Sean is definately an underrated musician... sadly...

His style is unique and it's always different... never the same...

If I were to pick a fav drummer it'd be Sean... hands down...

He's got a great sense of humor of course, but most importantly he's a nice guy... great combo

Rock On Mr. Kinney...

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'Eat of the apple so young... I'm crawling back to start...'

cyclops4:

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.

 

 

Well you can't argue taste, But to say that Sean is a mediocre drummer is silly. And to say Ringo is a poor drummer is very silly. There is a time and place for fills...I myself would not wanna hear double kick and triplets on any Beattles songs... Jazz is Jazz. Rock is Rock. Pop is Pop. I have been very fortunate to work with many amazing drummers and I have to say the innovations on grooves and the fills Mr Kinney does is perfect for the songs he has been a part of since there incarnations. I have to admit watching Sean play night after night is not only a treat but is fun to watch he is an animal.. But like I said you can't argue taste....

Doody206:

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.

agree with you both. and 206, "discipline" is the word. That is whats so special about all the members of AIC was they had different intentions from many other bands. they did not intend to show off their prowess as musicians but to each do his part to make something unique that worked together and did not sound like other bands. Just as Jerry has said he doesn't want to get up there and whack off, and Layne developed a style completely different from his earlier "hair band" and rangy style before, Sean has a style that is just right, if not perfect for the songs. each musician in the band puts the song and music first, before his own ego. Sean's drumming style does no"overkill" but is even "more" in its simplicity with timing and support. His style subtly "suckers" you in and through the songs...Angy Chair is one of my favorites where the drumming is truly hypnotic-

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"I pick and save all my scabs to serve up dinner time" Jerry Cantrell

Sean is THE MAN!  I adore him, he's an incredible drummer and guy...(Sean's future wife) me!

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I'd like to fly, but my wings have been so denied...

brooke4paris@yahoo.com

Coming from a non-drummer...... I love the way Sean Kinney makes it look so easy.....  I've always loved watching him.

I love the "inflection" (non-drummer terminology) he uses....

Rock on......

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"We play so fine, don't you agree?" ~ Layne Staley

"We want to celebrate what we did and the memory of our friend." ~ Jerry Cantrell

I don't play the drums yet, but I would like to someday.  I have a lot of influences, but my main two have always been Matt Cameron and Sean Kinney.  I really like his style of playing, especially when it comes to cymbals.  He plays them quite a bit, yet they don't become distracting or over powering.  He's one of my favorite drummers to watch and he makes playing seem so smooth and efforless.  I've seen a video or two of AIC playing Love, Hate, Love this tour and I LOVE it when Sean stands up to beat the holy bejesus out of his ride (I think) cymbal.  Wicked.

Sometimes when I listen to an AIC song I will tune everything but the drums out.  I might notice a sound that I wouldn't normally and that little extra bit adds something dynamic to the song.  Another thing that I have noticed, in general, is that he doesn't play the standard 4/4 time signature a whole lot.  I like drummers that can branch out and create different sounds.

Some favorites: What the Hell Have I, Angry Chair, Again, No Excuses, Sea of Sorrow,  Man in the Box, It Ain't Like that (that opening cymbal. RAWR), Love Hate Love, Bleed the Freak, and Would?....etc.

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Now you got both sides claiming 'killing in god's name'.
But god is nowhere to be found, conveniently...

myspace.com/TwoAlarmFire

Sean Kinney......................hubba hubba!

(yes this is all coming from a 36 yr old woman)

twinkletoes:

Sean Kinney......................hubba hubba!

(yes this is all coming from a 36 yr old woman)

Hehehehe, glad you said that first

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Check out WILLIAM'S OTHER BAND
CWTF music page: http://www.comeswiththefall.com/music.html
Newest music: http://www.myspace.com/comeswiththefall

i agree with you all as a drummer, songwriter, vocalist and most of all, Alice in Chains fan but Rusty says it best, Sean is just so unique and NO SONG would be as good or as amazing as it is with Sean on drums.... Amazing.....just WOW....Props forever to my #1 inspiration on Drums...

I think Sean's a good drummer but the one song i just don't understand is Sea of Sorrow. This is a fantastic song but the drum fills before each chorus sound totally out of sync and it makes the song sound fragmented. I think it might be that for the drum fill he switches from 4/4 to 3/4 and then back again. Some other song structures are a bit weird too.I think the switching of rhythms in Sickman sounds wrong and in I Stay Away the second verse has only one line, but thats all down to Jerry's writing style i guess.     

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I am all the days that you choose to ignore.

It's high time for a Sean Kinney photo thread!  The man looks like a freakin' model and his expressions crack me up.  I'll start out with this one:

Surfin'

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^ qwning sig by creep!

WOOHOO!!

It's about time somethin' like this came up!

Sean being himself.

This picture is just awesome.

 

Oh yeah, by the way, I'm an idiot who can't figure out how to get pictures on here.
Sorry.  [edited by mod to link to photos   ~PL]

 

Here is my sig!! 

V

V

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I have some Sean pics, but you'll have to give me about 2 wks or so with my lightning fast connection speed and all!

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"For every star is formed in fire, and so it goes for you. And every face along your path, sees your heart is true." DuVall/Constantine

Great thread! Loving the pics so far.

ps-perversionsatisfied, that is one HOT pic of Will

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"I wasn't born with enough middle fingers"

(Thanks to Kadyia)

ChainsHead & Id12, those pics are pure joy!

Eat your heart out Fabio...here's Brooding Sean:

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And Scruffy Sean (Jerry's face in hilarious):

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Now wouldn't it be cool to see these guys in a club?:

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^ qwning sig by creep!