Drum Teacher Reaction: Tool - Rosetta Stoned // JOHNKEW Drum Cover (2021 Reaction) 

Hi Andrew - thanks for the reaction! This is the first reaction video I've seen for one of my covers, and I was probably more nervous watching this than I was recording the original video. So thanks for being kind :) I recorded this in a drum studio I used to rent (now I have a home studio). Yeah the production was crazy - I had a friend recording video with a handheld, a rotating cam in front, and four other stationary cameras. It took days to edit the video. Thankfully, I had help with the audio from a guy I work with in England (Hurt Records), who did the audio engineering (12 mics on the drums, and the electronic pads, which were midi input). One of his guys also did the graphics for the intro. In terms of mindset, I absolutely agree that calm is the only way to go for a song like this. By the time of the recording, I had practiced the song countless hours, and I knew I had it, so I just tried to enjoy myself. It's still nerve-racking tough when all of the cameras are rolling. You can see me trying to calm myself at places in the video with slow breathing. And I'm glad to see from the comments that most people get the stick tricks. I rarely use them (I'm not a flashy guy at all), but they just felt perfect at that spot in the song as a celebration for making it past that insane polyrhythm part. I'm glad I found your channel - cheers!

John is the only one imho who is playing Tool songs almost as good as Danny. Never seen better Tool covers.

the decelerating roll will never stop giving me chills, utter brilliance

I've been subbed to John for a long time. He fully transcribed this song, which took him months. This song, a massive portion of it doesn't have a single repeating measure. The amount of tiny details and nuance this song contains is absurd. I remember when this came out it felt like someone climbing Everest for the first time or something. There's almost no good footage of this song being played by Danny Carey. The stick tricks seem just like an expression of joy and triumph in the face of this massively complicated song.

stick tricks at that point in the song... absolutely! Tastefully is always hype

John's Tool covers give us an idea how much superb Danny Carey drumming is.It's easy to see what Danny plays cause from the videos of tool that exist you can't see nothing so John give us all these huge info for what Danny does on the kit in almost a big amount of songs of Tool. Any drummer who like to cover Tool must see John's videos to achieve the perfection in his covers.Plays amazingly good and detailed perfect. Is a guide for sure!!❤️❤️❤️

This guy covers tool so well.

Those tricks are perfect accentuations of this fire

The day after John Kew posted this I wrote the following comment: 'Arise Sir John, you have conquered your Everest.' He gave it a 'like' ha ha

There is not a lot of drum cams of Danny so watching covers is a good way to see how amazing he is, a real master of his craft.

in case you were wondering, that last section was a 3 over 5 over 7 polyrhythm

There is none better in the cover game! When he hits the zone and starts flipping sticks it damn near brings a tear!

If I got as far as John into Rosetta Stoned without making any mistakes like he did, I’ll be doing every stick trick imaginable!

The occasional stick trick never hurt nobody, just don't' overdo it

Danny Carey plays a lot of Tool songs with his snares of. Every drummer should try it sometime, gives a really nice new view on a song or how to approach a song. Have a great day everybody!

This guy fuckin nailed it. Tone and performance. Impressive.

John is a beast!!!!! I watch all his videos.

I’ve been learning those middle/end polymeters for about 10 years now. I’m somewhat confident that I’ll get it right before I die.

John does a breakdown of this song, about how he went about learning it

When you're slaying a Tool song that hard stick tricks are always welcome. Just don't drop the stick

This song is extremely difficult to play especially for someone like me that is not a drummer.

Thanks, John. And thanks, Andy. I’m still blown away by this video. I have everything I need to play along but the energy. But it’s so cool to turn someone on to someone else and know that they enjoyed it.

I was a pearl drum tech in Montreal and my boss was an amazing 80s style drummer and he loved doing stick tricks and I became a fan cause of him

i though this was a drumeo at first, and was very confused how he just nailed it. Then I was like oh he is just good at covering the song. Great job.

John Kew is Dannys apprentice. Let´s see some more reactions to his videos!

This is so epic that you look at the covers out there, e cool to be in something like this, the drummer in here is epic and really earned his reputation here, his drumming is so enormously kickers, bafass everything. You rock brother

I've been subscribed to this guy forever, its nice to see him get some recognition. I don't know if he still does it but his first job is/was as an archeologist. Thanks for this video, new subscriber here

Jeebus, that ending almost makes me cry!! Masters!!!

