Which drummer inspired you the most?

[shwing789]

John Bonham
Sam Fogarino
Shannon Larkin
Dave Grohl
Atom Willard
Josh Freese
Aaron Gillespie
Chad Sexton
Jason McGerr
Rodney Holmes

[phantompong]

I'm going to offer an unconventional answer here. In terms of sheer attitudinal inspiration, I'm going to say Rick Allen (Def Leppard). It takes a lot of resolve and fortitude to come back from an auto accident like that, admit your mistakes and keep drumming, and a lot of gratitude and integrity to then give back to the community in the form of grassroots drum circles. I'm not sure I would keep playing music if I lost an arm - I'm not sure I'd do anything if I lost an arm, for that matter. When he plays it's obvious he loves what he's doing and it's always a reminder to love the music and the instrument, and never to give up in the face of adversity (even if it's self-inflicted).

In terms of musical inspiration, I'd say Bonzo is it. Neil Peart, Nick Mason and Ringo are also not far from the top.

[justdave01]

Papa Jo (always smiling)
Tony Williams (still don't understand how he thought but he did his own thing)
Steve Gadd (Have been studying him more and more lately, he adds things that really don't make sense in ordinary hands, but they obviously work)
Steve Jordan (helped me understand my job is to lay the FOUNDATION of a rhythm, not play every note in it)
Billy Ward (awesome relaxed approach with solid groove)
Bart Elliott (seriously, I'm a Christian artist and his work on Ten Shekel Shirt's, Ocean and Meet with me sum it all up. Simple but right on target)

[Mark Counts]

Mickey of the Monkey's
Chris from the Partridge Family
Animal from the Muppets

                   Nutty

[mississippithunder]

mike portnoy,  check this out ;Dhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rMcJdxcJvg&search=mike%20portnoy

[gus]

herb from primus Suck on This through Pork Soda.

[gus]

ââ,¬Â¢ Tim Alexander (Primus)

yessir

[Croatch]

Lars Ulrich
Dave Weckl
Dennis Chambers
Vinny Colaiuta
Steve Gadd
Tommy Igoe
Jojo Mayer
Gary Novack

Big into Colaiuta now with his sick phrasings and odd accents.

[emsoelzer]

Aaron Harris of Isis, probably most. Isis is amazing, if you've never heard of them. His style is incredible.

Runner up would be Jon Theodore from The Mars Volta. He's such an impressive drummer. I've never heard anything like his playing.

[KHN]

First post... hello everyone.

My top three most influential dummers are (in order):

Dave Abbruzese - played with Pearl Jam from shortly after Ten was recorded thru Vitalogy, then left (got fired?) and moved onto a project called the Green Romance Orchestra.  He was my inspiration for many of the marathon practice sessions when I was a bit younger, and currently is my inspiration for getting back on the drums after some long years off.

Carter Beauford - Dave Matthews Band.  Can't really say much more than I go to DMB concerts every year just to watch him play for a few hours.  And to stare at the half-naked college girls.  He's a unique talent in the world of drumming.

Chad Sexton - 311.  An extensive drum corps background has made him so incredibly crisp... I'm know there are more talented out there, but he is one of my faves.

Kirk

[theshapecool]

Well I have to say, since I heard Keith Moon as a kid, that was it.
The sounds of Happy Jack and sparks off my moms old vinyls.
Today I am largly inspired by Dave Lombardo, John Otto, Johnny Rabb and guys
like that. its all good though.

[led_sabbath_123]

for me it's between mitch mitchell and bill ward, though there are a ton more (bonham, peart, paice...). this is my first post on the site  by the way.

[xdrummer2000]

In drumming, I have 2, but one of them is more than a drummer.

The one that influences me the most is probably none other than God. I know there's some Christian drummers on here, and you may feel the same way as me. I play in my youth band full time, and I play in the adult service part time. My job in church (along with the rest of the band) isn't just to perform and sound good. God is speaking through the music the band is playing to bring the audience into his presence. He's the one that is more than a drummer.

The one that is a drummer is none other than the man, Mike Portnoy. I listened to my first Dream Theater song a few years ago and I've been hooked ever since. I like his style most because he plays technical stuff--stuff that I never get bored with like I do with other music.

Sadly, I don't see too many other people who listed either of my main influences (God, Mike Portnoy) in their posts in this thread. :-\

[Matt Self (Gaddabout)]

Back when I was a regular part of this board, I used to come up with all the heady answers. Lately, I've been realizing the drummer that inspired me the most is ... every drummer. My ears perk up anytime I hear the drum set, and I feel inspired to play.

[James Walker]

Back when I was a regular part of this board

It's great to see you back, Gaddabout!   :D

OK, back on topic...here's how I'll break mine down. Obviously, these are just the top names on the lists - there were many drummers who have inspired me over the years; these are the guys who made (and still make) me want to pick up the sticks - or make me want to throw away my sticks, depending on my mood that day.  ;D

I'll break it down by where I was (and what I was) as a student, for lack of any better method:

"Starting Out" - Buddy Rich, Danny Seraphine

"My High School Years" - Steve Gadd, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones

"My College Years" - Gadd, Peter Erskine, Airto, Lennard Moses

"My Post-Graduate Years" - Manu Katche, Paul Wertico, Airto, Jack DeJohnette, Tony Williams

"The 'Real World Following School' Years" - Manu, Gadd, Airto, Stewart Copeland

If I had to narrow it down to one player who has "inspired me the most," I'd go with Airto, by the slimmest of margins over Steve Gadd and Manu Katche.

[Matt Self (Gaddabout)]

It's great to see you back, Gaddabout!

Thanks, James. Good to see you're still around raising the bar a little higher for everyone!

[yonatan]

ELVIN JONES

[Lori]

Steve Gadd, the drummers and percussionists of Santana, and I love Chris Layton of Double Trouble. Subtle, simple, good feel and my kinda music. And so many more...

[Dave Heim]

Its impossible to narrow it down to one individual.  Too many influences!

When I was a kid, my folks let me stay up late once in a while to watch The Tonight Show.  I was inspired by guys like Grady Tate and Ed Shaughnessy.  I particularly liked watching the spots that featured Doc and the band.  Guest appearances by Louie Bellson and Buddy Rich were fascinating to me as well.

Later on in high school I was inspired by Don Brewer and Danny Seraphine.  I also found local drummer John Panozzo to be an inspiration.  While he wasn't exactly a chop-master, he was a solid drummer, a nice guy, and a nice success story.  Styx used to perform at high school dances around town as TW4 in their early days.  So I saw John a lot up close. 

Growing up I liked all those countless hits on AM radio, so I'd have to say Hal Blaine was a big inspiration.  As was Karen Carpenter - a monster on the set.

Later on, and still today the list is expanded to include guys like Anton Fig, Steve Gadd, Steve Smith, Vinnie, Kenny.

[Mark Schlipper]

In case it matters, I didn't start this thread.   We seem to have lost some posts made prior to mine.