{"id":2911,"date":"2023-07-29T17:12:39","date_gmt":"2023-07-29T17:12:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=2911"},"modified":"2023-07-29T17:14:41","modified_gmt":"2023-07-29T17:14:41","slug":"ftv-the-mad-drummer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/?p=2911","title":{"rendered":"FTV: The Mad Drummer"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On July 14, 2008, a random music fan shot a video of Rick K and the Allnighters performing at an amusement park in Pennsylvania.\u00a0 Two years later, someone else posted it to YouTube under the heading \u2018This Drummer is At the Wrong Gig!\u2019 and it promptly went viral.\u00a0 The singer introduces the ZZ Top tune <\/span>Sharp Dressed Man<\/span><\/i> and then leaves the stage for a breather as his three-man backup band takes over the show.\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t intended to be a showcase for the drummer, but as the song progresses, the clip focuses more and more on drummer Steve Moore.\u00a0 Behind his hotrod flame trimmed double bass Ludwig drum kit, it is hard to miss him.\u00a0 Dressed in the band\u2019s signature golden sport coat, he flails away at his kit in a manner than one may consider him to be possessed.\u00a0 He quickly earned the handle \u2018The Mad Drummer\u2019 in reference to his manic style, not because he appears to be the other kinds of \u2018mad\u2019 (as in \u2018angry\u2019 or \u2018just plain nuts\u2019).\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Spending more time than I should checking out musical posts on the internet, I have had this \u2018Wrong Gig\u2019 clip pop up more than once.\u00a0 Having not watched it in a long while, I spent the six minutes it took to reacquaint myself with a drummer I knew nothing about other than what I had already seen in this video.\u00a0 It dawned on me, \u2018Gee, it has been a long time since I wrote about a drummer\u2019, so you can already see where this is going.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0For the record, my archives only show seven drummer themed FTVs over the last four years:\u00a0 Three about Ringo Starr (5-3-23 and 7-5 & -12-23), one about The Band\u2019s Levon Helm (6-8-22 though this one focused mostly on his movie career), Charlie Watts from the Rolling Stones\u00a0 (11-24-21), The Black Crowes former stickman Steve Gorman (2-19-20), and Lee Kerslake who is known primarily as the drummer in the classic lineup of Uriah Heep.\u00a0 Kerslake was also instrumental playing and helping arrange the recordings that kickstarted Ozzy Osbourne\u2019s solo career (5-08-19). Yes, Ringo counts as more recent, but give me some slack here.\u00a0 All of the above are archived on the WOAS-FM website <\/span>www.woas-fm.org<\/span><\/a> .<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Who exactly is Steve Moore?\u00a0 Since his \u2018Wrong Gig\u2019 video was posted, Moore has appeared on NBC, The Bio Channel, and TV Total.\u00a0 He has performed in Russia, Austria, Germany, and Belgium, not to mention numerous dates throughout the United States.\u00a0 Ad campaigns for Roland, Tillamook Dairy, and Advil have also featured him so the odds are, you may have seen him outside his Rick K gigs without realizing it.\u00a0 I had to look up the clip when it was reported Moore appeared as a local sportscaster who plays the drums in an episode of <\/span>The Office.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0 All in all, the \u2018Wrong Gig\u2019 video put his mug in front of some 50 million people.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A native of Elkins, West Virginia, Moore was born on February 24 (no year given).\u00a0 Seeing Chuck Berry on TV when Steve was five years old led him to beg his parents for guitar lessons.\u00a0 In the span of a year, he was playing his favorite songs for his family.\u00a0 He spent the next three years studying guitar, banjo, and piano.\u00a0 Just like many young students, Steve\u2019s class was given a music test by the high school band director to gauge their interest in learning to play a band\u00a0 instrument.\u00a0 When the director approached the nine-year old Steve, the boy proclaimed, \u201cHorns are dumb!\u201d and walked away.\u00a0 Undeterred, the director called his parents and persuaded them that Steve had a \u2018fantastic sense of pitch\u2019 and asked them to discuss joining the music program.\u00a0 He eventually joined the school band but only on his terms:\u00a0 after six months of playing the trumpet, he wanted to switch to the drums.