Tony Royster Jr.

[Frisbieinstein]

He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

[-MIKE-]

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

FYI, he's probably 21 by now.

[Zomoniac]

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

FYI, he's probably 21 by now.

26. A day older than me, in fact.

[-MIKE-]

Post by Zomoniac

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

FYI, he's probably 21 by now.

26. A day older than me, in fact.

holy cow, time flies.

[Joe]

Yawwwwwnn. Time fly's and he's whiter then sourcream.

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Zomoniac

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

FYI, he's probably 21 by now.

26. A day older than me, in fact.

holy cow, time flies.
--
-MIKE-
"Playing is not something I do at night, it's my function in life"
--Elvin Jones (1927-2004)
--
http://mikedrums.com
---remove "DOT" ^^^^ to reply

[Steve Turner]

What the hell?

"Time fly's" ... !?

Good gawd, this can only be the grammatical hackery of one person. Who else
but Tom Giorgio would put an apostrophe in such a ridiculous place? You still
can't control that little right pinky of yours, can you Tom? All you had to do
was type exactly what Mike typed and you still got it wrong...

Post by Joe
Yawwwwwnn. Time fly's and he's whiter then sourcream.

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Zomoniac

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

FYI, he's probably 21 by now.

26. A day older than me, in fact.

holy cow, time flies.
--
-MIKE-

[-MIKE-]

Post by Steve Turner
What the hell?
"Time fly's" ... !?
Good gawd, this can only be the grammatical hackery of one person. Who
else but Tom Giorgio would put an apostrophe in such a ridiculous place?
You still can't control that little right pinky of yours, can you Tom?
All you had to do was type exactly what Mike typed and you still got it
wrong...

And don't forget the incorrect use of "then" instead of "than."

Why is it that racists are always dumb-asses?

[baby dodds]

sometimes when i see someone as talented at a young age as Royster was
(and still is) i assume that it is some sort of "magic," but he is so
articulate and can explain his technique so well that it all makes
sense. how it happened in the time frame allowed is still kind of
magical...

[robschuh]

Post by baby dodds
sometimes when i see someone as talented at a young age as Royster was
(and still is) i assume that it is some sort of "magic," but he is so
articulate and can explain his technique so well that it all makes
sense. how it happened in the time frame allowed is still kind of
magical...

Generally anyone who can explain what they are doing are not really
natural players. If you ever asked Elvin Jones what he played, he
would openly laugh and just say, "I was just playing music man."
That's what it's all about, not a bunch of drum bullshit. I can't
believe that moron Tom is still spewing his bigotry here. I guess when
you have no life, that's all you can do.


--
--
Robert Schuh
"Everything that elevates an individual above the herd and
intimidates the neighbour is henceforth called evil; and
the fair, modest, submissive and conforming mentality,
the mediocrity of desires attains moral designations and honors"
- Nietzsche

http://www.hardbopdrums.com/

[baby dodds]

Generally anyone who can explain what  they are doing are not really
natural players. If you ever asked Elvin Jones what he played, he
would openly laugh and just say, "I was just playing music man."

i spoke to Elvin several times. he was very articulate and explained
his approach very clearly. i also remember seeing a video where he
explained his composition of "three card monty". he could explain what
he was doing very clearly.
so maybe that means he was not a "natural player" i do not know. in
any case i thought, and continue to think, he was a great drummer.

[Sean Conolly]

Post by baby dodds

Generally anyone who can explain what they are doing are not really
natural players. If you ever asked Elvin Jones what he played, he
would openly laugh and just say, "I was just playing music man."

i spoke to Elvin several times. he was very articulate and explained
his approach very clearly. i also remember seeing a video where he
explained his composition of "three card monty". he could explain what
he was doing very clearly.
so maybe that means he was not a "natural player" i do not know. in
any case i thought, and continue to think, he was a great drummer.

Agreed. Just because you *can* explain what you're doing doesn't imply that
you're thinking about it constantly while playing.

