DRUMMER CAFE

What's that mean?

It means... on December 3, I'll be 40.

The generalization that I have come to is that older drummers still write and record great music, but do much less .touring. How old is Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts? He's still performing. Chad Smith is getting there, isnt he? Buddy was pretty old, as was Louis Bellson, if im not mistaken

The statement about George Carlin doing drugs and quit got me thinking. Back in the 60's era much of the music was made while under the influence of acid or other substances. Then as time went on the morality attitude changed and so did the drugs. Maybe the drugs were better back then?     Many of the old hippies would understand that statement. Could it be that creativity changed with the drug scene or the lack of that garbage? Also, those were the early rock years and there was a lot less competition between bands and booking agents. It wasn't until people found out these guys are making "huge" amounts of money that the whole band scene changed. After some of the big names died from their drugs then that whole scene changed also. The music also changed when the equipment changed from tubes to solid state. I think many of the old survivors of that era are just as good if not better because they've seen both sides of that coin. They've learned over the years and still are. Maybe that's why so many young musicians are loving the old music and gear of the 60's? They've just discovered that "raw quality" the music from those years and think they've hit a goldmine and discovered something new. Once in a while you'll see a young frontman with old dogs backing them. They're very smart because some of the old boys mastered that gear. With the combination of new and old mixed together they get the benefit of a great sound and cross the boundries on both sides of audiences. Can past middle age cut it? You bet....They haven't forgot how, just got smarter and don't kill themself like back then. I can't knock the "Stones" or "Carrie Underwood".... Great musicians are good at any age. It comes from within themselves. Experience plays into the equation and it shows. Middle age is just a statement, not the end. At least not for me. I figure with the life expectency years going up, I'm still "middle age".        Now try to get into a band with 25-30 year olds. It happens, but rare.... It's too bad, I love playing in bands with mixed ages. If you figure that middle age is "the beginning of the end" you're older than I am.   

Can't believe I am just now discovering this thread. I'm going to cut-and-paste some of the responses that made me think and/or that I agree with.


"Maybe Pop/Rock Music is a young persons thing?" - Chris Whitten

"I think a big part of the issue is that rock and roll is a young ...person's game. No one over the age of 30 is going to write "My Generation," "Summertime Blues," "Surrender," etc. Those kinds of songs tap into the kind of angst that I honestly think only teenagers can feel."  - Andrew

"p.s. on a tangent: james walker i think, mentioned george carlin. i was a huge carlin fan -- but i always felt he got LESS funny as he aged, and after he got off drugs." - smoggrocks

"I do think that the larger shifts in creativity slow as you age.   Not in a negative way mind you.    But in the way I was saying happened to me.   In younger years there is a lot of searching for an artists voice ... then that voice is honed.   Its like a ball bouncing, an exponential decrease until it reaches its natural state.    As we age, hopefully we learn about ourselves and know who we are more.   The more we know ourselves, the less variation there is in the expression of who we are.   Make sense?" - 563

"Years of nonstop excesses-i.e. booze, drugs,TOURING,booze, drugs,Touring,GIRLS,marriage, divorce,booze drugs,touring,touring,booze, drugs, Oh yeah-bickering and disention among bandmates-OH no, someone just commited suicide and they say its cuz they heard it in our material to kill themselves....etc.......

thats one way." - Quicksfoot

"Some artists are crowd pleasers, stacking up the platinum discs and grammy awards. Others are following their own vision and it is often they who move popular music forward as an artistic medium.
When the two approaches come together, as in The Beatles, you can see history in the making." - Chris Whitten


Pop/rock IS a young man's game, I think. I'm 48 now and although I still LOVE playing rock, I can't reclaim the burning emotions it inspired in me 30 years ago. And I don't think I want to - being a teenager is exciting but also DIFFICULT.

I saw Robert Plant last year, and I felt like he was just going through the motions. His comments between songs were throw-aways, and you could tell some of them were timeworn. He did a lot of Zeppelin tunes (reworked) and some of them were GREAT, but his heart wasn't in it. I can understand that, but it was a big disappointment.

Maybe I was hoping he could help me temporarily reclaim, or at least feel, some of that fire from my youth. Reading through this thread and thinking about it, though, I guess I wanted to feel some of the GOOD fire I used to feel without suffering the angst that comes with it. Apparently, you can't do that.

 Ouch! Lounge/Fake Jazz arrangements AND a Green Onions extended jam.  I had a nightmare like this when I ate cold pizza before bedtime.   
Extended jams and Lounge/Fake jazz are two trends I personally don’t like.  The groups I see doing this are usually playing to an empty hall so I don’t know why bands do this.  If it’s done with humor (Lounge Against The Machine) I can take it.  And I can handle long jams if the musicians are capable of creating magic in their solos but this is not always the case.  It is middle age musicians who are doing this and to me they seem to be mailing it in.  Todd Rundgren has always taken off on tangents (The Loosen Up or the fake Beatles album). So hopefully this is a passing phase. 

I think Mick Jagger is right on about older musicians when he said, “you have to get old but you don’t have to be an old phart.”

EDIT:  Instant Karma.  This morning I was staring at an empty calendar.  I posted here for the first time in about a month and the phone started ringing so I’m off  to a gig. 

Tina Turner was middle aged when she made it.  I am not sure that I want to go back to 20 and try out for one the pop boy bands.  I play music that I love and I do it because I love it.  All the new pop musicians want to sing like Stevie Wonder anyway.  They are not reinventing the wheel, he did it 35 or 40 years ago.  At 45 I may never make it but it really doesn't matter to me.  Most of my friends that went on the road after high school gave it up to raise kids and are happy about it.  I don't want to live on a tour bus and not know what town I am playing in or what the girls names are or what day is it anyway.  I am happy to own a home and go home to my family. It is enough to still be gigging and having fun with it. I can do that as long as my health let's me. So can the rest of you. Just one more thing, I am a much better drummer than I was 25 years ago and drumming has kept me inshape and
young at heart.
                                           Nutty

Amen again Nutty.

Great.  Now we'll end up with a glut of Gatorade-drinking geezer mice in little bitty track suits.   

Not only can I still "cut it", but I can buy it, season it, and cook it. The only problem is, The doctor won't let me eat it anymore.