Matt Tong

[Ashbash]

Hey guys! I haven't been on this awesome site for quite a while now - school commitments and yada yada... you know the drill...

Anyways, I decided to glance through here for a while, but I realised, to my hearts disappointment - that there was next to nothing of any mention of my new "stuck in my head" drummer - Matt Tong.

Oh the travesty!

When will it end? Not only is there no page for him on the site, he's not on the wishlist, OR the watchlist, nor is there a post devoted to him.

Sure he may not be as awesome as some of the greats out there, but I reckon he's worth a listen. He's the drummer for Bloc Party (http://www.blocparty.com/) - and he adds this dimension to the music that makes it ecstatic. Normally I don't go for this kinda music, but this stuff's pretty good.

Only thing he's every done wrong is decided (with Bloc Party) to tour as a frontrunner with panic at the disco... Played his little heart out there as well - or should I say lung... hehehe

All the best

- Ashbash

PS: Plus he's asian. Wow. Finally a good asian drummer in the sortofish mainstream!

[the.tree]

I coulda sworn I started a thread about him. And yes I give him respect when respect is do. He is a great drummer and comes up with creative beats plus bloc party is a really good band.

[rendezvous_drummer]

You did start one Tree, but it's not here anymore. I like Bloc Party, but find Tong's drumming way too busy for the music, especially in the fills he makes in "Like Eating Glass". If he fitted the music more, then I'd have more respect, but I do like the band and the drumming that he does play when it fits is great. Looking forward to the next album....and yes, I don't like the fact they opened up for Panic! At the Disco either, but it's exposure a great oppurtunity for them none the less.

[punkdrummer1]

Matt Tong. What's else to say?

Matt is probaly one of the best new drummer's ive seen in a while. He's very creative. He, uses some of the most creative beats i've heard in a while. It may just be me, but he's like a light hitting Travis Barker with his "shuffles" on his hi-hats. I've recently gottin' into Bloc Party, probaly because of the drumming and great lyrics, (My lighter side) and im usualy listening to drummers banging the crap out of there kits. Drum! Magazine did a segment in i believe there March Issue, wich is the Andy Hurley one. (Andy Hurley isent that good :P)

Matt is the future........ KEEP A LOOK OUT


(btw, Panic! At The Disco SUCKS! no offense)

[drummerJOE]

I love matt tong, as well as bloc party. They're probably one of my favorite bands. He has great creativity and his chops arent bad either.

I actually went to that panic at the disco show just to see bloc party play, but it turned out his lung collapsed or whatever the show before. Needless to say, i was rather disapointed.

[Tetley]

i love the intensity of his playing, he is very creative and gets a large variety of sounds from three cymbals. (hats, crash, ride)

[Vinnysimmo]

We is one of my favorite drummers and Bloc Party are one of my favorite bands. I love his style of drumming and i happen to think his drumming and Kele´s voice are the two thing that make Bloc Party a cut above a lot of the indie bands doing the rounds.

[charlie_drums[SPA]]

I really like Matt Tong, i think he's one of the best drummers of the present time (we're talking about commercial music, pop, rock, indie). His rhythms are awesome, and i love the sound of his drumset in the first album, Silent Alarm... I think he uses Sabian, but i don't know if he uses DW or Yamaha, i'm not sure.

By the way.. is he asian?

[Alex_McKenzie_2005]

I heard that his drumming is inspired by R'n'B beats, which you can definitely hear in Hunting for Witches.

I like Bloc Party, and I think Tong's drumming works well with the music.

[drum.lad]

its nice to see a mainstream drummer rockin the starter lookin 5 piece and 3 cymbals.i saw him recently and he was amazing full of energy great drummer great band

[Erik Lund]

Yeah "Tong" is chinese. He's asian.


Great drummer. Love playing along to the last couple albums.

[freehandstyle]

He's actually half British and half Chinese.
I read an interview of him in a Hong Kong trend magazine which he said so.

Anyways, he's definitely one of my inspiration for drumming as his drumming is very creative and interesting. I must say that the album A Weekend in the City is a waste of his talent as he resorted back to the traditional pop/rock drumming. All the creativity and unique drumming in Silent Alarm is gone! The thing I like about their first album is that almost every song has a different beat to it.

Some might consider his drumming too busy, but if everybody does the same old thing, it wouldn't be interesting wouldn't it? :)

Though, i heard from a few people that has seen Matt live says that he goes offbeat at times during the concert? Anyone elaborate on that?

[Jaden]

when hes on, hes on
and
when hes off, ...hes off


all drummers have mistakes and mess ups but usually you learn how to cover them up very discretely over time. He messes up like everyone else does but for some odd reason when he does its very glaring.

songs like like breaking glass and luno and helicopter are pretty tough for him still live

...his drumming on WitC dare i say is often EXTREMELY underated, especially on then first half and especially in the prayer, which is definitely his hardest drum track (along with skeleton) and he happens to play it completely flawlessly live. Check a youtube where they play it on letterman... its a well known and rather amusing fact that many people didn't like some of the songs on WitC because they blamed the producer for putting in a drum machine and replacing tong when in fact it was actually Tong playing the track....just really really really like a drum machine.

[AllTheCoolNamesAreTaken]

I'm a Tong fan, at least from 'Silent Alarm'. The new album hasn't really grabbed me. Seems like they're trying to be like Radiohead. But man Matt can play fast. And as for how he makes mistakes, he is very open about it. There's an interview I can't find right now where the interviewer is just asking the band how they're finding their new fame and Matt goes off about how he has trouble nailing this complex part of one of their songs, and how it keeps him up at night. The other guys of Bloc Party have said they chose Matt because when he played it was a sound they had never heard before, and they meant that in a good way.