Sean

[-MIKE-]

Post by Sean Conolly

Post by baby dodds

Generally anyone who can explain what they are doing are not really
natural players. If you ever asked Elvin Jones what he played, he
would openly laugh and just say, "I was just playing music man."

i spoke to Elvin several times. he was very articulate and explained
his approach very clearly. i also remember seeing a video where he
explained his composition of "three card monty". he could explain what
he was doing very clearly.
so maybe that means he was not a "natural player" i do not know. in
any case i thought, and continue to think, he was a great drummer.

Agreed. Just because you *can* explain what you're doing doesn't imply that
you're thinking about it constantly while playing.
Sean

And who's to say he's not? There's no reason a guy can't be an
incredibly natural player and also cerebral about it. We all have times
during a solo or whatever, when we're thinking ahead, maybe a bar or
two, maybe a chorus or two.

There's nothing I hate more than seeing a guy play the same solo over
and over. Ok, there's plenty I hate more, but c'mon, it's hyperbole. :-)

I love Neal Peart and all, but man, you see one solo, you've seen 'em all.
I saw Jack Dejohnette and he told a story... but who's to say he wasn't
planning it all out in his head as he was playing it.

[Andy]

Post by robschuh
Generally anyone who can explain what they are doing are not really
natural players. If you ever asked Elvin Jones what he played, he
would openly laugh and just say, "I was just playing music man."
That's what it's all about, not a bunch of drum bullshit. I can't
believe that moron Tom is still spewing his bigotry here. I guess when
you have no life, that's all you can do.

Jack DeJohnette actually co-wrote a book that explains what's going on
in jazz drumming. I only recently found this so haven't studied it in
detail...

http://www.scribd.com/doc/33221705/7-Jack-de-Johnette-and-Charlie-Perry-Modern-Jazz-Drumming

Andy

[Joe]

Typical shoe moron. Royster has no soul or groove.
It's all mechanical. Anyone who thinks this is good drumming is suspect
professionally. Anyone can have chops. That's about all he has.
His solo's and general playing are very boring. There is no lope to any of
his rhythms.
Anyone who thinks this is some kind of magic is a retard.

Post by baby dodds
sometimes when i see someone as talented at a young age as Royster was
(and still is) i assume that it is some sort of "magic," but he is so
articulate and can explain his technique so well that it all makes
sense. how it happened in the time frame allowed is still kind of
magical...

Generally anyone who can explain what they are doing are not really
natural players. If you ever asked Elvin Jones what he played, he
would openly laugh and just say, "I was just playing music man."
That's what it's all about, not a bunch of drum bullshit. I can't
believe that moron Tom is still spewing his bigotry here. I guess when
you have no life, that's all you can do.


--
--
Robert Schuh
"Everything that elevates an individual above the herd and
intimidates the neighbour is henceforth called evil; and
the fair, modest, submissive and conforming mentality,
the mediocrity of desires attains moral designations and honors"
- Nietzsche

http://www.hardbopdrums.com/

[Joe]

What would anyone expect from a guy like Rob who has no groove or soul him
self. ;o)

Post by baby dodds
sometimes when i see someone as talented at a young age as Royster was
(and still is) i assume that it is some sort of "magic," but he is so
articulate and can explain his technique so well that it all makes
sense. how it happened in the time frame allowed is still kind of
magical...

Generally anyone who can explain what they are doing are not really
natural players. If you ever asked Elvin Jones what he played, he
would openly laugh and just say, "I was just playing music man."
That's what it's all about, not a bunch of drum bullshit. I can't
believe that moron Tom is still spewing his bigotry here. I guess when
you have no life, that's all you can do.


--
--
Robert Schuh
"Everything that elevates an individual above the herd and
intimidates the neighbour is henceforth called evil; and
the fair, modest, submissive and conforming mentality,
the mediocrity of desires attains moral designations and honors"
- Nietzsche

http://www.hardbopdrums.com/

[Joe]

You're such a moron Steve. Tony is a joke.

Post by Steve Turner
What the hell?
"Time fly's" ... !?
Good gawd, this can only be the grammatical hackery of one person. Who
else but Tom Giorgio would put an apostrophe in such a ridiculous place?
You still can't control that little right pinky of yours, can you Tom?
All you had to do was type exactly what Mike typed and you still got it
wrong...

