Jazz drummer reacts: Joey Baca (The Contortionist) Language

Baca that ass up!
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[@JakeKram]

Everybody else is already saying this, but I think you'd really like The Contortionist as a daily listen. Their music is fantastic. The first two albums Exoplanet and Intrinsic are heavy deathcore albums. Language and Clairvoyant are softer prog rock albums. They're basically two different bands when the old singer left and the new one came in. Their music is so rich in creativity though that it's all led to them being considered one of the best prog metal bands of the last decade.

[@RobertoReyesChHC]

JakeKram softer prog rock with heavy Jazz Fusion influence!

[@TheArenaBruno]

The Rediscovered sessions are absolutely amazing also

[@Sabin41]

@@TheArenaBruno I was just going to comment the same thing, I think they took influence from Cynic and Retraced with that but The Contortionist nailed it even better.

[@tarkenton3895]

Language as an album(and the Rediscovered session) completely changed the way I perceive music tbh. Absolutely fantastic composition and performances all around.

[@Jumanjipants1]

Intrinsic - Language is the best 2 LP's imo. They're most transformative albums

[@corv2731]

You'll need to listen to the studio version to hear just how much counterplay there truly is in this song. It's insane. The guitars are playing in a totally different feel for most of the song. And the drums and guitars line up at periodic intervals. It's nuts, one of my favorite songs.

[@dharaosgaming]

I've been transposing a lot of their older songs off the Intrinsic album and its crazy the amount of counterplay they have in each song and how it all lines up in the intervals.

[@Tr0llmannen]

I personally really like the analyzing part of your videos. For me you could ramble on each performance for 10 more minutes and I would very much enjoy it. I mean, what separates you from most other "drummer reacts"-channels is your Jazz background and I as a metal drummer am very interested in the thoughts that a Jazz drummer has on metal drumming. So ramble along! :)

[@tusharsairam6166]

Same

[@ckokomo808]

I agree!

[@jonajon91]

100% his weakest videos are the ones where he watches along, says it was great then ends record. Give us some details, break out the drum pad, how does it relate to jazz drumming?

[@VitorLuisbadreligion]

Totallly !! I learned so much in the beginning. But Now, most of the videos is only him watching a guy play drums, no explanations or anything :(

[@OfficiallySatan]

most of the best metal drummers have jazz and classical backgrounds and influences, it's essential really

[@EternitySoundDesign]

Garret, you have to realize, not everyone has people to talk to about this sort of stuff, the chit chat at the end is fine ;)

[@laleyendadeltaco]

Dog listem to that album in full its a masterpiece

[@willakilla3362]

Gotta listen to this album probably best album of the 2010’s

[@tusharsairam6166]

Facts

[@whatdothlife4660]

@@willakilla3362 I am crazy about Guiding Lights by Skyharbor from 2014. Anup Sastry is the drummer and he's an absolute master.

[@Swollen_Goat]

Yuuuus. The contortionist is one of the best new age prog metal/rock bands. So talented

[@_slosh]

the most haunted snare in the game

[@vagary1926]

These guys are polyrhythm masters. Their songs flow between different time signatures using polys. It’s so sick.

[@Vaylon.]

Living Waves by Persefone is another fun one in terms of polyrhythms. A lot simpler than this, but still enough to be just between too complex and simple enough to groove to.

[@3AwesomeLetsPlayers]

Polymeter***** They barely use polyrhythms compared to polymeters which happen in almost every song.

[@will66kg91]

Physis Zero this and Language II are HEAVILY based on the 2:3 and 4:3 polyrhythms.

[@3AwesomeLetsPlayers]

@@will66kg91 yes but generally speaking most of their music is polymetric not polyrhythmic

[@will66kg91]

Physis Zero ehh. it really depends on how you interpret it. the polyrhythms in this song could be interpreted as polymeters. And can you name me some TC that are poly metric? i’m not saying there aren’t any, i’m curious to see what ones are polymetric.

[@JustinPayton]

Language = the perfect album

[@CarlGonzalesGuitar]

Please do jay postones from tesseract! :)

[@theo_ionescu]

Dystopia maybe

[@skiptech1300]

Yes dystopia! kzbin.info/www/bejne/gquYeKKZZbh5Z68

[@maurobilotti]

He already did it!

