2010 A3C Hip Hop Fest: Alien Warr
The East Atlanta drummer boy gives insight on some of the best drummers of all time
After beating his mother’s pots and pans to a pulp at a young age, he received his first drum set. Since then, Alien Warr has backed some of the biggest artists in town, including B.o.B. and Travis Porter. Now the 28-year-old has partnered with Big Heed to release the single “Tipsy,” and is also behind the sound of rock band Era of the StereoGraph. In prep for this weekend’s A3C Festival, he breaks down his biggest influences.
Top 5 all-time drummers
1) John Bonham, Led Zeppelin: He’s pretty much the greatest drummer ever. His drum fills are the best and any hardcore rock drummer out now has bit his style. He was the man and he didn’t use double bass. He had one foot pedal and it sounded like ten of them.
2) [http://www.travisbarker.com|Travis Barker, Blink 182: I stole his whole swagger I’m not even gonna lie. I won’t ever lie ’cause the cut-off shirts are another thing I stole. That’s from the Cali boys. Him and Method Man were the reason I wanted to be tatted up. I used to get my ass beat by my mother for writing on my arm in school I’ve loved him since then though.
3) [[http://www.myspace.com/questlove|QuestLove, The Roots: The Roots are the first black rap band ever to me. I took his swag too with rappers by just getting behind them and playing the drums. I’m cool with swagger jacking I’m not gonna walk around saying I started all this I got his afro. He is the top dog, top drummer of hip hop. He’s real good with pocket and he taught me a lot about that. Sometimes you can’t be so wild when you’re playing behind someone because some things can get sticky. Yeah, sticky.
4) __Chandler Rentz, Snowden: He’s my drum dad! He taught me everything I needed to know. Everything I do he taught me how to do it. He used to give me CDs and tell me to learn this, learn that, then get the fuck out of here. He’s one of the best drummers I know. One of the unsung drummers of Atlanta. Yes! Unsung Channel 71!
5) Max Roach: He’s a jazz drummer. Ask anyone about him and they’ll tell you! He’s drummed for everyone including Miles Davis. He’s the godfather of all of this.
Honorable Mention: Dave Grohl and Keith Moon cause I stole all their shit too. Grohl from Nirvana was drumming in the “Teen Spirit” video w/ his hair all in his face but he was still hitting shit and Moon from The Who was the craziest drummer of all-time anyway! Plus their favorite drink was Jack Daniels and I’m drinking that now. It’s my favorite too!
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$33 3-day passes. $15 per day. 1 a.m. Thurs., Oct 7. SMKA Presents Stargazing Showcase. Masquerade (Unique Squared Pro Audio Stage), 695 North Ave. 404-577-8178. www.a3chiphop.com
11 p.m. Sat., Oct 9. SMKA Presents Stargazing Showcase. Masquerade (Unique Squared Pro Audio Stage)