John Bonham WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS Drums Part 1 LED ZEPPELIN

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John Bonham WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS Drums Part 1 LED ZEPPELIN

Рет қаралды 145,051

Күн бұрын

*RECOMMENDED* This is a video demonstrating the beat & rhythmic pattern from Zeppelin's WHEN THE LEVEE BREAKS from the fourth Zeppelin album. Drums recorded at Headley Grange..
"On hearing this, engineer Andy Johns realised that they had something special here. This was the place to record Bonham. Two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones were hung down the stairwell from the second floor, fed out into the mobile's Helios desk and heavily compressed with an Audio and Design F600 Compressor. Echo was then added from Jimmy Page's Binson echo unit."

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@travlynn08 7 жыл бұрын

Said it before, I'll say it again; the best teacher of Zeppelin drums.

@wehart2950 10 жыл бұрын

The song 'When The Levee Breaks' was first written and performed by an African American couple named Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie in 1929 and was about the great mississippi flood of 1927. I grew up in Mississippi and when I was a kid my Grandmother told me stories about how hard surviving the flood was. She lost her first husband and her 3 children to a yellow fever epidemic that followed. Led Zeppelin reworked this song into one of the all time great rock masterpieces but always remember where the song came from and the great catastrophe it was expressing.

@Oh_I_Will 7 жыл бұрын

moo buu we know...this is common knowledge...Zepp borrowed from many obscure pieces from the past...

@CatabductionsAnoym Жыл бұрын

I think that's why my grandmother had to move from the river basin area, to higher ground. They also had schools and boats were the only way to get goods. I can't recall if it was before the flood or what though.. The Atchafalaya gets really high water levels too from the M.S. river!

@greynotneon 10 жыл бұрын

Did you know that the drums were recorded at the bottom of a stairwell in Headley Grange? I haven't checked the comments but I don't think anyone has mentioned this yet.

@bonzoleum 7 жыл бұрын

Yes, plus a BINSON ECHOREC echo unit: "According to Led Zeppelin guitarist and producer Jimmy Page, the song's structure "was a riff that I'd been working on, but Bonzo's drum sound really makes a difference on that point."[5] The famous drum performance was recorded by engineer Andy Johns by placing John Bonham and a new Ludwig drum kit at the bottom of a stairwell at Headley Grange, and recording it using two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones at the top, giving the distinctive resonant but slightly muffled sound.[6][7] Page later explained: We were playing in one room in a house with a recording truck, and a drum kit was duly set up in the main hallway, which is a three-story hall with a staircase going up on the inside of it. And when John Bonham went out to play the kit in the hall, I went "Oh, wait a minute, we gotta do this!" Curiously enough, that's just a stereo mic that's up the stairs on the second floor of this building, and that was his natural balance.[8] Back in the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, Johns compressed the drum sound through two channels and added echo through guitarist Page's Binson echo unit.[4]

@banjopink4409 6 жыл бұрын

bonzoleum Perhaps you might consider re-recording this video now that you got you some superior filming equipment?

@robjontay5052 5 жыл бұрын

Nat echo? Bonzoleum says its machine gen....

@fourthtunz 4 жыл бұрын

@@bonzoleum You got it! I want those m160's, never had them. I think they also compress/limited the Bejesus out of the stereo pair.

@jerrybishop2115 3 жыл бұрын

Alot also that played a big part of bonhams sound was the type of drum skins he used and the density of his drum rings.. A led zep producer carefully went over bonham drums purchase from 68 to 79 and showed his drums skins and rings over the years however, bomham did not offset his drums hardly at all over the years.....❤😎

@dr.doolittle5617 4 жыл бұрын

Watching the older vids whilst in self quarantine. Uuuuuuggghhh i looooove you so much!! Best and most fun drumming vids. Dude...you should be way more famous. Be safe!! God bless and keep safe you and your family!!

@bonzoleum 11 жыл бұрын

An echo effect called a Echorec was used in fact on the drum sound. From the Zep literature: "On hearing this, engineer Andy Johns realised that they had something special here. This was the place to record Bonham. Two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones were hung down the stairwell from the second floor, fed out into the mobile's Helios desk and heavily compressed with an Audio and Design F600 Compressor. Echo was then added from Jimmy Page's Binson echo unit."

