Buddy Rich

Yeah, playing drums with bare hands is possible, but I don't do it. Why destroy your hands? I think of many uses for my hands other than breaking them on the rim of a drum. Show less «

Ringo Starr was adequate. No more than that.

Rock music is the landing spot for drummers with poor to mediocre technique.

I don't care about notes. I care about time. If you're in my band, you must play my time.

There is no greatest or fastest in music. It's just impossible. There probably is a boy somewhere in Idaho that no one's ever heard of who's probably better than anyone else. Show less «

[about close friend legendary drummer Gene Krupa] Gene was the first one who made it possible for guys like me to become popular--to be noticed. We all owe him a great deal of gratitude. Show less «

I don't put much emphasis on practice, anyhow. I think it's a fallacy to believe that the more you practice, the better you become. You can only get better by playing. You can sit in a basement with a set of drums and practice rudiments all day long, but unless you play with a band, you won't learn style, technique and taste, and you won't learn how to play with a band and for a band. Once you get a job, any kind of job, it's an opportunity to develop. And practice, besides that, is boring. I know music teachers who tell their students to practice three, four, six hours a day. If you can't get what you want after one hour of practice, you're not going to get it in four days. Show less «

My manager would call me and be like, "Buddy, do this rock album, Buddy, do this country album" and I would always hang up on him. Rock music I don't listen to regularly, but there's some adequate bands. Country music is bottom of the barrel trash that appeals to those who need everything spelled out for them. Show less «