Thaard, none of us make it easy for each other - that's the point
Sometimes staying out of the way is the right contribution. The more we do, the more it takes attention from other instruments. If someone else in the group is doing something very cool, sometimes more notes from the drummer can lessen its impact. In my band, the vocalist is the outstanding member. No one wants to hear me fiddling around while he's pouring his heart out. It's great to hear the drums do cool things, but it doesn't have to be every song.
I used to
always play fills in transitions - often 16ths fills, which are a neat way of saying "Hey look! I really can play!" but often says little else. Larry turned me on to this, the idea of just grooving straight through to a transition without fills or crashes and letting the change in the music just happen. What that does is get you wondering about other spots that could do with variation. It opens up interesting musical possibilities that don't have that standard squared off 4, 8 or 16 bar sequence
Verse: beat-beat-beat-16ths fill-crash
Chorus: beat-beat-beat-16ths fill-crash
Derek, I agree. It's something I'm gradually turning on to and getting clear in my head through this forum and conversations with band members and my drum mentor. In structured music I really like to get organised.
Still, what those guys call a simple beat and what I think of as a simple beat are a bit different
Has Jim Keltner ever lost the groove, even a tiny bit?