This Nasty lick goes around the drums counter-clockwise as 16th note triplets. It takes advantage of a great three note grouping as single strokes that allows you to move back and forth on the toms. Combined with a paradiddle-diddle, the lick becomes one that you can blaze around the drums continuously.
The lick is written out note for note on this PDF: Nasty Lick 118
Check out the video below for a demonstration of the idea from slow to fast with some additional explanation. I hope you have fun with this!
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He first gained attention as one of the winners of Modern Drummer magazine's very first drum solo contest, judged by Rush's Neil Peart.
He's played with Oz Noy, Will Lee, Alison Krauss, Curtis Stigers, Emily Remler, Joel Hoekstra, GE Smith, Andy York, Marshall Crenshaw, Tony Shanahan, The Drifters, The Marvelettes, Big Brother and The Holding Company, and many other artists.
For more info: onlinesessiondrummer.com
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Mark: Thanks for posting this one. What I like most about it…it is technically not difficult to play. One must work it up to speed, but it is a rather simple pattern. Which demonstrates one of my philosophies of drumming…it is not so much what you play, but how you play it. If you have the “sauce” which you do, the most simple ideas can become something special.
Keep up the great work.
Thank you, Lisa! I appreciate your kind words. And I completely agree—this is why technique is so important. Nasty Lick #118 won’t sound right unless your technique is pretty dialed in. It’s simple, but it needs clean execution with the proper dynamics.