Musicians can be finicky folk -- of course, there are countless ways any artist can construct their command centers, and comedian/drummer Fred Armisen is hyper-aware of the different personality traits that a drum set can reveal about its owner.
LISTEN NOW: Fred Armisen joins Literally! With Rob Lowe
Some drummers like Meg White of The White Stripes, for example, go for a simple setup of a bass drum, snare, maybe a tom-tom, and a couple of cymbals. Others, like Van Halen founder Alex Van Halen, have at times chosen to go way over the top, adding double-double bass drums, ALL of the toms, and an entire wall worth of shiny brass crashes, chimes, and gongs.
Speaking with actor Rob Lowe on his Literally! With Rob Lowe podcast, Fred Armisen, a drummer since he was 12-years-old, says he's constantly looking at and judging his fellow artists' drum kits, and even admits that he can see deeper into their characters by the way they carry themselves and how they choose to practice and perform.
Fred emphasizes that he is "ALWAYS" evaluating the way his fellow drummers build their drum sets, saying he can usually "just tell what kind of drumming they're gonna do. If there's too much stuff -- like a lot of little cymbals and stuff -- you just know there's gonna be a lot of playing, as opposed to just playing along to the song, or just keeping the beat."
"Weirdly, and this happens with people who have extra money, but aren't really playing that much music," he continues, "when it's really expensive equipment. When you see a lot of hardware and brand new drums, that's when it looks like a hobby... I think a lot of the more respected and successful drummers have kind of scaled-down kits because they're so confident in their own playing... a lot of really accomplished drummers keep it simple."
Although fans know him best from his comedic roles on IFC's Documentary Now!, and Portlandia, and his tenure on Saturday Night Live, "I still consider myself an active drummer," Armisen says. "Even if I'm doing comedy; if I'm doing something on a show... I still approach it like I'm a drummer."
Listen to the full episode above, and for more drum talk with Fred Armisen, be sure to check out his Netflix special Stand Up for Drummers, featuring a bunch of his famous stick-flipping friends and quite a few inside jokes crafted especially for beatmakers.
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