Great drummers - quotes

[Ian Williams]

These quotes are from Mr. John Bonham:

"Drumming was the only thing I was ever good at."

"Not everybody likes or understands a drum solo, so I like to bring in effects and sounds to keep their interest."

"I remember in the early days when we played six nights a week for a month and I was doing my long drum solo every night. My hands were covered in blisters."

"There were times when I blundered and got the dreaded look from the lads. But that was a good sign. It showed I'd attempted something I'd not tried before."

They are profound with an strong meaning in our lives.

Someone else wants to share? Any other drummers?

Thanks,

[andSometimesY]

Vladimir Horowitz once said, "If I miss practicing 1 day, I know it. If I miss practicing 2 days, my wife knows it. If I miss it for three days, my audience knows it." He was a pianist, but this is still a good quote to remember in regards to practice and dedication to the instrument.

[Boomka]

"First of all, you have to want to play for the song. Then you'll start seeing musical value and fulfillment in that. You won't even think,"I could have done this really cool lick there." That is defeatist, non-musical thinking...

Anytime you strike the drums, you have to be aware that you're creating a musical event. If you think of it as something more or less technical, you're thinking reductionistically.

What I see happening a lot within drumming is a microcosmic example of what's happening in society, which is sensationalism...but now, if it's not sensational, its value is diminished. That kind of mentality contributes to short attention spans...

There's nothing wrong with personal development through playing an instrument, but what happens when it's treated as a sport? If you want razzle-dazzle...if you want to beat somebody up, be a boxer. All this time I thought drumming was art.

There are a lot of guys out there with skills who have not contributed to the evolution of the instrument. It's about more than that...it's an emotive language, an aesthetic. Skill is an aspect, but it's what you do with that skill, or say with that skill, that matters. "

"You must show respect and compassion towards the other musicians, and at the same time try to guide things along. I think this is most important. Obviously, you need the capacity and the skills, but technical skill alone is not enough."

-- Vinnie Colaiuta


"I've found over the years that the feel overcomes everything. If you get a good groove happening, that carries it along. If it feels good, there's not a lot you have to do. You can pick and choose your spots to dynamically respond to what's going on, but you don't have to technically, constantly challenge yourself to fill in those spaces.
When you play live, it's another ballgame. People can see the excitement, and that helps them put it together with the audio. When you don't have that visual thing, it's better to keep it simple. It's a lot more understandable."

And easily my favorite piece of advice ever given by a drummer:

"Never pet a burning dog."

-- Steve Gadd

[aydee]

And easily my favorite piece of advice ever given by a drummer:



-- Steve Gadd

Is this for real, Boomka? Gadd? My respect for him only grows : )


Well, this aint a drummer quote but sort of is too..

“We are all a little weird and life's a little weird, and when we find someone whose weirdness is compatible with ours, we join up with them and fall in mutual weirdness and call it love.”

-Didnt Oscar Wide play drums too?

..and here is one from Bill Evans, a eulogy for all those exploded and imploded jazz threads on this forum:

“Actually, I'm not interested in Zen that much, as a philosophy, nor in joining any movements. I don't pretend to understand it. I just find it comforting. And very similar to jazz. Like jazz, you can't explain it to anyone without losing the experience. It's got to be experienced, because it's feeling, not words.”
- Bill Evans quotes (American jazz Pianist. 1929-1980)

[Boomka]

Is this for real, Boomka? Gadd? My respect for him only grows : )


I found the quote in Peter Erskine's first method book. Gave me a great laugh at the time. Still gives me a good chuckle.

[Pollyanna]

While you’re crashing you can’t hear the vocal and you can’t hear the guitar part, you know? I just always felt like the drums shouldn’t take over the song.
Moe Tucker

My first experience in the studio was when Spinozza called me to do an R&B record. And I remember I played on the bell of the cymbal and everyone went, “Wow…how’d you do that?”
Rick Marotta

I became a drummer because it's the only thing I could do. But whenever I hear another drummer, I know I'm no good.....I'm not good on the technical things, but I'm good with all the motions, swinging my head, like.
Ringo

To get your playing more forceful, hit the drums harder
Keith Moon

Eat drums! Eat cymbals!
Animal

[Ian Williams]

This quote is from Ian Paice:

That technical side of drumming has never been of any interest to me at all. I’ve taken the technique I have, the things I need to use, and you see some of these kids doing this extreme fantastic stuff, to me its like an exercise, I don’t see a lot of music in it. It’s purely for a very small part of the population.

Well two bass drums is an amazing effect, but that’s all it is. If you overplay it loses its effect, like a Ferrari and you go everywhere at 180 mph. That starts to become a little less interesting than you think its going to be, but if you go along at 30 mph for a couple of hours and then you do 180 mph then that’s sort of exciting and it’s the same thing with two bass drums. If they come from nowhere, they are shattering but when you hear them every two minutes, the effect is lost. Some of the really good players understand this and they use them when they need them, the same way as the tom-tom or the cow bell, you use it for the moment. Lots of young kids get carried away with the pure thunder of it and in the end there are no patterns.

[PQleyR]

I like this thread! More please!

[Ian Williams]

I like this thread! More please!

Thanks, it's good to know that you like it....more on it's way.

[Ian Williams]

Quote from Bill Ward:

When I started playing in Sabbath, there was an energy of truth about us. We believed in what we were saying, the music we were making and the lives we were living.

Sabbath have been, and are, my greatest teachers, and I am forever grateful for the musical journey so far.

