Article - Tommy Lee returns to DW Drums

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And everyone is talking about them...right.

Vinnie went to Berklee. Kenny Aronoff is a classically-trained timpanist. Who would you rather be, a washed-up hair metal drummer from the 80s, or one of the legit players with actual training who get respect from fellow drummers? That’s not a rhetorical question. I’m asking honestly. Some people find the hair metal vibe to be awesome. Some people value money over substance. Etc.. I’m not judging. And I’m not saying Tommy Lee has no skills, or that everybody who has drummed for a major hair metal band is a low-chops one-trick pony drummer. I’m not saying any of that. I’m just pretty “meh” on Tommy Lee as a person AND as a player. Not anti-him, just...kind of “meh”.
 
Vinnie went to Berklee for 9 months and then he ran out of money.

Most of the older cats I know or know of didn't finish either. They went for two years after getting the education and contacts they needed and just went for it.
 
Vinnie went to Berklee for 9 months and then he ran out of money.

Most of the older cats I know or know of didn't finish either. They went for two years after getting the education and contacts they needed and just went for it.

I wanted to leave college after my 3rd year. I should have, looking back. That last year was a mess on every level. Nothing good came of it. But I’m glad I got those first 3 years, in many ways. I just wish I hadn’t tried to make it into a profession. Money ruins everything.
 
Call me easily pleased but I stumbled across a video of him playing in Sammy Hagar's basement and the fluidity of his movement along with the energy he was imparting was impressive to see.

A thing with the criticism of people like Tommy Lee and Lars Ulrich is that, in a similiar vein to the guys Odd-Arne describes above, they set out to be in a Heavy Rock band, to take their chances, and maybe achieve fame and fortune. That's not to say they don't care about their ability but they used their focus and energy to get the band to where they wanted it to be and evolved at the same rate. If you're busy touring the country and selling records and "good enough" on your instrument then for a lot of people, including me, that's a result! And when it comes to "chops", he's not a clinician with a platform to show what he can do so how can we be sure that if he sat down he wouldn't blow many people away?

A personal example, years ago as teenagers on our local circuit there was a guitarist who was good but not exceptional, certainly the guys in my band were much better. However he had the drive to move over 250 miles to live in London , when I say live I mean sleep on the floors of squats, and while his bandmates drifted away to come home he toughed it out for years living from hand to mouth. He has a career in the music industry and what he has had to do to get to where he is took far more effort and sacrifice than learning to play his instrument to the highest levels.
 
Gary Novak talked a bit about Tommy in his I'd' Hit That interview insisting the man had ability and could play other stuff.

He's also able to beat on his wife when upset which to me puts him in the lowest category of humans. Not to say that many jazz musicians didn't suffer from the same sickness.
 
Who would you rather be, a washed-up hair metal drummer from the 80s, or one of the legit players with actual training who get respect from fellow drummers?
Good question, but it assumes Tommy Lee is washed up. I think this is a false assumption. When I’ve heard him talk, he’s got all his brain cells functioning. He‘s no slouch. He does get writing & publishing credits for all of Motley Crüe’s music. I’ve not read the band contract, but I’ll assume he’s “one of the shareholders”.

And from the posts in this thread, it appears no one really knows if he can throw down rudiments like a Berklee grad. When I saw Kenny Aronoff at a clinic in 1990, he was still with Mellencamp. He jumped behind his bright red Tama kit and blew everyone’s mind with righteous chops. Then told us he learned to play to the song in Mellencamp’s band (more important than righteous chops). I’ll put Lee into that category.

And he’s got this righteous crib for sale. Anyone here got a few mil?

 
Good question, but it assumes Tommy Lee is washed up. I think this is a false assumption. When I’ve heard him talk, he’s got all his brain cells functioning. He‘s no slouch. He does get writing & publishing credits for all of Motley Crüe’s music. I’ve not read the band contract, but I’ll assume he’s “one of the shareholders”.

And from the posts in this thread, it appears no one really knows if he can throw down rudiments like a Berklee grad. When I saw Kenny Aronoff at a clinic in 1990, he was still with Mellencamp. He jumped behind his bright red Tama kit and blew everyone’s mind with righteous chops. Then told us he learned to play to the song in Mellencamp’s band (more important than righteous chops). I’ll put Lee into that category.

And he’s got this righteous crib for sale. Anyone here got a few mil?


Most of Tommy’s financial success was due to “right place, right time, right vibe, right friends”. If he had been a jazz fanatic, he could have been ten times the drummer and still be living at home with his parents.
 
And Tommy Lee married Pamela Anderson. Heather Locklear married Richie Sambora ;)

He was married to heather banged her for yrs before Pam. Hes a stud, hes naied Pink, Tara Ried Niami Campbell, and several playboy playmates......all in thier primes .

His drum tones are not his, you can blame the producers from that era. But his drumming is not your standard rock fare.


Listen to how he drives this tune. Hes a machine .......and hes the only player I know that has a 28" bass drum!

 
Most of Tommy’s financial success was due to “right place, right time, right vibe, right friends”. If he had been a jazz fanatic, he could have been ten times the drummer and still be living at home with his parents.
Yeah, and "If my uncle had breasts he'd be my aunt". Forgive me but you seem awfully bitter. Be it known that I can't name of one Motley Crue's songs. My take here is you can't argue with success.