[@pabloandreslopezsilva4270]

Hi Garrett! I really encourage you to listen to The Contortionist more, their musicality is amazing! They must be one of the most underrated bands within the 'math metal' (djent?) circle

[@user-id2dx4qd6j]

Pablo Andres López Silva very talented band

[@Vaylon.]

Mathcore and djent are two very(?) distinct things, mathcore has a lot more playing around with time than djent, and is more about the technicality than the groove

[@wowno5763]

Lol yeah i was gonna say, mathy stuff and djent are two totally opposite things.

[@thedarklord6941]

@@wowno5763 There are some bands such as Car Bomb that combine both styles though

[@groggyfroggyfpv6868]

Anything by the Contortionist is going to be time bending madness. I highly recommend you dive in head first.

[@iamalpharius9483]

I love that he plays the cymbals the same way that he plays his toms. Rolling on them, accents of toms, accents on the splashes. I love that he uses them in the same idiom.

[@Amazistringsmusic]

Agreed, a masterful touch

[@whatdothlife4660]

Rolling on the cymbals is something I never knew existed until this performance.

[@archkunchev]

Came for the Hemiola. Left satisfied.

[@pinnsnare]

Nathan Camarena - Chon Drummer look in to his meinl live performance. You will be amazed how groovy and technical he is

[@Swagaroni]

Pinn Snare yes! I vote for the song Checkpoint because it has a lot of cool patterns in it

[@MAGAIVER]

Chon's entire set on Audiotree is amazing, the drum sound there is incredible, I'd love see thim react to any song from the audiotree set.

[@pinnsnare]

Yep, let's make this real by voting our beloved drummer.

[@alexandervang6064]

My only disappointment is that he writes only about 50% of his stuff. Is that really a knock? No, I don't think so. Clearly a fantastic drummer. Meeting them and getting a little insight was interesting.

[@jangobango2847]

I think he writes less Brian Evans blazing on most of those studio tracks

[@Will057]

Damn you’re hilarious man! Joey Baca is a great drummer. His licks are insane imo.

[@dclarkmusic]

I think these two tracks combined are one of the greatest progressive metal songs of all time.

[@ddrum1090]

I’ve been studying this song for a while, the “9” phrasing that goes on for the majority of language is hinted by the 3 over 4 in part i. the commitment to the 3 at the very start of part ii make the 9 flow so naturally. All his parts are scripted as you said, and his cymbal accents/ ghosting are incredibly well thought out. Cheers!

[@ddrum1090]

If you listen to TOOL’s “Eulogy”, you can hear directly where he got the inspiration!

[@tristonwilliams]

@@ddrum1090 one is polymetric and one is polyrhythmic between those two songs though, correct? Eulogy is polymeter because the hi hat and kick and snare have the same pulse on that part. This is polyrhythmic because the 9 phrasing doesn't have the same pulse as the 4 he's keeping.

[@sps1053]

​@@tristonwilliams The first section of Eulogy is polymetric. The last groove ("You've claimed all this time...") is 3/4 polyrhythmic. The guitar is playing a strange 7/8 feel (I think) too, so I guess it might actually be polymetric in that section as well. I just know that drum part is polyrhythmic because I've spent a lot of time working it out haha.

[@ddrum1090]

Triston Williams good catch, I would interpret the famous/last groove from Eulogy as polyrhythmic, and joey does the same thing right before going into language as he stops the 3s cycle and restarts. I’m honestly not sure how to categorize part ii at the very start because at that point his 3/16 phrasing on the stack becomes an integral part of the time, not contrary to it because it moves to 9 from 4. So i’m guessing the switch could be considered polymetric... I’m gonna have to brush up on the differences between the two lol

[@tristonwilliams]

@@ddrum1090 Polyrhythmic is when you have two time sigs that take up the same duration. in other words, it sounds like there's two separate underlying pulses or rhythms. think the simple Carol of the Bells 2 over 3 rhythm. Polymetric is when you have two time sigs that share the same pulse, so they would have different durations. The short snare roll and kick break right after the first chorus in Language I is a great example of this. Notice how the snare and kick start to get further apart but share the same pulse. Or if you don't know what I'm talking about, it's like playing 5/4 over 4/4 but at the same tempo or pulse, if you will. I'm not trained in music theory, but that's my layman understanding of it. I was admittedly partially wrong about Eulogy. The hi-hat "pattern" is polymetric to the rest of the kit because it's 3/16 over 4/4 with the same pulse. However, if you focus on only the hi-hat accent, the accent is polyrhythmic to the rest of the kit.

