Re: Our cool kids and drums

["Schrade, Scott" <sschrade@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

> The bass pedal is a breeze though because he mainly just goes thump 
> thump thump the whole time while his arms do all the work.

I'd hardly call Moon's bass drum work a "breeze."  While Moon *does* em-
ploy steady eighth-notes on the bass drums on occasion, it's rarely con-
stant or continuous throughout an entire song.  There are pauses & pat-
terns in his bass drum work which belie the "thump thump thump" theory.

There are no "thump thump thumps" in "Pinball Wizard," or live versions
of "I Can't Explain."  Instead, those songs contain complicated triplet
patterns on the bass drums.

What about the drum pauses & suspensions in "Goin' Mobile?"  Or the 
bass drum patterns in "My Generation" (doomp doomp doomp-doomp dat)?
Or the varying bass drum patterns in "The Real Me?"  No "thump thump
thumps" there, either.

What I'm trying to say is that Moon *didn't* just go "thump thump thump"
on his bass drums in every song, or even in *a lot* of songs.  On "My 
Wife," yes, he does.  On the build-up at the end of "Substitute," yes,
he does.  On some of the live jams, yes, he does.  But he certainly
didn't use the technique *all* the time.

It's wrong to make John Bonham out to be some bass drum virtuoso, with
his little stutter beats, & then say Keith Moon just went "thump thump 
thump" on *his* bass drums.  I won't have it.

> Keith would do thunder rolls on the big floor tom before a break or use 
> the bass pedal or do a tom flurry or do some tinkling on the ride or a 
> machine gun on the snare or whatever he would think up on the spot during 
> his play.  Just Brilliant.

True, but why isn't Moon recognized for his subtlety & oftentimes delicate
approach to the drums?  "Ho ho ho, Keith Moon & his thunderous rolls &
his smashing everything up!  Ho ho ho!  Wild man of rock!  Trying to hit
everything at once!  Ho ho ho!"

Rubbish, rubbish, rubbish!  The next time anyone says that to you, smack
them in the face.  I've grown tired of that particular rock & roll cliche'.
Moon *was not* some selfish, over-playing, constantly bombastic drummer.  
He played for *the song,* not himself.  Sure, he was flashy.  But he also
knew when to be quiet & subdued during a song.  He new when less was more.

Hardly anyone wants to talk about that, though.  They like imagining Keith
Moon as a wild chimp behind the set, flailing away at everything.  Rubbish.
Stop it, I say.


- SCHRADE in Akron