Ace's Current Drummer...meh

[Man of a Thousand Aces]

I'm not impressed. Typical modern plodding style, who doesn't seem to know how to play eighth beats on the hi hat. He's about as good a fit for the klassics as Jamie Oldaker was, may he rest in peace. I much prefer the guy he had in 2018.

I do like the design on his drums, which harkens back to Ace's HTH outfit.

[Under The Rose]

That drum design is awesome!

[Under The Rose]

[Kissoff]

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That's a sweet looking kit thanks for posting!!!

[nfarend]

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Looks good.
It looks
Hotter than hell!

[Kisscandinavia]

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A bit like his '74 costume.

[wezze]

I loved the way Eric Carr made NY Groove come alive. This guy should listen to those recordings from 1980. But the drum set is one of the coolest around.

[gene therapist]

That drum design is awesome!

Looks great! I normally prefer something a little less busy but this one just works.

[stutterer]

I like that he sticks out lookswise. Also he's the guy you hear on all of the modern Ace albums. He got this weird lifecoach thing going on which creeps me out a bit, but I like his work ethic. As a player, well, he's solid and I suspect drama free, that's why he gets work. He's the most charismatic member of the band now.

[Tito]

Typical modern plodding style, who doesn't seem to know how to play eighth beats on the hi hat.

I like Matt. There's some truth to the above, he's a bit heavy handed, but waaaaaaay better than Jamie Oldaker.

Also he's the guy you hear on all of the modern Ace albums.

Not exactly: he's one of the guys, not the guy. It's Matt you hear on Space Invader and Origins Vol. 2, but Anomaly was split between Anton Fig and Scot Coogan (plus Brian Tichy on "Fox On The Run"), while Origins Vol. 1 and Spaceman are split between Coogan (most of it) and Starr. "Fire And Water" is a funny example of this as it's Matt on the actual recording and Scot in the video.

[douloveme]

I’m not a fan of Matt’s drumming either. Kinda plodding, and sounds sterile and flat, lifeless. I’m sure he’s probably a good guy, but I don’t like the way he plays.

Scot Coogan played with much more style and dynamics, too bad he was kicked out of the band. I think Ace’s current band with Scot on drums would be dynamite.

[wayfarer]

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Love that kit!!! A sweet salute to 70's Ace!

[deleteduser20211013]

I like that he sticks out lookswise. Also he's the guy you hear on all of the modern Ace albums. He got this weird lifecoach thing going on which creeps me out a bit, but I like his work ethic. As a player, well, he's solid and I suspect drama free, that's why he gets work. He's the most charismatic member of the band now.

I wonder what the "chemestry" is between Thee Rock and Roll Residency guys and Matt Starr? Those three guys have great chemistry and stage presence, Matt Starr kinda came along with the Ace package (of sorts). And YES- That bizarre ass life coaching thing is weird!!! I think I'd need that kooky moustache chaved off before i could listen to him coach me on how to live.

[Peacebrother]

I've seen Ace with Matt Starr once and could not stand his drumming. Uninspiring is the best thing I can say about his playing. When the rest of the band is on fire but guy supplying the groove is bringing things down it's really hard to get past. Especially if you're a drummer.

[Rabant777]

I remember a couple of negative comments on this board when Matt first got the gig years ago, but I never saw anything about his playing that offended me particularly. I assumed that Ace would hire the best he could at the price point he could afford. When he landed the Mr Big drum stool that suggested to me that Matt is probably pretty good.... I guess what I'm saying is that I believe that Sheehan and Gilbert would have higher standards than Ace.

[NashvilleRock.net]

Judging by the Nashville show I saw a couple years ago, there was tons of chemistry and Matt kicked ass. That Ace show buried the KISS show I saw in Nashville a few months prior. Way more energy.

[pdf0427]

I think Matt is perfectly capable of kicking ass. He does what he's asked.

[stutterer]

I remember a couple of negative comments on this board when Matt first got the gig years ago

On the other hand Scot got dumped on here constantly while he played with Ace, but since Matt got on the road I read more and more praise of Scot, which I think is long overdue because I liked his playing and energy a lot. He's got a great singing voice. Funny side note is Starr was a studio singer or something himself before deciding to make it as a drummer. I would've never guessed before I listened Mike Brunn's interview with him.

[stutterer]

Also he's the guy you hear on all of the modern Ace albums.

Not exactly: he's one of the guys, not the guy. It's Matt you hear on Space Invader and Origins Vol. 2, but Anomaly was split between Anton Fig and Scot Coogan (plus Brian Tichy on "Fox On The Run"), while Origins Vol. 1 and Spaceman are split between Coogan (most of it) and Starr. "Fire And Water" is a funny example of this as it's Matt on the actual recording and Scot in the video.

Yes, a man not the guy. English is not my first language.

[lespaul]

I'm not impressed. Typical modern plodding style, who doesn't seem to know how to play eighth beats on the hi hat. He's about as good a fit for the klassics as Jamie Oldaker was, may he rest in peace. I much prefer the guy he had in 2018.

I do like the design on his drums, which harken back to Ace's HTH outfit.

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yeah, he`s no criss , carr or fig , alright .

[TheSpoiler]

I like him.

For anyone interested here he is with Billy Sheehan and Phi Xenidis doing Funk #49. Grooving nicely, too.

