WELCOME!

For those who have stumbled on to this blog for the first time, let me be the first to say welcome to my (Raymond Goh) blog site of drums & Christianity.

I hope that this site will keep you all fascinated about God and "Drumming." Feel free to comment on my posts or to drop a word of greetings; so stick around and enjoy the posts.

God bless!

Yours truly,
Raymond Goh

No 40. ~ Virgil Donati ~ 02

Number two on my top 10 list is an insane Australian drummer, 'Virgil Donati!" He is the psychotic drummer behind the progressive metal band "Planet X" and a former drummer for the legendary guitarist "Steve Vai!"



He has taken double bass drumming to new "alien" levels in which most people cannot comprehend! One of his trademark move that I love is his amazing speed and ability to more around the drums so effortlessly. (You can see it in this video below at precisely :50 seconds into the video)





On September 2008, I was very honored and blessed to be able to meet him at Singapore during the Singapore Drum Fest 08. He was friendly and I got a front row seat to watch Donati while he did a drum workshop.
Picture was taken during the Singapore DrumeFest 08'


And after he finished the workshop, he threw his pair of drumsticks to the crowd and believe it or not, I was one of the two people who caught it!
To Virgil Donati: Thank you for sharing your knowledge of the drums to us humans! You are an amazing drummer and will always be in my top 10 list of the greatest drummers in the world!



(Virgil Donati and Me)




Virgil Donati uses:-

• Pearl Drums
• Sabian Cymbals
• Vater Drumsticks
• Remo Drumheads

Photos taken from: DrummerWorld, and from my photo album.
His official site: www.virgildonati.com

No. 39 ~ Marco Minnemann ~ 03

In third place on my list is the amazing and master drummer Marco Minnemann.

His amazing creativity, groove, and technicality is one that leaves every drummer speechless. He is also one of the few drummers who was awesome enough to be playing for the awesome electric guitarist Paul Gilbert!


Dont be fooled by the genre of music he played in this video, Marco is a very talented session drummer! He was previously a drummer for technical death metal band Necrophagist!



Aside from being a session drummer, he also takes the time to experiment with alot of things that no man has ever done before. Imagine if someone recorded a conversation of you and a bunch of other people, what if someone can also take that conversation and put into a time signature with rhythm without even changing anything from the recorded conversation! Sounds impossible right? Well, it has been done...by the astounding Marco Minnemann.



This is why, he is no. 3 in my list. Simply amazing and I would highly recommend that you should check out his past works and current projects he is working on in his website.

Marco Minnemann proudly endorses

• DW Drums
• Zildjian Cymbals
• Evans Drumheads
  
• Pro Mark Sticks
• Audix Microphone
• Hardcase
  

photos from: www.drummerworld.com
videos from: www.youtube.com

No. 38 ~Grant Collins~ 04

Landing in fourth place on my list is Australia's master drummer Grant Collins.
Grant Collins in my opinion is one the most technical drum soloist that I have ever seen. His is often known for pushing the limits and boundaries of drumming with his four-limbs independence technique. This video shows his massive drum kit and what he does with it. It's pretty cool!



Perhaps it is best summed up by internationally renowned drummer, Dom Famularo, who had this to say about Grant:
"I travel the world performing and meeting many great drummers. It is not often I hear someone who is on the cutting edge of modern drum set performance. Well, in Australia I heard that person...Grant Collins! When you hear him, be prepared for the ride he will take you on... you will remember it for the rest of your life!"




The thing that I love most about him is that the way he plays makes it sound like there is a group of people play a bunch a percussion instruments when really...it is just him alone doing everything. And that my friends, takes years of hard work, commitment and an unending love and passion for the instrument.

He uses:

• Pearl Drums
• Zildjian Cymbals
• Pearl Harware/Pedals
• Latin Percussion
• Vic Firth Sticks
  

photos from :DrummerWorld
videos from: Youtube
Official Site: www.grantcollins.com

No. 37 ~George Kollias~ 05

Falling in at no.5 in my top 10 list is the psychotic metal drummer: George Kollias!


He is unquestionably one of the best metal drummers of the 21st century. His speed and stamina on the drums are out of this world. He can play at speeds up to 280BPM and I am not kidding! He is extremely fast!


For those who dont know who he is, he was born in Greece in August 1977. George got his first drum kit at the age of 12 having already a two year background in music as a guitar player. He now plays for the death metal band "NILE." Though I do not particularly like the band but I really admire George Kollias as being an extreme metal drummer.

In 2008, he released a DVD called Intense Metal Drumming where he instructed on how to be able to play as fast as him and thanks to that DVD believe it or not. I can play up to 260bpm and it is all thanks to his teachings. Which is why he is no.5 in my list.

He plays

• Pearl Drums,
• Sabian Cymbals,
  
• Axis Pedals, &
  
• Vic Firth Sticks

videos from: George Kollias' Youtube channel
Picture and Info from: DrummerWorld and his Official Site

No. 36 ~Gavin Harrison~ 06

Drummer Gavin Harrison is definitely no.6 in my top 10 favorite drummers.

Firstly, he has an amazing ability in making rhythmic illusions which has boggled my mind for a very long time. Imagine a song's time signature is in 7/8, he can make the 7/8 sound like it is in 4/4 ! That is not an easy task to do! This video is what I am talking about... the intro and verse are in 7/8 while the chorus in 4/4. Just listen to his groove, it can be very hypnotizing for a drummer (especially me).



Secondly, besides being an amazing progressive drummer, he is also very good jazz drummer and is very precise in his timing.



Thirdly, he is also a very creative and innovative percussionist and deserves credit which he has yet to have. These two videos are the proof that he is just nothing short of an awe-inspiring drummer and musician.





Finally, I admire Gavin Harrison is that he is a true musician. He once said during a Modern Drummer Interview: "I dont want to make myself sound like I am cocky and clever like, (hey, I can play in 19/16-check this out!) I want it to have a musical reason."



Videos from : www.youtube.com
Picture from: www.drummerworld.com