[@realviletryhard]

Language is one of the greatest progressive records of all time imho

[@chicken6111]

The sequence beginning at 4:33 is in 9/8 :) he begins with the snare roll groove accenting a 4 feel over the guitars which are playing on the 1 of a 9/8. That's why you get that cool ride hit displacement. The guitars feel "late" with respect to 4/4, but they're playing on the 1 of a 9 groove, which he aligns with at 4:50.

[@will66kg91]

Ryan Kenny you can interpret like that, or interpret it as everyone playing 4/4 but the guitars doing a 5/4 polyrhythm and the ride hits also on that 5/4 polyrhythm, but i never noticed that you can just interpret that as 9/8 also, good catch.

[@Tokk123]

“Solid.” Subtitles autogenerator: “Salad.”

[@patrickbrown09]

Took a lesson with Joey back in 2015 before a show they played in Toronto. Such a humble dude and a fantastic drummer.

[@chrisgeerdsen3587]

Please do a reaction for Stef Broks' playthrough of Shaping a single grain of sand by the late band Textures. Great watching your vids. Thanks in advance!!

[@bassheadjazz2708]

Yes! Several of his play throughs from Silhouettes are gold too!

[@B1tterAndThenSome]

Monster drummer! Their albums were good, but live they were something else. Probably the best live band I've seen.

[@bassheadjazz2708]

@@B1tterAndThenSome Would have killed to see them live, and i should have as i lived in Europe when they were at their peek. Anyone got the farewell tour DVD?

[@clifftrieling6052]

He's my drum teacher! Awesome guy and an amazing drummer as well \m/

[@B1tterAndThenSome]

@@bassheadjazz2708 I saw them while they were touring for Silhouettes (my personal favorite era/lineup of the band) in a small club in Oslo. You could tell that they were having a lot of fun playing together. Also, they were tight like a nun's anus.

[@ejistheking]

Zach hill. Hella - biblical violence.

[@666Metalbassist]

big agree. I hope this one comes soon!

[@ride.your.bike.]

Yes, do it! Don’t delay! Seriously

[@thereverand15]

I once read a comment that your right eyebrow peaks above your glasses. Now I can never unsee it. It's always staring at me.

[@BuzzaB77]

just discovered this band, good stuff. several friends have been saying "how do you know and love karnivool and you've not heard these guys???"

[@briankoch9786]

Lol’d at 7:20 - “Lotta fuckin’ with time.” You’re damn right!

[@fearofjazz7369]

please do Lightning Bolt or Death Grips...;)

[@TheMetalJam]

Low quality video of Joey, there def are better ones.. I say you listen to Jay Postones of Tesseract

[@rcjd7834]

Do a reaction to Richie Martinez (Arch Echo). His chops are good and his taste is insanely good. Arch Echo makes awesome music.

[@TwoandaHater]

Wish people would suggest songs where you could actually hear all the drums.

[@scootermcgavin5105]

That is why he needs to check out KRIMH!!!

[@1chrisanderson]

Yeah this is a bad choice for a first listen to Joey Baca...

[@andrecastro8387]

SCOOTER MCGAVIN do you know Kevin paradis ?

[@narutohood]

there are also better recordings of this song and joey :( where he can hear the instruments and really understand the melodies and how joey lines things up with the music. it's truly a shame language is some of the best prog work i've ever seen

[@Solid_Dude]

The studio version lol

[@Guhberry]

Gotta check out some Alan Cassidy from The black dahlia murder. Maybe the "Into the everblack" Performance demonstration?

