This is a really hard question for alot of people I think. I love drums but I can't say I remember the real reason I took an interest in drums.
I think it was because my dad was into rock/alternative music and he introduced me to it. I could always just pick up a beat and i was like "hey thats awesome!" So I've been playing ever since, about 4 years ago and I really think I'm going to stick to it.
So for me, it's basically my dad, a good beat and good music =)

Chad Sexton from 311. I've always had an ear for music, so when I heard Chad's precision timing and quality sound, I was hooked. I'd sit in my room for hours, just listening to 311 cds and air drum. Then I got a kit. And now I still spend hours just playing along to 311 cds. I play to a lot more styles now, but 311 was my start. Come to find out, Chad Sexton was a snare drummer in DCI, so his chops are bad ass. I always knew his drumming was a little "cleaner" and tighter than most. I have my snare tuned very close to his because I love that ring he's got. It's great!








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I'm part of the brotherhood of like-minded individuals who like to bang on things.

Neil Peart hands down








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Tama Starclassic Bubinga kit #1
Tama Starclassic Birch kit #2
DW snare
DW 9000 double pedal
DW 9000 series hardware
Zildjian A and Z custom Cymbals

"Cowbell" Jones. The greatest drummer ever, hands down.

it cant be just one can it? for me it's Dave Weckl, Derico Watson, Thomas Pridgen, Thomas Haake and probly zoro(Get every chance you can to meet this guy, he's a huge knowledge bank!!!! )








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Cheers,
alex.

demonicAngel wrote:

it cant be just one can it? for me it's Dave Weckl, Derico Watson, Thomas Pridgen, Thomas Haake and probly zoro(Get every chance you can to meet this guy, he's a huge knowledge bank!!!! )

I was kidding. "Cowbell" Jones was the name of a fictitious drummer we made up for an April Fool's Joke played on another drum board a few years back. It sort of took a life of it's own. I'm not sure if we could convince some of the people we pranked there really WASN'T a Cowbell Jones now.

Gaddabout wrote:

demonicAngel wrote:

it cant be just one can it? for me it's Dave Weckl, Derico Watson, Thomas Pridgen, Thomas Haake and probly zoro(Get every chance you can to meet this guy, he's a huge knowledge bank!!!! )

I was kidding. "Cowbell" Jones was the name of a fictitious drummer we made up for an April Fool's Joke played on another drum board a few years back. It sort of took a life of it's own. I'm not sure if we could convince some of the people we pranked there really WASN'T a Cowbell Jones now.

ooh, haha, maybe related to philly jo jones? haha he(philly) actually exist though.








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Cheers,
alex.

In Memoriam: Curtis "Cowbell" Jones
Curtis "Cowbell" Jones
1914-2005

We have lost many beloved entertainers this year, but perhaps none more influential than Curtis "Cowbell" Jones, the underappreciated but oft-imitated drummer of the early 20th century.

The date and place of the first "trap" set is debatable, but pinpointing the first inclusion of the mounted cowbell is without question. Jones pioneered this modern staple of drumming on the 1934 recording of "Scataroo To You" on Hambone Wilson's Jamboree Jungle.

Jones' career spanned nearly a century, and was probably the first session drummer -- a career that became known for his raucously tinny bell ride sounds. He has been credited as the first American to include Caribbean rhythms in American popular music, previously considered undanceable.

Def Leppard drummer Rik Allen, once a student of Jones, found it difficult to quantify the elder drummer's impact.

"I remember struggling how to count off 'Pyromania,' then I put on 'Scataroo To You' and inspiration came like a rush," Allen said. "I doubt that song would ever have been a hit if I had not found such a brilliant muse."

Allen lost his arm in an automobile accident in the 1980s, but continues to utilize a cowbell sound by triggering an electronic pedal with his left foot.

"Curtis could play a fast cascara pattern against a rhumba clave on the cowbell with a stick in his mouth. He really was a cowbell master," Allen added.

Use of the cowbell has taken a hit in recent years, particularly after one Saturday Night Live episode panned the use of the bovine rattle in the Blue Oyster Cult song "Don't Fear the Reaper."

However, the cowbell has been integral in dozens of hit songs from diverse genres, including:

# Guns N Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle"
# Motley Crue's "Dr. Feelgood"
# Loverboy's "Working for the Weekend"
# Sir Mix A Lot's "Baby Got Back"
# Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music"
# The Bangles' "Hazy Shade of Winter"

It all points back to cowbell innovator Jones, said former Twisted Sister drummer AJ Pero.

"Nothing rocks like a cowbell," Pero said. "Ping rides are fine for sissy ballad bands like Journey, but in Twisted Sister, you needed a cowbell to cut through the guitars. I owe my career to Curtis Jones."

The cowbell continues to influence a new generation of drummers, and Jones' use appears to be timeless.

Alien Ant Farm drummer Mike Cosgrove credited an eclectic Jones track -- the odd meter "Mama Rhumba" on Dinky Brolo's Slow Boat to Cuba -- as the inspiration for the challenging beat to the band's song "Rubber Mallet."

"I had just bought a cowbell, which I attached right between my hi-hat, snare drum, and first rack tom. Then I started messing with this (Jones) feel. It felt stiff at first, but as I played it in practice, it started to flow."

Jones is survived by his wife, Tambora, and two children, daughter Maracas and son Curtis "Kazoo" Jones Jr.

Donations will be accepted in lieu of services to: More Cowbell Foundation, 1234 Countdown St., New York, NY 12341.

that is priceless, i have to say








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Cheers,
alex.

i'd have to say bill bruford, gavin harrison, and nick mason (the last one may be surprising, but he's just so damn controlled and precise)








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Speak the rhythm with your hands.

http://www.myspace.com/yjamband



Pearls, Zildjians, Vics, Evans.

Derek Roddy








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Drums are fun, cars are sick, music is great, and life is alright.

"I never said that gear makes the player...I just wanted to exploit the other side of the argument."

I would have to say my uncle (got me started), Thomas Lang, andd Simon phillips.








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FrKn LoUd

Danny Carey (Tool), Taylor Hawkins (Foo Fighters), Dave Grohl (Nirvana), Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Vinnie Paul (Pantera).

R.I.P. - Cowbell Jones








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PDP, Tama, and Pearl Drums
DW, Pearl, and Gibraltar Hardware
Sabian, Zildjian, and Saluda Cymbals

www.myspace.com/EOTEband

oh and i cant forget about Dave Lombardo (Slayer)








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PDP, Tama, and Pearl Drums
DW, Pearl, and Gibraltar Hardware
Sabian, Zildjian, and Saluda Cymbals

www.myspace.com/EOTEband

I would say,

1. Martin Lopez( sadly, Ex-Opeth)
2. Danny Carey( Ah, you guys know it already =p)
3. Chris Adler(Lamb of God)
4. Derek Roddy( Solo man of the century!)
5. Hellhammer( Just recently because of Dimmu's new album In Sorte Diaboli, he has really, really, got my attention.

Anyone heard Dimmu Borgir's new album yet? It is godly I must say! I just got it yesterday.








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Check out my band Before fire,
http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=336455456