\u00a0 At that point, Steve\u2019s path forward was paved with sticks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The drummer\u2019s near future would include playing in the school band and garage combos that are typical stops for a teen drummer learning the trade.\u00a0 In high school, he was playing every weekend in the area\u2019s best bands but it wasn\u2019t enough for Steve.\u00a0 He set his sights on making a living playing music and that meant he would need a change of scene.\u00a0 Moore spent the next six years playing music, but he wasn\u2019t making a living at it.\u00a0 He worked various jobs (factory work, washing dishes) while honing his craft in a variety of bands.\u00a0 He studied the great drummers of the past and borrowed their showman moves.\u00a0 Steve noticed early on that people listen with their eyes as much as their ears so he was determined to do more than just keep time, he also wanted to put on a show.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Steve\u2019s fortunes began to change when he hooked up with a recording engineer who let him crash on his studio floor for six months in exchange for Moore recording drum tracks for him.<\/span><\/p>\n

Studying other drummers, he found people related to \u2018characters\u2019 like Ringo Starr and Keith Moon.\u00a0 Moore ditched the \u2018cookie cutter, time keeper\u2019 approach to drumming and amped up his act – if he was going to get noticed, he would do so by being as \u2018over the top\u2019 as possible with his playing.\u00a0 The next big step for Steve came in 1997 when he hooked up with Rick K and the Allnighters.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Hailing from MorganTown, West Virginia, the Allnighter\u2019s Vegas style showband approach was just the right vehicle for Steve.\u00a0 Moore was able to ditch his side jobs so he could be on the road 150 to 200 nights a year, make a living, and hone his unique brand of flashy drumming.\u00a0 When a random person in Pennsylvania recorded him (and someone posted the soon to be called \u2018This drummer is at the wrong gig\u2019 clip in 2010), Steve Moore had no way of knowing how it was going to impact his career\u2026until it did.\u00a0 The \u2018wrong gig\u2019 clip quickly amassed over a million views in just four days.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The clip has resurfaced enough times in the past 13 years that a whole new generation of fans are discovering The Mad Drummer.\u00a0 Soon after the video went viral, Moore\u2019s name surfaced in publications like <\/span>Drummerworld, <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Modern Drummer<\/span><\/i>.\u00a0 Drum manufacturing companies like Ludwig, Sabian, Evans, and Pro-Mark were soon courting a guy who was suddenly the topic of the day on every drum forum on the web.\u00a0 Pictures of Steve signing autographs at a NAMM (National Association of Music Merchants) show seated in front of a Ludwig banner at a long table of other famous musicians abound on the net.\u00a0 Even Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy took noticed, tweeting, \u201cO MY GOD\u2026This guy RULES!!\u201d\u00a0 It is hard to say if Moore himself could have mounted a better PR campaign than the one kicked off by the \u2018wrong gig\u2019 post.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0As far as the other media appearances mentioned above, clips of them can be found at his website \u2018themadddrumer.com\u2019, including the \u2018wrong gig\u2019 clip that started things rolling for Moore back when it was posted in 2010.\u00a0 When Moore and Rick K appeared on the popular German late-night talk show, <\/span>TV TOTAL with Stefan Raab<\/span><\/i>, the host commented, \u201cThis is not possible\u2026that a human being can do that.\u201d\u00a0 The duo then performed with the show\u2019s house band \u2018The Heavytones\u2019.\u00a0 A performance at The Philharmonic in Kursk City, Russia was broadcast by TV46 to more than 500,000 viewers.\u00a0 Moore was also honored to perform at <\/span>The Adams Drummers Festival<\/span><\/i> in Belgium alongside a host of other performers.\u00a0 The highlight came at the end when Steve closed the show alongside special guest Mike Portnoy.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0His appearance in <\/span>The Office<\/span><\/i> gave Moore the largest audience since his original \u2018wrong gig\u2019 clip was posted.