Jimmy Chamberlin

JC is one of my favorite rock drummers ever.

I haven't heard anything more recent than the melon-collie album, but that, siamese dream, and gish are quite an impressive body of work alone, IMO.

It's funny, but he's one of those guys that, to my ear, has had such a huuuuge influence on a lot of popular music even though he's not talked about that much. I love how he phrases and applies fills, they always seem to affect the song, not just take up space. I love his snare playing and use of rimshots. He really knows how to kick a song in the butt when need be.
 
One of my favorite drummers, definitely in my top 5. Listening to him really opened me up to new ideas. I haven't seen him live yet, but I will do so the first chance I get. Thanks to Gish06 for attaching that interview.
 
Stitch Kaboodle said:
Yes. Everyone here should hear Tristessa by the pumpkins. Chocolate drumming.


Ive been trying to get hold of a life in 95 bootleg dvd. That was a drumming masterclass on the Melancollie tour. Check out Sloth on youtube-really cool.
 
I saw Jimmy with the SPs a couple of weeks before the incident that got him booted. He's a great drummer. Also worthy of mention: the Tricky song "Pumpkin" which samples Jimmy...
 
...yeah, finn, I also saw him (in philadelphia) just a few weeks before that all went down. I think they had some technical problems during that show, but they were really good none the less.

Anyway, another thing I always thought was cool was the unconventional tom setup he used.

I messed with that and similar stuff before I moved on to primarily a 4pc drumset and you can do some neat things -especially in terms of splitting the hands on fills.

One cool, very JC gish-esque fill that utilizes this setup is a quick, 16th note descending, one-hit-per-drum fill. His setup of (going from left to right) largest rack tom, smallest rack tom, medium rack tom, floor tom ...etc makes this type of fill all alternating strokes and more easy to play smoothly at fast tempos with a sticking of: flam (-snare) L(Small tom -middle position) R(medium tom -far right) L(Largest mounted tom -far left) R(Crash cymbal/bass drum).

He did a lot of variations of this too -it's fun suff!
 
INXSDRUMTECH said:
i actually was the drumtech on that session. a jimmy c. signature snare was my bonus. it rules.

Sounds like a great gig! Can you let us in on any head choices, tuning tricks used? I'd really LOVE to replicate that sound, and buying the snare would be a good start.
 
Jimmy rules, he's number 2 in my favourite drummers list. The singer in my band told me i reminded him of jimmy when we first started, and i couldn't have asked for a better compliment, of course i suck bad compared to jimmy but i guess his influence shines through....
 
jimmy chamberlin has become my main influence as a drummer. although i can certainly appreciate studio greats like gadd, weckl, colauita, freese, etc. it is his playing that has made the biggest difference. it is sometimes hard to split a pumpkins drum chart into verse, chorus, verse etc. he plays organically, dynamically and musically.
basically, jimmy rocks where it matters.
 
Saw the Pumpkins tuesday night in Asheville, and Jimmy was spot on. Incredible chops and incredibly precise.

I was absolutely blown. Tonight, Tonight - oh lawd - chills down my spine

The cat is amazing.

You can see the setlist on my BLOG and at Smasheville.com
 
I've been a big jimmy fan since siamese dream- he's one of the few guys out there who you can tell his drumming even if you've never heard the song before. Also one of the few guys to release a solo album that I can listen to front to back and not get bored. I was one of the lucky few who saw the Complex at the Mercy Lounge in Nashville- great show.
 
I've seen the Pumpkins one month ago! Even if I don't like being a crazy fan, i was pretty moved to finally see jimmy chamberlin on stage as the whole band. He has an intense presence in the band, his drumset sounds perfect, warm and deep, and the man has such a tasteful playing, I felt like he was leading a lot!
Incubus were playing before and honestly Jose Pasillas is a good drummer but sounded so small, not to say rediculous compared to Jimmy (maybe it was the PDP's).
He is one drummer that pushed me to learn more about what I could really get out of my drums when I was younger. I used to listen ritually Geek USA before each one of drumming lessons.
 
Jimmys a great drummer. He has a sound & feel unlike many other rock drummers out there. He has a sensitive hard touch. What I mean by that is he can bash the hell out of the skins, but really sensitive... Dont know what other way to explain it, listen to Today, and you will see what I mean....
He definitly plays to the song though....... thats for sure, and thats what I respect about a drummer like him.
 
Jimmy and Jeremy Taggart ( Our Lady Peace) really educated me on how to mix jazz style drumming with rock. Anyways, enough about Jeremy, this is a Jimmy topic. Jimmy's Yamaha kit sounds amazing (especially his signature snare drum) sounds great. I was really impressed with the drumming on Doomsday Clock off of the new album. Long live Jimmy's influence and btw the Smashing Pumkins rule.
 
Jimmy is my number one influence. I learned to play drums listening to Siamese Dream. And his work on Zeitgeist was just beautiful. I've seen him play four times with the Pumpkins and I'm seeing him again on Tuesday. I'm quite excited.
 
I was never a huge SP fan in high school, when they first hit the mainstream, but I have learned to like a lot of their music. Zeitgeist is, in my opinion, their finest work by far. Jimmy described his playing on that album as "overplaying" but I disagree...I think he nailed it just right.

I really respect him as a drummer and musician after both listening to Zeitgeist and reading his article in last month's Modern Drummer...his attitude is nearly the same as mine, as far as tuning the drums and recording them "wide open". I respect that organic approach...I think he said something to the effect that their fans "were ready with something with some balls on it..." Indeed!

United States is probably my favorite track on the new album.
 
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