[@Josiah-ve6su]

These guys are incredible musicians, there are so many layers in their music you don't get on first listen

[@HaikuGhost]

Glad you checked them out, highly recommend you listen to the whole album, issa mastapiece.

[@catinthahat8775]

Check this out manne: Derek Roddy - Faceless One - drums

[@chancedillbeck]

Absolute favorite band to see live and such cool dudes!

[@davidjohnweaver]

Have you done Zach Hill / Death Grips yet??

[@mattdrewdrums]

Is the whole premise of this channel you reacting to only metal drummers? Why not some Mike Mitchell, JD Beck, or Gergo Borlai action?

[@Flugmorph]

more like baka amirite lads

[@JonLeinbach]

I'd also recommend "The Parable"

[@JohnWL]

You should actually try and take some time and listen to that entire album Language by The Contortionist. That is a prog masterpiece in my mind. Super underrated band.

[@tomyboumboum9822]

Hi Garrett, thank you for that priceless analysis! Have you heard of Tesseract and their solid groovy drumme: Jay Postones? Here is a link to his drumming approach, I love the way he plays... kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGfSoYpnnpprrrc

[@pedroleao4951]

React to "Aquiles Priester - Spread Your Fire."

[@Ceagon]

BACA IS MY JAM.

[@Shorsey30]

I think you would actually really like this band for daily listening not just reactionary vids. Really good band

[@prickiland]

Suggestions (playthrough is better production): Karol Diers of Gorod: Live: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mXSWYmaOZ5WAmtk Playthrough: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6CllXtprLehf6c

[@A7XITHEIREV]

I wish Baca had more vids online. Dude is a BEAST

[@jamisonandrewmanhorvaththe1124]

I wonder why he’s never done a video with Meinl. They showcase almost all of their artists, so it’s strange they haven’t done anything with him. I mean, really the only videos you’ll find of Joey are from drummers anonymous, and some old personal accounts from people who just recorded backstage w shite audio (although I still do appreciate it).

[@A7XITHEIREV]

@@jamisonandrewmanhorvaththe1124 Yeah man, I wish he had a personal channel where he just posted random things, kinda like Blake from btbam

[@muhammadadil2653]

Crytopsy - Benedictine Convulsions Flo mounier drum cam ! Such a Beast

[@bubblybuttons3042]

MY FAVORITE BAND AND DRUMMER OF ALL TIME

[@DeafbyDesign]

Do King Crimson Live, Indiscipline, 21st century, anything really. It will blow your mind!!!!!

[@acidbath3226]

please do Lille Gruber from Defeated Sanity and Lyle Cooper from Abhorrent

[@whatcolorisdeath1266]

Please react to Lille Gruber playing Consumed By Repungance

[@SP-mn1yj]

like u reacting to some crazy metal stuff - i have one for you and its going to blow your mind !!!! check out: AFTER THE BURIAL - Pi (The Mercury God Of Infinity) 2011 Extended Mix - i know u were flahsed by Meshuggah - you gonna love this ! IMPORTANT: check the video discritption - that is the definition of insanity ! ;) - hope you like math and special numbers ;)

[@tristonwilliams]

I'm so stoked to see you watched this video, but this is one you really have to LISTEN to as opposed to this poorly mixed live video. You can hear so much more man, this song is beautiful.

[@mikoajmiszczyk7349]

You should really check out the stuff from the Kerim KRIMH Lechner playing 'Prototype' at the Meinl Drum fest 2015, this guy rocks the balls out!

[@max19970]

Hey Garrett! The instagram link in the description is wrong, it has a slash instead of a point in instagram/com

[@max19970]

And it is this way for a couple of previous videos, so that you can fix it

[@joshuasmith8695]

Dude you should do Nick Yacyshyn from Baptists or Sumac! The first song of this'll do ya: kzbin.info/www/bejne/p4uxlGpsf91jhpI

[@CaptainAlbatross]

This channel keeps getting better and better, keep up the good work! And while still in quarantaine, i'd love for you to react to Ken Bedene (drummer for Aborted) playing The Extirpation Agenda at kzbin.info/www/bejne/paG7e4Rth8ikhqc . It's 'one of those guys' where speed is everything, but this guy makes it seem SO effortless, and he's blasting and grinding away on a small 4-piece kit. Also, the fill on 1:53 is completely impossible. Such precision, brutal!