I am humbled to know many of you. Music lives and brings and maintains life. Music has always brought me through.

[Ian Williams]

Nigel Glockler - Saxon:

" I’m not knocking young musicians at all but I want to hear the next young John Bonham. I’m always terrified that music standards are slipping."

" But generally my thing is, if it feels slow, its right, because that’s compensating for the adrenaline."

[caddywumpus]

If you think you stink, you probably do.
-Buddy Rich

[Ian Williams]

From Bernard Purdie:

"feel my way into nearly every kind of music, 'cause I had to know all styles and was never afraid to try something new."

Peace Always.........

[Ian Williams]

From Jon "Bermuda" Schwartz:

Besides the regular paycheck, I also enjoyed respect from other musicians for being able to successfully balance careers. Players who claim that having a day-job will interfere with their music could learn from my example."

"I get to be a dozen different drummers on every album... I don't know of another drummer who has a gig like that. It's always fun and often a genuine challenge. Al's made me play parts I didn't know how to play. I need to thank him for that."

[Muckster]

What does your warmup routine consist of?

Buddy Rich: " I take my hands out of my pocket."

[Toza]

"A good groove releases adrenaline in your body. You feel uplifted, you feel centered, you feel calm, you feel powerful. You feel that energy. That's what good drumming is all about."
Mickey Hart

"Sound is power and the first sound we hear is the pulse of our mother's blood. No sound has a more powerful effect on our consciousness. Drumming is the musical expression of this primal power. Rhythm is a means of organizing sound into specific energy formulas to harmonize the mind and body. Chanting, rhythmic breathing and drumming form an ancient technology for directly synchronizing the mind/body complex, creating conditions for psychological and physical healing".
Layne Redmond

"In many cultures there is a belief that the sound of the drum actually rearranges matter and spirit on the atomic level - correcting imbalances in emotion by bringing to the surface those feelings that require release. It is not surprising then that the drum has been the tool of the Shaman for all time"
Robin Adnan Anders

"Life is about rhythm. We vibrate, our hearts are pumping blood, we are a rhythm machine, that's what we are."
Mickey Hart


“Everytime we put a record out, we lose people that can't deal with the growth.”
Neil Peart

"Almost everything I've done, I've done through my own creativity. I don't think I ever had to listen to anyone else to learn how to play drums. I wish I could say that for about ten thousand other drummers."
Buddy Rich

"That damn fool knows the instrument".
Jo Jones about Buddy Rich:)

"Drummers don't write - or at least, that's what everybody believes."
Tony Williams

“I'm the greatest rock and roll drummer on the planet and you suck.”
“I never completed high school and I am very rich and very successful.”
Tré Cool (Green Day)

[jon e rotten]

"I'm not trying to KILL people, I'm trying to HEAL people"

Elvin Jones


"When you can't feel anything else, you can always feel the beat"

Don't remember who said that.

[Ian Williams]

[QUOTE=jon e rotten;585104
"When you can't feel anything else, you can always feel the beat"

Don't remember who said that.[/QUOTE]

Can you search, please? I am interesting to know.

[Ian Williams]

“ When a man is playing, it’s up to the drummer to give him something to make him feel the music and make him work. That’s the drummer’s job. The drummer should give the music expression, shading, and the right accompaniment. It’s not just to beat and make a noise”. -- Baby Dodds

[boomstick]

I've always liked this quote by Jabo Starks, although he was paraphrasing what some more seasoned band members told him when he started to play professionally:

"They taught me: "I don't care what you play, I don't care how you play, I don't care if you don't ever play fancy, I don't care if you don't ever play the greatest solos in the world, all I want you to do is remember this: Play time. Play the time. Hold the time. You're the heartbeat. Once that time starts, you hold it right there. Whatever anybody else does, don't you go there. Make them come back to you."

This quote doesn't come from a drummer, but it relates to drumming, and I really like it. It's from Thelonius Monk:

"Just because you're not a drummer doesn't mean that you don't have to keep time."

Also from Monk:

"You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?

[Tropellor]

Make the Metronome your friend, not your enemy

- Vinnie Colaiuta

[wy yung]

"You exist to serve the music. The music does not exist to serve you!"

Jamie Muir to Bill Bruford.

[Ian Williams]

" Keith Moon playing is beautiful and totally free." ~ Tony Williams

" The God of all drummers, Max Roach. ~ Ginger Baker

" A band’s only as good as its drummer’ ~ The Old Saying

[MikeM]

"If you want something done right, forget about it."
-someone in Rush

[Pollyanna]

I love Boomka's quote of Vinnie:

"Anytime you strike the drums, you have to be aware that you're creating a musical event"

To me, it's a statement that reminds you of what it's all about and puts you in the right frame of mind for playing music.

Here's a Ringo quote:

"I've never been able to sit round on my own and play drums, practice in the back room, never been able to. I've always played with other musicians. It`s how I play, there`s no joy for me in playing on my own, bashing away. I need a bass, a piano, guitar, whatever, and then I can play".

[Ian Williams]

"It's all to do with the swing. You get a much better tone with a big stroke than you do with a short stab." ~ John Bonham

"Your drummers not much good, is he? Let me have a go and I'll show you." ~ John Bonham

[Malti]

"I think the drummer should sit back there and play some drums, and never mind about the tunes. Just get up there and wail behind whoever is sitting up there playing the solo. And this is what is lacking, definitely lacking in music today. "
Buddy Rich

"I've got blisters on my fingers!" Reportedly what Ringo Starr said, throwing his drumsticks across the room after the 18th take of “Helter Skelter.”

