Hey man, heres a question for you. If you and Gene swapped jobs for a day and you were in SYL, what songs would you love to play. Maybe a silly question dunno!

Hey man, heres a question for you. If you and Gene swapped jobs for a day and you were in SYL, what songs would you love to play. Maybe a silly question dunno!

Cool question bro......

I would say, Oh My Fucking God, Aftermath, Rape song and Detox of course ! Gene writes really cool drum parts and they would be a blast to play.

Sorry I took a while to answer this but I was away for family matters the past few days and this whole Dimebag Darrell thing has thrown me for a loop !!! Very sad days for metal....

Hey man, heres a question for you. If you and Gene swapped jobs for a day and you were in SYL, what songs would you love to play. Maybe a silly question dunno!

Cool question bro......

I would say, Oh My Fucking God, Aftermath, Rape song and Detox of course ! Gene writes really cool drum parts and they would be a blast to play.

Sorry I took a while to answer this but I was away for family matters the past few days and this whole Dimebag Darrell thing has thrown me for a loop !!! Very sad days for metal....

that was a very good question indeed

Hey Ryan, this is by no means an insult to your playing, but do you (or would you) find it a daunting task to reproduce the same things a legend such as Hoglan has done? I say this because I have been drumming for the better part of two years now, and whenever I attempt to do anything by Hoglan or, for instance, Lombardo, I find myself winded and frustrated after a few songs. I was just wondering if even you, an obviously accomplished drummer, still had these bouts of "fuck this!" every once in awhile. Thanks man!

Hey Ryan, this is by no means an insult to your playing, but do you (or would you) find it a daunting task to reproduce the same things a legend such as Hoglan has done? I say this because I have been drumming for the better part of two years now, and whenever I attempt to do anything by Hoglan or, for instance, Lombardo, I find myself winded and frustrated after a few songs. I was just wondering if even you, an obviously accomplished drummer, still had these bouts of "fuck this!" every once in awhile. Thanks man!

Good question as well bro......

Yup, there are lot's of parts that can definitley be hard to play that Gene has made up. I've been drumming for the better part of 15 years (at a high level) or 20 years overall. I've learnt how to play several styles of drumming not just metal and this has helped me along the way as a drummer. I find the same thing though..... Gene has trained himself to drum some insane stuff over a long period of time. I myself would not be able to play a full SYL set of crazy shit cuz I have never trained myself to be in a situation like that. In my ex-band God Awakens Petrified I would definitely play some extreme stuff thru our set but it would be mixed up with Jazz-Fusion/metal drumming mixed with heavy groove stuff as well. I have a different approach to drumming than Gene does and that's a good thing for any drummer....try to have your own identity. Gene definitely has that ! I like to think the same about myself, thru the many different bands and sessions I've been involved in thru the years as well.

There is lot's of stuff that Gene does that I right out can't play and there is lot's of stuff that Gene plays that I have no problem playing at all. I don't get frustrated if I can't play something he plays.....I get challenged and will learn how to play something he can do. It's all practice. You CAN train yourself to do anything with dedication and practice.

So to answer your question correctly, YES I do and would find it a daunting task to learn many of Gene's parts but I WILL learn them and play them if I want to or if I have the desire to. Practice makes perfect and with hard work I believe you can pull anything off. I have the highest respect for Gene in what he can do and what he has done for the metal community of drumming. Learning his parts are fun and it is an accomplishment most of the time, to learn his crazy drum parts ! Gene kick's ass and it's a pleasure to know such an awesome drummer and to listen and watch him play !

Hey man, heres a question for you. If you and Gene swapped jobs for a day and you were in SYL, what songs would you love to play. Maybe a silly question dunno!

Cool question bro......

I would say, Oh My Fucking God, Aftermath, Rape song and Detox of course ! Gene writes really cool drum parts and they would be a blast to play.

Sorry I took a while to answer this but I was away for family matters the past few days and this whole Dimebag Darrell thing has thrown me for a loop !!! Very sad days for metal....

Hey no probs man. Totally agree about the Dimebag thing, its just shocking. I picked up guitar because Dime was such an inspiration and of course tried (and failed) to play his stuff.

Wait to hear RYAN on the LALU record ot come in March 2005 ... Insane drumming ... especially on "potboy" ah ah ah poor Ryan ... He loved this song !!!

Geoff

Holy shit, Geoff, that new avatar of your's is headbanging, I'm listening to the Beatles, and it fits!

Hey Ryan, this is by no means an insult to your playing, but do you (or would you) find it a daunting task to reproduce the same things a legend such as Hoglan has done? I say this because I have been drumming for the better part of two years now, and whenever I attempt to do anything by Hoglan or, for instance, Lombardo, I find myself winded and frustrated after a few songs. I was just wondering if even you, an obviously accomplished drummer, still had these bouts of "fuck this!" every once in awhile. Thanks man!

