Frank Zappa Keep it Greasy Vinnie Colaiuta 1979 By Aussie Drum Nerd James Dennett

[MrGrilloEnrico]

PERFECT!

[methwatch]

spot on

[Moopsy2000]

TheSuese, the amazement to Zappa's music is that he has played with so many great musicians and most of the song he performs were written by Frank. Every note, not just rhythms and melodies, but drum solos and guitar solos. Live concerts were a whole different story. The mix of young and old nerds and hippies were there to hear Franks arrangement of his classic songs that were. barely recognizable with the amazing band that was on tour that year. Usually the song was better than the first time

[TheSuese]

I don't understand why Frank Zappa is considered such a genius. Can someone enlighten me? His music always seems to sound like a purposefully screwed up (and screwed up timing-wise) version of the type of theatre music that was popular in musicals in those days.  That hardly seems extraordinarily noteworthy to me. Noteworthy but what gives about Frank Zappa? enlighten me please

[GusFogle]

@TheSuese Enlighten you? Ok, you're one of those unfortunate souls who have no sense of humor when it comes to music, no appreciation of out-of-the-box arrangements, and virtuoso musicianship. Frank Zappa has over 70 albums to his name. I wonder how many you listened to before you reached your opinion of him?

[TheSuese]

@GusFogle No, I guess I'm not a fan of virtuoso's. Worked with too many in my time for it to be anything impressive to me. 70 albums is pretty damn impressive even if the songs weren't the greatest. I still don't see why it's as amazing as people say. I find it 'funny' in the absurd sense but I don't really laugh at it. I can't say I have a huge opinion of Frank Zappa, I'm just CURIOUS why people think it's so legendary. I don't actually prefer this music but I can appreciate what it is.

[senorvolasco]

@TheSuese

Genius can't be explained. If you don't "get it," then that's all there is to it; it's one of those things you have to listen for and realize yourself.

[MrPanntriste]

Muy bueno maestro, terrible ejecucion!!!

[gomesfelipe]

insane



[gracie1232]

Wonderful version of this. Best Ive seen on YT.

I love this track but can never work out what it goes into at 1:17.

Any clues for us mere mortals?

[aussiedrumnerd]

@gracie1232 Hi mate. I have 2 video responses that are tutorials on this page which will hopefully help. I also have some transcripts of the patterns on my aussie drum nerd facebook page. Thanks so much for the feedback and happy drumming!

[gracie1232]

@aussiedrumnerd Thanks very much for your insights and response, will check out the links!

[roadtonever]

Awesome job! Love these Vinnie/Zappa lines(I'm a guitarist)

[jmfdrums]

As a Zappa fan - all drummer included - I applaud your fortitude to get these tunes down. Well done!

[HeatherK55]

This is awesome dude, your polyrhythms are flawless.

[Greatmcwhite]

A highly skilled musician shows how it is done. Excellent.

[crabbymcnutt]

I wouldn't know about Vinnie if not for Zappa, he seems to attract the best drummers. Including you.  My jaw is on the floor. Congrats!

[aussiedrumnerd]

@crabbymcnutt Thanks so much!

[cadrums]

Unreal. Vinnie and Steve Jordan should have a test tube baby....the offspring would burn a groove straight through the earth's core

[aussiedrumnerd]

Thanks for all the nice comments guys. I really appreciate it.

[notnowjon]

Great!!!

[chrisgr00ver]

i think ive posted on this video before but its still awesome. good job buddy

[Lexcoaster]

Great job! Seriously difficult stuff. Also, your cowbell is mounted upside down. :)

[spacemonkey1463]

Gawd DAMN, boy!

[ambush77]

jeez..get a new snare head...lame ass..

[bangbettercom]

good job. nice set.

[jakenicolle]

That's a crazy long hi Hat Rod... Great playing!

[wbegg1]

I play K's. Awesome cymbals.

[BrianFosterdrummer]

Awesome cover great playing!

Please vote formy vid at drummeroftomorrow com to help me

become the drummer of tomorrow!

[kananase]

YEAH!!! Now THAT'S what I'M talkin' about!! That was the stuff!

[gazbuck]

FREAKING AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!



[gogogadgetspoon]

Holy fuck.

[faco1984]

Que genial poder ver de forma tan clara las baterias del maestro Colaiuta!

[jjmora05]

Bravooooo yeah!!!

[pscottartist]

Bravo !! Thanks for posting this.

[maxbot67]

francesco zappa vincenzocolaiuta w,l'itaia

[DarthKazi]

Very cool. I transcribed this years ago and it was rough.

[BLITZKRIEGBOP84]

GREAT PLAYING!!



