joey castillo
todd trainer
keith moon
art blakey
jimmy chamberlain
matt cameron
mitch mitchell
john bonham
dave grohl
man from can
and the guy on the first machinehead lp.

I like Ringo best. Ringo let the song play him without ever dumbing down his part. He just plays what needs to be played. White Album alone, lots of ASTONISHING, restrained, beautiful playing - my favorite, the drum entrance and subsequent drum beat with a hitch on Cry Baby Cry. Listen to that song and then give me shit about Ringo. What about that drum pattern on 'All I've Got to Do' from like '63? KICK hat snare kick-KICK hat snare kick-KICK. Call Mensa.

having seen Charles Hayward on friday I can confirm that Charles Hayward is the single best drummer I've ever seen or heard.

real lack of support for Jim White here, am I really only the third person here to be digging that big hairy Australasian?

For what it's worth, although he's already been mentioned, it's Elvin.

It is definitely not Tom Seston. It is quite possibly me.

[quote="MajorEverettMiller"]Hands down...

ELVIN JONES

I couldn't agree more. He was, and is, an astonishing drummer.

My favorites:

Ray Washam- Powerful, solid, and confident drumming. Has played in too many bands to list.

Jim Colao (Naked Raygun)- he has a extremely tense and powerful technique. I can't figure it out. Very solid, even when he's sloppy.

I have a friend who sounds so similar to him, it's frightening.

I forgot to mention Todd Trainer, even though he has already been mentioned.

Todd Trainer- simple, raw, and powerful. Slams like a Swiss watch.
From the sound of things, he must break a lot of drumsticks, despite the fact he holds them backwards.

Mike Greenlees wrote:I like Ringo best. Ringo let the song play him without ever dumbing down his part. He just plays what needs to be played. White Album alone, lots of ASTONISHING, restrained, beautiful playing - my favorite, the drum entrance and subsequent drum beat with a hitch on Cry Baby Cry. Listen to that song and then give me shit about Ringo. What about that drum pattern on 'All I've Got to Do' from like '63? KICK hat snare kick-KICK hat snare kick-KICK. Call Mensa.

This actually mirrors an argument that I've had with people who think Ringo is a crap drummer. The thing that I like about Ringo is he's willing to check his ego for the sake of playing something that fits within the song and never gets caught being flashy where it would detract from the song. People should listen to a song like "Rain" where he throws in a lot of interesting fills versus a song like "Lady Madonna" where he's content to play a really minimal 4/4 beat utilizing mostly bass and snare drum.

I know more than my fare share of people who have had drummers in their bands, that while technically good players, choose to wank off too much to their liking. I think those people would've killed to have someone who was more along the lines of a Ringo Starr type drummer.

I think I'd have to go for John Bonham. But also Danny Taylor, of Silver Apples. That there is some good drumsmack.