Good question as well bro......

Yup, there are lot's of parts that can definitley be hard to play that Gene has made up. I've been drumming for the better part of 15 years (at a high level) or 20 years overall. I've learnt how to play several styles of drumming not just metal and this has helped me along the way as a drummer. I find the same thing though..... Gene has trained himself to drum some insane stuff over a long period of time. I myself would not be able to play a full SYL set of crazy shit cuz I have never trained myself to be in a situation like that. In my ex-band God Awakens Petrified I would definitely play some extreme stuff thru our set but it would be mixed up with Jazz-Fusion/metal drumming mixed with heavy groove stuff as well. I have a different approach to drumming than Gene does and that's a good thing for any drummer....try to have your own identity. Gene definitely has that ! I like to think the same about myself, thru the many different bands and sessions I've been involved in thru the years as well.

There is lot's of stuff that Gene does that I right out can't play and there is lot's of stuff that Gene plays that I have no problem playing at all. I don't get frustrated if I can't play something he plays.....I get challenged and will learn how to play something he can do. It's all practice. You CAN train yourself to do anything with dedication and practice.

So to answer your question correctly, YES I do and would find it a daunting task to learn many of Gene's parts but I WILL learn them and play them if I want to or if I have the desire to. Practice makes perfect and with hard work I believe you can pull anything off. I have the highest respect for Gene in what he can do and what he has done for the metal community of drumming. Learning his parts are fun and it is an accomplishment most of the time, to learn his crazy drum parts ! Gene kick's ass and it's a pleasure to know such an awesome drummer and to listen and watch him play !

First off, thanks for the quick response.

Second, I agree with you about Gene, I have great respect for him. I always have, but in the course of attempting things he has done, it's only made that respect grow. I've got certain parts down, but others I feel like my abilities have not been tweaked enough to do just yet. I practice as much as humanly possible (it varies from daily to just on the weekends), and I have definetly found that since I first started about two years ago, I can play longer, faster, and with more concentration. I have no training besides what I pick up from the music I listen to, and comments from drummers such as yourself who are nice enough to lend an ear (or pair of eyes in this case) to an aspiring drummer. I know I have a long way to go. Sometimes getting stuck on something you REALLY want to learn can be the most frustrating thing, and it's somewhat comforting to know that seasoned drummers such as yourself can still wind up in those situations, although i'm sure you have a far easier time, due to experience.


Oh, and one other thing i've been wondering and i'm not sure if it's been asked here or not (sorry if it has), but have you ever had any professional training, or are you all self-taught? I ask because I sometimes worry that I may need training, or that it wouldn't hurt at least, because I am serious about being a drummer as a possible occupation, and I want to do anything to further my chances in this regard. Thanks again man, I appreciate it.

Oh, and one other thing i've been wondering and i'm not sure if it's been asked here or not (sorry if it has), but have you ever had any professional training, or are you all self-taught? I ask because I sometimes worry that I may need training, or that it wouldn't hurt at least, because I am serious about being a drummer as a possible occupation, and I want to do anything to further my chances in this regard. Thanks again man, I appreciate it.

I had one year of drum lessons. I took them when I was about 10 years old, otherwise I've been self-taught. My teacher taught me the very important stuff of drumming. How to hold your stick's, use your feet, count to a click, the basic drum beats, LEARN YOUR RUDIMENTS and to be versatile, to be open to any style of music and learn as many different types of drumming as possible. All these thing's helped me in a HUGE way.

The main thing I would suggest for someone like yourself starting out on drumming is....Learn how to walk before you run. I know it's cool playing fast stuff like what Gene or Lombardo are doing but don't forget your basics.....TRUST ME !!!! Alot of the time it can be alot more difficult to play easy thing's at a slow pace on precise time to a click. It's important to know rudiments as it is just important to know how to keep great time with or without a click, everything else, like speed, will come naturally in time. Start slow and work it to being fast and you will be amazed with the results. You'll never get hired for a professional gig if you know one style of drumming or if your timing sucks or you can't play to a click. All the different styles of session work I do is to a click track, all the producers I've worked with want a click track for the drumming, ect... It all goes hand in hand.

Just alittle advice from some personal experiences. MOST of all.....have FUN bro ! That's what music is all about in the first place. It's a beautiful gift to be able to play any instrument. Don't get frustrated....be patient, take thing's a step at a time and you'll be doing stuff you thought you could never do. Good luck bro !