"Learning to play a musical instrument is not an extra curricular activity. It's as fundamental to your overall education as math and history"
Mrs. Scrable (My 5th grade piano teacher)

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

"I've got blisters on my fingers!" Reportedly what Ringo Starr said, throwing his drumsticks across the room after the 18th take of “Helter Skelter.”

Love it! You can hear it on the album, at the end of the track.......although I always thought it was John Lennon.

[Ian Williams]

Very good ones! - Malti.

~ Very true coming from Buddy Rich's quote.

~ About Ringo Starr, that's funny what he did after the blisters...Can you imagine John Bonham throwing drumsticks across the stage, after playing Moby Dick! He would it throw tons of them!

+ I particularly like Mrs. Scrable quote - clever lady.


"I think the drummer should sit back there and play some drums, and never mind about the tunes. Just get up there and wail behind whoever is sitting up there playing the solo. And this is what is lacking, definitely lacking in music today. "
Buddy Rich

"I've got blisters on my fingers!" Reportedly what Ringo Starr said, throwing his drumsticks across the room after the 18th take of “Helter Skelter.”

"Learning to play a musical instrument is not an extra curricular activity. It's as fundamental to your overall education as math and history"
Mrs. Scrable (My 5th grade piano teacher)

[Pollyanna]

A John Densmore quote:

“People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music. I've had people say kids died in Vietnam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music.... On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent.”

[Ian Williams]

Unbeatable theatrical sensibility...coming from John Densmore.

A John Densmore quote:

“People lost their virginity to this music, got high for the first time to this music. I've had people say kids died in Vietnam listening to this music, other people say they know someone who didn't commit suicide because of this music.... On stage, when we played these songs, they felt mysterious and magic. That's not for rent.”

[Funky Crêpe]

Don't pray to ashes, pass on the fire....jojo mayer

he was talking about how what vinnie does is great, but he is the limit, he said that if someone tries to make what vinnie does even harder and complicated then it loses it's musiciality...i believe he said " it's retarded".

and with the quote he was saying that he wants to be the tony williams of our time, not tony re-encarnated

[larryace]

Could someone please make me feel really stupid by explaining the meaning of Steve Gadds "never pet a burning dog" quote?

[baquetin]

Could someone please make me feel really stupid by explaining the meaning of Steve Gadds "never pet a burning dog" quote?
xDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD

I am in for that too,

[Pollyanna]

Could someone please make me feel really stupid by explaining the meaning of Steve Gadds "never pet a burning dog" quote?

Haha! I can only guess too. Good on you for being the one to ask :)

My impression was that he was asked to give advice to his fans out in drumland and those were the sage words he had (a bit like don't touch a hot stove), ie. he wasn't in a mentor-ish mood. It's just a guess and it wouldn't surprise if it's completely wrong

[JPW]

"The greatest contribution jazz has made in music has been to replace the role of the conductor with a member of the ensemble who, instead of waving his arms to keep time and convey mood, is an active member of the musical statement. That person is the drummer." - Elvin Jones

[larryace]

Here I thought I was the only one who didn't get that quote. Polly may be right, but maybe someone could shed even more light.

[Kaiser]

"When we get on stage, we are all the same age except that I have been playing longer and I am older than them."

Roy Haynes

[JPW]

"When we get on stage, we are all the same age except that I have been playing longer and I am older than them."

Roy Haynes

That's just stupid without explanation or context. =P

[Kaiser]

That's just stupid without explanation or context. =P

He was asked what its like playing in a band with younger guys (He's 85 now.)
Hope that clears it up for you.

[JPW]

He was asked what its like playing in a band with younger guys (He's 85 now.)
Hope that clears it up for you.

Ah ok, it's a nice quote then. =)

[Ian Williams]

Steve was asked during an interview once: What advice would you give a young musician trying to break into the music business?

.....and his reflection was: "Never pet a burning dog"

Could someone please make me feel really stupid by explaining the meaning of Steve Gadds "never pet a burning dog" quote?

[Funky Crêpe]

maybe he meant play safe? If you want to make it it's not about flash, but bread and butter groove.....don't try and pet a burning dog because you will burn out aswell??? just my opinion!

or maybe only play with people that are better than you? if you play with those worse they will infect you aswell!!

[larryace]

The more I think about it the more I think it was an attempt at humor, nothing to do with drumming whatsoever

[Ian Williams]

No worries! I will ask Steve about it, he usually crawls at the pub right next door....(;-)) for sure We will have a beer pint.

[boomstick]

It reminds me of an Alfred Hitchcock quote. When asked if he had any advice for young filmmakers, he responded:

"Stay out of jail."

[larryace]

Translated: I'm not giving anything away, earn it like I did.

[Pollyanna]

Translated: I'm not giving anything away, earn it like I did.

Only in that moment. Steve seems like a nice guy (ask Ian :) and has been plenty generous with advice when talking about drumming. Ian's extra info shows that Steve was taking about the music biz in general.

If he's being at all serious (?) then he's saying the music biz these days is a burning (dying?) dog that will burn you and is best to avoid IMO. Here's Steve giving out the goodies:

The most important thing that the drummer has to do is keep everything solid, to lay down a groove for the others to play within. There are types of music where the arranger wants the rhythm to breath with the vocals, or the drummer is just an accompanist, but most commercial work is built on a groove set by the drummer.

