Brotherhood of drummers

After spending a week at Drumtech (which I will talk about another day) I have been thinking a lot about the sense of community that I get when Im with or around other drummers. And I feel that this is not just common interest, there is something about the way that drummers are with each other that is different from any other musicians. I have noticed over the years that as soon as somebody tells me that they're a drummer, there is an instant connection and the conversation quickly flows between everything from favourite drummers and artists right through to comparing stick grips and snare drum heads. And this is one of my favourite things about being a drummer because it makes me feel almost like I belong to a big family that stretches across the globe! And I'd like to think that all drummers feel the same. So I think it is important to look at why drummers have such a community, what is it about drummers that makes us different.

Comradeship

Comradeship is a very strong word, but I genuinely feel that this applies to drummers. Comradeship certainly applies to musicians that have been playing as part of a group or a band for many years, and have built up an understanding, but with drummers there is comradeship there without even knowing each other directly. In order to illustrate what I mean, Im going to use Buddy Rich as an example. There are next to no drummers who will not have herd of Buddy Rich, and he has influenced almost every drummer in some way. This is not uncommon, there will be few guitarists who won't have herd of Steve Vai or Jimmy Page. What I think is different about the way people look at Buddy Rich is that he is far more of a role model for so many people. He was always encouraging towards young drummers and he really brought drumming to life for so many people. The Comradeship that I have been talking about comes in when I look at the memorial show that was put on for Rich after his death and the drummers that featured on it, Neil Peart, Dave Weckl, Dennis Chambers, Gregg Bissonette the list goes on. They all put on incredible performances along with the Buddy Rich band, but it wasn't just the amazing performances, it was something that Bissonette said that really struck me, “It is a great honour to be able to be here to pay tribute to the greatest influence for me, Buddy Rich”. That statement really highlights what I'm trying to say, all of these great players are putting on brilliant performances, and playing their hearts out to pay tribute to a man that was a huge influence for all of them. And I get a slight feeling of loss with all of these players, they all shared some kind of a connection with Rich, even if what just that of listening to him and being inspired. There was a sense of loss with all of them and that is what I mean by comradeship, all of them turned up to show their respect to someone that was not at all related to them, but because they all share something in drums, that someone becomes family.

Sharing

Something else that I love about drummers is that we love to share. Im not talking equipment, as very few of us are prepared to lend out our precious cymbals and snare drums, but I'm talking about playing techniques and styles, ideas about tuning and drum sound, techniques for the stage and the studio, anything excuse for drummers to talk and share their ideas they will take it. This is something that I feel is fairly exclusive to drummers, that may be because I've not researched enough about other instrumentalists but I do know an awful lot of guitarists, bassists and singers, and the connection isn't quite the same. So many times I've had other drummers come up to me and ask about my snare drum sound and I've explained about how I tune it, what head I use and what the drum is made of. And there have been plenty more times when I have seen somebody do something that I've not seen before, maybe a certain lick, or fill that I have not herd before and I've had them explain it to me. And more often than not drummers are eager to share these sorts of things.

The best example I can think of drummers sharing is Drum Clinics. This is something that seems to happen all the time, I am forever seeing drummers going on tour with clinics, far more than I see guitarists or bassists doing clinic tours, again, this may be because I am neither. But when I see Steve Gadd do a clinic tour, it sells out everywhere because drummers know that he is great and will travel to hear him play, to take advice to ask questions and to be around other drummers. That is something that I really don't see as much with other musicians.

Influence

In Gregg Bissonette's DVD, he uses the phase “one of my favourite drummers” about 400 times! Each time about a different drummer. I feel like this is significant because pretty much everyone has their favourite players and they always love to talk about why they like them so much. For example, one of my favourite drummers has always been David Silveria. Partly because I am a big Korn fan, but mostly because I love listening to his solid funk grooves played on a deep, clinical sounding rock kit, that worked perfectly underneath Korn's funk metal sound. And listening to Siveria play makes me feel like I know him a little bit, just from knowing his sound and style. And I think that that is something that all drummers feel about their favourite drummers. This again adds to the comradeship and brotherhood of being a drummer.

Conclusion

It is important to think about other drummers, and to take advice and influence from them. It is also important to share you ideas with other people, so that they can try them out for themselves and learn themselves. I love that I feel like apart of a family when I'm around other drummers, that makes such a difference to me and makes me love the face that I am a drummer and that I can feel a part of something like that. It is my hope that anybody reading this, that may not have looked at drumming like that, might start to see what I am talking about when they are around other musicians and particularly drummers, because music is such a sharing thing, and should always be kept that way. Don't keep anything to yourself!