I thought of Gene Krupa's drumming, his staccato drumming. I went and put 'Misirlou' to that rhythm.
As with any art, you create it [drumming] out of something that isn't there. It's very architectural. It's the architecture of whatever piece of music I'm playing. I think the whole idea of drumming is to allow other people around you to more easily express themselves.
Because drumming was recognized as an ancient source and symbol of the power of female technicians of the sacred, drumming was banned. Henceforth divinity was to be exclusively masculine. The suppression of women was directly linked to the suppression of the goddess.
I guess I did make my name out of my drumming, and I have the big drum sets, and I'm doing all these crazy, odd-time signatures, so, yeah, I guess drumming was very important to what made me popular.
There is no blood in jazz drumming, and there are no bullies in jazz drumming.
My heart is drumming in my chest so hard it aches, but it's the good kind of ache, like the feeling you get on the first real day of autumn, when the air is crisp and the leaves are all flaring at the edges and the wind smells just vaguely of smoke - like the end and the beginning of something all at once.
One of the most powerful aspects of drumming and the reason people have done it since the beginning of being human is that it changes people's consciousness. Through rhythmic repetition of ritual sounds, the body, the brain and the nervous system are energized and transformed. When a group of people play a rhythm for an extended period of time, their brain waves become entrained to the rhythm and they have a shared brain wave state. The longer the drumming goes on, the more powerful the entrainment becomes. It's really the oldest holy communion.
Drumming is my middle name.
My drumming is always an experiment.
Sorry, no, I'm never satisfied with my drumming.
I have been drumming my whole life.
When I'm drumming, I'm not thinking about much.
I've always seen my drumming as lyrical anyway.
I studied the Ghanaian drums and bongo drumming.
Drumming was the only thing I was ever good at.
Stamina is the force that drives the drumming; it's not really a sprint.