Gregg Bissonette, studio drummer and nice guy extraordinaire stars in this guide to musical drumming in different styles! Gregg has been drumming with all kinds of different acts for a long time. So naturally he’s had to be able to play whatever they ask of him. In this dvd, Gregg gives his take on playing music in different areas of music. Each style corresponds to an original track from one of his solo albums. He’s got a funky tune, (Marbles) a jazzy tune, (Lum-Lum) two different rock tunes (Submarine & Train to Willoughby) and one song solely for its use of odd times (Noah’s Ark.) 7 of the 8 tracks come from his “Submarine” album. The final track, “Tribute to Tony” comes his self-titled album.

I gotta say that Gregg is probably one of the best speakers out of all of Hudson Music’s dvds. He’s energetic, funny, got tons of stories and he obviously used to teaching to groups and a in a one-on-one setting. He’s also got such a raspy/hoarse voice you’ll wonder if he was the victim of botched throat surgery. Odd talking aside, keeps it entertaining and is very good at getting his point across. Not unlike Mike Portnoy’s dvds, he goes from track to track and breaks down some of the more intricate licks and ideas used in the song. Gregg goes further than that though. As this is a dvd about drumming in different styles, he also gives his thoughts about whatever style of music the track he’s dissecting happens to be. He rabbit trails a little bit, but in a good way. It almost always leads to useful tip or lesson of some kind and he gets back on track almost immediately so its all good in the hood.

One of the cool things is that he talks about stuff that, while not directly related to drumming, is stuff that we can all use. For example he talks about auditioning for a gig and stuff you want to do when you’ve got the gig. He also covers drummer health with sections on warming up, cooling down, and protecting your ears. Lots of basic stuff that goes ignored because it’s assumed that everyone already knows this stuff. Well, turns out allot of us don’t know this stuff. Good thing he goes over it.

One of the best things about this dvd is that its got a pdf transcription for every single exercise or lick worthy of notice. Just load em’ to your hard drive and you’re good to go. There is a little bonus footage that includes; a gear tour, a segment on warming up, and a plug for his cd… though that last one really shouldn’t merit it’s own space on the special features menu. That’s about all that you get. Normally this is where I’d gripe about the lack of extras; or there being to much random crap in the main feature; or there not being enough random crap in the main feature; or the mismanaged placement of random crap in the otherwise solid main feature. I will admit that this dvd is light in the extra features… but I don’t miss them. The main feature is just so well done that it eliminates any real need for bonus footage. I don’t think I’ve ever run into another dvd that pulled this feat off.

I’m sitting here thinking about what I don’t like about this dvd and I’m coming up empty. The only possible thing that I can come up with is that he might be slightly too talky for some people, but I kinda like it so I can’t count that against him. It’s one of the best conventional drum instructional out there. Especially when you consider it’s aim is to help people be more musical drummers. Not to be ipecac for drum vomiters.

It earns 5 of 5 stars… The first Hudson Music dvd i’ve reviewed to do so.

So next time you’ve got nothing better to do with 50 some odd dollars… go pick this one up.