The Beat Goes On As time marches on, and we lose more and more of the rock-and-roll hitmakers of the 1960s, those stars still soldiering on via ‘60 rock cruises and package tours have become living embodiments of the era that left a colossal imprint on the 20th Century. (You don’t really need a tutorial on the soundtracks of flower power, civil rights, women’s lib, and the youth movement, do you?) For drummers, authentically performing the grooves of the ‘60s—especially when backing the original artists—takes far more than cursory listens to the songs that stormed the charts from the pre-Beatlemania madness up to the emergence of Led Zeppelin, Kiss, and other ‘70s rockers. It’s not a particularly easy gig—although some players might think so—and delighting audiences who grew up on the original tunes (as well as younger converts to the buoyantly creative era) takes commitment, study, and super-critical listening skills. […]

August 2021 Issue