"Who are your influences?"

Some would say that's a wide range of stuff, but the common theme:

If it's got tight drums, snappy bass, screamin' horns, and/or cuts a groove deep enough to swim in, count me in.

The bassist Jim Mayer and drummer Roger Guth who tour with Jimmy Buffett's band (believe it or not) are also sterling examples of a couple of guys who can cut such a groove. Set aside what you may think of Jimmy Buffett as a musician and have a listen to Jimmy's Feeding Frenzy live CD--you'll hear what I'm talking about. (I give credit to Cincinnati's screamin' trumpeter John Zappa for the phrase "groove deep enough to swim in.")

Like most drummers and bassists on the planet there were ten years of my life when the music world was divided into "Rush" and "Other." I'm over it now, though it was helpful in getting used to all sorts of odd time changes and syncopation. I still have all their CD's, but I no longer show up at the CD store on release day and I've really lost the taste for their colosseum concerts where the mix is painfully loud and you can't hear any details. Some might say this is a sign of aging.

Earliest drumming recollections included me hacking out to Blondie's Parallel Lines album (yes, vinyl!) with chopsticks on a pillow. I remember my brother getting really ticked when I hit a hole through that album's inner sleeve (which I was using a snare drum atop the pillow). Unlike most young drummers, I wasn't much of a pots and pans guy.

The first tune I played when I got my first drum kit was Asia's "Heat of the Moment." If you've heard the tune, you'll know why...it's a really easy song. I had to buy a $15 cowbell to play along properly. When I first got started, I thought Matt Frenette from Loverboy was the coolest guy on the planet, followed closely by Asia's Carl Palmer. They both did, after all, have so many drums. I'm over it now, and feeling much better.

Favorite drummers of today include Carter Beauford from Dave Matthews Band, Dan Tomlinson, tour drummer with Lyle Lovett (check him out on Live in Texas), Neil Peart of Rush (yeah, he's still good), and John Von Ohlen of the Blue Wisp Big Band in Cincinnati, OH. With respect to Von Ohlen, I will borrow a phrase from my drumming friend Curt Rekow and say, "Man, that guy is just a bundle of grooves."   Dave Weckl of Chick Corea's Electric band still amazes me, though I find the style a bit dizzying at times. I saw Weckl in a drum clinic at Gilley's in Dayton, OH in 1990. He's a technical brute--that polyrhythm stuff really blows my mind.

My favorite bassist is Tad Kinchla of Blues Traveler--who dislodged Geddy Lee of Rush from my top spot within about 20 minutes of seeing Blues Traveler perform live at the Chicago Theater in December of 2001. Tad is a MONSTER. There are a ton of other amazing bassists out there, too. One particularly influential bassist for me was a bleached-blonde guy who played in the hot "Summer Rhythms" band at Kings Island, OH around 1988 or 1989. He went by the stage name of "Tharen" and played a black Carvin bass. He was a wonderfully lively over-player, and had phenomenal licks and fills that made these otherwise-mundane 70's tunes really jump. Though I never really talked to him, his style really got me excited about playing bass. One Friday evening, I brought a video camera and taped all 4 Summer Rhythms sets with the camera zoomed in solely on his fretboard. I learned a lot studying those tapes--Cheap Entertainment's version of "Your Mamma Don't Dance" and "My Music" are filled with licks I lifted from Tharen. He's rumored to have gone on to be a student at the Berklee School of Music. Now that I've seen Blues Traveler live, I can at least associate this style with a name--Tad Kinchla's style has the same appealing elements.

John "the OX" Entwistle from The Who is also quite impressive. Stefan Lessard from Dave Matthews Band is outstanding, as are a number of other bassists from newer bands. On a lighter note, I find Billy Shehan (of David Lee Roth and Mr. Big fame) entertaining. You've gotta love a bassist who can break the "Al Gore" stiffness stereotype of bassists. Really, how many guys have you seen with enough personality and showmanship to integrate an electric drill into a bass solo? For that matter, how many rock bassists have enough personality to make a bass solo entertaining to the masses?