There's a very thin line between rock and funk. Funk is like a dirtier blues, and so is rock. They're close cousins.
Rock and roll ain't nothing but jazz with a hard backbeat.
My role in AC/DC is to keep time and to drive the band as much as I can. That's a drummer's role anyway.
I started out as a drummer, and now play with a back-to-basics rock band called the 'Luddites.' I'm happiest when I'm behind the kit.
It's always been my dream to have a monster rhythm section that's just all groove and pocket.
But primarily, the drummer's supposed to sit back there and swing the band.
I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or a backbeat that's even - I can write something.
There's something about rhythm and bass sections generally, how the bass and drums interact, that's basically the soul of any song.
A band is as solid as its drummer is.
Anyone who can do the splits and come back up on the backbeat, as James Brown and Prince can, has my eternal respect. Prince, who is a genius of the highest order, can come back up while singing and playing the guitar.
Most great records really start with the drums.
I was a big Pretty Purdie fan. I have heavy rhythm and blues influences, and that is what I bring to the table with Aerosmith.
