HANNAH FORD: HITTIN’ LIKE A GIRL
By Dave Hanchette
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Purple plastic-wrapped Vater 5B sticks that show blue and red tracers when held in the light. That’s what Hannah Ford hits with. John Bonham might have called them “trees.”
Nicknamed “Killer” at age 12 by the adult groups she played drums for, the almost 20-year-old is now just called “Hannah.” But make no mistake. “Killer” is still in there, and when Hannah Ford “hits like a girl,” the purple rain of her sticks leaves marks.
Hannah led her fusion group Pandorum in rousing versions of “A Night in Madrid,” “Road Trip,” and “Showdown” at the 2010 Chicago Drum Show on May 16th at the Kane County Fairgrounds in St. Charles, Illinois. Frank Lucas on keys and Barry Kleiber on bass helped Hannah negotiate the many unusual time signatures, such as 7/8, 14/8, and 17/16, which Pandorum plays.
More even than her heavy hitting, Hannah’s trademark may be the enthusiasm and joy she broadcasts as she plays. She rocks, smiles, sings (head moving side to side), sneers, smiles, closes her eyes, grits her teeth, laughs, bites her tongue, yells “gotcha,” smiles, scrunches up her nose – she’s having a blast out there!
The recipient of her heavy hits is her “playpen,” as she calls it:
a red Gretsch Renown Maple 6-piece kit with a virgin bass, three mounted toms, and two floor toms; plus a gong drum, a Thrash Kat (see thunderechodrums.com), and a hammered brass Gretsch snare. Not to mention a slew of Zildjians, all supported by a Gibraltar rack and hardware, including 9600 cam drive dual chain pedals.
Before playing “Road Trip,” Hannah introduced the song’s long, complicated groove to the audience, scat style. “Ba-ba da-da da-da dat dah . . . .” Then Hannah shared some of her philosophy of learning. “Reading music is important, but your ear is more important.” She feels that you learn faster by ear – and time is money in the studio. She learned the “Road Trip” groove in two plays, and she feels that a good drummer must learn grooves within about four plays. Hannah has worked hard to learn to read music well, because a working drummer must. Still, in remarks reminiscent of Buddy Rich, Hannah said, "I’d rather listen to it and feel inside what I’m gonna play.”
Hannah fell in love with drums the first day she was introduced to them in her third grade music class. She has known since then that playing drums is what she wants to do. “It’s my calling,” she told the crowd at the show, explaining that she was “born and made to play drums,” and thanking God for her direction. “Without Him, I’d be, like,
now what?”
Hannah’s drum instruction in grade school was outstanding. She grew up in Louisville, Kentucky, and Hannah’s third-grade music class was the precursor of the “Fabulous Leopard Percussionists of Louisville.” As a member of that renowned group, Hannah had the privilege of working with some of the world’s greatest drummers and teachers, including Louie Bellson and Ndugu Chancler (drummer on Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” CD), and many others. Hannah has kept in touch with those two for many years.
After moving to Chicago when she was 12, Hannah took advantage of new opportunities to study and perform with mentors such as Paul Wertico (Pat Metheny Group), Peter Erskine (Weather Report), Stanton Moore (Galactic), Danny Seraphine (Chicago), and Johnny Rabb (BioDiesel).
Hannah won the Louie Bellson Heritage Days Drum Competition when she was 16, the only woman ever to have done so. At that time she and Bellson renewed their association and became great friends, staying in close touch until his passing. “It broke her heart when he died,” her dad said.
Hannah’s dad Dave is her technician and manager. He says she’s got her priorities right: God first, family second, and then she’s a drummer with every fiber in her body.
“She’s 19 years old, and she gets to do what she loves and build a career – it’s just great!” Dave said. Dave says that despite her success Hannah is very humble, and that she’ll always keep “the human element” in whatever she’s doing. “She’s just a sweet kid,” he said.
Hannah has just finished two years of study at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. Hannah dedicated herself to learning there, going into a “zone” when studying. Her mentor Paul Wertico said that his student had become his peer.
Now she’s moving to Los Angeles because, as Hannah says, “That’s where the music is.” She wants to play a variety of music genres in L.A. and be involved in plenty of session work. While she won’t be pursuing formal studies out there, she has a network of musicians she’ll be learning from, including Peter Erskine, Virgil Donati (Planet X), and Ndugu Chancler.
"Everybody is so giving! The drum community is so giving. It's amazing to be a part of this community!" Hannah said.
Hannah’s drumming inspirations include John Bonham, Buddy Rich, Art Blakey, Louie Bellson (he’d give Hannah brush lessons on tables), and Alex Van Halen. In something of a twist, drummer Stanton Moore told Hannah that she was his inspiration!
Again, Hannah’s trademark may be her joyous, enthusiastic playing. But near the end of “Showdown,” Hannah momentarily stepped out of character. She suddenly dropped her smile and loosed a violent hail of drumbeats, riding her red drums into percussive battle, dominating harshly and utterly, quickly dispatching all until none remained. And when none remained, the warrior reclaimed her smile and became joyous Hannah once again.
And sometimes while playing, Hannah looks up to the sky and closes her eyes as her arms and legs drum on. Her youthful face is raised to the heavens.
Behold. This is Hannah Ford’s ministry, and she plays for His glory.
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