Quote:
Originally Posted by DaneMcCloud
Are you a Berklee Grad?
If not, shut the **** up.
Bassist?
Where do you live? Goodland?
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What the **** does being a Berklee grad have to do with it? No but I've played the drums for over, holy shit, 26 years now (**** I'm gettin old). I guess I can presume that you are a Berklee Grad then, yes?
As I said, which you ignored, there are very few great "rock" drummers. I mentioned Weckl earlier, but he is not a rock drummer, he plays almost strictly jazz and/or fusion.
I mentioned someone that played with Zappa, Terry Bozzio.
Bruford is strictly a jazz player these days.
You can laugh at Alex VH and Lars all you want, and I'm not privy to any inside information on what went on in the studio with them, but their contributions to "rock" drumming have been significant. When I measure a drummer's worth, I only have their music that I hear to go by. You can't argue that Lars influenced many drummers (Portnoy included) with his playing and style, particularly his use of double base. Same for Alex VH, especially his work on 1984.
I was never a big fan of either one personally, but that doesn't mean they didn't help shape and define the "rock" drumming of their time.
I don't give a shit what a guy can do on a drumset when he's just showing off his chops, with no one else playing. To me what makes a drummer good to great is how he incorporates those chops into the songs of the band, adding to the song, making the drum parts memorable while not overplaying and taking away from the song.
Thus, a guy like Neil Peart is a drumming god, while a guy like Steve Smith is not. Both guys can shred a drumset, but Tom Sawyer (or even Closer to the Heart) got me a lot more fired up to play my kit than Open Arms.
Just like in sports. JaMarcuss Russell could do things on the practice field that Joe Montana could only dream about. Who gives a shit? It's what you do in the games that count.