Moon was great. After his crazy (sometimes drunken sloppy) fills, he could always find the "1". I would have to go with Bonham, as he had the POWER and the FEEL that is unparalleled. Beyond those two, give me Bill Bruford or Steve Gadd.
I know there are tons of other drummers but I choose these 2 just because they are both pretty much considered to be the most influential rock drummers ever and there styles are so different. I'd probably have to go with Bonzo just because I'm a groove player. He changed the way rock drums were played and recorded forever. People have been chasing his sound for 30 years and to this day no one has really even come close.
That is a cool cat. I heard him tell a few stories last Christmas at a 24-hour benefit held at Second City Chicago. He's not a big Courtney Love fan.
bonham - he is my single biggest musical influence b/c of his approach to his instrument and his combination of manly brutal power and graceful precision. i like ginger baker too - toad gives moby dick a serious run for the money. he could rock like a hurricane.
Keith Moon is the greatest rock drummer of all time. I take him or Buddy Rich if I'm starting a band.
If Peart were in my band I would request that he ditch all the drums save for a kick, snare, tom (maybe two, if he asked nicely) and a floor tom.
And he would still kick butt. He always says that all drums revolve around the kick, snare and high hat and the only reason he has lots of drums/percussion is for different tones/sounds especially since Rush started out as a three-piece band. He plays a lot (not minimalistic) because of the nature of Rush's music and that drum style (busy) is appropriate. On the (very) few occasions where you can hear him play drums outside of Rush he doesn't "overplay". Now Keith Moon... that was one busy drummer.
Richard Hayward I know, you don't know who he is but he is the best drummer I have ever heard or seen but he gets no respect because he plays with another percussionist in Little Feat. The guy is a tireless, polyrhythmic machine.
He is definitely hillarious, and an incredibly gifted engineer and musician, but I have a hard time thinking of a more loathsome individual.
I went Bonham, because I thought the guy was the best drummer I ever heard when I was young. A couple of years later I started listening to Rush and have since changed my mind. Peart's gear is rather obsessive.