@BamBam_PDX 2 жыл бұрын

This is correct! You can hear my version of this here: kzfaq.infoq4x7ew3i4Ks?feature=share

@lucabuchignani1141 4 жыл бұрын

for everyone saying “there was no echo unit, it was the sound of the big stairwell at headset grange” yes BUT andy johns said that they used a binson unit to get an actual delay, the stairwell was more the big reverb sound. EDIT- yeah it was slowed down considerably, so what you say about the tape recorder thing is (yknow if the sources are correct) true

@tomy.1846 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you bonzoleum! I'm a guitar player, but the way you peel back the onion that is Led Zeppelin, you allow me to appreciate it all even more! Please keep these videos coming, they are the best!

@bonzoleum 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you sincerely, Tom!!

@JoeSmith-ev2bg 6 жыл бұрын

Yours is the best drum cover of When the Levee Breaks I've seen. The little explainers you sprinkle in like a well-placed drum fill are awesome.

@bonzoleum 6 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much Joe!

@MrDjkdave 5 жыл бұрын

If you want to learn Bonham this is the place. The recording method is well documented and is no doubt correct. But if you want to play it with the ghost notes you learned it here. Great instruction very minutely broken down. Excellent tutorial as always.

@bonzoleum 5 жыл бұрын

Thank you sincerely MrD!!!

@bonzoleum 12 жыл бұрын

He's definitelyone of the greatest rock drummers as far as feel and originality goes for sure. I'd of course have to officially say he is the greatest!

@darylcrooks1500 3 жыл бұрын

10 Years Gone, still loving your videos and love for Bonzo

@bonzoleum 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks Daryl!

@misfit2022 8 жыл бұрын

This is the song that got me into serious drumming. Prior to this I was covering Paul Cook and Clem Burke and DH Peligro and playing in punk bands and at the time that is all I wanted to do and then someone's father gave me a Led Zep album and this was the one song which stood out. It was all about that drum beat. I remember then after practicing my speed for punk rock I would attempt this and spent ages trying to get my feet in the right place as it was not natural for a punk drummer but then Bonham soon became my favourite drummer and I agree it was not about technique but feel and he seems to create so much space in songs. I wish these tutorials were around when I was first playing as I would say they are essential for any aspiring drummer and much better for you than continually playing and rewinding tape to try and work out exactly what he was playing and then move onto the next few bars. A great resource and mine of information. Brilliantly done.

@forestcohen9088 8 жыл бұрын

Thank you, so much! I have been trying to get this beat forever and for whatever reason your lesson finally broke through. I really dig your lessons, and I watch a lot of them. Thanks again!

@apolloptx 9 жыл бұрын

This is awesome. This is from 3 years ago, feels like so long. But I knew that if I looked up on KZfaq: "When the Levee Breaks Drum Lesson", my trusty, reliable, genius teacher would have a video on it. How could he not??

@jamesbell9011 2 жыл бұрын

I remember when the first time I heard this ZEPPELIN rocker!!! I said to myself...this is this is this the drummer I want to be taught by...none other than JOHN BONHAM"BONZO"

@AlexSlavenDrums 5 жыл бұрын

The beat has more to it than what the song might suggest, i really like this beat and you really nailed the sound in this video.

@Chiro75 13 жыл бұрын

They recorded this album at Headley Grange. There is stairwell where they placed the drumkit and so there is a whole bunch of reverb from the sound bouncing all over the place. Jimmy Page talks about it in the movie "It Might Get Loud" I think.

@sqlpilot 3 жыл бұрын

This guy is fantastic! The best instructor I have ever seen.

@PandaPen1 12 жыл бұрын

Its nice to see that there is another die-hard Bonham fan as dedicated to the timimg and style.

@WrightsVintage 7 жыл бұрын

Headley grange is 10 minutes from where i live!

@andrewb4322 9 жыл бұрын

Love watching this, Im a guitar player but you make me want play the drums more that my usual 5 minute stuff around. Thanks Buzz

@rmgeary1 5 жыл бұрын

Love your vids! Westchester here, Rick the old guy who trying to learn some drum licks on an electronic set. Never drummed in my life until just this February.

