Drummers who "overplay" the music.

For a band that's basically jazz/fusion metal? Not overplaying for that situation. I love that album and drummer by the way. Death, Cynic, and Athiest really pushed metal forward in the 90's.
 
I think we can all agree that John Bonham was the worst over-player of all time followed by Travis Barker.

I totally disagree on the John Bonham over-player of all time statement. He was arguably the best musician in the band and his contribution to the Led Zep sound cannot be overstated. He was basically irreplaceable, hence the break up of the band.

IMHO, Travis Barker is a flat out butcher.
 
For a band that's basically jazz/fusion metal? Not overplaying for that situation. I love that album and drummer by the way. Death, Cynic, and Athiest really pushed metal forward in the 90's.

true... but like.. I want to make a drum cover of that song. I even asked on their official fbook page what the time sig is. kelly (amazingly) responded. and said it's a feel thing and it is different every time they play it. most I can gather it is in a very sloppy 5
 
true... but like.. I want to make a drum cover of that song. I even asked on their official fbook page what the time sig is. kelly (amazingly) responded. and said it's a feel thing and it is different every time they play it. most I can gather it is in a very sloppy 5

I like him more already, no playing by numbers.
 
For a band that's basically jazz/fusion metal? Not overplaying for that situation. I love that album and drummer by the way. Death, Cynic, and Athiest really pushed metal forward in the 90's.

thumbs up. Nice to find a few more people here who are into this stuff.
 
I can really only think of one piece of recorded music ( though it was a live track ) where I thought the drummer over played and "got in the way" of the song's feel.

And it's one of my favorite players. Neil Peart. The drums on the live version of "Working Man" from All The World's A Stage are just too much for my ears, and I'm big fan of his playing. But IMO, that's one song where he should have stripped things down a bit.
 
More people should over play and make errors in their playing-it adds a white noise dimension to the song while you strain to hear the refrain over the over zealous drummer and then too mistakes let you know it's a real drummer and not an engineered drum sound=damn drum machines. Next will be the 'Ex Machina" Ava drummer model 2000-the metronomic perfect drummer that never tires or makes a mistake. I hate perfection-besides what is it?? I reckon we need to pull a diode or two to kill the dang thing. Hey it will be like the Chess masters playing the computer back in the day-this time a real drummer vs Ava the perfect drummer. OMG Creep me out. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lHVtCUZl0bY A future coming your way some day.
 
I can really only think of one piece of recorded music ( though it was a live track ) where I thought the drummer over played and "got in the way" of the song's feel.

And it's one of my favorite players. Neil Peart. The drums on the live version of "Working Man" from All The World's A Stage are just too much for my ears, and I'm big fan of his playing. But IMO, that's one song where he should have stripped things down a bit.

So my guess is you liked the original version? I can't stand listening to the original version. There is so much dead space in it. I think it is a flawed song by Rush standards. My opinion is probably because the first time I heard the song was live with NP playing it like the live album.

Have you heard the reggae version from recent tours?
 
Yes, I've heard the more recent reggae version, and while I still like the original best, I do like that reggae version better than the one on All The World's A Stage.
 
Very true, and this is why everyone is going to have a differing opinion on the matter.

Now that DT has Mike Mangini on the skins, I look back at Portnoy as someone who helped ground the band and keep the music more on the heavy rock side of Prog Rock. I feel DT has gone off the rails since Portnoy's departure and they have moved in to some strange sci-fi fantacy style of Prog Rock that has lost most of its musicality. Mangini is a beast of a drummer, but he is doing nothing to help ground that band and bring rhythm and groove to the music. Its to the point now that I can barely listen to their music because it doesnt resonate with me. Its so far in to the realm of musical wankery that it has lost its soul. Which is unfortunate because I am/was a big dream theater fan.

Would I say Mangini overplays the music? No, but at the same time I feel like he is not doing a good job of being a drummer in a band. He is not grounding the music and giving it a pulse for people to follow. This is certainly by design and likely by the direction of John Petrucci. I cant blame Mangini for this as he seems like someone who is taking his musical direction from others and is creating parts that fit within that musical vision. I just wish someone else was at the helm of the ship to steer it back on course and get it out of the direction it is currently in.

Totally on par with this. Love or hate Portnoy, I think he contributed a lot to their overall sound and I know he has a diverse palette. He has a very unique style and some of those rhythmic complications some would call overplaying into something that enhances the music. I couldn't imagine any other drummer playing Scenes From a Memory, his parts all just fit the music so well to me. The albums with Mangini are just boring now.
 
