100 FAVORITE DRUMMERS - PART THREE
Number 50 may be too low for many a folk out there, as Keith Moon is usually one of the three drummers people who know absolutely nothing about drums can name off the cuff. But hey, he's still in the upper half. The exact thing that makes Keith Moon so great is also the one thing that makes him almost one-dimensional. And that is that he was the absolute perfect drummer for the Who. And that's it really. Pretty much JUST the Who. No drummer before or since has played anything at all like Moonie. There's a famous story of Billy Cobham watching Moon play from the sidelines and simply going "yeah, I have no idea what the hell he's doing". The sporadic intensity that Moon displayed on the kit was totally chaotic but totally complimentary to his band, a one of a kind marriage that few if any groups ever have.
49. JIMMY CHAMBERLIN
I admit I have a soft spot for the Smashing Pumpkins since they all grew up where I did. For their very first tour, Joliet raised Jimmy Chamberlin bought a huge crop of drum sticks at the Drum Pad in Palatine, the place I've been buying mine at for years now. But all this sentimentality aside, Chamberlin was by leaps and bounds the most stylized and best alternative rock drummer to emerge in the 90s. This probably has to do with the fact that, according to Billy Corgan, Chamberlin didn't even know what the hell alternative rock was when he asked him to join his band. It shows, as Chamberlin's busy snare work and Billy Cobham approach to grooving totally stands out and transcend the best Pumpkin jams into utter classics. The man keeps busy with his first love, fusion, in the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex nowadays and the chops are as solid as ever.
48. KENNY ARONOFF
There may very well not be a drummer on earth who's landed more gigs than Kenny Aronoff. You fill a brick wall with a list of every band or solo artist that's walked the earth since 1980 and if you threw a dart at it, chances are at least six out of ten times that you're gonna hit a name he's played with. Session drummers by the nature of their job need to be as diverse and well read as possible and Aronoff's abilities consistently allow him to maintain numerous recording and live gigs simultaneously with acts that range all over the spectrum. Every kind of rock band, from heavy to soft, as well as jazz, adult contemporary, and fusion are expertly handled time and again by the guy. A beast of a player too, with a style that's all arms and power, Aronoff always looks like he's working out and having the time of his life when playing. And if you're as good as he is, I imagine just such a time is indeed what you are having.
47. GENE HOGLAN
We're getting to the best of the best when it comes to extreme metal drummers now, and Gene the Machine Hoglan is right up there. Ask anybody really. He's kind of the Kenny Aronoff of metal drummers actually, as Hoglan gets called upon to fill in or join bands more than any other drummer in the metal community. Dark Angel, Death, Strapping Young Lad, Devin Townsend, Fear Factory, Dethklok, Testament, the list just keeps going. For a big fat dude, Hoglan has unreal endurance and speed. He's also got tons of knowledge from years and years on the job, his Atomic Clock instructional DVD being one of the most embraced in the genre. You could pick any number or recordings from this beast of a man that showcase his awesome skinbashing abilities. I'd go with Death's Individual Thought Patterns and Symbolic as the most stellar work he's done personally.
There is no finer funk rock drummer on earth than Will Ferrell. Chad Smith plays like Ian Paice and every James Brown drummer all at once, yet at the same time slams way harder than both parties. I have yet to meet a fellow drummer or fellow musician for that matter who doesn't bow down to this guy's skizills behind the kit. Obvioulsy he's most featured and famous for his work in the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, all of which was great until Californication, which in my opinion is the band's "Black Album". But there's Chickenfoot and some of Glen Hughes solo albums that he's also pounded away on. Smith's slamming back-beat and tasty groovin remain as admirable as his goofy attitude and showmanship. I just only wish his main band that's made him almost a household name will stop huffing dong and get back to greatness someday.
45. CHARLIE BENANTE
Besides being a founding member and writing most of the riffs in Anthrax, Charlie Benante was also in the greatest sitcom episode of all time in Married With Children. Oh yeah, and he's just about the best thrash metal drummer who's ever breathed air. Benante's style almost sounds as if he's about to orgasm over his drum kit. Huge fills where his feet are moving in conjunction with and as fast as his hands, coupled with the most consistently awesome snare drum sound in metal, are both awesome stylistic traits that put him filmy in the hall of fame of this genre's battery machines. I've loved this guy's overall drum sound and style since I first heard Amongst the Living, and even during Anthrax' "meh" John Bush-fronted period, Benante never stopped delivering the goods where the drums were concerned. Now if only he'd grow that glorious poofy mullet back.
