vdreignsuponus1

virgil donati...virgil donati...

okay guys, everyone here atleast has an idea of how awesome this son of a ***** is. in my oppinion, he is more than likely, the best in the world. well, he's the best drummer i've ever seen.

what i want to talk about is him in general. what can we do for him? also, id like to start a virgil donati fan club down here. any suggestions? but anyway, just say anything u wanna say about virgil, go ahead..

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"This is an art; it's not a sports competition." -Dave Weckl
"Virg is the pinnacle for what is possible technically and creatively." -kirk
www.myspace.com/slavetothestix2

Lucius

He is one of two people in which is the reason why I keep playing, next to Pete, Virgil is the best drummer I have ever seen and heard (but never have seen live ). Thank you Virg, for giving us that fire in our belly to keep playing, and constantly pushing our, or at least my limits! Please never stop drumming!!

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WOW, I had mustard?!

vdreignsuponus1

i wanna thank u for everything virgil. u r, by far, my #1 inspiration. and when u see my article in "Modern Drummer" sometime in the future, ull see who i mention as my biggest influences. ur name will be #1 on that list virgil. thank u sooo much man. im sure ur very proud of how far uve come. all of us here r also so very proud of u virgil. u have become a god amoung men and continue to reign upon us with ur glory. thank u soo much virgil for ur hard work and dedication. i hope to become half of what u r virgil donati. u r a drummer that is changing the world.

__________________
"This is an art; it's not a sports competition." -Dave Weckl
"Virg is the pinnacle for what is possible technically and creatively." -kirk
www.myspace.com/slavetothestix2

Milo Porto

thanx virg...!

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www.myspace.com/brandonkhoo

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There's nothing for you to fight against, You're so unreal it's evident, You'll never be one of our kind
This ain't yours, **** you don't try, again we will rise! - lamb of god

Revan

Not to downplay Virgil, but someone else you guys might check out is Vinnie Colaiuta. Both of these guys rip like no others.

Lucius

Im well aware of Vinnie, and I rate him very highly as a drummer, and know what he is capable of, and I listen to his stuff everyday, and is high up there in my favorites, but I seem to like Virgil better, maybe cause he's Australian hehe I dunno, just something about his playing that inspires me so much... Along with Pete!

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WOW, I had mustard?!

kirk

I have been listening to Vinnie for 20 years and he and Virg are my faves. Virg is just more advanced and innovative in the interdependence / polyrhythmic coordination department, he has also raised the agility/ dexterity bar and his feet are completely on another level. What is so similar about them is their OFF THE WALL INSANE phrasing, the BEST ever no doubt IMO so technical but yet so fluid and the creativity level is freaky. They go off into other realms where few dare to go and they keep it all together. What has always blew me away about Vinnie is his RIDICULOUS left hand, just outrageous talk about control with the left he has it in spades. Both TRUE genius's and Pioneer's in the world of drumming.

Kirk

blackzoner

Hey Donati "Freaks" I just wanted to give my 2 cents. Well maybe my $2000 dollars;->worth!!

Ever since I found about & heard him play back in 94 or 95, I KNEW this guy was special, his continuing superhuman work ethic, & unreal practice routine put him at the very top eschelon of drummers playing today & advancing the 'art' of drumming'!

Even at his incredible level of playing he cointinues to PUSH himself practicing at odd & new patterns, & somehow figures out new combinations & uses them! He wants to & forces himself to attempt new ideas & develope them. The guy is like NO OTHER DRUMMER! AMAZING!

Yeah I agree there are a couple of other drummer's that play great & further their skills, but(& know this is all 'subjetive')I think he is the finest player doing his thing today! In my mind no-one takes the craft of drumming more seriously than Donati & he constantly is working on new techniques to be the best! Like the "Terminator" or "Max Cady" of drumming....nothing will stop him!

I hate to 'ass kiss' but Virgil deserves this recognition!

His efforts w/ the many bands he continues to play with PX-OTV-CAB- Freakhouse & his stuff with Scott Hendersdon(I'll cherish the songs he performed w/Tribal Tech in 95 at a F#*king "Travelodge" in Australia are insane.Btw if ANYONE has more than the 4 songs that I have pls contact me for a trade, as I have alot!)& Bret Garsed ect ect(even the Tina Arena concert I have!)boggles my mind at how he can memorize & recall all these diverse & complicated tunes! I especially love the cover that both CAB & the 7/13/03 OTV band played at the "Potato". It's Billy Cobhams brilliant "Quadrant 4" fusion masterpeice & Virgil gets an extended solo & wow's the crowd! Incredible.Unreal! This after playing for 2hrs 30 mins!

Imo, Virgil has taken the drums to new places previously only explored in my mind by the old master's like Buddy Rich & Gene Krupa(well arguably there could be some others)but Virg is today's 'groundbreaker', & has been for awhile now!

