Fan Boy challenge

I was reading another post about a fellow HOD'er losing his entire collection of drum videos and music files. This is a terrible loss, I don't discount that. And I'd also be devastated if it happened to me.

But the thought ocurred to me, where is the line drawn in regards to being a fan boy, who spends time collecting, appreciateing and idolizing great drummers ...and being a someone who's too busy to read about it because they're doing it. I'm not talking about making a living at it, I'm talking about having skill and technique vs. saying,"wow look at his playing, it's cool" Theres nothing wrong with that at all, I do it all the time, but I guess I'm tired of that somehow. I'm no pro and I work weekends only, but for my own personal reasons, I still try to grow as a drummer and musician. It's a never ending quest, regardless if I'm just at home or playing only the weekends.

This came about from a couple of posts and I came up with a personal challenge:

Turn the computer off, spend the time practicing and playing instead.

Track my progress somehow, have goals and write them down, work toward something, however small.

What I've decided to do is take a break from my computer for a month. During the 30 days I'm going to work out of a variety of sources, it's still in the planning stages. This is more of a personal challenge to myself than anything and although posting it is irrelevant, I'm hoping that posting it to a public forum like this will put some pressure on me to do it and stop talking about it, that's the reason I'm doing it.

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where is the line drawn in regards to being a fan boy, who spends time collecting, appreciateing and idolizing great drummers ...and being a someone who's too busy to read about it because they're doing it. I'm not talking about making a living at it, I'm talking about having skill and technique vs. saying,"wow look at his playing, it's cool" Theres nothing wrong with that at all, I do it all the time, but I guess I'm tired of that somehow. I'm no pro and I work weekends only,

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Not sure what you're getting at with this one, but all I can say is that I am a professional working drummer AND a fan who will download stuff (and consequently delete it!!) and say WOW - look at his playing..... your point being?

I think I must be missing the point of this topic. I for one, value my collection of songs and videos extremely highly. Along with HOD I consider it to be my single most important source of inspiration when it comes to drumming. You mentioned it's important to turn off that computer and go practice instead, well for me one thing leads to the other. I check out my favourite videos and that's precisely what makes me put in the hours of practicing.

Your not the first drummer I've seen have a guilt attack and post something to the effect: "OMG! I'm wasting my life on the internet. I should sell my computer and spend all of that time practicing."

If you find yourself spending inordinate amounts of time on the internet, then maybe you should give it a break or set some strict time limits.

I, for one, think that the time I spend at different drummer forums improves my knowledge of drumming, music and drum gear. And I value the knowledge I've gained from the time I've spent online.

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Originally posted by Henry II:
I, for one, think that the time I spend at different drummer forums improves my knowledge of drumming, music and drum gear. And I value the knowledge I've gained from the time I've spent online.

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Couldn't agree more. I think there's more to getting better at drumming than "just" playing. Being exposed to different/new ideas (which I am continously here) is also important for your development as a drummer. Whether or not this is most effectively done on the internet is another issue...

Well, this is slightly off topic:

I purposely won't listen too much of anything from Dave or Vinne anymore because I don't want to sound too much like them...it's inevitable to be influenced by whatever you're listening to. Ultimately I want to have my own identifiable 'sound'...

Appreciating and idolizing are two different things. I don't think lots of HOD members have boyband lookalike posters from Vinnie on the wall. Although I have a Vinnie Zildjian poster on the wall in my practice room AWA some snareheads with signatures. HAHAHA. I listen as much as possible to any drummer and music, checking HOD and downloading (rare) bootlegs to improve my drumming. In one of my posts I asked what a drumvid is worth to anyone. The answer was inspiration. Seeing other drummers, hear / read their stories and ideas AWA thinking about your own playing does improve your playing too. Not only the physical aspect of drumming, and one's leading into the other. You can say I am a fan. So I noticed that the last post is similar to a Weckl quote. He came "pretty" far with not listening to his hero's anymore but I am not there yet [img]wink.gif[/img] [img]biggrin.gif[/img]

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So I noticed that the last post is similar to a Weckl quote. He came "pretty" far with not listening to his hero's anymore but I am not there yet

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<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">What is this DW quote exactly, & where did you get/read/hear it?

Seems like i've heard this type of thought in essence from him, but i'm just curious.

I can't recall his exact words and I can't find the magazine. But I read it in a German magazine where DW said that he stopped listening to his hero's and erased particular licks and fills out of his system to come up with new ideas.

At a DW clinic a couple years ago he was asked what he'd been listening to and the answer ranged from eclectic to world and classical musics. His reasons for not listening to "drum set" music for the time being were he wanted to expand his listening experiences and draw some new inspirations from them. If you've followed his career you know he is continually reinventing himself. I know other musicians who have done this.Some just want to get away from what is familiar for awhile and try something new. It's like getting away from the burgers and fries and trying cuisines from Thailand, Pakistan, Chile...whatever. If you have a taste for something different you try it. Maybe the burgers will taste better as a result when you go back.

As for being a fan; where would any of us be without our heros? Young pro athletes still try to learn something from their childhood idols they find themselves playing beside. DW remarked at another clinic that he had seen Virgil one time and was shaking his head saying to himself, "wow, look at his playing, it's cool." No matter what level you're at you can always learn from someone (Ed Soph once told me how he probably learned more from his students than his teachers). I was feeling my practicing was getting stale once when I was in college. My instructor told me to physically get away from the instrument and involve my brain in mental practice or visualization for a day or two. Upon returning to physical practice I found myself more centered and able to execute more precisely. There are many ways to practice and many ways to learn. I think if one is worried about sounding too much like someone I suggest getting away from shedding someone's licks and style and try to transform those same licks and styles to something that is uniquely your own. Write the licks out and play them backwards or upsidedown. Try a different sticking or lead with the opposite hand etc. There are endless possibilities.

As for this forum; This is <u>the</u> place to get all the info you need to stay up to date on the world drumming community. I think the exchange of ideas here is invaluable and I would never purposly stay away. It's just another way to learn.

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ October 09, 2005 01:33 AM: Message edited by: Rhythmatist ]</font>