@bonzoleum 5 жыл бұрын

That's terrific Rick-KEEP DOIN IT!!!

@WarriorOfFunk 11 жыл бұрын

I've only been playing drums for 6 months now and i thought my first song to learn would be this (jump in at the deep end why don't i?) I read the sheet music for weeks on end trying to figure it out, but within 3 days of watching your video i had it down to pat. Thanks for the videos Bonzoleum your doing an incredible job. Now onto Fool In The Rain.

@iloveskateboarding45 11 жыл бұрын

this a key learning point. its essentially an off-beat, where your foot is playing completely on its own or on an 1/8th note off of a 4/4 feel. if you just keep working on keeping the beat your foot is playing separated from what your two hands are playing, you'll see where you feel comfortable putting emphasis.

@jdsowa 11 жыл бұрын

What you people are having trouble understanding is that _repeating echo_ (or what guitar plays might know as 'delay') is something that is not going to happen in Headley Grange or any other house. You need the grand canyon for that to occur in nature. But the Headley Grange staircase (coupled with compression, which brings up the room ambience) will give you _reverb_. And then you use a tape echo/delay unit like the Binson to get the 1/16th note echo/delay effect going.

@thepaulmacfarlane 9 жыл бұрын

1971 he was playing the green sparkle kit and the same HG entry hall sound (I've been there) is on In My Time Of Dying Misty Mountain Hop and others

@chizelbonzo 13 жыл бұрын

Hi Terry, thanks for this post. I found the triplet breakdown extremely helpful for this classic song. You make it look effortless, very very cool. cheers.

@Googelbeast 12 жыл бұрын

cool! finally a guy who does it well, it's basically echo and reverb, not double notes ! nice kit bonzoleum!

@Bonzosbadgeholder 13 жыл бұрын

If you listen closely you will also hear that the hi hat pattern includes strong accents on the 2+, 3 and 3+. It really makes the groove when you play it this way.

@matthewslimm4735 10 жыл бұрын

bonzoleum, DMAN-IT u r good, I bet my middle brother VicTor would explain it all just like you! your a born teacher! I-) ;-) A+

@Watchoutforsnakez 6 жыл бұрын

Went to Zep cover band the other night. Thought you’d be proud. Led Zepagain. Derrick. Good lad. Gets it.

@bonzoleum 6 жыл бұрын

Yes-Derrick/Derek is terrific!!!!

@SOB044 12 жыл бұрын

deff one of my favorite bonham tracks...thanks

@DANTHETUBEMAN 6 жыл бұрын

vary kewl vid,, i never think about multi hits like this or on the bass drum,, but its there and it works. So recorded in a hall way with 3 mikes going up the stares then slowed a little to fatten them up even more, it all worked the drums are massive on that song.

@MrShiftaltnumlock 11 жыл бұрын

Very informative. I know almost nothing about drums, but have always loved the way Bonham had a sound of his own. It is really cool to know that he was using echo on "When the levee breaks". He must have used that feature on a lot of their songs.

@matthewjayslimm4709 10 жыл бұрын

DAMN! bonzoleum I would like to give you some sincere credit you are deffinantely a mediater & teacher. I am proud and impressed with the gift's that the man upstairs has given you.... I bet your wife is proud and love you so very much for whom you are ;-) my elementary gym school teacher Mr. Ward and my case manager Tom are all a lot like you. GOOD TraighT's to be had! Do not change okay

@bonzoleum 9 жыл бұрын

MatthewJay Slimm Thanks for the really nice words, Matthew!

@bonzoleum 11 жыл бұрын

That's terrific!

@chizelbonzo 13 жыл бұрын

Thanks very much for the cymbal info. cheers.

@richardwagner5903 5 жыл бұрын

I am just looking at your older videos now I have been subscribed for sometime. Is this when you had a John Mellencamp look? LOL. Love the videos watch all the time.

@Viator19 11 жыл бұрын

Terry's right it was recorded in the stairwell at Headley Grange. KZfaq won't let me paste the link but if you search under the channel name of Juan Manuel Salamanca , there is a upload of Headley Grange with Jimmy Page explaining all about it.

