I'm not sure what you mean by the "old days" and it varies considerably by genre and style within a genre.  I remember some very busy (manic) players in my youth as Chris points out.  I do get bored easy also, so I don't listen to a lot music that is "trance inducing".  

What I listen to and what I get to play live are not always the same thing if you know what I mean.  I often listen to either very busy music - fusion, big band, prog OR Benny Carter, Billy Evans.  With other musicians I mostly play R&B, Rock or church praise stuff.  So it takes some effort to move from one style to another.  I absolutely love Portnoy on Neal Morse's "One" but I can't take that kind of playing to the gig for two reasons 1) whenever I try to get fancy, I get in trouble 2) even if I could, it would be a distraction.  So it seems to me that knowing when to do what is the name of the game and learning to listen from an audience point of view is a skill to strive for.  

See, I listen to alot of that older stuff now and I don't really like what Mitch Michell, Moonie, Genesis and even  some  of what Rush and Led Zep did.

Same with jazz and other prog rock stuff.  It just sounds over the top at times.

Which is cool for some folks.

I really like how Chrisso said a live performance should be stepped up in intensity.  I will have to remember that.  I do indeed forget that at times, especially at gigs I can't stand.

I agree.

I can personally guarantee I never "play perfect" for the situation.  But heck I'm playing so that's all that matters.  If somebody likes it, awesome.  If I like it, awesome.  If they don't like it and I don't like it then things can get rough.   

Alot has to do with the sound, and I usually know pretty quick.  If everything is phat and sounds good, hopefully my musicality will take over and I can try and make some magic.  But if everything is lame and I'm in hell; I just won't take responsibility for my actions there on out

I tend to do that, too. It's easy to fall into habits like this, or like going to the ride cymbal for the chorus of the song, etc. But habits are NOT a good reason for playing something. It should be a conscious choice.

Also - and this is something that may affect older drummers more than younger ones - the common structures used in popular music have changed over the years. We used to have very distinct sections to songs: verses, B sections, choruses, bridges, intros, outros, etc. Each of these sections often required a different groove, or at least some modification in the drum part.

With the advent of sampling and computer-based recording and composition, we're seeing a lot of music with less distinct sections. Many hiphop tunes don't have a bridge, and/or they don't require a different groove for the chorus than for the verse. I read a Steve Gadd interview where he said he doesn't put nearly as much emphasis on changing grooves for different parts of songs as he used to, because these days the music often no longer dictates changes like that.

Many very popular - and thus, influential - songs have drum parts that were not crafted by drummers. They were programmed by producers or songwriters, or lifted from the grooves of other songs and assembled in a sort of sonic collage. This, too, has changed the landscape for us.

But I will say one thing about the notion of needing to play more notes to excite an audience. I don't think that's a necessity. What IS a necessity is playing with conviction, and conveying that conviction to your audience. You can do this with how physical you get with your instrument, with how animated you are when you play, and with your facial expressions - no matter how many notes you were playing. One of the keys to Ringo's success was that he looked like he was having fun, bobbing his head nonstop to the music.

From Aronoff to Gadd, when you watch those guys play, there is NO question that they are "into it" - as a result, drummers and non-drummers alike absolutely LOVE to watch guys like that play, no matter how simple or complex their drumming may be. So I recommend that you give serious thought to what you look like when you play if you're concerned (as you should be) about appealing to your audience.

After all this reading, Chris mentioned something here that I kept thinking about the whole thread. What would Rush, Early Journey, Santana, Mitch Mitchell, John Bonham, Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Tommy Aldridge etc,etc and on and on and on, sound like with no fills?
I was playing to James Brown on Sex Machine and the snare work I was doing on that groove is what my wife upstairs said she liked hearing the best out my 2 hours of playing.
I was wearing the snare out with fills that worked with the groove and I don't mean every 8 or 16 measures either. Something a little different each time but it felt the same, groove wise.
I am not sure about any of this.  I think it all depends on what the music calls for.  You wouldn't put Neil Peart on a Karen Carpender song. Ginger Baker on a Beatles song. John Bonham on a James Taylor song. These are different types of music that require different types of drumming. You wouldn't take a trash metal drummer and play Stevie Ray like that either.  Just my two cents.
                        Nutty

Well said.   

I played with a certain drummer for about a year, and when people from work would come hear us play, they'd often kid me about whether or not the drummer was awake or not.  He was a good player, yet it was low energy and - he just had no presentation.  No doubt it sucked energy from our performance.   

Unfortunately, these players got a little too laxed about the whole deal.
They used to joke about "getting paid to practice" when the crowd was small.
Maybe the crowd was small because we were a bunch of middle agers who
weren't really entertaining with energy.

I never got with the joke.   Never will.

I don't want anyone to think I'm talking in these extreme terms.
For me, I generally trim down my playing as much as possible in the studio.
Every fill, every ghost note, every open hi-hat (oh yes  ) is justifiable or it doesn't go to tape.
In the live context, I tend to think less about these aspects of my drumming and focus more on making the band feel good, conveying the message of the music, and not forgetting to include an element of entertainment in what I'm doing.
It doesn't mean I go from machine-like to busy and self indulgent.
For example, in the studio i might lay my drums down before any guitar solos.
If I know I'm playing through a proposed guitar solo I might start to open up the hi-hat towards the end, or (less often) go to the ride. Then I'll mark the end of the solo with a fill.
When I'm backing a guitar solo in concert I generally play with more energy. I'll probably double my fills (from one to two at least). The fills I choose will definitely be something aimed to give the guitarist an inspirational kick up the bum. And I'll often choose a fill that includes elements of what the guitarist is playing in order to reinforce the climax of their solo.
In other words, if they are climaxing on a rhythmic figure (often 3 against 4 repeated), I'll orchestrate a fill between the toms and cymbals in a 3 against 4 pattern.
If they are playing a 32nd note scale up to the top end of the guitar, I'll play a loud 32nd note snare roll.......or something along those lines.

It's great to read about this stuff.  It's great to listen to all of our heros and up and coming artists as well.  There are so many awesome players out there; all so very different.

I think the really great players can cop alot of different styles and grooves.  I also think many great players just are/were themselves.

After years of learning the basics/playing technique (or not) then delving into advanced areas of study (or not) the drummer is faced with choices.   Then you have your choices and  the environment in which to use them.  I don't know about you guys but my body and head come into play also: everything might be going well or I might be having some problems.  It's the pinnacle of the art: how one plays in different situations.

  I like the zen aspect of channeling fills from "the great ocean" but I think there are times where I get a fill in my head and I want to keep it and use it.

There are times when I get a floor of dancing people and ya' just have to keep the momentum.  And there were times when I have played rockstar as well as taking cracks at being a fusion player.  yes there have been times I have been soaked in sweat and other times I have played so lazy that I garnered looks and negative comments from others.

Speaking for myself- I try to do whats right for the situation and that situation can last years; ergo, I start "specializing" in that style.  Just keep it smooth whatever ya do and enjoy it.  People will dig it usually.  I am just just flesh and blood though and I have high highs and low lows.

I think I like drumming more than ever these days, and hopefully can continue to play and maybe improve a bit too 

Oh wow, my wife just got me a new book entitled "The Consolations of Philosophy" by Alain de Botton (he's on PBS- very wild stuff for the hed  )  Maybe it will help my drumming in some abstract way?  Art imitates life I guess.

Journey on fellow drummies!

I don't know about Yea or Nah.  In my opinion, a drummer that does no fills and plays with no emotion or feel can be replaced with a drum machine .
                         Nutty