Best Offspring Drummer Ever?

[Godxilla]

Yeah, I just put in Atom because he was a member for a while, and someone surely would've hated it if I didn't. But he actually got some votes!
PS: are you named after the Incubus song Battlestar Scratchalactica, or whatever it's called?

[Upgrayedd]

You know, the one with doubles on the bass drum:

Okay, yeah I never heard him do that. Do you think it's cause he couldn't or because the way he did fit better with their style? Also, are those being played with a double bass pedal or just one? I couldn't do it that fast with one foot (at least for long) but I'm kinda new to drums.

[JP Scralatchtica]

Yeah, I just put in Atom because he was a member for a while, and someone surely would've hated it if I didn't. But he actually got some votes!
PS: are you named after the Incubus song Battlestar Scratchalactica, or whatever it's called?

Hahaha yeah, it's been my screen name forever! And a damn good song too!
You're one of the few ppl who have recognized it...or at least said anything to me about it.

[Godxilla]

Cool! I love Incubus, so I just noticed it. It's not every day you see a word like that.

[JP Scralatchtica]

Cool! I love Incubus, so I just noticed it. It's not every day you see a word like that.

Yeah! Same here! They're an awesome band! Hahaha yeah, Scralatchtica kinda stands out.

[Godxilla]

Well, that is kinda cool that I found another Incubus fan here. I've actually never heard that particular song, but its name stuck to my mind like gum on a dugout ceiling. Sorry, baseball analogy. Maybe one of us should start an Incubus thread. Then we can sniff out other fans and continue this talk in a better spot. Either way, I'll definitely listen to that song for the first time, and (sadly), I'll undoubtedly be thinking about this forum.

[Mark Rooster]

Josh Freese is probably the best drummer they've had, but I always thought Ron Welty did a good job. I wonder how much of the drum parts he came up with (like the simple but awesome beat from "Gotta Get Away") and how much input Dexter had.

[Astonish]

Well actually I liked them all as drummers, but liked Atom more than the others. Interesting to put Dexter as a drummer too xD Actually for who has their Greatest Hits DVD, it's possible to watch a video there where Dexter is playing the drums

[Scythe Death]

I listen to a lot of metal, metalcore, and such; The Offspring's drumming wasn't ever particularly impressive and never did I see Josh Freese as such an amazing drummer as everyone says. My appeal for The Offspring's music consisted mostly of the drive of the guitars and the lyrics.

Josh Freese's drumming may be a little bit more complex and 'precise' than other Offspring drummers, but I hardly ever see it as a satisfactory experience. I recall being very disappointed by the drums and overall instrumentation in Splinter. This is particularly prominent in songs such as Lightning Rod, which could have been played a lot better by a drummer better acquainted with metal such as Strung Out's drummer or a metalcore band's drummer such as A7x's the Rev.*

Overall, I find Josh Freese's drumming in The Offspring sterile and bland. I would have to say that the best drummer The Offspring ever had was Ron Welty then. That's not because he may be technically the most proficient, but rather probably because he got to play in songs where his drumming was better appreciated. It seems like The Offspring's older songs where Ron Welty is featured pull off better atmosphere. I actually recall stuff like the percussion in Nitro, Smash, Change the World, Americana, Me and My Old Lady, The Meaning of Life, Pay the Man, Crossroads, Original Prankster, Tehran, Staring at the Sun, etc in a good note. Stuff like that gets me air drumming. There was more atmosphere and drive, and the composition of the music seemed to consist of interaction between the drums and the other instruments moreso than with Josh Freese.

That is not to say that Ron Welty wasn't dull. Listening to The Offspring's faster songs, they tend to sound like a copy-paste of the same beat with little rolls in the same predictable spots. Maybe if Josh Freese got to play in the more eclectic and atmospheric songs, he could have done a better job, but I highly doubt it. I have the impression that Josh Freese really wasn't into it.



* We all know that The Offspring's music is distinctly heavy metal influenced, hence they're known for being a heavy punk band. Songs like Lightning Rod, which is predominantly heavy, could have been benefited from drumming from the type of drumming of other metal & punk fusion drumming such as the type I'm used to. Here are some examples of drumming metalcore that you may appreciate and in which you may identify similar styles to those in The Offspring and other heavy punk bands if you were never into metallic hardcore or metal.

The Art of Subconscious Illusion - Avenged Sevenfold (hardcore / metalcore)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgOFr8Z8Is4

Remenissions - Avenged Sevenfold (metalcore)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tysmwGx7TNU

And here is some drumming of more metal based bands:

Everything Went Black - The Black Dahlia Murder (melodic death metal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9BasoXQhcUQ

Thru Our Scars - Fleshgod Apocalypse (technical brutal death metal)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXkhl52B9Dc

[sneedo83]

Well actually I liked them all as drummers, but liked Atom more than the others. Interesting to put Dexter as a drummer too xD Actually for who has their Greatest Hits DVD, it's possible to watch a video there where Dexter is playing the drums

I like how everyone cites that clip as proof that Dexter was a drummer, he sat behind a drum kit for all we know one time, I played basketball in gym class in school, am I a basketball player?