matt cameron

yeah, you probably know who this guy is if you follow the current iteration of pearl jam or the defunct soundgarden or the short-lived ubergroup Temple of the Dog. matt cameron's drumming is unique - he plays with the high hat where most place the ride. his fills are short and crisp, like the resonance in his snare.

like a jazz drummer, cameron was born playing with a specific style. even with pearl jam's extensive library, he is able to stay true to those old songs yet wrap them in a coccoon of cameron. that was really cheesy, but hopefully you get the point. if not, just go see him play.

Dirty Three Drummer Jim White

I saw him play with Smog last year at a time when I was just getting comfortable using brush sticks. Watching him nonchalantly flick, stir and drag the brushes, adding the most delicate of nuanced notes to Bill Callahan's music was beautiful and mesmerizing. I am a believer.

mr. Brian Blade

Mr. Brian Blade. I first saw him play at a free in store at Amoeba Records in Hollywood with Daniel Lanois. Lanois called him up from the crowd to play a few songs with him and immediately all eyes were fixed on him - he's a total feel player, emotes with his face like it's some exhaust valve where the vibes exit into the ether. He moves around too, almost convulses on the down beat, eyes squinting hard, intent on something that's grabbed him. Like watching Derek Accorah on Most Haunted channel a spirit. Besides Lanois, Blade's played with Dylan (Time Out of Mind), Joni Mitchell, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock and Joshua Redman. If you ever have the chance to see this guy play, GO.

Each saturday, some friends and I gather at a studio space and play music. Nothing is planned or prepped; there is no set songs we play. Instead, we play music to explore and to communicate and to heal. Sounds a bit hippie dippy but it's terrific in terms of what it does to expand our senitivities to the sounds around us and to join in the conversation or, simply secure the foundation where we explore. We are not professional musicians but most of us are able to pick up various instruments and blow, strum or hit.