It’s not “outrageous” but he is rather into it, for a drummer of a cover band wearing gold lamé jackets.
He’s twirling the drumsticks on almost every stroke and then between verses he gets going like Animal on the Muppet Show. He’s definitely far and away the best part of that band.
ETA: By the end, I half-expected him to start playing the crash cymbal with his forehead.
He’s a decent drummer with above average skills.
Flash doesn’t alway mean talent.
Hey… that cat always keeps the beat going straight up with out a miss. The fact that he can do his outrageous antics while holding the groove down tight is what’s special about this guy.
True, flash doesn’t always mean talent, but a drummer who can hold down the beat–tight, solid and consistently–while acting the crazy fool, has got a shitload of talent, for sure. Dude’s a star, in my book. I admire him for staying with his showband/coverband. But his bandmates are pretty solid too, for what they do. The front man gets off joining the drummer on “Wipeout”.
When I watch these guys, I am reminded of the Tubes, in a way. Except the Tubes weren’t a cover band. Both had great drummers, but Prairie Prince (Tubes) wasn’t all crazy flashy, just really, really solid and good.
Plus I had a drink with him when they were at their lowest point-- playing bars in the Midwest without 2 or 3 of their original members. I didn’t even realize I had pulled up a stool next to Prairie as he sat tipping suds at the low-rent bar after his show-- he was just another guy drinking, like me. We said bla, bla, and bla to each other like any other two strangers meeting for the first time over a drink.
Then I said: “What’s a great drummer like you doing in a dump like this?” He just laughed and bought me a drink. Cool guy, yeah.
That was awesome! I have not seen such a flamboyant display since I saw Twisted Sister in 1981.
I loved it! Laughed out loud–he was a real entertainer. And I was amazed that he never dropped a beat with that riot of activity going on. He needs to be in a band with some equally flamboyant band mates. It would be a hoot.
One comment I read (maybe here?) was that it was as if SNL did a skit with Chris Farley on drums.
Anyway, I was entertained.
mmm
Yeah, they are working musicians who entertain folks and make a decent living. It’s not all about becoming a mega-star.
I’m reminded ofthe bassist in this video.
He’s been Todd Rundgren’s go-to drummer for the last several decades, and he’s been great. He has an astounding memory as well.
My brother and I traveled to Las Vegas a few years back to see a private show by Todd. We managed to see three different concerts in as many days - all of which featured Prairie on drums!
[ul]
[li]Sgt. Pepper’s (Todd and a bunch of others doing that album)[/li][li]Todd Rundgren - touring his album “Arena”[/li][li]The Tubes[/li][/ul]
I don’t know too many other drummers who can play three different shows, different bands, different styles in three days.
An opposing view…I would fire a drummer who did this in my band.
It’s OK if he’s doing this shtick in a featured spot (I didn’t watch it, but there’s another video of this band doing “Wipeout,” and I wouldn’t have any problems with his antics while doing this song).
But if you’re a BAND, the idea is to put across a song in unison, not with someone standing out like this.
The guy is obviously a good drummer, but good drummers drum in the overall service of the song. He could have played exactly what he played here without the theatrics, and it would have been just fine.
I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this point of view, but that’s how I see it.
On the other hand, I bet they’re going to get more gigs because of this video…
Some ZZ Top fan is going to yell at me, I’m sure, but it has to be pointed out…
It’s a simple song! He has to do something!
All the drummer has to do in this song is provide a back-beat for a very straight-forward, mid tempo boogie. And the leader of the band stepped off stage, so this was a spotlight song.
And finally, every member of this band was dressed in gold lame! “Subtle” is not their watchword.
Heh. That was me, in a previous thread on this.
I’m now a reference 
Clearly, this is part of the band’s schtick, not something the drummer came up with on the spot. It looks like they’re having fun.
He’s good. Not ‘oh my god, he’s the best drummer ever’ good, but he’s a good solid drummer, with some really developed flashy tricks.
I’d hire 'em!
Shana Elmsford is the only truly outrageous drummer.
His name is Steve Moore, aka The Mad Drummer: http://maddrummerinc.com/
As a drummer, I’m a bit ashamed by this. I’ve never been one for “flash” whilst drumming. It’s not needed, and shows that your part is simple enough to have time to do stupid shit in between hits.
Yeah Peart has done a few stick twirls here and there, and Virgil Donati does a shitload of it, and both are great drummers. Still not a fan. Play the drums, don’t be a dickhead. Blas Elias of Slaughter “fame” is one of the worst offenders of this type of jackassery. He needs to get a real drumming gig, or maybe a juggling gig, but not both.
I kinda feel sorry for the guy. He’s in a wedding band now, and clearly used to be in some sort of semi-successful hair band in the past. He’ll get a bit of attention due to the virality of the video, and then fall back into obscurity.
For the record, I really don’t like “stick tricks” with drummers, and I only learned a few myself as required by my HS marching band corps.
That said…
I have seen one drummer that made a case for drummer “tricks”. He was, and I hope still is, the drummer for a band called Nonpoint. They had a few rock station singles, and were pretty good IMO. The first time I saw them, someone from the crowd threw a ball cap at the drummer.
He played every note perfectly, and adjusted the hat that was thrown to him almost once every three seconds. He was very creative with it too. That was what set him apart. It was a hat, not drumsticks that he had been practicing tricks with for years, but a hat. He made it entertaining to a semi-jaded drummer like myself. That was cool. The drummer in the above video is reaching, but not grasping. At least he got his 15 minutes.
Excellent post! I agree with all your points.
I would add one more nominee to the very small group of drummers who can get away with stick-twirling and other such displays: Dino Danelli of The Rascals. An outstanding drummer, who made it look like those antics were actually a necessary part of his drumming attack, rather than just showing off for its own sake.
I am another person who’d either fire him from my band or leave it. I am not particularly against flashy drummers, I can just not look their way. This guy, on the other hand, kind of sucks. He’s not missing beats, but he’s not even, and he’s a cymbal head.
Maybe he doesn’t suck when he isn’t trying to show off. I am not gonna watch bad covers long enough to find out.
Am I the only person who thinks all that independent limb movement does something to drummer’s brans?
Based on the ridiculous pre-amble to the song, I’d have to agree. It’s part of the schtick.
They’re a cover band wearing sparkly gold jackets. I don’t think playing on an even keel to somehow maintain an artistic integrity and keep all members featured equally is a big deal in this case. Cover bands playing bland music don’t do much in the way of entertaining - if not for that guy there would be no reason to watch this. But he single handedly made it something interesting to watch. The idea that he should be kicked out of the band strikes me as silly - he’s the only thing they have going for them.