We'd like to think that our music will always be bigger than any one of our individual personalities.
Chester BenningtonRead
To me, a great drummer isn't always about somebody with chops who can shred. A great drummer is someone who is part of a great band.
Interpretation
A great drummer's value lies in their ability to contribute to the overall sound of the band rather than just technical skill.
Mike Portnoy emphasizes that the essence of being a great drummer goes beyond mere technical proficiency or showy skills. Instead, it's about how well the drummer integrates into the band, enhancing the collective musical experience. This perspective highlights the importance of collaboration and teamwork in music, where the synergy of the group is more critical than individual talent alone.
In practice
During a music workshop, a member might quote this to emphasize the importance of working together.
We'd like to think that our music will always be bigger than any one of our individual personalities.
For a long time I wasn't listening to music, to the rock and roll stuff on the radio, because it would cause me to get sweaty. It would bring back memories I didn't want to know about, or I would get that feeling that I'm not alive 'cause I'm not making it. And if it was good, I hated it 'cause I wasn't doing it. And if it was bad, I was furious 'cause I could've done it better.
The trouble is now, with rock'n'roll and stuff, it gets so big that it loses what once upon a time was a magnificent thing, where it was special and quite elusive and occasionally a little sinister and it had its own world nobody could get in.
When I was young and very green, I worte that tune, Sister Kate, and someone said that's fine, let me publish it for you. I'll give you fifty dollars. I didn't know nothing about papers, and business, and I sold it outright.
When one knows at an early age that their gift, talent and direction is musical, one tends to focus on that and let nothing interfere or impede the forward motion toward the end of that rainbow. And after 50-something years of rockin' out, you still realise there is no end to that distant rainbow until one's last sunset.
You want to meet a bunch of really friendly people? Go to a Slayer concert. There'll be some real psychos there, but most of those people will take care of each other.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.