In my opinion Tony Royster is in the top 5 list of drummers on the planet. I have the Evolution Of Tony Royster DVD, and from that and all the other stuff that I have seen and heard from this cat down through the years, I would say that there is none like him. Even Dennis Chambers now has to take his hat off to this cat. And I think that all those chops that he does is him, and there are not many who can do them like him, he is a gifted master percussionist. He has taken his gift from God, and combined Billy, Dennis, Buddy, and countless others together with his own stuff and has emerged as a monster drummer in other words a force to be reckoned with. He drops my jaw, just like when I first saw Billy on In Concert, in the early 70's. All those chops that Tony does, gives me something to learn and the reason is, because he always has some place to go, he puts together combinations like nobody's business. He is a busy drummer behind the set and I just love the guy, and he is a decent human being on top of it. I think even Billy will agree that this 25 year old is special. I know Don, I know Don that you don't agree. But anyway I think that he is one of the top 5 period, bar none. I played this tune before on this board but I am going to play it again, it is a tune that Tony and his band ASAP came up with in about 2 days for the Evolution Of Tony Royster project, and Tony is just a monster on this tune. And if you don't have the Evolution Of Tony Royster, I suggest that you get it. Dennis was surprised at what he saw and heard from Tony since the last time that they had played together, he had to truly welcome Tony into the fold. I do realize that not everyone will be drawn to his style, and then many are and many will.
BC's