Chris Adler interview (excerpt)

Modern Drummer: You say that you strive to be the best drummer you can be for yourself and for the band. Is that notion being diminished through the availability of social media, where chops and competition can become the focus, rather than things like being the foundation of a band and having the ability to play well with other musicians?

Chris Adler: It is, and I think it’s accelerated a bit by those spending half their lives in their basements learning how to shred. I’m blown away by the speed some of these guys have, because I know it would take me years to get there. But after a while I realized that I want to write songs that make people move or that they want to listen to in their cars. Playing drums only to impress is a certain angle, but as I’ve said before, there will always be somebody faster. Even if you happen to find yourself in the position of coming across the finish line first, there’s no award for that in songwriting.

Watching the documentary Dream Theater did when they were trying out new drummers... I know some of those guys, and I know what it must have felt like to walk into that room to audition. But when I heard what John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess were asking of these guys on the spot, it made me want to throw up! It was ridiculous! If that were me, I probably would have walked out of the room after ten seconds, saying, “You invited the wrong guy!” [laughs]