Mid-East Prog Rock

You may have seen the youtube vids of the young boy Jacob Armen soloing at seven, and being on the Tonight Show and all. Years have passed, and what I found so interesting in this video was not Armen's soloing (which was basically a circus act), but the music - this mid-eastern sounding fusion/prog rock. He does have a nice DW kit (love those half-toms) and he plays well enough, but I thought the music was far out.

freak show indeed. thought i was listening to inna gadda da vida for a second there! i think it's interesting how quickly these kinds of guys diverge from any type of groove and play pyrotechnically, unrelated to the tune. i think he is phenomenal still!

I think the reason is, it's no longer playing to a dance but for show only.
these guys would never think of loosing the original groove

here's Bulgarian drummer Salif Ali a fan of billy's from an early on.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NcFot3ZjQIY&feature=related

and an obvious clone of his.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EKoq8nKsUNo&feature=related

from the earlier clip here's how serious these guys are about their roots
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbcFyToGg6g&feature=related

Why is it producers go so bonkers with camera angles when the drum solo comes along? Ridiculous.

The guy sounded like he was playing his dhoumbek on his kit.

LOL. I believe I can honestly say I have never seen anyone play their penny whistle with their nose before.

Frenetic music, isn't it?