44. MAX ROACH
The best bebop drummer that ever was was Maxwell Lemuel Roach. This gentleman's drum solos are some of the few that can be un-pretentiously described as art. When Max let loose unaccompanied, there's all the chops that jazz drummers poses that always leave me in awe, as well as a tastefulness, ear for dynamics, and daring-ness to explore the drum kit for all it could do. Roach's imagination seemed limitless, and along with Dave Brubeck, he also lead his band heavily into odd-timing territory. He also was a pioneer in using his band to bring awareness to racial injustice and remained an activist throughout most of his life. A world class, upper crest musician who gained and has maintained the utmost respect from his colleagues, he remains just about at the top of the heap of the ultimate jazz drummers we've ever had.
43. DAVE LOMBARDO
Well since I'm a metalhead, there could be no denying that I would have Mr. Dave Lombardo somewhere on this list. The battery of Slayer, and in most peoples eyes, (including mine), the best and most text-book thrash drummer of all time, Lombardo is a straight-up powerhouse. Besides all the boundless energy this guy has to have to play this kind of music while rushing towards his fifties, I personally love Lombardo's somewhat old school approach to metal drumming. As one of the pioneers of thrash in the early 80s, Dave basically took all the chops and licks he learned from classic rock drummers like Mitch Mitchell and Ian Paice and just played them 100 bpm's faster. You could slow any of his drum fills down and they'd basically sit right at home on any Deep Purple track. Lombardo has lost absolutely zero of his ferocity or abilities on the drum set, and though once again out of the Slayer camp, there's still much this guy can pummel our ears into submission with.
42. RICHARD CHRISTY
Few drummers have carved out a nitch in the heavy and extreme metal camp that can top Richard Christy. Though he's only a part-time basher these days since his full-time gig on the Howard Stern Show has paid his bills for over a decade now, Christy's Charred Walls of the Dammed supergroup clearly proves the man has lost none of his chops. And what chops they be. The first, I donno, hundred times I heard the intro to "Scavenger of Human Sorrow" off of The Sound of Perseverance, I had no idea what in the fuck of hell was going on. Eh, who am I kidding. I still have no idea what the hell he's doing in that intro. Christy's playing is at times some of the most over top that the metal genre has ever had, but at other times, he's shown a great ear for toning it down and playing much more as a supporting player, (see his two Iced Earth recordings).
41. NICKO McBRAIN
Besides John Bonham obviously, I don't think there's another player out there who makes the most out of one foot as Iron Maiden's eternally goofy Nicko McBrain. This guy's licks with his kick drum limb are goddamn tasty and goddamn quick. That's just one little trademark I love about him though. A consistently killer drum sound aside on each and every Maiden recording, McBrain simply plays heavy metal exactly the way it's supposed to be played. In recent years I've tried to challenge myself and play as much headbanging stuff as I can without my double bass pedal and it's almost solely inspired by this gentleman right here. Nicko's fills are awesome, his grooves are tits-tight, he's hilarious in interviews, and the rare drum solo you can find him perform are unsurprisingly great. I also always get a chuckle out of the fact that as tall of a guy as he is, you can still only see the headband above his eyes from behind the massive kit.
40. BERNARD PURDIE
Speaking of hilarious and speaking of goddamn awesome, yeah son, we've arrived at Bernard "Pretty" Purdie. Inventor of the "Purdie Shuffle", pretty much the shuffle groove that every drummer on earth thinks of and uses when they need to and easily one of the most satisfying to play and hear, not only does this man have the only drum beat on earth named after him, but he also claims to be the most recorded drummer in history. In fact, Bernard Purdie says a lot of things. And that's what makes him so very great. My favorite story about him, and there are many, is when he'd show up to a session with two signs that he'd set up on either side of the kit, one saying "You done it" and the other reading "You done hired the Hit Maker Bernard Purdie". Watch any footage of this man playing and talking, which he always does simultaneously, and as he oos and ahhs about how tasty and nice his grooves are, I just dare you not to laugh your ass off and love this guy.
