History Main / AllDrummersAreAnimals

-->-- '''Billy Queen''', [[SelfDeprecation former drummer]] of Jacob's Dream [[http://www.billyqueen.com/writings/personalities.html on drummers.]]

* [[Music/{{Nirvana}} Dave]] [[Music/DaveGrohl Grohl]] is an odd case. His drumming style actually ''looks'' a lot like [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOYvS_fvdkA Animal from The Muppets]] (and Grohl, in fact, played the stand-in for Animal in the [[Film/TheMuppets 2011 film]] as something of a LampshadeHanging) and the music styles that he's most famous for are hard rock, punk, metal, and grunge, but he is also a subversion of the trope, being so famous for his off-stage affability that the title "Nicest Man in Rock Music" follows him around. And then ''again'' his oddball sense of humour has him often majorly playing up to this trope especially in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhdCslFcKFU&feature=player_embedded Fresh Pots]].
* Another good example is the drummer of [[Music/FooFighters Grohl's band]], [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OgKXlEsYoXE Taylor]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PtxpSsM63mQ Hawkins]].

* Music/{{Shellac}} drummer Todd Trainer. Additionally, he's pretty much a {{Main/Cloudcuckoolander}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZWrVQTlonc who has a strong bond to his dog]], resulting in an even more [[NightmareFuel irritating presence]]. Despite that, or [[CrazyEnoughToWork maybe because of that]], he is [[EnsembleDarkhorse universally beloved by Shellac fans]], despite the fact that his bandmates Steve Albini and Bob Weston has been household names in the indie music world even since before Shellac was founded.

* [[Music/{{Arkaik}} Alex Bent]] is known for his manic live performances and equally manic and unpredictable playing style (he's basically a gospel and fusion drummer playing death metal), as shown [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RFSQf0ynsZg&feature=relmfu here]].
* Music/RingoStarr is a notable {{subver|tedTrope}}sion, a fairly low-key sort generally regarded as the NiceGuy of Music/TheBeatles. That doesn't mean he didn't occasionally indulge in wacky drummer-type antics, however; check out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba4oepn7oVc the video for "Day Tripper"]]. [[spoiler:He has a ''saw]].''
** Given Music/PaulMcCartney rose to fame sharing a band with Ringo, it's quite a contrast seeing his current drummer for over a decade, Abe Laboriel Jr., [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rofczyq12s is a straighter example of this trope]].

* Subverted in ''Franchise/TouhouProject'': Raiko Horikawa [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioQLlX2ELbg is a drum spirit]], but in no way wild or uncontrolled despite serving as a BonusBoss (and a good thing too, given that she also has the powers of a thunder god). Remixes of Suika and Yuugi's themes (two tremendously strong oni) often features big loud drums, making them slightly straighter examples.

** [[https://thehardtimes.net/culture/band-takes-drummer-on-one-last-day-of-doing-all-of-his-favorite-things/ Band Takes Drummer on One Last Day of Doing All His Favorite Things]], which treats a band letting their drummer go like pet owners putting down their dog. Apparently, the drummer's favorite things include playing outside and eating peanut butter and dry food.

* Zigzagged with [[https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWQAiVlpjivfvB4Cbtm_17g Yoyoka]], whose drum covers include the likes of Music/RageAgainstTheMachine, Music/LedZeppelin, Music/{{KISS}}, Music/{{Nirvana}}, and Music/RedHotChiliPeppers, and have managed to impress the original recording artists... even before they find out she's an eight-year-old (now ten) Japanese schoolgirl who started playing when she was ''two''. She's self-taught and a skilled improvisationist, and has composed drums and lyrics and sung on an album of her own songs -- which probably comes closer to what most viewers would expect from a little girl who likes wearing shirts covered in rainbows, flowers, and unicorns.

-->-- '''Billy Queen''' ([[SelfDeprecation former drummer]] of Jacob's Dream [[http://www.billyqueen.com/writings/personalities.html on drummers]])

* ''ComicBook/SpiderGwen'': Gwen Stacy is the drummer of the Mary Janes (when we first meet her) and one of her favorite ways to release the tension she feels from her double life ([[ComesGreatResponsibility and the standard Spider complications]]) is to ''totally unload'' on the drums, to the point that she needs to be shouted at to stop.

* [[Music/YoshikiHayashi Yoshiki]] of Music/XJapan, as a ZigZaggedTrope. Early on, due to ThereAreNoTherapists running headlong into AlcoholInducedIdiocy, he was known for behavior that sometimes hit the limits of AxCrazy: fighting offstage to the point that his behavior, along with hide's and Taiji's, earned the band a reputation of being aggressive drunken assholes. [[note]] Among his notable achievements in [[BarBrawl causing trouble]] involved ''burning an entire bar to the ground'' in a fight with his rival producer/bandleader Music/DynamiteTommy of Music/{{Color}}, and once having been banned either ''by name'' or by hair color by ''[[BannedFromArgo nearly every bar in Tokyo proper]]''. Then there was the time he and guitarist hide [[NoodleIncident somehow set fire to a hotel room]], causing ''over $64,000'' in damages...[[/note]] At the same time, he was one of ''the'' most extreme drummers in rock and metal, exceeding 800BPM at one point ''without'' heel-toe pedaling or any other extended drum techniques. Unfortunately [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome reality ensued]]: the sheer violence of his performances inflicted a variety of injuries that he lives with to this day, including a broken neck in 1995 that required surgery to repair split vertebrae in 2009, torn muscles on repeated occasions, severe wrist tendonitis, and more. Due to those injuries, and due to maturing as a person, coming to terms with his emotions to some degree, and eventually getting his drinking behavior and drinking ''somewhat'' under control despite repeated falls OffTheWagon, though, he maintains a somewhat more restrained and socially responsible image starting as of the mid-1990s and also relies more on safer techniques in drumming.