Whatever I am playing, I try to begin by giving the minimum amount necessary to make the piece settle down while still contributing something to the music; then if people want more, I can give it. When you start out as simply as possible, you give the thing a chance to settle and you discover where the tune itself wants to be ...

Keeping everything tight and solid becomes especially important and difficult when a song moves from one section to the next. When you get to the bridge or the piece moves to another level of intensity there's a natural tendency for the time to speed up if you're not concentrating hard; and at the fade the piece usually starts burning and everyone gets excited so there is even more chance for the tempo to go wrong. ... using [click tracks] can help a drummer discover the natural tendencies in a piece.


maybe he meant play safe? If you want to make it it's not about flash, but bread and butter groove.....don't try and pet a burning dog because you will burn out aswell??? just my opinion!

or maybe only play with people that are better than you? if you play with those worse they will infect you as well!!

LOL one of the great things about art and, especially abstraction - people can interpret things any way they like.

Was Macarthur Park about a dying relationship or young people dying from smack ODs? Was the "turn me on dead man" line in Revolution 9 meant to fan the flames of the Paul-is-dead rumour? Is the love in All You Need Is Love platonic, intimate, theistic or ...? Was All Along the Watchtower about the Counterculture coming to sweep away a hubristic Establishment?

Ambiguity is like a mirror and tells as much about us as it does about the artist or speaker.

[Ian Williams]

Very good, Polly.
This is becoming an interesting analysis about Steve's quote - I think the same as You, that he refers about "Show Business", being a rampant plunderer (my words), it gives and takes out of the musician - so watch it!

[Pollyanna]

Some more quotes about show / music business:

"There's no damn business like show business -- you have to smile to keep from throwing up.
Billie Holiday

"There's no business like show business, but there are several businesses like accounting."
David Letterman

"There's no doubt about it, show business lures the people who didn't get enough love, attention, or approval early in life and have grown up to become bottomless, gaping vessels of terrifying, abject need. Please laugh."
Dennis Miller

"Milton Berle is an inspiration to every young person that wants to get into show business. Hard work, perseverance, and discipline: all the things you need...when you have no talent."
Dean Martin

"Modern music is people who can't think signing artists who can't write songs to make records for people who can't hear."
Frank Zappa

"The hardest thing in the world to do in this business is start a band nobody's heard of."
Tom Whalley, Interscope Records

[boomstick]

"The drum is the most seductive musical instrument. Its rhythm reminds us of our beating heart. Its sound clears our mind. We let go of our rational self. Drumstick up - the heart flutters. Drumstick down - the mind awakens." - From the movie Zhan gu (The Drummer)

[Ferret]

maybe he meant play safe? If you want to make it it's not about flash, but bread and butter groove.....don't try and pet a burning dog because you will burn out aswell??? just my opinion!

or maybe only play with people that are better than you? if you play with those worse they will infect you aswell!!

I disagree, bread and butter + flashy flaming dog = excellent, one of kind toast.

Perhaps the phrase is incomplete.

He says: "Never pet a burning dog" omitting "bare handed" as it is implied common sense.

He lives: "Never pet a burning dog without buttered gloves made of bread"

Its a pretty tricky business to crack, that requires a little luck and a little insanity. All of that is summed up in this phrase.

[MikeM]

"The music business is a cruel and shallow money trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run free, and good men die like dogs. There's also a negative side."
-- Hunter S. Thompson

[Ian Williams]

"When I speak of natural drummers I'm talking about guys that are playing with the talent God gave 'em." ~ Gene Krupa

[Jeff Gordon #24]

"People who don't take care of their drums really annoy me." - John Bonham

"If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of his children a drum." - Old Chinese proverb

"Almost everything I've done, I've done through my own creativity. I don't think I ever had to listen to anyone else to learn how to play drums. I wish I could say that for about ten thousand other drummers." - Buddy Rich

"Never leave spontaneity to chance." - Neil Peart

"I don't like drum solos, to be honest with you, but if anybody ever told me he didn't like Buddy Rich I'd right away say go and see him, at least the once." - Charlie Watts

"You can't be everything. Nobody is everything. You just do what you do, and you try to do that as well as you can. And if somebody doesn't like it, too bad." - Vinnie Colaiuta

[beastdrummagirl]

"Sometimes you'd come up against a brick wall... or sometimes you go into a fill and you'd know halfway through it was going to be disastrous." - John Bonham :)

[beastdrummagirl]

[QUOTE=Jeff Gordon #24;683519]"People who don't take care of their drums really annoy me." - John Bonham
Ok... i am in love w/ John's quote.... thats pretty much how every drummer feels but i think his quote is amazing :)

[RogerLudwig]

"I'd rather play jazz, I hate rock and roll"

Ginger Baker

"They credited us with the birth of that sort of heavy metal thing. Well, if that's the case, there should be an immediate abortion."

Ginger Baker


“In 1968, I was driving from Los Angeles to San Francisco in a Shelby Cobra with three gorgeous young birds. Suddenly, the radio program was interrupted to report that I'd just been found in my hotel room dead from an overdose.”

Ginger Baker

he must have meant a Shelby Mustang, 'cause a Cobra was a two-seater. Then again....

[fixxxer]

Not really a quote but it was in his book Roadshow and i thought it was funny:
"Who died and made you Neil Peart?"

[Funky Crêpe]

"don't pray to ashes, pass on the fire"

[toddy]

"A true master is full of compassion for those just starting out, for he knows the perils of the journey."

[Travis22]

"Take one stick away from a drummer and what do you get?....a director!"

