The Drumeo channel on YouTube is great. The company uses content marketing to sell their drum lessons and courses, and their content is excellent.
One of their best series is getting well-known drummers to listen to a song they haven’t heard before without the drum parts, and getting them to create their own parts; culminating in a single, final take.
After the drummer finishes their recording, they get to listen back to the original track, now with the original drum parts included. There’s always a mixture of surprise and delight. The drummers are usually in admiration of the original part, and equally happy at their own version.
Today I came across Jess Bowen’s take on Bulls on Parade by Rage Against the Machine (I saw RATM at a music festival when I was sixteen and have always had a soft spot for their music). She recorded one take and nailed it on the first try. Apart from being musically impressive, she’s also having a blast! And that’s the essence of the Drumeo Formula.
Great video. Great series.