This is a great lick that Vinnie plays on “Dong Work for Yuda” from the Frank Zappa album, “Joe’s Garage.” I immediately loved it because it sounded a lot like a famous Gadd lick I love.
The Gadd lick is a well known pattern, very similar to this one. (See example #2 from “Seven Gadd Licks,” else where in this blog). I am fairly certain that the first appearance of Gadd’s use of this lick was on Tom Scott’s tune, “Dirty Old Man,” from Scott’s 1975 album, “New York Connection.”
“Joe’s Garage” was released in 1979 and at the time, it is pretty well documented that Colaiuta was very heavily influenced by Steve Gadd’s playing. I believe that this “Dong Work” lick was inspired by the “Dirty Old Man” lick.
The basic premise here is to take 32nd notes, weave them between the hi hat, snare and bass drum and incorporate them into a groove. What makes these kind of patterns sound cool is that they are fully integrated into the groove of the song….they have a pocket.
Another great thing about licks like this is that they are distributed between multiple limbs in such a way that playing fast becomes very easy.
In order for this to sound good, you have to make sure that all the unaccented snare drum notes are ghosted.
So, have a look at the worksheet, and try this out. It’s sick. I promise. Here’s the link: Nasty Lick 43
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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thanks for posting. been one of my fav 32nd note licks from Vinnie for a long time. here are the hand-outs from Steve Rucker on these licks from when i was at U of Miami in the late 80s:
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Geoff
Hey Geoff — Thanks for stopping by. It’s a great one, isn’t it?!
YAYUH. it’s a beautiful thing. i love practicing this stuff in the woodshed at 80-100, but almost never use it, s’ok. all the gadd, vinnie & similar stuff. another fav of mine is RLLF as hi-hat (R), ghosted snare (LL), hi-hat foot stomp (F). add a loud back beat on 2 w/ the RH. ripped this off via Bissonnette from Brandon Field’s “the other side of the story”. i think solo section in ‘brain dance’.
Ha! I know that one! Good album for drum stuff….. Good lick. I rarely use these licks either….but every once in a while, in a funk tune, you can pull one of them out…..tastefully…..and keeping it in the pocket…..and eyebrows get raised….in a good way. 🙂