Too Much Of A Great Thing?

[Groovesmitty]

I know I have been hard on Modern Drummer. Only because of their past greatness. This last issue was pretty amazing though. LA Studio legends, a great humble rocker Chad Smith, who was on the cover due to politics, $$, and a new album, but that is OK, great tidbits on Phil Maturano, Terri Lynn, Steve Hass' feature, and more. I was impressed.

I just saw the lineup for this years drumfest. In my opinion, I feel like every year this is getting worse. I remember the days when Zildjian Day was special event. Now, this MD festival happens every year, with the drummers not being the type of heavyweight players like Gadd, Vinnie, and Billy Cobham. It's becoming like the rest of our country. Homogenized. Every year it's less special. I'm not sure what I'm trying to say here, but I feel as if when I was younger these events had more meaning. Now they are like rock concerts. The artists are always great musicians, well, most of the time. But it's more than just great drummers. It used to be about legendary drummers.

I feel as if this event should be every two years or three years, and the artists should be chosen carefully. Bobby Sanabria is the laughing stock of latin jazz community in NYC, and now he's performing at this? Thomas Lang? The epitomy of misusing technique. Is Benny Greb next? Where are the greats? The deep pockets? Those gospel drummers are great but do we need THAT many? Every year I buy the DVD and I seem to yawn more and more. Yet, I can put on my 80s Zildjian Day and love every minute of it.

Can anyone else relate? Maybe it's the generation gap? I can tell you that I won't be attending or buying the DVD this year.
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[S.P]

Thomas Lang with Luis Conte?!

hmmmmmmm


But anyways, the only 2 drummers i am excited about on that line-up are Stewart Copeland and Ronald Bruner Jr.

I saw Ronald with Kenny Garret, and he isnt joking around, hes young, raw, aggressive and very tasty.

I would buy the dvd just to watch his segment but i do agree that before it seemed that drum fests were full of only drumming legends or at least drummers that were individuals, brought something new to the public, and most of all, you could be interested in watching EVERY drummer whilst for example in this tape, who wants to watch McGerr when they have just watched Stewart Copeland and/or Ronald Bruner Jr.

Its jus about the money now, hundreds of teen noob drummers will flock just to watch McGerr and this will make money for MD.
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[Suspiria]

I feel ya Groove....
Having Copeland is awesome though. I'd have him play 2 and 4 with his killer backbeat and be in heaven. It's hard to talk about this issue, because what we are always left is something along the lines of "Well...They need to invite drummers that have videos on MTV or have sold the most MD issues etc."

I wonder if the numbers showing up to the MD festival will ever decline? I mean, you'd think that at some point people want something more than just the mindless chops? My personal solution to the problem is to EDUCATE people about the drumming legends that are still left (you mention Cobham correctly) but also give the cats with the REAL musical talent their own spotlight. That's where Hass comes in. It would be totally amazing if he could play and infect people with his positive and professional attitude.

Am I being a music snob? I don't always know.
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"Music is my mistress, and she plays second fiddle to none." - Duke Ellington

[Marc K]

Groove you hit it right on the money. I saw the first Modern Drummer festival back in like 87 I think. Weckl was first up and MY GOD. He just blew everyone out of the water. He was new to almost everyone there. I think Rod M. was up next, what ever. Then Alan Dawson (RIP) and he played all 26 rudiments with brushes and got a standing ovation. I think there was another person who came out but I forget. The last performance was The Gadd Gang!!! It my first and last time hearing him play. Good thing huh. Gadd is just not the same.

I just kick myself in the ass because I recorded that entire thing on my huge tape player. I’m surprised they let me in with that huge thing. That tape is so freaking gone. I just didn’t know how precious it was back when I was 17 years old. I usually keep shit like that. I guess I wasn’t that keeping kind of person that long ago. At least I have it in my mind as a distant fond memory.
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[Paraflam]

I feel ya too Groove. Those are all great players I'm sure. I think it happens too often. It takes away from that special event feeling. It's not special anymore. The players aren't legendary. Antonio Sanchez? Nat Townsley? Monsters but not doing anything really any better or different than anyone in the past. That Zildjian Day you refer to was with Vinnie and his red Yamahas. I remember that video. I was in my first year of college. No one was playing like that. There were other great drummers at that time like Bob Moses and Danny Gottlieb and many others, but they weren't Gadd and Colaiuta greatness, so they weren't a part of the event. It seems like today the event is filled with "others" as the main acts. I was at a Yamaha booth once at NAMM and saw Antonio Sanchez's drum set up. I thought to myself, "this guy is famous in the drum world? He's the jazzier version of El Negro, I don't care about his silly set-up with 17 or more cymbals." Then I saw Gadd's kit and thought, OK things haven't completely gone to shit in the industry. HA!
Not to take anything away from these great players but they're not Gadd's and Vinnie's or even Weckl's. As much as I'm not a huge fan of Dave's, his greatness has not been reached by any Antonio or new comer including the ones I love like Carlock, Hass and Hoenig. Not yet. Maybe someday, but the standard is a lot higher today than in the 80s.
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[Vdrummer]

My understanding is that the artists don't get much compensation from the DVD's (if any), so that may be a big part of the reason.
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Go Practice!

