Drummer Ginger Baker was one of the 1st great rock drummers of the rock genre. Baker had a long and distinguished career but was best known as a part of the great power trio, Cream, with guitarist/vocalist  Eric Clapton and vocalist/bassist Jack Bruce. (More on Cream later).  Peter Edward Baker was born in  Lewisham, London in 1939. With his red hair, he was nicknamed “Ginger” and became interested in drumset and especially traditional and dixieland jazz. After playing in a few early bands, Baker joined the British blues scene w ..read more

     Neil Peart (1952-2020)is considered to be one of the all-time greats of rock drumming and for many reasons. breakdown of Peart’s style here To fully understand the musicianship of Neil Peart, we must see how he and his legendary band Rush evolved.           Rush (1968-present) formed in 1968 when guitarist Alex Lifeson met bassist/vocalist/keyboardist Geddy Lee and drummer John Rutsey. Inspired by Cream, Led Zeppelin, and The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Rush was manufactured in the “power trio” mold. The band spent their first five years playin ..read more

Levon Helm - Master Musician and drummer of The Band   Levon Helm Levon Helm wore many musical hats throughout his  career, including multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, singer, actor, and producer. Levon was best know as the drummer and (one of many talented) vocalist in the iconic musical group know as The Band. Levon was easily one of the most musical drummers to ever play. But what musical qualities did he possess and how did he develop such strong musicianship?  Levon’s approach to music first and foremost came from his deep, deep blues and country roots growing up in the ..read more

Drummer Taylor Hawkins  Taylor Hawkins (1972-2022) was born in Dallas, Texas but his family moved to Laguna Beach where he began playing drumset at an early age. Taylor was an intense drum student from the beginning, absorbing the drumming styles of John Bonham, Stewart Copeland, Neal Peart, and Phil Collins. Taylor was also influenced by some other hard rocking drummers such as Chad Smith, Steven Adler, and Stephen Perkins of the band Janes Addiction.  By freely mixing the styles of classic rock, progressive rock, metal, and alternative styled drummers, Taylor created a style that r ..read more

       The Roots           From their 1993 debut album Organix, to their first major label release of 1995’s Do You Want More?!!??!, The Roots began to push the musical boundaries of contemporary hip-hop. They achieved platinum and gold album and received a number of Grammy Awards. After The Roots gained a nightly nationwide audience, as the house band for TV host Jimmy Fallon, they continue to challenge listeners with their original music that broadened the rap and hip hop genre. They expanded the ..read more

          Foo Fighters (1994-present) are an American band from Seattle (now an L.A. band) that was formed by ex-Nirvana drummer Dave Grohl in 1994. Foo Fighters almost didn’t happen because Grohl had considered joining Pearl Jam and then almost joined Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Grohl had written countless songs during his tenure with Nirvana but suppressed his urge to record them while in awe of his then bandleader, Kurt Cobain. As the only official member, Grohl formed The Foo Fighters and released the 1995 self-titled Foo Fighters. Besides the guitar part on ..read more

Led Zeppelin – Part II      This Led Zeppelin- Part II post shows that things happened very quickly for Led Zeppelin. We are now moving into the period where Led Zeppelin will establish itself as one of (if not the) biggest rock bands in the world! The much anticipated release of Led Zeppelin II meant there was now pressure for the band to meet growing expectations to equal or surpass their highly successful debut album Led Zeppelin I.  By this time, Led Zeppelin had completed many tours of America and Europe. Word had spread that the band and its entourage were wild and ..read more

                                            “The Imbalanced History of Rock and Roll”                                                by DJ’s/Podcasters Ray Koob and Markus Goldman   This podcast that was created to discuss the humongous tree of music known as Rock and Roll. There are thousands of branches. The history is fuzzy, scattered, known and unknown. There ..read more

           Coldplay (1996-present) is a very successful (post-Britpop) band that formed in 1996. Their lineup consists of vocalist/keyboardist Chris Martin, guitarist Jonny Buckland, bassist Guy Berryman, and drummer Will Champion. They first released an EP, Brothers and Sisters, and then signed to Parlophone Records. They next released another EP, The Blue Room. This laid the groundwork for their 2000 debut album Parachutes and their hit single, “Yellow.” Parachutes went to number one in England and number fifty-one in America. The album had an alternative roc ..read more

Tom Petty (1950-2017) and The Heartbreakers (1976-2017)             Tom Petty was a singer/songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer, and actor from Gainesville, Florida born in 1950. Petty began playing music in high school and formed a band called The Sundowners, who later became The Epics. By 1971, that band evolved into Mudcrutch, featuring (future Heartbreakers) guitarist Mike Campbell and keyboardist Benmont Tench. Mudcrutch moved to Los Angeles but called it quits after struggling to make an impact. Petty continued to promote his songs and lande ..read more