Very well played this guy has a cool style and it looks effortless

JohnKew is the man!! Nice choice of footage...if you can't go official, this is the very next best thing. Well worth a dive into his channel...not only does he play covers, he dissects the hell out of everything, and hits it in one take. Extreme talent 🤘🤘

Hes cover on The Grunge is insane

I like occasional stick tricks. He definitely gets to do them after that hard section lol

When done well a big yes to stick tricks.

John Kew does an impeccable cover of Tool's Invincible. It was that good it bought me to tear's.

ugh johnkew such a stud

That was burly! Dude has his Tool chops down, I'd be stoked to see what other crazy songs he has mastered. Very impressive 👏👌👍

Oh man, you gotta check out his Tool - Invincible cover. Some really creative things he does!

Johnkew...is very GOOD !!!

John is a hell of a drummer, and... He is *cough * self-taught *cough*. For real. But aside of his masterful cover, can we please take notice of how out-of-this-world are the polirythms in this song? I mean, these "eastern" sounding parts are so intricate and last for so long that my brain melts just watching it. Danny is a master. Good video Andrew, as always!

For me, stick tricks are appropriate when placed appropriately. This song builds and builds and the stick flips right as it crashes over itself fits the vibe of the song very well. To me it signales that John wasn't simply playing a tune but living in and feeling the music.

Just wanted to say he's a super humble guy as well, I had a chat with him a couple years ago, and it was him who really opened my eyes to my materialistic ego Dream of fame and fortune as a famous band.. Mind you I'd still love being a front front man for one world tour. But when asked why he isn't well known, or in a popular band. He replied with his what hid profession is. (Blew me away) And that music was his passion. Music is a passion, an artistic creation, a universal language that heals, no matter what state of being. The second you sign a contract, you're now obligated to fulfill what ever it was you agreed on.. 5 albums in 10 years... touring almost daily, you HAVE to show up. It then becomes your job, eventually one you will hate. it's why drugs, sex and alcohol are so prevalent. You become miserable, and hate what you're doing. so thanks John!!! Still waiting for 7empest.... Been almost 3 years now.... this is unacceptable... ;)

Best Tool song ever imo. 🤘 I was blown away the first time I heard it.

Rosetta Stoned is a fukking masterpiece

Oh we already know this is going to be 🔥

Have you seen John's cover of "Invincible"? Absolutely mind blowing 🤯!!

That look at 2:51 :D Always a pleasure to watch your reactions. :) (this guy has amazing cover of Tool - Invincible as well, actually that's how I found his channel last summer, another win for RU-vid algorithm) **edit** Also his channel description is great: "Drummer archaeologist. I know, weird combination." And his name is John Willams. xD

Yeaaa especially when you can pull some stick tricks out when you're in over 7min into a Tool song with no mistakes and it's spot on, tasty👌

Ok so I just switched over from youtube music to youtube for this video just to comment this: You are the FIRST reaction channel I have seen to actually give a like to the video they are reacting to, let alone subscribe to the channel! THE FIRST! I have always thought how weird it was that reaction channels do this and then ask or even beg their viewers to do the same with their reaction video. Of course I still like their reaction if it was good - and I don't mean they have to like the original content, I mean a quality reaction consisting of well communicated emotional responses and maybe even a mindful discussion of the material - but I hope that more reaction channels give a like if they pause a video and go "Wow, this is amazing!" Subscribing to a channel your audience has requested is actually genius! I suggest doing a reaction to a new video as soon as it comes out! I can vouch for a johnkew Tool cover, they are always amazing! Loved your reaction! I also love that johnkew actually responded ;)

Stick tricks yes or no? Seemed to add another level in this very video. If you've got the skill and confidence then ABSOLUTELY

Well done. Great sound. Great song. Stck tricks all the way. Hardest working man on the stage stuck back there, can't jump around and interact with fans as much, stick tricks can be a great attention getter. How much for a seat behind the drummer? They should do that!😁

This is amazing! Great drumming plus great sounding!!! 👌🏼

11 minutes onwards the octopus dance is real

His cover of Invincible is my favourite. Plus he looks more like Hugh Jackman with each video... His strength and style seem very similar to Danny's (in my amateur view). Considering Tool don't release pro-shoot videos this is as close as we'll get to "seeing it played" as it was written.