[Fluffyfluffyhead]

what's with that big crater in your snare head?? lol

[chrisgr00ver]

yeah, I agree with everyone else so far, your drumming is superb. this is definitely a hard track to play, regardless of time signature.

[projekctgonzo]

Great, great performance. Colaiuta´s stuff on Zappa is awesome and hard. You f´n rule

[aussiedrumnerd]

@projekctgonzo 

[aussiedrumnerd]

@projekctgonzo it certainly is! thanks for the comment!

[potterboy88]

COOL! Looks like your snare head is about to give out :)

[THX10538]

Dude that was fuckin awesome

[SonorSonicFan]

I am not a Zappa fan, but his music has some pretty trick stuff that is hard to play, and you are doing a great job. Very impressive.

[zepgen8]

awesome my friend..very hard track to nail, well not for you....superb..I'm a great zappa freak..and love the Vinnie...any more zappa mo'n'herb's vacation..anyone ?.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@zepgen8 Thanks mate!

[johnnykadkad]

are you following a chart of the song as you play?

[aussiedrumnerd]

@johnnykadkad I had literally just finished learning it before I recorded this I had a guide chart for some of the little notes I may have forgotten

[johnnykadkad]

@aussiedrumnerd seems pretty note for note in my opinion. damn good job.

[BrotherAngstrom]

Thanks for sharing. That is a great performance, and also one of my favorite Zappa songs.  Vinnie is one of the best, would you agree?

[aussiedrumnerd]

@BrotherAngstrom Thanks. Yeah Vinnie is a god on the drums!

[subjulio]

Glory!!!

[Honeysucklebommie]

Going off mate, A master, youre so relaxed, I'd be like animal from the Muppets, dripping.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@Honeysucklebommie haha thanks man! animal is awesome tho!

[phizzo11]

fantastic playing

[CH3MIS7RY]

I've managed to understand the 19/16 first verse and outro...but I'll be an old man before I understand the 21/16 second verse.

[knoxlobster]

youve done the right thing

[AlexJadidrummer]

It's really really impressive ! Awesome job on odd time sign and for the ghost notes too ! You fucking nailed this song.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@AlexJadidrummer Thanks mate!

[Nemonautilus666]

Very god. Vinnie estaría orgulloso. I guess this song is the better in Joe Garage.

[Nemonautilus666]

Genial. Vinnie estaría orgulloso.

[thepatient678]

So good man!!!!

[TheGumboVariator]

Catholic Booooooooooys (Vinnie Colauita)

[spercoco]

Right around 1:26 where they say "here comses that crazy screaming Sally" is that the part people say is in 19/16? I couldn't count it that way. I just count one measure of 4/4 and then a quick 3 count. Seems to work but I was wondering how you count it if at all? The part at 1:18 I'm not sure about.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@spercoco The 19/16 starts at about 0:37. I have some tutorial videos breaking down the drum parts for this song, check it out. Hope it helps you!

[Urbansoul02]

Great playing and sound, 5 stars!

[Easleytee]

35 years of experience produced this?

Yawn.

[sarinapaparone]

Nice work mate. Love this track!

[MagicalJohnny]

I have the same poster! In the same position! ahahahahahahah! Fucking love you and this crazy song!

[aussiedrumnerd]

@MagicalJohnny haha! Yeah I need to use it more myself! Thanks man!

[BraveBoySnapper]

Bloody awesome! Your style is so cool & relaxed.

I wish I had chops that good.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@BraveBoySnapper Thanks for watching, I appreciate the comment!

[YaHozna1]

Really, really good mate, don't know what else to say. Thanks a lot for doing the tutorial too.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@YaHozna1 My pleasure!

[Rory5421]

what kit is that?

[aussiedrumnerd]

@Rory5421 It's a yamaha oak custom. Brady snare.

[Rory5421]

@aussiedrumnerd Would you recommend the yamaha oak custom? I've been looking at getting one for a while now

[twelge15]

Fantastic job!! If you could play the fadeout chops this yr. that would be amazing!

[circuitdesign]

Dude, I'm going to give you 9 stars out of 10 for that one. Why not 10 out of 10? Only Vinnie gets 10 out of 10!  Ha ha! Seriously, great job. By the way, I studied with Gary Chaffee for 2 years, so I think I know what I'm talking about.

[MiragegariM1]

Very nice work! From a 35 year veteran of drumming. You should be proud of yourself!

[aussiedrumnerd]

@MiragegariM1 Thanks mate I appreciate it

[GrannyBX]

All I can say is "wow" :)

[pirrung123]

Great Man :o)

[romadrummer77]

ya man sound great!

