HOW can you ever be "too polished" or too good?
You know how Weckl has (or at least had back in the Electrik Band days) some critics out there, that he's too machine-like? Those critics were complaining because they heard something that they felt was "too polished." I know that some people wouldn't agree with my opinion, but I whole-heartedly think that you can be too refined and perfect, Weckl being perhaps Exhibit A in my argument. Don't get me wrong, I really like Dave's playing, and the original Electrik Band album is a personal favorite of mine, but I don't love him. I suppose I'd rather listen to someone gritty like Billy Martin or Mike Clark.
About the punk comment, I really don't think he could get that attitude down. It's gotta be sloppy-but-together in a way that is entirely uncalculated and unthinking, and yet Dave is a VERY cerebral drummer.
I've seen him live once, which was at the Drummer's Collective's 25th anniversary concert (you can see me on the DVD for about 4 seconds!) when he did the sick rendition of The Chicken. I have strong memories (or at least impressions) of Weckl's drumming on that song. And if I haven't already made it clear: I am a fan of Dave's; it's just I have no intention of copying his sound.
But overall we have differing opinions, in that I do believe there is such a thing as being "too refined" and "too perfect." A machine is perfect, yet I'm left feeling cold when listening to it -- why? Same thing goes with drummers. Weckl's early playing is nothing short of top-notch, yet I recoil from it in the same way I do when I hear a CD or mp3 that is overly bright and "crystally" -- it just sounds too crisp and clean for its own good. I'm human, and I want to hear the occasional imperfections and screw-ups.
But again, this is my personal taste -- I know I'm making very few friends by saying this stuff.
PS: Bromberg and crew were in Boston on Thursday.. three days ago. D'oh!
For any of you guys that say "Weckl always overplays" check out the new Jeff Lorber CD He had a hat ....
My personal opinion...as a drummer, I admire his awesome technique. He can play almost every technique ever invented for drumset, very smoothly and fluent. But as a listener, I must confess that I don't get excited very much by his play.
I think...it's really hard to describe it by words...his play sounds "flat" for me. Of course there is a wide range of dynamics in volume, and there are a lot of notes between the bars, but no extreme overwhelming tension, nor totally laid-back relaxed mood, basically just flat morerate all the way through. So I can't feel his emotion through his playing. Sometimes I feel like studying math when I hear his playing.
My personal opinion...as a drummer, I admire his awesome technique. He can play almost every technique ever invented for drumset, very smoothly and fluent. But as a listener, I must confess that I don't get excited very much by his play.
I think...it's really hard to describe it by words...his play sounds "flat" for me. Of course there is a wide range of dynamics in volume, and there are a lot of notes between the bars, but no extreme overwhelming tension, nor totally laid-back relaxed mood, basically just flat morerate all the way through. So I can't feel his emotion through his playing. Sometimes I feel like studying math when I hear his playing.