This photo was from the Manchester High School Battle of the Bands – circa 1982 or 1983.
This is My Manchester High School “Battle Of The Bands” Story.
Back during this time, I swore I was the black Neil Peart. Neil was the drummer of the rock band Rush. He’s on almost everyone’s top 10 list of greatest rock drummers of all time. I never really knew much about him when I was growing up because I was deep into funk bands who were popular at the time – Cameo, Slave, and The Time. Although my musical influences varied and consisted of pop, early rap, and the heavy funk in rotation on radio in the late 1970s and early 1980s, Rush was not on my radar.
My cousin, the guitar player on the right in this photo, introduced me to heavy metal in my early high school years. I remember listening to hard rock while growing up in Connecticut, mainly because my older sister was into bands like Kiss, Aerosmith, and Elton John. The classic rock played on FM radio stations was also an influence. Still, when I heard newer, faster, and heavier music that was a bit more complex than I was accustomed to, I fell in love.
I was busy learning how to play ‘in-the-pocket drumming along with Barry White, Parliament, and Cameo records. Eventually, I was led down a different path by my Gibson Les Paul playing cousin. Rush, Iron Maiden, Van Halen, and Judas Priest were part of a new diet of sounds I was ingesting.
When I heard Neil Peart, I lost my marbles. The first song I listened to from Rush was probably Tom Sawyer. I might have been drawn to it due to the fact the song grooves pretty hard. It’s somewhat funky, yet it is progressive rock – especially when the song veers into the time signature of 7/8. The drum solo that is featured at the climax is still one of the greatest in recorded history. I quickly devoured Rush’s 1981 masterpiece LP “Moving Pictures” and found myself digging deep into their back catalog.
The various drumming styles I heard over the years were all part of the ingredients that make up my drumming style. I’ve been fortunate to be capable of grabbing a recipe from that cookbook of music whenever necessary to include a particular spice to a groove. Knowing the language of funk, metal, pop, and fusion has allowed me to play with several different bands. Believe it or not, this has helped me over the past 20 years of playing in modern Broadway musicals.
Why do I say this? If I didn’t have the knowledge and feel for rock, I wouldn’t have…
Read the story on the Broadway Drumming 101 Newsletter HERE
Clayton Craddock, the drummer of the hit broadway musical Ain’t Too Proud. He hosts the Broadway Drumming 101 Podcast and has played drums in several hit broadway and off-broadway musicals, including “Tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, and Lady Day At Emerson’s Bar and Grill. Also, Clayton has worked on: Footloose, Motown, The Color Purple, Rent, Little Shop of Horrors, Spongebob Squarepants, The Musical, Evita, Cats, and Avenue Q.
You can follow Clayton on the following social media platforms: