Drumalicious

Drummers are a sociable bunch. I love these vids of a bunch of amazing drummers just hanging out and trading licks.

PART 1

PART 2

That’s the goal for me at the moment.

The older I get, the more I realize the importance of learning, going beyond then forgetting about technique and becoming one with the music on a higher level, really feeling the rhythm you’re playing within your body. When you as the performer fully experience it from the inside out, then the more convincing your performance will sound. This would be the musical equivalent of “getting in the zone”. This applies to *all* styles of music. When you play, it must groove with the deepest pocket from the very first note you play. I think of this like it must be gushing through you like a river and you’re just unleashing it in a controlled manner.

For example check out Travis Barker in his remix of Soulja Boy’s “Crank That”. He is totally in the present moment playing for the song, and it seems like every fiber of his body is fully engaged and used in this performance.

The king of groove, Steve Gadd, is another master of this WBE drumming. There are many examples of his playing to be found, but I had to choose one to show here. I might change it or add more to it later. In this video, as the intensity builds you can see more and more of his body kicks into gear. By the time the whole groove kicks in in the last few seconds you can see his whole body is involved.

(more…)

I sooooo want one of these!

Love this snippet, found on Vinnie’s site here:
http://www.vinniecolaiuta.com/articles/drummagazine03.aspx

‘ “I was just enamored with Vinnie. Back in the Frank days, his whole approach, when I heard Vinnie play, his phrasing – it satisfied something in my heart. It was easy to get certain rhythmic gratification from straight up-and-down-type players. Playing grooves, alternate grooves here and there. But Vinnie just came in and threw a wrench into the works. The guy is an alien. He was able to touch buttons with his sense of polyrhythms that no one has ever done. Frank’s band was the perfect soundboard for that. I started transcribing his playing for The Frank Zappa Book. I mean, there’s five to six different notations for the hi-hat! [laughs]

(more…)