Steve Smith
- Thread starter insane drummer
- Start date
syoshii
Member
History of the U.S. Beat DVD is great. This is a must for all drummers!
Check out his another project Vital Tech Tones w/ Scott Henderson and Victor Wooten, too...they play John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and it's really jaw-dropping.
I have met with Steve a couple of times, at NAMM show and a drum clinic in Tokyo, both last year. In Tokyo, a guy who was my teacher at that time and myself "kidnapped" Steve right after the clinic, and drove him to Blue Note Tokyo to talk with the booking manager, but we couldn't catch him there. I called the booking manager's cell phone and let him talk with Steve. They talked for a while, and then we took him to the restaurant where Sonor people were waiting for him.
Steve studied at Berklee first with Alan Dawson, and then Gary Chaffee. Alan left Berklee while Steve was in Berklee, so after that Steve took Gary's class at school and also had Alan's private lesson at his home. Vinnie Colaiuta was a fellow student at that time, and Steve & Vinnie often took a bus ride to NYC to hear Tony Williams or Steve Gadd. They are still good friends.
Check out his another project Vital Tech Tones w/ Scott Henderson and Victor Wooten, too...they play John Coltrane's "Giant Steps" and it's really jaw-dropping.
I have met with Steve a couple of times, at NAMM show and a drum clinic in Tokyo, both last year. In Tokyo, a guy who was my teacher at that time and myself "kidnapped" Steve right after the clinic, and drove him to Blue Note Tokyo to talk with the booking manager, but we couldn't catch him there. I called the booking manager's cell phone and let him talk with Steve. They talked for a while, and then we took him to the restaurant where Sonor people were waiting for him.
Steve studied at Berklee first with Alan Dawson, and then Gary Chaffee. Alan left Berklee while Steve was in Berklee, so after that Steve took Gary's class at school and also had Alan's private lesson at his home. Vinnie Colaiuta was a fellow student at that time, and Steve & Vinnie often took a bus ride to NYC to hear Tony Williams or Steve Gadd. They are still good friends.
DrumMasterDave
Senior Member
Hey all, I gotta throw my 2 cents in here too! Steve Smith is Very good. Im not sure what DVD it was, But i remember seeing him play with Victor Wooten, and he blew me away. His hi hat control and stick control lis soo good. He also did a huge Section on polyrythms. Kept changing the times and such. Great guy!
a wise sage once suggested that if you are ever nervous meeting someone, picture them in their underwear. If anyone is ever going to meet Steve Smith just watch the video of "Separate Ways" - much more embarrasing than being caught out in the open with no pants on! His drumming, however, speaks for itself and Stu is right that those old Journey parts are incredibly good. I think he really set the standard for the stadium rock bands of the 70s and 80s. A great drummer - even if he should really never stand in front of the camera and play air guitar!
Paul
Paul
LinearDrummer
Silver Member
What a shame of drummer of this magnitude with barely 2 pages of responses....
Guys need to get with the program and recognize a true drumming technician...
Please!
Guys need to get with the program and recognize a true drumming technician...
Please!
M
michael drums
Guest
LinearDrummer said:
Hey Linear. I couldn't agree more with that. It IS a shame! I love Steve Smith. He's really advanced from a great rock drummer to, what you say, a true drumming technician. Thanks for pointing this out. Play On!
syoshii
Member
Muckster said:
Yeah, Steve is basically a Jazz drummer. He was a Tony Williams fanatic when he was young, and according to my former teacher, who also studied w/ Alan Dawson & Gary Chaffee at Berklee and has been good friends w/ Steve (and Vinnie), all of Steve's friends at Berklee were surprised when they heard that he joined Journey because they knew Steve loved Tony Williams and jazz so much. Steve was even playing free-jazz w/ George Garzone at his early days as a professional drummer.
LinearDrummer
Silver Member
Ahhh O.K. thanks for clearing that up....So jazz was always his thang....
I actually thought he was a rock based drummer that was classically trained at Berklee and he wanted to get back to his roots after Journey and do some jazz...
I actually thought he was a rock based drummer that was classically trained at Berklee and he wanted to get back to his roots after Journey and do some jazz...
M
michael drums
Guest
LinearDrummer said:
They're ya go, Linear. Were gettin' close to a 3rd page of responses for Steve. See, all ya need is a little spark to fan the flame. Good Job. Play On!
Skitch
Pioneer Member
michael drums said:
Steve Smith was always a great drummer. He just happened to be a drummer who was looking for a gig when Journey hired him! Steve has taken that opportuntiy and made a great life for himself. We should all be this lucky to be financially successful enough to hone our skills to level he has! Everything he did with Journey was enough, but what he has done with his skill and music puts him in a very elite group of players. He could have disappeared after Journey, but he cared enough to keep going. If you don't have it, you should check out the "Vitalive!" album. Also, because of websites like Amazon, you can now find discs like the very first Vital Information album (also recommended) available.
Mike
http://www.mikemccraw.com
http://www.dominoretroplate.com
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=drummermikemccraw
Vlad Popescu
Junior Member
DrumMasterDave said:
On Modern Drummer Festival ?
syoshii
Member
Vlad Popescu said:
I guess it's this one...
http://www.amazon.com/Drummers-Collective-Anniversary-Celebration-2002/dp/B0000A381Z
S
Synthetik
Guest
I saw Jouney in the late 70's It was the first time I saw a drummer play two kick drums. Steve was using some kind of DW pedals back then and (IIRC) an early red sonor kit. I thought he was amazing then, a Berklee educated jazzman-come-rocker.
"EC34PE" was an early favorite of mine because of the way Steve supported the music through the whole thing. He added value and taste. Later on "frontiers" he had the consummate arena-rock sound.
Now he has gone full circle, and I am glad to see that he has not only been able to play the music he wants to, make a superb DVD, and elevate his playing to mastery.
Steve Smith has made his mark in two distinct genres of music.
"EC34PE" was an early favorite of mine because of the way Steve supported the music through the whole thing. He added value and taste. Later on "frontiers" he had the consummate arena-rock sound.
Now he has gone full circle, and I am glad to see that he has not only been able to play the music he wants to, make a superb DVD, and elevate his playing to mastery.
Steve Smith has made his mark in two distinct genres of music.
M
michael drums
Guest
Skitch said:
Oh, Ok...Thanks Skitch! Appreciate that! Play On!
M
michael drums
Guest
Synthetik said:
Hello Synthetik...I like your post, here. Makes alot of sense. Yes, two genres is certainly right. Thanks! Play on!
mikeybbdrummin
Senior Member
Steve is definatly an AMAZING drummer. He is becoming one of my favorites the more I see him. I am going to buy his latest DVD very soon. One thing that stick out about him, to me, is that he is very, very smooth in any transition from one thing to the next.
Absolutly one of the best drummers ever.
Absolutly one of the best drummers ever.
LinearDrummer
Silver Member
Trust me you won't be disapointed....
One of the best DVDs I have out of my collection of 50 or so...
Its informative and inspirational....
TheSteve
Senior Member
I really enjoy Steve Smith's playing but can we all agree that his technique and style is very unique and is unreal? I really admire his left hand for it's very different with his thumb seperated from his pointer finger. He's a joy to watch and is by far one of the best guys out there.