In an interview with Meltdown of Detroit's WRIF, Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain shared his thoughts on the passing of both The Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts and ex-Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison. McBrain praised the timekeeping abilities of Watts and the technical insanity of Jordison, noting that both will (obviously) be sorely missed.
"Oh, absolutely. Charlie was such a phenomenal timekeeper — a great player. There's a saying — I've said it a couple of times before — it's not about the notes; it's about the space in between, in taking the music generality of it. And that's what Charlie did — he had this incredible feel on the backside of the groove.
"When I started playing, it was Ringo and Charlie — literally Ringo and Charlie were the two influences that I learned from, that I based my style of playing at that time on. And then the wonderful Keith Moon came along, and John Bonham. So those four guys were my primary influences.
"But certainly Charlie is a sad loss to the music world and the drumming fraternity across the table. He will influence all these drummers that are getting into that music from The Stones. He's a jazz drummer — he came from a jazz background. He played traditional grip; he played orthodox as well. Matched grip as well, but that was his main style. Just a wonderful, wonderful player.
"And Joey, of course… You turn eight chapters down the line, and you've got this guy who's playing these incredible kind of bar speeds [with a] beautiful, beautiful bass-drum technique. I'm a single bass-drum player, but I can always really appreciate these guys that bring something else to the table. So having lost the pair of them, it's really a great loss to us all. And he'll be sorely missed, both of them."
Jordison passed away in July at 46 years old, and Watts passed away in August at 80.
