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Who’s Your Favorite Punk Drummer?
50 years of self-taught bashers, technical wizards and more
I still remember the day in seventh grade when I first met a couple of real-life punk rockers. As a SoCal hesher-in-training (feathered hair, lightning bolt necklace, checkered slip-ons, etc.), my exposure to bondage pants, Dr. Martens boots, and spiked hair was extremely limited up to that point.
I was mesmerized and a little terrified as the neighborhood teens led me and a few friends into their parents’ apartment to hear the Dead Kennedys’ In God We Trust, Inc. I can’t speak for others who were there that day (or remember their names, actually), but it turned out to be a life-changing event for me.
Those confrontational lyrics. That audio assault. The unbelievable tempos.
Decades later, I still marvel at D.H. Peligro’s ferocious drumming on songs like “Religious Vomit,” “Nazi Punks Fuck Off” and “Dog Bite.” I was never the most hardcore guy in the backyard slam pit, but I’ve been a fan of punk rock—in its various mutations—pretty much ever since. Especially the drummers.
I was already interested in playing drums back then, but punk rock made that dream seem more attainable than the heavy metal I listened to growing up. My parents got me a CB 700 kit a couple of years later and my…
