Apparently I have big "pocket" - this is the greatest compliment anyone can pay me. As I have mentioned before, being able to accomplish a complicated rudiment, or flashy fill has never really caught my attention. I DO practice certain rudiments, and work out new ways to play tom fills, but for me, the feel, the groove is paramount.
When I was in my teens I did try to practice a few incendiary drum fills (possibly to impress the girls), but even then my motivation was more about playing with the rest of the musicians in the band. After all, unless you're always at drum clinics, the people you are going to interact with are not going to be drummers! While some bands have more than one guitarist (even more than one keyboard player) MOST bands only have one drummer (The Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd & The Allmans being the exception to that rule)!
So, for a drummer to truly hone his craft, it is imperative that he learn how to play WITH those other musicians. Listen, watch, feel..... use your intuition, develop your 6th Sense..... unless you simply want to do drum clinics your entire life (and there are quite a few drummers out there doing that).
Dave Weckl once said something that really stuck with me. He had just been given a glowing introduction onto the stage at the Sabian Bash (during one NAMM show in Anaheim). Basically, Dom Famularo had introduced him as "the greatest, ever...."
Before getting behind the kit, Dave walked up to a microphone at the front and said: "Thank you, Dom, but I'd just like to add something: each of us has a unique way of expressing ourselves, and all those ways are equally valid. We all have something to say. Let's not forget that."
When I was in my teens I did try to practice a few incendiary drum fills (possibly to impress the girls), but even then my motivation was more about playing with the rest of the musicians in the band. After all, unless you're always at drum clinics, the people you are going to interact with are not going to be drummers! While some bands have more than one guitarist (even more than one keyboard player) MOST bands only have one drummer (The Doobie Brothers, Lynyrd Skynyrd & The Allmans being the exception to that rule)!
So, for a drummer to truly hone his craft, it is imperative that he learn how to play WITH those other musicians. Listen, watch, feel..... use your intuition, develop your 6th Sense..... unless you simply want to do drum clinics your entire life (and there are quite a few drummers out there doing that).
Dave Weckl once said something that really stuck with me. He had just been given a glowing introduction onto the stage at the Sabian Bash (during one NAMM show in Anaheim). Basically, Dom Famularo had introduced him as "the greatest, ever...."
Before getting behind the kit, Dave walked up to a microphone at the front and said: "Thank you, Dom, but I'd just like to add something: each of us has a unique way of expressing ourselves, and all those ways are equally valid. We all have something to say. Let's not forget that."
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