Where's the next big thing?

[agogobil]

I got your answer, Mr. A.

It's YOU ... and 563, and chrisso, and felix, and Bart ... and anyone that's reading this great thread.

No one knows what's coming next.  Think about it ... is there any type of music or drumming that you enjoy now that you NEVER thought you'd listen to?  

Lots of great drummers, present and past, being mentioned here.  Obviously, not one is, or was, the greatest.  Everyone has something to offer, whether it's your bag or not.

That's the beauty of it.  It's always a search, and the discovery is the reward.   And when another's talent inspires you or I do go to the next step, that's the deal.

The next big thing is right here, right now.


OK, so what do I win?

[sjm1112]

I think a good mention would have to go to ?uestlove also. If you dont listen to his drumming and know its him you would guess its a drum machine. Im not a huge fan of his bands but I know when I first heard him and then read it was all just him and drums I was impressed, but is it innovative to be able to imitate with acoustic drums a machine that was made to imitate acoustic drums?  I guess the only ones that really stand out to me as being close to who we are looking for are Danny Carey and Carter Bueford, but I dont think either is really truly bringing new stuff in. Ok OK, enough I will just do it, give me a couple of days and I will turn the drumming community on its ear. All I need is some duct tape, an empty missle silo and some creamed corn. Check back with me in a few days.

By the way, anyone have some duct tape I can borrow?

[Bob Pettit]

I think what we're talking about is the guy that comes along and raises the bar for everyone.

I'd say there are several recently, most already mentioned like Horacio Hernandez, Johnny Rabb, Danny Carey, you know, guys that send us all back to the practice room.

[Chris Whitten]

I'd say there are several recently, most already mentioned like Horacio Hernandez, Johnny Rabb, Danny Carey, you know, guys that send us all back to the practice room.

Mr A was talking about drummers who made a wider impact I believe. (I could be wrong there)
Anyway, I have slipped behind in my listening I admit, but I haven't heard anything from the 3 you mentioned.
I think it's easy to live in a bubble of drum forums, drum clinics, trade shows, music schools and think some things are having a bigger impact than they are.
I can tell you that 99.99% of people in the UK have never heard of Galactic for example.
Congratulations to Mr A for lighting up the drummercafe forum like no one else in recent times.  8)

[DrumerFromSysinoid]

a lot of drummers are better then they appear to be, especially rock drummers because the kind of music they play doesn't let them show off much and often the guitarists dont write much outside of 4/4, so there could easily be some incredibley original drummer sitting around in some rock band playing phil rudd style drumming...i'd have to say one thing danny carey has done that's original is his use of electric drums, and you could say the way they turn geographical shapes into rhythms and stuff and the fact that a lot of heavy occult maths goes into a lot of tool's music is original...or you could just say it's too weird and not really related to actually playing the drums enough to actually count.. *shrugs*

[Chris Whitten]

Yeah, I'm definitely better than I appear to be.  ;D
Anyway, interesting points.......

[jokerjkny]

kinda shooting in the dark, but...

i think its the explosion of the drummer/multi-instrumentalist.

guys like Dave Grohl, Tommy Lee, Marco Minnemann, etc.  those who happen to specialize in drums, but also branch out into writing all aspects of their music.

a very subtle, yet wholly subversive way of shaping the way we drum.

[psycht]

I think what we're talking about is the guy that comes along and raises the bar for everyone.

Not necessarily. Its about who is out there taking modern drumming to the next step (not level). Being innovative with their style, becomming an infulence in the same manner as Gadd has done to many or how Copeland has inspired others.  Being an increadble player isn't the focus, its about being origional and how that origionality has been used to infulence others.

(that's my take at least)

[Tony]

It's simple.  Many drummers that have been mentioned here are great and influential.  But they aren't doing anything new.  They don't have an impact on the way a vast majority of drummers play.  Bonham, Gadd, Weckl, Vinnie, these guys aren't just great, influential drummers.  They not only changed the way drummers approached their instrument, they changed the entire industry's expectations of drummers.  They impacted the  industry and art form  in ways that countless other drummers didn't.  And some of them continue to do so today.  

I think the only person that may fit this catergory in the past 20 years would be Jeff Pocaro.  We could debate the "what if he didn't die" question, but that would be pointless.  Even in his relatively short career, he made an impact.  His studio work was highly regarded and raised the bar for drummers at that time.  

[drwalker]

I'll jump in again ... because not everyone is getting the topic.



