Drumming

Recently got my hands on Thomas Lang’s “Creative Control” instructional DVD.

I posted a clip from this tape a while back but felt like sharing this one which is an excerpt of his “free solo” technique.

There’s plenty of conjecture out there that guys like this have no soul, are purely athletes only on the kit, etc etc….while I used to hold true that thinking moons ago, I’ve come around to appreciate the skill and body control it takes to get to this level of physical performance. See for yourself:

In the end, Thomas Lang STILL makes me sick.
In a good way.

I’ve been a distant admirer of John Blackwell for some time.
His work with Prince is awesome (Diamonds and Pearls) and he has played on many records since and with many artists as well.

This clip was taken from a DVD of his called “Hudson Music Master Series”.
With that said, this 2 minutes of amazing phrasing and technique is all you need to see to visually/sonically explain how awesome this cat is.

Enjoy.

Oh, and turn it up VERY VERY LOUD.

I give you for Friday, the genius of Tony Royster Jr.

His skills are well known and his talent prodigious.
What I like is how happy he looks when he plays.

He seems completely connected to the instrument and brings so much passion to his playing. He gets a lot of flack from some ends of the drumming spectrum for being just another super technical player but I think he has unique energy AND technical supremacy.

Check this clip out with his childhood band ASAP.

Enjoy.

OK.

First, yes, this guy’s fashion sense is abominable. I mean, look at this get up….

But, man, can he play. His physical abilities matched with musical ones would make any self-respecting drummer or drumming fan twist over double backward. This clip is from one of his recent DVD tutorials and is just a snippet….

Watch his foot speed and overall ability to mess with the time with blinding skill and accuracy. Thomas Lang, you make me ill.

To a lot of drummers, Vinnie Colaiuta is a gold standard to gauge one’s abilities against.

For some.

Some of us, myself included, realize we will never be this kind of player or simply do not ascribe to be this kind of player. That said, even though I know this about myself I can appreciate his greatness and do. Often.

Here’s a clip of a fusionoid super group called Karizma with mega players like Michael Landau on guitar, Neil Stubbenhouse on bass and Dave Garfield on keys.

My man Vinnie obviously is slamming away on the tubs.

I recently got back in touch with some favorite musician’s from my musical formative years.

Part of that includes favorite rock drummers from the late 70’s and 80’s and Bobby Rondinelli is near the top of that list.

Here’s a solo from a few years back with his band The Lizards:

Such a great showman.
Enjoy.