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I wouldn’t really call myself a massive metal or punk fan anymore. My first recollection of a sound that floated my boat was Black Sabbath’s Neon Nights when it hit the charts in 1980. Up until that point I had only really been exposed (subjected to ) more folksy, poppy tunes like the Carpenters, the Eagles, and Abba. I did get a few Ozzy, AC//DC and Judas Priest albums but due to having mates that were more into punky stuff like the Stiff Little Fingers, The Anti Nowhere League, and the Clash I ended up at gigs with the usual fighting and spit fest:face-with-head-bandage:. I went to many gigs and festivals in the 80’s and progressively got more into rock bands.
I took a few drum lessons in the very early eighties and bought my first kit in 1982. My favourite band by far from that era was Motorhead and as sacrilegious as it is to say, as well as the original line up albums, I really liked Another Perfect Day. I even had a white double kick drum kit with exactly the same size drums as the Philthy one. By the mid-eighties my mates introduced me to a broad spectrum of heavy sounds, but I can’t really say I was massively into the majority of new metal bands from this time. I did however paint plenty of rock album logos on leather jackets. Maiden’s Eddie being a top seller. I also had some older mates who introduces me to a far more eclectic fusion of styles, and another favourite artist was Frank Zappa.
Around 1984 (another great album), the guitarist in my first ‘real’ band was more into the bluesy side of rock and was heavily into Hendrix, the Groundhogs and Cream. The bassist however worshipped Cliff Burton so as you can imagine, we had an ‘interesting sound’. I personally thought Kill ‘Em All was a terrible sounding album, and I’ve never been a fan of Metallica. Speaking as a drummer, Lars does nothing for me. He gets a rough time about both his technique and his timekeeping and TBH (from a rhythm perspective only) it’s probably justified, although his contribution to Metallica’s sound is undeniable.
In the early nineties I met my now wife who was heavily into more grungier and US influenced rock and metal. Although the majority of those bands don’t get a spin these days, many still do. I’m still a big fan of early Van Halen stuff, Janes Addiction, and some Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, and I loved the drumming of a guy called Chad Gracy in a band called Live. It was around this time that I joined another band, and the guitarist was really into what is unkindly termed (IMO) fret w*****g guitarists like Vinnie Moore, Tony McAlpine, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Whilst not typical heavy metal these guys could rip a riff apart and the sound production was always exceptional. Whilst not all the songs had vocals the rock/metal drumming on some of these albums was nothing short of phenomenal. Technically superior in this genre to anything that came before. End Of! It improved my tub-thumping skills no end and made me a far more proficient drummer.
In 1996 I heard the album AEnima for the first time and was BLOWN AWAY. The Tool sound encompassed all the rhythms and melodies that I had always wanted a band to sound like. I just didn’t know it until now! It was beautiful, haunting, and powerful, and I’ve been a massive fan ever since. I have, since 2002’s Absentia, also been a massive Porcupine Tree fan, the combination of Steve Wilson’s writing skills and the sublime rhythms of Gavin Harrison is music to my knackered ears!
My son was taught to play guitar in the early noughties, and he turns me on to stuff that I wouldn’t naturally get exposed to these days like Trivium, Periphery and the Contortionist
As I’ve got older, I like to blend my tastes. Here is what got played last week via Spotify:
Tool
Porcupine Tree
Frank Zappa
Jane’s Addiction
Peter Gabriel
Rammstein
Jeff Beck
Black Sabbath
Motorhead
Massive Attack
Ozric Tentacles
A System of a Down
Foo Fighters
Alter Bridge
Muse
Not forgetting a spot of Tenacious D
I still like to play!
Monster 1988 Pearl BLX double kick kit
2008 Pearl MMX gigging kit
Roland Electric practice kit
...and some plastic kits :_
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Interesting points!I wouldn’t really call myself a massive metal or punk fan anymore. My first recollection of a sound that floated my boat was Black Sabbath’s Neon Nights when it hit the charts in 1980. Up until that point I had only really been exposed (subjected to ) more folksy, poppy tunes like the Carpenters, the Eagles, and Abba. I did get a few Ozzy, AC//DC and Judas Priest albums but due to having mates that were more into punky stuff like the Stiff Little Fingers, The Anti Nowhere League, and the Clash I ended up at gigs with the usual fighting and spit fest:face-with-head-bandage:. I went to many gigs and festivals in the 80’s and progressively got more into rock bands.
I took a few drum lessons in the very early eighties and bought my first kit in 1982. My favourite band by far from that era was Motorhead and as sacrilegious as it is to say, as well as the original line up albums, I really liked Another Perfect Day. I even had a white double kick drum kit with exactly the same size drums as the Philthy one. By the mid-eighties my mates introduced me to a broad spectrum of heavy sounds, but I can’t really say I was massively into the majority of new metal bands from this time. I did however paint plenty of rock album logos on leather jackets. Maiden’s Eddie being a top seller. I also had some older mates who introduces me to a far more eclectic fusion of styles, and another favourite artist was Frank Zappa.
