Drum Solo Week - Anton Fig (June 6/11)

[GQTheLongIslandSound]

And THIS is why Anton played the drums in place of Peter Criss!

[mobrules29]

Nothing against Anton Fig or any of the drummers for that matter, but every time I see a drum solo I wish it was Buddy Rich. It's the difference between visiting the local minister around the corner and having an audience with the Pope.

[BarryKunz64]

probably the first time Anton has been able to do a solo on all the years hes been on DL

[BillBean104]

Anton is an awesome drummer!

[formattester6]

killer drum sound! deep & heavy!!!

[75DrummerBoy]

There needs to be a drum solo week 3! They never had Kenny Aronoff on there!!!

[regaltip8A]

I guess I am a dickhead and a loser because you say so and all those lessons with Chad Wackerman back in 1990 were a waste of time and money. Ah well.......I guess I'll have to re-evaluate my opinion about Anton whilst I sit back in my $2 million dollar house(paid off). Perhaps I could have been even more successful over the last twenty years as a professional drummer if I drank cough medicine as well.

[MrHydrogoon]

@regaltip8A wow, silly question but what was studying with chad like?

[regaltip8A]

@MrHydrogoon Not a silly question. It was a privilege to be up close with a real pro. He taught me how to rebound the stick through correct use of Moeller Method and to attain a very fluid and relaxed style.Chad is also extremely disciplined as a person. Definitely no "fart" jokes during lessons.The lessons were intense but I could handle them. They were also not cheap. I was practicing about 4-5 hours a day at the time and it paid off. Mr Fig does not touch Chad.

[MrHydrogoon]

@regaltip8A thanks for the reply man. i think chad is an outstanding player, must have been fantastic to study with him. just out of interest were there any specific books you worked out of? thanks and all the best

[siti1ca]

funny thing is Anton needed the band to do the horn kicks/accents

Neil does them all by himself

Greatest drummer ever Neil Peart FTW

[regaltip8A]

I used to have a lot of respect for Anton until I read Ace Frehleys book. Doing drugs and drinking cough medicine with Ace for a cheap high. LOSER. Gavin Harrison kicks his ass and is a real pro (No Drugs).

[libidooverdrive]

@regaltip8A Uh.. that was in 1983.So.. you know..uh.. maybe since he's kept his Letterman job that uh.. maybe he cleaned up? so ..could.. there be a chance.. um that your the LOSER. and perhaps uh... a dickhead as well.? (yes you are).

[bujinkandojoninja]

love it!!!

[mdsoultrain]

3 snares ...wow

[TheBigFreckle1]

Waitwaitwait, did Steve Gadd not do a solo? Not like his been the world's best drummer for 40 years.

[s9bryant]

Too Bad John Bonham couldn't have been on there...

[jazzfusionsoul]

How many drummers does it take to change a light bulb?

One ah....Two ah.. One....Two.....Three...Four ;)

[mrsonicfeet]

Good phrases

[JRO2681]

Check out Chris Coleman

[jdrum12]

@JRO2681 Chris Coleman is ten times more entertaining than this Canadian...

[indigenous4logic]

@jdrum12 Ok, enough with Chris Coleman already. And Anton is South African, but lived in the US for most of his life.

[jdrum12]

@indigenous4logic You're right. It is Paul Schaeffer that is Canadian..my error. I like Anton Fig but he's pretty mediocre for a big name, well'paid, on TV every night kind of drummer..This solo wasn't the most exciting thing I've ever seen. It was pretty disappointing in fact..

[indigenous4logic]

@jdrum12 Letterman made Anton apart of drum solo week out of respect mostly, no doubt there are more superior drummers.

[Jundrami]

@indigenous4logic actually, you would be surprised how amazing anton fig is at drums, i think he is waaay up there on the list, i only say this because of how much feel he has in his playing, he has so much soul in his drumming, and his drumming is beautiful, i think he is amazing!

[indigenous4logic]

@Jundrami I'm not surprised at all how good he is, I know he's a great drummer. I was happy to upload this and it was fitting that Anton lead off with "Drum Solo Week". There will always be the argument who's better than who and why was so and so not included. I'm looking forward to Solo Week 3 and I will be uploading that as well,

[jmdrummer7]

It amazes me how we as drummers say this drummer is better than that drummer. It's like a personality, everybody is different. Every drummer that took part in the drummer week special was very good. End of story.

[TNO73]

@jmdrummer7 I tend to agree. To each their own. I love Anton. He is great. He may lack "passion" but I still think as far as living Rock drummers Neil is the best. And I can't quite grasp the fascination with Travis Barker. Everything I have ever seen is nothing special to me. but again to those that like him...great.

[jmdrummer7]

@TNO73 I like Anton but as you said, not much passion. I guess it's the whole studio guy thing, show up, play the song, get paid, and on to the next job. As far as Travis Barker, I agree, nothing special. However, he plays in a popular band that has it's own following, sort of like Phil Rudd in AC/DC.

[lamecasuelas2]

@jmdrummer7 not much passion?? he looks like he is almost shitting his pants

[beyondwhatwecansee]

The build-up into the breakdown at 2:53 is just epic ... it's so easy to overlook how good Fig is, because you rarely get to see him cut loose.

[dylanacious]

he looks like somethins wrong with him when he's playing ha ha,and he does some cool stuff,but this solo starts goin south towards the end.Seriously.

