Dream Theater

[Gaddabout]

Gaddabout, then don't watch "Live at Budokan". His pushing of the tempo throughout the whole concert is just hysterical, he's not just on top of the beat but rushing the whole band very noticeably. Just take a look at this, right after the stick intro:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dXdazXcldVA
Holy timing issues, Batman!

Ack. Even Lars would've noticed that and corrected.

[72drum]

Speaking of Lars.....

[gretsch-o-rama]

I hate to see such a shitty band degrade such amazing talent. That said, Virgil, to me brings a whole spiritual thing to his groove that DT just doesn't get or complement well. He sounds too good for them.

i don't listen to them anymore, since i've past that stage long ago, but they aren't shitty. perhaps their later stuff is, but their first couple albums are quite good and ground-breaking for what they are. it's like calling RUSH shitty. that's just not fair.

Funny! Not quite. My favorite drummers right now are Ari Hoenig and Brian Blade, and my favorite non-instrumental band is Steely Dan. I never listen to Dream Theater anymore. Is that enough taste and musical maturity to justify my musical judgment for you? I can't believe I even had to say that. You're way off the mark, and judging by your vast generalizations and superficial critique, your musical horizons and capabilities are probably quite limited in their own way. All I was saying is that they are not objectively "shitty."

"If sounds good, it is good" -Louie Armstrong To my ears DT sounds like shit and I'll tell you why: I've seen videos where Jan Hammer and Rudess trade fours and it sounded like Rudess might as well been playing a casio keyboard demo button. No groove or amazing time feel and frankly he was brave to be there trading Hammer,who to me, has to be one of the top five keyboardists ever... Petrucci? His playing maybe alright but he always has a rat nasty tone to his guitar probably in the name of rock and roll but it just sounds bad. The bass player has the same deal with his tone...it just sucks. It's funny you make the rush comparison because I think pretty much the same thing about them... the ability to subdivide odd times into 2's and 3's doesn't impress me especially when you can't groove.

[DSOP]

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/mu ... 77492.html

[Tombo 7/4]

I just checked DT site and followed a link to MP site.

Our thread on auditions here is nothing compared to the equivalent on MP's forum:
~1450 posts, >90k views. Guys there have >15k posts!

I just shuffled through a bit and it's like they can't help but feel that the big punch tomorrow will be:
"Mike, welcome back to the family!"

[Andrew<3'sVinnie]

"If sounds good, it is good" -Louie Armstrong To my ears DT sounds like shit and I'll tell you why: I've seen videos where Jan Hammer and Rudess trade fours and it sounded like Rudess might as well been playing a casio keyboard demo button. No groove or amazing time feel and frankly he was brave to be there trading Hammer,who to me, has to be one of the top five keyboardists ever... Petrucci? His playing maybe alright but he always has a rat nasty tone to his guitar probably in the name of rock and roll but it just sounds bad. The bass player has the same deal with his tone...it just sucks. It's funny you make the rush comparison because I think pretty much the same thing about them... the ability to subdivide odd times into 2's and 3's doesn't impress me especially when you can't groove.

Look man I don't hold them on the same pedestal as I do most of the drummers/bands we typically discuss on this forum. My musical tastes have matured beyond DT. Yes, there are definitely many criticisms you could make of their individual playing abilities, musicality, and song writing; you bring out a couple. But that doesn't mean they are shit. Of course you are entitled to your opinion, I just think you are only noticing the negative (which can be glaringly obvious to a well-trained artist) and as a result shutting yourself off to the positive; your comment about RUSH makes that pretty clear. Many of the best drummers on this forum, Steve included, would vouch for RUSH. It's not the highest art form,there are flaws, but it also has some stuff to offer.

[YamahaPlayer]

Rush was ground breaking, I don't listen to them. But I understand the significance of what they did at the time.

I never got into DT because, as a drummer anyway, Mike's playing seems so sterile. It's so obvious he has about 4 licks and ALWAYS uses them. No matter what album, etc

Though I do respect the absurd amount of memorizing to play those shows, that's just an incredibly amount of material to have down, some of it decently complex.

[gretsch-o-rama]

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/sfv/muc/2351177492.html

You come across some gems, DSOP!

[Rodge]

Rush was ground breaking, I don't listen to them. But I understand the significance of what they did at the time.

I never got into DT because, as a drummer anyway, Mike's playing seems so sterile. It's so obvious he has about 4 licks and ALWAYS uses them. No matter what album, etc

Though I do respect the absurd amount of memorizing to play those shows, that's just an incredibly amount of material to have down, some of it decently complex.

To me Steve Gadd or Keith Carlock don't have more than 4 licks, so I would say that it's the way you use them who make the HUGE difference, not amont of licks you have, don't you think so ?

[Gaddabout]

To me Steve Gadd or Keith Carlock don't have more than 4 licks, so I would say that it's the way you use them who make the HUGE difference, not amont of licks you have, don't you think so ?

Ha ha!

It's all about owning what you got in the toolbox.