Phil Collins forced to quit drumming

A serious, serious reminder on the importance of correct posture and technique, folks!

Pay close attention to your seat, seat height, drum/cymbal angles and positioning, and hand/feet positions.
 
A serious, serious reminder on the importance of correct posture and technique, folks!

Pay close attention to your seat, seat height, drum/cymbal angles and positioning, and hand/feet positions.

Couldn't agree more. I have a spinal tumor that has damaged my back very badly and also equates to leg disfunction. I exercise extreme care with all of my setup. A very solid drum stool is essential to good posture. Even a small amount of movement in the stool base promotes the body to compensate using the lower back. From a RSI point of view, that's really bad news. Look at Collins video's and you'll see he's bent over quite badly most of the time. This commonly causes uneaven compression of the discs and sometimes leads to the disc protuding into the centre of the spine, disturbing the leg nerves. Extremely painful. I know because I suffer from that too. Especially younger players, beware. You may think you're indestructible, I know I did, but your not.
 
Couldn't agree more. I have a spinal tumor that has damaged my back very badly and also equates to leg disfunction. I exercise extreme care with all of my setup. A very solid drum stool is essential to good posture. Even a small amount of movement in the stool base promotes the body to compensate using the lower back. From a RSI point of view, that's really bad news. Look at Collins video's and you'll see he's bent over quite badly most of the time. This commonly causes uneaven compression of the discs and sometimes leads to the disc protuding into the centre of the spine, disturbing the leg nerves. Extremely painful. I know because I suffer from that too. Especially younger players, beware. You may think you're indestructible, I know I did, but your not.

No slouching for me any more! I used to a lot as it was comfortable but i kind of grew out of it, actually thanks to double bass drumming which teaches you to sit up straight (it does have a use all you nay-sayers lol). I once was told i had good posture so i intend to keep it up. It's such a shame about Phil he has been one of my drumming idols since i can remember and it is a sad day for the drumming community. Mind you if i can last 50 years playing drums i'll be over the moon with that!
 
thats sad news. hand on heart, spending some £££ on Tama's 'chair one' drum throne was probably the best investment i have made so far for my kit and playing. your dreaming if you think a decent perch wont make a difference. the throne is where i start and where i set my kit up from and allows me to get that consistant set up every time, which is a bonus. particularly when having to deal with another players set up before a show. the stability of a decent throne makes you feel like you're bolted to the stage or room and less reliant on constant squirming around on what feels like a unicycle mid tune.
 
Yikes, This is my worst nightmare not able to play anymore. That really sucks!

Phil isn't. a technical wizard but everytime I seen him play he always seemed to play with a lotta heart and not just going through the motions which means a lot IMO.

Question for all you drummers out there I hate to turn my drum throne into a office chair but I can get a back rest for my Roc-N-Soc and if it will save my back who cares what it looks like what do you think?

Keep Swattin' w/correct posture,
Bonzolead
 
Yikes, This is my worst nightmare not able to play anymore. That really sucks!

Phil isn't. a technical wizard but everytime I seen him play he always seemed to play with a lotta heart and not just going through the motions which means a lot IMO.

Question for all you drummers out there I hate to turn my drum throne into a office chair but I can get a back rest for my Roc-N-Soc and if it will save my back who cares what it looks like what do you think?

Keep Swattin' w/correct posture,
Bonzolead

I swear to God i was just thinking the same thing!
 
Dang!! :-(

That's a shock to me to hear about PC. WOW! I never knew about this condition of his, but can certainly understand how this can happen. Especially after 50 YEARS of playing the drums, virtually, the same way.

Not a huge fan of his playing, but have the utmost respect for him and what he's accomplished throughout his very long musical career. And wish him all the best.

Thank You Mr. Collins, for your contributions to our craft.
 
Wow, what a shame. I'll have to pay more attention to how i play now.
 
If it is true about his drumming, it is a very sad day for me.

It was Phil that got me into music and drumming back in 1976 and to say that he went on to change my life, for once, really is no understatement.

