Cymbals

There aren't too many drummers I can name - Meg White and Jules de Martino are two I can come up with offhand. But you'd think with drummers being such a vital part of any band, that they should be a known quantity and practically SYNONYMOUS with the band itself. After all, the rest of the band tends to look towards the drummer to keep on beat at ALL times, and without the drummer, the sound usually falls flat.

However, my favorite drummer is definitely Travis Barker of Blink-182. People rag on him -- calling him a hack, a poser, a showboater. Puh-lease. The guy's really good at what he does, and that's entertaining. Plus, his drum solos in just about every hit Blink-182 song - What's My Age Again, All the Small Things, First Date, and many more - really sound spot on and energetic.

So, here I am, trying to emulate the spikey-haired percussionist with my brand-new Band Hero drum kit. Yeah, watch my living room turn into a band practice haven. This kit is AWESOME. I feel like I'm actually learning how to play - now if I could only read music, I can't exactly learn to play by ear here. The game that came with the set is HARD - even on the easy setting! You have to think in so many different dimensions than when you're playing guitar - you don't just slide up and down a neck, you have to figure out where in the kit you're supposed to hit, all while keeping your eyes on the "music highway."

What I really enjoyed was turning it on and going to one of the older Guitar Hero games I picked up last year - Guitar Hero 5 had a smashing number of hits I love, and I got a kick out of playing those a whole new way. "Steady as She Goes," "Blue Orchid," "Feel Good Inc," and "Smells Like Teen Spirit" are just so great that I could listen to them over and over - and I've always wanted to drum to them. Yehaw! Living the dream.... ;-)