@thescottwino 13 жыл бұрын

Bonham placed is new Ludwig drumkit at the bottom of a stairwell at Headley Grange, and recording it using two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones at the top, giving the distinctive resonant but slightly muffled sound. Thats why the huge drums sound.

@Sreybk 11 жыл бұрын

First drum lick I ever learned.

@billlawlor452 11 жыл бұрын

You're a great teacher with a great style and a ton of knowledge and skill.

@BNSF1985 12 жыл бұрын

I agree with you. Bonham is one of my influences.

@C_G_1962 13 жыл бұрын

Another great video, thanks !

@TheRetinasChannel 11 жыл бұрын

They recorded it at the bottom of a monster spiralling stair case and hung two mics over the hand rail. One was like 25-30 feet above his head and the lowered the other one so it was around 10 or 15 from his head. @Bonzoleum, yo man i love watching your videos im a bonham freak and really appreciate what you do. I just watched a video of no quarter someone put up and they claimed that Jimmy did infact slow it down by a semitone. Good ears

@jkkdf44 11 жыл бұрын

From what I'm told there was a hallway but they set the drums at the end of it in the entrance to the stairway so that the vibrations traveled through the hallway and upward through the stairway aswell

@bonzoleum 13 жыл бұрын

@chizelbonzo In this video all cymbals are Paiste: the hi hats are 15" Alpha Band as top with 505 Medium Bottom, 18" Sound Formula (from a med heavy marching pair) and 22" 404 RIDE.

@gobstompper13 8 жыл бұрын

Bonham used heel toe to get that reverberation off the bass head. I bury and heel toe depending on what i hear for the song. We all have our methods. Great job.

@schipbreukeling3 4 жыл бұрын

the Helios F600 compressor brought me here

@1johnlangford2 10 жыл бұрын

Greatest drum teacher in the world Fantastic!

@joeyturrubiate7148 Жыл бұрын

Hi bro ham ..thax"s 4 years of the Bonham teacheing OVER THE PASS 4 YEARS I HAVE BEEN WATCHING YOUR BONZOLEE UM . ( PERSONAL NOTE TO U MY FRIEND ,,, 🎉🎉🎉 YES YES JOHN HENRY BONZO. BONHAN INDEED WAS ONE OF AH KIND , BUT THE OTHER HALF. OF THE MOJO WAS JIMMY PAGE / ROBERT PLANT / JONSY / LET US NOT FORGET THAT FACT THEY. ALL. NEEDED EACH ORTHER . 🎉🎉🎉❤ R.I.P. MR J .H. B.

@bonzoleum Жыл бұрын

Ah yes, Joey-thank you!

@ajmm1 10 жыл бұрын

Great dum book back there Joe Cusatis Rhythmic Patterns! Studied with Joe! Great Book!

@bonzoleum 10 жыл бұрын

It is! One of the best!

@felipe.mfondevila3209 8 жыл бұрын

what a great teacher u are man! keep it up

@Pers0n495 12 жыл бұрын

I like what you have to say here. I mean like i get you... like i agree with everything you say. And thanks for the tutorial

@bonzoleum 12 жыл бұрын

Thank you!

@LibertarianGuitarist 10 жыл бұрын

I heard Bonham played in a stairwell for this tune, to get the echo.

@tambourini 10 жыл бұрын

Ya, it's described in the DVD "It Might Get Loud". Highly recommend that vid!

@ThatBastardFrank 10 жыл бұрын

It was actually played in the entrance hall of Headley Grange. The sound was so immense it was loud enough to reach the stairwell, which is where they set up mics to record it.

@glicko3768 9 жыл бұрын

They added slapback in the studio but most of it is from the hallway

@bonzoleum 7 жыл бұрын

Yes, and outboard echo: " According to Led Zeppelin guitarist and producer Jimmy Page, the song's structure "was a riff that I'd been working on, but Bonzo's drum sound really makes a difference on that point."[5] The famous drum performance was recorded by engineer Andy Johns by placing John Bonham and a new Ludwig drum kit at the bottom of a stairwell at Headley Grange, and recording it using two Beyerdynamic M160 microphones at the top, giving the distinctive resonant but slightly muffled sound.[6][7] Page later explained: We were playing in one room in a house with a recording truck, and a drum kit was duly set up in the main hallway, which is a three-story hall with a staircase going up on the inside of it. And when John Bonham went out to play the kit in the hall, I went "Oh, wait a minute, we gotta do this!" Curiously enough, that's just a stereo mic that's up the stairs on the second floor of this building, and that was his natural balance.[8] Back in the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, Johns compressed the drum sound through two channels and added echo through guitarist Page's Binson echo unit.[4]

@kjgoya777 11 жыл бұрын

In the stairwell at BronYAur i read back in the 70's, with hung microphones to receive the full resonance...