Hmmm - ability to throw down clean paradiddles and potentially gain praise from my peers vs. earn a crapload of money & be invited to regularly dip my paddle in premium waters. Let me think about that for 3 nanoseconds! ;)

Word. :cool:
 
Yeah, and "If my uncle had breasts he'd be my aunt". Forgive me but you seem awfully bitter. Be it known that I can't name of one Motley Crue's songs. My take here is you can't argue with success.

Success at what? Motley Crue’s hit songs are all vaguely embarrassing. “Shout at the Devil”? The heck is that? LOL

I mean, I hate the idea that my embarrassing young adulthood follies would have been broadcast to the world like Tommy’s were. But that’s often the price of fame in your 20s.

And if the lifestyle was/is so great, why did they need drugs so much? Drugs are not something a content, balanced person uses heavily and regularly.
 
Success at what? Motley Crue’s hit songs are all vaguely embarrassing. “Shout at the Devil”? The heck is that? LOL

I mean, I hate the idea that my embarrassing young adulthood follies would have been broadcast to the world like Tommy’s were. But that’s often the price of fame in your 20s.

And if the lifestyle was/is so great, why did they need drugs so much? Drugs are not something a content, balanced person uses heavily and regularly.

Uh, I'm speaking about commercial success. Nothing more. Peeps bought their tunes and concert tix. In the entertainment world, that's considered success.
 
Uh, I'm speaking about commercial success. Nothing more. Peeps bought their tunes and concert tix. In the entertainment world, that's considered success.

I’d rather not release anything publicly that I might wince at in 20 years, even if it makes me money now. But that’s just me. And I’ve done just enough of the touring musician life to know just how hard it sucks. If that’s the price of monetary success, I think I’ll keep my middle-class lifestyle. But that’s just me.
 
Success at what? Motley Crue’s hit songs are all vaguely embarrassing. “Shout at the Devil”? The heck is that? LOL

I mean, I hate the idea that my embarrassing young adulthood follies would have been broadcast to the world like Tommy’s were. But that’s often the price of fame in your 20s.

And if the lifestyle was/is so great, why did they need drugs so much? Drugs are not something a content, balanced person uses heavily and regularly.

I usually steer clear of all Radiohead threads because I hate the band and thier music. I cant be fair so It usually only goes one way.

Take from that what you wish.

Out of the 80s when Guitar was king Tommy stood out. Name another drummer besides Peart.

(Not comparing the two!!!!) Lol. Just sayin......you might not like him or his style , but Tommy Lee made rock stars out of those 3 other clowns. Respect.
 
I usually steer clear of all Radiohead threads because I hate the band and thier music. I cant be fair so It usually only goes one way.

Take from that what you wish.

Out of the 80s when Guitar was king Tommy stood out. Name another drummer besides Peart.

(Not comparing the two!!!!) Lol. Just sayin......you might not like him or his style , but Tommy Lee made rock stars out of those 3 other clowns. Respect.

I would never knock Tommy’s skills as a showman. Personally, I think playing upside down would be really fun. But if I had to pick a famous 80s drummer to be, it would be Phil Collins. Not because I like his drumming better than other players, I’m just super-impressed how well he drummed and sang simultaneously, and how good his songwriting was.

And this is the central difficulty or question in being a musician—am I just a clown, or does what I do have some higher value?
 
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.

Rod Morgenstein played with Winger. Bobby Rock played with Nelson. Two hair metal drummers with world class chops, from the 80s. The word "any" needs to be checked in your above statement. Just because the genre as a whole is considered pretty laughable does not mean the players can't play, and it doesnt mean there aren't masters hiding amongst the norms.

Tommy Lee does not have monster chops. There was a reality show in the early 2000s where he went to U of Nebraska to be on the drumline. He wasn't very good at all. They kicked his @$$ repeatedly, and he was quoted saying something along the lines of "marching band is hard". That being said, he still sold millions of albums, made millions of dollars, and toured the world. None of which most of us can claim, not even 1. He did 3. I think he wins.
 
Rod Morgenstein played with Winger. Bobby Rock played with Nelson. Two hair metal drummers with world class chops, from the 80s. The word "any" needs to be checked in your above statement. Just because the genre as a whole is considered pretty laughable does not mean the players can't play, and it doesnt mean there aren't masters hiding amongst the norms.

Tommy Lee does not have monster chops. There was a reality show in the early 2000s where he went to U of Nebraska to be on the drumline. He wasn't very good at all. They kicked his @$$ repeatedly, and he was quoted saying something along the lines of "marching band is hard". That being said, he still sold millions of albums, made millions of dollars, and toured the world. None of which most of us can claim, not even 1. He did 3. I think he wins.

I guess? But I’m not sure I’d trade lives with him. He has more money, but that’s not really my main goal in life. And putting out some catchy songs that have decent-but-not-lifechanging lyrics....that’s fine, but it’s not my thing. I’m not interested in publicly chronicling my life stages that way. It’s fine if he is, though.
 
I guess? But I’m not sure I’d trade lives with him. He has more money, but that’s not really my main goal in life. And putting out some catchy songs that have decent-but-not-lifechanging lyrics....that’s fine, but it’s not my thing. I’m not interested in publicly chronicling my life stages that way. It’s fine if he is, though.

I wouldn't change lives with him at all. I dont think it's fair to pigeonhole him musically because of the genre of music he played though, or any other drummer from the genre either. Some fantastic musicians came from hair metal, as did some great songs.
 
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