Julián Fernández wrote:Not at all... I´m saying that back in the day everyone was playing Gadd or Weck licks, but you didn´t have the chance to hear it unless you were at the gig at the rehearsal space with them... Now it´s more obvious, but it´s always about "leaders" and "followers"... The ones with a strong and unique vision, and us, mere mortals...
You're probably right, drummers would have been copying each other way more back then if they had the same access to performances that we have now on the Internet.
But I wouldn't call Gadd and Weckl "back in the day". That was pretty much the beginning of the homogenizing of drums, especially after DCI put out those Gadd VHS tapes. I was referring to the time between the invention of the drums at the turn of the 20th century, to the end of the 70s. The musicians on recorded music had distinct personalities which came out of the speakers. That isn't the case anymore, aside from a few exceptions.
Sure, you had clones throughout history, but Simon became his own drummer, and so did Weckl.
In the seventies and eighties, you had Bozzio playing a complete set of rototoms, Bruford on Simmons, Collins with eight concert toms, Moon playing a million drums and no hi-hats, Bonham on a 26" bass drum, Tony on his yellow Gretsch tuned tighter than a frog's ass, and none of those guys played the same way, or had the same sound. Maybe I'm imagining it, but I don't think personalities are coming through as much anymore. It may not even be the drummers' fault either. Producers are probably mostly to blame, especially when they replace sounds and quantize performances.