[BulletInTheHead]

Great job dude, best cover I've seen so far!

RIP Frank.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@BulletInTheHead Thankyou!

[shaolinkungfu666]

nice. how do you have your stuff mic'd? i don't see any mics.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@shaolinkungfu666 Very basic I just have a shure sm58 overhead and the music is coming through a foldback to my left, I sometimes use a second mic near the foldback can't remember if I did on this vid. I will hopefully get some more drum mics soon.

[macurdy]

What a quality kick ass video post! Nice job!

[macurdy]

What a quality kick ass video post! Nice job!

[estvan56]

Grat stuff. You make it look easy. Any chance on a vid showing the drumming during the solo?

[estvan56]

@estvan56 Just noticed your other parts to the video. lol

[WhyDoYouAskWhoIam]

Very good! And I'm not familiar with Frank's music at all! Keep it up, be great, and stay humble, mate. Peace.

[adojferz]

MAN!!!......WTF?!?!

[PositivelyBored]

16th note triplet added on 4/4 to make it 19/16 iirc. CHeck out Drummerworld and search keep it greasy if you want to begin to break it down.

[rushfan89]

Hey, could I put in a request for "Heart of the Sunrise" by Yes?

[iamcraiger]

great job, thanks for that

[groseille]

Great job !!!

Where did you get the drumless track ?

[aussiedrumnerd]

@groseille Hey thanks!

It is not drumless, I Just played over the original track.

[dannysmokes73]

i dont know shit about drums, but i do know frank zappa's music was incredibly complex, including all of the drums, so it goes without saying that are quite incredible.

[yourpaljc]

Killer man! Fabulous groove. Loving it here in England. Go check out vintage Joe Morrello youtube clips of his solos with Brubeck, I've just discovered them & I think you'll love them. JC

[LukeSnyderMusic]

Wow, killer playing man! I'm impressed... there's some tough grooves in this piece

[DRUMJUNKIE]

Thanks a lot for your comment.

Your playing is awesome - I really love Frank Zappa, Vinnie Colaiuta etc..so I often return to your Videos. Everybody can learn from everyone (o:

I´m doing Frank Zappa´s Echidna´s Arf next week. Hope you will enjoy!

Thanks - have a good time!

[DRUMJUNKIE]

Thanks a lot for your comment.

Your playing is awesome - I really love Frank Zappa, Vinnie Colaiuta etc..so I often return to your Videos.

I´m doing Frank Zappa´s Echidna´s Arf next week. Hope you will enjoy!

Thanks - have a good time!

[Informatisse]

THANKS A LOT ! I'm learning drums and this video will be very helpfull. I love Colaiuta and his work with Zappa (especially Shut Up 'n' Play Yer Guitar). But I always wanted to see Keep It Greasy played and to learn it !

By the way, your interpretation is very accurate. Perfect !

[sandite26]

Man, you're really keeping that together very well. Very impressive. And thumbs up for having such sophisticated taste.

[danlc95]

Beautiful work! Thank you for sharing!

[johnbidochka]

Very inspiring! There are thousands of videos of people playing along with their favorate music, but so far, this is the only one I found so riveting I had to watch it over again. You handle Vinnie very professionally - I look forward to anything you put out in the future.

[BlogsofWoolhouse]

Brilliant!!!

[EliotKrupa]

just  awesome, great job!

[ilikezappa]

Just great ! I wish I could do that but I cant so I have to put up with being a weeedly weeee guitarist

[rushfan89]

This is amazing! You got this note-for-note! Vinnie's drumming is so fluid, yet sharp and angular at the same time. He's my second favorite Zappa drummer - ever so slightly behind the killer combo of Ralph Humphrey and Chester Thompson.

[doum5792]

Saw Zappa plays zappa last night in montreal, you could have been Joe Travers and would'nt have noticed, great job man, excellent !

[aussiedrumnerd]

@doum5792

Thanks man I appreciate it

[antibulletdodger101]

@doum5792 I thought he was dead

[rickyjshiznit]

@antibulletdodger101 zappa plays zappa is frank's son dweezil zappa and his band(which includes ex-members of franks band) playing all of frank's music live.

[antibulletdodger101]

@rickyjshiznit ok, thank you

[InHumanForm555]

Damn!! Is there any chance you can do a video isolating and breaking down the odd parts in a lesson, so us mortals can get a glimpse as to how to pull off this madness. Despite it being odd, is it one of those types of things, like a hemiola, that eventually comes around, and can be felt still in 4/4? Or is it easier to interpret with the odd perspective. I would love to be able to understand this, who wouldn't, but something of this caliber seems like a magician giving up one of his tricks.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@InHumanForm555

Thanks heaps for watching and commenting! Yes I plan on doing a video breaking down all the sections very soon, your message has inspired me further to do it! so thanks!