39. JOE MORELLO
And now we have the composer and performer of one of the most famous and exquisite drum solos ever played. Of course meaning "Take Five" and of course meaning Joe Morello. Joe stuck around longer than most, only passing away three years ago, and he kept playing virtually till the end. He's commonly regarded as the most tasteful jazz drummer in history. Obviously his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, particularly one of the most classic jazz recordings ever made Time Out, speaks volumes, but there's stuff as a band leader as well that's just as impressive. Morello was incredibly fast when needed, but more often then not, held way the hell back, utilizing delicate brush work and far softer playing than most. He's mostly known as one of the first drummers to solo so effortlessly over odd time signatures. His metric modulation and time bending are must learn tricks and very tricky to pull off with such flawless finesse.
38. MIKE MANGINI
When Mike Mangini got the job no one thought someone else would ever get in replacing Mike Portnoy in Dream Theater, I for one was thrilled. This is for two reasons. One, sorry to say, I've never been a big Portnoy fan. Not of the man mind you, just of his grooveless style. And two, Mike Mangini has always made my jaw drop, so a fan of his I most certainly am. Mangini has set not one but five World's Fastest Drummer records and before landing the DT gig, he was a teacher at Berlkee, had written two instructional books on polyrhythms and odd time signatures, and had played with a number of virtuoso musicians, namely Steve Vai. He may be the most ambidextrous drummer on earth. His kit is set up in such away that the right and left side are mirror images of themselves and he's faster with one of his hands at a time than most of us are with both. I've seen this guy perform an epic drum solo and then go back and explain in notation exactly what he played every step of the way. So yeah, a freak is what we're dealing with here.
37. JEFF PORCARO
One of the most legendary and very best session drummers of all time is easily the late Jeff Porcaro. This guy's death was total bullshit, as he died of a heart attack after spraying insecticide in his yard at only thirty-eight years old. He had a history of heart problems in his family and the coroner's office threw the "cocaine" use tag on his report as well but still, c'mon, thirty-eight? So many more great performances surely would've been delivered by the man. But yes, during the 70's and 80's, Porcaro played on a laundry list of artists recordings, everyone from Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie to Steely Dan and Boz Scaggs, to even other drummer's records like Peter Criss and Don Henley. Yeah, he was that fucking good that other drummers simply preferred him to themselves on their own solo albums. Of course, Porcaro's best left behind legacy is with his two other brothers in Toto. The "Rosana" shuffle is in the hall of fame of drum grooves and this guys impeccable pocket playing and fat snare sound are forever linked to near twenty years of pop music.
36. MARCO MINNEMANN
And now we have yet another freak who's chops seem to encompass near everything you can possible do behind a drum kit. And then there's enough stick tricks to make you wanna quit, but we'll focus on the playing here instead. German born Marco Minnemann has a slew of solo recordings, instructional books, and videos that showcase and explain in depth his amazing interdependence on ze drums. And he's performed with German tech-death gods Necrophagist as well as Paul Gilbert, Jordon Rudess, and James LaBrie. And a lot more progressive, people-masturbating-their-instruments-esque projects. This guy's dazzling and hilarious to watch. He looks like he's performing physical comedy half the time and is prone to make many an intentional goofy face while always looking like he's just heard the funniest joke in his life. His skills though as a drummer will make you simply gasp. One of those guys who probably couldn't be better at his chosen instrument than he already is.
35. TOMAS HAAKE
I wouldn't call myself the biggest Meshuggah fan in the world. I like them enough, Destroy Erase Improve is fantastic, but otherwise, a little goes a very long way with some killer jams scattered throughout their discography to be sure. The band's drummer Tomas Haake is through-and-through the star of the show though. He's said that the drum parts for most Meshuggah records take him six months to learn and such dedication to your own drum parts in your own band that you yourself composed is truly admirable. This guy is the polar opposite of Lars Ulrich. Here we have a man who record after record, is hell bent and determined to up his game and just get better and better. Haake's loopy time-signature foot work is beyond impressive but when given the chance to break from the robotic pulse of 99% of his band's music, this guy lets loose with fusion inspired fills that would make most any other metal drummer start to cry in the fetal position. Plus that glorious snare drum sound, oh my lanta!
