Mike J documentary video

[sjj123]

Dom can play but I cant help but think he's a dink....just no way around it for me.

edit:...his game changing moment vid is pretty friggin cool tho"

[Paul Marangoni]

Jim Chapin's book "ADVANCED TECHNIQUES FOR THE MODERN DRUMMER, VOL. 2" is available through Dom's website. I didn't think that book was in print anymore. I'd love to pick it up, but I've already got about three books I want to finish first.

http://domfamularo.com/store/

[Pocketplayer]

Tom demoing the first book...

[gretsch-o-rama]

Nothing against him (or anyone else mentioned on this thread for that matter). I do believe that he´s an entertainer more than a musician.
I think there´s tons of actual musicians playing with actual bands that could use that kind of exposure and bring to youngsters real life advice/experience. Less focus on the gear and more insight in how to develop/nurture a career playing music...
Unless you´re someone like Chapin... A truly gifted player who wrote a classic book and -I feel- had something special to offer... Not the case of Dom, Cobus, etc...
(Again, I don´t have anything against those guys. I wish them the best actually; but think of it from another angle... A writer that never write a book, but he travels the world teaching writing techniques -and selling gear in the meantime-... Replace writer with any profession you want, and the result is equally bizarre)

That's true, but still I think it's unfair to put Famularo in the same basket as MJ and Cobus. When I was younger I liked his enthusiasm which I think was infectious and genuine. It's clear that the two latter ones do what they do purely for profit, whereas Famularo's clips just wanted to get the message across. Plus, I know he doesn't tour or record but he does play and is an excellent educator, and knowing or having known many of the drumming greats he doesn't deserve to be jumbled together with the other two.

I know we're diverging from the topic and, but I think what Famularo does is much more authentic and pure, and hence I thought that was an unfair statement to make. MHO.

Dom is truly an educator in a class by himself...and comparing to the other two dinks is not analogous. Simply because Dom teaches what he has learned from the greats like Al Miller, Jim Chapin, Freddie Gruber and so on...the other two simply have not. If he wants to call himself the Global Ambassador of drumming, he has more of a claim to it than anyone, IMO...

[Julián Fernández]

That´s the whole point right there... Why learn how to swing a hammer if you´re not building a house?
I mean no disrespect, but if you had access to all that knowledge, and still can´t play a solid beat (with other musicians), the whole Ambassador thing seems a like presumptuous... Maybe is just a marketing thing, I don´t know.
(I won´t say anything else about Dom, I also believe that he´s on another level than the other guys mentioned here... but I also think he was the first to become known for teaching stuff without actually doing stuff). Peace.

[Pocketplayer]

I think a lot of this conversation is based on those who can teach Vs those who primarily play.
There IS a distinction. Teaching is hard work of another kind...guys like Vinnie are hardwired
to play and play some more.

It takes a lot of selfless effort to really look at a student, know how to quickly deconstruct and then
offer options to rebuild. And the rebuilding phase is usually based on how the teacher learned...
he/she is just transferring the model they adopt.

A good teacher might say, "Yes...Moeller technique will help you greatly, but if I heard you correctly,
at your age you want to go in this direction, so let's skip that for now and focus on (fill in) because
this will work best for you."

You sit with Tony Williams and you ain't gonna get that! He is going to give you what HE feels best
because that is what worked for him. "Either listen to me or hit the road" kinda thing.

[Paul Marangoni]

The only time I ever studied with anyone, it was because I heard them playing music first and loved what they brought to the music. I need to have a lot of respect for someone before I trust them to help me. And even though Mike Johnston and Dom Famularo aren't known for their accompanying skills, that isn't why I wouldn't be interested in studying with them. I just don't care for their playing.

If I was studying with Tony Williams, it would be because I wanted to better understand his approach and how he made his musical decisions. Whether it would work for me or not would be evident soon enough.

[Julián Fernández]

Bingo!

[Pocketplayer]

If I was studying with Tony Williams, it would be because I wanted to better understand his approach and how he made his musical decisions. Whether it would work for me or not would be evident soon enough.

Excellent point! You go to Tony or Dave or Virg because of who they are and what you can learn from them.

[gretsch-o-rama]

I say this to drummer friends sometimes, " A teacher is only as good as he can play..."