Andrea
There are very few people – perhaps not directly into any music genre – who don’t know Jon Theodore. He is one of the most visible contemporary super drummers in the world and a player who has carried the original styles of the critical Seventies touchstones.
Talk about the otherworldly facility of Billy Cobham or the elephantine swagger of John Bonham, and you have a clue of what Jon Theodore is capable of. Don’t get this the wrong way, though; these styles have been updated to meet the needs of a new arena show.
Theodore only gets his inspiration from these great styles and changes them into something that serves the modern world of musical enthusiasm.
One of the things that standouts with the drummer are his innovativeness. He is a musician who has the talent to discover new things in the old and use them to set the ground for better music in the modern era.
We all love those traditional drummers with their sounds, but contemporary music has become so demanding that it requires someone who can go the extra mile in their creativity. Listeners are getting more demanding by the day, expecting something new from every performance.
This is the same reason that makes Theodore approach drumming from different positions. He has a unique way of combining traditional styles with modern technology to present both worlds’ best.
The first time Theodore became noticeable was in the 2000s while playing dazzling Latin-infused prog with the Mars Volta. At this time, Theodore was just a drummer who worked hard to perfect his skills. Rage commended the drummer’s first performance with the Mars Volta, comparing it to Machine’s Zack de la Rocha.
They later played together in the sinewy guerilla-fink outfit called One Day as a Lion. From this incredible performance, it was clear that things were never going to be the same again in L.A music. His influence then was so wide, as it is today that it took the city by storm.
However, it was not until Dave Grohl recommended him that Theodore’s work started to make real meaning. It led to his most-high profile role yet. Since Dave was already an iconic figure back then, anything he said was not taken lightly. So, when he told Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme that “You know, the guy who really blows me away is Jon Theodore,” it was a one-way ticket to greatness for Theodore.
Remember when Skrillex, Diplo, and Justin Bieber performed “Where Are U Now” with a live-band make-over at the 2016 Grammy awards, Jon Theodore was the man playing the drums. It is not only that Theodore is a great drummer, but also that he is an innovator.
Everything he works on turns out magical. He has a way of making the listener feel like they are in the music while flowing with the rhythm. “It is like he makes the kit talk to you.” One of his fans was heard saying.
