Simon Rushworth
Whatever happened to dumb drummers with big hair, big kits and even bigger beer guts?
In days of old you could bank on the bloke bashing the skins looking more like a social club steward than a super cool rock star.
Charisma and musical talent were reserved for the frontmen and the odd axe hero. And if even the least fashionable drummers did the business behind their kits then off stage they were invariably shrinking violets with very little to say.
Fast forward to 2008 and drummers doing interviews is de rigueur. Not only that, they can speak in words of more than two syllables and talk a great deal of sense.
Take this week on rushonrock. First up we featured one of the most polite and personable young men in rock as You Me At Six’s Dan Flint conducted a faultless interview with aplomb.
I’d never seen the bloke before this week. But let’s just say he could easily pass for a Top Shop model or a boy band hero.
It’ll be interesting to discover how Dan the man keeps those perfectly coiffeured locks in place in the heat of a sweaty basement gig. But I bet he’s found a way with the help of exclusive hair products and the pages of Arena Homme.
Anyway if the delightful Dan proved that it’s time for drummers to emerge from the shadows then the equally eloquent Bob Dalton proved the point.
The It Bites tub thumper oozes self-confidence and attitude and it was a pleasure chewing the rock fat with such a consummate pro.
I suppose it started to become clear that, in the world of drumming, Neanderthal was being fazed out and new-man brought in when I first clapped my eyes on Quireboys’ drummer Pip Malling.
First up he’s called Pip. Secondly he’s skinnier than your average goal post. And to cap it all he co-owns a boutique. Yes, not just a shop. A boutique.
In fact the only gene Pip has inherited from my favourite drummers of yesteryear is that aforementioned talent for shrinking into background off-stage.
He never says much but what he does say is considered, relevant and thought-provoking. Very new-drummer, if you like.
In a way it’s refreshing to know that some of the old stereotypes do still exist.
Check out Motorhead or Saxon live anytime soon and you’ll see what I mean. As for the man on the Twisted Sister stool – long may you stand up for rock tradition.
But on the whole drummers have realised their time has come. They do enjoy a chat, they do know how to do a crossword and most can read Kerrang! every week.
Although I’m still not sure about the bloke from Twisted Sister…