Quote Originally Posted by o_O View Post
I've played drums since age 13. I played in a prog rock band for about 5 years, but then I got a real job and kind of ran out of time for it.
Ooh I love prog, and especially all the progressive drummers, so I'd like to know more about your band and here some of your work, if you recorded anything; my absolute favourite being Carl Palmer from ELP, but I also REALLY like Bill Bruford (primarily from Yes and King Crimson, but he later briefly toured with Genesis, and stars in his own fusion band, also his other jazz albums), Terry Bozzio (he was, in my opinion, Frank Zappa's best drummer by far) and Neil Peart (from Rush).

On the jazz side, no one beats Buddy Rich. In fact, he's the most technically skilled of all the drummers I've ever heard, but I find his endless focus on the snare gets old eventually, neglecting the toms and cymbals - and he's a better soloist, he's not really a drummer that plays along with the band for long. In that way he's more of an individual performer. For those reasons, I prefer Carl Palmer, who has better variety and a stronger style. Carl took the most influence from Buddy, and he was the only rock drummer Buddy really ever paid some recognition to. He's quite rightly called the Buddy Rich of rock.

What drummers do you like and draw influences from? Also, what progressive artists/bands do you and your fellow bandmates like and how do they influence your music?

I'm an aspiring progressive/ and jazz drummer myself (all the listed drummers have a big influence on my own style), but I still think I need some practice before I join a band. I'm an amateur drummer - meaning I've never taken any lessons whatsoever, but neither did Bill Bruford, and he says the lack of experience lead to ways of working around his weaknesses that actually bettered the development of his own style, so that's why I'm confident in avoiding lessons. Besides, I much prefer teaching myself.