@johnknott6539 6 жыл бұрын

I’ve been to BronYAur. It’s a small single level stone cottage in Wales. Headley Grange definitely the correct location. Just google it. But easy to get confused. Jimmy and Robert wrote loads of stuff at BronYAur- a cottage that Robert discovered as a child when his family vacationed there.

@coltsuperocean10 13 жыл бұрын

@Jerrysway ...it was recorded at Headley Grange using the Rolling Stones Mobile recording truck. Bonzo was recorded in the hallway of this large house and that is why he got that massive huge sound!! It was never owned by Jimmy Page.

@brianholland1243 7 жыл бұрын

That echo you speak of always reminds me of the sound effect created for Godzilla and the like.

@TheRover1977 11 жыл бұрын

Yeah Bonzo set up his drums in the entrance of Headley Grange, which is where they did much of their recording. Just type in "It Might Get Loud Headley Grange" and its the first video to come up.

@MrHardrock3003 11 жыл бұрын

So instructive man.. Now I see the drumming of this song differently, thanks a lot for all the awesome videos you've posted !!

@uuunderground 11 жыл бұрын

Great stuff, dude. Thank you.

@tambourini 10 жыл бұрын

"Coolest thing in the world." Yeah! Thanks for sharing!

@timsadinski6142 5 жыл бұрын

Not only can't I play the drums I can't understand his jargon but I love watching him play the fucker fucker in a good way is whey good just a little bit more curds

@MV-ot8kr Жыл бұрын

Kashmir was probably the song you were trying to think of where John would deliberately hit the echo -like double on the bass drum .

@Jerrysway 13 жыл бұрын

I just watched a video with John Paul Jones and he said that drum track was recorded at the bottom of the stairwell in Jimmy Pages castle with only 2 mics. No joke, the video is here on youtube, search it.

@saintlotus93 12 жыл бұрын

@Gege42 Close, it was actually a stairwell in the house where they recorded. ( Taken from "It might Get Loud" documentary)

@theviraldrummer 12 жыл бұрын

Just in case you were wondering, the recording was in fact slowed down one semi tone to achieve exactly what you pointed out lol

@bonzoleum 11 жыл бұрын

Thanks for that info. I think Page slowed down a lot of the Zep stuff (hard to notice as I think they laid everything over the slowed down drums).

@tjfreak 12 жыл бұрын

There are accentuations on the hi hat, mainly between the snare strikes,almost as if the hi hat strikes accelerate slightly

@huffjdog9070 7 жыл бұрын

Did anyone else laugh when he said that Robert Plant was a monster on harmonica

@WRandallHead 11 жыл бұрын

The drums were recorded at Headley Grange in England Drum kit was set up at the bottom of a stone stairwell and mics were hung high up above to capture the natural acoustic echo, to get that huge sound on snare and kick hits.

@bonzoleum 11 жыл бұрын

Page I think did it (slowed) to a few songs-No Quarter for instance. I think The Song Remains The Same (the song) was sped up a bit (at least the vocal was).

@brianperry9692 7 жыл бұрын

There was mics and huge systems around. Bonham under a stairwell in jimmy pages castle

@bonzoleum 11 жыл бұрын

Thank you, Bill!

@SONORSQ2guy 13 жыл бұрын

Great Video Sir!

@shoecrazy66 11 жыл бұрын

Nice! Love your lessons, good work!

@getachefupya 13 жыл бұрын

@Chiro75 he sure did, and JPP did mention it in It Might Get Loud,. He also spoke of a dramatic increase of ppl renting elevator shafts for the same depth of sound.