\u00a0 The set up in this episode called <\/span>Pam\u2019s Replacement<\/span><\/i> casts Steve as a local sportscaster who gets invited to jam with the \u2018company band\u2019 who are rehearsing in the warehouse.\u00a0 After CEO Robert California (James Spader) joins the group playing harmonica, he also invites guitarist Lindsey Broad and drummer Moore to join in.\u00a0 Steve plays it pretty basic until the group’s original drummer Kevin (Brian Baumgartner) challenges him to a drum battle.\u00a0 At this point, Steve kicks into Mad Drummer mode with hilarious results.\u00a0 The episode was viewed by 5.96 million people when it originally aired and many, many more since online.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0One of the stranger endorsement deals Moore has wrangled was for Advil.\u00a0 Watching him tossing in wild windmill arm motions, mind blowing stick twirls, and beating his kit with untold savagery, endorsing a pain reliever isn\u2019t so far-fetched an idea (and yes, he does use the product).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The first drummer I saw live who impressed me with both his chops and his showmanship played\u00a0 in the Lettermen\u2019s back up band.\u00a0 You will forgive me for not being able to dredge up his name after 45 years, but he made an impression on me when I was only a couple of years into learning my way around a drum kit.\u00a0 With a small three piece backup band, the Lettermen produced a wonderful sound running down their hits.\u00a0 They took a couple of breaks by letting the band take their solo slots and (of course) the drummer left me slack jawed.\u00a0 Not only did he not miss a beat during the entire show, he broke out dayglow painted sticks during his solo just to make sure we could see all his tricks of the trade.\u00a0 The concert was held in the double gym next to Hedgecock Field House so you can get the feel for how high the ceilings were if you have been in any high school gym.\u00a0 During his flurry of solo fills, the drummer began flipping his sticks so high in the air, they would disappear behind the roof beams.\u00a0 Through all this, he never dropped a stick or lost a beat.\u00a0 After watching this show, I went home and told my mother I was going to quit playing the drums (but I was back at it the next day).\u00a0 Truth be told, I never did put any time into learning how to twirl or toss drum sticks – I was happy enough being able to keep time and toss in fills without throwing the band off track.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Ed Shaughnessy played in Doc Severinson\u2019s <\/span>Tonight Show <\/span><\/i>band for 29 years.\u00a0 When they rumbled through their set at Hedgecock Fieldhouse, I was impressed how good he was.\u00a0 Ed was more of a drummer in the \u2018big band\u2019 style, but he was adept at any genre Doc would arrange for the band.\u00a0 Like the drummer in the Letterman\u2019s band, Ed took the obligatory solo but unlike Mr Dayglow Sticks, he dropped enough sticks to build a beaver dam.\u00a0 Maybe he was just having an off night, but one couldn\u2019t help but notice that he, too, never missed a beat even when one of his sticks took flight.\u00a0 Watching the band\u2019s back line duck flying sticks was an added bonus.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I grew up learning to play the drums in the Iron Butterfly \/ In-a-gadda-da-vida era when every rock drummer was expected to play a solo.\u00a0 Butterfly\u2019s Ron Bushy was perhaps not as technical as Buddy Rich, but he made his kit sound like a lead instrument.\u00a0 Neil Peart combined the best of big band and progressive rock in his solos.\u00a0 Mike Portnoy?\u00a0 He seemed to be soloing all the time in his Dream Theater days (as drummers in prog rock bands sometimes do).\u00a0 With that said, I was kind of interested in what kind of a drum solo Steve Moore would play for other drummers.\u00a0 Would he keep the showmanship level high while trying to show off his chops?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I found a clip of Steve doing just that at a drum festival billed as Woodstick 2010.\u00a0 Steve was playing a basic kit for this event, not the flamed out Ludwig double bass kit most of his \u2018wrong gig\u2019 era videos show.\u00a0 He was using a double bass drum pedal on his single bass drum with this kit and he did show off some fancy footwork.\u00a0 Interestingly, the ten minute solo he performed wasn\u2019t a lot of super fast, fancy stuff.