Post by Joe
Yawwwwwnn. Time fly's and he's whiter then sourcream.

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Zomoniac

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

FYI, he's probably 21 by now.

26. A day older than me, in fact.

holy cow, time flies.
--
-MIKE-

[Steve Turner]

I didn't say ANYTHING about Tony, did I? I was talking about you TOM. Oh,
excuse me, "Joe". Moron.

Post by Joe
You're such a moron Steve. Tony is a joke.

Post by Steve Turner
What the hell?
"Time fly's" ... !?
Good gawd, this can only be the grammatical hackery of one person. Who
else but Tom Giorgio would put an apostrophe in such a ridiculous place?
You still can't control that little right pinky of yours, can you Tom?
All you had to do was type exactly what Mike typed and you still got it
wrong...

Post by Joe
Yawwwwwnn. Time fly's and he's whiter then sourcream.

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Zomoniac

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

FYI, he's probably 21 by now.

26. A day older than me, in fact.

holy cow, time flies.
--
-MIKE-

[oldschool]

"Royster has no soul or groove.
It's all mechanical. Anyone who thinks this is good drumming is
suspect
professionally."

He could make his 1 a little fatter and his 2 and 4 pop a little
more. For this style of music.

That said, he plays great in this video. Absolutely great. Accurate,
clean, relaxed, good ideas, he makes all the ensemble hits nicely.
Cool, hip fills. No overplaying.

Sure, he's showing off some drum shit, but *it's a freaking drummer
video*, not a live gig or real recording session. But there's nothing
gratuitous or stupidly showboaty, at all, in the whole vid. Which
puts him about 100 miles ahead of all of the other knuckleheads with
their "hey look at me!" horseshit YouTube vids.

The kid plays great. I can't think of any of the players I know who
wouldn't be delighted to have Royster on the gig. I don't mind saying
he kicks my ass, I'd be delighted to play like Royster.

"Anyone can have chops."

Yeah, anyone who's willing to work their f**king asses off. Are you
in that club?

[baby dodds]

hey "old school" great post!

i want to return to the idea of black drummers and the idea of
"natural players". i think there might be some unsavory residue
attached to the shoes of the notion of "natural drummer"(pun intended
but i do not mean to imply any nasty stuff about rob because it is
quite clear that he has much admiration of many of the jazz greats and
i do not at all believe there is a prejudice of the type i will write
about in rob ).
i have a hunch that Tony Royster came into his talent with the aid
of a supportive family. i think the idea of "natural" might be a way
for some to belittle the community that surrounds an artist in his/her
formative years. i think, for some the idea of "natural" drummer
removes the artist from the community. if you want to diss the
community this could be a helpful thing, it can even become a
subconscious habit in some.
elvin jones had a family, his siblings are some of the most
illustrious names in jazz. these kids grew up in a environment that
helped form them. if the product is any indication it was a rich
environment, and in no way do i mean economically although it may or
may not have helped.
so the idea of "natural" be more akin to the usage of organic
farmers: in other words these guys grew up in good dirt. their
abilities might be the best testimony of the value of their
communities that most of us will ever get to see.

[Joe]

That's right, he is showing off. Whoo whoooooo.
When you grow the f up you realize that it's all fluff and bull shit.
There is nothing musical going on. It's all tension and no relaease.
He shows no restraint. In fact I have yet to a find a video where he is not
showing off.
Don't give me that shit that it''s a drummer video. If a band has a bad
sound engineer
but they are good the audicance doesn't say hmmm, that's a really good band
with a bad sound guy.
He posted the video's therefore that's what he will be judged on.

