Vinnie

What is the best thing that describes Vinnie, the thing that make him the "ICON"

He is ITALIAN!!!!!! ITALIAN DRUMMERS KICK ASS

Colaiuta, Rezza, Donati, Garibaldi, Gadd, and of course myself.

Wow!

What a story! Has anyone else got any more tales about the greats?

<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ January 08, 2004 08:20 AM: Message edited by: Galapagos ]</font>

Is Gadd really Italian?

Cool.

[img]eek.gif[/img]

Spag... No offense but... That's a typical Italian answer... Just kiddin... [img]wink.gif[/img] lollllll (Some of my best friends are Italians)

My short answer would be... Humm... "A cut above the rest"...

HOD being what it is, dedicated to Vinnie as well as Dave, some HOD folks have already done a great job writing down what makes Vinnie who he is...

One thread comes to mind, it was posted by Pocketplayer a while back... He had shared a quote from Steve Vai whom had witnessed something interesting while in the studio alongside Vinnie. Many of you have read it.. Worth reading again IMO...

Here's the quote taken from Drum! Mag:

---

Vai On Colaiuta

I was just enamored with Vinnie. Back in the Frank days, his whole approach, when I heard Vinnie play, his phrasing - it satisfied something in my heart. It was easy to get certain rhythmic gratification from straight up-and-down-type players. Playing grooves, alternate grooves here and there. But Vinnie just came in and threw a wrench into the works. The guy is an alien. He was able to touch buttons with his sense of polyrhythms that no one has ever done. Frank's band was the perfect soundboard for that. I started transcribing his playing for The Frank Zappa Book. I mean, there's five to six different notations for the hi-hat! [laughs]

I'll tell you a really great Vinnie story. He's one of the most amazing sight-readers that ever existed on the instrument. One day we were in a Frank rehearsal, this was early '80s, and Frank brought in this piece of music called "Mo 'N Herb's Vacation." Just unbelievably complex. All the drums were written out, just like "The Black Page" except even more complex. There were these runs of like 17 over 3 and every drumhead is notated differently. And there were a whole bunch of people there, I think Bozzio was there.

Vinnie had this piece of music on the stand to his right. To his left he had another music stand with a plate of sushi on it, okay? Now the tempo of the piece was very slow, like "The Black Page." And then the first riff came in, [mimics bizarre Zappa-esque drum rhythm patterns] with all these choking of cymbals, and hi-hat, ruffs, spinning of rototoms and all this crazy stuff. And I saw Vinnie reading this thing.

Now, Vinnie has this habit of pushing his glasses up with the middle finger of his right hand. Well I saw him look at this one bar of music, it was the last bar of music on the page. He started to play it as he was turning the page with one hand, and then once the page was turned he continued playing the riff with his right hand, as he reached over with his left hand, grabbed a piece of sushi and put it in his mouth, continued the riff with his left hand and feet, pushed his glasses up, and then played the remaining part of the bar.

It was the sickest thing I have ever seen. Frank threw his music up in the air. Bozzio turned around and walked away. I just started laughing.

Drum! Mag Nov/Dec 2000

"It was the sickest thing I have ever seen. Frank threw his music up in the air. Bozzio turned around and walked away. I just started laughing."

ohhhhh shit!!!!!!, that's pretty intense my friends.... [img]eek.gif[/img]

There are a few stories about Vinnie that have been shared here, u newer members should check the archives, eg:The superman suit Vinnie session.

But i feel that what makes Vinnie great is:

-His dedication and love 2 the instrument.He dedicated SERIOUS study and training to drumset.It shows, and should serve as the ultimate drum lesson. I think Virg and Smith may be the only other guys off the cuff that dedicate serious study. Though i understand Vinnie rarely practices anymore

-His teachers,from all the great Boston locals(Dawson 2 name only but one),to the many rudimental teachers,2 his Berklee days, his list of teachers are phenominal.Seems he wanted/needed 2 be a complete player and conciously seeked the people that would help him.Which leads me to his................

-Concepts.We have all heard that Vinnie was quoted as saying that he wanted to be a 'sophisticated rock drummer'.I reckon hes achieved some semblence of that, and then some. I reckon his teachers instilled the whole approach of 'concept' at a perfect time in his upbringing.I think he also possesses concepts that have not been publically acknowledged,like approaches 2 odd times, modulation, listening etc.

-Technique.Well its been debated recently that Vinnie is not a 'clean' player. I think thats a load of bullshit. The 20 min. solo clinic available here at HOD blows that unfortunate notion out of the water. I havent,since teching for Virgil, heard or seen ANYONE execute clean singles or dbls. like Vinnie can.How about any tracks on Joe's Garage.Vinnie=Mr.Clean

He has unbelievable left hand technique, actually both hands,considering he was not an exclusive traditional grip player all his life, and his double kick playing(while not at Virg manicism) has only gotten better. His technique is directly a product of his dedication.

-His ears,imagination, and approach to phrasing. I reckon that if u blend some of the above factors together u can only deduce, that if his imagination can be described, it would be as=WILD!
This is such an 'X-factor' about Vinnie,that its nearly insane to really describe.A cousin 2 his greatness is..........

-His versatality.Simply put he can play any style, though i also understand he wants to still get a better understanding of latin styles.This gift(s) ultimately sets him WAY APART from Weckl and Virg.

-Vinnie for the most part of the last 25 years has used the same components of his kit. His sound has subtely changed over time. But u can usually tell its Vinnie on any given track.I personally like him when he used old K's. Though his evolved technique lends itself completely to the recipe of Zildjian A's. I like when he adopted more splashes to his kit, his taste for them seems to have waned recently.

-Vinnie and one other drummer(which im saving for a later post),i truly believe are the greatest living drummers on the planet as we exist. It is no wonder why we love him so much.


just my 2 cents.........................beats.

See, told ya there are folks on HOD able to accuratly answer your question.

Beats.... Speaking of drum dedication... Yours definitly comes through in your Posts... Always interesting to read what you have to say. [img]graemlins/thumbs_up.gif[/img]

Frank Zappa summed it up by saying that Vinnie was a mutant. He also said that mutants come in pairs. (?) I still haven't heard of his other half!

It's his ability to adapt to every situation and simply make it burn. To bring everyone up to that elevation.
His knowledge of rhythm is unfounded, yet he can play as simple as anyone at anytime.

Also, he must have the energy of a boxer and marathon runner with the brain of a prodigious physician running it.

I can't believe the things he's played on the instrument. That's why we're here writing about it, because we all know how difficult drumming can be.

Cheers beat hit. After a terrible 2003, i finally have more full access to my fave site . Thanx 4 the shout-out.....................beats.