Benny Greb

A lot of the music I've posted about has either been very mellow or from a video game. This week, I decided to branch out a little and give some exposure to an artist a lot of people probably don't know about *pushes glasses up nose*. As a percussionist and a music educator, I attend conventions that have some of the most amazing and inspiring artists from around the world. One such person is Benny Greb. Considered to be one of the best drummers in the world right now (he was a feature panelist at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, so don't bite my head off for that statement), Benny Greb has absolutely astonishing mastery over the drum set. One of his albums, Grebfruit, is almost exclusively him playing drum set overtop of multi-tracks of himself singing a capella.

Below is the title track for the album. The first few seconds are a little goofy, but then the drumming starts and it gets amazing. Try and focus on the drums while listening, and realize that the drum parts are not multi-tracked in. He's literally playing all of that live.

People ask me why I don't usually like popular music nowadays. After hearing drum parts like this, you try going back to electronically produced drum loops or listening to a rock beat played over and over for five minutes.

In addition to singing and playing drum set, Benny Greb also plays a beautiful piece on piano on this particular album. It's got a simplicity to it that just resonates with me. I tear up a little every time I listen to it, and I have no idea why.

Benny Greb's music is available on iTunes, or you can get the CD's from his official website. and I highly recommend buying his albums. Once again, please don't illegally download music. Musicians pour their body and souls into their music. It won't kill you to pay for their time instead of buying a large coffee tomorrow.

Toodles!