* Jack's dog from ''Jack's Big Music Show'' is the drummer whenever necessary.

* Damon Che from ''Don Caballero''. He's considered one of the best drummers in rock music but is also known for his unpredictable stage antics, like randomly [[CloudCuckooLander spitting fire]]. One of his {{Fan Nickname}}s is ''the Octopus''.

* ''VideoGame/{{Persona 4}} [[UpdatedRerelease Golden]]'': The [[FanNickname Inaba Scooby Gang]] gets roped into putting on a concert at the local department store, and to no one's surprise, [[JapaneseDelinquents Thuggish]] [[TheBigGuy Kanji]] gets stuck with the drums.

* ''Franchise/LeagueOfLegends'': In the [[HeavyMetal metal]] [[FiveManBand band]] ''Music{{Pentakill}}'', the character playing the drums is Olaf, a [[TheBerserker berserker]] [[BloodKnight bloodthirsty warrior]] [[InstrumentalWeapon wielding]] [[DualWielding dual]] [[AnAxeToGrind axes]].

* ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'': In the in-game [[HeavyMetal metal]] [[FiveManBand band]] ''[[MeaningfulName Pentakill]]'', the character playing the drums is Olaf, a [[TheBerserker berserker]] [[BloodKnight bloodthirsty warrior]] [[InstrumentalWeapon wielding]] [[DualWielding dual]] [[AnAxeToGrind axes]].

* [[Music/YoshikiHayashi Yoshiki]] of Music/XJapan, as a ZigZaggedTrope. Early on, due to ThereAreNoTherapists running headlong into AlcoholInducedIdiocy, he was known for behavior that sometimes hit the limits of AxCrazy: fighting offstage to the point that his behavior, along with hide's and Taiji's, earned the band a reputation of being aggressive drunken assholes. [[note]] Among his notable achievements in [[BarBrawl causing trouble]] involved ''burning an entire bar to the ground'' in a fight with his rival producer/bandleader Music/DynamiteTommy of Music/{{Color}}, and once having been banned either ''by name'' or by hair color by ''[[BannedFromArgo nearly every bar in Tokyo proper]]''. Then there was the time he and guitarist hide [[NoodleIncident somehow set fire to a hotel room]], causing ''over $64,000'' in damages...[[/note]]'' At the same time, he was one of ''the'' most extreme drummers in rock and metal, exceeding 800BPM at one point ''without'' heel-toe pedaling or any other extended drum techniques. Unfortunately [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome reality ensued]]: the sheer violence of his performances inflicted a variety of injuries that he lives with to this day, including a broken neck in 1995 that required surgery to repair split vertebrae in 2009, torn muscles on repeated occasions, severe wrist tendonitis, and more. Due to those injuries, and due to maturing as a person, coming to terms with his emotions to some degree, and eventually getting his drinking behavior and drinking ''somewhat'' under control despite repeated falls OffTheWagon, though, he maintains a somewhat more restrained and socially responsible image starting as of the mid-1990s and also relies more on safer techniques in drumming.

* [[Music/YoshikiHayashi Yoshiki]] of Music/XJapan, as a ZigZaggedTrope. Early on, due to ThereAreNoTherapists running headlong into AlcoholInducedIdiocy, he was known for behavior that sometimes hit the limits of AxCrazy: fighting offstage to the point that his behavior, along with hide's and Taiji's, earned the band a reputation of being aggressive drunken assholes. [[note]] Among his notable achievements in [[BarBrawl causing trouble]] involved ''burning an entire bar to the ground'' in a fight with his rival producer/bandleader Music/DynamiteTommy of Music/COLOR, and once having been banned either ''by name'' or by hair color by ''[[BannedFromArgo nearly every bar in Tokyo proper]]. Then there was the time he and guitarist hide [[NoodleIncident somehow set fire to a hotel room]], causing ''over $64,000'' in damages...[[/note]]'' At the same time, he was one of ''the'' most extreme drummers in rock and metal, exceeding 800BPM at one point ''without'' heel-toe pedaling or any other extended drum techniques. Unfortunately [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome reality ensued]]: the sheer violence of his performances inflicted a variety of injuries that he lives with to this day, including a broken neck in 1995 that required surgery to repair split vertebrae in 2009, torn muscles on repeated occasions, severe wrist tendonitis, and more. Due to those injuries, and due to maturing as a person, coming to terms with his emotions to some degree, and eventually getting his drinking behavior and drinking ''somewhat'' under control despite repeated falls OffTheWagon, though, he maintains a somewhat more restrained and socially responsible image starting as of the mid-1990s and also relies more on safer techniques in drumming.