[tonyp123]

"When I play a theater, I play a theater." --Buddy Rich, on The Muppet Show, while playing a solo on various stage equipment.

[michael h]

I was told by a friend/former teacher of mine that Peter Erskine said " A drummer should never go to a gig with an agenda" In other words, just go to make music..I like that..

[Pollyanna]

So I have the classic amateur's technique; I know some very tricky bits and I have large gaping holes. This amateurism however, can sometimes be helpful in forging a style; you have to work around your weaknesses.
Bill Bruford

I joined in '62, and we'd finished touring in '66 to go into the studio where we could hear each other... and create any fantasy that came out of anybody's brain.
Ringo Starr

[Swiss Matthias]

While you’re crashing you can’t hear the vocal and you can’t hear the guitar part, you know? I just always felt like the drums shouldn’t take over the song.
Moe Tucker

I don't really agree with that. I mean the second part yes, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't crash, because as a drummer you're the nearest to your crash, the audience hardly hears the crash as loud as the drummer (except over a loud PA of course).

[Derek]

"Of course they're loud. They're drums!"
Tony Williams

[Pollyanna]

‘You have to fight beyond it (self-doubt) and don’t let it stand in the way of you being what you want to be’ - David Garibaldi

It's easy to see great players like David G and think they never harboured a doubt about what they were doing in their life. As someone who's always been plagued with self-doubt and lack of confidence I find that quote especially inspiring. Thanks for posting, Ninja.

[Monica McCoy]

Buddy also said he never practiced because he couldn't stand the sound of drums. LOL

[Black Dog]

Buddy also said he never practiced because he couldn't stand the sound of drums. LOL

Haha....it makes sense for Bonzo to have said that too, the sound of gigantic tree trunks must get annoying

[Pass.of.E.r.a.]

"Any sound, if it's in time, has some value" -Benny Greb

one of my all time favorites.

-Jonathan

[MikeM]

"don't pray to ashes, pass on the fire"In light of many conversations that have taken place on this forum lately, that one has got to be my new favorite. I had to look up who said it: "Tradition is not the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire." - Gustav Mahler (Austrian late-Romantic composer, 1860-1911)

So I have the classic amateur's technique; I know some very tricky bits and I have large gaping holes. This amateurism however, can sometimes be helpful in forging a style; you have to work around your weaknesses.
Bill BrufordThat one also resonates with me strongly. Love it!

And I'm going to slide this one in because it has been said that Any Rand based one of her characters (Howard Roark) on Frank Lloyd Wright, and everyone knows that Neil Peart likes Ayn Rand, so... twisted, I know, but this quote makes me laugh!

"A doctor can bury his mistakes, but an architect can only advise his client to plant vines." - Frank Lloyd Wright

[Pollyanna]

Wow, that Gustav Mahler quote is superb!

For accuracy's sake I'd say, "Tradition should not be the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire"

[MikeM]

For accuracy's sake I'd say, "Tradition should not be the worship of ashes, but the preservation of fire"I concur.

2020202020

[beastdrummagirl]

"When I speak of natural drummers I'm talking about guys that are playing with the talent God gave 'em." - Gene Krupa
"I could have played more complex stuff. I could have been a busier player. But that's not what I wanted to do. I played what I wanted to play."- Don Henly
"I remember in the early days when we played six nights a week for a month and I was doing my long drum solo every night. My hands were covered in blisters."- John Bonham

[bonzolead]

"Let me hear you do a solo.............so low we can't. hear you" LOL

"& sing tenor.........10 or 15 blocks away from here" LOL

don't. be offended just jokes people.

Bonzolead

[Ian Williams]

"A good drummer can make a rubbish bin sound good." From Us.

[Monica McCoy]

Steve was asked during an interview once: What advice would you give a young musician trying to break into the music business?

.....and his reflection was: "Never pet a burning dog"

The phrase probably predates Gadd. I believe it is military in it's origin. It means to not try to help something when it is already too late. Or to not ignore present danger and dive right into something.

It's sound advice like don't fry bacon naked.

[Styx]

Who said,"If it dont swing, it dont mean a thing" or something to that effect?

I like that.

[Swiss Matthias]

You mean the lyrics of the tune by Duke Ellington?

[Ian Williams]

Monica, thanks. Very interesting examples.

The phrase probably predates Gadd. I believe it is military in it's origin. It means to not try to help something when it is already too late. Or to not ignore present danger and dive right into something.

It's sound advice like don't fry bacon naked.

[Boomka]

"A true master is full of compassion for those just starting out, for he knows the perils of the journey."

The inimitable Jim Blackley. Nice.

[Ian Williams]

John Bonham's intro for The Ocean.

(see signature)
202020

[Ian Williams]

"To be a drummer you also have to be a musician." - Ian Paice

[beastdrummagirl]

Beyond a certain point, the music isn't mine anymore. It's yours.
Phil Collins

[mattsmith]

Louie Bellson once told the story of visiting Buddy Rich in the hospital a few days before he passed away. Apparently Buddy was visibly sick and depressed about the whole situation, so Louie tried to cheer him up.

He said:

Smile Buddy you'll be up and cursing people in no time.

According to Louie this made Buddy smile.

[Michael McDanial]

“Jazz is a very democratic musical form. It comes out of a communal experience. We take our respective instruments and collectively create a thing of beauty.” - Max Roach

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

He said:

Smile Buddy you'll be up and cursing people in no time.

According to Louie this made Buddy smile.

Love that one, Matt....thanks for sharing.

