Chad Smith

I'm pretty sure Weckl can play pop music in his sleep. He chooses not too is all. His beginner books are chock full of easy beats and simple straight forward pop/rock beats.

Gadd has been on several #1 albums, but most people here in DW weren't even born yet ;-)

Matt Chamberlain has been on a couple for sure...the John Mayer cds and the Sara Evans cds.

sidenote: am I the only drummer on DW that has any working knowledge what-so-ever of Country music? There are a ton of really good session drummers in this genre, but nobody talks about it!

And for the guy asking if there was Funk Rock drumming before Chad Smith, I would point him to the 70s. Hardly a pioneer in funk rock, but definitely a pioneer in the funk/rap/rock style of RHCP!
 
Stu_Strib said:
I'm pretty sure Weckl can play pop music in his sleep. He chooses not too is all. His beginner books are chock full of easy beats and simple straight forward pop/rock beats.

...

And for the guy asking if there was Funk Rock drumming before Chad Smith, I would point him to the 70s. Hardly a pioneer in funk rock, but definitely a pioneer in the funk/rap/rock style of RHCP!
well, to be sure weckl can play any pattern at all that you would use in a pop context, there's no doubt about that. but he doesn't have the feel for the style as well as some other guys out there. he's gone out for some big gigs (sting) and i've heard he's said that it's a goal of his to be on a major pop record at some point - but other guys like vinnie, steve, abe, etc. keep getting the jobs over him. not to diminish his contributions to music and to drumming by any degree.


i'd missed that post about the funk rock drumming... that's a little worrisome to see actually haha. yeah, chad smith is a great drummer, to be sure, but hardly a pioneer of the instrument or style.

though you can't deny his influence over the shape of the band. obviously having half of the band replaced between albums will have an effect on the music, but i think chad smith and john frusciante brought something far more positive to the band than other replacements have for other groups. they didn't try to imitate jack irons and hillel slovak, but brought something fresh to the peppers.

while john's contributions are more immediately noticable (his style is such a sharp contrast to hillel's), chad had an equally powerful influence. the chili peppers remained true to their niche with mother's milk and blood sugar sex magik, but were able to refine it over the course of those two albums to the masterpiece that is BSSM. that is a considerable achievement, especially in the wake of such a tragedy and the drug addiction of anthony, hillel, flea, and of course john later.

chad seemed to really connect with flea in a way jack irons hadn't previously been able to. the two of them are a powerhouse rhythm section combination. i think chad's style coupled with flea's insane ideas really brought something new to the band.


i was so close to having a coherent train of thought in that post haha. maybe next time.
 
I think this is a good way to praise Chad:

If you want to be a well-rounded drummer and appreciate lots of different types of music, I would definitely suggest that all drummers have a copy of Blood Sugar Sex Magik in their libraries. I wouldn't say it is the BEST drumming by Smith, but it is the most defining example of that genre (or sub-genre we could say).

(too go along with my previous country music comment), why don't people have a broader taste in music? (This seems especially difficult for drummers). I have country/jazz/metal/R&B/Classic Rock/Alternative Rock (i.e. anything from 90 'til today), you name it. I really don't care for punk, emo and rap, but I still have some..at a minium to understand the musical aspects of that style.

Country music really seems to get the short end of the stick with drummers, yet Nashville session musicians are considered some of the best guys out there.

When I was in highschool (2 decades ago) I was in a Dixie band and a Rush cover band at the same time!
 
OceanDirt said:
well, for session drummers, it's just a different thing altogether. how many top 40 albums has abe laboriel jr been on? vinnie? matt chamberlain? gadd? etc. etc

i see your point an it is good....but i presume Gadd has been at least a number of top 40 albums?i mean hes recorded with hundreds of artists....?
 
