Levon

Possibly my 2 favorite drummers, ever - Ringo Starr and Levon Helm. They do it the right way. It's all feel, it's all playing for the song. It's all pocket.

You always hear people talk about Levon's voice, but his drumming on Band tunes like Ophelia, Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, or King Harvest tie rock and country (more like, just, AMERICAN) grooves together. Every hit he makes, it feels totally intentional and totally packed with passion and purpose.

When I practice drums, I usually play along with my iPod - and over and over the past few years, I've been playing with Levon's solo album from '07, Dirt Farmer. SO amazing. The drums aren't out front in the mix, you really need to focus on it to capture what he's doing, but so worth it!