@bonzoleum 12 жыл бұрын

@jhelmsuploads They're not miked. I recommend trying clear Remo Emperors top and Ambassadors bottom. (Or Pinstripes top), make sure clear Ambass bottom.

@fascers 13 жыл бұрын

awesome job! thanks for the lesson!

@smegweevil 12 жыл бұрын

Really well done! I am a complete amateur at drums and I can't get my brain around the beat and coordination but your presentation is very interesting. As a side comment, how about getting a little deeper sound from your snare? It sounds a little tinny. That tiny quibble aside, thanks a lot for putting this up. I have listened to and tried to play When The Levee Breaks many times- unsuccessfully!

@coltsuperocean10 13 жыл бұрын

@bonzoleum .... I know,and what a great sound it gave to When the levee breaks!! Genius!! ...and it gave the sound to many hip hop drum samples years after!! John Bonham was a drumming god!! I have seen that staircase and there is a lot of space to fill.

@bonzoleum 13 жыл бұрын

@coltsuperocean10 Genesis used to rehearse there (HG) as well believe it or not! The drums for that tune were actually recorded in a room with the staircase, supposedly with only 2 ribbon mics.

@ultimodragon 12 жыл бұрын

BANANANA!! Makes me laugh every time

@angrypatriot5392 5 жыл бұрын

Is it a delay effect or is it an echo? 🤔 I thought it was contributed to where they were recording in the house and where the mics were set up it was an echo. Just wondering. Great video Terry 👍

@roblianoofficial 5 жыл бұрын

A delay is basically an echo, meaning a sound that repeats itself. They used a Binton delay unit on this recording to achieve that bounce, not the mic placement. The drums were in the lobby and they had mics in the stairwell but that has nothing to do with the echo.

@paulyoung4781 2 жыл бұрын

Legend

@bonzoleum 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Paul!!

@CVGuitar 6 жыл бұрын

4:32 I think so too -- the guitar is in open F tuning which nobody ever does -- it's probably open G (much more common tuning on guitar) and then slowed down the equivalent of two half steps (or two semitones as they say across the pond)

@bonzoleum 13 жыл бұрын

@chizelbonzo Thank you for the nice comment!

@MarkBreton 11 жыл бұрын

Awesome breakdown of the drum track. Really informative. Do you do tracks for people that are doing recording projects?

@MrMike3865 10 жыл бұрын

Good video!

@kustomhooligans 8 жыл бұрын

I dont think they used any unnatural echoes or delays like the Binson Echorec on the drums for WTLB. They recorded the drums in the front foyer of Hedley grange, which is all stone & wood i believe. Then they mic'd the drums high, up, overhead in an XY pattern to pick up the drums and all resonating acoustic reverberations. It sounds amazing! Jimmy page talked about in a documentary I saw and I also have an Echorec and the drum's reverb doesnt sound like any of the sounds on the Echorec that Im familiar with.

@bonzoleum 8 жыл бұрын

Hi KH! Check out: www.musicradar.com/news/drums/andy-johns-on-the-secrets-behind-the-led-zeppelin-iv-sessions-586533

@williamh123456789 3 жыл бұрын

Great channel

@GaryBook 3 жыл бұрын

The recording was slowed down to move it from G to the key of F so Robert Plant cross harped in B flat. I think Jimmy Page played in Open G, but slowing the tape down put it in the Key of F.

@uncleart112 11 жыл бұрын

Great video. Good drummer. Oh and John Bonham's good too.

@brianperry9692 7 жыл бұрын

To give it the boom boom ba ba effect

@j.t.8093 8 жыл бұрын

Good stuff

@bonzoleum 11 жыл бұрын

It's true, but they added some echo (via a "Binson Echorec" device) to the natural reverberation.

@MrLiverpool123 11 жыл бұрын

Cherrs, man learned very quickly and i am no playing along with the song

@bonzoleum 11 жыл бұрын

The ride is a harder to find Paiste 404 22", and the crash is a Paiste SOUND FORMULA frankenstein logo-bearing orchestral cymbal.

@davidsouthall965 2 жыл бұрын

I don't believe it was slowed down to fatten it up, because then you'd have to auto-tune it which they didn't have back then. i think it was a "wall of sound" created with echo that fattened it up. they recorded it in a three-story brick building. Just my theory guys