Why drummers are like animals!

 Hi, Steve here.

 It's one of those cliches that sticks isn't it, but why are drummers always called animals?

Well the first reason that springs to mind are the examples set by drummers like Ginger Baker in the 1960's and Keith 'The Loon' Moon from The Who in the 1970's, embodying all that was great from the glory days of rock n roll excess. Frantic playing and driving cars into swimming pools became the perfect role model for a generation of drummers. By the time I started playing in the early 80s drummers were meant to be fast n furious and ideally not too bright, the butt of every joke, often dropped by bands in the recording studio once a contract came along, and not considered true musicians. I was considered an oddity on the local gig circuit for having taken drum lessons, everyone else seemed to be obsessed with just playing fast n flashy at the expense of control. It's no wonder James Brown had since the 60's been setting strict rules for drummers to behave or be thrown out (he banned all flashy fills and breaks) and it would take a long long time before anyone would take a drummer seriously. If you were a musician you picked up a guitar, if you just wanted to be in a band you flailed away at the drums. Justified?

The second reason is from a drumming source that wasn't even human: a Muppet! 'Animal' seemed a cool fur-ball reincarnation of Keith Moon, but everyone who watched immediately understood: 'Ah, now that's a drummer' without a question. So, to be accepted as the drummer in a band it would also help if you were hairy. With bright red hair. And chained to your drums for everyones safety. Fair comment?

My third reason drummers are compared to animals is a little more obscure. To the uninitiated a good drummer is one that can play fast and loud, if you play something flashy people love it. Play a rock solid rhythm and no one bats an eyelid, it looks easy (though to do it with style isn't as easy as it looks). The consequence is drummers try to throw in flashy bits, with the less experienced just going crazy until every song is a continuous minor drum solo: no nuances or dynamics and god help the vocalist if he wants to shout over the top. More knowledgeable drummers call this 'overplaying', and along with poor timing it's exactly why record producers fire drummers. These days there are thousands of YouTube drumming videos and structured drumming exams so there's no excuse. So where's the animal reference here? Well, a really good drummer knows he has to play like a caged zoo animal: most of the time pacing up and down solidly and steadily with swagger and groove but you're fascinated 'cos you can see them flex their muscles every now and then. Suddenly as the singer pauses for breath they're baring their teeth and scaring the bejesus out you as they leap at you with some amazing noise you can't understand how they do. Then, it's back to that steady pacing...