Derico Watson, Ultimate Groovemeister

[Flarobstix]

Everyone has an opinion. He sounds great. But again, people on this site get carried away. If were a "clock" with this amazing groove etc etc...He would be on more than 11 albums and he would he would have played with more than 9 artists in his career. He's 29. Around the same age as some others who's performance and discography lists are huge. A persons accomplishments speak for themselves.
As far as that solo, in my opinion, it's not music and he could have made some better choices. now let's put this topic to rest.
There's a lot of funky drummers out there who can play fast single strokes. I'd rather listen to Nat Townsley.

[Cridrummer]

First of all, Derico is the man on the drums. His performance on Vic Firth's website is also a stroke of talent. Who said that drum solos have to be put to a metronome? Who said you can't have fun in a drum solo? Obviously those who were cheering him on in the video don't share your opinion as far as a "sucky solo..." If you don't think he can hold a beat, why do you suppose that Victor Wooten has signed him on for his tours and albums? Obviously the man has talent, and some of ya'll are jealous. If you were to ask Vinnie what he thought of Derico, I bet it would be nicer than most of the crap you guys have been giving him, based on one video! And i do want to remind you that Derico will be performing the same clinic in Texas of the Christian Drummer's Association WITH VINNIE! Give the man a break, he's obviously an awesome drummer, gifted greatly by God. The solo, in question, was still a work of art, whether you guys like it or not. I happened to think it was pretty darn awesome to see someone make the drums a musical instrument rather than elaborated metronome, despite the fact that the man is a clock when it comes to grooving.

Check out his website, learn more about him before you pick him apart.
www.dericowatson.com

[DeSeipel]

...for some reason I only post when something pisses me off, I don't know why. This dicussion is pissing me off, so I must put my two cents in.

This guy is having fun playing period. That's good. God forbid he sound like Dennis Chambers. As far as the metric modulation stuff being off, how does anyone know what 'meter' he was trying to play? Metric modulation can be hard to decipher/decide upon. If you invite a friend over to press play on your computer while you start your metronome, and at the first deviation of time you proclaim," Ah HA!! I knew it all along, (looking at your friend) ya see, he was trying metric modulation and he was off an eighth note.. on measure 7 after the.......

As Vinnie would say," flip a coin". Who says Derico even knows what metric modulation is? Maybe he heard it and is trying to do it; .."he might not know the language, the syntax, but he can speak". This guy can groove and he owns those grooves.

I think some folks here are bringing something else to the board that is swaying their decision about Derico's playing. Just because someone plays with attitude doesn't mean they are shouting," I'm better than you". Lighten up, I used to feel the same way about rap music becuase I was so totally dedicated to rock music. But life is too short to pass judgement about a person or their 5 minute drum solo on vic firth's website.

Some folks here are so obsessed with being as good as VC. And I mean obsessed in every sense of the word. Try to appreciate this video as someone having a lot of fun with the drums. He may not be perfect at some things, but you can't preoccupy yourself with perfection or it will kill you.

The last thing I wanted to comment on was the fact that he's only played on 11 albumns. Is your body of work really a testament to how good you are? In some ways, sure. But I also think there are probably hundreds of musicians that have played on less that are virtually unknown. And out of those hundreds, there are a handfull that may even be 'better' than VC. I'm sorry if some of you guys just pissed your pants BTW.

I enjoyed the clip, it was refresshing to see some "Arsenio funk" beats. Does anyone know how many albums VC played on when he was 29?

I've played on zero albums because my metric modulation isn't perfect. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

[Cridrummer]

Daniel Seipel,
It's about time someone has a good thought here in this message forum. I share your oppinion, even though I am biased towards Derico.
Drummers are a unique breed, usually excited when they see talent. This forum sounded like a whole bunch of guitar players tryin to prove themselves.

Thanks Dan for the remarks.

[Graza]

That is how low I set my hi-hats. I guess you just get used to it after a while. In my opinion, its much more comfortable, and makes it much easier to have your other hand play on the hi-hats as well.

[Paraflam]

At 29 Vinnie was already on over 100 recordings including TV spots and film. Let's not be silly. Vinnie along with other all around session monsters can not be compared to a simply amazing R+B gospel drummer. To me, the amount of producers and musicians that hire you for documented material such as sessions and live videos, means everything about your playing. Someone who's not amongst the best in the world will not be on many recordings. Playing music is why the drumkit exists. Isn't it?

[FuseU1]

Whiel I agree w what Para says is true - "To me, the amount of producers and musicians that hire you for documented material such as sessions and live videos, means everything about your playing. Someone who's not amongst the best in the world will not be on many recordings"...I don't ever use "x # of recordings" to ever judge someone's playing, even tho the essence of what was said is indeed true.

And Rodge - keep posting man! Everyone here is entitled to their opin. Absolutely NOTHING wrong w that. And you are obviously a player.

I find that some ways are better than others to express pro's or [esp] cons. There are constructive ways to prove your point. Bashing is never a good thing to me [unless the "BashEE" is a known "BashER"!! J/K] [img]tongue.gif[/img]

I also can't bring myself to judge someone on 1 little short clip...but I CAN "judge" [evaluate; much better word]] the clip [itself]...to me, it was very "drummistic-clinicy" in nature, but WTHeck. Different...

I too appreciate humility, as a little of it goes A LONG WAY...I can understand that maybe he could be interpreted as "putting on some [extra] airs" in that vid for "show"...but hey, it's a competitive market, & everyone has to have an angle, to get themselves more attention/exposure, eh?! NO, you say?! OK, maybe; maybe not...isn't that what all the up'n'comers are fed/led to believe?! Nowadays it's music AND show [sometimes it's WAY more SHOW [img]tongue.gif[/img] ]...Just look at the American Midol TV show...who's the next big singing "star"...you gots cocky, & ya gots humility... ;c)

When I saw him w the Wootens last Nov, he did a great job. Just played, no "exaggerated" gestures or pauses like in the vid [except a couple cymbal "swipes" as would Chambers, because i's diff & looks cool]. ;c)

...Then TAIN came on w Branford & the freakin' outdoor stage roof fell in... [img]wink.gif[/img]

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ February 24, 2005 02:42 PM: Message edited by: fuseU1 ]</font>