Carter Beauford

I'll be seeing Him this wednesday for the 10th time!!! You guys are forgetting "Rapunzel" of the "listener Supported" album. Disc 1 track 3. OMG is that a beautiful piece of work on the drums!!! Just try and follow/count it all the way through!!! Those were the best shows, during that era too....best set lists...for drums anyway...
 
stagecustom said:
you should check out that dvd of carter "under the table and drumming", man, i love this guy....

im actually about to go get the dmb central park concert dvd, hope its good

I was never a DMB fan until I saw how truly great they were in the Central Park dvd. It is the best music dvd I've ever seen.

The song choices, the audio quality, the guest musician...all stunning. The only drawback in my opinion is the horrible sounding electronic violin.
 
I have really just got into this guy and the DMB. I am going out to purchase the "Drumming under the table" and Live in Central Park DVD. I want to know what heads he uses? His snare and toms just sing and fit so well with the music. Cheers
 
A thunder of Coxy said:
I have really just got into this guy and the DMB. I am going out to purchase the "Drumming under the table" and Live in Central Park DVD. I want to know what heads he uses? His snare and toms just sing and fit so well with the music. Cheers

Just thought I'd throw out my first post in honor of my favorite drummer. He uses Remo's Clear Emperors over Ebony Ambassadors on toms and a Coated Emperor over a Clear Ambassador on his snare. Beauford Buddy has a lot of nice information on his set.
 
hey all my carter fans out there. just glad to see this thread going. Im one of the biggest carter fans you will ever find. i just had the pleasure of getting to see them live (for my first time) up in pitttsburg the saturday night show. words cant describe it. in my 20 years of living i have done nothing better than to to witness this band play live and especially watch carter do his thang. of course they played my all time favorite Two Step asthe final song of the night, 20 minutes of pure magic ( a dream of mine is to play this song with the band ) and then one i hadnt heard before the American Baby intro. it was incredible. i enjoyed the show so much that i dropped 500 dollars more for better seats for their august 1 show, CANT WAIT. i think im gonna make a sign that says "Carter I need lessons!" who knows maybe something will work out. As long as Carter is around i say long live great drumming.

peace easy!
 
Is there any other drummer in the world that can play such complicated but completely perfect in every other way beats like Carter Beauford can?
Whats more though, hes not jsut a drummer, the guy plays precussion like a seperate percussionist too! Plus hes super cool, always happy whilst playing live and is jsut one of the coolest most chilled looking blokes on the planet.
I have looked through a lot of the drummers on this massive site and still havent come across anthing like carter. He is jsut superb, amazing, brilliant, stunning! Never seen anything like it. My fav drummer, even beats Jojo Mayer and Bonzo.
Im trying to get my left hand to work as independantly and as well co-ordianted as my right hand and then maybe one day Ill be able to play a litte like carters style.
Fingers crossed but im not gonan hold my breath.
Greg
 
To me, Carter Beauford is like an Albert Pujols. The best at what he does. I have listened to the Dave Matthews Band for... Oh man.... maybe 6-7 years now. I cant get enough of it. When I saw him play live for the first time,I was just blown away. The off beat jams, the complicated fills, having a ride cymbal on the left side of the kit... I never knew how intense he really was until I started playing. I wish I could have a tenth of the skill he has. Trying to play songs like Two Step, Granny, Warehouse, Pantala Naga Pampa, and the list could go on forever.... it takes so long to learn. He is so good. Probably the best alive right now, and for a good amount of years. My only sad part about him is that he recently turned over to the dark side of the force (lol) going over to Remo Heads. Dont yell at me about Remo, its just a JOKE!!!
 
I love Carter Beauford, but it seems that when ever he solo's he ALWAYS falls back on the four stroke roll, i.e. RLRL on the snare then RLRL on the tom (i guess it'd be LRLR for him though!) or some variation. Look at the ending of Ants Marching, the ending of Two Step (live at least, and in this circumstance it fits perfectly with the pattern being played by the band). Obviously that pattern is not even close to all he plays, but it just seems like a fall back for him, something very easy for him to play without having to constantly be creative. Not that he isn't creative, I mean his ride/hi-hat/snare interaction stuff is AWESOME, I just wish he would stretch out a bit more. But then again he's a millionaire and I'm living with my parents, so what do I know! :)
 
Stu_Strib said:
I was never a DMB fan until I saw how truly great they were in the Central Park dvd. It is the best music dvd I've ever seen.

The song choices, the audio quality, the guest musician...all stunning. The only drawback in my opinion is the horrible sounding electronic violin.


Horrible Sounding Electronic Violin, are you kidding me? Boyd Tinsley is the man! What song do you think is annoying?
 
Boyd Tinsely is by FAR the worst musician in the band. He uses mostly pentatonics in his solos, and very poorly at that. What he lacks in musicianship he makes up in energy and love for the music, and I must admit that it's still fun to watch him play!
 
Dr. Jones said:
Boyd Tinsely is by FAR the worst musician in the band. He uses mostly pentatonics in his solos, and very poorly at that. What he lacks in musicianship he makes up in energy and love for the music

You obviously haven't heard the new DMB album... lol Boyd focuses on the music, infact.. 1/2 of the record was inspired by his playing. The high energy and spazmistic flow that ones are used to from him has gone out the door on this album. Check it out!
 
im new lol..

Carter is definitly a hero. I got given a compilation of stuff and Bartender was one of the songs. I didnt find out who the drummer was for like 2years... That songs incredible. And yeah trippin billies... mate this guys amazing.
Watching his open hand style also made it alot easier for me to learn it. any1 else find this?
 
