The Gabriel Construct is the eclectic rock solo project of Gabriel Lucas Riccio, a vocalist, composer and multi-instrumentalist from Eden, MD. His debut album, 'Interior City', is a dark and atmospheric concept album featuring myself on drum set, Thomas Murphy (ex-Periphery) on bass, David Stivelman (ex-Debbie Does Dallas) on guitar, Soren Larson on saxophone, and frequent collaborator Sophia Uddin on violin. The album unites players from rock, metal, classical, and jazz backgrounds to create a sound which incorporates influences from a wide variety of genres, including progressive rock, 20th century classical music, extreme metal, drum-n-bass, jazz, '90s grunge and space rock, '80s pop and more. The album's densely layered vocal harmonies, distorted pianos, dissonant chords, and complex rhythms envelop the listener in a hallucinatory wall of sound.

My involvement in this full-length album came about through an old friend from my local music scene, Garrett Davis, who has long since turned to producing/engineering. He told me about this guy who "might need some crazy drums" for his solo project, and within a couple of months I was writing parts for one of my favorite projects ever. I also helped round out the personnel, acting as a bit of a scout for Gabe and suggesting Tom as session bassist and, of course, my bud Taylor Larson for mixing/mastering.

I recorded all of 'Interior City' in early January 2012 at Garrett's digs (West Main Recording) in Salisbury, MD. I used a wide variety of gear, switching out cymbals and snares -- and even my rack tom for another floor tom on occasion -- per tune. I also utilized a second ride cymbal on my right side. For the most part, however, I used my Pearl Reference Pure tom-toms and my Vision kick. Cymbals in "Retreat Underground": 21" DRK ride, 18" & 19" ICON medium crashes, 14" MDM hi-hats, 8" BRT splash, 13" BRT/DRK hi-hats, 19" LTD china (older model). Cymbals in "Subway Dwellers": same as Retreat, but MDM crashes and a 20" MDM ride on the right side. I used my 'ol' faithful', my Reference brass snare for Retreat and swapped it out for my Pearl 4"x14" maple piccolo for Subway. I used Emperor coated heads on the toms, Controlled Sound on my brass snare and a coated Ambassador on the piccolo (stock head). Side note, but this was the first session I ever filmed supplemented with my Canon 60D.

"Retreat Underground" features a bit of melodic complementation during the transitional 5-4 bars and a hypnotic tom-tom part during the middle section. I launch into an exciting latin-esque groove in 3-4 at 1:43. The parts are further intensified with some double bass and loud crashing afterwards. In "Subway Dwellers" -- one of the few tunes on the album that possesses more of a pop sensibility -- I'm playing some syncopated closed hat parts in the first verse (subtle crescendo beginning at 3:11 to provide a 'lift' into the pre-chorus), and a marching-esque part in the second, with light pedal splashing on the quarters. The two quick kicks and snare+china complement the vocal at 5:19. I sought to build the section starting at 6:02 by first playing my closed 13" hats, then a 'barking' hat pattern before launching into a fun, colorful cymbal orchestration at 6:37.

Obviously, a part of being in the music business is developing relationships that are integral to your career. However, in my experience, most of the people with whom I work end up as friends, for contributing to their music is a unique, intimate experience. I'm proud to call Gabe, a fiercely talented individual, my friend and to continue to work with him on future projects - both as a sideman and a full-on collaborator. Dear audience, please heed these words: you'd do yourself a service by purchasing this album upon release, finding some headphones and a quiet room and relishing the journey.

Full drum set transcriptions:
www.travisorbin.com
Tempo = 147 BPM
Tempo change (2:29) = 'Linear decrease' to 91 BPM until end
Tempo = 85 BPM