Funny, it actually made me a little sad.........What?? Me, sad?!?!? Perish the thought!

Still, it did remind me of what we've lost.

Great quote.

[BlastyCarl]

"Take your time. It takes years to build the speed and chops that a lot of these guys have today. Thats why you're watching them TODAY. Because they started YEARS ago."

John Longstreth

[utdrummer]

I think it was Duke Ellington that once said, "if you have a great band with a mediocre drummer, you have a mediocre band. If you have a mediocre band with a great drummer, you have a great band!"
Not from a drummer but from Neil Peart's book "Roadshow"...a young boy watches a great band on tv one evening and afterwards runs in to tell his mom, "when I grow up I wanna be a drummer!" To which the mom replied, "now honey, you know you can't do both!"

[conchrandy]

"Drummers are not musicians"--about 1000 mothers to their engaged daughters.

[Swiss Matthias]

I think it was Duke Ellington that once said, "if you have a great band with a mediocre drummer, you have a mediocre band. If you have a mediocre band with a great drummer, you have a great band!"
Wasn't that Phil Collins?

[utdrummer]

Swiss--Phil Collins might have used the "great drummer" quote, but I distinctly remember an older big band leader--I think it was Ellington--talking about drummers, in particular Gene Krupa and or Louis Bellson. If I'm wrong, sorry.

[Bruce M. Thomson]

I've always liked this quote by Jabo Starks, although he was paraphrasing what some more seasoned band members told him when he started to play professionally:

"They taught me: "I don't care what you play, I don't care how you play, I don't care if you don't ever play fancy, I don't care if you don't ever play the greatest solos in the world, all I want you to do is remember this: Play time. Play the time. Hold the time. You're the heartbeat. Once that time starts, you hold it right there. Whatever anybody else does, don't you go there. Make them come back to you."

This quote doesn't come from a drummer, but it relates to drumming, and I really like it. It's from Thelonius Monk:

"Just because you're not a drummer doesn't mean that you don't have to keep time."

Also from Monk:

"You got to dig it to dig it, you dig?
How true, I am always pointing out that everyone in the group is the rhythym section. Many I have played with don't get it, very frustrating.

[Fran Merante]

This one may have been mentioned already as I assume it is quite popular. It may already be on this thread but I don't have the time to search the entire list.

Anyway,

At some point in Buddy's career, someone had asked Buddy Rich when he was going to get a bigger kit. His reply was, "As soon as I finish learning how to play this one."

The volumes that this speaks is staggering!!

Fran

[jordanz]

"I found that to really make money, you had to give up music. So I gave up money."
-Mel Lewis, quoted in Burt Korall, Drummin' Men: The Bebop Years

[Ian Williams]

"Love every minute of it. Enjoy every minute. Appreciate it and try not to get carried away because it can be a short career."................. Topper Headon [The Clash]

[Joe Morris]

Check out the "Drummers Anthem" on Itunes. Its under my solo cd's and the name of the cd is "One beat off" you might get a kick out of it.

[Turks]

'I told people I was a drummer before I even had a set, I was a mental drummer.' - Keith Moon of The Who

'We just ignore the rest of the world and concentrate on breaking Manchester 'coz we wanna be the biggest band in our street' - Reni of The Stone Roses

[chaymus]

It's sound advice like don't fry bacon naked.

Obligatory:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-qgXDWqNiY

[DrummerBrother]

A man goes up to Buddy Rich, after a show, and ask him "how do you play SO fast?" Buddy takes his drum sticks and lift the right stick up and do a very slow beat, then he lift the left stick up and do a very slow beat with that one too.. and then he says: "like that... but faster"

[DrummerBrother]

When Buddy Rich was at the hospital to do his scheduled heart-operation (the one he died at..) he was asked if he was allergic to anything and he shall have said: " Yes.. Country music."

[LeftoverPenguin]

Big one for me was from my one and only drum teacher (not sure if he had gotten it from anywhere): "Good enough, isn't."


This one is from when Brann Dailor filled out a survey for Meinl. The questionnaire asked what drumming meant to him, and he answered, "it means hit circles with pieces of wood in an orderly and fashionable manner." I like that.

According to that same questionnaire, Brann was born in the lost underwater city of Atlantis, and has been with Meinl since Lincoln was shot.

[Hercules]

I can answer a few of those Pol...... ;-)


Was Macarthur Park about a dying relationship or young people dying from smack ODs?
The former.


Was the "turn me on dead man" line in Revolution 9 meant to fan the flames of the Paul-is-dead rumour?
This is the infamous backwards message line - double entendre

Is the love in All You Need Is Love platonic, intimate, theistic or ...?
It was the Beatles' answer to Woodstock (and recording the song was the excuse why they couldn't be there)

Was All Along the Watchtower about the Counterculture coming to sweep away a hubristic Establishment?
We will not know until Bob releases the final verse of the song..... - revealing what happened when the 2 riders arrived?


2c

[daredrummer]

I really like this one from John Robinson is his interview with MD.
"Nowadays you could go find a plumber working on somebody's house and have him play drums for a minute and make him sound good."

[Fishbones]

I've studied all my musical life, but learning is only good if you do something constructive with it.
-Tony Williams, the greatest drummer who's ever lived.

[baodes]

I feel the need to bump this, so I will.

[Pocket-full-of-gold]

I feel the need to bump this, so I will.

That's cool, but why not add to it? That way it'd be at the top again anyway.