\u00a0 He built his solo off a steady rhythm that never wavered as he ran down his chops.\u00a0 Once a show drummer, always a show drummer;\u00a0 halfway through his solo, he did toss in a little of the arm waving, stick twirling stuff I had previously seen, but on the whole, he kept it pretty basic.\u00a0 This is not a criticism.\u00a0 YouTube is loaded with drummers blowing through solos which always make me think, \u201cOkay, that is a bit much – I wonder what you sound like actually playing in a band?\u201d\u00a0 It was refreshing to see that Moore could do a KISS solo (Keep It Simple, Stupid) and still toss in a few tricks without missing a beat or losing the rhythm.\u00a0 He was given a big ovation by this roomful of drummers for his efforts.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Back in the early 1990s, Moore played with a metal band called Brick Mistress.\u00a0 The most current video I have found came from late 2022 with Steve playing along with a BM track called <\/span>Fight the System.\u00a0 <\/span><\/i>Steve is seated behind a TAMA double bass set as he thunders through the song with a lot of bass drum work and few showy touches.\u00a0 The original band broke up in 1993 and I can not get a handle on why he released this video now.\u00a0 The clip is entitled \u2018I\u2019m Back\u2019 so maybe they got the old band back together (not stated) or he is using this to promote a new <\/span>Brick Mistress Anthology<\/span><\/i> set that was recently released.\u00a0 After seeing a lot of the Rick K stuff he did (which was everything from pop to country), it was interesting to see what a competent metal drummer he is.\u00a0 For those who think being a \u2018metal drummer\u2019 is just mindless bashing, I urge you to look up Moore\u2019s \u2018I\u2019m Back\u2019 clip.\u00a0 Bashing, yes, but with many technical licks thrown in.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Drum blogger Jason Sayer recently re-posted the \u2018I\u2019m Back\u2019 video and during his commentary, he also noted it had been a while since he had seen anything new from Moore.\u00a0 Sayer was pleasantly surprised when <\/span>Fight the System<\/span><\/i> kicked off with Moore\u2019s cymbal chokes (he often strikes a cymbal and then uses the same hand to choke the same cymbal (which makes it stop ringing)) and his double bass footwork.\u00a0 His comments brought the following response from the Mad Drummer himself:\u00a0 \u201cJason, I appreciate the nice words.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been doing the same thing for soooo many years, and just wanted to release a video of me playing drums (without the antics).\u00a0 However, I\u2019m sure I will be tossing some of it in there in future videos.\u00a0 I appreciate the great support you’ve shown me.\u00a0 Hope all is well.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Steve\u2019The Mad Drummer\u2019 Moore announced in 2019 that he left Rick K\u2019s band so he could pursue other opportunities.\u00a0 With a drummer with his skill set (as both a drummer and a performer), I am pretty sure we will be seeing him put out more new music in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Top Piece Video:\u00a0 If you haven’t seen it, let me introduce you to The Mad Drummer with the video that made him a viral sensation:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0On July 14, 2008, a random music fan shot a video of Rick K and the Allnighters performing at an amusement park in Pennsylvania.\u00a0 Two years later, someone else posted it to YouTube under the heading \u2018This Drummer is At the Wrong Gig!\u2019 and it promptly went viral.\u00a0 The singer introduces the ZZ Top tune […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,8,6,9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2911","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bands-musicians","category-from-the-vaults","category-new-music","category-woas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2911","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2911"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2911\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2914,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2911\/revisions\/2914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2911"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2911"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.woas-fm.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2911"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}