Another Drummer We Need To Steal For Our Scene: Zack Danziger

Thelonius Monk once said, and I’m paraphrasing here, that sometimes the notes you don’t play are more important than the notes you do. I.E., that things like space, tension, and choosing what parts of the beat to accent, are just as much a part of how listeners feel music as the literal notes that you do play are.

So, to all you aspiring prog-rock/djent/math/whatever-15-year-olds-call-it-these-days, take note of Zack Danziger. Danziger, who performs under the moniker Stix Beiderbecke, is all about leaving space. Much like our beloved Danny Walker of Intronaut, Danziger’s playing is strange, yet familiar – not showy yet technically proficient, with a strong groove and sense of the beat without rocking your standard 4/4 “rock beat”. His playing just exudes style. Someone better get this guy on their alt-djentstep project ASAP. This is the kind of drumming I want to hear more of in heavy metal.

Vic Firth recently released a performance spotlight clip of Danziger ripping his track “L.I.S.” from his Stix Beiderbecke project. Check it out below:

Danziger does some awesome stuff under the Beiderbecke moniker, including the below “face-off” against superstar dance-music icon Deadmau5. I’m really surprised more rock and metal drummers don’t practice along to electronic music, or take influence from it. You’d think after guys like Chris Pennie showed what electronic music had to offer metal drumming with Dillinger’s cover of Aphex Twin’s “Come To Daddy” that more bands would incorporate those influences.