Last post was only yesterday....it's not like the thread has been lost in the darkest depths of the Congo. :-)

[chaymus]

"I'm such a bad host, I haven't offered you anything! Do you want a pad?"
-Vinnie Colaiuta

[Ian Williams]

"My names John Bonham, I'm a drummer and I'm potty about cars."

"Bollocks this for a game of soldiers"

John Henry Bonham.

[Drummerhead212]

"Dude, just one of these days I'm going to get on a bus, and then when it stops I am going to get off. And I'm going to run, and run into the woods and never come back, and when I come back I am going to be the knife master!" -The Rev.

[baodes]

"But, I don't think any arranger should ever write a drum part for a drummer because if a drummer can't create his own Interpretation of the chart and he plays everything that's written, he becomes mechanical; he has no freedom."

"You only get better by playing."

-Buddy Rich

"Playing well with others is important - not being too flashy, just keeping good time and of course coming up with cool beats. A good snare drum, kick drum, high hat. Just getting good at the hand feet coordination."

-Chad Smith

"I've always liked Dennis Chambers, he's real flashy."

-Travis Barker


"What is the best music is impossible to define. Just because it's played by a virtuoso player, doesn't mean it's great music. It might not reflect the soul of a people, which is really my criteria for great music."

-Mickey Hart

"That's all drugs and alcohol do, they cut off your emotions in the end."

-Ringo Starr


How's that for a contribution?

[Pollyanna]

I love this one from Paul Motian:
There's a specific tempo that's stated in the very beginning, and that's already there. I don't have to force it on to everybody else and myself included. I don't have to enforce it. It's happening already. I don't have to do shit. I could have just stayed there and not played a fuckin' note. They're playing along, they're playing that speed, you know? And so, what I'm doing is trying to add some kind of music to that.

[MattA]

Just digging around the site and found this cool thread. Here's a quote from a hand drummer that I think still very much applies to all drumming.

"Groove has a relationship to the whole area of trance, repetition, meditation and hypnosis. One view is that by repeating things beyond a certain point, the listener`s mind is forced to jump off to a new place. But rhythm goes very deep at instinctive level too, and has become increasingly an antidote for me to excess infomation. Losing myself in playing a hand drum gives me a route to shedding all the clutterings and clammerings of a world over-rich with media, and finding a more wholesome space."
~ James Asher

Also I've been searching for a quote I used to have about drumming/drummers. I'm not sure who it was by. It talks about all musicians having rhythm but that drummer's are the ones called upon to anchor this rhythm to the earth. Something along those lines, does anybody have or know of this?

[aaajn]

My drum teacher gave me one of my favorites:

"I can't teach this to you, you are going to have to catch it"

He was talking about groove and feel.

[Ian Williams]

From Tommy Clufetos:

It's that playing is not the only ingredient to a successful working career in music.

Tommy adds, "It's the showing up on time, getting along with people, having an upbeat attitude, and you must maintain a strong work ethic. You have to be willing to go to any length to be the best you can be."

[Spreggy]

Could someone please make me feel really stupid by explaining the meaning of Steve Gadds "never pet a burning dog" quote?

I've heard it in business contexts before. For instance, if people are in a tense moment because they're trying to work out a specific problem and tempers are getting heated up, don't go in and throw in your two cents to stir the pot. In a musical sense, if the producer and the writer are going at it, chill out and do your job with cool professionalism.
That's my take.

[larryace]

Thanks Spreggy.

I heard a great quote from the great drummer Winston Churchill

If you're going through Hell, keep going.

[Algorithm]

Not a drummer, but still:

"For me, that’s what’s so self-defeating about being in a band - that people tend to over-talk the situation. There’s no need to be a fucking method actor. If you trust the end result, and hopefully everyone in the band does, then it’ll work out. But I think sometimes they just don’t get it."

-Cedric Bixler-Zavala, Singer of The Mars Volta and At the Drive-In

[larryace]

I've heard it in business contexts before. For instance, if people are in a tense moment because they're trying to work out a specific problem and tempers are getting heated up, don't go in and throw in your two cents to stir the pot. In a musical sense, if the producer and the writer are going at it, chill out and do your job with cool professionalism.
That's my take.

I think I got a real answer to this never pet a burning dog thing. This makes the most sense out of anything I've seen so far. From Yahoo answers:

It means not to jump into a situation blindly, without assessing it thoroughly - otherwise you could get hurt or cause more damage.

[DeanOdgers]

Steve Smith, Standing on the shoulders of giants.

I know its a name of one of his books or dvd's but he has also described his playing this way.

[Moon4Sale]

"I would much rather have the ears and the ability to hear and vocalize then the ability to talk and theorize about music"

- Marko Djordjevic

[get_rad]

My drum teacher gave me one of my favorites:

"I can't teach this to you, you are going to have to catch it"

He was talking about groove and feel.

i thought it was gonna be cowbell fever haha

[AtomicFlapjack]

Steve Smith, Standing on the shoulders of giants.

I know its a name of one of his books or dvd's but he has also described his playing this way.

That's also what is written on the side of the British £2 coin. Just thought I'd let you know that useless fact haha...

[Pollyanna]

I think I got a real answer to this never pet a burning dog thing. This makes the most sense out of anything I've seen so far. From Yahoo answers:

It means not to jump into a situation blindly, without assessing it thoroughly - otherwise you could get hurt or cause more damage.

I'd go with the Yahoo definition too. It makes sense ... oh, poor burning doggie ... pat pat ouch. Like many things it's obvious in hindsight.

[Ian Williams]

I go with Monica's debrief answer and down-to-earth example.

