Andrea
I have been writing about the best drummers of all time for a very long time. But I have never met one so excited about his work as Brian Chippendale. To him, drumming is not just a career but a way of life. In other words, it has become so much rooted in his blood that he cannot live without it.
Brian Chippendale was once heard saying that everything humans do is a way to get them to something that is maybe something musical. The drummer sees music in everything that happens around him. And this is why he is known as the human thresher since he seems to understand human psychology through music.
“There is just this feeling of ‘I am not going to stop. I am going to keep drumming as long as I live.’” Brian was once heard saying. This is clear evidence that he does not take drumming lightly, and he will go to any extent to ensure everything that comes from his efforts impresses those listening to him.
Chippendale has a long-running duo Lighting Bolt treats noise-rock like body music. In his signature and no other drummer has been able to pull up such an incredible approach to the drummer. There is something magical about his music that makes you want to listen to it repeatedly.
Rock drumming requires an innovative mind, more than just muscles, and Brian understood this from the beginning.
He has an excellent bass drumming expertise that throb alongside Brian Gibson’s fuzz-gush bass. When I first listened to Brian, I had the impression that perhaps he was talking to the drums and instructing them to do what he wanted. And they seemed to obey his voice. The way his work was executed makes me think of all the good times I have heard with the best musicians.
As his high-velocity snare gushes through machine guns through a Day-Glo fog, you can always feel the power and the beauty of expert drumming gushing through every joint. Even if you are stiff, you will never resist shaking to the sound of good music. This is how good the drummer is.
When sitting behind a single four-piece kit, you can expect Brian to deliver absolutely deafening sounds from all over his gear. This is the same kind of sound that comes from the unofficial ambassador for an age of trailblazing and 21-st century rock percussionist. Listen to Zack Hill’s “Death Grips” and “Hella” or Greg Saunier’s “Deerhoof” and notice just the graceful the instruments sound.
When Lightning Bolt went through and performed at All Tomorrow’s Party in England, those who took part remembered mostly how Brian took over the party. It was from this that Bjork thought about tapping Chippendale for the “Volta” in 2007.
He confesses to watching Brain’s performance so many times and wishing to work with someone like him. Brian is a great inspiration for the modern best drummers with his classic yet functional approach to drumming. Perhaps it is just in the way he understands drums that make him great.
