Recommended Reading
I just thought I'd mention something brief about some of the influential and inspirational drummers who I've been exposed to during my drumming career so far. Hopefully this will give potential students a better idea of what I’m about, the aspects of drumming I encourage as a drum teacher and as a player, and above all, I hope you will go away and listen to the drummers I mention, and be inspired by their ability to ascend a piece of music to greatness just by feel and intuition.
The four drummers who always come to mind whenever anyone asks me ‘who are your main influences as a drummer?’ are, in no particular order, Gavin Harrison, Nicko McBrain, Steve Gadd and Vinnie Colaiuta. As a ‘prog’ drummer in a band like Haken, I often feel I’m expected to churn out the most original, complex, intricate drum lines I can possibly think of, but it’s these guys that I’ve listed that always make me realise that the power, energy and groove in what you play is paramount.
You only need to listen to a track like ‘Seven Days’ by Sting to realise how talented a drummer Vinnie Colaiuta is. His ability to manipulate a relatively unusual 5/4 metre into the most simple and natural of feels is admirable, yet he subtly adds many intricate cross-rhythmic layers on top of this beat to bring it to life. He never over-complicates things; he drives every track forward with power, energy and groove, whilst creating original, complex and intricate drum lines. This goes for the other three drummers on my list too.