Around 1984 (another great album), the guitarist in my first ‘real’ band was more into the bluesy side of rock and was heavily into Hendrix, the Groundhogs and Cream. The bassist however worshipped Cliff Burton so as you can imagine, we had an ‘interesting sound’. I personally thought Kill ‘Em All was a terrible sounding album, and I’ve never been a fan of Metallica. Speaking as a drummer, Lars does nothing for me. He gets a rough time about both his technique and his timekeeping and TBH (from a rhythm perspective only) it’s probably justified, although his contribution to Metallica’s sound is undeniable.
In the early nineties I met my now wife who was heavily into more grungier and US influenced rock and metal. Although the majority of those bands don’t get a spin these days, many still do. I’m still a big fan of early Van Halen stuff, Janes Addiction, and some Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, and I loved the drumming of a guy called Chad Gracy in a band called Live. It was around this time that I joined another band, and the guitarist was really into what is unkindly termed (IMO) fret w*****g guitarists like Vinnie Moore, Tony McAlpine, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai. Whilst not typical heavy metal these guys could rip a riff apart and the sound production was always exceptional. Whilst not all the songs had vocals the rock/metal drumming on some of these albums was nothing short of phenomenal. Technically superior in this genre to anything that came before. End Of! It improved my tub-thumping skills no end and made me a far more proficient drummer.
In 1996 I heard the album AEnima for the first time and was BLOWN AWAY. The Tool sound encompassed all the rhythms and melodies that I had always wanted a band to sound like. I just didn’t know it until now! It was beautiful, haunting, and powerful, and I’ve been a massive fan ever since. I have, since 2002’s Absentia, also been a massive Porcupine Tree fan, the combination of Steve Wilson’s writing skills and the sublime rhythms of Gavin Harrison is music to my knackered ears!
My son was taught to play guitar in the early noughties, and he turns me on to stuff that I wouldn’t naturally get exposed to these days like Trivium, Periphery and the Contortionist
As I’ve got older, I like to blend my tastes. Here is what got played last week via Spotify:
Tool
Porcupine Tree
Frank Zappa
Jane’s Addiction
Peter Gabriel
Rammstein
Jeff Beck
Black Sabbath
Motorhead
Massive Attack
Ozric Tentacles
A System of a Down
Foo Fighters
Alter Bridge
Muse
Not forgetting a spot of Tenacious D
I still like to play!
Monster 1988 Pearl BLX double kick kit
2008 Pearl MMX gigging kit
Roland Electric practice kit
...and some plastic kits :_
[ATTACH=CONFIG]n1217486[/ATTACH]
I'm with you on Tool. They are totally unique. The deepest, most technical and progressive band ever, no contest!
However, disagree on your Metallica stance. I personally love them but absolutely cannot stand Motorhead! I should love them as I'm so much into metal but I simply can't get into them at all....
As for Grunge the best band by far was/is Alice in Chains. Pearl Jam and Soundgarden I found a bit boring to be honest.
Thanks for your interesting observations. I take it you're not into the harder metal as much? Thrash/Black/Death etc? Stuff like Slayer?
Regards,
GavinComment
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TBH there are only a few Motorhead tracks that I still enjoy listening to. I guess when you are brought up in an era where they held sway, they were difficult to ignore and left quite an impression.
Alice in Chain wrote some good stuff, and again, from purely my perspective, a great rhythm duo.
The thrash side of the genre has always left me cold. Our current guitarist who is a massive Slayer fan continually attempts to rectify this, but, not one band has really got me hooked as yet. Certain tracks certainly, but not enough to invest in their back catalogue!
TBH, it is most defo my rhythmical take on things that prevents me getting into a lot of heavier stuff. That and the fact I got exposed and enjoyed a lot of progressive and rock fusion stuff when I was younger. Whilst there are undeniably some incredible drummers, from my perspective the genre barely allows any feel from a drum set. Speed is king. That, and the fact that an overly clicky kick drum sound winds me right up!
For me, this guy tears up a kit like no other. :tongue-out3:
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I'm old enough to have seen plenty of punk and new wave bands in their heyday, and also old enough not to remember many details!
