Simon Phillips - Drum Solo

I started playing drums as a result of the flashy showmanship of the 80s, and subsequently my drumming has always been on the loud side, solid, but loud. And that has fit quite well with most of my efforts to-date. But lately I find myself concentrating on something I've always secretly appreciated but never spent much time experimenting with: Volume-Dynamic Drumming.  Volume-Dynamic Drumming is not boring or slow drumming, but it's the kind of drumming that is dynamically refined and can incorporate volume adjustments to an almost extreme level rather than the constant triple fortissimo found in so much of today's music. If you've ever listened to a good Classical composition, you'll understand what I mean.

Simon Phillips - Talks about playing with Toto, his drumming and some of the Toto drum patterns.

Simon Phillips is a great drummer to get into if your interested in Volume-Dynamic Drumming. He's got a sense of musicality that no-doubt has moved two or three generations of music fans. As the current drummer for Toto, Simon Phillips has also been able to carry on some of the best work of the late Jeff Porcaro. Although songs like "Rosanna" or "Africa" may not be first in your mind when it comes to hard to play, they are. The subtly quite nature of these patterns beguiles the difficulty of these drum beats and that's very cool. Unlike some of the pretentious showmanship of the 80's, these types of patterns and this Volume-Dynamic nature has a silent power that once you notice it, blows away all of that glitter and spandex.

What's really great about Simon is that he finds some creative ways to incorporate his drum patterns into odd time signatures like  6/8, 7/4 and 33/8. Counting odd time signatures is challenging enough, not to mention actually using them in something entertaining.

Simon Phillips - 33/8 Time Signature

Simon Phillips - 7/4 Time Signature

Growing up, my least favorite music was elevator music. You know that sort of wonky jazz you hear on your ride up to the cubicle in the sky. Don't get me wrong, I was a huge fan of jazz and funk, but smooth jazz or elevator music is always so melodramatic and over-processed. But one day I caught a glimpse of one the drummers actually playing one of these "wonky" songs and I was amazed. That drummer was Simon Phillips. I'll blame it on the poor-quality elevator speakers or the blaring of my cassette tape walk-man, but somehow on all of those long, elevator rides, i missed it. And I was missing out. From that day forward, elevator music took on a whole new meaning to me. No longer did I see it as cheesy or emotionally void, but something to truly savor in that one minute respite before the stress of the day. Little did I know that what I thought I didn't like, was the type of playing that I really appreciated. Now, the trick is in finding unique ways to place this type of drumming into situations where the average person would listen to it. I would say that both Jeff Porcaro and Simon Phillips have succeed in just that. I think I'm going to have to bust out my Toto Live In Amsterdam HD-DVD now.

Simon Phillips w/ his band Protocol

This guy is single-handedly responsible for filling more elevators with some of the sweetest music in the world. If you've ridden in an elevator in the last 30 years, you've more than likely heard Simon on drums.

This following video is not for those of you who think this is just banging around on a drum.
For the rest of you: WOW! Am I right?

Inspiring Simon: "More than talent and hard work... it takes your life."

Simon Phillips 30th Anniversary Limited Kit and Snare Drum - Maple and bubinga

You can find out more about Simon Phillips, look at his extensive discography and read his forums at: www.simon-phillips.com