You seem to be my Dr. Moriarty.

You can look that up later.

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"Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt"

I love his drumming in It Ain't Like That. Its simple but almost funky in a weird way.

 

And I fuckin live his drumming in Shame In You. That is my favorite drumming ih any AIC song.

*Goes and Appreciates sean*

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SirenWasHere:

Agreed on the drumming from Head Creeps, fuckin' AWESOME.

Head Creeps is one of my favorite songs... heavy and dark... the way I like

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Eu juro que é melhor
Não ser o normal
Se eu posso pensar que Deus sou eu

-----> Luke

cyclops4:

Ok, you're not going to like this.

Sean Kinney is a very average, solid drummer.

Compared to many other drummers, he ALMOST NEVER FILLS.

I've actually noticed how straightforward of a drummer he is.....solid beat, but no dynamic fills where they could be.

He does hit with some power (Junkhead) and he seems to be a great guy, but as drummers go, he's pretty standard.

If he's your hero, tell me where to look for his moments.

From what i know u listen to another genres of metal and it makes impossible NOT to compare him to some metal drummers (yeah, theres some amazing people in this genre, especially on DM). But what makes Sean so unique is the way he plays, his fills are always THERE, like u said, on Junkhead, its simple, straight most of the time, but he hits HARD, with power and IT IS well placed. Me personally, i find it heavier than any death metal tune full of double bass and blast beats.   

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Long live AIC!!!

Im glad to see this great site running smoothly! GJ guys

I'm not into Death Metal or Doom Metal.  I'm very picky when it comes to heavy stuff.   Fu Manchu, Nebula, Kyuss, Unida, Atomic Bitchwax.....a few others, but I don't stray too far from a certain style.

I have about 1,200 jazz cd's.  Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones......

I listen pretty much to older jazz, rock and metal.

I don't think he's a bad drummer at all.....like Ringo Starr or some other famously poor drummers.  It's just that Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley were so incredibly talented, that when you stop focusing on them and listen to the drums, you're kind of like "Wow, how did he get in this band ?"......he probably worked hard, was stable and was there when he should have been....something that Alice in Chains needed.  A solid, dependable dude.  When you've got someone like Layne Staley in a band, you certainly don't need another one.......they never would have gone anywhere.  I know that he created a lot of problems for the band, especially when recording Tripod as he declined.  So, when you have that going on, the last thing you want to do is remove someone who besides Mike Inez, was probably the most dependable and easy to get along with.

Okay, so here's an incredible drummer:

Keith Ackermann of Atomic Bitchwax.

Listen to the album 'Atomic Bitchwax II'.....I don't know if I've ever heard someone play drums so well.

 

 

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"Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt"

thesludgefactory:

i thought i should make a topic for a very under appreciated drummer.

Does anyone else think he is an incredible drummer? I mean he is not the best drummer to walk on this earth, definately not, but his overal style to his drumming is just amazing. personally i think he is the most unique drummer i have ever heard. there are alot of good, great,amazing drummers out there but it seems that alot of drummers, whether they are bad or amazing, all sound very similar. their just setting the tempo to the song. and alot of drummers in rock bands all do the same things also. but sean kinney is just completely unique. instead of doing crazy fast rolls around the whole kit he jsut selectively hits a few toms or one snare t get it done. like his drumming in angry chair, that alone just makes the drums feel like the major part of the song and not just a background. and of course same goes for no excuses. even his drumming in would is very unique. but i think his best drumming was in their third album. head creaps has an incredible beat to it that no ther drummer even would try. and the ending of shame in you has some simple yet sick drumming. like i said, by no means is he the best, and im sure there are plenty of drummers that can play his songs on the drums, but there is no other drummer that his style, which makes him my favorite drummer. i think he deserves a hell of a lot more attention as a drummer then many other drummers.

Well said (as usual) Sludge.

I agree with you 100%. Sean is extremely under appreciated drummer. I don't think he lacks respect from other drummers, I've spoken with hundreds and they ALL love his playing.

Being a former drummer myself, a person that seen Sean play out countless times, as well as seeing him play in their band room at NAF even more times I have to say he has consistantly amazed me more that any other drummer in Seattle, even more than Cameron and Sinder (who are considered Seattles best)

His notes are percise, and after all of these years listening to their songs I can't ever recall wishing he'd played something differently, and that's something I frequently do with almost every other drummer.

