Green Day is currently promoting their new album “Saviors”, released this January, and in an interview with Howard Stern (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage), the drummer Tré Cool was asked who was the best drummer of all time.
The musician explained his choice and praised many other players like Metallica’s Lars Ulrich, for example, who often doesn’t get the credit he deserves.
Green Day’s Tré Cool picks the greatest drummer of all time
“I mean, I’m gonna piss off a lot of people when I say Ringo Starr just because I adore him. I love Keith Moon, John Bonham, Meg White and Buddy Rich, of course. (Ginger Baker), he’s good (too). (Ringo) played what was supposed to be played in the song. Drummers forget that they’re playing a song sometimes, you know. It’s probably because we are hiding behind the cymbals and we don’t get to wag our dongs in everyone’s faces. (I don’t get jealous), I’m pretty confident, I like my own spot (behind the drums), I got a table (laughs).”
Howard Stern then mentioned Metallica’s Lars Ulrich as an example of a drummer who integrates himself quite well with the rest of the band during a live show. So the band’s guitarist and singer Billie Joe Armstrong gave his opinion on him.
“Lars has a really unorthodox way of playing, I think he is a really creative drummer. As far as the Metal drummers, even up until now (there are) people that were influenced by Metallica. There is something very studious about the way other people play. But the way that him and James Hetfield play together is so just in lockstep. The way like his drum fills are completely unique to the way Lars plays, I really dig the way Lars (play). He’s a great drummer,” Billie Joe Armstrong said.
Tré Cool entered the conversation again and praised the Metallica drummer. “Yeah, me too. He is like a Heavy Metal muppet.”
Cool had already praised Ringo when he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
When Ringo Starr was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist back in 2015, the ceremony prepared a special video with drummers from different eras praising the Beatle. One of them was Tré Cool and he praised Starr.
“(Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) His fills are really fun and quirky to play. His left hand will come through. I’ve seen him do it and I’m like (how does he do that?).