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Drummers, Drummers, Drummers
When I was a teenager, I used to have a New Year’s Eve tradition with my other music nerd friends that involved compiling lists of our favorite musicians, broken down by role (i.e. best vocalist, bass player, guitarist and so forth). I recently found some of these old lists and aside from some glaring embarrassments (“Geoff Tate: best vocals!” Egads!), I was surprised by how many favorites remained steadfast (I still think Iron Maiden’s Steve Harris is a phenomenal bass player). The category with the most consistency was definitely drummers. There are some obvious stalwarts, such as dear Bonzo here:
And of course, beloved Mr. Moon:
Then there’s the man responsible for Blondie’s in-the-pocket backbeats:
As I got older, I discovered new percussionists to lavish praise upon, most notably Fugazi’s Brendan Canty and Unwound’s Sara Lund. Which drummers are you currently most impressed with?
Comments
Nick from the Dead Science is super entertaining to watch/hear-- arms flailing around it looks like dude doesn't know what he's doing but the sounds he's pulling out of his immaculately tuned kit are precise & nuanced.
Creighton Barrett is pretty astounding when he isn't playing midtempo beard-o rock. BOH is okay and everything, but I miss his loud bands.
Jensen of Iron Lung is pretty scary and his kit sounds huuuuuge.
Jim Laws from The Valley. Dude has chops and hits harder than most.
Nat from Akimbo is pretty damn impressive.
Now here's a topic dear to my heart.
My clear contemporary favorites are Brian Blade, Billy Martin and Scott Amendola. Each of them is among the most creative, lyrical and capable players around. Tortoise's John McEntire is also in the discussion though his strengths are primarily composition and production.
Digging into the past, Elvin Jones on Crescent and A Love Supreme, and Jack DeJohnette in Miles Davis' fusion bands are magnificent.
Steven Morris - New Order/Joy Division
Chris Corsano is basically unstoppable--I know him best from his work with Six Organs of Admittance.
Pete Nolan of the Magik Markers/the Vanishing Voice is killer.
Oneida's Kid Millions is pretty ace as well, esp. on Ex Models' "Chrome Panthers" album.
Alex Neilson (Taurpis Tula, Jandek) is sick too--check him out on Jandek's "Glasgow Sunday" live performance.
Mike Peterson from Sean/The Accused/Suffering Fuckheads is hands down the best drummer in Seattle.
For my money, John (Hollis the bug) Fleischman is the best local drummer. He has played with Sister Psychic, Voygar One, the Squirrels and is one of the people behind the local Heidwig shows.
I'm with you on Hollis--adventurous motherfucker and solid as a rock. Almost included him, but he's one of my best friends, so that seemed a little gratuitous. Same goes for my beloved ex, Dave Weeks, current drummer for the Cops and former drummer for Kinski.
Also on the local tip, I've always been a big fan of Thomas Wright (exbestfriends, the Can't See) and we can't forget Coady Willis (Big Business, Murder City Devils).
Now:
Brian Chippendale of Lightning Bolt
The 3 badasses in Boredoms
Then:
The Meters' Ziggy Modeliste
Can's Jaki Liebezeit
Sly & the Family Stone's Gregg Errico
James Brown's Clyde Stubblefield
Gina Schock! Gina Schock! Gina Schock!
Also: David Lovering, Dave Grohl, Charlie Watts.
Idiosyncratic fave: The Go-Betweens' original engine, Lindy Morrison...
And GRANT FUCKING HART!!!!
I gotta agree with Dave on Lightning Bolt's Brian Chippendale, and the throw in Zach Hill of Hella and Matthew Ford of the Intelligence.
Jack DeJohnette in Miles Davis' fusion bands
Hell yeah!
And how could I forget? BILLY COBHAM.
Jesus, Grant Hart--damn straight. Hearing the opening strains of "New Day Rising" still makes my eyes water to this day. Beautiful stuff.
My personal favs...
Josh Gabrial of The Ruby Doe. I'm always surprised when he doesn't get mentioned when talking about great local drummers.
Burke Thomas of Pris/Vendetta Red/The Treatment. If you've seen him play, even if you hate the bands he's in, you'll agree he's pretty spectacular.
Janet Weiss of Sleater-Kinney.
Kelly Payne of The Charming Snakes. Maybe be not as flashy as the others I've mentioned, but she has a style and grace that makes it look so easy.
And I nod in agreement with Coady Willis, Brendan Canty, and Creighton Barrett (and I too miss his loud bands)
The dude from Mastodon and the dude from Orthrelm. They fuckin' rip
Dude in the Juan Maclean, who may be the same dude in LCD Soundsystem.
Christian Vander of Magma.
Did anyone say Kevin Sawka?
Or Matt Cameron?
Or how about your own Trent Moorman?
Andy Roth (from Wayne Horvitz's Zony Mash & Sweeter Than The Day) is the most UNDERRATED time-keeper in Seattle, hands down... if he played out more often, the world would know. It's impossible for him to NOT be deep in the pocket: the dude f'in seemingly LIVES there. Drop in sometime. I'd recommend catching him on July 6th at Lottie's Lounge, for a farewell party for Seattle's best *and* most underrated (for the same underexposure-related reason noted above) GUITARIST, Timothy Young.
Dale Crover and Dave Lombardo, now and forever.
Bill Ward
Rachel Carns
Mike Brown
Barrett Martin
The hits keep coming...
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Man, you called it with Canty and Lund - two great ones.
I love Steve Drozd's playing - simple and solid, and always sounds great on record.
Zach Barocas (Jawbox, The Up On In) will always be a favorite of mine.
Whoever the guy was playing with John Vanderslice when I saw him a couple years ago. Very solid player with amazing stage presence.