I believe the thread is to discuss who we think is a recent or upcoming  innovator who is establishing something new ... something that others will hold on to, modeling their own playing after, in ways never done before.

That is why I mentioned Danny Carey  with his music background I think he is just getting started..   If he can do other things other than TOOL and PLC maybe do some jazz I think he has a chance to show us something fresh.. IMHO, YMMV and all that BS.

And I don't hear Bill Bruford in his playing at all!

dw

[Hootsama]

I can tell you that 99.99% of people in the UK have never heard of Galactic for example.

Not sure why this is relevant... Hell, many of the names mentioned thus far are new to me... does that make these folks less influencial in the drumming community, as a whole?  I doubt it.

I firmly believe that innovators will bubble up to the surface long before they are known to 99.99% of the UK... the USA... the globe.  Noteriety does not an influential musician make.  If it did, Eminem would be considered the second coming...

Just my $.02.

[drumwild]

Its about who is out there taking modern drumming to the next step (not level).

Just gotta figure out what the next step may be.

[Mark Schlipper]

It's YOU 563

[size=-2]edited for self egrandizing puposes[/size]

I was going to say its me ... but that sounded so egocentric I thought it might ruin my humble image.  

Actually Im beginning to think Redchapter might be on to something with Grohl.  Obviously it hasnt been viewed from far enough away to say for certain, but I do think theres some validity to that.

Think about it, pop music changed when Nirvana broke.   Sure, Guns and Roses was a step ahead but they were still rooted in LA glam.   Nirvana was something new (to mainstream) and changed the face of it.   Grohl was in the chair when it happened.  He's influenced countless drummers (whether they admit it or not), and helped change the face of music, which changes the face of drumming.

How many of you whove been doing covers for a while found themselves including Nirvana songs in thier list?  

Will his chops be copied?   Maybe later if they arent already.   But Id guess (since Im not a session guy) that there are many a producer who have and will continue to say "Can you play it like Dave Grohl?"  

He gets my vote.   A far cry from my fave drummer thats for sure, but I see and hear what I see and hear.

[James Walker]

Actually Im beginning to think Redchapter might be on to something with Grohl.  Obviously it hasnt been viewed from far enough away to say for certain, but I do think theres some validity to that.

I don't think Grohl is the answer to Mr_A's original question, for a couple of reasons.

1)  Mainly, the "next" part of it - didn't Nirvana first hit almost ten years ago?

2)  Maybe I'm listening for the wrong things, but the kinds of drummers cited in this thread by Mr_A and others have struck me as prompting one of the following reactions from other drummers and musicians in general:

- "How did he do that?"
- "Where in the world did he come up with that idea?"

...and in the case of some (Gadd, Vinnie, Copeland, a.o.), both the ideas and the technical application of them were revolutionary.  I'm not knocking Grohl or Nirvana, but of the Nirvana recordings I've heard, I haven't heard anything in his drumming that struck me as groundbreaking in terms of musical ideas or technical facility.  His own style?  Effective drumming?  Sure - but that's not what this thread is about.

Yes, Nirvana changed the popular landscape when it came to music.  Yes, lots of drummers have been influenced by their music, including Grohl's drumming - but unless he comes up with something new now, I don't think he'll qualify as the next "big thing."

IMHO, etc.

PS  Some others have mentioned Akira Jimbo and other drummers who have incorporated electronics into their setup.  As innovative as some of their work is, I don't see it having a massive influence ala Gadd or Copeland - there are too many drummers who want absolutely nothing to do with electronics, either because they've tried it and decided it wasn't for them, or because they just have an inherent bias against instruments you plug into the wall.

If we do have another visionary on the horizon, it's going to have to be someone who is successful in a number of different genres - someone who shows that his "thing" can be applied in jazz, rock, pop, etc., as Gadd and Colaiuta did, or whose music has such strong musical sensibilities that those in other genres will appreciate it (like jazz musicians appreciating Copeland's work).  A guy might turn one genre on its ear, but so many musicians nowadays look at music with aural blinders, they're often ignorant of, or indifferent to, innovations in genres outside of the style they play.

Again, IMYO, YMMV, etc., etc., etc.

[felix]

You know I've been thinking and I'm going to take a guess at what I think is gonna be the next "big" thing.