I disagree that Bonham was an overplayer. He stood out because he contributed to the melody of everything they played. Because his fills and solos were dynamic and precisely executed he never played in the background, instead he played as 25% of one of the best bands at the time.
I do agree with the comment on Barker.




I think we can all agree that John Bonham was the worst over-player of all time followed by Travis Barker.
 
Often when an old thread gets resurrected, I read the title and think about how I should respond.

Then, when I then see the date on the OP, I look thu and see if I responded. It always turn out that I responded exactly the way I would today. I guess I don't change my mind very often.

Carry on.
 
Yeah, I know this is an old forum... I was just listening to several Eric Johnson on YouTube... studio and live recordings. EJ is clearly a genius, but a lot of what I hear bothers me on some level, and I've decide it is Tommy Taylor's drumming. Years ago, playing country, I had the leader of the band, Justin Trevino tell me "Tommy... there is no such thing as a lead drummer!"

It irritated the hell out of me, but I have learned that, unless you are a Neal Peart, he was right. I've learned this concept of playing under, of carrying the band; there are drummers who sound like they are playing "at" the music... trying to fit in as many licks as they can; the may be perfectly on time, but the question is "Are they really enhancing, or just throwing stuff at the wall?"

Tom Henderson
 
I disagree that Bonham was an overplayer. He stood out because he contributed to the melody of everything they played. Because his fills and solos were dynamic and precisely executed he never played in the background, instead he played as 25% of one of the best bands at the time.
I do agree with the comment on Barker.
I agree with you... everything Bonham did was supportive; he added or he did nothing.
 
I like Carter's drumming quite a bit, and think it works well for DMB's music, of which, I'm generally not too fond. I have one of their CDs that I like. My boss and his wife are apparently rabid DMB fans. She spent about ten minutes bending my ears one day about all the DMB concerts they've gone to, going backstage for a meet & greet, etc.

Keith Moon would probably have been a disaster in any other band except The Who, but what he did usually worked. That band had such an unusual vibe; the lead guitarist was basically a rhythm player, the bass player was the lead guitarist, and the drummer was an near-unhinged, explosive force of nature. Not your typical band. Of course, I'm biased; I've been a Keith Moon fan since 1965.

I'm also a huge fan of the late Richie Hayward, but he sometimes overplayed on some of the Little Feat tunes, and that's not just my opinion, but comes directly from members of the band. Bill Payne, Paul Barrere and I were talking about Richie one night. Bill recorded and toured with Bob Seger, and this is what he said with candor and some affection. You had to be there.

"Richie had a habit of going out on a limb and sometimes the limb would break. He never would have lasted with Bob Seger. That guy likes a drummer who plays straight time. But Richie's drumming worked for this band most of the time."
 
Yeah, I know this is an old forum... I was just listening to several Eric Johnson on YouTube... studio and live recordings. EJ is clearly a genius, but a lot of what I hear bothers me on some level, and I've decide it is Tommy Taylor's drumming. Years ago, playing country, I had the leader of the band, Justin Trevino tell me "Tommy... there is no such thing as a lead drummer!"

It irritated the hell out of me, but I have learned that, unless you are a Neal Peart, he was right. I've learned this concept of playing under, of carrying the band; there are drummers who sound like they are playing "at" the music... trying to fit in as many licks as they can; the may be perfectly on time, but the question is "Are they really enhancing, or just throwing stuff at the wall?"

Tom Henderson
Drummers who overplay haven't learned the concept of playing for the song. I used to be one of those guys who threw in the kitchen sink all the time, squeezing in as much stuff as I could. It was a matter of maturity and growing into a support role that I learned.
 
I've been a member of a 2-drummer band for about a year. The "lead drummer" does all the fancy licks. I stay "in the pocket", keep time and throw in some percussion. He's the better drummer, but there are a few techniques only I can do! :) All in all, it's a lot of fun.
 
I see no reason anyone should overplay anything. There are enough musical genres to satisfy everyone's musical needs. If you wanna play all the notes at 9,000,000 BPM, start a metal band. Dua Lipa doesnt need you.

Conversely, if you just wanna hold a simple, steady groove, dont join a prog band.

And if you wanna just do what you want, write your own music.

In today's world, the possibilities are endless.
 
And if you want to play all the notes, at once, form an avant garde group. :ROFLMAO:
 
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