I've had the Steve Vai dbl dvd's for months now(sorry you PAL only dvd owner's have to wait another 2 wks!)& besides Virgil's great drumming during those "Astoria"shows you must listen to the audio comnmentary track to hear the other musician's applaude Virg as the finest drummer Vai ever toured with! And he had some great one's, Bozzio-Mangini-ect!

To vdreignsuponus1 r u sure your Donati article for MD will be published? I Hope so.
Also I want you to know that my comments about your being down in the dumps was totally sincere, & at your age advice from us 'old folks' may seem out of wack, but believe me 'usually' when you get older, you get wiser, just cause you been thru all the crappola! I Meant what I said & hope you can learn from it & feel better about your situation! I have a 22 yr old drummer/guitar playing son who often thinks my ideas SUCK & won't pay attention, but that's the norm between geezer's & youngster's. Hell I was the exact same way! You'll see how u r thinking changes over the yrs!

KIRK: I agree that Vinnie is probably my 2nd fave drummer(Chambers is a monster too, and a # of others) & has complete command over his kit than just about anyone else. Virg does have a huge edge in certain area's, foot speed(2nd TO NONE!)insane crossover's, & is a genius at incorporating his new patterns in the music he plays! I've never heard him play the same solo twice, NEVER, & what he does play fit's perfectly within the music he's playing!

I know this is a 'taboo' subject w/Virgil & probably a few of you guy's/girl's reading this
but I have quite a few unofficial video's featuring him & I don't sell or profit from them(they're for my enjoyment & to study)but some of the "Baked Potato" "Beacon Theatre"
CAB vid's & other's(Ever seen "Freakhouse"? That's how diverse his skills are!) are just unbelieveable to watch & listen to! While most of you won't admit it, you likely have 'unofficial' Virgil video's & audio clinic's like I do;->

I apologize for the length of this post I just get carried away when speaking about Virgil! So flame away if you wish but until Chris deem's my posts r too long & not worthwhile i'll probably keep writing the ocassional LOOOOONG POST! "Drum's Are My Beat" A Sandy Nelson album title for you oldsters like myself! Blackzoner

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"And the pantalooned duck, white goose neck quacked, Webcor-Webcor." from the song "Golden Birdies" Don Van Vliet(AKA-Beefheart)

Hip Alien

'Vinnie' is my personal favorite drummer but 'Virg' is definately in my top 5. The 1st time i saw him was at the 'Montreal Drumfest' in 96'. He came out and completely floored every single spectator. Ever since, i've been a huge fan, he and guys like 'Marco' and 'Jojo' are pushing new concepts into the future. But having said this, as much as i love this guy, i don't think he has the vocabulary that 'Vinnie' has. His phrasing is very 'Vinnie' influenced but not as way out. Also, 'Vinnie' plays any style with such ease, taste and identity. They are certainly 2 pioneers in the drumming world, but sorry to have to disagree with you on a couple of things here Kirk.

vdreignsuponus1

i cant get enough of vinnie. what ive seen vinnie do is just genius. IMO, i think that if u put virg and vinnie right next to each other and just had their chance to go off, i think virgil would clear the floor. again, IMO.

__________________
"This is an art; it's not a sports competition." -Dave Weckl
"Virg is the pinnacle for what is possible technically and creatively." -kirk
www.myspace.com/slavetothestix2

kirk

I have heard Virg phrase in way's that technically speaking Vinnie could not do I believe IMHO. When Virg starts incorporating the feet with the hands he goes ahead of Vinnie IMO(Vinnie just does not have the rhythmic interdependence of Virg or Marco so the phrasing is just more complex in certain respects.) There are some tunes off both Hoekstra discs that Virg phrases like I have heard NO ONE do before. Virgil's performances from the last few clinic tours(2002 and 2003) playing along to song's like Quantum factor and Ataraxia feature phrasing that IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE! the most complex and creative I have EVER heard bar none! What I heard Virg do with these songs live with Planet X was stunning BUT what he is doing with them now is really ILLEGAL or it should be! To quote Derek Defield's from the HOD board "Vinnie was sitting right next to me watching Virg go off in the last year and he(Vinnie) was ****TING! his pants in disbelief." There have been a few outrageous Vinnie quotes regarding Virg. It takes ALOT to BLOW! Vinnie C. away no doubt and Virg seems to do it regularly.

Kirk

Lucius

Hey Blackzoner, check out your private messages

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WOW, I had mustard?!

Xen-

Yeah Lucius I need those videos, too.

Hip Alien

We each have our own opinions concerning 'Vinnie and Virg', but speaking in general, they are both up there and whoever we prefer more ISN'T light years ahead of the other. Don't think 'Virgil' doesn't freak out over 'Vinnie' as well. To quote 'John Patitucci': 'Vinnie is somewhat of a genius' (talking about his favorite drummers- 'Vinnie, Gary Novak, and Weckl at a bass clinic.)