Most Over-rated drummers?

SticksEasy

Senior Member
I've seen under appreciated drummer posts, but I don't think I've ever seen a post about the drummers who you think are most undeserving of their fame?

Travis Barker - Barker is a time keeper, and a showman. But this dude beat Brooks Wackerman in a best punk drummer pole, which made me foam at the mouth.
He does nothing innovative, and if anything promotes poor technique and bad drumming habits.

The Rev - May he rest in peace, he was not a bad drummer by any means. But like Barker, he done nothing innovative. I know The Rev inspired a lot of drummers, especially in my area, which is great. Anyone who makes kids want to play drums is cool by me, but I don't think the guy's playing deserves a virtual music religion.
 
I do not know any drummers who's undeserving of their fame, I only know drummers that I happen not to like very much...
 
Travis Barker - Barker is a time keeper, and a showman. But this dude beat Brooks Wackerman in a best punk drummer pole, which made me foam at the mouth.
He does nothing innovative, and if anything promotes poor technique and bad drumming habits.

And yet here he is....mentioned in yet another thread. All that time and effort used to write out his faults and why he shouldn't be considered "worthy"........and yet you guys wonder why his is the first name on everyones lips. Smart.

Travis thanks you for keeping him relevant.
 
My person take is that they were the ones there doing it, not you. I see your point in asking hte question but I am staying out of this discussion because (#1) I am not qualified to judge and (#2) I wish I was anyone mentioned above or below here in a negative context because it would mean I made it as a musician and lots of people enjoyed what I did which is cool regardless of how bad I am.

Feel free if you must. Worth discussing to some extent as long as it doesnt get too crazy (Travis and Ringo are hot buttons).

I also wonder, if someone is over-rated, who is the rater, what are his stats, by what standard is the judging?
 
Often teenage students ask me questions such as that posed in the OP. Is this guy any good? Or the student has a strong opinion regarding a drummer's ability. My answer is always the same. Drummers at the top level are all good. There is too much money invested in tours, employees etc for any weak links to be involved. Poor drummers wont last. There is too much at stake. It is all very simple.

As for the opening post; it is not a good idea to be negative. If one does not like listening to a musician, then don't.
 
I had no negative intentions. No matter how many people dislike a particular drummer, there are going to be just as many or more who like him. Anyone who plays drums, especially in a band of great recognition has my respect. But there are those who have almost a religious following, and I fail to see why.

And as for Travis Barker, I only mentioned the name because he is at the top of this list, and has been for years. I don't want to pull the "I was cool, before it was cool" card, but in spite of being a fan of Blink 182, I've never cared for Travis's playing, or his obsessive fan base.

And in relationg to King Crimson, the reference in my signature is not directed toward him. It is directed from the re-recording of the Bad Religion song, and so, I used their name. If you don't like it, tough.

My post doesn't violate any rules that I've read, so if you dislike it, steer clear of it. Let he who has NOT sinned, cast the first stone.
 
I am not trying to accuse you of anything, just stating my take. I prefer to take the dont listen route mentioned above but I can agree, like many, that the Barker insanity does not have a hold of me (I am too busy watching KeepItSimple play bars in Smalltown, UK to watch TB).

Tommy Lee, what? WHo said that?
 
21st century schitzoid man is a King Crimson song that Bad Religion covered.

Anyway, threads such as this are never a good idea. Over rated, under rated, these terms are meaningless. What is shown is more about the poster than the drummers discussed. Is this bad? I don't think so. Naive? Absolutely. It is no crime to be young.

What we do have is a lot of very fine musicians to listen to and enjoy. Who cares if a bunch of kids argue over a musician in a popular band. Certainly not me. I am too busy trying to improve. I have been crap for 35 years. With that on my head how can I possibly worry about Travis Barker??? :-D
 
Just in case you're interested (which you're clearly not but I'm going to tell you anyway) King Crimson is not one individual. It's not even really a band as such, it's more of an idiom. Constant stylistic changes over the years from Jazz-Heavy Prog to Proto-Metal and then warped New Wave. Now it's probably more of a conventional 'Modern' Prog collective but I think their best phase was the Proto-Metal phase - especially 'Larks Tongues in Aspic' and 'Red'. Just great, great albums if you can get over some of the lyrics occasionally.

Incidentally, 'Fracture' is a marvellous piece and I've never seen anyone able to cover it convincingly.
 
Drummers at the top level are all good.

+1

Anyone who can play tightly with snappy timing night after night in front of thousands of people has my respect - from Meg and Phil to the master blasters ... before anyone says anything, okay Meg wasn't tight but she was just right for The WS and she churned it out in stadiums full of adoring fans ... when I've had equivalent success in music I'll feel free to criticise.

For the record, all of the most famous drummers are "over rated", in that they are not necessarily "better" than many excellent lesser known players ... often it's just a matter of band profile, luck and temperament.

Also, the highest profile players are usually less masterful than many fine art musicians who aren't quite so well known (bearing in mind that it's hardly a problem being less masterful than drummers like Brian Blade, Joey Baron, Bill Stewart, Dave DiCenso, Terri-Lynn Carrington, Jeff 'Tain' Watts etc etc). Not to mention the best classical players and no doubt there are plenty of killer percussionists in Africa, Sth America and Asia who only very few in the west will know about.

Not that it matters if X world class drummer has more chops/groove/touch/time/taste/ideas than Y world class drummer, unless you're planning to hire them.
 
Anybody else come to this forum to find new drummers to listen to? What somebody else might find as over-rated could be your new favorite. Here's to not labeling and listening to everybody to find something new to add to your own playing.




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