Wanderings of a Lost Moose

A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked what would be my ultimate band. As a music lover, this was a difficult question. I like a lot of music of all different styles (except Reggae, not into that, but my friend said he would make me a CD of reggae that I would like. I welcome the challenge) but anyway. So I played the game, MY ULTIMATE BAND. I came up with a band that night, but I thought it would make a fun post. I will play it like any awards show and start with the nominees. First rule though.....as a huge fan of the band RUSH, Geddy, Alex, and Neil are not eligible. I mean, they are the perfect, ultimate band already. So for purposes of this discussion, we will leave them fully intact and out of the conversation. I also wanted to create a band that would actually work. So I will try to steer clear of the "Supergroup" mentality. Now if I write down all the nominees we will be here all day, so I will do each post by instrument. Let's start with the foundation.......The drums. Now as far as drummers go, I want a guy who lays down the beat, but adds a little "pizazz" to the mix. That is what I like. Solid with some flare. So here we go.

The nominees are:

Keith Moon (The Who) : Moonie (may I call him that) is amazing. He's a nut on the drums. Lotta flare. But it is rooted in keeping the time. His drumming is very interesting to listen to. It's very free, liberated, and spontaneous. It just flows out of his personality. Big, Loud, and above all else, FUN!!

Nicko McBrain (Iron Maiden) : Guy doesn't use a click. He is able to change the speed of a song on a dime, and make it work. Amazing. Once again, the guy is crazy, funny, full of life. I like that is my drummers. I love the way he plays drums, and that is that.


Max Weinberg (Bruce Springsteen) : I love the mighty, mighty Max. It is funny watching him the whole show, watching Bruce like a hawk. And everyone else in the band is watching him. He is great. Just lays it down. Seems like the perfect drummer. He is ready for anything. "Where we going Bruce?" as he's there. The mighty, mighty Max!!!!

Rick Allen (Def Leppard) : Guy is on the is list for one reason. He lost his arm and came back to play drums........WELL!!! End of discussion.


John Bonham (Led Zeppelin) : Are you kidding me!?!?! This guy was a monster. Jackhammer. As far as I am concerned, he was Led Zeppelin. Without him, there is and was no Zeppelin. I don't really care for any Zeppelin song that does not have drums.

Stewart Copeland (The Police) : Here's the deal.......Sting may have written all the Police songs, but he was the least important person in that band. Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland make those songs come to life. Stewart made that band sound the way they did. The reason people liked The Police...they thought it was Sting. NOPE, it was Stewart. I mean, You know Stewart Copeland when you hear him. I like Sting as a solo artist, but if Stewart played those songs (and Andy played guitar) they would be so much better.

Bill Bruford (Yes) : I love Yes, and his drumming is great. So very interesting. Weird times, off hits, fun to listen to.

Anyone that has ever played drums for Steely Dan : It is no mistake that when I went to a recent class on drumming, the instructor was queuing up some Steely Dan. They always have the most amazing drums on their songs. There were a few kids in that class I took that had never heard a Steely Dan song. How on earth can you call yourself a drummer and not heard a Steely Dan song!?!?! YOU CAN'T!!!! If I want to hear great drums, I put on a Steely Dan album, and there it is.......Great Drumming.

Those are the Nominees. I am quite certain I left some great drummers off, but those are my favorites. Let me know who yours are. Let me know if I left off your favorite drummer.

Coming Next : BASS (Otherwise known as "In search of Geddy Paul Jones")