quote.
"Joey Vitello's time, taste, and technique as a drummer simply blows me away. There are drummers that play the drums and there are drummers that just know how to play with the drums. Physical movement determines musical feel. Joey Vitello dances behind that drum set. He's got incredible feel and can easily play on any stage with any band in any style. Joey is truly one of my favorite drummers."
– Steve Tarkanish, S.T.A.R.S. Productions
drum tracks.
Some of my favorite drum tracks and what I find interesting about them. Check them out if you haven't already. — JV

Back to Oakland - Tower of Power.Squib Cakes
by Tower of Power, from the album Back to Oakland

In my opinion, one of the coolest drum intros around. It begins with a somewhat simple groove, but in the last two measures it just explodes into a funky linear climax— a style for which Dave Garibaldi is well-known. Also, check out the middle section of the track—the band stops on a dime, turns the song in a completely different direction, then brings it back with even more intensity. A true classic!


Moving Pictures - Rush.Tom Sawyer
by Rush, from the album Moving Pictures

Neal Peart's playing on this track is flawless. The steadiness of his sixteenth notes in the verses is a great contrast to the way he opens it up with his signature ride cymbal pattern on other parts of the song—and of course there's the great fills in the middle of the track. One of the things I find most interesting about this cut is odd time signature of the guitar solo section, something you don't often find in a hit record.



The Song Remains the Same - Led Zeppelin.The Song Remains the Same
by Led Zeppelin, from the album The Song Remains the Same

I can't find the right words to describe John Bonham's drumming, and I could probably point to just about anything in the Led Zeppelin catalog and call it one of my favorites. To me, there's nothing better than playing with a bassist who you can really sync up with, and on this track Bonham and bassist John Paul Jones are so tightly locked that it's frightening! Please listen to this one.



The Wild, The Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle - Bruce Springsteen.Kitty's Back
by Bruce Springsteen, from the album The Wild, The Innocent, and the E-Street Shuffle

Vini Lopez throws out all that is conventional on this one, and makes it work like I've never heard. To this day, I don't think a drummer alive can duplicate what he played—in the middle of the song he completely turns the beat around for half a measure, and then somehow falls back in on the one—how did he do that?!?! His snare work is also very impressive, as he incorporates ghost notes throughout the song. One of my favorite drum tunes to listen to because I hear something different every time.



Turnstiles - Billy Joel.Angry Young Man
by Billy Joel, from the album Turnstiles

Liberty DeVito at his very best. The way he mimes on his hi hat what Billy is playing on the piano is cool enough, but the rest of the song is full of amazing drum fills as well. The verse sounds double-tracked with a snare shuffle under the groove. Seeing him play it live was a tremendous experience!



Africa - Toto.Rosanna
by Toto, from the album Africa

Without a doubt one of my favorite drum tracks of all time. The late great Jeff Porcaro lays down a classic shuffle beat that's a challenge for many drummers to master. He basically took two different grooves, combined them into one and made it his own—one of the signs of a world class player. The actual shuffle could be called the Purdy shuffle, made famous by the legend Bernard Purdy. The core of the groove is similar to John Bonham's work on Led Zeppelin's Fool In The Rain, and the groove at the end of the song has a nice jazz feel to it.