[underagedpickle]

@InHumanForm555 feel it in 4/4 with three 16th notes at the end of each measure

[hotdrumchick]

DAMN!! When he hit __:35, I went "WTF"!!! I can't do that! This is sweet----and he was sight-reading too?? DAMN!!

[beats1969]

excellant ! i can tell you actually like frank's music ! nice job !!

[palipao]

Brilliant!!!

[o0Zappa0o]

Sweet man! Excellent hi-hat, sublime tom-work and awesome time keeping on such intricate and varied timings! So few drummers cover Zappa and so few of those do it well! You do. Very nice! I'm subbing with a vote for more Zappa!! :)

[aussiedrumnerd]

@o0Zappa0o

thanks for the that! diggin your vids 2 man!

[peterkroon]

Nice!

[drumbot23]

AWESOME DUDE! vinnie is my idol. joe's garage made me love him. thanks for this

[aussiedrumnerd]

@drumbot23

My pleasure! Do you know the other zappa albums that vinnie played on?

[BlogsofWoolhouse]

@aussiedrumnerd YCDTOS VOL 6 Check out Thirteen. Mad Improvising.

[noworriesimfijian]

Hey that's bloody awesome mate, just one question is that the sheet music you're reading from on that wall poster in front of you or are you just playing from memory with the track? Anywhich way bloody impressive.......

[aussiedrumnerd]

@noworriesimfijian

Thanks for watching!! That poster in front of me is my vic Firth rudiments poster, I have memorised it but I did use a guide sheet with the bars and repeats as i literally finished learning it before I recorded this take.Thanks again!

[Monnya]

Awesome. If you had taken the drummer test by Zappa, you could have played in the Zappa band.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@Monnya

Thankyou for the great compliment, the thing is that this is only one of many crazy zappa pieces!

[rpetersdrummerboy]

Well done man! What's the meter at 1:17? Thats the only part i've never been able to figure out...is that the 21/16?

[aussiedrumnerd]

@rpetersdrummerboy

Hi! yeah that is the 21/16 section. I might do a video soon showing all the section slowed down. Thanks for your feed back!

[SlikkTim]

Goddamn bro, you basically nailed that shit !! Now im gonna have to do a bass vid to this... haha

[aussiedrumnerd]

@SlikkTim

thanks! when you do let me know, that would be awesome!

[hypoclit]

AMAZING!!!!!! this song to me is the black page and you presented the feel, dynamics, and notation wonderfully.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@hypoclit Thanks so much!!

[zepgen8]

@aussiedrumnerd .You'r ea top drummer..I love zappa And Vinnie You nailed it alrght..Keep them coming.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@zepgen8

Thanks for watching. The more comments and subscribers I get the more motivation I get! so thanks

[antibulletdodger101]

crazy good

[aussiedrumnerd]

@antibulletdodger101

Thanks man!

[AussieGuitarNerd]

Youve got more hits on this one than i do on my whole channel man...you are smashin son

[Rodgebi]

Great job man, congrats.

[1982Rafael]

Excellent!

[jtc95]

good stuff J.D

[gerardoarizpe]

Hey Men! this is nice!, congrats take care

[Slipstream0001]

Another great video. I wanna ask you about your technique - I notice you keep your index fingers kinda straight, why?

[aussiedrumnerd]

@Slipstream0001

Hi mate! thanks again for your feed back. Im using the Dave Weckl , Freddie Gruber grip approach (or trying to!) of using the thumb and the second finger as the fulcrum point to increase natural rebound and sometimes the grip is quite loose and sometimes my index finger straightens when I use this technique aloowing plenty of room for the stick to automatically rebound, when I play heavier music it tends to close up more. I hope that kinda explains it a little. Thanks again

[b0b1919]

awesome stuff

[kingcherub]

nice



[Lifesucksdie123]

nice job dude!

you got skillz...

i think your next project should be stuff of holdsworths secrets.

city nights perhaps?

[aussiedrumnerd]

@Lifesucksdie123

Thanks man I will check it out!

[Rajhoul]

Hopefully you challenged yourself by playing along with Frank's guitar solo.

[aussiedrumnerd]

@Rajhoul

I was going to leave that improv section in but it just sounded more solid ending it on the tag, that part just feels like a jam at the end might have sounded messy with the 2 kits dualing in 19/16 hehe. Thanks for viewing

[AussieGuitarNerd]

DYLAN! This is an unreal job unlike me you put so much effort in and it pays to get this kind of perfection!.