Post by oldschool
"Royster has no soul or groove.
It's all mechanical. Anyone who thinks this is good drumming is
suspect
professionally."
He could make his 1 a little fatter and his 2 and 4 pop a little
more. For this style of music.
That said, he plays great in this video. Absolutely great. Accurate,
clean, relaxed, good ideas, he makes all the ensemble hits nicely.
Cool, hip fills. No overplaying.
Sure, he's showing off some drum shit, but *it's a freaking drummer
video*, not a live gig or real recording session. But there's nothing
gratuitous or stupidly showboaty, at all, in the whole vid. Which
puts him about 100 miles ahead of all of the other knuckleheads with
their "hey look at me!" horseshit YouTube vids.
The kid plays great. I can't think of any of the players I know who
wouldn't be delighted to have Royster on the gig. I don't mind saying
he kicks my ass, I'd be delighted to play like Royster.
"Anyone can have chops."
Yeah, anyone who's willing to work their f**king asses off. Are you
in that club?

[oldschool]

"When you grow the f up you realize that it's all fluff and bull
shit."

Hey dude, whatever. I been playing drums in front of people for pay
for 40 years. 99% of what I do is play time. My favorite guys are
guys like Steve Jordan, or Ndugu, or Al Foster, or Billy Higgins, or
Jay Bellerose. Al Jackson. Roger Hawkins. Guys whose pre-eminent
skill is *making the music sound good*.

Here's my point: you claimed Royster has no soul or groove. You're
f**king wrong. His time is great, he's quite relaxed and in the
pocket. Are there guys that are better time and feel players? Yes,
there are. But from a pure time-playing, energetic funky thing point
of view, Royster sounds great here. I'm not talking about the fills
and shit, I'm talking about the straight up time playing, which
actually does make up quite a bit of the video.

Compare his time playing here to a guy like Dave Garibaldi, who plays
in the same basic musical universe. Everybody loves Garibaldi, but to
my taste he's one of the tensest and on-top-of-the-beat guys around.
I love his playing, he's a great guy, he's done huge things for the
instrument, but he's always tight and on top. Just as long as we're
talking trash. IMO Royster's time feel here is much more relaxed and
flowing than typical Garibaldi.

If you don't like stunt drummers, that's cool. Royster is a stunt
drummer. People don't call him to come and make their tunes sound
good, they call him to fling drum shit around. There are lots of guys
like that.

But from the point of view of (a) is Royster playing in the pocket,
and (b) would what he's doing be appropriate in any given up-energy
funk gig, the answers are "yes" and "yes".

My opinion, obviously.

[Joe]

I never said his timing wasn't great did I? If I program a drum loop
into the computer it will also be perfect. It also has no feel. Try
listening
to Gadd, Bonham, Phill Colloins, Jeff Parcaro, Bernard Purdie and then
compare.
Even Neil Peart has more groove going on. If drumming were all about
perfection of time
then why not use a drum machine? I'm not wrong. Royster has little groove
or pocket.
You kind of make my point when you speak of a stunt drummer. Well ok, I
did't start playing drums to join the circus.
I like to play MUSIC!

Post by oldschool
"When you grow the f up you realize that it's all fluff and bull
shit."
Hey dude, whatever. I been playing drums in front of people for pay
for 40 years. 99% of what I do is play time. My favorite guys are
guys like Steve Jordan, or Ndugu, or Al Foster, or Billy Higgins, or
Jay Bellerose. Al Jackson. Roger Hawkins. Guys whose pre-eminent
skill is *making the music sound good*.
Here's my point: you claimed Royster has no soul or groove. You're
f**king wrong. His time is great, he's quite relaxed and in the
pocket. Are there guys that are better time and feel players? Yes,
there are. But from a pure time-playing, energetic funky thing point
of view, Royster sounds great here. I'm not talking about the fills
and shit, I'm talking about the straight up time playing, which
actually does make up quite a bit of the video.
Compare his time playing here to a guy like Dave Garibaldi, who plays
in the same basic musical universe. Everybody loves Garibaldi, but to
my taste he's one of the tensest and on-top-of-the-beat guys around.
I love his playing, he's a great guy, he's done huge things for the
instrument, but he's always tight and on top. Just as long as we're
talking trash. IMO Royster's time feel here is much more relaxed and
flowing than typical Garibaldi.
If you don't like stunt drummers, that's cool. Royster is a stunt
drummer. People don't call him to come and make their tunes sound
good, they call him to fling drum shit around. There are lots of guys
like that.
But from the point of view of (a) is Royster playing in the pocket,
and (b) would what he's doing be appropriate in any given up-energy
funk gig, the answers are "yes" and "yes".
My opinion, obviously.