Rather fabulously a mate kept meticulous records of gigs he attended (for a while at least), and who he went with, so I know on good authority at least some of the gigs I went to, where and when, including (this is just a small selection - we were mad for it!):
Sept 76, Hyde Park, Supercharge, Steve Hillage, Kiki Dee and Queen
March 77, Fairfield Halls Croydon, Five Hand Reel, Kate and Anna McGarrigle
Oct 77, Thames Poly, Germs, Darts
March 78, Thames Poly, The Pirates
April 78, Victoria Park Hackney, Misty in Roots, The Ruts, The Clash
April 78, The Roundhouse Chalk Farm, The Bishops, Pere Ubu, Graham Parker & The Rumour
May 78, Lewisham Odeon, Matumbi, Whirlwind, Ian Dury & the Blockheads
November 78, Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand, The Records, Jona Lewie Rachel Sweet, Mickey Jupp, Reckless Eric, Lene Lovich
November 78, Electric Ballroom Camden, Gardez Darkz, The Police
January 79, Hammersmith Palais, John Cooper Clarke, Richard Hell & the Voidoids, Elvis Costello & The Attractions
March 79, Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand, The Mekons, The Fall, Human League, Gang of Four, Stiff Little Fingers
May 79, Rainbow Theatre Finsbury Park, The Records, The Jam
July 79, Electric Ballroom Camden, The Modettes, Selecter, Madness, The Specials
July 79, Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand, Interview, Madness, the Pretenders
September 79, Dingwall Camden Lock, Madness
February 80, Woolwich Tramshed, Splodgenessabounds
September 80, Hammersmith Palais, The Bodysnatchers, Toots & The Maytals
November 80, Music Machine Camden, Joe King Carrasco & The Clowns, Dirty Looks, The Equators, Any Trouble, Tenpole Tudor
November 80, Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand, The Fire Engines, The Thompson Twins, Josef K, Delta Five, the Teardrop Explodes
November 80, Marquee Club, The Fix, U2
December 80, Hammersmith Palais, The Undertones
Truly remarkable to see bands that went on to become enormous way down some set lists.
I'm so glad my mate kept this record - and I'm gutted that when I went to see bands with other mates we didn't keep records. So many amazing gigs, lost forever to me!Comment
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And can a put a good word in for Jazz? I won't name names, but while being quite funny, 'Musicians in search of a melody' is a very unfair dismissal. It's also true (of some jazz) I'd say, but you wouldn't write off other genres because of a small clique of impenetrable stuff would you?
Take classical music, for example. Thomas Beecham famously, when asked "Have you heard any Stockhausen?" replied "No, but I believe I have stepped in some."
Or disco? Tons of rubbish that I won't bring myself to mention, but that doesn't mean we should dismiss sublime records in the same genre. Or does it?!Comment
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I’d go along with most of that. Love kind of blue and any of the Lady Day and Lester Young collaborations, for example. Birth of the cool does nothing for me though. Most bebop leaves me cold in fact. Classical I love, especially Beethoven, Mozart, and Elgar, apart from the late romantic period which I find just a bit dull. Disco is pretty much a closed book, as is Rap, but Blues and Folk are both up there with my most favourite forms. Accounts for my stupidly large record collection really.Comment
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Sorry guys, I haven't moved very far away from the Who, add some Led Zeppelin, a smidgeon of AC/DC and that's about it when building my kits.Comment
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I was watching a few YouTube reaction videos - to Dire Straits & Pink Floyd - the USA reactees seemed to be about 20-25 years old. All seemed to say ' how come nobody told me about them?' Mark Knopfler & Dave Gilmour guitar solos amazed them - I couldn't understand how any music fan hadn't heard of them!
Several things came to mind - all these tracks were over 4 minutes long - so weren't played on radio - all were 70s-90s ( old = no good ) - they're British, sad to say, non USA artists are mostly invisible, and those that aren't, are normally thought to be USA groups ie Black Sabbath & Deep Purple!
Radio One was the only nationally available station when I was growing up - but John Peels' & later Bob Harris' late night shows introduced me to music beyond the Radio One Top Ten. I assume in the US that the independent commercial radio stations, specialising in one genre of music ( country, blues, jazz etc ) never played the range of music that was my background music when I was studying!
DaveComment
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Luxy reception was poor in my area & the pirate stations weren't powerful enough! For some reason on Luxy, I developed a dislike to Emperor Roscoe. In 1974, just as I was starting in the MN, local commercial radios were starting up in the UK & widening choice ( in my case Radio Hallam )
DaveComment
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When I was a teen both Luxembourg and Radio one were very difficult to pick up in my area. For the youngsters who don’t get this R1 was only on medium wave and (I think) used the same frequencies Radio 5 live uses now. I didn’t take to any of the presenters either, I found them smug and irritating in the extreme. Very smashy and nicey….I therefore went away from radio to TV programs like the Old Grey Whistle test, Rock goes to college, The Tube, Revolver etc for new and varied music. Otherwise I used recorded sources, swapping tapes with my mates to increase the breadth of music available to me. The only music stations I listen to now are Radio 6 and Planet Rock.Comment
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The only thing I listen to is...........Spotify
DaveComment
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