Having a problem with one of the most important of your kit during a gig is the stuff of recurring nightmares for most drummers. However, for most of us it’s not likely to be in front of a packed arena, playing some of the most revered progressive-metal ever written.
So, imagine being in Danny Carey’s shoes (more on those below) when this actually happened during a recent Tool show. In a video shared by Danny’s drum tech, Joe Slaby on Instagram, Carey is seen playing The Grudge from 2001 album Lateralus, before breaking his snare drum head.
He turns and signals to Joe that there's a problem, who heroically appears, removing the drum. Carey switches to his Remo Rototom for The Grudge's busy interlude, while Joe has the unenviable task of replacing the drum with a notoriously heavy VK Drums cast, solid bronze snare.
Incredibly, Joe manages to replace the snare without being clubbed by one of Carey’s sticks, placing the VK straight into the basket and allowing Carey to continue playing without dropping a beat as he seamlessly smiles and shrugs his shoulders.
The clip prompted Rage Against The Machine's Brad Wilk to comment, "Nice, hope you have your heavy lifting belt on!"
Joe has been sharing clips of Danny Carey since the start of Tool’s tour, giving insight into his kit, bass drum pedal settings and why he wears wrestling shoes on stage. He also captured the moment frontman Maynard James Keenan played Jenga behind a gong while Carey took a drum solo.
