My Love and Frustration with Drum Machines!

by John M. Ellison IV

Musically, I grew up on everything. From Funkadelic, The Temptations, The Mothers of Invention, The Ramones, Bad Brains, Luther Vandross, David Bowie, James Brown, Black Box, Zapp, Iggy and The Stooges, Bob Marley and The Wailers and countless other artists have influenced me somehow. With those artists, they all have different sounds, styles and very different drum patterns.

When it comes to it, I noticed that the Soul/Funk/R&B music I remember listening had more intricate and unique drum patterns. Whether it was a swing beat, four on the floor or a straight eight pattern, these drummers were quite skilled. In fact, these patterns (in Funk for example) were so integral to parts of a song; it actually could stand on as a composition of its own. This has even spun off into different genres of their own (Rap, Drum & Bass/Jungle and Break beat.)

Whereas, I noticed with rock, a lot of the same drum patterns tend to be recycled by different bands. To be fair, there have been many exceptions to the rule though. In fact, some of the most popular “break beats” come from rock.

When I first started doing music seriously, I was looking to get a drum machine to make patterns on. It was a Roland Dr. 202. After I learned how to use it, I couldn’t stop making beats. My original set up was an old Casio, an analog Tascam 4-track portable, and my guitar in the basement. Although I enjoyed my musical experimentation, my compositions sounded more akin to Nine Inch Nails than the more Metallica-influenced sound I was aiming for. Then, fiddling around with the synthesizer sounds, I thought to experiment with some of the Casio’s pre-programmed patterns. I never noticed the rock drum patterns, I realized those were closer to the rock sound…also the polka setting was reminiscent if not identical to “Hardcore Punk.” That’s when I realized that with a good amount of rock music; the drums and bass kind of take a back seat and can be quite rudimentary and in this case highlight the guitar/s and vocal. So, I felt kind of an embarrassment when I realized this. Saying that, I never could understand how some drummers in rock could complain about the usage of drum machines or sampling being monotonous whereas those same drummers would play stand by stock drum patterns with very little to no variation and with that, the performance sounding quite mechanical and robotic themselves.

Like I’ve stated beforehand in various blog posts, I’m kind of anti-social but friendly; kind of “socially” anti-social as it were. With this, it can be awkward finding collaborators that fit what I’m trying to do musically. As humans, we’re a species that’s used to well…being human. As humans, we have flaws that can be detrimental to ourselves and others. So knowing that, I usually use programmed rhythms from a drum machine to cut to the chase and to deal with less potential bullshit from other musicians. For some songs and projects, a drum machine is essential and fits well for that project. But, I admit, that when a drum machine is used in lieu of a live drummer sometimes, the drum sound can get kind of monotonous and becomes boring and fruitless from a songwriting point of view, well for me at least. With that, I tend to lose motivation in the project all together.

So, unless you’re John Bonham, Vinnie Colaiuta , Terry Bozzio, Max Roach, Neil Peart, Billy Cobham or any drummer with a variation of influences and techniques, shut the fuck up about drum machine-driven music!