[LAJAZZ]

Yo Dudes.
Is it possible that this information age has something to do with it?
There are more schools, better teachers, more videos, and guys that have taken technique and independence to a different level.
Maybe there are just more great players technically. But not musically.
Has Steve Jordan done one of these shows?

I'm with you guys though. It's not the same. I can't sit through the whole DVD like I could with the Zildjian Days.

The compensation is not bad from what friends that have been asked to this show told me. It's normal DVD pay around 3-5000 for a recorded performance. Maybe the big time rockers make more. I don't think that's bad.
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[Innate]

Wooohoo, Copeland!
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[smoggrocks]

hmmm.

from the vantage point of someone who hasn't been drumming as long as most folks here:

i learn something from just about every drummer, even bad ones. to me, someone doesn't necessarily have to be a legend to be an inspiration or an informative clinician. one of my favorite MD events was seeing gene lake. i love his playing and i think he has great musical talents and insights. i know gadd, weckl, colaiuta, etc. are all seen as drumming gods [which they must be], but they're so hugely marketed, i get fatigued. same thing with steve smith [even though i like his playing a lot, too]. you can 'discover' these guys' works and greatness just by the trail they left, so to speak. i rather enjoy seeing the people who might be flying under the radar.

one thing i think that could help the MD event is raising the overall calibre of 'instruction,' no matter who's there. when i saw gary novack [sp?] do his thing, i felt a little let down. i really love his playing and his style, and was looking for some real pearls of wisdom, but it felt like he had to dumb everything down for schmuks like me. maybe that's why i tend to view the MD thing as more 'edutainment' and a chance to hang with some drum pals rather than hard core learning.

again, i have nothing to compare my experiences to. it would've been cool to see the event in its heyday. did they ever have tony williams? i'd have given a kidney to see that.
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preserve wildlife...throw a party

[rmedek]

Let me guess, guys… uphills, both ways? Barefoot in the snow?

Come on, I know it's easy to get swept away in the "awesomeness" that was Weckl, Gadd, and Colaiuta back in the day—but that was "back in the day." I'll be honest, a lot of the MD performers from last year I had no interest in seeing, but I am very glad I did. I was very musically inspired by both Antonio Sanchez's (from the previous year, I believe) and Keith Carlock's performances, and I don't even play a style remotely close to what those guys do. Last year had Jojo Mayer playing some freakin' innovative jazz, not to mention Mr. Roy Haynes being a bad ass.

I get the feeling if some people had their way it would be the same ten drummers every year. :grin: I'm certain that if the MD Fest had been going on for fifty years, a generation above us would be complaining about all the "damn fusion kids" and wondering why there aren't more real drummers like Bellson and Morello on the bill.
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[rmedek]

Ah, smoggrocks posted just before I did… if I had seen that I would have said I agree with just about everything he said.
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[Henry II]

There's something about Chad Smith that just makes me laugh. Even when he's trying to be bad, he's just funny. He looks so much like Will Ferrell.

Come to think of it, I don't think I've never seen Chad Smith and Will Ferrell together. :shock:
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"Play the music and the drums will play themselves." - Riddim

[rmedek]

Hmmmm… you may be on to something! I thought something wasn't quite right when I saw this recent Pearl advertisement:


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[smoggrocks]

lol! very funny, rmedek :grin:
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preserve wildlife...throw a party

[benrand]

It was so attractive to destroy drum heroes to the lovely music critics who knew that everything they love is the result of deconstruction and revolution. So they decided that killing off the drum heroes, and thereby killing off a totally masculine symbol of greatness, would work for the idea of pushing mopey little douches like Kurt Cobain who were extremely nihilistic and hateful to anything that seemed to be striving for a greater ideal, and the absolute insanity of rap music.

All popular music is filled with death, mayhem and madness...possibly the reult of the Gonzo style of reduction into the cesspool of society.

Just my opinion...and MD has to put up with it.
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Echoes of Pink Floyd
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