You’d think that a violinist and theremin wrangler would be more comfortable with the high-pitched, squeaky side of the musical spectrum than anything else, wouldn’t you? In my case, that just ain’t so. Turn down the treble, gimme BOOM, THUD, CRASH. Establish a strong pulse and make sure there’s plenty of low end. The deeper that connection with the rhythm section, the more blissed out I’m gonna be. Bang the drums.

I bring this up because May 16th is the whelping day of one of my favorite peeps in de’ whole wide world, Brian Viglione. He also happens to be one of my all-time favorite drummers.

Photo by Lauren Goldberg.

I first met da’ Vig and his brilliant partner in cabaret crime, Amanda Palmer, many years ago in the basement of some tiny Boston club. I’m not sure Brian was even of legal drinking age back then. My first time watching the Dresden Dolls perform (for an audience of maybe 15 people) I was thinking dang… that kid plays like the radioactive lovechild of Elvin Jones and Brendan Canty! How is that even possible?!

Amanda and Brian both seemed larger than life. I remember turning to one of my own bandmates and asking “is it just me, or does it feel like they should be playing a much bigger room?” Funny how things go…

Brian tearing it up at the Variety Playhouse in Atlanta, 2006. (The Dolls are playing a sold-out show at the Filmore in SF on Sunday. I’ll be joining them on a song. Really looking forward to it, as always. Whether they’re playing some dive bar, a swanky supper club, or opening for NIN, it’s always hugely satisfying to work with these guys.)

In honor of the birthday boy, in no particular order, here is some choice footage and brief blurbage of 20 (give or take a few… I sort of lost count) bliss-inducing percussionists who have, each in their own way, inspired me to be not a only a better musician, but a better human being. I know several of them are on Viggie’s list as well. Many happy returns, good buddy.

Greg Saunier

It’s hard to believe that the HYOOOOGE frenetic sound Saunier creates for Deerhoof is generated using little more than a bass drum, two cymbals and a snare. He’s an intensely thoughtful and empathic player who never gives anything less than 100%… even during soundchecks! (Not surprisingly, he also has one of the most joyfully demented and infectious laughs I’ve ever heard.)

Elvin Jones

Yes. We have explosion. As a child, Jones never went anywhere without drum sticks in his pocket, constantly practicing on “any available surface.” He’s perhaps best known for his work with John Coltrane, who said of Jones “he’s always aware of everything else that’s happening. I guess you could say he has the ability to be in three places at the same time.” His physical stamina was unmatched, allowing him to create an enormously powerful and wild rhythmic sound. “Playing is not something I do at night” the beloved powerhouse once said, “It’s my function in life.” Jones is generally regarded one of the greatest jazz drummers of all time, and hot damn, did he ever earn that title.

The Entirety of Crash Worship

I came of age on the fringe of this bonfire. Anyone who attended a performance by this band between ’87 and ’97 will probably tell you it was one of the most beautiful and harrowing experiences of their lives. Multiple drummers pounded out primal industrial rhythms while their bandmates started fires, set off fireworks and brought bacchanales to the boiling point in a sea milk, blood, water and wine.

Mimi Parker

Parker’s playing is achingly vulnerable, haunting, stately, and sssssloooooow. Overall, Low’s restraint and sensitivity demonstrate that sometimes, truly sublime music is often more about the absence of sound than the notes themselves. Parker hovers in the background, patient and gentle (rather rare traits in a drummer), calling to mind the sublime minimalism of Arvo Part and the quiet assurance of Popol Vuh’s atmospheric film scores.

Tatsuya Yoshida

Feeling stagnant? Morose? May I recommend drinking a pot of coffee, putting on a Ruins album and cleaning your house? Works for me. This shit is bananas. ‘Nuff said, really.

