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Agreed.....smith is no where near as fluid or natural as weckl, donati...etc. after watching some of the DVD its pretty clear now that all his playing is is perfection of the 26 rudiments. the stuff he plays is very regimental beacuase thats what it is......rudiments! weckls stuff is more modern and full of emotion and FAR more complex. smith said it himself at the beginning of the DVD.....hes a classic player.......hes like a modern louie bellson. If u listen to bellson or roach....the playing seems to be void of any emotion.....this is because its classic and lacks dynamics.........Listen to weckl and listen to how much dynamics he put into each fill.....its crazy!
however having said that he is still very musical......if any of you have the vital tech tones cd's or the GHS stuff you will know how musical he can be.........it seems tho that on the DVD he is trying a little too hard......especially on the vital information band bits...
...the way he explains his technique is not too in depth......i went to 2 of his clinics and he keeps getting asked the same questions so hopefully the DVD will clear it up.......people ask, "how du play so fast"....."how du do that double stroke roll so clean"....."how du play singles that even"........the answer is PRACTICE!!!!!!
however.....everyone is different.......how boring would it be if everone played like weckl.....and as steve holmes said.....smith must be comended on doing the history of the U.S beat thing cause not enough people know what their playing and where it came from. the DVD looks beutiful and is very informative........even if the drumming isnt as good as weckls......
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He may not be as 'emotional' in his playing (i digress) as D.W, but i bet he'd burn any of u!!! Take in the knowledge, thats what he did it for.
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... translation [for Steve H; it was a reply to T-Bo's last post]: "[hopefully] you won't be a' bustin' yo' pants while you be a' doin' it" [the "inverted double blushda"] [img]wink.gif[/img] [img]biggrin.gif[/img] ... [jus' plain silliness on my part....]
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I don't have this DVD, but I've watched the clips available on the Hudson site, and as good as Steve is, the comment about fluidity and such is absolutely correct. I watch his performance on the Buddy Rich video every so often, and I personally HATE his left arm when he's playing. I'm not sure I've seen someone so stiff, but it can't be denied that his left hand finger technique is working. Weckl is without question a more fluid player, but the comment that if everyone sounded like him, it would be boring is RIGHT ON. In my opinion, if you want the feel, the chance taking, the balls, the technique, and to top it off, a humble attitude, then Vinnie is your man. Period. Don't get me wrong.....they're ALL great, and once you get to that level of playing, it's apples and oranges, but Colaiuta is consistently the most interesting to listen to and to see. He is without question the complete package.
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Has anybody picked up;
Steve Smith Rhythmic Journey
http://www.soundsonline.com/sophtml/...tml?sku=EW-119
RHYTHMIC JOURNEY features drum loops and individual drum samples from ex-Journey drummer STEVE SMITH, recorded by Aerosmith engineer Kevin Elson at Fantasy Studios in San Francisco. As many of you are aware, Steve Smith is one of the world's most revered drummers.
A bit pricy at $90.
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I was interested in seeing how Steve's drumming has evolved over the years so I put on an old Journey LP- ESCAPE. When it came out in '81, I was a kid and into solid down beats from Phil Rudd of AC/DC and didn't really like Smith's drumming all that much. I couldn't relaye to it, it was too sophisticated for me at the time.
After listening to the entire LP, this is really a rock masterpiece. Frontiers is also a masterpiece IMO.
He was so methodical is creating these drum parts and grooved well with Ross Valory on bass. These are no easy song to nail.
Escape, Keep On Runnin', Dead or Alive, and the space between Open Arms. This is killer drumming!
The fills on Mother,Father are brilliant.
Worth pulling off the shelf for a serious listen.
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Pocket - those are some rock/pop GEMS! Wore out the records/tapes when they came out. Escape - killer. Frontiers - awesome. These r also 2 of my pers. favs of that genre, & of SS IN that genre.
Also check out: [Jrny] -
Departure[!], Evolution, Raised On Radio, Trial By Fire ['96 - i think this is the last 1 w/ SS], & ESP. Captured [! - live]. Steve KILLED in that band...ALL r great 'postcards' of that era....
Another band i really dug out of that era - Van Halen. 1st 6 albums; DEF. the 1st 3 - VH-1, 2, & Women & Children 1st [then - Diver Down, Fair Warning, & 1984]...Alex VH actually swung on some of those rock tunes...RAW, post-pubescent ENERGY, & a WALL of SOUND!!....
Even tho it was much more simplistic drum'g than the aforem, i also dug Boston's 1st 2 [more for their collective sound, hooks, & vox harmonies in the rock genre]....
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ December 19, 2002 08:51 PM: Message edited by: FuseU1 ]</font>
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Everytime some drummer honks off on Journey I ask them if they could play, Dead or Alive, off Escape and make the hits Smith did at the tempo they played it. Most guys think they can play it and it's really sloppy. I then tell them to record themselves and compare it to Smith's version. "Oh...I guess they were pretty good."
Alex VH on VH 2 was great. His sound is epic, but the grooves were thick and his energy pure R&R. His fills were very musical on the 2nd LP and interesting. He had deep pocket, allowing Eddie to flame away and Diamond Dave to blast.
Funny thing, I saw them during one of those all-day band jams at the LA Coliseum in '80 w/Cheap Trick, Aerosmith, etc.
I was a kid, but I remember Dave telling Alex to calm down after the first song when Dave went on one of his rants between tunes. Alex was playing a four stroke ruff between snare and toms repeatedly and then backed way off after Dave's comment. It was so real!
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The following are the greatest concert CDs ever, not necessarily in order:
Journey Captured
Iron Maiden Live After Death
Rush Exit Stage Left
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i just got the dvd a few days ago and it's friggin unbelieveable.
i could care less about the prearranged monolouges or the worked out arrangements of the solos and tunes.i'm way more interested in the raw technique and concepts of time that mr. smith utilizes.
one thing i'm noticing on alot of these threads is that while the drummers here are all very knowledgeable, and capable musicians they seem to be obsessed with putting down and critisizing many of the greatest drummers alive today.
i don't understand what good it does to diss different drummers, it doesn't get you more gigs or make you a better player, all it does is take up time and energy arguing about it.
my take on the monologues in the video is that smith wanted to be clear and precise about what hey had to say. it is very easy to drift off when talking about specific concepts, dilluting the info, i don't know smith but i suspect he is a perfectionist, and really thinks about his playing and takes it very seriously.
what's a guy to do? if he just ripped off unclear vauge ideas about what he was doing some of you guys would probably rip on him for that as well.
i think if you are going to give a history of the u.s. beat and come off as a historian of sorts you better get it right.
for me , to the bashers of mr smith, some of the footage i rememer the most is him walking down the hallway in his home studio and on the walls were about, 20 or 30 gold and platinum album plaques.
how many do you guys have?
everyone is different in personality and style of playing, i say take the good don't even mention the bad.no one is perfect at everything. there is something to learn from everyone.
chris perra
