It’s been just over a year since I joined Instagram (@liamweedall). I resisted initially as I didn’t really see the appeal of scrolling through pictures that people have posted of themselves and what they were doing. However, I was unaware of what a valuable tool it is for musicians seeking inspiration and education on their instrument, seeing as Instagram allows you to upload videos of up to 1 minute in length. As well as being a great platform for me to showcase my own drumming, I have found a wealth of inspirational content from a whole bunch of my favourite drummers and drummers that I was previously unaware of. Whether it’s live drum cam footage, play-throughs, or drummers explaining exercises and licks, there is definitely a lot of value to be derived from following drummers on Instagram.
Just going back to the point of posting your own videos for a moment, the use of hashtags means that people who don’t yet follow you can find your videos and potentially follow your page. Some standard drumming hashtags include #drums #drummer #drumcam #drumlife #drumstagram #drumuniversity #drumsdaily #drumcommunity #drumlessons. Say you’re posting something with #oddtime, #polyrhythms or #metricmodulation, you can use those hashtags so people can stumble upon your video. In addition to hashtags, you can also tag drumming pages in your post to give them the opportunity to share it on their page. Some of these pages include @drumsdaily, @insta_chop, @theworldofdrums, @drum.life, @drumsoutlet, and @percussionperfection.
One of my favourite drummers and Instagram posters Sebastian Lanser (Obscura, Panzerballet)
In this post I’ve listed all my favourite drummers that actually post videos of themselves playing, rather than just photos of drums or what they’re doing on tour. My favourite drummers to follow are people like Sebastian Lanser, Anika Nilles and Elliott Hoffmann, who all post exercises along with notation or stickings. This means that you will always have something new to practise if you go back through these drummers’ feeds. I also get a kick of posting exercises for other drummers to try, which is what it’s all about – fostering a collaborative and helpful community of drummers supporting each other’s development.
I’ve broken the list up into drummers from Australia and the rest of the world. There are so many talented drummers here in Oz and I find it beneficial to see what the top Aussie drummers are doing as it gives an insight into how they stay in demand in the session and touring scenes.
As I love my metal, there is definitely an emphasis on metal in this list, but there are plenty of players on here that are far removed from heavy music. The drummers I admire the most are the guys that can play it all, like Sebastian Lanser, Travis Orbin, Marco Minneman, Virgil Donati, Thomas Lang, Matt Gartska, Sean Reinert, Morgan Agren, Yuma Van Eekelen (not on Instagram), Blake Richardson, Navene Koperweis and Danny Walker. There’s also a few awesome drummers on the list who are known for the ‘gospel chops’ style of playing which I love – check out Eric Moore, Tony Royster Jnr and Aaron Spears to name a few.
I’ll start with 5 of my favourite ‘big name’ drummers who require no description. If you don’t know of any of these guys, you’ve got a lot of youtubing to do!
Virgil Donati @thevirgildonati
Thomas Lang @thomaslangdrum
Marco Minneman @marcominneman
Vinnie Coliauta @vinniecolaiuta
Dave Weckl @officialdaveweckl
(The last 3 don’t really post many videos to Instagram, but are still worth following!)
The King - Virgil Donati - no one has taken drumming further in my opinion!
Now, for the drummers that you may not have heard of:
Sebastian Lanser @sebastian_lanser (Obscura, Panzerballet)
Anika Nilles @anika.nilles (Solo, clinician)
Elliott Hoffmann @ehdrummerist (Carbomb)
Travis Orbin @travisorbin (Solo, Darkest Hour) – His solo stuff is super unique and challenging!
