Nate buddy, you are in your pocket doing interviews. You pose really excellent questions that have your interviewees digging deep to answer. This is a great niche for you. Keep ‘ ‘em coming . Very educational. You’re good at this. 🥁😎
Wow, right around min24, he said something so profound, about the groove, then the fill, can be like changing radio channels, shows that he thinks musically, not just skillfully. This is so why I feel I have succeeded as a working drummer. On a rudimental level, I have only enough skills to get by (in my bag of tricks), but having a musical application of even minimal chops will be desirable. Very cool thought.
I am an acoustic rhythm guitar player mainly. These types of interviews that delve into philosophy a bit and perspective are so universal i really appreciate. Much due respect towards yall.
It's inspiring for me to listen to this interview. The quote "Be yourself" - I had never heard that before. I have heard the idea that we should be more like cats as they just are a cat and a cat doesn't think about being a cat, it is what it is and does not allow emotion or logic to get in the way whereas we, as humans, have the glorious burden of choice. I also like how he talked about how he could play a Dave Weckl part and was questioning whether it was him imitating DW or if it was really him - that is my interpretation of what he said, not a direct quote so I hope that I am not misinterpreting what he said. Thanks for sharing this interview.
I’m European like Benny too. I understand this feeling of applying Rudiments being overrated. On the other hand Cubans hear Clave literally everywhere in every music. I think it’s a matter of upbringing and vocabulary you learn when you start to play. In American and marching drumming culture rudiments are very important. They make also transcribing easier. Anyway, technically, for me there are probably just two rudiments. Singles and doubles.
Great interview with so many good points to ponder. (Back to studying rudiments for themselves, without worrying about “applying them to the kit” lol.)
Great conversation, I enjoyed it. I especially got drawn to Benny’s story about pot making: try to make a perfect pot, or just make lots of pots. I mix deep analysis with just hammering out thousands of hits, I think both are really valuable, but I spend more effort on the latter.
"Independence" hater! Haha I definitely agree that just churning out different permutations of rudiments, hoping to come up with something creative, doesn't seem very musical to me.
Went to a clinic here is UK couple of weeks ago with Virgil Donati and a young student asked why he practices 5-7 hours per day , he replied ‘ its my truth’ so I guess he’s saying to be authentic with himself that s what he needs to do , thought it was a great reply
Funny how in 23:11, Nate mentioned: "I'm not going to publish this anywhere" to ease Greg of anxiety of being cancelled when we are in fact watching this video. Nice tint of irony.
One of the best drummer interviews I heard: Smart questions - intelligent answers. Was following both individually before but this cooperation brings it to another level. Smoothly transitioning from hands on to philosophical questions and back to very practical aspects.... Thanks so much to both!
Nate, you asked some really in-depth interesting questions there my friend. Well done! Thank you for having Benny on. He is one of my absolute favorites. Really great interview!!! 🥁 🎶🙏
Great interview. Attended a Benny Greb clinic in the UK a few years ago. Apart from being an incredible drummer and musician, his presentation was full of insights and wisdom that could be applied to life in general.
Great to hear (another) one of the greats talking about a time when he hated his playing on recordings, adrenaline and nerves, etc., and then getting past it! Also his comment about a favorite teaching technique. If you have a hammer …
I've been to see Steve Gadd in clinic and of course had my mind blown, but Benny has the heart of an educator and the gift of communicating ideas that few others have. I learn way more from Benny's clinics than I did from Steve.
