Manu Katche is one of those guys that I’ve never really checked out, and I don’t honestly know why. I’ve been watching videos of him on YouTube the past couple days and I can definitely see why he is so in-demand as a player. He has a very distinctive style, perhaps reminiscent of Stewart Copeland? He definitely doesn’t come across as an overtly technical player, which I really enjoy; his technique seems pretty average but his sound and his ideas are incredible. That being said, I’ve watched some solo videos of Manu as well, and he can definitely bust out the licks.
Nir Z KILLING it on an electric kit for a Toontrack Demo. I wasn’t really expecting this level of all-out technical facility from the guy who recorded John Mayer’s debut Room for Squares; it just goes to show how tasteful most studio players are with regard to their overall “headroom” in terms of chops and technique. It’s also very exciting to see how electronic drums are approaching a more musical reproduction of natural drum sounds — kind of makes ya want to buy an electronic kit, doesn’t it? Or, at the very least, check out some of the new software that Toontrack is offering.
Dennis Chambers studio footage — great stuff!
Travis Orbin (formerly of Periphery, currently Sky Eats Airplane) playing “Never Ending Dream” by Cyclamen. I’m not really into metalcore as much as I used to be, but I can certainly appreciate someone like Travis who has such a unique approach to the genre, as well as his drumming in general. Oh, and this guy is a machine. The ambidextrious kit sort of invokes Bill Bruford’s 1980’s work with King Crimson.
