Drummers who twirl their sticks

[Spectrum]

I played a couple of shows this weekend with a drummer I never played (nor rehearsed) with before. Every time I looked at him he was twirling his sticks while playing. Every time!

Would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on that .

I don't care if you sh*t nickels as long as you can play well. Neil Peart does it, but obviously he knows what he's doing. Fresh out of your bedroom on your first gig, you may want to think twice.

 

[the yeti]

if you're good (and good at stick tricks) it's cool. if not it sucks.

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

I played a couple of shows this weekend with a drummer I never played (nor rehearsed) with before. Every time I looked at him he was twirling his sticks while playing. Every time!

Would like to hear your thoughts and opinions on that .

Twirling the sticks, not a fan, but even less so when the twirling takes precedence over playing on time and the drummer misses hitting something by a half a beat.

 

[TuneIn]

I worked with a couple drummers with this affliction. One guy could tie his shoes and never miss a beat twirling the whole time, whereas in one of the most "pro" acts I was in, the drummer did this all the time, with regular stinkeye in return but still kept doing it...

As the point has been made, and like anything - it's good for the show (if done well) and the music isn't compromised in the process.

 

[Mike N]

I played a couple of shows this weekend with a drummer I never played (nor rehearsed) with before. Every time I looked at him he was twirling his sticks while playing. Every time!

You just described my drummer in a nutshell...... here's video evidence-

 

[AaronVonRock]

The drummer from Weedeater changed my mind about twirling sticks. Travis makes it look awesome.

He also used to play in Whores. I like his visual presentation when he drums.

 

[ultra60]

I came across this guy 5 or so years back on youtube. I was so impressed I sent him a note letting him know. He wrote me back and was very cool. I'd love to play with a guy this good. This is from 30 years ago perhaps, and it's easy to see why the camera is focused on him.

 

[Ewo]

Another drummer at the wrong gig.

Drugs are bad...mmm-kay?

 

[timocharis]

I played with a guy who used twirling as a way of doing something when that hand was supposed to do nothing. Said it helped him keep the rhythm. He was technically excellent, always appropriate and a perfect timekeeper. So.

 

[navijaz]

I like it. It's not as bad as "blues-face" guitar solos.

 

[BassinCT]

Excessive showmanship that draws attention away from the performance is annoying to me, but a little here and there has never been a problem. Fortunately, I haven't gigged with a lousy drummer in a very long time, and I don't recall ever playing with a flashy stick-twirling type.

 

[navijaz]

Drugs are bad...mmm-kay?

He seems to be the only one having fun at that gig. Definitely the most interesting thing going on there.

 

[nixdad]

Guys -
Check our Glen Sobel from Alice Cooper's band. Glen is an incredible drummer, and one of THE most entertaining to watch as well. My son Nick has gigged with him, and jammed with him many times at The Baked Potato as well.
Great drummer, great guy.

 

[slagheap]

mostly it blows. the great ones don't do it.
vinnie - no. bonzo - no. mike clark - no. garibaldi - no. tony williams - NO. cobham - no. narada walden - no. simon phillips - no. bozzio - no. stubblefield - no. harvey mason - no. dennis chambers - no. the list goes on...apparently neil peart does it but he's not a great, IMHO. i have seen a few very fine rock players, e.g. ian paice and cozy powell, do it VERY sparingly in well chosen places in the tune, and they make it work beautifully, so there are exceptions.

 

[TuneIn]

I like it. It's not as bad as "blues-face" guitar solos.

The ol' baconlips bluesface.

 

[Robert B]

Gimmicky or not, people like that kind of thing. It's provides visual interest and it's entertaining.

 

[MJS7101]

Neil Peart does it, therefore it is great.

 

[tangentmusic]

Neil Peart does it, therefore it is great.

You got that right!

 

[Carl Hillman]

It's impressive and cool as he77 as long as they're not missing a beat



Nsfw version:

It's best to have some moves like this down for when the flaming drum set and canary yellow, sequined tux jacket aren't enough.

 

[petrus61]

Big bass slides are one of my main moves. Coupled with a pelvic thrust.

If I ever get a little lost during a song, I also start doing full necks slides (back and forth, repeat) and thrusting my pelvis in unison. Not pretty, the ladies don't love it, and definitely doesn't achieve what I'm going for (talent), but I do it anyway. I'm pretty sure the Bassist from Dave Matthews Band pretty much built a career on it.