Eric,....since you "dragged" my name into this provocative discussion, let me say my 5 cents worth.
To me it's not about what genre a drummer plays but how well he plays his specialty. It's about how well you have mastered your craft. It's also about how versatile, adaptable and even original you can be.
At the end of the day, it is about how "employable" you are and whether other musicians would want to use you in their gigs.
You may say that I am a jazz specialist but you don't know me. Having been around the scene since the 60s (with career breaks in between), I have done pop, rock, hard rock and even a bit of metal. I feel I can still do some of these rock gigs today..provided I do not have to look like an overaged,overweight leather clad long haired freak !! In reality, I doubt if I can keep it up.
But seriously, as one gets older, one begins to have a different perspective of drumming..or anything in life.. I suppose. There is no way I can replicate the energy and fire of my youth but I can still recall the emotions. There is no way I can keep up a double bass routine for any length of time without getting cramps... or sustain the energy of a hard driving rock gig for 3 sets ! But for a song or two..OK lah.
I would probably come bottom few in a speed drumming contest (1200 bass strokes a min !!??) but what the heck. I still get called to play with some of the best musos in town and get paid good money for it ... without the need to rehearse (esp jazz gigs). And surprisingly there is still an occasional demand for drummers to play music from the 60's and 70's...and look the vintage !
The point is.. as a drummer, you must be able to contribute meaningfully to the music and the ensemble you are with. You have to be able to play with the right feel and dynamics in any given situation. You have to make the music as well as the rest of the band feel good. In short, you really have to know your stuff. The other musicians don't give a shit how many rudiments you know or how fast you can execute a double bass drum roll.
Being able to perform a lot of fancy licks and such will not get you any gigs if you have no feel for the music...a trite observation you may say, but this is true of many drummers out there. Many either can't play...and many also overplay.
I have little time for drum competitions and the like. I am also not impressed by fierce technique for technique's sake. What matters to me is whether a drummer can contribute to the music, and not wanting to be the centre of attraction all the time. Some drummers can do both...good for them.
Because drummers do not have to contend with melodies, pitch, harmonics, lyrics, and such, they may feel a need to compensate as musicians...but honestly, very few people would pay to see or hear a drum solo..and fewer would pay for music that is drums dominated. Few drummers become millionaires playing drums...compared with singers and other instrumentalists. Hence drummers do develop a complex sometimes...and feel the need to unite and share a herd instinct.
Many of the postings we get here is a reflection of this innate insecurity of drummers as a community. Sorry but true.
Drums are essential to the popular music of today...but be wary of drum programming and machines. Drummers are increasingly phased out of many live pop gigs because they can be substituted by machine programs. If 2 & 4 backbeats are all you do...then you can be in danger of extinction. A great portion of the drums in today's music are expressed by machines programmed by keyboard players ! Bassists are beginning to feel the pinch too.
Hotels and clubs are cutting out drummers to save cost and space...check it out !! Many audiences do not mind the drum machine in the back ground as long as the singer is sexy and attractive. Hotel lounges are cutting out the drummers to reduce the volume of the music played...perceptions run deep.
That's probably why I am playing more jazz these days...I seldom get gigs playing pop and rock (not decent paying ones anyway). At least they haven't figured out ..yet..how to replace the jazz drummer by a machine.
