I saw Thomas play to a room of 4 ppl , myself included, with his old band the memorials, he played like he was at Madison Square Garden …. Changed my life.
Yup, been working on this term 'MEMESICIAN' a lot of these guys are social media drummers just blast beating over sabrina carpenter tracks for hits, enjoyed this very much pridgen always keeps it real
Thomas performance on David Letterman with The Mars Volta song Wax Simulacra is absolutely mind blowing drumming. 🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽I remember watching that when it came out and thinking to myself I can never get to that level!
Props for posting all of this. Awesome interview, just allowing Thomas to speak his truth, as an interview should be. Insightful and Thomas is obviously tapped in... Dope
A lot of the things he said here remind me almost of Alan Holdsworth's reaction to people asking him how he played. His perspective probably doesn't much resonate with someone who's stuck in the saturation trying to break through but I think he's right that to be creative you need to find the stuff that resonates with you personally.
Bro, I could listen to a TP pod everyday. He's so funny and wild🤣 no holds barred when talking, the exact same as his playing. I think people are really just getting fed up with ig, whose algo shovels so much of what you like down your throat, it becomes a parody of itself to you. I don't even have ig but I've heard this same exact exasperation with social type stuff from Mike Johnston lately. UA-cam isn't as bad I don't think.
He dropped so many bombs in this video my goodness I’m trying to tell you everything he saying I’m confirming it we grew up in a different time. We had to play under different conditions. We looked at drums totally different.
Another good video Nate. Creativity is a choice but to what extent it plays in any one's drumming follows many other choices that have to made first. Many of the possible choices that can be made don't require any need for creativity. If your goal is to play covers as a hobbyist with friends creativity is not a requirement. Then again, if your goal is to become a recognized, accomplished drummer then creativity is a requirement. Then you have to define for yourself what creativity means for fulfilling your individual goals. As the saying goes, "To thy own self be true." It will save you a lot of wasted time.
@1622 : if I am hearing this right, playing straight is ok for those players who want to hear those familiar licks or patterns of rudimentary that they can deal with,, I don't necessarily find there's nothing wrong with them as such, but for some drummers who have been kicking it for some years, and years! Man you get in a ( Must Do An Improvement ) cognizancious, straight up playing for them is just too much familiarization, especially when you have been playing with some bad《⊙》groups of musicians. Man I watched you playing on that cymbal fest, bro, you were so on another level, a whole bunch of those guys were really impressed by the way you were [ NOT ] playing straight and yet kept them interested and at the end of the song, my man was like saying , git off dem damn drums, put down dem sticks, man everybody was cracking up and rolling, because they knew you where [ NOT ] gonna play it straight and still have them on the edge of their seat. I have seen your Drumeo countless times, um like, how does he do that? In reality, you don't sound like everyone else I listens to, cause most drummers today sounds like mostly everyone else who have no innovations. The Old school drummers, Dennis Chambers, Dave Wack' em, Vinnie Calluche, Steve Smith, and a whole bunch of others, they all are extremely knowledgeable and extremely exciting to watch and listen to, but the biggest thing about them is that they all don't sound alike, you don't have to see who the drummer is, but just by listening you know whether it's a Chambers or a Gadd or Smith or Wack'em.
wonder what he thinks about estepario siberiano, new drummer for residente...who is bassically a streamer drummer. The new hype in instagram , who I find totally non musical and years light away drum and music wise speaking, comparing him to a great great drummer such as Thomas. Thomas Pridgen caused a revolution in my drumming in the early 2000´s and I thank god for that.
I spent 20 yeaes woodshedding, toured internationally, on a major etc... Never filmed any of it. Lookijg back i should have. Struggling to get payed what my experience and skill is worth 20 years in is depressing...
I'm definitely a pocket GROOVE orientated drummer, self taught from the heart and I can play in any time signature and I've impressed schooled technical drummers after feeling inadequate watching them but I couldn't tell them what rudiments or what time I played in... I'm not ok with that completely
Great to hear TP; forever spirited and honest 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾 Question. It’s possible to blaze around the drums with some form and it still not sound like “chops”. Do you believe that there is a vocabulary to drum chops, the same way that there is a be-bop sax vocabulary. If it’s not heard you’re not interpreted as playing jazz..? So we typically have to copy drum "chops" to get the vocab then venture into originality..? Me thinks so… 🤔 Great interview Nate. 😎
"Now if you play fills, fools won't think you have a pocket. You can't always win with people, so you might as well just do whatever you want...they just want to see somebody cookin' macaroni and cheese."