[MrTimaines]

I remember when he was with Ace Frehley's Comet. Loved him ever since...he is the man..still smooooth

[mprimecoleman]

Gotta love Anton!!! Absolutely sweet cymbal sound at 2:54. Just listen to him ride that thing. Nice.

[MrBostonrobb]

Great drum sound! I'm with the other's who've commented on Fig's snare sound. SWEET SNARE DRUM Anton!

[AspiringRocker729]

Wicked drummer, but man... That snare drum stole the show for me.

[AspiringRocker729]

Wicked drummer, but man... That snare drum stole the show for me.

[deja0entendu]

GOODNESS I love that snare sound! Solid solo. Some pretty combos in there

[darkid78]

Haters just mad because he's a big name drummer and is really good :)

[MetalDrummer776]

I love the CBs orchestra

[Xenochria]

2:52 onwards blows my mind

[Drums5B]

Not a big fan of heavy use of double bass in solos

[TickTockTorrez]

@Drums5B I totally agree with you man. Space is one of the coolest things to mess around with, take the space out of it and the rhythm becomes soulless

[jts024]

This is actually better than anything I've seen chad sexton do

[Tamaslammer]

And Will Lee is saying... "shucks... no bass player week I guess"....

[Tamaslammer]

I don't want to be his dry cleaner after that.... : D

[marcusvisionmedia]

what's with all the hatin on Anton? He played a great solo.....hatin losers

[GravitySucks32]

Great solo !!! Very cool groove near the end !

[TheMegablake]

he would probably quit drumming if he seen chad sexton or danny carey play

[bigmtnfudgecake]

@TheMegablake lmao!! uh.... NO. anton is a professional musician. don't get me wrong i love me some sexton and carey

[dinolovesdrums]

Anton Fig was one of the best performances out of all these famous drummers who graced the stage on letterman! listen to his drum sound, his flawless technique, and most important his musicality!

[49russman]

I saw Neil Peart's solo on drum solo week...and though I love Neil, Anton kicked the shit out of him.

[greggschmitz]

While I admit that Neil Peart is probably the best rock and roll drummer of our time, to dismiss anybody else's performance as sub par is just plain immature and classless.

[squishymedic]

They should let Anton do this once a night!! All that and he didn't sweat. I'd be sweating like it was my parole hearing!! Nice job Fig.

[theothertroll]

Anton and Paul are homosexual lovers.

[1934rod]

not impressed

[c0d3x001]

is that a 15" snare?

[sh4p31y]

@c0d3x001 i think it's 14", but the wood hoops make it seem wider

[c0d3x001]

@sh4p31y that might be true... but it looks huge doesn't it?

[theothertroll]

@sh4p31y - it's a 15"

[djivibe]

Awesome - he could've done so much more, but kept it "simple" (rudiments, etc.)



[Fartnocker57]

WHAT????!!!

No Danny Carey! 

[StainedHumanity1]

@Fartnocker57 don't think this would be careys sort of thing

[SKXish]

@Fartnocker57 no dennis chambers end of story!! PS buddy rich doesnt count

[richcapo]

@Fartnocker57 Carey is an amazing drummer, but not a very accomplished soloist in my opinion. His rhythms are unbelievable, but he's never quite done it for me with his solos. Still one of the best around, though.

[richcapo]

Nice little solo. Very much Neil Peart influenced, I think.

[Jundrami]

@Fartnocker57 the idea was to take drum solos from different genres, and neil peart covers prog rock, so thats one of the reasons danny carey didnt do it, im sure there were other reasons, but i hope you get the idea.

[TheMurty01]

@Fartnocker57 What a joke, hes a tool

[2468DDT]

@Fartnocker57 Or Animal from the Muppets?

[TheDusterB]

I'm sure you all watched as Mike M was welcomed into the Dream Theater family. Did you happen to catch what we said about finally have a home?? Anton has had one of the most sought after "HOMES" any serious professional drummer could want! for over 25 years! Congrats Anton and nice chops!!

[theothertroll]

@TheDusterB - an over paid Hollywood fucker in a sweet threads - if that "home" makes you that lame and lethargic you can fucking have that shit.

[suiteepee1]

so smoke it up bro

[suiteepee1]

hey kidchronic, you are one of these kids that spends absolutely too much time on the internet and if you had any soul at al you might appreciate this.

[DeanCollingridge]

Drum solo week best idea ever. bring on Dave Lombardo from Slayer/Fantomas. or Terry Bodizzio from frank zappa

[Fartnocker57]

@DeanCollingridge A fukkin Men!

[snapascrew]

CANT WAIT FOR NEIL PEART

[ChristofurLandar]

I think he did fairly well. He does his thing night after night for the show and it was nice for him to get his chance in the spotlight.

[JonP1961]

@ChristofurLandar

Agreed

[kidchronic2112]

Ok I wasn't impressed at all. I can't wait to see Neil Peart blow them all away.

[TheSportSatellite]

@kidchronic2112 How many drummers does it take to change a lightbulb? Two, one to change the lightbulb, and another to talk about how much better Neil Peart could've done it.

[gshdrums]

@TheSportSatellite Neil Pert? Really? His good but his playing is so boring...

[NIKONGUY1960]

@TheSportSatellite Or Mike Portnoy! Jeez.Let's not forget him. They're all good. Give 'em their due, please!

[metallicarocks911]

@kidchronic2112 your so close-minded... there are better drummers out there than him...