34. AKIRA JIMBO
Akira Jimbo is a Japenese fusion guru who's utilization of electronics along with his acoustic set have for years now been his "thing". Well that and being a human fucking octopus. When it comes to drum set independence, there has yet to be a human being born that can do what Jimbo can do. Both of his hands and feet clearly have their own brain patterns and are their/it's own person. This drummer can sound like every drummer on earth playing at once. Why Jimbo even bothers to play with a band is rather a mystery since he hardly needs one. And that smile never leaves his face as it looks like he's completely on autopilot, not at all concentrating and just enjoying his godlike abilities. Jimbo has a hefty amount of instructional material out there and for any drummer who wants a quick reminder on how much they suck, just try to get through any one of his exercises the whole way through. You'll either gain a superpower or have a nervous breakdown. Either/or.
33. JASON GERKEN
I've met two people in my life who've heard of Shiner and one of them was the guy who turned me onto them. And that was the only guy of the two who knew how awesome Jason Gerken was. So Gerken is the highest personal favorite on this list and perhaps if anything else, some fine folks reading this will have their curiosity sparked and go check him out. Gerken played on the last two Shiner albums Starless and The Egg. The later of which is one of my favorite albums ever made and holy mother of shart, Gerken destroys the drums on it. This guy's style is muy bueno to put it very mildly. I was so impressed by Gerken's licks that I've since gone on to incorporate almost all of them in my daily playing, no matter what the band is I'm playing with. Flam fills and tight triplets all the while bashing away on his cymbals and slamming a groove home with the kind of furious energy that good rock and roll is just straight up supposed to have. And it's all played on a small ass kit, (one snare, one bass drum, and two toms), and Gerken makes it sound fucking huge.
32. ALEX VAN HALEN
The Van Halen brothers may be giant walking pricks who make David Lee Roth look like a perfectly rational man, but there's credit to be due where it's due. Everything that can be said about Eddie's axe-slinging prowess has been said for decades now, but Alex is no slouch by any stretch. It's easy to see how he, as well as anybody, could get so overshadowed by Eddie's virtuosity, but after years of listening to this band, there can be no denying that Alex is a certifiable drum god. This guy's massively heavy groove, the same groove he uses in most all of the band's jams, is exactly how rock grooves should sound and feel. And Alex's chops when it comes to drum fills, especially during those "big finish" moments at the end of songs, I for one can't come anywhere near in duplicating. I've seen VH live twice and Alex busted out a short but oh so sweat drum solo at both events and I can honestly say that I think he can do the building triplet Bonham lick faster than anyone I've ever heard. Perfect drummer for the band named after himself and a perfect rock drummer period.
31. JEFF HAMILTON
I had never heard of Jeff Hamilton till I saw him on the Drum Pad's 20th Anniversary DVD, but once I did, man oh man, you don't forget a thing like that. I am absolutely in awe of this guy. He is without question the best brush player I have ever seen in my life. I've owned brushes for about as long as I've been playing drums and me playing with them is like a drunk baby with no arms playing with them compared to this guy. Hamilton just dances with 'em over his kit, like he's caressing you into a beautiful trance. And with normal old sticks, sheeeeet, he's just as fluid and impressive. Hamiltion is as humble as they come too, quick to, (wrongly), undermine his abilities in interviews or even on stage and just as quick to dish out accolites to his heroes and colleges. A total class act and a true torchbearer for laid back, supportive players like Jimmy Cobb and Joe Morello who utilize subtle dynamics and unbelievably tasty taste over everything else. For every great basher and beast of a drummer out there, as with anything, a balance is sometimes needed. And Jeff Hamiltion's soft approach to the drums fits that balance gorgeously.
30. MITCH MITCHELL
Mitch Mitchell is certainly one of the most influential drummers for me personally as well as any untold number of drummers out there who grew up with classic rock as their food, water, and air. Hendrix could've just got a schmuck to play behind him because ninety out of one hundred people were only going to be paying attention to the guitar rippage. But thankfully and wisely, the gig went to Mitchell and along with the world getting an undisputable guitar god, we also got a drum one in the same deal. Mitchell straight-up has some of the sickest drum fills in all of rock music. And certainly some of the fastest for the time. John Bonham was all about the weight, but Mitch was all about the fury. Even when laying a solid slow blues groove down for Jimi to orgasm over, Mitchell would still unleash the fire when it came to the drum fills and the coloring. And along with Bonham, few drummers have as many recognizable and killer signature grooves to their credit. "Little Miss Lover", "Manic Depression", the intro to "Voodoo Child", "Fire", etc., all equal sexy.