As a year-in beginner I understand I will never stop studying the drums, but I’m growing more and more anxious wondering when I’ll actually be able to start PLAYING the drums? Any advice?
you can play at any level, this is the point. you cant play anything AT any level but you never will because that is human experience. wanting to play or create something you cannot. play YET is the best driver for progress. and have fun doing it. get involved in a band asap, with other beginners if need be
@@ArkansyaI most definitely have fun with it already. The love is there. And I do spend time exploring my own creativity. However, I just don’t feel I’ve reached the level of being able to truly say “I play the drums”. I’ve tried a few times to get other people who play to come “jam” with me but - lesson number 1 - musicians are…fickle? Or just hard to pin down? I don’t understand people who can play but do not seem to want to.
@@8020drummerI’ve spent the last year studying the technical end of things, mostly, and developing the most basic necessary coordination. I do have fun learning some bebop phrases (Q! 🙌) and exploring my own creativity but even that seems very limited by my beginner skill level. I don’t know, man, I feel like I’m waiting for the levee to break like some big eureka! moment but this very likely doesn’t work that way. Either way, I love drumming and none of what I’ve expressed is a foreshadowing to me hanging up the sticks.
@@jeshurunabinadab6560 BRO i feel this so much, especially that musicians are fickle and hard to pin down... its like they are not committed enough or are just not into it.
Thomas is one of the best players alive but I’m reminded why I un-subbed from his Instagram, he has an attitude that I feel is unbecoming of someone of his stature and influence in this sphere.
@@beetlejewsif you search his name on the drums subreddit you’ll find a variety of stories, accompanied by accounts of the mars volta band members. He’s such a phenomenal drummer and comes across very well in interviews and his god tier drumeo video on rudiments. I sincerely look up to him as a drummer but those stories are hard to ignore.
@sherpFPS we're human and imperfect. If people knew about your past,mistakes,past behavior,stages in your life your not too proud of and they only used your past to base if they gonna fuck with you or not while not caring what kind of person you are in the present? Think about it. I know of all the stories you speak of but the Thomas we see in this interview is present day not tmv Thomas. Like him for what he's done for the drumming community or him as a musician but stop wasting time on a personal level because at the end of the day he doesn't care
I saw Thomas play to a room of 4 ppl , myself included, with his old band the memorials, he played like he was at Madison Square Garden …. Changed my life.
“I’m really just tryna make it where it’s impossible to f*ck with me on these drums.” - Thomas Pridgen 😮💨
Yup, now that’s a true badass
Had the honor of taking a lesson with Thomas. Best nugget I got from him was to watch your hands and feet when you’re working out new ideas.
Literally 80/20 interview. 80% of Thomas ranting over the digital age, 20% of Nate's engagement to the conversation.
Lol
Yup, been working on this term 'MEMESICIAN' a lot of these guys are social media drummers just blast beating over sabrina carpenter tracks for hits, enjoyed this very much pridgen always keeps it real
Memesician lmao
My man rocking the Ecuadorian flag in the back. Awesome!! 🇪🇨🇪🇨🇪🇨
Great work Nate, fantastic interview
Thomas pridgen changed the way I thought about drums. What they are, and what they could be. He is so expressive
I think its SO SICK u got an interview with TP! He's my FAVORITE DRUMMER!!!
Been a huge Thomas fan since I started playing drums. This made me respect him even more. Such an awesome convo
Eyyy I´m from Ecuador. What a gift to see a man like thomas with my flag.
Damn. I needed this wisdom right now more than I can explain. A true master!
Just love the way he thinks, Literally one of the greatest.
Thomas performance on David Letterman with The Mars Volta song Wax Simulacra is absolutely mind blowing drumming. 🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽🤘🏽I remember watching that when it came out and thinking to myself I can never get to that level!
Props for posting all of this. Awesome interview, just allowing Thomas to speak his truth, as an interview should be. Insightful and Thomas is obviously tapped in... Dope
Dude…WHAT a guest. Well done.
Absolutely love this guy. Amazing interview!
Deep knowledge when he said seeing all the big guys all live. My man is talking true growth. Not coping. 🎉 Bay Area brother.
Thomas Pridgen!!! One of the GOATS
Hot Ones should have Thomas Pridgen on
I just really fw Thomas as a human let alone a drummer. He’s always keeping it real.
Excellent talk, both sides super sincere and real.
