SLAYER Drummer DAVE LOMBARDO: 'I Don't Practice At Home'

The U.K.'s "best-selling drum magazine" Rhythm (web site) recently conducted an interview with SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

On training his left bass drum foot on his hi-hat:

"IRON MAIDEN first did it in the song 'Ghenghis Khan' where the hi-hat is doing what the double bass would be doing and there are ghost notes on the snare to compensate for the lost drum. It was very brief from the time of using the hi-hat to getting my second bass drum. I have give credit to MOTÖRHEAD for the song 'Overkill'. When I first heard it I was blown away. Although it was slow by today's standards, I thought it was really cool."

On being a "drum legend":

"I don't think about being a drum legend. I don't know what to say. Whatever comes out comes out and that's me.

"I have to do this drum clinic in Finland and I'm like, 'What shall I do?' I honestly don't like doing them. Since I never really took drum lessons I can't really sit there and educate people about these drum beats. I'm not gonna write it out because what you're gonna get is a piece of paper with a bunch of notes on it, and how you're gonna play it is like a piece of paper that's been typed on. You're gonna play drums like you're typing."

On his lack of warm-up routine:

"I do get fatigued onstage, but once I get over that hump, I'm fine. I'm already warmed up from the last show, so there's no need to overdo it. It surprises people. I don't practice at home. I listen to more music. When I play, I let it come out. The stamina that you see onstahe has been developing since we played Reading and Leeds last year. When you're in it this long, it's like second nature, it's your job, you just do it."

Tips for beginners:

"Play along to whatever you can properly play. If you start off at AC/DC and you play a whole record from beginning to end and feel like you've had a workout, then you're doing good.

"After a while, start to get a little more complicated and try some early JUDAS PRIEST, and maybe bring in some double bass stuff. If you're doing good there, move on to the next record. That's what worked for me."

Rhythm's entire interview with Dave Lombardo can be found in the magazine's April 2007 issue, available on newsstands now.