[PUNCHLINE]

I saw Matt play with Mr Big and he was just flat as hell. Having seen them a few times before with Pat Torpey the difference was just huge. Matt played solid, no swing, groove, or excitement, just the most basic, ploddy, heavy handed style, but I guess he`s also someone who can learn a set quickly, easy to get on with and makes no mistakes, so I guess he does his job well...
In terms of his
drumming Im definitely not a fan though.

[kisshall2]

... He got this weird lifecoach thing going on which creeps me out a bit, but I like his work ethic.

He is a very effective Life coach.

I know a guy who took his coaching seriously. He is getting ready to play at a huge festival in Tennessee with his new band, slotted above John Corobi.

[vinniestkulick]

Coogan had a great voice, but also had live tempo consistency problems... Matt is more consistent on tempos, live, but also probably takes the recorded tempo's too literally.
e.g. I can't remembe if he is starting NYG live, or following Ace.

[Eddie Van Hazel]

Had the pleasure of meeting Matt at the 2018 NJ KISS expo. Nice enough guy..I think he's a good player.
As the other OP said, his visual image is cool too. He does stand out.

Coogan was a great (and probably better) drummer and his vocals were good.

However, his excessive vocal warblings started to become too much...(think Buddy Miles on the live Hendrix BOG album).
..and his Paul Stanley like "YEAH" at the end of every song was annoying AF too.

[TheSpoiler]

A word of defence for Jamie Oldaker - I agree that he wasn't right for Ace, but he was a very very long way from being a crap drummer. The guy was often mentioned in the same breath as Jim Keltner, for example. How on earth he wound up in Frehley's band is one story I'd be intrigued to hear.

[Man of a Thousand Aces]

A word of defence for Jamie Oldaker - I agree that he wasn't right for Ace, but he was a very very long way from being a crap drummer. The guy was often mentioned in the same breath as Jim Keltner, for example. How on earth he wound up in Frehley's band is one story I'd be intrigued to hear.

I haven't read all the comments. but I don't think anyone here believes he was a crap drummer. Just that he was an ill-fit for the Klassics. I liked his drumming on Second Sighting.

[acevog75]

I tend to think the plodding has more to do with Ace wanting the tempos to be slower. Pretty much happens with most bands as they get older. Everything gets slower. Easier to play, easier to sing vocal melodies, easier everything. I just recently saw Metallica and they’re starting to play things slower, which is actually a good thing. Makes Lars sound better granted I only heard a couple songs

[tmcfaddin]

Matt Starr is a helluva drummer.

[Bubba]

It's hard to be a professional musician and must be even harder to see comments like this posted. It think it is subjective and this IS a discussion page but in my books having had a taste. Just being at Matt's level is a major achievement. Music industry is HARD and it is real easy to throw out arm chair quarterback posts like this. This post is Meh..

[Tito]

A word of defence for Jamie Oldaker - I agree that he wasn't right for Ace, but he was a very very long way from being a crap drummer. The guy was often mentioned in the same breath as Jim Keltner, for example. How on earth he wound up in Frehley's band is one story I'd be intrigued to hear.

John Regan drafted him having worked with him elsewhere earlier.

[mbrunn]

I tend to think the plodding has more to do with Ace wanting the tempos to be slower. Pretty much happens with most bands as they get older. Everything gets slower. Easier to play, easier to sing vocal melodies, easier everything. I just recently saw Metallica and they’re starting to play things slower, which is actually a good thing. Makes Lars sound better granted I only heard a couple songs

1000% right. The tempos started slowing down with Ace’s other band shortly before they were let go. Some of the slower tempos really drove me crazy (Rocket Ride chorus comes to mind right away).

Matt is playing the exact tempo Ace wants (I’m sure). Much like Eric Carr played the tempos Paul (and Gene) wanted in the 80s. If they didn’t follow the “boss’s” orders they would be let go.

Personally I think Matt’s a really good drummer and I love his positivity even more!

[100,000 beers]

I'm a drummer and really dislike Matt's style, it's been a weak spot for a while, but that is just my opinion...

[DevastatinDave]

... He got this weird lifecoach thing going on which creeps me out a bit, but I like his work ethic.

He is a very effective Life coach.

I know a guy who took his coaching seriously. He is getting ready to play at a huge festival in Tennessee with his new band, slotted above John Corobi.

What band is that? If you are referring to monsters on the mountain, Ace dates conflict with that.

[Luchino]

I loved the way Eric Carr made NY Groove come alive. This guy should listen to those recordings from 1980. But the drum set is one of the coolest around.

totally.. that hi-hat thing Eric added was great, I think the song drags without Eric drums, of course, with Eric it was a higher tempo

[kingotnw]

Meh… He’s fine. The worst thing to happen to modern Ace shows is Gene talking Ace into tuning down. Ace actively fought him on it for a while, but Ace is lazy… It seems like once he figured out he could get away with it and it made things easier in his voice it was a done deal and there was no going back. It also makes the tempo seem even slower than they are. It really pisses me off actually. Ace wasn’t really struggling too much vocally, and it was fine when he missed notes, he’s Ace after all. But fucking Gene made it his mission to get Ace to tune down. I have no idea why he cared other than when Ace did some vault shows with him.

It happened right around the time there was talk of Ace being let back into Kiss, so maybe it started out as him prepping g himself for that. Though, that seems a little too thought out and well planned for Ace so I don’t know.

People can say what they want about Ace shows, but they are better than KISS shows now, and there’s no question about it.