I can't even begin to explain how many times I've shared my thoughts on "The Matt Sorum Drum Fill" with friends, to the point that it's become an on going gag amongst us. It's also my go-to drum fill whenever someone bugs me to play something difficult. So naturally I couldn't help but laugh at this exchange between Mike Portnoy and Matt Sorum himself via Twitter yesterday on the very subject.
Mike Portnoy was all like:
… and then Matt Sorum was all like
… So Mike Portnoy responded all like
Oh Twitter…a never ending supply of foot-in-mouth entertainment.
While I agree the drumming on "November Rain" is as stale as it gets, Matt Sorum's responses seem to be completely valid, even if he is admitting to taking drum tracking orders from an unbalanced singer. Although one can't deny the impressive sales behind GNR's Use Your Illusion I & II, I do wonder how much that would have changed had Sorum played something more interesting. Assuming his explanation was legit.
Personally it doesn't make me think any less of Sorum. One of the hardest things to do in music is writing something completely new without repeating yourself. I know there are many drummers who have a signature move or style, and just as many who claim it's a nice way of saying "lack of creativity". I say no wonder there are so many drummer jokes in the world, we can't even stop harassing each other. What I'm wondering is when they'll take this drum fight from Twitter to the set!
