Thomas Lang

Tom cops a lot of flack for not being musical, or for not having a groove, but let's not forget that before he became known as clinician and multi-interdependent cyborg he was a very successful session musician and has played with all sorts of big names from Robbie Willaims, to John Wetton, playing music from big band to prog rock and straight forward pop.

Would that be the case if he wasn't a great musician? These guys pick their drummers not because they can play 4 different time signatures at once while spinning sticks.They're picked for their musicality and the qulaity and consistency of their sound.

Hats off to Tom- I think he's a legend.
 
Just a thought...

If Thomas Lang had been bought in New York or LA instead of Austria, would he still get as much criticism?
 
I have nothing against Mr. Lang, he's got superhuman independence, superhuman foot-control and superhuman chops.

I've seen some of his stuff on his DVDs and I gotta admit, he can really stick to a click track. He's probably a very good recording drummer.

The only thing I have against him is that, in a recent interview for the new Meinl podcast, he forgot Virgil Donati's name!!!!

He goes:

Thomas Lang said:
I admire Ringo Starr, and Buddy Rich and...that Australian Guy...you know...that guy from Australia...

And that makes me very angry, lol. >: (
 
Don't really like him, or his music. He puts too much effort into being a technically proficent musician rather than being a good songwriter, and having a good sense of groove/taste. I believe those are more important to drummers rather than chops,speed,and stick tricks.
 
Don't really like him, or his music. He puts too much effort into being a technically proficent musician rather than being a good songwriter, and having a good sense of groove/taste. I believe those are more important to drummers rather than chops,speed,and stick tricks.

Very good point, but there is no denying he is a bad dude on the drums. I think if we heard TL play with a band and groove a bit more, we would be pleasantly surprised.
 
Don't really like him, or his music. He puts too much effort into being a technically proficent musician rather than being a good songwriter, and having a good sense of groove/taste. I believe those are more important to drummers rather than chops,speed,and stick tricks.

Im pretty sure if he wanted to he could do some pretty groovy things that have a really nice feel to it.
 
Im pretty sure if he wanted to he could do some pretty groovy things that have a really nice feel to it.

That maybe true, but I don't think we'll ever see Thomas doing something like that.He's more focused on pushing the limits of technical ability on the drums. And I think that's kind of a shame. I'd actually be more impressed to see Thomas playing a cool simple groove, than him playing a comlicated cluster of notes he calls a "solo".
 
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Re: Thomas lang

Although I don't really see how absorbing the musical vision of Lang or Donati helps your jazz playing.

Thomas Lang has a degree in jazz. And by the way, this one definitely has feel, and he shows his less-chops side, but more groovy side that works with the music. http://drummerworld.com/Videos/thomaslangrelax.html

I don't understand why everyone's bashing Thomas Lang because he's technical. Have you actually listened to any of his records that AREN'T his solos or instructional videos? It is impossible to not have feel after the amount of time he's been playing (maybe you mistake the industrial sound of his set, whether it be his acoustic or his electronic, for a lack of feel).

Might as well tell Neil Peart that he sucks too. He's technical.
 
Re: Thomas lang

Thomas Lang has a degree in jazz. And by the way, this one definitely has feel, and he shows his less-chops side, but more groovy side that works with the music. http://drummerworld.com/Videos/thomaslangrelax.html

I don't understand why everyone's bashing Thomas Lang because he's technical. Have you actually listened to any of his records that AREN'T his solos or instructional videos? It is impossible to not have feel after the amount of time he's been playing (maybe you mistake the industrial sound of his set, whether it be his acoustic or his electronic, for a lack of feel).

Might as well tell Neil Peart that he sucks too. He's technical.
Well first off, by isolating your accusation sentence away from the rest of my post you changed its context and meaning completely, so as to use me as an example to make your shallow point. There were actually far better people to pull this stunt with, including the many who actually don't like Lang's technical side. I encourage anyone interested in this topic to go back to page 1 and read what I actually said.

I further believe your opinions would be taken with more than a grain of salt if you had your facts together. Lang does not have a degree in jazz. He attended the Vienna Conservatory, which is a very impressive thing BTW, but he did not graduate. So he has no degree. He did take some jazz coursework, and even subbed in the school big band, but this new tale is the same thing as the Travis Barker drum corps career that was really a sophmore year in the high school marching band. Still, the fact that he was the youngest student at the Vienna Conservatory in his class is impressive. I mean I don't think anybody's denying the technical skills or his obvious training. That's all legendary right?

Now in the bigger picture, these fact holds little relevance except for the fact that you passed along this completely non factual urban legend alongside an out of context quote to make a point out of me. You also assume a great deal about the listening habits of your supposed detractors and/or why they do or don't like this guy.

Interestingly enough, although you went to the trouble to reshape my quote to suit your argument, you still didn't disprove it. How does the very accomplished playing in that video demonstrate jazz?