29. PHIL COLLINS
It's easy to joke about how the common folk have no idea Phil Collins was the drummer in Genesis or worse yet, is a drummer at all. I didn't find out till I saw him on a poster in my drum teacher's room when I was in Jr. High. When I finally got around to checking out 70's Genesis, and they quickly became one of my favorite bands, Phil Collins' drumming up and swacked me in the face. Collins' attack was fast and tight with oodles of chops. Of course as progressive rock dictates, odd time signatures are the name of the game and Collins dances around them like a boss. It's slightly annoying that his drums seem quiet in the mix but then again, Genesis was a band all about dynamics and of course, this guy adjusts his playing accordingly. Ignoring the "style at the time" fake-drum sounds the man had utilized on most of his most famous solo jams, as well as some of later era pop Genesis, Collins still stays behind the kit a good hell of the time. Particularly with other blokes as well, as his skills have gotten called upon by others over the years like Brian Eno, Robert Plant, and Al DiMeola just to name a small bunch.
28. PETER ERSKINE
Similar in respects to legend Joe Morello or a contemporary like Jeff Hamiltion, just naming two guys who I have on my list already, Peter Erskine is another skinsman who's playing defines delicate tastefulness. Outside of traditional, straight-up jazz though, he's also a renowned session player and his first gig that put him on the map was joining Jaco Pastorious as the rhythm section in Weather Report in 1978. His greatest and most famous gift though is swinging away gloriously in both big band and small jazz combos. Erskine's touch on the instrument is astounding. His solos are musical ballets in drumset form, dynamics playing every major part. And whether accompanying or leading a band, Erskine is entirely complimentary, the type of supporting swing anchor that any other musician would time and again kill to play with. He's one of the most well learned and experienced active jazzmen, a professor at the Thornton School of Music in South Cali, and has five drum books to his credit as well as a crop of audio/video educational material as well. Tons to learn from a master as he or in my case, tons I'll never come close to being able to play.
Got quite a few freaks on this list and jumpin jehoshaphat, is this guy ever one of them. Cuban born Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez is the absolute master of the clave, an Afro-Cuban rhythm he can maintain seemingly for days on end with any one of his limbs. Usually it's his left foot which keeps it going on the cowbell as he performs what the fuck hell ever with the rest of his hands, either in drum solo form or accompanying an entire band. To watch the man in action doing this is truly one of the most remarkable things you can possibly witness. The clave independence trick is not one he's alone in being able to pull off by any means, as it's a benchmark pattern for this kind of music, but being the foremost drummer in said genre, El Negro is easily the best at it. My jaw dropped the first I ever saw of him from footage from the 1997 Modern Drum Festival, and my jaw hasn't come back up when checking out anything further. Another octopus drummer, as technically proficient as you can be, with a complete mastery of Cuban rhythms and styles, dis guy's the real deal right here.
26. BILLY COBHAM
The "legend" term gets thrown around a lot with drummers, as I'm sure you've noticed reading all this shit, but the "living" tag can be latched onto Billy Cobham in addition. When any drummer does, or attempts to do, lightning fast double rolls across their kit, then you're basically trying to be Billy Cobham. This guy's trademark of said busy stickwork when it comes to drum fills caught the jazz community's attention in the late 60's with Miles Davis' group and then even more famously with the Mahavishnu Orchestra starting in the early 70s, which he co-founded with John McLaughlin, (who's My Goals Beyond album he also played on). He's jammed professionally with Jack Bruce, the Becker Brothers, Carlos Santana, and many a more well renowned player, and also delivered what's probably the best solo drummer album ever made, 1973's Spectrum. During drum solos, dude even rocks two sticks per hand to hit two drums per hand to do even more ridiculously fast tom fills. He is a drummer's drummer for sure and without a fathomable doubt one of the best fusion musicians who's ever lived.
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