On Drumming Style
An Excerpt from Modern Drummer, April issue; 1990
WFM: What do you think are the key ingredients that make up your sound and style?
SC: That's the toughest question of all, because everything else about drumming you can learn.
Everything else you can sit down and teach your muscles to do, and everything else about my
drumming really anyone can do. But what you're talking about is the "x" factor, which I think all
comes from an individual's personality. That's what gives a player a real identity. But the question
is, how do you make yourself more interesting as a person. Perhaps travelling to Zambezi, or
studying the music of Transylvania...to come up with your own sound, you have to immerse
yourself in sources that not everyone else has access to or interest in.
WFM: You're talking about developing an individual style, but I'd like to know about the specific things
that you want to hear in your own playing - things that you feel make up your sound.
SC: Oh, I don't approach it anything like that. There's no cognisant approach to any of that as far
as I'm concerned. The only conscious approach I make is to get my muscles moving, using
rudiments or whatever. The identity side, or I should say the character side to it is there without
my having to think about it. That's something for other people to notice or not notice. I can't
change the character of my playing, because that's my character. This is a question that not only
drummers, but all musicians ask: "How do I stand out from the crowd?" It's particularly a problem
for drummers because they don't get to play solos and because they have a very subservient
role in the music, or I should say they are sometimes placed in a position of having a subservient
role in the music. The only practical suggestion I can make to come up with a unique sound and
approach is to go out and find different and obscure influences. Check out sources that few
others have been exposed to. Otherwise, if you do nothing but study Steve Gadd, you'll sound
like Steve Gadd. The thing to do is take some of Gadd, combine it with a little Serbo-Croatian
stuff. That's how to make yourself and your playing more interesting.
WFM: How would you describe your sound?
SC: Well, describing the sound itself is simple. I just have my drums tuned high - not so high that
they don't ring though. The sounds of drums are much different when the band is playing and
when the band is not playing. Here's a useful tip for all your young, student readers: When you
tune drums at a soundcheck without the band playing, for instance, they sound great when
they're low - pitched, big, and fat sounding. I've seen guys even tuning their kits further down at
that point because they think, "Yeah, that's happening." The minute the guitarist plugs in, the
tom-toms disappear. The way to get drums to sound good with the band playing is to leave some
of that ring on there - let the drums ring. That's crucial in giving the drums the type of things they
need to cut through and have impact. Tensioning the skins up a bit also helps with the cut.
WFM: I'm beating this point into the ground, but I'm trying to get at what you think is your sound.
When someone is listening to you, what do you want them to notice about your playing?
SC: This is a cliché, but it's really true: The effectiveness of a drummer is really measured in the
effectiveness of the group, more so than any other instrument. A guitarist can sound great even
if he or she is not focusing on the time. Most guitarists go outside of the groove when they solo -
they can shine in other ways, while the rhythm section holds down a riff until the guitarist comes
back. In the Police, Andy would get an MXR pedal in the back of his head if he turned his back on
the groove too much; you could never turn your back in that band! (laughs.)
To my ears drums are an accompanying instrument. I know that I'm speaking in a drumming
magazine, which is in existence to glorify drummers and drums, but really, it has to be recognized
that drums are to accompany other instruments. Solos are of limited importance to the repertory.
In fact, I've gotten where I've gotten without ever playing drum solos; I refuse to play them.
That's how important drum solos are to having a career in music! I've got my own style, and you
just told me how identifiable I am, and I've been able to make my mark without playing a drum
solo.
All of my work has been as an accompanist, and that's how I've been effective. I don't think
drummers realize that the total concentration and knowledge needed to be a good accompanist
is far greater than being a great soloist. For example, when playing reggae, even more so than
rock'n'roll, the actual rhythm that the drums play isn't all there is to it. A singer can sing rock 'n'
roll with just drums - you'd kind of like to hear a guitar - but the rock'n'roll' rhythm would still be
there without it. In reggae, it isn't there until you've got that upbeat on the guitar. So in that
style the drums are only a part of the rhythm. The point is, you have to know that sort of thing;
there's a lot to it.
WFM: Besides not soloing - and I guess this goes along with that thinking - you don't even get
involved with longer fills. You seem to just play short little flourishes on the set.
SC: I think you can make a little go a long way when it comes to fills. I think what this all gets
back to is making the music happen. As a drummer you shouldn't be thinking in terms of "How am
I going to get the attention away from that singer standing in front of me?" That type of attitude
isn't going to get you anywhere, except frustrated. It's an attitude I've seen a lot of sidemen
have, which frankly is just jealousy. If you enjoy playing drums, just enjoy the sensation of
playing drums. Don't expect to be the frontman of a group; it looks ridiculous. Take it for what it is
and not for the star quality that it will bestow upon you.
WFM: I saw you give a drum clinic at the P.A.S. show in Los Angeles a few years ago. You came out
and announced that you were going to sit down and play the most difficult and challenging thing you
knew how to do on the drums, something that requires all of your concentration. Then you sat down
and played a powerful, straight rock groove for a couple of minutes without varying it much. I think
that made a strong point.
SC: Well, grooving, for lack of a better term, is really at the essence of my playing. If you can
make it feel good, really good, you don't have to worry about how long the fills are or how fast
your hands are. Something else to keep in mind is when you narrow a drum pattern, where you
don't vary it for long stretches of time, when you do play a simple fill, it sounds great - better
than if you're filling all over the place. To my ears, lots of fills water down the impact you can have
on the music. The little flourishes end up speaking louder than a lot of notes played all the time.
I'm sounding like a lead singer or guitarist lecturing to a drummer. I've got an ego as big as
anyone else's, and I'm just as determined to get my name in headlines and in lights, but the
things I'm talking about are central to drumming. I'm a wise old dog now. I used to be a punk
rocker, but now I'm an opera composer. (laughs) No, wait a minute. I take it all back. What you
should really do is step on that singer any time he even comes into the rehearsal room! That's
the first thing. Lead guitarists respond best to the boot - kick 'em ! Singers are usually little
wimps that all you have to do is yell at to keep them in line. (laughs)
ouch, my
BACK hurts..