Moe! Staiano

“Dada Percussionist” Moe! Staiano is that proverbial storm-in-teacup; a spring-loaded, anarchic sprite whose wildly improvisational style summons the spirits of Einsturzende Neubauten and Raymond Scott in equal measure. Spontaneous, mischievous, and always in earnest, Moe! is one of the most delightful live performers around. You’re never quite sure what’s coming next, but you know it’s going to be FUN.

Dave Witte

Like four-armed Vishnu incarnate, Witte sits calmly behind his kit, barely breaking a sweat, his limbs a blur of movement as he launches an ultrafast, bonecrushing sonic assault. I’ve watched him in action with Melt Banana and Burnt By the Sun numerous times, completely agog. I still don’t quite understand how he does what he does. His encouraging attitude is refreshing as well. From a recent interview for sickdrummer.com: “Follow your heart and never give up. Play as much as possible however you are comfortable and try to find inspiration in many different forms of music. Try to play with musicians with more experience than you and you’ll learn and grow quickly, that was my thing, I played with people whose skill level were much higher than than mine at the time and I grew stronger as a player… Most importantly, not every performance and practice is going to be a good one, sometimes you’ll just have one of those days. Don’t let [that] discourage you because tomorrow is another day.”

Doudou N’Diaye Rose

”The drums give strength, ease pain, ward off evil and even help to flirt with women,” this world famous griot has said. Rose is a phenomenal percussionist who knows thousands of ceremonial rhythms. He has spent his life teaching them to younger generations, as well as challenging social mores in his country by allowing women to drum alongside men in his troupe. ”There are women lawyers and police inspectors – why not women drummers?” I had the privilege of watching this Rose perform with his 30-piece Senegalese ensemble in Boston a few years ago. By the end of it, there were tears of joy streaming down my face. Buy this album.

Yoshimi P-We

Best known as a longstanding drummer for Japanese avant-garde supergroup the Boredoms, P-We is a tiny, potent multi-instrumentalist who brings an infectious enthusiasm to every project she undertakes. Her work on Super AE is particularly epic. She’s been affectionately referred to as the Queen of Noise, and also happens to be the swashbuckling inspiration behind my all-time favorite Flaming Lips album, Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots.

Tito Puente

The charismatic Mambo King is widely credited as the man who introduced vibraphone and timbal to Afro-Cuban music. His chops as a player and a bandleader were as sharply honed as that irresistible grin. Upon his death, the New York Times proclaimed “El Ray” the most important Latin musician of the last half century. Taken from his NYT obit: ‘He gave us all a life,” said Robert Farris Thompson, a professor at Yale University… ”And by us I mean not only Puerto Ricans, but mainland blacks, huge numbers of Italians and Jews. We all loved him. There were guys my age who were envious they weren’t at the Moulin Rouge in the days of Toulouse-Lautrec; who weren’t at Minton’s in the days of the birth of bop. I was secure in the knowledge that I had been there on the birth of New York mambo.” Tito! Wherever you are, we love you, man!

Susie Ibarra

Ibarra, a lyrical jazz player with a vast dynamic range, has studied countless styles across the world and can jam the blues, ska, balkan, gamelan, kulintang, vibraphone, timpani, marimba, you name it. Check out her solo Tzadik record Flower After Flower and her work on David S Ware’s Go See the World.

John Bonham

Whaddaya think? Overrated rock star martyr, or indisputable Thunder God? Personally, I’m going with Thunder God. Hell yes.

Zakir Hussain

For whatever reason, a lot of my friends have a tendency to dismiss world music as too hippy dippy for their tastes. It’s just not “cool” to wig out over a tabla player, I guess. But watching Hussain go into the zone, I can’t help but think they’re dippy. Son of tabla master Ustad Allarakha, Hussain was a child prodigy who began touring at the age of 12. As a young man, he became increasingly interested in integrating different styles of music around the world, and reached out his “talking hand” to the most unlikely collaborative partners: Van Morrison, Mickey Heart, Japanese Kodo drummers, George Harrison, etc. Call me old-fashioned, but I tend to believe that before one goes about breaking a time-honored tradition, they should first study and master everything there is to know about it. Hussain is exemplary of that, and you can tell that no matter how “far out” he goes, he has always maintained love and respect for his roots.