Matt Gartska @mattgartska (Animals as Leaders)
Alex Rudinger @alexrudinger (ex-The Faceless, session)
Danny Walker @dwalkerdrummer (Intronaut, session)
Charlie Engen @charlieengen (Scale the Summit, session, teacher)
Sean Reinert @seanreinert (ex-Cynic, composer)
James Stewart @james.stewart.vader (Vader)
Morgan Agren @morganagren (Mats/Morgan, Frederik Thordenal’s Special Defects)
Mark Guiliana @markguiliana (Mark Guiliana Jazz Quartet, session incl. David Bowie))
Craig Blundell @craigblundelldrums (Steven Wilson, session)
Tony Royster Junior @tonyroysterjr (session incl. Jay Z, Katy Perry)
Eric Moore @ericmoore_ii (T.R.A.M., Suicidal Tendencies, session)
Aaron Spears @aspears (Usher, clinician)
Chris Coleman @crc_global (Clinician, Beck, Prince, Chaka Khan)
Dre Energy @dreenergy (Cirque De Soleil, clinician)
Emmanuelle Caplette @emmanuellecaplette (session, clinician)
Gergo Borlai @gergoborlai (session, clinician)
Navene Koperweis @navenekoperweis (Entheos, Solo, ex-Animals as Leaders)
Blake Richardson @blakeyeatsteaky (Between the Buried and Me)
Dave Elitch @daveelitch (Justin Timberlake, The Mars Volta, Killer be Killed etc.)
Kevin Paradis @kevin_paradis_drumming (death metal session drummer)
Marco Pitruzzella @lordmarc0 (Six Feet Under, Brain Drill, probably the fastest drummer out there)
Eloy Casagrande @eloycasagrande (Sepultura)
George Kollias @georgekolliasofficial (Nile, Solo, Clinician)
Ryan Van Poederooyen @ryanvanpoederooyen (Devin Townsend Project)
Allan Cassidy @88o119725 (The Black Dahlia Murder)
Phil Dubois @philduboisdrums (ex-Revocation, Cannibal Corpse drum-tech)
Samuel Santiago @s_a_m_s_a_n_t_i_a_g_o (First Fragment, Gorod)
Steve Such @stevesuchdrums (session, transcriber of Vinnie (Coliauta) licks!)
Wilfred Ho @wilfredhok (session, teacher, youtube drum covers)
Stan Bicknell - A Melbourne based drummer who has experienced rapid growth in popularity through Instagram
Now for the Aussie drummers:
Pete Drummond @petedrummond (session, Dragon, Thirsty Merc, independence master)
Andy Gander @andygandermusic (Andy Gander Quartert, session, PhD)
Dave Goodman @davegoodmanmusic (Dave Goodman Quartet, session, PhD)
Johnny Salerno @saltydrums (session, Jon Stevens, Suzi Quatro)
Terepai Richmond @thepaiman (session, DIG, The Whitlams, Missy Higgins)
Ben Todd @bentodd (Cirque Du Soleil, clinician)
Jackie Barnes @iamjackiebarnes (Jimmy Barnes, The Lachey Doley Group)
Stan Bicknell @stanbicknell (insta drummer, ex-Kimbra, ex-session)
Stevie Cat Junior @steviecatjnr (Kimbra, RnBeast)
Dan Presland @dan_presland (Ne Obliviscaris, session)
Rob Brens @rob_brens (Hadal Maw, I Built the Sky + more)
Steve Judd @stevejudd23 (Karnivool & The Veronicas)
Benjamin Shannon @benjaminshannondrums (way too many bands to mention, teacher)
Shane ‘Russ’ Russell @rustyninja79 (Twelve Foot Ninja)
Anthony Stanislavski @luvskidrums (session, teacher)
Josh Griffin @joshgriffindrums (Caligula’s Horse)
Troy Wright @troywrightdrums (Plini, drum teacher and youtube cover sensation)
Robin Stone @frogmagus (Norse, death metal session drummer)
Jake Sproule @roodymence (Whoretopsy, Truth Corroded)
Dom Simpson @domsimpsondrums (Darker Half, session)
Luke Williams @luke.williams.drummer (Dead Letter Circus, teacher)
Jack Thomson @jackthomsonondrums (session)
Nick Bukey @nickbukeydrums (online drum lessons, session)
Darran Muller @darrandrummer (session)
Steve Pope @stevenpope (session)
Thanks for checking out this post – I’m sure I’ve missed a whole bunch of great drummers that deserve to be on this list (feel free to suggest some in the comments), but hopefully I’ve inspired you to check out some new players and get posting!