Kurtis wrote:Love The Outsidement album. The three guys got together at lunch and wrote some tunes for their classes. Glad they recorded the live performance of those songs. Great tunes and awesome playing. Ralph's still got it.
We called Ralph the Wizard for a reason. He and all the cats I studied with at LAMA are personal heroes of mine, obviously for their teaching efforts, but outside of the school they are amazing and legendary players.
Obvious choices for heroes include Vinnie, Weckl, Gadd, Gavin, Jeff Porcaro, Jojo, Tony Williams, etc.
Keith Carlock and Steve Jordan are huge with me too because of how much they work, their sound, and because they play the gigs I'd love to play (and of course, while Keith may display chops more than Steve Jordan, they both have a certain technical ability that I admire). I also have to give a major nod to our own Todd- he's a class act, respects people, is kind and honest, and is a MONSTER behind the kit, and I'm fortunate enough to call him a friend.
Being able to play is one thing- but being a great person adds so much when it comes to the apparent hero category.
I guess Holmes is okay too.