, I scrambled to come up with a new routine. That day we had an extended rehearsal at Agape Church in San Luis Obispo, who on occasion generously provides us with a rehearsal space (God bless ‘em). Anyway, when we all arrived, I introduced Micah, the new guy, and started in with the usual announcements, pep talk, and then started running the routines. I could tell that the remaining Busters had become disillusioned and restless. After an hour or so I told everyone to take a break while I fumbled with my half written notes for the new routine that I was about to teach them. I don’t remember exactly how it came about, but while I was studying my notes, the Busters filtered back into the large room and spontaneously started jamming to something in 6/8. I knew they were all frustrated so I just sat back and let them go at it for awhile. It was actually sounding pretty good, and ‘something’ was happening. I looked at Micah, he looked at me, and we both just shrugged our shoulders and let them go for it!
It was at that moment that “Bucket Busters” was no longer just mine, it became theirs! Fifteen year old, Cameron Casey (who became a leader that day) arranged the piece as each of them came up with ideas. Right there on the spot they wrote the title track of the CD, “Buckets Of Fire”, which became a turning point for Bucket Busters (and me). Everyone in the room was energized! Fortunately I had my video recorder handy so that you can actually see them perform it in completion for the very first time. It’s posted on our webpage.
We never did get to that new piece I had written, but from that day forward, it hasn’t mattered how many Busters we have, it’s always 110%.
Paradiddle Solo -dedicated to Roy Burns- This is the first piece that the Bucket Busters of 2002 did and it still remains in our show today as the ending number. The basic rhythm was introduced to me in 1985 by Roy Burns, who was a major influence in my early drumming career and later became an important mentor. He gave it to me as a “single, double, and triple paradiddle” exercise during a private drum lesson. The moment that I heard him play it, something clicked in me; I had to learn it. It continues to be one of my favorites. All of the current Busters played on the recording and it features solos by Darren Johnson and Liam Bronkar.
All of the current Busters played on the recording and features Darren Johnson and Liam Bronkar doing the solos.
Time Trippin’ - written, arranged, and performed by Liam Bronkar, this number was entirely Liam’s. He recorded every track. We actually started it a year earlier as a piece for the Busters to perform live. He came back later to finish it in the studio and it turned out to be the last thing we recorded for this CD.
Liam is an extremely talented 17 year old musician who plays many instruments. He possesses a deep intuition for musicality that is rarely seen. I believe that this young man has a brilliant career ahead of him.
MBHS - This final piece was also originally meant to be a demo for the Busters so that they could play at our live show. It’s played entirely by David Brooks and Runar Samuel on multiple tracks. It’s actually three (of many) numbers that apparently have been handed down from one year to the next by the marching band drummers at Morro Bay High School. We are honored to have it as the closing number on the CD and I hope that it honors the many drummers who played and developed it over the years.
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This album will remain one of the most important projects that I have had the privilege of doing. I hope that you will enjoy it as I have, and continue to support the influence of music in our youth as they become our inspiration and our teachers.
Please support us by purchasing this CD as we continue “transforming lives through music” with our scholarship program. Thank you!
Buckets, trash cans, and water bottles have never sounded so good!
-Steve Hilstein October 10, 2010
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The Bucket Busters Story
I can’t remember who came up with the name, “Bucket Busters”, but it derived from the obvious; aggressive drummers having a lot of fun. Being the dedicated drummer that I am, I wasn't sure if I should to take this thing too seriously. For some reason the desire to re-form this unique band of drummers never faded. I believe that God put it on my heart to continue. Thus, my new identity, “Steve the bucket drumming guy” and there it sat for six years.
Fast forward to 2008. I was determined. With as much hoopla as I could muster up, we started rehearsal on an October Saturday with only two guys. Feeling doubtful about whether or not I should put any more effort into this, I stopped at a garage sale on my way home from that very first day of practice. A lady there took one look at me and said, “Hey, aren't you that bucket drumming guy (from six years ago)?” Yes, I was and away we went. From there we grew, rehearsed, and then performed our first official gig on March 7, 2009 in front of two-hundred people waiting to hear us before a drumstick struck the first bucket! This was the beginning of surpassing my expectations.
I knew that people would like this group and it would be a whole lot of fun. That had already been proven, but for me it’s really not about that. What I didn’t expect was the lives that it would change, not only within the group, but also those affected by our effort. These funny, quirky, creative adolescents, who I have grown to love as my own kids, never cease to amaze. We have shared a lot. Some of them... us, have serious challenges and family issues, and frankly just being at the age of eleven to sixteen can sometimes be mysterious and confusing. Give them an inch and they’ll take a mile. I see that as a good thing, because the more I let go of my agenda and control (within reason), the more they have made Bucket Busters their own. They’ve risen to the occasion, deserve most of the credit, and will continue to grow in performance skills, self esteem, and service to our community. Needless to say, I am very proud of them.
Today, September 23, 2010, we will receive copies of our new album/CD, “Buckets Of Fire!”, that has been a year and a half in the making. It will be sold at our performances beginning this evening, as well as other sources to help raise money for music lesson scholarships that will benefit kids who otherwise would not have the opportunity to learn to play a musical instrument.
God bless those Busters.
-Steve Hilstein, director
San Luis Obispo Tribune Article Feature
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*The original "Bucket Busters" of 2002
(L-R) David Avilar, Zach & Spencer Schultz, Gustavo Perales, Marla Lawton, David Avilar (Jr), unidentified, Steve Hilstein, Monica (Andreson) Jensen, Dustin Spellman, Jaime (Johnson) Lewis, Lee Humerian, Dusty Johnson, Jeremy Rubin, Matt Schmitz, Mike Johnston, Kyle Batty, Bobby Tamayo.
(L-R) Gustavo Perales, Mike Johnston, Steve Hilstein, Dustin Spellman, Lee Humerian, Dusty Johnson, Jeremy Rubin, Matt Schmitz, Kyle Batty.
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Meet the (current) Busters (click here)
“Transforming Lives Through Music”
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It all started in the mid 90’s as I watched a video of Larry Wright, the first Buddy Rich Memorial Scholarship recipient as he performed ...on three 5 gallon plastic buckets. I stood there in the middle of my drum shop, surrounded by thousands of dollars worth of drums, gazing at the TV monitor as this young man made poetry on a bucket. I was moved to tears. Suddenly I realized that you didn’t need an expensive set of drums to make incredible music. By chance, I met Larry on a street in New York City a couple years later (right).
