MR

This is one of the most interesting videos - it's the first time when I really understand the way Smitty played the song.
I always thought that DSB's drum line is one of the most beautiful/hard to play rhythm lines ever...
Just watch that cymbal on the left!lol,damn hard to keep up with it.
Anyway,after seeing this I realized once again how great Smitty was,and still is.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORY92_nzGAY




P.S.The guy who recorded this vid posted this:

"Journey recorded that song in 1981. Soon after Steve Smith got tons of fan mail at Modern Drummer asking him how he played the song. It prompted him to make an instructional video explaining how he wrote & played it. NO! He is not playing the HH w/his foot & there are no flams on the toms! I watched the video & did exactly what he instructed, that's how I learned the song, straight from the man himself. This is EXACTLY how the song is played."

Who's the chick in the vid?

This video definitely shows the intricacies of that drum part and this guy really nails it. Cool.
I'm trying to teach myself the drums these days. Inspiring, though I'll never look like this gal


Gee, Steve Smith just ain't as good as Michael Baired...
PERRY, YOU IDIOT! How could you fire Smitty and replace him with friggin' Chris Partridge...???

Ugh.

Thanks for sharing this, cool.

Watch some of the other videos. Funny time capsules.

That was cool. How drummers can get each hand and foot to do something different is beyond me. LOL

Smitty's not just a drummer. He's an artist and his artistry elevated the Journey sound. I really miss him in the mix these days.

Journey's lucky to have had three of the best rock drummers of all time in their lineup.

Smitty's on a whole different level from Deen and Aynsley though, for sure.

NealIsGod wrote:Who's the chick in the vid?

Shiela E?

SusieP wrote:

NealIsGod wrote:Who's the chick in the vid?

Shiela E?

If they HAD to replace Smitty for ROR, Shiela woulda been a great choice. Great drummer. A lot better than... well, you know...

Baird must've been good as he played with all of these:
Air Supply, America, George Benson, Stephen Bishop, Michael Bolton, Peabo Bryson, Irene Cara, Cher, Joe Cocker, Natalie Cole, Neil Diamond, Celine Dion, Bob Dylan, Sheena Easton, Yvonne Elliman, Art Garfunkel, Hall & Oates, Ritchie Havens, Billy Idol, Julio Iglesias, Al Jarreau, Gladys Knight, Kris Kristofferson, Kenny Loggins, Manhattan Transfer, Barry Manilow, Ricky Martin, Richard Marx, Johnny Mathis, Bill Medley, Bette Midler, Eddie Money, Juice Newton, The Pointer Sisters, Kenny Rogers, Timothy B. Schmidt, Dan Seals, Rick Springfield, Barbara Streisand, Donna Summer, and many more.

But when compared to Smith??? no way, step away from the pipe.

He's close, but doesn't have it 100%. Steve doubles up on the ride cymbol in the final part. Steve also only uses 3 toms in the song. This guy uses about 4 or 5 from what I saw.

Steve gives some background to how he came up with the beat on his first set of instructional videos. Cool stuff.

Nice job by this guy, though!

Also interesting - I remember reading when Rod Morgenstein tried out for the ROR sessions, he learned DSB forwards and backwards, the way that Smitty played it. He shows up at rehearsal, and the boys tell him to play it different, make it his own. In a sense they were right to do this, otherwise there would be no reason to get rid of Smitty. He knew right then and there that his audition was done.

just some food for thought...

the drum part smitty played in DSB is quite simple compared to what he's playing these days

as a drummer, he's definitely one of my biggest influences. i know jazz is not everyone's gig, but if you ever listen to him now it's absolutely insane! even for a well-seasoned drummer, a few can mimic what he's playing---but forget playing it with the same finesse

chad

chad wrote:just some food for thought...

the drum part smitty played in DSB is quite simple compared to what he's playing these days

as a drummer, he's definitely one of my biggest influences. i know jazz is not everyone's gig, but if you ever listen to him now it's absolutely insane! even for a well-seasoned drummer, a few can mimic what he's playing---but forget playing it with the same finesse

chad

Word!

he is good. Guys that twirl drumsticks make me hot


PS...YAY...I made Groupie

Mike Baird (and Larire Londin) got the gig simply because they could play like a drum machine...a simple, repetitive beat. Nothing fancy, that might detract from Perry!! Did I just say that??

Steve Smith is also very down to earth. I interviewed him back in the early 90s for my college paper around one of the Vital Information projects. Echoing what everyone else has been saying - Smitty has only gotten better. He's one of the best drummers out there today. Period. Others may have some individual things on him, but for an all around, all-genre drummer, you'd be hard pressed to find someone who can rock out one minute and then power a big band the next.

You want more entertaining? Same guy doing Rush's "Show Don't Tell".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui4XlVM2 ... re=related

Or as it relates to me ... the Damn Yankees song "Coming of Age" (WARNING - he's NOT playing drums)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_ePGaQKUeY

Oh how I love Youtube sometimes.

If you think SS relished playing mindless rhythms as that … It was a learning experience for Steve. Another feather in his cap. Chad hit it on the nose.

StyxCollector wrote:You want more entertaining? Same guy doing Rush's "Show Don't Tell".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ui4XlVM2 ... re=related

I could watch shit like that all day long. I'd like to see him tackle something from 2112.

StyxCollector wrote:Or as it relates to me ... the Damn Yankees song "Coming of Age" (WARNING - he's NOT playing drums)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_ePGaQKUeY

He should stick to the drums. LOL!

Pretty cool.. thanks for posting.

Drummers have something I dont have.. coordination and talent.

How cool was that!? Smitty is da-bomb..just love him!

Thanks for posting that Laura, and the added post from the guy who posted the vid was special.

My dream would be to see Smitty and Deen play together at a Journey show.

Lady Luck wrote:That was cool. How drummers can get each hand and foot to do something different is beyond me. LOL

I agree. I have trouble with walking and chewing bubble gum!!! Ok, that's not entirely true, but I'm not nearly coordinated enough to do what drummers do.

Thanks, that was cool

I sure wish they could drag Smitty back into the band or at the very least let him record with the band and let Deen play the songs on the road. Smith's finesse is absolutely unparalleled. That vidoe was great.

Saint John wrote:I sure wish they could drag Smitty back into the band or at the very least let him record with the band and let Deen play the songs on the road. Smith's finesse is absolutely unparalleled. That vidoe was great.

Ditto on dis one.

Watching that video makes me feel even more uncoordinated than I already felt!

Actually DSB is one of the easiest Journey songs to play on the drums. Sorry...but it's true. But Smitty is a machine. He's at the top of his game now. Simply amazing to see live.