Thomas Lang is a great practitioner of percussion and no one one is going to catch me saying anything else. The fact that his style leaves me wanting something else doesn't mean it's not the best for what it is, and there are plenty of guys out there who do like it in the more spiritual way.
 
Matt is totally right. I've never heard a single note of jazz from Thomas. A double bass shuffle is not exactly a jazzers idea of swing. And Thomas does NOT have a jazz degree.
Out of all the "uber-technicians" out there, probably the only one who can claim to have played legit jazz is Mangini. He won all Massachusetts jazz drummer-first chair as a kid.

Yes, Thomas has feel in that he can lock into a click/sequence and choose to play ahead or behind it. His subdivisions are accurate and his dynamic levels are consistent and defined. Every pro drummer out there today has to have some of these traits or else they wouldn't be working. But to focus on Thomas' groove as a strong point is misguided. His feel pales in comparison to a Gadd or Purdie. Just as their double bass chops are nowhere near his.
 
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Alright, maybe I have been a bit too overzealous with Thomas. But the video I posted is definitely something to be learned from in the realm of jazz (maybe not straight-ahead jazz such as blues or big band, but probably more of a contemporary jazz or fusion style). Thomas Lang has immense groove, but it is hidden behind the electronic drums most of the time.
 
Alright, maybe I have been a bit too overzealous with Thomas. But the video I posted is definitely something to be learned from in the realm of jazz (maybe not straight-ahead jazz such as blues or big band, but probably more of a contemporary jazz or fusion style). Thomas Lang has immense groove, but it is hidden behind the electronic drums most of the time.

I highly doubt Thomas has any really impressive groove. I mean, if he had awesome groove, wouldn't he want to show off that aswell as his chops and technical ability?
And who said you can't groove on electronic drums?
 
Re: Thomas lang

Thomas Lang has a degree in jazz. And by the way, this one definitely has feel, and he shows his less-chops side, but more groovy side that works with the music. http://drummerworld.com/Videos/thomaslangrelax.html

Is that what he does? I thought he was supposed to be some kind of god or something.
The drumming on this clip is very mediocre. It's too "notey." It's devoid of groove. I don't get the impression that he's actually listening to anything. He's just doing his shtick. And what does a degree in jazz mean?
 
Re: Thomas lang

Is that what he does? I thought he was supposed to be some kind of god or something.
The drumming on this clip is very mediocre. It's too "notey." It's devoid of groove. I don't get the impression that he's actually listening to anything. He's just doing his shtick. And what does a degree in jazz mean?

I agree that clip did nothing for me. Cheesy background music with rather uninspired playing that seems to create an overall dull unsatisfying musical offering at least for me and certainly more closely related musically to some kind of contemporary watered down smooth jazz genre thing than anything else. Not my cup of tea but each to his own for what floats your boat.
 
Yup, A little too Windham Hill for my taste. Not knowing too much about Lang's music( and only having seen him on drum DVDs, youtube etc. ), his singular quest seems to be to explore the infinite mathematical possibilities of rhythm & drumset playing. Somewhere along the line, he seems to have lost the 'song'.

I think a lot of drummers feel this lack of 'something' in spite of his incredible skills.

Question -If any of you were his teacher, what would you suggest he do ?
 
Yup, A little too Windham Hill for my taste. Not knowing too much about Lang's music( and only having seen him on drum DVDs, youtube etc. ), his singular quest seems to be the explore the infinite mathematical possibilities of rhythm & drumset playing. Somewhere along the line, he seems to have lost the 'song'.

I think a lot of drummers feel this lack of 'something' in spite of his incredible skills.

Question -If any of you were his teacher, what would you suggest he do ?

I don't real know about that question aydee since i'm not aware of all he's involved with but based on that clip i'd say get involved and for sure being involved in presenting some much hipper music for starts than what I just heard. The drums is always only one part of the bigger picture which is the music as a whole for me. It has to be a complete package to keep me interested.
 
Re: Thomas lang

I agree that clip did nothing for me. Cheesy background music with rather uninspired playing that seems to create an overall dull unsatisfying musical offering at least for me and certainly more closely related musically to some kind of contemporary watered down smooth jazz genre thing than anything else. Not my cup of tea but each to his own for what floats your boat.

Yeah, thats what I mean by saying he should focus more on songwriting and groove, or else he is going to be playing sterile grooves to cheesy background music for the rest of his drumming career. The only thing that he really has going for him is his clinics and his instructional dvds. Maybe I should look more into the artists Thomas plays with, but for right now, Im not impressed. He seems like a geniunely cool guy,but overall, I don't think he's a very good musician.
 
this guy has got it made. he has spead, creativity, and other things that a good drummer should have. At this day and age, i would say that he is one of the best there is and prolly ever will be. (please don't attack me, these are just my personal opinions)
 
Ï have no doubt in my mind that Thomas can groove like a mad man. Anybody who questions whether he's capable of it is just kidding theirselves...his dvds are not titled "Thomas Langs guide to immense grooving". His dvds teach interindependence and creative control of double bass which is exactly what they set out to do.
 
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