My Eleven Drum Influences
The more shows we play, the more people ask me about my drum techniques.
And I absolutely hate it.
Don't get me wrong. I'm flattered that people, who see my drumming, find my skill to be good enough to warrant questions concerning my expertise on the instrument. I'm not faulting any of you. The problem lies with one thing that will not shock anyone who's met me: I can't explain what I'm doing.
I take that back. I can explain. But somehow I don't think telling people "I try to paint colors with my drumming" is going satisfy their innate curiosity; much less help them resist the urge to, rightfully, take a baseball bat to my solar plexus for such a retarded pathos. As such I have devised a list of eleven drummers whom have been tremendous influences on me. Why? Because it's far easier for me to scrawl some names on a bar napkin, ham-fist it in front of the inquirer's face, and blurt "HERE! YOU! LISTEN!" than to actually explain anything. Here they are, in no particular order.
Dave Grohl
It's a well known fact that if you eat Dave Grohl's heart, then you absorb his drumming power. Or at least that's my prevailing theory for his abilities: magic organs. Nirvana was my first musical obsession for a multitude of reasons (puberty being the main one). And due to my infatuation with the group, I heard all of their stuff. I mean all of it. From beginning to end. As such, I quickly found out how much difference a REALLY good drummer makes in a band. Sure, Kurt came into his own with his songwriting but the band truly came together when Dave joined. After all, his drumming is kind of hard to ignore. It's the literal definition of thunderous. If you hate the volume of my drumming, you can blame Mr. Grohl for his influence.
One of My Favorites: Heart Shaped Box
There are many adjectives used to describe a drum style (powerful, complex, shitty, et cetera...). Yet the spunky, gender-bending drummer Brian Viglione is quite possibly the only percussionist whose sound I would consider "theatrical." Like most good drummers, there's power and skill behind his stroke. But what sets him apart from the fold is his ability to build moments and create scenes with nothing more than skins and cymbals. His playing can feel quirky, playful, and exciting at times and tense, unsettling, and utterly terrifying at others. There are very few (if any) people who put as much emotion and character into drumming than him. Plus the man could headbang without losing his bowler hat. That takes skill.
One of My Favorites: Missed Me
Ask any drummer about their influences. If you don't hear the name John Bonham among the list then, odds are, you're talking to a concert pianist. Few individuals are more synonymous with drumming than good ol' Bonzo. And while I can rattle off an extensive and sycophantic bullet point analyzation of what made him a monumental figure in the world of rock drumming, I'd only be reiterating what countless fans and rock critics have been saying for decades. But therein lies the the true power of his drumming; The fact that his talent is self-evident and doesn't require lengthy scrutinization to be recognized. It's undeniable that I employ Mr. Bonham's bass drum and triplet techniques to the point of plagiarism. Yet as I sit here gnawing on day old leftovers, I am most grateful that he paved the way for husky drummers.
One of My Favorites: In My Time of Dying
It was common knowledge that proper drumming required tremendous amounts of discipline and skill. And then along came Keith Moon, who promptly dropped trow and took a gargantuan shit on such a notion. Oh, Keith Moon. The uninhibited madman of rock drumming. Famous for his "FUCK ALL" approach to the kit. But it was this disregard for convention that conceived what I consider to be one of the most iconic drum sounds of all time. You'd be hard pressed to find a drummer as visually and sonically exciting as Moonie, even in this day and age. I've personally conducted many scientific studies on the matter* and have discovered that it is physically impossible to not get pumped by the sound of Moon The Loon ripping through his set like typhoon of drum sticks.
*In this instance, the term "Scientific Studies" refers to "Smoking a bowl and spending the next two hours trying to see if 'Tommy' syncs with the original 'Star Wars.'" Rene Descartes, eat your heart out.
One of My Favorites: Heaven and Hell (Live)
Meg White has more than her fair share of critics. But these detractors tend to be metal-head douchebags who don't bat an eye when the drummers of AC/DC or KISS bumble their way through a back beat with as much prowess and creativity as the Phonics Monkey (I'm looking at you, Hitesh). Whether by her own vocation or the coaxing of Jack White, she kept things basic but not rote. Her utilization of crash cymbals for rhythm, as opposed to just accentuation, was a HUGE inspiration for me. There was unbridled power behind such a technique. Not to mention she was quite adept at keeping up with Jack's erratic improvisations. Meg is most assuredly not the most skillful drummer in the world. But she was the perfect drummer to pair with a monumental musical force like Jack.
