MetaFilter posts tagged with drummers

The Zappa Drummers

KevinSkomsvold — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 00:03:35 -0800

Frank Zappa was renown for his quality band members and even more for his legendary audition process. The Drum Channel has a 7 part video series which brings together Zappa's drummers from his previous bands (Ralph Humphrey. Chester Thompson, Terry Bozzio, Chad Wackerman and Ruth Underwood) to discuss the behind-the-scenes process of these auditions(Pt1, Pt2, Pt3, Pt4, Pt5, Pt6, Pt7). It also culminates in a drummer jam. Notable highlights: Ruth Underwood discusses how Mahavishnu Orchestra gave Zappa a musical wakeup call (Parts 2 and 3) and Chad Wackerman discusses in great detail his harrowing audition experience (Part 4). A lot of names are dropped as well in terms of those who didn't make the cut. Even if you're not a Zappa fan, there's a lot of musical talent represented in this very insightful videos.

Rotating Drumstool Policy

mannequito — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 18:03:12 -0800

Matt Cameron gained a lot of respect early on in the Seattle grunge scene, particularly for his ability to make odd time signatures feel like straight time. Over the years he kept time for Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Temple of the Dog, and his own Wellwater Conspiracy. Since 1998 he's played with the last men standing of the Seattle heavyweights, though it's a little known fact that he recorded drums on the original pre-Vedder demo. In the 8 years between, Pearl Jam had a few other drummers of note sit in. Dave Krusen was only around long enough to record the debut Ten before opting out for rehab, but it'll be enough to keep him in the history books for quite some time. Touring drummer Matt Chamerlain left to take a spot in the SNL house band, and went on to record with a who's-who list of musicians including Tori Amos, Peter Gabriel, Robert Fripp and Kanye West. His work with avant-jazz crew Critters Buggin as well as his experimental 2005 solo record led to a reputation as an innovator in live drumming & electronic looping. Dave Abbruzzese, arguably the best technical drummer in PJ's history, left after 2 albums supposedly due to the pressure of playing in such a high profile act. The most memorable example of this is the story of Dave cracking under pressure from producer Rick Rubin while recording Rearviewmirror for Vs., stabbing his snare drum and throwing it off a cliff near the studio. and Jack Irons, legendary Chili Peppers drummer, was around in the early days as well, even introducing Ed Vedder to Stone & Jeff. His oddball home percussion recordings definitely influenced Yield and No Code, but it was clear from the beginning that another trip through the celebrity gauntlet wasn't at the top of his list, so the timing of his sickness on the Yield tour and Soundgarden calling it quits paved the way for the return of ... Matt Cameron!

Wait till you see them in the bathroom

Astro Zombie — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 14:57:01 -0800

Music for One Apartment and Six Drummers. (Google Video.) Sort of like Stomp, except Scandihoovian and, you know, not totally embarrassing to like.

Buddy Rich on the Muppet Show (QuickTime)

safetyfork — Fri, 18 Mar 2005 07:09:51 -0800

Drummer Buddy Rich's appearance on the Muppet Show (QuickTime embedded, or get it "direct").

Drums of the bohicans

crunchburger — Fri, 07 May 2004 00:13:23 -0800

The great studio drummer Steve Gadd is of the most important musicians of the 1970's. Gadd brought bassist Tony Levin (Buddy Rich, Paul Simon, John Lennon, Peter Gabriel, King Crimson) into the business in New York 30 years ago, and that alone is enough to secure a place in history. You may remember his unforgettable groove on "50 Ways To Leave Your Lover", one of many brilliant contributions Gadd made to classics of the 70's pop charts

Ba-doom badda badda, Ba! doom badda.......

troutfishing — Sun, 24 Aug 2003 01:59:32 -0800

Drums around the world "Drums Around the World is an annual simultaneous world wide drumming day.Our purpose is to Honor the traditions of the drum, celebrate its power to unify humanity." The tenth anniversary of the annual "Drums around the World: ....In 1994, the inaugural event, over 2100 drummers showed up at the main event (facilitated by Baba Olatunji, Hamza El Din, Arthur Hull, John Bergamo, Jim Greiner, Muruga Booker, and Native Drummers) creating the worlds largest drum circle. This event was also broadcast world-wide via satellite (complements of CNN)."

Ever drummed on a Djembe until your hands bled? ....Or wondered why virtually no republicans practice African or indigenous drumming techniques? Are hand drums, to the US far right, a spooky talesman which evokes lurid fantasies of wild satanic or Santeria (Voodoo) rituals?