Premier Rock Forum

Jim White is the best drummer of the 90's for me, based on those Dirty Three albums alone.

Mike from SKWM was a marvel to watch every single time I saw them.

And agreed with a few above: Watching Janet Weiss put on a clinic at the T&G things years ago was a breath of fresh air. She's incredible.

Dark horse of the 90's? Matt Pence of Centro-Matic.

Isaac wrote: Sun Mar 23, 2025 7:18 pm Jim White is the best drummer of the 90's for me, based on those Dirty Three albums alone.

Mike from SKWM was a marvel to watch every single time I saw them.

And agreed with a few above: Watching Janet Weiss put on a clinic at the T&G things years ago was a breath of fresh air. She's incredible.

Dark horse of the 90's? Matt Pence of Centro-Matic.

"Dark Horse..." he saiys...

Matt is actually one of the best drummer ever.

Other "Dark Horse..." names worth a mention....

- Joe Gorelick/Garden Variety

- Steve Earle/The Afghan Whigs

- Les Nuby/Verbena

- Alan Cage/Quicksand

- Mike Heidorn/Uncle Tupelo

One other thing I will point out since John/Patrick are not really around anymore to do it?

Stan Gallimore/The Grifters

Love/Hate that band?

Buddy was a Ringo's Ringo.

One other drummer that is close to my heart, but never really comes up when people talk about the stretch of time in question?

John Anderson/Boy's Life

That guy was a gem.

Damon from Braid was always a monster.
Zach Barocas in a similar way but moreso.

Brendan Canty has the jazz behind the rock thing that Chamberlin is all about, except with a WAY deeper pocket/groove (whatever I can call it not to sound like your high-school band director).

That said, Chamberlain is a beast.

Grohl is obvious for a reason. He's made more recognizable drum riff/ hooks than Bonham.

Matt Cameron is a technician almost in the way that Chamberlain is but heavier sounding.

losthighway wrote: Sun Mar 23, 2025 11:11 pmBrendan Canty has the jazz behind the rock thing that Chamberlin is all about, except with a WAY deeper pocket/groove (whatever I can call it not to sound like your high-school band director).

That said, Chamberlain is a beast.

Grohl is obvious for a reason. He's made more recognizable drum riff/ hooks than Bonham.

precisely

Matt Cameron is a technician almost in the way that Chamberlain is but heavier sounding.

i asked bubba dupree how awesome is it to play with matt cameron and he said, "matt's great but sometimes you want that box falling down the stairs, like bill ward." true.
vote your top 4 here too.

numberthirty wrote: Sun Mar 23, 2025 10:00 pm

"Dark Horse..." he saiys...

Matt is actually one of the best drummer ever.

Other "Dark Horse..." names worth a mention....

- Steve Earle/The Afghan Whigs

- Mike Heidorn/Uncle Tupelo

And to think there are albums that he didn't drum on. He had Will do the drums on a couple of those albums and just produced/engineered it. Seeing him live, though, good lord. Dude is perfect on the tubs.

Steve Earle was unreal, too. Really tricky without being flashy. I read somewhere that he had to step away because he was partying too much.

Mike Heidorn is DEEPLY IN THE POCKET. Real, real good on those first couple Son Volt albums, too.

Noah Leger's work with Hurl and Karl Hendricks falls in this decade. He's my choice for this genre.

In jazz, Elvin Jones continued to deliver, as did Hamid Drake.

Isaac wrote: Mon Mar 24, 2025 2:36 pm Mike Heidorn is DEEPLY IN THE POCKET. Real, real good on those first couple Son Volt albums, too.

It's like the only thing that stands out about him as a drummer, which it turns out, at least for the genre he played, is plenty.

losthighway wrote: Mon Mar 24, 2025 4:48 pm

Isaac wrote: Mon Mar 24, 2025 2:36 pm Mike Heidorn is DEEPLY IN THE POCKET. Real, real good on those first couple Son Volt albums, too.

It's like the only thing that stands out about him as a drummer, which it turns out, at least for the genre he played, is plenty.

He literally played the cowbell part that no one ever mentions when folks talk "Cowbell..."



Never mind that those first two Uncle Tupelo albums are almost like The Police when it comes to the drummer being an equal third of what is happening in the band.





Much as I love John in Boy's Life, Mike was right there in that neck of the wood's without ever getting any of the "Off The Beaten Path..." love that those drummers did.