One of My Favorites: Death Letter (Live)
I maintain a vain hope that all the drummers I emulate are fallible individuals and not some virtuosic percussion savants who's skill is beyond that of normal humans. This goes for Mark Gajadhar in particular. Just listen to one of his drum tracks and you'd swear he was a robot with nothing but "C:\MarkGajadhar\DrumSettings\OnlySetting\KickTheLivingShitOutOfThoseDrums.exe>" in his executable programming. What captivated me was his clinical yet groovy approach. His semi-syncopated drum work is something I've tried (and failed, miserably) to recreate numerous times.
One of My Favorites: Trash Flavored Trash (Warning: Music not for the faint of heart.)
I was well into my twenties before I grew out of my angsty teenage phase (yay, me). As such my beliefs, convictions, and tastes changed along with my personal growth no matter how minimal said growth was (VERY minimal). So it came to be that the anarchistic kings of experimental atonal grindcore, The Locust, ceased being an enjoyable band and became a group that I can appreciate on a purely technical level. None more than Locust drummer, Gabe Serbian. The words "that guy can fucking play" would be in understatement in describing what he does. If Keith Moon created a "wall of sound," Gabe creates an "Impenetrable fortress of sound." The only time he doesn't play a flurry of drum strikes is when the song's composition calls for it.
One of My Favorites: Recyclable Body Fluids in Human Form (Warning: This Was Music Not Intended To Be Listened By Anyone)
There are two types of pioneers: Those who's innovations launched them into unrivaled superstardom and "who?" Sadly, Carmine Appice tends to occupy the latter spot outside of the diehard drum community but through no fault of his own. His musical outfits never gained as much acclaim as, say, Led Zeppelin and The Who and, as such, he never received as much recognition as the drummers of those respective bands. But his talents didn't go entirely without notice. John Motherfucking Bonham even paid his respects upon meeting him. So why all this hubbub for Mr. Appice? Because his heavy-handed style arguably invented Hard Rock drumming. And because he is also a vocal supporter of drummers who take music theory and branch beyond their normal roles. Though, now that I think about it, persistently telling drummers to get off their collective lazy asses and do more is probably what made him unpopular in the first place. Cest la Vie.
One of My Favorites: Keep Me Hanging On (Live)
Ringo is best known for being two things: A Beatle and the butt of everyone's jokes. And while everyone loves a good Ringo ribbing; all he has to do is pull out the "raise you're hand if you were a fucking Beatle" card, and if he's not attending the same gala as Paul McCartney, then he's the only one with his hand up. And that is really all there is to say on the matter. Period. We can gripe all day about Ringo's drumming, but I'd be caught hunting with Dick Cheney before I or any of you can think of a better drummer to fit the bill than him (or, much less, come up with superior beats for the Fab Four's catalogue.) Ringo's versatility, adaptability, and creativity were his unparalleled strengths. And if you can't see percussion skill as something beyond speed and complexity then, quite frankly, you shouldn't be allowed to listen to music. You're ruining it for the rest of us.
One of My Favorites: All Too Much
I could go on for hours about how certain drummers' techniques influenced my personal style, but only one gets all the credit for making me want to be a drummer: Mitch Mitchell. The first time I sat down and listened to Hendrix's "All Along The Watchtower" was a definitive moment for my future in percussion. Sure, Dylan's melody and lyrics combined with the passion and intensity of Hendrix's performance made for one spellbinding song. But it was the drumming...oh my God, the drumming - that prompted me to purchase a pair of sticks. Everything he did complemented Hendrix so well. It was the first time I heard a drum kit act as something more than just a beat. His intuitive fusion style was just so seamlessly capricious and expressive that it seemed like everything he did had been meticulously orchestrated ahead of time. Unfortunately, though they were mutually brilliant, Hendrix's legacy outshone Mitchell's. But, what did you expect from a band called The Jimi Hendrix Experience?
One of My Favorites: All Along The Watchtower (Duh)
Is there someone in your area of expertise who just humbles you? Someone who is so unfathomably, naturally talented that you can't even fantasize about rivaling their abilities? Because that's how I feel about Buddy Rich. Whenever my head swells from a good complement-filled gig, I just pull up ANY of his video footage and am instantaneously reduced to a weeping ball of self-loathing. Granted, like most big band drummers, he wasn't a versatile beat-maker. But his soloing is unrivaled. Everything he did was fast, precise, and flashy (the man could drum roll with a single stick. A SINGLE FUCKING STICK!) Anyone who worked with him said the only downside was his domineering and dickish personality which, in turn, made him a cantankerous old codger in his later life. But that just makes me love him even more.
One of My Favorites: Random Solo. Seriously...fuck this man.
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