Having worked with him on tour and having been able to call him a friend for a number of years, he did a lot to help me and he was the most genuine, friendly and talented guy.

His drumming in the 70's was awe-inspiring and watching him with Genesis and Brand X was something I will never forget.

A very sad day, but at least the final quote from him shows his typical PC humour.

As for myself, his condition is a concern for me as I tend to slouch now as a result of my early drumming days.
Since my return, I have used a 1st Chair Wide Rider to try and help myself.
 
He was and still is an influence in many a drummers style. I remember watching him play with Chester Thpmpson on the "Mama" tour back in 1983. My God...what power and authority they played with ! I'm going to go listen to some of my favorite tracks of genesis today: Dodo-Lurker; Squonk; Dance on a Volcano; Fading Lights...

As far as technique goes, I've tried to copy Steve Smith's posture and position.
The Tama 'first-chair' with backrest was a purchase I'm glad I made to help me straighten and level my posture.
 
Geeze, that's a freakin' shame. Too bad for Phil...but 50 yrs. ain't a bad run! I hope I'm playing well into my 80's, like Roy Haynes
 
Actually he was a very technical drummer as well. Check out Brand X's album Unorthodox Behaviour. This is sad news. But yes as I write this I am sitting with a very straight back.

Davo
 
I would suggest emulating Max Weinberg of the E Street band. Perfect posture.
 
Ah thats terrible. To the statements, about him not being technical: I haven't seen alot of his technical work, but I think seeing him play is more then enough to know he's passionate about it.

It must be hard for him...
 
Wait a minute, he might not be able to play the drum kit, but why is he forced to quit drumming? Is there something wrong with his hands? Or is it just that he has trouble sitting due to back pain?

If he can't sit, then how about a cocktail kit? Or play congas on a stand? Or play frame drums? etc. But if there is something wrong with his hands, then he may have to give up drumming.

Sorry about your problems Phil; thanks for the grooves and tunes.

GJS
 
Wait a minute, he might not be able to play the drum kit, but why is he forced to quit drumming? Is there something wrong with his hands? Or is it just that he has trouble sitting due to back pain?

If he can't sit, then how about a cocktail kit? Or play congas on a stand? Or play frame drums? etc. But if there is something wrong with his hands, then he may have to give up drumming.

Sorry about your problems Phil; thanks for the grooves and tunes.

GJS

It will probably end up being somewhat similar to what happened to Bill Berry. He might be able to play every once in a while, but nothing consistent.
 
Not wishing to hijak the thread but a back rest on the stool is no guarantee of correct posture unless you lean back against it all the time. In my experience, most players don't. If it helps you then great, but don't expect a backrest to fix your posture. A very stable stool base is the most important factor. This is the foundation to good posture. Positioning the kit in relation to the seating position accounting for reach is very important. Don't position any kit element such that you need to lean forward to hit it.

Phil's condition is obviously acute. When your back gets to a certain level of degradation, even the smallest rapid movement is accompanied by severe pain. I doubt he has the option of continuing in some form of percussion role. I also doubt he would be satisfied with downgrading from a full kit after such an illustrious career. God bless you Phil, I'm on the same journey & it's tough.
 
Not wishing to hijak the thread but a back rest on the stool is no guarantee of correct posture unless you lean back against it all the time. In my experience, most players don't. If it helps you then great, but don't expect a backrest to fix your posture. A very stable stool base is the most important factor. This is the foundation to good posture. Positioning the kit in relation to the seating position accounting for reach is very important. Don't position any kit element such that you need to lean forward to hit it.

Phil's condition is obviously acute. When your back gets to a certain level of degradation, even the smallest rapid movement is accompanied by severe pain. I doubt he has the option of continuing in some form of percussion role. I also doubt he would be satisfied with downgrading from a full kit after such an illustrious career. God bless you Phil, I'm on the same journey & it's tough.
Thanks for the reply that makes sense about the backrest i'm kinda glad you disagree I particularly don't. like them, sorry about your situation.

Bonzolead
 
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