Hi! This is my first time posting here. I’ve lurking for some time, but today I read these posts about drumming and thought I had something to say. I’ve been drumming since I was 6 (now 24). I have fulfilled my only dream in life: to be a pro drummer. Now I’m in a band that has a three LP’s contract with Virgin. Our first record sold about 20,000 copies. It’s a kinf of Top-40 band, pop-rock songs and a girl singing, but with a quality that, for me, makes it miles ahead of commercial. And this means TV apparitions, videos, etc. It’s funny.
I also work as a session drummer and have recorded albums for many artists in studio.
And, last but not least, I have my own band, a hard-rock trio (just like Therapy? at their beginning) and he have released three albums.
Now: Fyfe wasn’t an excellent drummer. His distinctive sound only consists of a very tight snare drum head and the same rythm over and over. Tecnically I can only admit that his simple stroke roll was fast, but his tempo and independence were really poor. Hey, but don’t get confused; I don’t need a band formed of ‘virtuosos’ to like it!
Graham hasn’t got a good sound in any of the albums he’s done, but tecnically is miles ahead. He is neither a super-drummer, and has also some tempo lacks, but at least we can hear him some double stroke rolls, hand&feet combinations and beat displacements. Besides I think his playing is more tasteful. He uses to play with with the snare on 4 by desplacing it backwards or forward, while Fyfe always got stuck in the same old rythm with snare on 2, 4 and the 7th and 9th sixteenh note.
Now, I can’t really understand the people that, knowing very little or nothing about drukmming, scream out that the drummer in their favourite band is the best drummer in the world. It happens usually with Lars Ulrich, which is (no doubt) the poorest drummer ever! No independence, no technique, no tempo (AAAARRRGH!), no feeling, no nothing! Ask any drummer! And if you still think he is good, watch him alive… and then I’ll tell you what Pro Tools consists of.
Of course, there are good drummers in rocks style, but the best you are going to find come from jazz-fusion kind of music. Vinnie Colaiuta, for me and for most drummers in the world, is probably the best drummer alive. He mainly a session drummer, but has gone on tour with Frank Zappa and with Sting. Dave Weckl is the most technical and musical drummer out there, but I prefer Vinnie because of an emotional feel I get when I see him play. Dannis Chambers also comes to my mind as one of the better drummers today.
Talking about rock, although no one of them gets to that high level, the best one you can find is, of course, Danny Carey in first place: unbelievable independence, rudiments and playing in odd times. Some of you have mentioned some other good ones such as Mike Portnoy, Stewart Copeland, the guy from Blink 182…
Hell, I’m writing fast because I have little time and my English is a little bit rusted, but at least I hope you get to the point. Believe me. It’s true!
I want to say hello to everyone in this fantastic message board and to Renne for the terrific page he’s done. Keep up the good work!