I saw a NY drummer a few months ago, young guy named Matt Dubrowski who reminded me of a sorta Bill Stewart type of style.  What Matt did and does with Alex Skolnic is "jazz" up rock tunes and I mean authentically jazz them up so it turns into this fast fusion (but not the meandering Miles Davis Bitches Brew type stuff) with slick and melodic changes.  So what you have is ripping rock ala jam band ala hard core swing/bop.  The kid then throws in latin rhythyms (going against the triple meter) and uses them for fills.  The ingredients are there for any accomplished or hell, not so accomplished player to stretch the limits.

I just think what those guys (Alex Skolnik Trio) are doing is so undeniably GOOD and HIP that if a resurgence of swing/jazz ever did come around which it will ( because music is cyclical, even pop music I think) then we should be in for some innovative drumming hitting the mainstream again.

Just my two cents  ;D

[Tony]

That is why I mentioned Danny Carey  with his music background I think he is just getting started..   If he can do other things other than TOOL and PLC maybe do some jazz I think he has a chance to show us something fresh.. IMHO, YMMV and all that BS.

And I don't hear Bill Bruford in his playing at all!

dw

First, I'm a huge Tool fan.  I seen them 2x and I think Danny Carey is easily my favorite drummer of the past 10 years.  But to say you can't hear Bruford in his playing ???  Even DC will admit to the huge influence BB has on him and that it is evident in his playing.

[smoggrocks]

i haven't been playing drums long enough, and therefore don't feel like i even qualify to answer, but in recent years i've seen three guys that made me really stop and think about what playing drums is all about, and what is possible on our instrument. those three are gary husband, thomas lang and gary novack.

i saw gary husband play with alan holdsworth [crazy fusion gig] and in a fiery 'swing' setting. at first, i was almost troubled by his playing, coz i didn't quite "get it." not because he was musically whacking off, but because it seemed so DEEP. i just think he has an insanely passionate, profound and musical approach to the drums that floored me in a tony williams kind of way.

thomas lang knocked my socks off at a modern drummer festival. i'd never heard of him or seen him before, but his facility with multi-limbed use was really mind-bending. and it wasn't gratuitous stuff. the guy was genuinely musical and in touch with playing for the song. extremely well-rounded, powerful player. also a major-league babe.

gary novack blew me away when i heard some of the chick stuff he did. i think it's the combination of his drum sound and choice of fills [timing/sticking pattern/note groupings] that made me stop and take note. it's also so cool to see someone in touch with two very diverse musical forms [seeing as he does the alanis gig as well].


i should also mention tain watts, who i cherish immensely, even though i still can't understand what he does. he's just a friggin' animal. it's great to see and hear him play. john riley did a whole clinic on tain's use of metric modulation at a pasic clinic, and it brought a whole new dimension to my understanding of rhythm.



to me, just about any drummer i see brings something new and exciting to the picture, because i suck so bad. but the four aforementioned people made ME stand up and take note, and think 'if i ever got really good, i'd like to take something of what this guy did and do something with it.'



but that's just me. if these guys [with the exception of novack] never get a real hi-profile gig, the rest of the world may never take note of their achievements, which is a shame.

[ayottedrums]

Well, wasn't Matt Cameron (Soundgarden, Wellwater Conspiracy, PJ) an influential drummer? He was part of a culture like grunge was. He is very interesting.

He has obvious influences of Bonham, the way he plays that fast bass drum pace. Pure Bonham.

BTW... Why doesnt Bonham get the recognition he deserves?? To me, one of the best ever.

[cavalier302]

About that whole drumset spinning thing that was mentioned a while back...Buddy Rich did it first with Jerry Lewis (I have a video clip on my computer from Kazaa of them playing together, it's pretty cool).

[Chris Whitten]

"I can tell you that 99.99% of people in the UK have never heard of Galactic for example."
Not sure why this is relevant... Hell, many of the names mentioned thus far are new to me... does that make these folks less influencial in the drumming community, as a whole?

It's relevant because Mr A's original post was about 'the next big thing'. The drummers he mentioned (Gadd, Cobham, Stewart Copeland, Manu Katche) trancended the cliquey drummer community and changed the face of rhythm tracks in rock/pop music in general.
As soon as their drumming hit the charts I was being told by record producers "this song needs a '50 ways to leave your lover' feel" or a 'Police' feel.
I'm not sure if someone like Stanton Moore will ever make that big an impact.
If you think of Copeland, I can't think of anyone who was playing Reggae grooves by thrashing the bell on his ride and doubling up the feel with a cranked snare. He sounded completely unique at the time......but on a string of number one singles.
It's a lot easier to be innovative in a selective market. Try doing it on 'commercial' material. That's what makes the drummers Mr A mentioned hall of famers IMHO.