So, it’s been awhile since I’ve done a Friday Drum launch. Hell, it’s been awhile since I posted regularly! The reason for this is pretty simple:  A few weeks ago, I was in a pretty bad motorcycle accident and it’s taken me a little time to get back into the swing of things again. In short, I’m back!

Today’s Friday Drum Launch features a guy I’ve long tried to emulate: Chad Smith. While certainly not the flashiest drummer to ever grace the stage, Chad’s sense of groove, time and unadulterated energy make him one of my favorite. Man, if I had a dollar for every hour I spent playing along to Red Hot Chili Peppers tracks in my studio, I wouldn’t need a day job any more.

While the RHCP’s sound has changed a great deal over the years, Chad’s drumming has remained incredibly consistent and nuanced. While I listened to albums like One Hot Minute and By The Way to check out Chad’s drumming, I didn’t really dig the albums. At all.

That is until Stadium Arcadium was released in 2006. I finally heard some of the magic of their earlier albums coalescing well with a mature approach to the songwriting. And, of course, Chad had some unbelievable tracks on it as well.

Which brings me to today’s Friday Drum Launch. This video looks to be from a clinic Chad did for Sabian in 2007 where he jams along to Readymade from Stadium Arcadium. Sure, there are some standard clinic embellishments in his playing, but the groove is just so slick, it doesn’t matter. Enjoy!

The bass player in my band Lake 32, Jeff Laird, introduced me to Tool about twelve years ago. At the time, I’d heard Sober plenty of times, but hadn’t really kept up with what the band had done after their breakthrough album, Undertow. Jeff lent me AEnema and that was it, I was a Danny Carey fan boy.

I’ve spent countless hours studying Carey’s playing and believe him to be one of the most skilled musicians working today. He is truly one of the most musical drummers I’ve ever had the privilege to listen to. Let’s face it, drummers tend to be relegated to carbon-based metronomes, keeping the time of a song for the guitar player and lead singer. Carey is able to fulfill that role and simultaneously add significantly to the music. There isn’t a single song that Tool has ever recorded that would sound the same with another drummer at the helm. This is because there are few drummers who could think as musically as Carey does behind his kit and deliver on in the playing department.

And thus, I offer you Danny Carey to kick-off your drumming weekend. This is one of my favorite clips of Carey playing the conclusion of the title track of Tool’s 2001 release, Lateralis. Two things to watch for in this sadly short clip:  The double crash cymbal hit on the right side of the kit and the gong hit right in the middle without missing a beat. Carey is one of the best. Enjoy!

Arguably one of my most important drumming influences, Stewart Copeland has had a huge influence on my playing over the years. Like just about everybody else in the US, the first time I heard him play was on the Roxanne single. Copeland’s style was so unique and powerful, I went immediately to my tiny Ludwig kit in my basement and tried to learn the song, playing the 45 on my parents’ record player over and over until I could do it.

The thing that has always amazed me about Copeland is his backbeat. Few drummers in the history of rock hit like he does and that backbeat is undeniable the minute you hear it. That particular characteristics has been a part my own style for years and shows no signs of going away. Of course, it helps that I play a Stewart Copeland signature snare from Tama on my all Gretsch kit!

So, to honor one of my drumming idols, I picked this video from what none of us at the time knew would be The Police’s farewell tour:  The Synchronicity tour of 1983-1984. There aren’t a lot of great videos of Copeland playing with The Police online (most of them focus on Sting and, this one in particular, has some annoying shots of audience members dancing around), but I think this one has enough cuts that demonstrate the raw, earthy power of his playing to make it worth watching.

Enjoy watching this remarkable drummer hit some drums really, really hard. Happy Friday!

When I was a teenager in the 1980s, I often got depressed listening to the radio. Electronic pop music was at the height of its popularity and was ubiquitous. I listened to the radio looking for great drummers and, with a few notable exceptions, I found mostly drum machines droning in my ears.

So I decided I would step back a decade or two and found a treasure trove of rock drummers to listen to, and one of my favorites was Danny Seraphine, the drummer for the band, Chicago. Of course, at the time, he was on the radio all the time, but it was “You’re the Inspiration” and “Hard Habit to Break.” I’ll never forget the first time I listen to Chicago’s debut album, “Chicago Transit Authority.” I couldn’t believe some of the drumming Danny did on that album. I was really drawn to the way he took his obvious jazz roots and incorporated them into the somewhat psychedelic music the band was making. Danny had a lot in common with Mitch Mitchell, but seemed more in control, maybe more focused on serving the song.

Twenty-five years later, I still have trouble nailing down exactly what it is that makes Danny Seraphine such a great drummer, but ultimately that’s not important. The music is. And so, for today’s Friday Drum Launch, I chose Danny performing with his new band, CTA (California Transit Authority), at the 2006 Modern Drummer Festival. In honor of the impact Chicago’s first album had on me, I picked a song I must have listened to a thousand times because it had a long drum solo in it:  “I’m a Man.”

Enjoy!

The thing that originally attracted me to the music of John Mellencamp was his growly vocals or down home guitar licks. It was the drumming, executed by one of the most dynamic, exciting and hard-working drummers in rock today, Kenny Aronoff.

Kenny is no longer with Mellencamp, but makes an excellent living as a hired gun playing with some of rocks biggest artists, including The Smashing Pumpkins, John Fogerty, Melissa Etheridge, Elton John, Bob Dylan, Alanis Morrissette, The Rolling Stones, Puddle of Mudd, Avril Levigne and many, many more.

While perusing the internets earlier this week, I happened up upon this video of Kenny apparently at a clinic playing along to Philip Sayce’s tune, Powerful Thing (the title on the video is mistaken). I think this video captures Kenny’s innate sense of groove and features some startlingly complex fills that also work very well in the context of the song.

So here you go. Enjoy Mr. Kenny Aronoff and Happy Friday to you all!

What helps kick my weekends off with a BANG? Watching some incredible drum work. It just gets me juiced and ready to play on the weekend. So, each Friday, I’ll find some tasty tidbit to share with you and see we can help your weekend get started right as well.

This week, I chose an amazing little video featuring one of my favorite drummers of all time, Dave Matthews Band drummer Carter Beauford, displaying some absolutely amazing chops and musical taste as they jam to the tune, “Two Step.”

Let the summer begin!