any advice on how to become a really good blues drummer. besides lots of practice. are there any techniques out there that work really good. any drummers worth listening to for inspiration?
First, you gotta get yourself a nice Oriental rug …
< snort >
Don’t they have machines for that now?
Time, basically.
Know your shuffles, 12/8 and 6/8 meters, and basic 4/4 like the back of your hand, and then some.
I never heard of many Blues drummers per se, but the name Tony Braunagel keeps popping up in my drum mags.
Listening to a bit of jazz may help as well; oddly enough, the two genres go together.
May I suggest using www.allmusic.com to find some blues drummers by, or trying www.drummercafe.com? More stuff there than I know or can remember.
Oriental rugs rock! Oh, and play barefoot if you don’t already; My personal opinion is, you don’t wear shoes on your hands, why on your feet when you play? Though I digress when styles like metal or such are brought up…
Drum machines are the devil. 