I've unfortunately actually started to go off Carter recently I'm afraid, but I will try to justify that before I get shot down:

I first heard DMB about 2 and a half years ago, and was absolutely blown away. Over the next 6 months or so I bought all their studio albums and developed into an obsessive fan. My playing style changed massively because I fell in love with Carter's playing, and they were my all time favourite band up until a few months ago. The trouble is, I've recently started to listen back to the stuff, and I do think that Carter overplays rather a lot - his grooves are so full to bursting with hi-hat flourishes and clever cymbal stuff that I find it quite annoying now.

I was a massive fan, and I still think Carter is still one of the most technically profficient drummers on the planet. I also think his soloing and jamming sections within the songs are fantastic. It's just his normal verse grooves - particularly within most of 'before these crowded streets' - he just seems to never give anyone else any room. Anyhow, it's just an opinion - I still have a lot of faves in their back-catalogue.
 
Hey Sesh.....

Have you ever given any thought to the fact that more than likely thats what the DMB wants out of Carter? I'm sure that if they were unhappy, or thought that they as individuals were not having enough space to play they would have said something... don't you?

Infact, I know thats what the band wants from Carter. They want him to just rip the songs up and drive people/drummers crazy.

The DMB has somewhere around 15 or so albums that they have released. I'm sure that if Carter was a song-hog they would have ditched him.

Also, you have to take into consideration the other band members. There is only so much that the rest of the band can do for each song. For Carter.. the skies the limit due to the abundance of instuments on his kit. He has alot more to work with being a drummer. Also... he isn't really doing all that much. He.. as you know, plays open-handed which gives him more of an ability to use his kit and create more sound. He is just doing whats normal to him. I mean... c'mon. If you had hands and feet like that guy... whouldn't you use them to the best of your ability in your band, as long as the band agreed with it?

I'm not trying to say that your opinon is wrong... if you noticed, I never came close to it. I'm just asking if you have considered the quick points I have mentioned.
 
NaturalRaZ said:
Hey Sesh.....

Have you ever given any thought to the fact that more than likely thats what the DMB wants out of Carter? I'm sure that if they were unhappy, or thought that they as individuals were not having enough space to play they would have said something... don't you?

Infact, I know thats what the band wants from Carter. They want him to just rip the songs up and drive people/drummers crazy.

The DMB has somewhere around 15 or so albums that they have released. I'm sure that if Carter was a song-hog they would have ditched him.

Also, you have to take into consideration the other band members. There is only so much that the rest of the band can do for each song. For Carter.. the skies the limit due to the abundance of instuments on his kit. He has alot more to work with being a drummer. Also... he isn't really doing all that much. He.. as you know, plays open-handed which gives him more of an ability to use his kit and create more sound. He is just doing whats normal to him. I mean... c'mon. If you had hands and feet like that guy... whouldn't you use them to the best of your ability in your band, as long as the band agreed with it?

I'm not trying to say that your opinon is wrong... if you noticed, I never came close to it. I'm just asking if you have considered the quick points I have mentioned.

Hey,

Actually I thought long and hard about it anyway - it's been a slow process of my opinion changing on him on I'e questione things a lot. I agree with you entirely, I know that's waht the band wants, and I have 10 of their albums so I'm fully aware that they're more than happy with them - just look at interviews with Dave or any of them online. All I'm saying is for me it's starting to turn me off the Band a little bit - purely an opinion.

I think for me, I tend to lean towards music that features musicians one at a time, and gives the soloists and vocallists more space - it's the same reason I find a lot of Jazz very hard to listen to, I'm not really a fan of the drummers overplaying behind other instrumentalists sections (and I don't want to get into a debate about what overplaying is - I mean compared to fairly simple, supportive grooves featured in most pop/rock stuff). As Carter is influenced heavily by Jazz it's clear why he approaches drums like that - particularly since DMB used to have a percussionist and Carter chose to take on that role as well when he left. It's also fine that Band like that, and that a lot of fans also like it. For me however, it's just got to the point where I wish he'd back off a little more during verse sections and other instrumental solos than his own. It may be partly as he uses such bright cymbal sounds, that are often high in the mix on their studio stuff, it's a very "in your face" sound. A lot of other guys that play as many notes (Weckl for eample) use darker sounds that blend more easily into the mix, and are less obtrusive.

Anyhow, it is just my opinion, and it's unlikely to change - I still enjoy and am constantly amazed by Carter, I'd love to be able to play like that - he's a truly great drummer.
 
Cool man. Ya, I do understand your points you brought out. It's actually an eye-opener for me. I was listening from your point of view today, and I gotta admit.. when I viewed it with your ideas I heard what you hear. Thanks. What an amazing drummer.
 
Hey all,

Out of any drummer I've heard - Carter has to be my biggest influence. I was the drummer for a Dave Matthews Tribute band for years, and I had to learn his parts in-side-out. It made me appreciate his playing even more. Not only is he skilled, but his parts are musical, and fit the songs he plays.

fddrummer
 
Well, what's to say? He's a fantastic drummer, who, could probably be considered one of the best drummers today. I'll narrow it down to one word: amazing.
 
I'm just getting to know him, I usually don't like buying live stuff, and it seems that DMB has almost more live than studio albums.

Here is a small sample that I find great. It could have sounded so out of place and messy, but he makes it sound just perfect and groovy. I'll buy more. What should I get ?
 

Attachments

  • American Baby_ending.mp3
    564.9 KB · Views: 668
Back
Top