Well yeah stick tricks. Did you see your face when he did it. That’s the wow factor!!!

Also I love your graphics!! 😂

Everyone needs to go watch Delta Empire play ticks and leeches.... crazy good

Yay for stick tricks, but only if you're confortably jamming like he is hahah

Delta Empire does great covers of metal songs too, he is the best in my opinion

One of my favorite drummers is Morgan Rose of Sevendust. He is not just an amazing drummer but puts on a display as he shows off his skills. So stick tricks? Thumbs up.

John Q nailed it. Danny is the best drummer in the world now that Neil has passed💯🤘

Note to note perfection

Desde que comienza hasta que acaba la batería está en llamas, sin duda se nota que el baterista de tool estudio música

Stick tricks ? Live: Damn straight. Any other occasion: leave it out back in a shallow grave.

He's a beast

Late commenter, i hate stick tricks, i dont really like obnoxious showmanship in general, however, i know it impresses an audiance and is indeed a skill in its own right. This guy is a monster and absolutely killed this cover 👏

You can also find Danny Carey doing a play along version while performing at demonstration at a school or something.

I personally like stick tricks (to a point). feel like they add a sense of nerve or urgency to the playthrough since you need to be able to execute the trick both correctly, and with good speed to not hiccup the actual song.

Stick tricks should be done like double bass in a tool song...tastefully, and Johnkew does add some tasteful flair with the stick tricks he throws in during the brief part of the track.

Mint. 👌

Speaking of stick tricks: Johanne James from Threshold is phenomenal and really entertaining to watch!

Holy shite is he good.

Sticktricks, big YAY.

Stick tricks are always a yes

It’s all good. I don’t know the Tool song either. I first heard it watching this video and I haven’t bothered to listen to the original. I just watch this video. 😁 Thanks for checking it out.

G’day from across the ditch again Andrew. Awesome reaction as always. As a massive tool fan you need to graduate to Lost Keys/Rosetta Stoned. John Kew is great but lets talk about the great DC and the writing of this. Not many if any (Scribe reference lol) can do this. The lyrics are outstanding and a comedic reference to Maynards friend who gets high on LSD and thinks he gets get abducted. PS if you listen to the Tool version you need to do Lost Keys first.

While I couldn't do it, this looks like a really fun song to play as a drummer

I had no idea that Hamish Blake was this good, haha!

HE is my drum hero.

Stick tricks, yay. Exactly. Its not bragging if you can do it

He's the only one who can make Danny Carey's covers. In the right corner, at the beginning of the video, there is a link to the "deconstruction" of the song. A drummer should watch how much work you need to make a cover at this incredibile level. In that video you can find the answer to the question about how to prepare a cover.

Amazing

Love to hear your thoughts on Jinjer...I Speak Astronomy . The texture & production on this...

I watch his version of Rosetta Stoned about 4 times a week

You got a Sub, my friend.

It's almost like he does the stick flip to maintain timing.

I'm really surprised this guy isn't familiar with Danny "The Octopus" Carey.

I always have the impression that he tries to go note for note on his tool covers, it's really absurd...

This is SPOT ON ..CHECK OUT TOOL .... INVINCIBLE BY HIM !

I noticed that you also react on cover drummer.. I suggest you to see AAXplosion (mostly covering Dream Theater dan Haken) and Bunga Bangsa (a female drummer covering Dream Theater)

I still have not watched the Tool video of this. I like this version. Watch this shit! Stick flips and awesome drumming. Yeah, stick tricks when you’re John Kew playing a Tool song.

If Carey ever wants to retire John Kew can continue his legacy.

a lot of people can play what Danny writes. But nobody writes like Danny.

Please check out the cover to "ticks and leeches" by this guy

Stick tricks, joJo Mayer, Thomas Lang.

Danny says the drummer is there to play music, too. Not to just keep time🤙

What I wanna see is Danny Carey reacting to JohnKew

Thank you very much for video and reactions! I can recommend a very good drummer- Richard Chrysty ! Best regards Alex

If you would want to look at a more modern drummer whom I think is great definitely check out Vic Firths drum can of Daniel Platzman playing Believer

Legion Inoculant is an interesting soundscape

A bunch of those views were me!🤣