Article - Tommy Lee returns to DW Drums

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Solid points. I keep hoping that Bermuda will write a book, and each chapter is an interview with a great drummer he has had to imitate, and a commentary on the challenges.
And I think I may have brought this up before but I think everyone got riled up and the thread died. But you know how disappointed I was, having grown up in the 70s, to find out all my favorite drummers were either Hal Blaine, Earl Palmer, or Gary Chester? What if all the kids growing up on the 80s hair bands found out their favorite drummer was Jim Keltner or J.R. Robinson?

I've come to realize that making the hit records, and living the life as the artist of the hit record, are two different things. I could be totally wrong, but considering how much it costs to make a record, unless you were the Eagles (who would just rent the studio for two months), who's got that kind of money? If they stuck to a Beatles method of cranking out a 3-4 minute single in three hours, having no experience in the studio would just make that process take longer. I could totally see a drummer not cutting it, and they call in somebody else. Heck, Kenny Aronoff said that's how it was with him when he came on with John Cougar. They cut him out of the first record! So I'm no longer surprised to discover that maybe the guy I liked on the record was somebody else.
 
Honestly, I was expecting that reaction. This is tasteful, creative drumming, and the song wouldn't be the same had this been any other 80s rock drummer. If you don't recognize that then you've simply made up your mind you don't like the guy.

This is a bad recording ( couldn’t find the better one) of cruefest II in 09. I like Tommy’s playing and am a MC fan so definitely not knocking him at all . His playing fits their music and he’s a decent player . Bo’s just saying that if you close your eyes you may not know if it’s him or something else . I’d rather see Tommy playing with Crue and Morgan rose playing with sevendust but on the better recording you wouldn’t know that it wasn’t Tommy playing here . It’s Morgan Rose filling in when Tommy injured his hand . Tommy asked him to fill in at the last minute while talking him through changes and what not through his in ears . And he just kills it ( in a good way) . So on the better recording that I can’t find right now if you close your eyes you probably can’t tell it’s not Tommy. It’s their playing AND all the other variables I think that a drummer brings that makes us like a drummer . There’s drummers that I don’t like the bands they’re in and the genre they play or maybe even the person themselves but I love their drumming . It works the other way too . I wanna see or know it’s the original drummer I’m seeing and hearing even if someone else is just as capable and would sound pretty much the same .

 
This is a bad recording ( couldn’t find the better one) of cruefest II in 09. I like Tommy’s playing and am a MC fan so definitely not knocking him at all . His playing fits their music and he’s a decent player . Bo’s just saying that if you close your eyes you may not know if it’s him or something else.

That type of drumming is difficult to tell who's playing it, there just aren't enough dynamics or nuances, but you can tell he wrote it. He doesn't just crash on the one, do a metal guy tom roll, etc etc. Same with Lars (to an even greater extent); not the best drummer but without him there was no Metallica as we knew it. Then take Megadeth, it didn't really matter who was drumming as long as it was good. There's no "Megadeth drum style". I believe Crue did have that.

I'm actually with Bo on the genre's drumming in general, and I'm no Motley Crue fan; never liked them even though I did like some of their peers. I was just agreeing with DB7 who said Lee was crucial to their sound, however great it was or wasn't.
 
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That type of drumming is difficult to tell who's playing it, there just aren't enough dynamics or nuances, but you can tell he wrote it. He doesn't just crash on the one, do a metal guy tom roll, etc etc. Same with Lars (to an even greater extent); not the best drummer but without him there was no Metallica as we knew it. Then take Megadeth, it didn't really matter who was drumming as long as it was good. There's no "Megadeth drum style". I believe Crue did have that.

I'm actually with Bo on the genre's drumming in general, and I'm no Motley Crue fan; never liked them even though I did like some of their peers. I was just agreeing with DB7 who said Lee was crucial to their sound, however great it was or wasn't.

No argument at all . I get what ur saying ??
 
After Too Fast For Love and Shout At The Devil, I grew tired of Motley Crue. Tommy was a big inspiration for me when I began to play drums. Along with Phil Rudd, Herman Rarebell, Tommy Aldridge and Lee Kirslake.
I never cared about what they played or who they endorsed or who they were bedding. I'm still a fan of "hair metal" and hard rock in general. I find it amusing that no-names disrespect the big names....no disrespect.?
 
I liked Tommy's drumming on the albums up to and including Dr. Feelgood. He was creative and had his own playing style that I thought was pretty cool. I don't think he's really relevant anymore, so hearing about him going back to DW, I thought "so what?" I guess he wants a new drum kit and doesn't want to pay for it. That "I never left" BS sounds weak.
 
After Too Fast For Love and Shout At The Devil, I grew tired of Motley Crue. Tommy was a big inspiration for me when I began to play drums. Along with Phil Rudd, Herman Rarebell, Tommy Aldridge and Lee Kirslake.
I never cared about what they played or who they endorsed or who they were bedding. I'm still a fan of "hair metal" and hard rock in general. I find it amusing that no-names disrespect the big names....no disrespect.?

ummm...can he even play a paradiddle???? Plenty of “no-names” graduated from UNT, Berklee, etc. and can play circles around any hair metal drummer from the 80s. With 1 hand.
 
In 2015 Drumhead magazine interviewed Tommy Lee. He talked about how addicted he and other band mates were, how they cleaned up, and worked diligently on the album that came from that.

He also talked about his drums on a track and that he did it for the peeps in the cheap seats. Pretty cool, IMO. And it looks like it’d be very difficult to play like that for any length of time.

Tommy_Lees_upside_down_roller_coaster_drum_kit.jpg
 
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The funny thing is he left Pearl to play DW, then left DW to go back to Pearl, and is now leaving Pearl to go back to DW.

Which means next he returns to Sonar.
 
In 2015 Deumhead magazine interviewed Tommy Lee. He talked about how addicted he and other band mates were, how they cleaned up, and worked diligently on the album that came from that.

He also talked about his drums on a track and that he did it for the peeps in the cheap seats. Pretty cool, IMO. And it looks like it’d be very difficult to play like that for any length of time.

Tommy_Lees_upside_down_roller_coaster_drum_kit.jpg

I think it would be fun to drum upside down. Totally the opposite technical challenge—playing against gravity instead of with it. LOL
 
As for his playing, though I was never a big MC fan, I do think Tommy had a swagger about this playing that other drummers of his are didn't have.

It may not have been apparent on every song (and in fact, it's not), but it was there on songs like Livewire and Dr. Feelgood.
 
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