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For me there’s a few categories. For recording, I use nice fresh sticks. Meaning, mostly, that the tip is giving me a good ride sound. For practicing or just mucking around, I’ll go past the chipped-tip stage, but not too far, partly because chewed tips seem to wear out the drum mutes I...

Same here. There’s lots of songs I’ve loved for decades, but aside from maybe a few words of the hook line, I have no clue about the lyrics. I have a medium-sized collection of albums in the (poorly-named) “world music” genre, and they’re in Arabic, Urdu, ancient Chinese dialects, French...

I used Zildjian 3A for many years. Great feel. Eventually I wanted to move on from the round tip, not the brand, which was always quality.

The opposite of an ostinato: a component of a musical piece (such as a musical phrase) which either (a) never repeats, or (b) is sufficiently long that a typical listener can not accurately anticipate the start of the next repetition. There’s the description you specifically asked us not to...

Wow, really? Don’t you snap those on a rock gig? As mostly a rocker myself, I reach for a pair of 8Ds only when I’m playing jazz or super light tunes. Great feel but kinda toothpickish.

Level 42: Phil Gould is irreplaceable. Unless he quits and you replace him. Several excellent drummers (Gary Husband, Gavin Harrison, Pete Ray Biggin, and others) have followed in Phil’s, um, pedalsteps, but the feel ain’t the same.

Hey! I resemble that remark! I’ve had a set of Staccatos since about 1980; still looking for the right gig to haul them out to. Large rental van will of course be required to transport the kik.

The core of my Gretsch kit from around 1980 is 13, 14, 16, 22. Awesome kit overall, but I’ve never been super happy with the 13’s tuning when using that 5-piece setup. But in a 13, 16, 22 four-piece config, the 13 tunes up great. So it’s getting a nice differentiation between the 13 and 14...

Wow! So young! Joey was the first modern(ish?) metal guy I listened to closely. What I love about his playing, at least in part, is that even with such a high note density it still all makes perfect sense to my ear. I mean, busy as he is, I still understand every note he plays...

That seems to be the key. A few bands I’ve played in were the call-the-tunes-on-the-fly type. As long as there’s no dead air and all the musicians are attentive, works great. One keyboard-player-leader I worked with would mouth the name of the next tune to me in the last 8 bars of the...

Yes, there are people out there who will make fun of us while we protect ourselves. Ignore them. Sure, I miss some high end frequencies while wearing earplugs, but maintaining what’s left of my hearing over the long term is vastly more important than caring what some dweeb thinks for the...

Ooh look, a 12-year old thread! Normally I use hardware metronomes, but it would be handy to carry one around. Any thoughts on decent metronome apps?

I’ve always liked lots of cymbals (in a given setup, as opposed to in the full collection). Even playing a 4 piece, I want like 3 crashes. And a china. Or 2. And wouldn’t a splash be nice for the occasional accent? Can I bring my stack too?

The NARD book is good for old-school rudimental solos. I’ve used it straight up as snare work and also orchestrating around the kit with an ear out for cool semi-accidental combinations that could become licks or whatever.

Wow! Awesome performance in that vid. RIP.

Minor (insignificant, well into the picking-nits end of the spectrum) correction: The New Breed is copyright 1985. At least that’s what my copy says (“16th Printing July 2006”). My copy came with a CD of Danny Gottlieb interviewing Gary. Interesting stuff.

Bozzio is amazing. I caught one of his clinics years ago. He strolled onto the stage looking like he’d just rolled out of bed and wearing high lace-up boots that looked unmanageable to me. He then proceeded to blow us away with his playing and his instruction. I’ve heard positive and...

Buddy Rich Big Band. Great excuse for Weckl etc to keep the genre alive (well, barely).

Having a solid foundation on bass will give you a great head start. You already know about phrasing, time concepts, rhythm, and so much more. That said, 3 (or, eventually, 4) -limb drumming is a world apart from any other instrument. Practice, practice, practice! I’m betting you’ll...

I’ve kept a practice log for many years. Aside from letting me look back on what I’ve worked on, it definitely prods me to keep progressing. I can feel it staring at me right now asking for the next entry.