“How is a drum solo like a sneeze? You know it’s going to happen, but there’s nothing you can do about it.”
Throughout the history of music, drummers have often been the butt of jokes, like the one above. Or worse, they have been known to spontaneously combust, at least according to This is Spinal TapBut drummers are, in fact, the heart of any band, keeping everyone in rhythm while the singer and lead guitarist steal the show.
Earlier this year, Consequence As part of our Bass Week celebration, we celebrate bassists. Now, we’re turning our attention to the other half of the rhythm section with Drum Week, which focuses on all things drums and the musicians who play them. From jazz to rock to heavy metal and beyond, we celebrate drummers across multiple genres and throughout history who have kept the beat alive.
Jazz icon Buddy Rich, one of the greatest ever to sit behind a drum kit, once said: Modern drummer“Every drummer who had a name had a name for their playing. They didn’t sound like anyone else. So everyone I listened to influenced my taste in some way.”
From Buddy Rich to John Bonham to Neil Peart to Sheila E., the greatest drummers have created their own style of playing, their own blend of rhythm, beat, and groove. That’s why you’ll see names like these and more in our first section of the week: our list of the 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Just as we did with bassists, we polled a number of modern drum masters to help us determine our list, and we’ll share the full results of the poll later this week.
The beat continues throughout the week with exclusive curated sets from artists including Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy, Anthrax/Pantera drummer Charlie Benante, and Pixies' David Lovering. Also expected is a video panel discussion with Gina Schock (The Go-Go's), Stella Mozgawa (Warpaint), and Janet Weiss (Quasi, Sleater-Kinney, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks), among other content.
It's all part of ConsequenceIt's Drum Week, and you can bookmark this page and check back every day this week as we update it with links to the latest content.
— Spencer Kaufman
Editor-in-Chief, Heavy Consequence
Monday, September 16:
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