The phrase probably predates Gadd. I believe it is military in it's origin. It means to not try to help something when it is already too late. Or to not ignore present danger and dive right into something.

It's sound advice like don't fry bacon naked.

[larryace]

My bacon is always naked when I fry it.

Oh....nevermind.

[Pollyanna]

Okay, we have a handle on what the saying is and it seems we know why Larry has red spots on his groin ... but how about Steve G's advice in context of his playing?

It seems to me that he didn't feel that giving one overarching piece of drumming advice would be very helpful so he opted for a bit of life advice and probably quietly taking the mickey out of his status of drum guru.

[Mr. Fanzy Pants]

A really ludicrous statement from Jeff Porcaro:
"My time sucks."

If that was true my metronone also has really bad time.

[larryace]

... but how about Steve G's advice in context of his playing?

It seems to me that he didn't feel that giving one overarching piece of drumming advice would be very helpful so he opted for a bit of life advice and probably quietly taking the mickey out of his status of drum guru.

As I understand it, he was asked for advice for people trying to get into the business. In that case, his advice makes more sense than in a playing context.

Did Ian ever have that pint w/ him?

[Ian Williams]

Yes I did in fact We had few pints! When I asked Steve about that quote...He laughed and took a vodka shot... :-)

Did Ian ever have that pint w/ him?

[specgrade]

When asked about doing drum clinics Tommy Aldridge said "It beats a jab in the ass with a frozen carrot!"

Funny stuff!

[aaajn]

When asked about doing drum clinics Tommy Aldridge said "It beats a jab in the ass with a frozen carrot!"

Funny stuff!

All right. I will be the one to ask. How the hell does he know that?

[cobamnator]

" I am not Will Ferrell " - Chad Smith

[ainkdavis]

"I love being a drummer. Everyone thinks you're dumb. What they don't realize is that if it weren't for you, their band would suck." - Dave Grohl

[dmacc]

A bunch of lines from this Buddy Rich exclusive... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-ssZeOZkWU

The Buddy recordings might already be old hat around here I don't know since I've only been a member here for about a year. I got these when they first came out back in the late 80's and they made for great table talk with other drummer friends.

About Steve Gadd... I live where he was born and lived until the military and then returned back from NYC for drug rehab. He lived here for many years before leaving again about 3 years ago to Arizona.

You'd run into him all over the place and he is the most gentle, down to earth and humble people you'd ever dare meet.

Some of his peers who came up with him as a player still remain here and I had the privilege to study with two of them privately for many years. I could write a book of quotes from them about drums, drumming and music.

[get_rad]

"i'm the best Keith Moon-type drummer in the world!"
-Keith Moon

[Mad About Drums]

"You need to take risks, you never know if the end results will be beautiful or strange, you need to be instantaneous, listening to every moments, without missing a scrap of the music, even if you play a rest!" - Brian Blade

[Bruce M. Thomson]

I love Boomka's quote of Vinnie:

"Anytime you strike the drums, you have to be aware that you're creating a musical event"

To me, it's a statement that reminds you of what it's all about and puts you in the right frame of mind for playing music.

Here's a Ringo quote:

"I've never been able to sit round on my own and play drums, practice in the back room, never been able to. I've always played with other musicians. It`s how I play, there`s no joy for me in playing on my own, bashing away. I need a bass, a piano, guitar, whatever, and then I can play".

These are all great quotes to read and are good reminders, this one reminds me that I feel pretty much the same way. I hit the pad a wee bit to keep loose but it is when I am actually in the thick of it that I really enjoy muself and sometimes surprise myself. Thanks for this.

[Ian Williams]

Fresh and not complex: It was all spontaneous - no plans!!! Simon Phillips

[Ram27]

This just made me laugh.
"I probably should sit down and learn some stuff. About 3 or 4 years ago I bought a little pad, a practice pad. I wanted to learn how to bounce my sticks. I don’t know how to do that, so I sat there trying to do press rolls, and I gave up after two hours going, “This is bullshit. That ain’t gonna be loud enough!” -- Dave Grohl

[Xero Talent]

From the incredible movie/documentary A Drummer's Dream:

"When you approach this instrument for the first time, what comes out of you is simply what you feel."

- Dennis Chambers

[larryace]

"When it comes time to perform, intellect must yield to instinct"

Ken Werner from his book "Effortless Mastery"

[Mr. Brownstone]

What a great thread.

My only contribution is that I think it should be stickied.

I'm not a great drummer but feel free to quote that.

[xStX]

Neil Peart recounts a few 'drummer jokes' in his book, Roadshow.

How do you get the drummer off the porch?
Pay for the pizza.

How can you tell if the stage is level?
Drool comes out both sides of the drummers mouth.

What do you call a drummer in a three-piece suit?
The defendant.

[xStX]

OK....more Neil.

Oh his outlook of the whole touring lifestyle,

"You get up in the morning and you go to work".

And one more joke from Roadshow.

What's the difference between a savings bond and a drummer?
One will mature and make money.

[xStX]

More Neil???????

Ok, ok.......

From his book 'Traveling Music' , he tells the story of meeting Charlie Watts just before Rush took the stage at 'SARS-Stock' in Toronto a few years back. Summed up in an email from Geddy.....

"BTW, I will never forget that moment before we went onstage when Charlie Watts came over to shake your hand (at the worst possible moment!) and watching your face go through all the motions of....a. who is this old guy? b. what does he want? c. oh for god's sake it's Charlie Watts!"