As this being my first post in this forum, i might aswell make it in thread about my fav drummer, Chad is no-way the best thechnical drummer in the world, but his feel and groove more than make up for this, another thing that has been overlooked in this thread is his incredible stage presence, he doesnt have to use a ridiculous siamese monster kit to get noticed, and he is always smiling and sometimes even points to people in the crowd mid-song while playing on his ride, check out the off the map video.
 
I have recently bought and watched Dave Weckl's How to Develop Technique, and Chad's Red Hot Chilli Method.

Both have inspired me and scared me, but you cannot compare these two drummers. I think it is all down to taste and style.

I connect way better with Chad Smith because I think he is more my style of drumming(He's obviously way better!). I could see myself actually nailing some of his grooves.

After watching Daves I almost want to forget the drums and learn them again. He has an amazing technique which seems effortless. It scares me the hours it would take to get anywhere near him.

A good balance from watching them both though. Time to re-analyse my kit setup, focus my practise and keep on trying to play what is right for the band!
 
Slightly off of Chad's drumming for a sec...

If you wanted to go out drinking and carousing (if that's your thing), would you rather do it with Chad, or another drummer...say Weckl or Peart? I don't even know if the latter do that anymore (or ever did). For my bar tab, Chad would have to be right up there.



...So long as he kept his tube sock on.
 
Chad and Ian Pace are great grooving drummers but sometimes I think when they are together they clown around to much
It can become a little annoying to me
Other drummers probably love it but I take drums a little more serious than that
It's just me and how I feel
 
Tex12 said:
Chad and Ian Pace are great grooving drummers but sometimes I think when they are together they clown around to much
It can become a little annoying to me
Other drummers probably love it but I take drums a little more serious than that
It's just me and how I feel

hmmmm...sheer coincidence: yesterday, my drumming teacher brought a copy of the Chad / Ian thing for the London Drum Company done back in 2004. Chad was def a bit over the top with the clowning around. He was also noticeably hung over, which probably had something to do with his jumpiness / edgy behavior (I once knew a man...heh, heh).

When he manages to hang onto his sticks, he can groove like a mutha.
 
Ok so ibe looked for the man and I cant find, so im gonna have to post.

Chad is one my favourite drummers for three resaons. The main reason he has the one of the fattests grooves ever, real hard and realy funky,

The second is that he has got the chops and I think he does'nt get recognised for that by "drummers" as much as he should.

And the third is he just cool as, and he rides a harley. Thats just cool in my opinion.
 
Yes... He really grooves fine.
And another good thing! He's not going around pretending to be the best drummer in the world.
 
totally agree..though i love weckl,peart, vinnie and all the other geniuses,im a huge fan of chad..nothing too flashy..great feel..does his job perfectly and really looks like he is in the zone...just watching him play is infectious and having watched his video,he seems a great guy too..huge personality...top man!!!
 
Chad is for me awesome drummer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Overplaying don't make a good drummer
Speed don't make a good drummer
Good drummer makes playing from the heart, and playing for the song!
Watch him live and you will see what I mean!! (Live from Slane Castle, Off the Map)
For me he is like BONZO, SORUM, PAICE, COZY POWELL but in different musical situation
Maybe I'm wrong but I worship that "heart" drummers
 
Chad is the reason I play drums now. His grooves are incredibly tasteful and funky. He never over plays and he really gets into it live. For a clinic that my shop held Chad and a local bass player from a previous performance decided to have a jam session. That was one of the koolest things to watch. He's a pretty sick soloist too. Killer chops
 
I got a profile just to reply to this forum... because Chad is a sick drummer!
No other drummer lays it down like Chad and no other drummer can play the funky punk rock like chad can. He's doing his job and he's doing awesome with beats to prove it. Don't tell me that you have never heard a RHCP lick where all of a sudden you said to yourself
"What a sweet beat". He may not be Weckl, Rich, or Bonzo... but he is still a kick a** drumming machine.

Oh yeah,

Californication and By the Way are great albums wothout an argument!
 
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