#5
Jon Theodore
Played for various bands, and The Mars Volta for 5 years and 6 albums. Best known for his explosive, multi-textural and dynamic playing style. His drumming style is amazing, his speed and stamina is unwavering. And off beat rhythms that change at the drop of the hat, without changing tempo, keeping the music sound spontaneous.
#4
Dave Grohl
As everyone knows was the drummer for Nirvana, then went onto surprise the music world by switching to guitar and lead singer in his own group The Foo Fighters. But he hasn't lost his talent for drumming. Playing drums with Them Crooked Vultures. With Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones bassist for Led Zeppelin. Dave Grohl's drumming is loud, fast, and strong. You can really hear the strength and confidence is his drumming. You really get the sense that he's having fun when he plays, and that surely comes out in the music.
As everyone knows was the drummer for Nirvana, then went onto surprise the music world by switching to guitar and lead singer in his own group The Foo Fighters. But he hasn't lost his talent for drumming. Playing drums with Them Crooked Vultures. With Queens of the Stone Age front man Josh Homme, and John Paul Jones bassist for Led Zeppelin. Dave Grohl's drumming is loud, fast, and strong. You can really hear the strength and confidence is his drumming. You really get the sense that he's having fun when he plays, and that surely comes out in the music.
#3
Travis Barker
Drummer for the Aquabats, +44, Boxcar Racer, The Transplants, TRV$DJAM, and of course Blink 182. What makes him such a great drummer is his stamina and versatility. Playing many drumming styles from Punk to Alternative Rock, Hip Hop, and even Country. If you've ever seen Barker play, he puts his whole body into his drumming. And he's always searching for a new way to deliver the same beat while staying in tempo. His inventiveness is unsurpassed by most mainstream drummers.
Drummer for the Aquabats, +44, Boxcar Racer, The Transplants, TRV$DJAM, and of course Blink 182. What makes him such a great drummer is his stamina and versatility. Playing many drumming styles from Punk to Alternative Rock, Hip Hop, and even Country. If you've ever seen Barker play, he puts his whole body into his drumming. And he's always searching for a new way to deliver the same beat while staying in tempo. His inventiveness is unsurpassed by most mainstream drummers.
#2
Kieth Moon
Wild, and Crazy is how I would describe Kieth Moon's playing. His eccentric and innovative drumming style, and his self destructive behavior, earned him the nickname "Moon the Loon." His legendary drumming is best known for his dramatic, suspenseful drumming. Often eschewing basic back beats for a fluid, busy technique focused on fast, cascading rolls across the toms, ambidextrous double bass drum work, and wild cymbal crashes and washes. When he plays his unorthodox holding of his drums sticks, gives you the impression that he's enjoying every minute of his performance.
for those of you who are not aware of this video. The Who had a tradition of breaking their instruments after to last song. and one thing that they wanted to do was blow up the bass drum with a large puff of smoke, and a loud "pop", for their appearance in the states, on the set of the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. During rehearsal testing the drum effect. The producers okay-ed the stunt. But Keith didn't think it was big enough. So before they were to go on stage he Moon had loaded his drums with more explovises, into one of his two bass drums. During the finale of "My Generation", he kicked the the drum off the riser that set off the charge, with the intensity of the explosion surprising even himself. He singed Townshend's hair and permanently damaged the hearing in his right ear. Kieth even had a piece of cymbal embedded in his own arm. Now "that's" rock 'n' roll!
#1
Buddy Rich
Jaw-dropping is the best way to describe Buddy Rich's drumming. He is "the world's greatest drummer." Known for his virtuosic technique, power, groove, and speed. Rich's technique has been one of the most standardized and coveted in drumming. His dexterity, musicality of playing style, speed and smooth execution are considered "holy grails" of drum technique and have been considered next to impossible to duplicate. While Rich typically held his sticks using traditional grip, he was also a skilled "match grip" player, and was one of few drummers to master the one-handed roll on both hands. Some of his more spectacular moves are crossover riffs, where he would criss-cross his arms from one drum to another, sometimes over the arm, and even under the arm at great speed.
He often used contrasting techniques to keep long drum solos from getting mundane. Aside from his energetic explosive displays, he would go into quieter passages. One passage he would use in most solos starts with a simple single-stroke roll on the snare picking up speed and power, then slowly moving his sticks closer to the rim as he gets quieter and then eventually playing on just the rim itself while still maintaining speed. Then he would reverse the effect and slowly move towards the center of the snare while increasing power. He even kicked the wildness Muppet's ass Animal, in a drum contest.
