Recent content by Spreggy

I've always considered Phil Collins and Manu Katche as particularly brilliant voices on the drum set. Moon, too. Nobody plays like him, and Buddy Rich liked his playing. But now I'm discovering the jazz greats and they're just killing my perspective. The genre is just so much more musical...

Someone once said you're not free again until the last kid moves out and the last dog dies, and I agree wholeheartedly. Once your schedule opens wide and the gremlins stop siphoning all the cash out of your wallet, the world is once again your oyster. Take no age arguments, and have all the...

You could write your own, genuinely original music in the hard bop genre for instance, and you could probably even call yourselves a hard bop quartet doing just your brand new original music that strictly follows the traits of hard bop. But hard bop was a thing that happened at a specific time...

The older you are, the more maturely you approach things like learning an instrument. Highest priority: get a teacher. 2nd priority: read the above line. Good luck!

Weckl and Pridgin are prog legends? Pridgen wasn't alive when prog happened, and Dave Weckl wasn't part of that scene. Here we go, let's have a genre fight!

Worship? That's when someone starts a Vinnie thread about some topic like "how can he be so amazingly awesome" or some such, and everybody chimes in OMG OMG he's so amazing!!!!! OMG OMG OMG best drummer ever I think!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!! ;)

I think it all started back around the time when something much like this was made in the 80s, spawning a torrent of bands styled akin to Edie Brickell to invade the coffee shops of America with their tam-festooned drum set objects and buckets of patchouli oil. When something like this goes...

I believe the 10,000 hr thing has been debunked. But, I believe it's completely how much time and exposure you get. A lot of studies have been done on talent, and the common thread is desire and practice. No sign of "talent" as its own factor exists, apparently. Here's a great interview where...

A bit of advice you may not need: changing teachers is like changing sweethearts. Lay the groundwork early in the relationship as far as expectations and goals. A teacher would certainly do a better job if they know what you want to accomplish. Also reminding the expectations now and again...

I have an HHX Stage Ride 20", used it for gigs (bars and weddings) for years. Decent stick definition, has an interesting shimmer to it. Loud enough for rock and roll.

Here are some Spotify playlists I use often. I like lists that have a singular focus, like all brushes or 12 bar and so on. https://open.spotify.com/playlist/61qxIBqbIW9YLlKs0DpUSo?si=dWlciGaSQMKr9sd9SYZZPw https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1uze47Zs2hzedQoWWBLEH8?si=WwpKby0HTpi_y47R9RTNcA...

Hey Jassz, I recently started with a great teacher. I've played for 50 years, I should know what I'm doing, but right off the bat he pointed out how uneven my hands were and convinced me that was the first thing to work on. He made me realize my singles and doubles were like a galloping horse...

It's not like they sold it to "The Weekend" or some other talent-lite pop autotunebot. LG, you have to admit, has shown an astounding amount of talent and range. I'm a diehard Z fan, but let's be honest he made a lot of money too. She's wacky enough that they may have gotten along well. Her...

My reflex, in working with other instruments, is the opposite. Harder woods typically produce brighter, focused tone, and maple is harder than birch. Unscientifically speaking, I've come to the belief that bearing edges, head selection, and shell thickness matters a great deal more than the...

I compared them and most others in their price range (Pearl, Ludwig, etc) and Yamaha was the clear winner. Better everything: hdwr, mounts, workmanship, finish. I have the 20" bass and it's really loud, louder that the 22" I replaced. No idea why, sucker just rips.