{"id":856,"date":"2011-12-08T14:30:26","date_gmt":"2011-12-08T14:30:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thedrumdoctor.net\/?page_id=856"},"modified":"2018-08-04T14:36:36","modified_gmt":"2018-08-04T13:36:36","slug":"missing-in-action-or-the-ones-that-got-away","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thedrumdoctor.net\/inspired\/missing-in-action-or-the-ones-that-got-away","title":{"rendered":"Missing In Action (or the ones that got away)"},"content":{"rendered":"

To the majority of drummers, it would seem that there are some glaring omissions from my list of \u2018likes\u2019. Where indeed, do the likes of Steve Gadd, Vinnie Colaiuta, Dennis Chambers, Steve Smith etc fall into my sphere of appreciation? Well, it\u2019s not that they haven\u2019t been there at some point; it\u2019s just that they don\u2019t really appear in music I listen to on a daily basis. To explain…<\/p>\n

\"SteveSteve Gadd \u2013 Incredible feel, total pioneer in his field, first introduced to me on that old DCI \u2018In Session\u2019 video in 1986. Having had the privilege of seeing his \u2018Mission From Gadd\u2019 show, it\u2019s clear there will never be another Gadd, like there\u2019ll never be another Porcaro. So why is he missing from my list? Unfortunately, a lot of stuff he\u2019s been asked to play on often falls into the Jazz\/Fusion category which really doesn\u2019t float my boat. I\u2019m not a huge Paul Simon fan either…but I love Gadd\u2019s contribution to great song based artists like Steely Dan, Rickie Lee-Jones or Kate Bush. Beautiful musician, but a few too many fusion recordings means a thin presence in my CD collection.<\/p>\n

\"MyVinnie Colaiuta \u2013 A lesson to all drummers; never go to a gig just because you like the drummer. If you don\u2019t like the music, you won\u2019t like the gig and not even a drummer you worship will make it any the more palatable. At least that\u2019s how it was for me with Vinnie. To be truthful, I never liked Zappa and I don\u2019t dig the Jazz\/Fusion stuff Vinnie gets called to do so it was the work of Sting that got me literally hooked in the early 90\u2019s on all things Colaiuta, even to the point of buying his Yamaha signature Snare drum. The man is a drumming genius, comfortable playing as simply or ridiculously complicated as the music demands. However, that does not make him infallible and he has freely admitted that there have been times when his approach wasn\u2019t what the producer wanted, resulting in him being \u2018let go\u2019.<\/p>\n

I got to see Vinnie play with Jeff Beck and to be perfectly honest, hated every minute of it. Why? Because I didn\u2019t enjoy any aspect of the music. Sure, it was all played to genius perfection, but none of it grabbed my interest and I failed to make any connection whatsoever, with what was happening on stage. In hindsight, I should have gone to see Vinnie with Sting back in the day, but being an idiot, I didn\u2019t. Lesson learned – don\u2019t go to a gig just because your favourite drummer is doing it.<\/p>\n

\"SteveSteve Smith \u2013 The Journey man appeared in my life in 1995 after seeing him at Zildjian day in Birmingham, where he gave a fantastic lecture and performance on the history of the drum set. Setting my senses alight for more knowledge led me to further investigation of Mr Smith beyond his Journey days. At that period, the main project he seemed to be involved with were Vital Information, purveyors of all things Jazz\/Fusion despite which, I made a leap of faith by purchasing their \u2018Vitalive\u2019 CD. Unfortunately, Jazz\/Fusion and myself will never<\/em> get on so \u2018Vitalive\u2019 quickly went onto my \u2018for sale\u2019 list…However, Steve has left me with a gem that stands as an example of his sheer dedication to progression.<\/p>\n

Shortly after going back to school with Freddie Gruber, he made a video for Vic Firth in which he demonstrated his tribute to Max Roach. This made a huge impression on me, enough to upload to You Tube where it enjoys a healthy hit-count:<\/p>\n