Two Part Fugue For Drumset by Michael Petiford

New Pic

Here's a picture I found on my guitar player's myspace. This is me charting out one of our songs. Much of the stuff we play goes through so many time changes and stylistic changes, that I find I have to chart it out just to keep track. Frank says that's anathema to him, but for me it's all about the counting. When I play, the counting never stops. 1-2, 1-2, 1-2-3, 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and 5 and, one two three, one two three, one two three... This stuff runs through my head all the time. Granted, if there's a strong melodic line or lyric phrasing, that will effect the accenting of my counting. None the less, when I'm playing, Im counting something.

Giant

Another pic from back in the day. If you don't know John Weathers, you need to check him out. He's the unsung hero of the Prog band Gentle Giant. These guys really did set a Prog precedent. They were on the scene early and this guys drum parts were really fantastic. Talk about navigating some twisted meter and crazy arrangements. I just listened to the song Cogs In Cogs and I'm still knocked out by it. Really, if you think you know Prog but you don't know Gentle Giant, you need to rethink.

Yet Another Prog Drum Pic

Yes, this is Bill Bruford, another of the drummers who had a profound impact on me. Of course this is the cover photo from his disc Master Strokes. Great pic. Stylish white tee-shirt. You can see the Simmons Drums in there. Wish I hadn't had such a bad experience with Simmons Drums! Oh well. I had a bad experience with a Bill Bruford "Drum God" clinic too. Whatever. The guy has created some of my favorite music. None the less, this is a great prog drum pic. You know, if you look at my collection of prog drum pics, you'll start to get an idea of who my favorite drummers are.

Another Prog Drum Pic

Here's another great prog drum pic. He used to be such a nice boy. I don't know who the photographer is, but if I could give him an autographed picture of Punky Meadows I would just for taking such a marvelous picture. The first time I saw Zappa, Bozzio was drumming. They played all of Sheik Yer Bouti and Terry played The Black Page and Punky's Whips. My impressionable teenage mind was forever warped.

1000 Words

This has to be one of my favorite Prog Drum Pics of all time. This is (of course) Neil Peart from the sleeve of the album A Farewell To Kings (1977). The photo is credited to Roger Stowell and he definitely deserves the credit. I guess anything that has a profound effect on you when you're fifteen years old will stick with you for the rest of your life. You may laugh about it later, or you may worship it. None the less, you can't deny it affected you. This picture (the music too) was undeniably influential on me. Yeah, Neil, love this pic.

Willie Wilcox

Don't know why, just had to post this pic. This is John "Willie" Wilcox, the drummer from Todd Rundgren's Utopia playing the "Trapparatus" circa 1985. Maybe it's a gimmic but, what the hell, it looks like fun! Willie Rocks!