Gotta disagree with the playing less notes thing. Tower of power, What is hip. Lots of notes and solidly in the pocket. It's not the notes but how they're played.
there are not enough "like" buttons for this, so like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like,
for me, I think Chad Smith on Blood Sugar, Sex, Magic finds many different great pockets
AC/DC was mentioned, and I agree
William Calhoun on all of the first Living Color album
Joe Morello on the whole Time Out album...again, many different pockets defined
Tim "Herb" Alexander on Sailing The Seas of Cheese by Primus
Gar Samuelsson on the Peace Sells by Megadeth <- big time metal in the pocket playing on the whole thing
Eric Kane on Strike Anywhere's album Change Is A Sound has a great punk/d-beat pocket on all of those songs
Slim Jim Phantom on The Stray Cat's first album
to me, pocket is about a feel...a feel where the band can settle into the drum groove, like a good bucket seat, and then perform on top of or within that groove. That groove is defined by the style. The effect of that is people moving, whether it is booty shaking or circle pitting...
for me, pocket IS NOT about amount of notes or tempo. I feel like thrash can have just as much groove as funk. Classical as much as hip hop. Some of the first 3 Meshuggah albums have WAY more pocket to me than a lot of Tony Williams or Steve Gadd stuff from the 70's. Not that I don't like those guys, because I do, but I just think that many people are too quick to discount certain styles because they are not the norm...
