Having my son on drums has made a huge difference. I can't stress this strongly enough, in terms of the groove space and style that Joachim gave me to instinctively play what I felt in a more free way, rather than feeling constricted. That's true on record and on stage.
I'm still the best Keith Moon-style drummer in the world.
There is no blood in jazz drumming, and there are no bullies in jazz drumming.
I'm a freak, everything has to be totally flat when I play. Ed Will, my jazz teacher, set up everything completely flat, and then you'd tilt your snare drum away from you, so I do that too. So my snare tilts away from me.
Keith Moon was amazing as a drummer, but he was also a nut, and it reflected in his drumming. And the great thing about Who records is that you can almost get hold of the vinyl and feel his heart.
To me, the secret of Eddie Van Halen was Alex Van Halen, because the way Alex played was so loose and the way the two of them locked together… Those two are connected so thoroughly they might as well be one person.
The closest things to an influence would be people like Charlie Watts or Al Jackson. But I didn't really listen to drummers; I basically played what I thought was needed for the Ramones.
I'm a rock drummer. I couldn't sit down and pretend to be a jazz drummer.
My favorite instrument is the snare drum. In Scotland, the snare drum is very prominent in Highland bands. The Scottish style of playing is in my blood. It's a very powerful instrument, but it can also be soothing, like velvet. It's a real challenge for composers.
I like Steve Gadd, everything he did with Steely Dan. There's so many. I like everything.
John Bonham, probably the greatest drummer ever - all of us wanted to play drums like him.
I've always liked Dennis Chambers, he's real flashy.
If drummers are 'anti-solo,' that's up to them. They're musicians, and they can play whatever they want. But my inspirations early on were people like Buddy Rich, seeing him on 'The Tonight Show', or Gene Krupa.
When I first came out with the Winery Dogs, I had a Bonham set-up. That was such a departure from the huge kits that I had become known for. It was really enjoyable.
I've always liked to be the kind of drummer and musician who likes to go outside of what's expected of me.
The essence of Bonham is what he didn't play rather than what he did play - what he left out.
Once I had defined myself as a compositional drummer, I thought, "Well, I want to be an improvisational drummer."
I am not a technical drummer at all. I'm more from the Keith Moon/Lars Ulrich school of, 'Hey, look at me!' I just get up there and bash.
I'm the Best Keith Moon-type drummer in the world.
More than any other drummer, Ringo Starr changed my life. The impact and memory of that band on Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 will never leave me. I can still see Ringo in the back moving that beat with his whole body, his right hand swinging off his sock cymbal while his left hand pounds the snare. He was fantastic, but I think what got to me the most was his smile. I knew he was having the time of his life.
You'd be surprised. Drummers ape each other. The way every rock n' roll record sounds like something else but not all together. Everything other drummers play, if you're playing drums, they all hear.
When I speak of natural drummers I'm talking about guys that are playing with the talent God gave 'em.
People like Art Blakey and Buddy Rich, you look at them playing music, and it's just like looking at a heavy metal drummer. I mean, they're playing with the same amount of ferocity. It's not to say all jazz is like that.
There's a lot of personality in Lars's drumming. That's what makes it unique.
I'm not trying to be the next Dave Grohl or Phil Collins.