“Papa” Jo Jones

Oh, Papa Jo… That smile kills me. He makes it seem so effortless, doesn’t he? It really isn’t. Can I get an amen? Amen.

Dave Lombardo

Bow down, mortals. Grovel before the Dark Prince of Metal. Supplicate yourself as he pummels your ears with rapid-fire rack tom runs. Beg for mercy from his devastating double-bass onslaught. Or not. Because believe it or not, underneath the aggro, Lombardo’s a kindly, doting family man who clucks over his children like a mother hen. I witnessed this firsthand after a slammin’ Fantomas show a while back. Before loading-out, Lombardo placed his daughter in his lap and let her abuse the snare drum on his $10k for half an hour. It was sort of like watching the Chernabog do this. And like the Grinch, my small heart grew three sizes that day!

Neil Peart

Too predictable/mundane a choice, you say? Not a Rush fan? Dude, don’t even go there. Take your prog hate outside. Zzzt! Nnnf! Say NOTHING. As far as I’m concerned, this man is the undisputed reigning KING of the live drum solo and a Canadian treasure. You hear me? KING. TREASURE. (Great lyricist, too.)

Stewart Copeland

Subtle, syncopated genius with a smirk. Easygoing grooves divided into perfect little segments by a rifle-crack of snare and mercurial fills. One of the first albums I ever bought with my allowance was Zenyattà Mondatta, around age 10. Honestly, I don’t think I’d ever really given much active thought to drummers at that point (other than Animal from the Electric Mayhem, of course). I remember lying on my back, staring at a crack in my bedroom ceiling and zeroing in on Copeland’s ingenious playing on “Driven to Tears“. It completely changed way I listened to ALL drumming from then on.

Isaiah Chevrier

I’m so smitten on this little guy. I started playing my chosen instrument around the same age, but I don’t remember feeling nearly as comfortable or happy about it. Isaiah is tapping into something in a very pure and powerful way. I hope he hangs onto it!

Budgie

They don’t always have the most glamorous job in rock bands, but truly superb drummers are like roots of a giant oak, offering indispensible support so that the tree can stand stall and proud. Although Budgie’s a badass, he’s never needed to blare it from the rooftops. I particularly love his playing in this live footage from Lollapalooza ’91. Nothing particularly fancy or flashy (besides the shirt), just a solid, supportive forward march… yet this song would seem completely hollow without him.

Cyro Baptista

Baptista is a mad, manic genius. No filters. He’ll try anything, say anything, PLAY anything. One of the most imaginative and playful musicians I’ve ever met. The last time I saw him perform several years ago, he was somberly wreaking havoc during John Zorn’s Electric Masada while the other musicians suppressed smiles. More recently he’s been working with Herbie Hancock and Yo Yo Ma! Go go, Cyro!

Buddy Rich & Animal

Really, does it get any better than this? Need I say more? Nah.

You know, I would have kept going if I hadn’t run out of time and coffee, then accidentally stripped all of the hotlinks out of this post. (AUGH!) But off the top of my head, here are bunch more mind-boggling awesome drummers to Google if you’re feelin’ frisky: Max Roach, Dougie Bowne, Tony Williams, Shahzad Ismaily, Dave Varenka, Ginger Baker, Jim Sclavunos, Dave Astor, Terry Bozzio, Kenny Wolleson, Ches Smith, Raz Mesinai, Sara Lund, Igor Cavalera, Sim Cain, and, and, and… oof.

Sorry. I’m going to shut up now. Let’s continue this in comments when I’m a bit less delirious!

Posted by Meredith Yayanos on May 16th, 2008
Filed under Dance, Faboo, Multiculti, Music