It’s Never Been a Better Time to Be a Drummer
Four of the world’s biggest rock bands just lost their drummers
I think I’m a pretty good drummer. I started as a child and played in “real bands” that toured the world and released albums on major and non-major labels from age 22 to 36. Then I moved from Seattle to New York and started working at a record label. These days, I only play once or twice a year with friends in other cities. The only drums in my apartment are bouncy electronic pads that feel more like a video game than an instrument.
I rarely wish I were still in a band. But lately, I’ve started to think: it’s never been a better time to be a drummer.
On March 20, Guns N’ Roses posted on Facebook: Welcoming Isaac Carpenter as the new drummer of Guns N’ Roses. I already knew about Isaac’s new gig from a few friends. He’s an incredible drummer that I know from my Seattle days, and I was thrilled for him. Although I never imagined myself seated behind Axl, Slash, and Duff, I couldn’t help but think about it now that it felt so close.
A few weeks later, The Who fired Zak Starkey (Ringo Starr’s son and their drummer since 1996). Then in May, Josh Freese announced his departure from Foo Fighters. And just this week, Matt Cameron stepped down from Pearl Jam after 27 years.
As I listened to each of these bands on the subway to work, I couldn’t help but think: Could it be me? Could I actually be the drummer in one of these massive rock bands? Every musician has this fantasy. But it’s a rare moment when four of the biggest bands in the world all have drum vacancies within a few months. None of these bands is my dream band (that’s Rage Against the Machine), but it’s still impossible not to dream.
In the brilliant 1984 mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap, the fictitious band’s members recount their long history of replacing drummers—one who died in a bizarre gardening accident, one who choked on someone else’s vomit, one who exploded on stage. I replaced a drummer in three of the four bands I played in during my Seattle years. And while none of the current crop of leaving drummers spontaneously combusted, Spinal Tap has never felt more like real life.
This isn’t the first time I’ve thought about playing in Pearl Jam. Back in 1994, when their third drummer Dave Abbruzzese left the band, I called a friend who was close with them and asked if he thought I could fill the spot. He gave me the manager’s number, but I never called. I was 22 and too insecure to take such a huge shot. A few years later, while talking with a friend at a Seattle club, Pearl Jam’s guitarist Stone Gossard interrupted to say that I was one of his favorite drummers in the city. I’ve held onto that memory longer than I probably should—maybe because it felt like a tiny glimpse into a life I never chased.
Some would argue that at 53, it’s a bit late to be joining a rock band. But in all of these bands, I’d be the youthful energy—the person lowering the average age. Of course, joining one of the biggest bands in the world would mean a major life change. Could I do my day job remotely? Unlikely. How much would I have to practice to get good enough to even consider trying? A lot. Do I really want to play drums in one of these bands? Probably not.
Playing drums in the biggest rock band in the world isn’t a real aspiration. It’s fantasy. But it’s front of mind right now, when the vacancies are real and—for better or worse—so is my proximity.
We’ve launched Season 2 of Identified! Episode 1 is with Rage Against The Machine guitarist Tom Morello, 2 is is with Neko Case, and 3 is with TV On The Radio’s Tunde Adebimpe. After that it will be a rapidly growing list of musicians, comedians, authors and friends talking about family. Identified is available on YouTube and all major podcast platforms, 100% free and ad free.
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My memoir is called My Life in the Sunshine. You can order it here, or listen to the audiobook on Spotify.
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Nabil Ayers / Brooklyn