A lot of the things he said here remind me almost of Alan Holdsworth's reaction to people asking him how he played. His perspective probably doesn't much resonate with someone who's stuck in the saturation trying to break through but I think he's right that to be creative you need to find the stuff that resonates with you personally.
Amazing interview. Well done.
Bro, I could listen to a TP pod everyday. He's so funny and wild🤣 no holds barred when talking, the exact same as his playing. I think people are really just getting fed up with ig, whose algo shovels so much of what you like down your throat, it becomes a parody of itself to you. I don't even have ig but I've heard this same exact exasperation with social type stuff from Mike Johnston lately. UA-cam isn't as bad I don't think.
Nice interview great minds think alike
Real talk 👍...we need more of THIS!
Great interview. Thanks.
Spot on Nate ,great interview with Pridgen
Great: Thomas is a true hero!
Yeeah Buddy! Excited to watch this as we speak.
So dope, Thomas is a real one.
Deep! Thank yall
Amazing thank you
I just peeped the Zildjian Live, Who0o0o0o0o0! TP has super powers!
He dropped so many bombs in this video my goodness I’m trying to tell you everything he saying I’m confirming it we grew up in a different time. We had to play under different conditions. We looked at drums totally different.
He really is speaking some facts. Gotta love Thomas.
OH HELL YEAH! Thanks for this one, guys!
BADASS THOMAS PRIDGEN!!!
You have great patience my man
Another good video Nate. Creativity is a choice but to what extent it plays in any one's drumming follows many other choices that have to made first. Many of the possible choices that can be made don't require any need for creativity. If your goal is to play covers as a hobbyist with friends creativity is not a requirement. Then again, if your goal is to become a recognized, accomplished drummer then creativity is a requirement. Then you have to define for yourself what creativity means for fulfilling your individual goals. As the saying goes, "To thy own self be true." It will save you a lot of wasted time.
thank you
Dug this interview! bout to get me some practice in!
@1622 : if I am hearing this right, playing straight is ok for those players who want to hear those familiar licks or patterns of rudimentary that they can deal with,, I don't necessarily find there's nothing wrong with them as such, but for some drummers who have been kicking it for some years, and years! Man you get in a ( Must Do An Improvement ) cognizancious, straight up playing for them is just too much familiarization, especially when you have been playing with some bad《⊙》groups of musicians. Man I watched you playing on that cymbal fest, bro, you were so on another level, a whole bunch of those guys were really impressed by the way you were [ NOT ] playing straight and yet kept them interested and at the end of the song, my man was like saying , git off dem damn drums, put down dem sticks, man everybody was cracking up and rolling, because they knew you where [ NOT ] gonna play it straight and still have them on the edge of their seat. I have seen your Drumeo countless times, um like, how does he do that? In reality, you don't sound like everyone else I listens to, cause most drummers today sounds like mostly everyone else who have no innovations. The Old school drummers, Dennis Chambers, Dave Wack' em, Vinnie Calluche, Steve Smith, and a whole bunch of others, they all are extremely knowledgeable and extremely exciting to watch and listen to, but the biggest thing about them is that they all don't sound alike, you don't have to see who the drummer is, but just by listening you know whether it's a Chambers or a Gadd or Smith or Wack'em.
It's crazy that we live in a world where a 40 year old is in a position to shake his fist at the sky.
wonder what he thinks about estepario siberiano, new drummer for residente...who is bassically a streamer drummer. The new hype in instagram , who I find totally non musical and years light away drum and music wise speaking, comparing him to a great great drummer such as Thomas.
Thomas Pridgen caused a revolution in my drumming in the early 2000´s and I thank god for that.
Well that was a refreshing dose of real.
Thats crazy he's experiencing that
TP is a beast!
I spent 20 yeaes woodshedding, toured internationally, on a major etc... Never filmed any of it. Lookijg back i should have. Struggling to get payed what my experience and skill is worth 20 years in is depressing...
I'm definitely a pocket GROOVE orientated drummer, self taught from the heart and I can play in any time signature and I've impressed schooled technical drummers after feeling inadequate watching them but I couldn't tell them what rudiments or what time I played in... I'm not ok with that completely
dude did a Norm Macdonald ass bit straight out the gate "I've just been dying to ask you this... where do you get your ideas?"