Maybe this is OT, but I want to say that you're great Ryan!!
You are so kind and available to answer at all the questions we write on this forum!! It's quite unbeliavable!!

Every time I read one of your answers to our questions, I can clearly feel the love and the passion you put into drumming and into drum related stuff.
I love it.
It makes the passion for drumming grow inside me!!

THAKS Ryan. THANKS A LOT.

You're a great musician and I'm pretty sure (even if I don't know you personally) that you're a great man too.
Dev couldn't make a better choice!!


X Hog & ForceFed: hey guys, great questions!!

well ryan i am also a drummer whos been playin for 5 yrs and can totally relate to what you said about genes drumming. Our band has played consequence and all hail the new flesh live and they gave me quite a work out. i actually feel that my style is somewhat similar to genes which may have helped with the learning of his parts. By the way i just wanted to say again that you are one of the coolest, most down to earth guys and have i have so much respect and admiration for all the time and effort you put in with your fans. You sincerely rock out hard!

Thanks for the kind words Spanky and Olive ! I'm flattered with your replies and everyone else's replies and support that I've recieved over the last couple of years while playing with the DTB. You guy's, the fans are very important to our careers. You guy's make it happen for Dev and the rest of us. I'm sure I can speak for everyone in the DTB that we are VERY appreciative of every fan that supports us. I am more than proud to answer any of your questions whenever I can. The bottom line is that I (DTB included) want to come across as just another one of your bro's and make awesome music for you guy's, I would never want to turn into a fuckhead rockstar. I'm the same at live show's when we are on the road. If I'm around, come up and say "Wassup", have a beer with me.....it's all good. What I do on the forums (answering your questions, when I have time) is the least I can do. You all RULE !

Thanks again for the support and kind words....

Oh, and one other thing i've been wondering and i'm not sure if it's been asked here or not (sorry if it has), but have you ever had any professional training, or are you all self-taught? I ask because I sometimes worry that I may need training, or that it wouldn't hurt at least, because I am serious about being a drummer as a possible occupation, and I want to do anything to further my chances in this regard. Thanks again man, I appreciate it.

I had one year of drum lessons. I took them when I was about 10 years old, otherwise I've been self-taught. My teacher taught me the very important stuff of drumming. How to hold your stick's, use your feet, count to a click, the basic drum beats, LEARN YOUR RUDIMENTS and to be versatile, to be open to any style of music and learn as many different types of drumming as possible. All these thing's helped me in a HUGE way.

The main thing I would suggest for someone like yourself starting out on drumming is....Learn how to walk before you run. I know it's cool playing fast stuff like what Gene or Lombardo are doing but don't forget your basics.....TRUST ME !!!! Alot of the time it can be alot more difficult to play easy thing's at a slow pace on precise time to a click. It's important to know rudiments as it is just important to know how to keep great time with or without a click, everything else, like speed, will come naturally in time. Start slow and work it to being fast and you will be amazed with the results. You'll never get hired for a professional gig if you know one style of drumming or if your timing sucks or you can't play to a click. All the different styles of session work I do is to a click track, all the producers I've worked with want a click track for the drumming, ect... It all goes hand in hand.

Just alittle advice from some personal experiences. MOST of all.....have FUN bro ! That's what music is all about in the first place. It's a beautiful gift to be able to play any instrument. Don't get frustrated....be patient, take thing's a step at a time and you'll be doing stuff you thought you could never do. Good luck bro !

Ahhh, I always felt that I may have been going too fast. I SORTA know the rudiments, and I am very open to any type of drumming that I come across, but there's a difference between being open and actually taking the time to learn. I feel like my basics do need some brushing up on, so that's why I think some training might be good. And that year of training you had sounds like it did alot of good to hone your basic skills, build a foundation and all that...I will definetly look into it now. And yes, I do it because I love it, i've wanted to be a drummer for a long time now, ever since I heard my first Rush album and was blown away by Neil Peart. It's the funnest thing in the world to me, getting behind a kit and just playing, it's like therapy too, relieves alot of stress. I'm sure you know the feeling. Again, thanks for taking the time to give some good advice, it's definetly steering me in the right direction.

Amen forcefed. When im playing drums, especially live, im in my own little world and couldnt be in better state of mind. Its like my daily fix. And Ryan is once again absolutely right. Practice makes perfect. I set my self a challenge when i first started drums, that i would never put myself down or let someone else's comments stand in my way and would never say something is too hard to play or unachievable. Being aware that theres obviously drum parts that i would have to practice non-stop, i still maintained the frame of mind that is was in fact possible to achieve. I sincerely believe that this way of thinking has allowed me to be the best drummer i can be, without setting myself boundaries and parameters that would restrict me. Well thats my 2 cents worth!