We could all argue all day that he could/should add more hits, blah, blah, but the fact that he leaves open spaces for the other guys to move around is another reason he's amazing. In this regard he's like Bonham and Ward.  It takes a TON of discipline to be a great drummer and not feel the need to over play or step on the riff.

The fact that he always hits really hard when they are rockin' but he can also hit  softly is another conpliment to his dynamics.

On top of that he always makes it look effortless. He's never chasing, or trying to catch up with the song, he's ALWAYS prepared for the next note. His playing is as smooth as any drummer I've ever seen.

Plus.... he's one hell of a nice guy.

He's shows up to support other local bands for decades and STILL does. He's even helps out other drummers, including myself with pointers.

Those of us that were fortunate enough to attend that tsunami benefit foreever owe him out gratitude. PLUS it was an amazing cause for him to rally behind.

On top of all of that,  he doesn't have a rock star attitude.

He helped me out greatly when I was the only tech working for a seattle band down in PDX one night. He was driving home after Lolla and he stopped to see the show, saw that we were in a pinch and he teched for the drummer while I did guitars, AND he stuck around to help us with load out.

He could have easily sat back and enjoyed the show, but he knew I was in for a bad night and the band would look like shit if something went wrong so he stepped up and helped.

I could tell you stories for weeks about these guys.

CLASS ACT  is the best way to describe them, and this is coming from a guy that's been around them for the better part of twenty years.

Hail to Sean, and hail to AIC.

 

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There are three types of people in the World. Those that know how to do simple math, and those that don't.

cyclops4:

Ok, you're not going to like this.

Sean Kinney is a very average, solid drummer.

Compared to many other drummers, he ALMOST NEVER FILLS.

I've actually noticed how straightforward of a drummer he is.....solid beat, but no dynamic fills where they could be.

He does hit with some power (Junkhead) and he seems to be a great guy, but as drummers go, he's pretty standard.

If he's your hero, tell me where to look for his moments.

Hi Cyclops,

While I think all your points are very valid, I have to refer you to my post above. Imagine what AIC would sound like if Sean was stepping all over the melody with fills. Drum fills are great, especially  when the band lacks a solid groove in a part of the song, but AIC has never been short on any of that.

I've seen Sean play in the band room, and he can play a ton of shit that you'd never think he's capable of if you simply think he's using all of his skill in AIC.

I've seen him play "Tom Sawyer" perfectly, hi-hats and all, and he made it look easy, and he wasn't even warm. 

I've seen him fucking around in the band room with other guys and he's played  "Pounding nails....." by The Accused, and IMO that song is one of the most difficult songs EVER.  Josh Sinder is a ferocious drummer and Sean pulled it off.  Most people don't even realize that Sean can play double bass all day if he wanted to.

There are plenty of great drummers in Seattle, from Cameron in SG, to Mike Musburger, to Schiller from Sadhappy to Dave Aba-waba-used-to-be from PJ.  ALL amazing, but with those guys you see close to their limits when they play with their bands.

That's not the case at all with Sean, he plays only enough notes to make the song complete and that's not at all an easy task for a drummer. He checked his ego at the door when he joined the band, and most drummers don't have the maturity or discipline to do such a thing.

Probably the best example/comparison would be comparing Sean to Travis Barker in this regard. Travis is one of the best drummers on the planet, but if you only know of him through his playing in Blink 182 you'd never know it.  If he were to play exactly what he wanted on a Blink 182 record, drummers would love it but it would pretty much sound like shit.

He'd be stepping all over the song, and Travis is disciplined/mature enough to know not to do that.  Sean has the same mindset.

 peace.

 

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There are three types of people in the World. Those that know how to do simple math, and those that don't.

I admit that I don't know the 1st thing about being a drummer, but when he starts "angry chair" it not only sounds perfect, but it also leaves me wondering how did he do that?  I'm also surprised that noone has brought up Danny Carry from Tool.  Even I know he is a drum god!

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The world is full of stupid people

Doody206:

We could all argue all day that he could/should add more hits, blah, blah, but the fact that he leaves open spaces for the other guys to move around is another reason he's amazing. In this regard he's like Bonham and Ward. It takes a TON of discipline to be a great drummer and not feel the need to over play or step on the riff.

Plus.... he's one hell of a nice guy.

 Both are testaments to his awesomeness. Besides the fact that he can nail Tom Sawyer (!!!), he is disciplined and feels no need to start being flashy. Good drummers know how to not step over players and let things groove.

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Rock photos - ARMY OF ANYONE, Deftones, AIC, VR, etc


<--is a drummer

You guys make some good points, most of which I hadn't thought of. 

