Celebrity (and not so) Deaths 2024 onwards

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1587

If you listen to Heart of Glass, you can hear a Roland Compu-rhythm box at the beginning which runs through the entire song underneath Clem’s drums.

Disco brought in a need for more robotic drumming. This is at a point where producers began experimenting with things like using tape loops for drums (Giorgio Moroder had a two-bar snippet of Keith Forsey playing kick, snare, kick, snare that he used a lot).

Then the machines came. You had the Roland Compu-rhythm (Phil Collins’ favourite), then the 808, and then the Linn machines, which were the first to use digital drum samples and fooled a hell of a lot of people when they first came out. The first Linn drum machine came out around 1980-81; this is the one with the fat snare drum that you hear on a million Prince songs, among other things (Human League, parts of Thriller, etc).

At the same time, Roger Nichols built his own computer that could shift drum hits around and move them to a grid; Steely Dan’s “Hey Nineteen” used this contraption and had Steve Gadd play fills over it.

Pretty soon you had the DMX, the Roland 909, the Drumulator, then Roger Linn went to Akai and built all their MPC samplers.

And drummers were, well, kinda redundant for awhile. :disappointed_relieved:

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1588

If drummers are redundant, where would dumb people get a job?

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1589

I resemble that remark.

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1590

Ah yes, the Linn Drum was EVERYWHERE in the 80’s. One of my favourite band’s albums (XTC’s The Big Express in 1984) is renowned as their “Linn Drum” album. I believe most of ZZ Top’s Eliminator is Linn Drum. Bruce Hornsby’s The Way It Is is Linn Drum. Most of George Michael’s stuff (Wham and solo) is Linn Drum. Love Is A Battlefield is undoubtedly Linn Drum.

The Linn Drum actually has a great snare sound, but (like all drum machines) shiit sounding toms. Accordingly, in the 80’s a drummer’s work was often limited to tom fills and fancier hi-hat work, and they would be free to spend the rest of the studio time out the back getting familiar with “Pablo’s Chisel”…

1591

In all seriousness, I did go through a phase where I wondered if all the years I’d spent learning to play drums was a waste of time. Once I got over the delusion that I was probably never going to be in a famous band or an LA session player and concentrated on playing live, I mostly got over those thoughts.

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1592

I do know a drummer who is both a rocket scientist and a lawyer.

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1593

What do you call a drummer without a girlfriend?

Homeless.

Yeah I’ve heard all the jokes.

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1594

Q. How do you know it’s a drummer knocking on your door?
A. The knocking speeds up, then slows down, then speeds up again, then… etc.

I’ll get me coat…

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1595

Rushing or dragging???

1596

This will always be my favourite muso joke…

An explorer is deep in the jungle, in a corner of the earth never before seen by civilized man. Suddenly, he hears drums in the distance. He turns to his faithful native guide and asks what the drums mean.

“No worry, no worry,” says the guide, “drums good, drums okay.”

The explorer, trusting his guide, continues on through the jungle. The drums get louder and closer as darkness falls, and they set to make camp. “Are you sure this is safe, making camp with those drums so close by?” says the explorer.

“No worry, no worry,” says the guide, “drums good, drums okay.”

So they make a little fire, and eat something. The explorer is uneasy about sleeping, with that strange drumming nearby. He is about to ask his guide once again for reassurance, when, as suddenly as they began, the drums stop. The guide freezes, a look of terror on his face. “What? What is it?” whispers the explorer, “Is it bad that the drums stopped?”

“Drums good, drums okay,” said the guide, “But drums stop, that bad. Very bad, when drums stop…”

“What? Tell me! What is it that comes after the drums stop?!?”

“Bass solo.”

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1597

As a Bass player, allI can say is- you can all get stuffed!!!

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1598

He doesn’t know when to come in.

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1599

Q: What do you call a girl on a drummer’s arm?

A: A tattoo.

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1600

Q: What’s the last thing a drummer says at band practice?

A: Hey guys, let’s play one of my songs next!

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1601

I always thought that joke was "how can you tell a lead singer’s at eh door? They can’t find the key, and don’t know when to come in.

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1602

Sorry, but i couldn’t resist.

1603

She was a high priced harem girl- but not much of a bassist.
From the tone of the article, she was pretty highly strung- more of a guitarist, I’d say.

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1604

Not quite the right thread, but given talk about drummers, read today that Rob Hirst has pancreatic cancer. :frowning:

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1605

Richard Zachariah, Bomber supporter.

1606

Sorry to hear that. That’s… not a good one to get.