Topic: Where's the next big thing?

[Dustin-Greer]

Hey guys, check out Dave Watts.  He plays in a nationally touring band called The Motet.  He went to Berklee.  He has a really funky groove, and the band also has a percussionist, Scott Messersmith.  Scott is from New Orleans and has been playing since he was a child with master drummers from all over the world.  They have a website   www.themotet.net.  Try it , you'll like it!

[racindrummer]

It seems to me that maybe it isn't just the drummer that defines something new, but the right drummer in the right band.

For example, going back to my younger playing days, Joe Morello redefined playing combo jazz with his odd time grooves.  But would Joe have done this without Brubeck?  Or Brubeck without Morello for that matter?  Would Ringo without the Beatles, or the Beatles without Ringo have exerted as much influence as the combination did?

Maybe the reason we don't see any really innovative drummers is that there aren't many really innovative bands.  Don't get me wrong, there is a lot of god stuff going on, but it just seems that today's rock/metal/blues/country/funk bands just keep doing rock/metal/blues/country/funk better.

The two bright spots in my opinion are Latin jazz and big band swing (not jazz).  The newer Latin composers and groups are doing some really interesting instrument and style combinations.  And the newer big bands (Setzer, Voodoo Daddy) are doing intersting combinations of big bad/swing/50s "rock".

As for today's internet/corporate environment, I think things are better than ever.  Back in the early 60s, you paid boocoo bucks for a simple decent quality demo tape.  And you could never get anything distributed without the help of a major label.  Today, Bubba's Hoedown Band has high quality (recording wise) CDs available for sale at every bluegrass festival they perform, at the local flea market and at their website.

It never has been easier and cheaper to get yourself recorded and heard.  That doesn't mean you will get rich, get played on the radio or go down in history, but you can much more exposure for less effort and dollars than anytime in the past.

Just my .02 worth which, with inflation and my age, is a lot less these days.

[Roger Beverage]

If any mortal being could predict the next big thing,  he would start doing it and not tell us untill it happened.

No single drummer will achieve the next big thing by himself, all significant events in music have occurred only when the right drummer is paired with the right leader or group.

The next big thing will occur when;

Another Krupa meets another Goodman
Another Elvin Jones meets another John Coltrane
Another Morello meets another Brubeck
Another Tony Williams meets another Miles Davis

etc, etc, etc.

Of course we all individually hope that it will  be us that does it !

Roger


 

[guile]

For me,
as long as we refer to players as "drummer x" meets "drummer y" there will never be someone who we call truly innovative.  By describing someone with a comparison we immediately pigeon hole them, or compliment them whichever way you look at it. We all stand on another drummers shoulders.  Whether it's your high school band teacher or Steve Gadd.    The only thing is, Steve Gadd had someone like that too, so to say that he or any of these people completely changed the game is true, but it didn't just materialize out of thin air.  They weren't just "born with it".  Not to say that some players have natural talent, but there are always environmental factors that lead to artists reaching certain levels of expression.   So what's next? Personally I'm into electronic music and beats made by people other than drummers, it's refreshing for me and inspiring to try to reverse engineer.   i like how certain producers/programmers approach drums and rhythm to me most times it's a bit less cliche.  Just my $.02

[drumz1]

There aren't any drummers who I can think of are "cutting-edge" right now.  And I tend to agree with felix as to the reason why - it's because there really isn't any "cutting-edge" music being brought to the forefront.  When the music changes, that's when drumming changes, too, but until that happens again (and it will, of course), I think that right now we are all eating the same old sandwich.

JMHO, folks.

BTW, I very rarely follow a long thread to its entirety, due to impatience, I guess, but in this case, I have read each and every post.  Great thread, Mr. A !!

Regards,
drumz1

[Matt Self (Gaddabout)]

There aren't any drummers who I can think of are "cutting-edge" right now.  And I tend to agree with felix as to the reason why - it's because there really isn't any "cutting-edge" music being brought to the forefront.  When the music changes, that's when drumming changes, too, but until that happens again (and it will, of course), I think that right now we are all eating the same old sandwich.

Mr. A started another thread mentioning Adam Deitch with Scofield. While I think he's really just rehashing "Jabo" Starks from early James Brown stuff, there's a cutting-edge feel to his approach to those old beats. He's recreating a lot of the stuff I hear from drum-n-bass and techno styles, fusing them into Sco's silky bop guitar stylings. I think it's cutting edge in the sense I haven't heard anyone make that stuff so seamless and feel good like he has (or feel as free!). It's almost like a new phase of bop or post-bop. Post-post-bop?

[Mister Acrolite]

Mr. A started another thread mentioning Adam Deitch with Scofield. While I think he's really just rehashing "Jabo" Starks from early James Brown stuff, there's a cutting-edge feel to his approach to those old beats. He's recreating a lot of the stuff I hear from drum-n-bass and techno styles, fusing them into Sco's silky bop guitar stylings. I think it's cutting edge in the sense I haven't heard anyone make that stuff so seamless and feel good like he has (or feel as free!). It's almost like a new phase of bop or post-bop. Post-post-bop?

I agree for the most part. It really does seem like he's bringing about a new musical phase - that's why I think he's going to be an important drummer. It's true that most of his beats are very obviously derived from classic 70's funk drummers, but the way he fuses it with hiphop, and finds acoustic ways to simulate modern samples and loops, is extremely hip. I haven't heard anybody fuse these elements so perfectly, not Jojo Mayer, not Questlove (both of whom are excellent drummers). I think Adam has taken something old, combined it with something newer, and is creating something new.

That's what Gadd did, combining Elvin, Tony, and rudimental chops. That's what Bozzio did, combining Tony Williams, Eric Gravatt, and the compositional concepts of composers like Stravinsky et al. Copeland took reggae, rock, and middle eastern music, and fused it with punk energy.

We each are a combination of our influences. The more interesting and diverse those influence are, the more unique our own playing may become.

Adam's influences are obvious, but to my ears, his playing is unique. Whether or not he's "the next big thing," he IS one terrific drummer.

[llabarge]

It might help to be thinking of music, sound and vibration, and not in terms of widespread effect. I can't do a thing to influence anyone. The only thing I can  do is work on myself. I look at Milford Graves, American Indian drummers, Stockhausen, Han Bennick, Bob Moses, ... and tunes like
Brick House, Jimmy Smith grooves.... It's about vibration, and until I get all the extraneous noises out of my head ( bar gigs, pop music, fighting the karaoke.DJ vs live music fight, politics, personaliites,) out of the way , at least temporarily, I can't do a thing about improving my lot. Ask questions, listen for the answers. One of the posts said WE are the next thing. That is the truest thing I've heard, because in the final analysis, only we can allow ourselves to be affected or not. we need to listen.  
"I'm gonna come back as a note" Rashaan Roland Kirk