I shall reconsider.

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"Fanaticism is always a sign of repressed doubt"

dupuism:

I admit that I don't know the 1st thing about being a drummer, but when he starts "angry chair" it not only sounds perfect, but it also leaves me wondering how did he do that?  I'm also surprised that noone has brought up Danny Carry from Tool.  Even I know he is a drum god!

I'm glad you did! I absolutely agree with you!

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If I can't be my own, I'd feel better dead.

dupuism:

I admit that I don't know the 1st thing about being a drummer, but when he starts "angry chair" it not only sounds perfect, but it also leaves me wondering how did he do that? I'm also surprised that noone has brought up Danny Carry from Tool. Even I know he is a drum god!

 

 Danny Carey is in that small group of drummers that I like to call Aliens. His playing isn't human at all. I think he does step on his bandmates a little too often, but I give him a mulligan on that because he's creating beats that have never been done before.

Similar to Jon Theodore (formerly of The Mars Volta.) 

It's one thing to be an amazing player, stamina, etc...but it's a whole other thing to be able to physically create new beats that haven't been done before.

.....fuggin Aliens. 

 

   

 

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There are three types of people in the World. Those that know how to do simple math, and those that don't.

Doody206:

dupuism:

I admit that I don't know the 1st thing about being a drummer, but when he starts "angry chair" it not only sounds perfect, but it also leaves me wondering how did he do that? I'm also surprised that noone has brought up Danny Carry from Tool. Even I know he is a drum god!

 

 Danny Carey is in that small group of drummers that I like to call Aliens. His playing isn't human at all. I think he does step on his bandmates a little too often, but I give him a mulligan on that because he's creating beats that have never been done before.

Similar to Jon Theodore (formerly of The Mars Volta.) 

It's one thing to be an amazing player, stamina, etc...but it's a whole other thing to be able to physically create new beats that haven't been done before.

.....fuggin Aliens. 

 

   

 

 

Well said and I shouldn't of referred to him as a drum god, a drum "alien" is a much better term for all the reasons you listed above.

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The world is full of stupid people

As I drummer I know of all the big name drummers, the most technical, the most musical, the most innovative, the most famous, but the most inspiring drummer to me is Sean.

I find the parts he plays fit perfectly for the song, he never overplays a song, he compliments them PERFECTLY, which is not something I can say for many drummers. He always hits the mark with his ideas but even in live shows he doesnt slp. When I saw them in june this year the most importnat thing for me was to see Sean and he played so amazingly solid. He drives the songs with his power but the subtle licks and parts of his arrangements give the songs so much feeling.

This guy does more to inspire me in my drumming than any other drummer out there, he is an amazing musician playing with other amazing musicians ti make amazing music, simple as that and its the simple things in life that are the most important.

 

Hats off to Sean for being an outstanding player and a funny guy to boot (I lvoe the photos of him messing around in Dublin)

oh yea with regards to cyclops comments, I admit at first AiC songs seem a little drab on the drum side but its when you REALLY start to listen that you hear the golden moments. For example you don't know of him doing any fills, in fact he does quite a few fills, often to lead the song out of a chorus back into a verse. Good examples would be Down in a Hole and Man in the Box, these two songs feature excellent fils that come in slightly later than where you'd expect, this adds momentum to the song and an added amount of feeling, likewise on the intro to Angry Chair when he lays the snare triplet behind the beat, it gives the song an edge. Alot of his skill lies in subtleness such as playing the offbeats on the ride cymbal bell or in playing quick triplets on the hats like in Sea of Sorrow or What the hell have I. I could sit here all night and type about his little bits of skillage but I'd be boring you all! :D

Also with regard to Dany Carey (I'm listening to TOOL right now) I don't think he steps on the band at all, its true he plays the drums more like a leading instrument, and while at times it may sound like he is OVERPLAYING the fact is that the guys sit around for a long time writing their songs, and they don't stop until its just right, they'll all come to the table with diff ideas but they obviously cant all play exactly the parts they want to play so a bit of leeway is to be expected as a result they make incredibly complex songs that when each part is broken down you realise each instrument is bringing its own flavour to the song. I admire Maynard aswell as he uses his voice like an instrument too much like Layne did with his melodic cries.

 

Wow ok thats a super long post! But yea Sean is an ACE drummer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsMpuV3xWhY

My tribute to 'Hot Pants'

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The Wind Blew An Invocation...
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