* An episode of ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' had the family play as a band for a little while. Brian, the dog, was the drummer. Something of a subversion, as Brian is one of the calmest and most sensible characters on the show. During THAT time period, anyway...

* In a funny subversion, Max Weinberg, longtime drummer for Music/BruceSpringsteen seemed more straight-laced and less colorful than the rest of the E Street Band. Then he became the bandleader for ''Series/LateNight With Creator/ConanOBrien'' where they developed a comic persona for him which was more perverse and disturbing as this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N3PGuce8LoY fake PSA]] and this [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lPJWG84fWwE skit]] demonstrate.

* Don Henley of Music/{{Eagles}} was an aversion. If anything he was the OnlySaneMan of the group. The resident Animal for Eagles was Joe Walsh, and Henley admitted that Walsh's antics made him nervous more than once.

* [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys Talking gorilla]] Sticks from ''ComicBook/AstroCity'' is a drummer who'd much rather make music than break things, having turned his back on his people's militaristic lifestyle.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Metalocalypse}}'', where Pickles the drummer is the only member of Dethklok to be even close to totally civilized and marginally intelligent. Of course, he's also been a singer and a guitarist in his time. Ironically, he came closest to living out this trope back during his stint as lead singer for Snakes 'N Barrels.

This is ''technically'' true (since humans are, by scientific definition, animals), but in the non-literal sense, this isn't always the case. RealLife instrumentalists can often pick their instrument in accordance with their personality. And regardless of any personality implications, drums sets require the largest and most muscular movements of any instrument in a modern/rock music repertoire, and therefore it really helps to be physically fit. In terms of intelligence, drummers are actually said to be among the most intelligent of musicians since most of their work is improvisational and more complex than traditional compositions. This is especially the case with jazz drummers like Buddy Rich and Max Roach. Yet, Animal, in fact, was designed after Music/FleetwoodMac's drummer, Mick Fleetwood, who is quite tall and slender. His personality, however, is rumored to have been based on Music/TheWho's Keith Moon.

* Music/{{Shellac}} drummer Todd Trainer. Additionally, he's pretty much a {{Main/Cloudcuckoolander}} [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WZWrVQTlonc who has a strong bond to his dog]], resulting into an even more [[NightmareFuel irritating presence]]. Despite that, or [[CrazyEnoughToWork maybe because of that]], he is [[EnsembleDarkhorse universally beloved by Shellac fans]], despite the fact that his bandmates Steve Albini and Bob Weston has been household names in the indie music world even since before Shellac was founded.
* Mike Wengren of Music/{{Disturbed}} is a completely straight example. He's not just the craziest member of the band, his style often plays with booming tribal-beats and he's well-known for his bass-kick speed and polyrhythm. He's not just an animal himself, he invites ''you'' to become one.

* Averted with Neil Peart from Music/{{Rush}}. He is well known for being TheStoic of the band, and his face while drumming would convince you that he was filing accounting paperwork or something. Similar comments apply to Charlie Watts of Music/TheRollingStones and John Dolmayan of Music/SystemOfADown.

* Music/RingoStarr is a notable {{subver|tedTrope}}sion, a fairly-low key sort generally regarded as the NiceGuy of Music/TheBeatles. That doesn't mean he didn't occasionally indulge in wacky drummer-type antics, however; check out [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba4oepn7oVc the video for "Day Tripper"]]. [[spoiler:He has a ''saw]].''

* [[Music/LedZeppelin John fucking Bonham]]. Moon liked to trash hotel rooms; Bonzo [[AxCrazy liked to trash people]].

* ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'': Flipped around. The kids suspect that Bakugo, the craziest student at school, will be a decent drummer, and it turns out they're right.

* Tae Yamada is the only zombie of the undead idol group Franchouchou featured in ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' doesn't awaken from her zombie like stance after the first episode and continues to act akin to a dog. Tae later plays the drums in a more metal/hard rock inspired song performed by Franchouchou in the fourth episode of the second season "Revenge"

* Tae Yamada , who of the seven zombies of the undead idol group Franchouchou featured in ''Anime/ZombieLandSaga'' remains the sole one to never awaken from her zombie like stance after the first episode and continues to act akin to a dog. Naturally in episode 4 of the second season "Revenge" Tae winds up playing the drums when Franchouchou performs a hard rock/metal style song.

* Subverted in ''VideoGame/TouhouProject'': Raiko Horikawa [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioQLlX2ELbg is a drum spirit]], but in no way wild or uncontrolled despite serving as a BonusBoss (and a good thing too, given that she also has the powers of a thunder god). Remixes of Suika and Yuugi's themes (two tremendously strong oni) often features big loud drums, making them slightly straighter examples.

* Danny Seraphine, Music/{{Chicago}}’s original drummer, is a high school dropout who fathered his first child at fifteen and spent most of his teenage years in gangs(he credits music with getting him out of the lifestyle).