Billy Joel’s Drummer Liberty DeVitto Plays Deftones Song as He Hears It for First Time: Watch
Originally published by Consequence News
Drumeo’s “For the First Time” video series puts professional drummers on the spot, forcing them to improvise over notable songs they’ve never heard before. The latest “First Time” clip from the instructional platform sees longtime Billy Joel drummer Liberty DeVitto in front of the cameras.
As we saw in a previous clips featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith challenged to play a Thirty Seconds to Mars song and Dream Theater’s Mike Portnoy getting pitted against a Nickelback tune, the Drumeo engineers revel in finding a song that’s both new and challenging to the drummer. In the case of the 73-year-old DeVitto, he was presented with Deftones‘ “My Own Summer (Shove It).”
Initially, DeVitto begins taking notes as he hears a drumless version of the iconic Around the Fur opener. But when the chorus hits and Chino Moreno’s screams come in, DeVitto drops his pen and offers a hopeless shrug — much to the delight of the Drumeo team. Interestingly, the video captures his actual handwritten notes. For the chorus, DeVitto merely wrote: “smash shit.”
He was clearly going in blind, as his first take is much faster and more frenetic than Deftones drummer Abe Cunningham’s slower, measured kick-snare combos. DeVitto cleans things up by his second take before finally locking into the trudging and impactful tempo of the actual track by his third run. Overall, his use of the ride cymbal is far more active than Cunningham’s — not unexpected given the former’s pop-rock background.
After his final performance, DeVitto is played the original track with Cunningham’s drums, prompting DeVitto to rise from his kit and start headbanging to the cadence.
“That’s fucking great,” admitted DeVitto of Cunningham’s part. “He’s definitely a Bonham fan, ‘boom-kat’ — Bonham would play it like that.”
Below you can watch Liberty DeVitto take on Deftones’ “My Own Summer (Shove It)” after hearing it for the first time.
DeVitto will be behind the kit for Joel as he wraps up his long-running residency at Madison Square Garden and plays co-headlining shows with Stevie Nicks, Sting, and Rod Stewart. Get tickets to Joel’s upcoming tour dates here.