[oldschool]

"I never said his timing wasn't great did I?"

I'm not just talking about the accuracy of his time, I'm also talking
about his overall level of relaxation and flow, where he's placing the
beat, etc.

We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this.

"Even Neil Peart has more groove going on."

Dude, that's crazy talk! :)

[Joe]

Post by oldschool
"I never said his timing wasn't great did I?"
I'm not just talking about the accuracy of his time, I'm also talking
about his overall level of relaxation and flow, where he's placing the
beat, etc.
We're just going to have to agree to disagree on this.
"Even Neil Peart has more groove going on."
Dude, that's crazy talk! :)

The only way to groove is by tension and release.
Do I need to say more? He's not as realxed as you think he is
and you are correct. We have to agree to disagree. Any minute now the
steriod
consuming colon cowboy will chime in and tell what to think about me
and how to respond. Try not to drink the koolaid and remeber, most of the
assholes in here
voted for Obama. ;o) They will try and give you the impression they are
highly educated and I'm just
stupid, even though I probably make 5 times the salary they do. ;o)

[Benj]

Post by Joe
I never said his timing wasn't great did I? If I program a drum loop
into the computer it will also be perfect. It also has no feel. Try
listening
to Gadd, Bonham, Phill Colloins, Jeff Parcaro, Bernard Purdie and then
compare.
Even Neil Peart has more groove going on. If drumming were all about
perfection of time
then why not use a drum machine?  I'm not wrong. Royster has little groove
or pocket.
You kind of make my point when you speak of a stunt drummer. Well ok, I
did't start playing drums to join the circus.
I like to play MUSIC!

You said it Joe. Maybe once Tony Royster has as many Beatles hits
under his belt as Bernard Purdie, THEN he'll be able to lay down a
groove like Jeff Porcaro is doing. Oh wait. I meant lay down IN a
groove... And I took Schuh's advice and tried to ask Elvin to explain
what he was doing on drums but he never answered me....

[Frisbieinstein]

Post by Benj
And I took Schuh's advice and tried to ask Elvin to explain
what he was doing on drums but he never answered me....

You are number 1867364. Patience, grasshopper.

[Joe]

Steve is a racist. I was at one of his gig's one night and he was telling
black jokes.
He asked me why Stevie Wonder was always smiling. HE said "because he
doesn't know he's black".

Post by Steve Turner
I didn't say ANYTHING about Tony, did I? I was talking about you TOM. Oh,
excuse me, "Joe". Moron.

Post by Joe
You're such a moron Steve. Tony is a joke.

Post by Steve Turner
What the hell?
"Time fly's" ... !?
Good gawd, this can only be the grammatical hackery of one person. Who
else but Tom Giorgio would put an apostrophe in such a ridiculous place?
You still can't control that little right pinky of yours, can you Tom?
All you had to do was type exactly what Mike typed and you still got it
wrong...

Post by Joe
Yawwwwwnn. Time fly's and he's whiter then sourcream.

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Zomoniac

Post by -MIKE-

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

FYI, he's probably 21 by now.

26. A day older than me, in fact.

holy cow, time flies.
--
-MIKE-

[Joe]

Totally white bread. He's the wrong color to playing drums.
A drum machine has more groove.

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.

[Frank]

Oh fuck me--there goes fuckin Schuh with his anal craving over Elvin--Rob,
Elvin is dead-he has been dead for years-get over it. Besides, I have heard
you play-nothing you do sounds like Elvin or anyone-except maybe Tommy when
he first began playing ---- BTW

How does it feel to no longer have any gigs?

Post by Joe
Totally white bread. He's the wrong color to playing drums.
A drum machine has more groove.

Post by Frisbieinstein
http://youtu.be/2WChZVfkq3M
He appears to be about 14 years old. Nice composition. He plays with
such authority. Super talent. That fill at 0:49 burns me up.