😂 I didn’t even catch that
Fantastic interview: to continue the end (and the food topic): I'm Italian and I can't cook 😅
I do the same thing about not knowing the songs...I never feel comfortable 💯
I'm trying to resist the urge to comment several fire emojis in a row
🔥🔥🔥
Why would anyone suggest he "PLAY STRAIGHT " WTF is "PLAYING STRAIGHT " anyway? He's got CHOPS AND A STANKY FUNKY GROOVE like no other!
You shuda uprocked the pridge duder
Great to hear TP; forever spirited and honest 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾
Question. It’s possible to blaze around the drums with some form and it still not sound like “chops”. Do you believe that there is a vocabulary to drum chops, the same way that there is a be-bop sax vocabulary. If it’s not heard you’re not interpreted as playing jazz..?
So we typically have to copy drum "chops" to get the vocab then venture into originality..?
Me thinks so… 🤔
Great interview Nate. 😎
Most influential
Hey Nate, is the podcast still gonna be uploaded to Spotify? Really enjoyed this episode, but I prefer listening on Spotify
I was hoping you were going to ask why he has the Ecuador flag in the background 😅
"Now if you play fills, fools won't think you have a pocket. You can't always win with people, so you might as well just do whatever you want...they just want to see somebody cookin' macaroni and cheese."
15:09 Mmmmm truth
Thats.true about the caneras and etc
Isnt there a big point yall missing though. Content creators like you, teach drums so its all good
what a g 🤣
What a missed opportuniy to ask him about when omar forced him to watch 2 girls 1 cup hahahah
As a year-in beginner I understand I will never stop studying the drums, but I’m growing more and more anxious wondering when I’ll actually be able to start PLAYING the drums? Any advice?
@@jeshurunabinadab6560 why not now?
you can play at any level, this is the point. you cant play anything AT any level but you never will because that is human experience. wanting to play or create something you cannot. play YET is the best driver for progress. and have fun doing it. get involved in a band asap, with other beginners if need be
@@ArkansyaI most definitely have fun with it already. The love is there. And I do spend time exploring my own creativity. However, I just don’t feel I’ve reached the level of being able to truly say “I play the drums”. I’ve tried a few times to get other people who play to come “jam” with me but - lesson number 1 - musicians are…fickle? Or just hard to pin down? I don’t understand people who can play but do not seem to want to.
@@8020drummerI’ve spent the last year studying the technical end of things, mostly, and developing the most basic necessary coordination. I do have fun learning some bebop phrases (Q! 🙌) and exploring my own creativity but even that seems very limited by my beginner skill level. I don’t know, man, I feel like I’m waiting for the levee to break like some big eureka! moment but this very likely doesn’t work that way. Either way, I love drumming and none of what I’ve expressed is a foreshadowing to me hanging up the sticks.
@@jeshurunabinadab6560 BRO i feel this so much, especially that musicians are fickle and hard to pin down... its like they are not committed enough or are just not into it.
One thing I learned from this video is you don't ever ask Thomas to play straight..😅
Thomas is one of the best players alive but I’m reminded why I un-subbed from his Instagram, he has an attitude that I feel is unbecoming of someone of his stature and influence in this sphere.
😂😂 Bay Area shit
Get in a band.
Ohh thomas I have such mixed feelings about thomas pridgen. No denying he’s a fantastic drummer tho
What feelings?
@@beetlejewsif you search his name on the drums subreddit you’ll find a variety of stories, accompanied by accounts of the mars volta band members. He’s such a phenomenal drummer and comes across very well in interviews and his god tier drumeo video on rudiments. I sincerely look up to him as a drummer but those stories are hard to ignore.
Lot of stories about his Volta band members with suspect behaviors too
@sherpFPS we're human and imperfect. If people knew about your past,mistakes,past behavior,stages in your life your not too proud of and they only used your past to base if they gonna fuck with you or not while not caring what kind of person you are in the present? Think about it. I know of all the stories you speak of but the Thomas we see in this interview is present day not tmv Thomas. Like him for what he's done for the drumming community or him as a musician but stop wasting time on a personal level because at the end of the day he doesn't care
@@davidmiller2018I still look up to him so much as a drummer, I hope the he’s not the same person people wrote those stories about.
Damn man
Your too hard on yourself 😕
Best part of getting older.. you give less f**ks. :)
Could we change the phrase "I suck" to something more like "I have a limited vocabulary" or "specific set of skills" ... "at this point in time". :)
@@ddummer tbh your version sounds worse to me 🤣
@@8020drummer "I think.. therefore I suffer on the drums." Better? ;)
most memorable songs have technically average drum parts. express yourself, dont treat it like a sport