[@joenic2791]

Literally one of the most interesting bands these days. Member changes made the music change A TON and for the better. The new sound with Mike on vocals is fantastic. Check out Last Chance to Reason as well for drums ...another band associated with this act. Both are 👌🏻🔥💯

[@U.P.up.]

Thanks for you content, it's appreciated even here in Finland. Could you check out ("react on) some Finnish metal drummers? I'm thinking of Heikki Malmberg or the legendary Kai Hahto. Keep up the good work & stay healthy! Cheers from Finland

[@drummerboycam5175]

Any videos of THIS guy playing the drums anywhere to know the legitimacy

[@Pleistoneax]

I loved Carpenter-era The Contortionist. I was skeptical about the Last Chance to Reason vocalist joining the Baca Brothers' ranks, as Last Chance to Reason died off when Michael disappeared up his own ass in his arrangements...but then Language dropped and, especially with respect to the absolutely crushing front half of the album, it was a true refinement of their sound. After the track "Thrive", they seemed to run out of ideas and the album ended on kind of an experimental, but ultimately uninteresting, flat note for me. Clairvoyant dropped two years and some change later and my initial skepticism was rewarded when Lessard disappeared up his own ass with artistic shamelessness, having taken with him what was once a truly remarkable prog metal quintet on his way to making The Contortionist a more deliberately paced Leprous sound-alike....that's not a dig against Leprous, I have a deeply inappropriate love for them which makes my wife jealous, but it is a dig against Michael Lessard's solo project featuring the former band mates of the once truly unique The Contortionist.

[@Felipe..Vieira]

im not a drummer but i always had this impression that 6/8 goes well with 4/4 because depending on the song i can count both, like if 4/4 were basically a slowed down 6/8, like the intro from miss you love by silverchair, my whole life i thought it was slow 4/4, only to find out it was actually 6/8

[@ziele666]

Haken - Nil by Mouth | DRUM COVER by Mathias Biehl. This guy definitely deserves to be shown in here.

[@higler.]

4:32 yo did you just drop a wrestling comparison? SUBSCRIBED!

[@AoLIronmaiden]

Saw em live a handful of years ago.... Can confirm, hard to headbang lol

[@vahnn0]

Exoplanet for life. And Intrinsic. I like a couple songs from Language and Clairvoyant, but they strayed too far into chill, calm territory for my liking.

[@MarshTheDarsh]

Charlie Zeleny "drumaggedon" please!! Love your reactions!

[@beastwaynes4868]

Wow. I think that’s just about the worst quality live recording I’ve ever heard. You’re right, the bass drum is almost non-existent. Was this recorded on an old iPhone? On a different note, is one of your eyebrows further up your forehead than the other?

[@user-id2dx4qd6j]

i’m pretty sure this song is based on a 4/3 polyrhythm, Intuition that is, actually both of them are heavily based on polyrhythms and playing a 4/4 beat inside of 3 or a 3/4 beat inside of 4.

[@Kamii_o]

I suggest reacting to Thomas Pridgeon's zildian live video. Some real sick drumming there.

[@joelward9939]

Hahaaaaa. He nailed it at 5:40 ish the 3 over 4 feel. They (rhythmically) play with that so often. One of my favourite things about listening to this album. The 3 over 4 play.

[@Oceanicblack]

Please react to Nic Pettersen - Northlane (Dispossession) Live Drum Cam! Thanks Garret!

[@FanaticDrummer]

Also can you guys ONLY recommend studio quality videos lol Cant hear any of the kick, let alone music. Sounds like someones IG practice video lol

[@Super221278]

Please make a reaction with Bill Brufford in Earthworks or King Crimson. That would be great.

[@Shorsey30]

Damn finally some joey baca/contortionist

[@murmeli8791]

JP Kaukonen - Perceive The Mendacity, pls :)

[@paulmihai6470]

NEXT VIDEO:-SILENT PLANET -TRILOGY (Alex Camarena)

[@pain9270]

You should definitely check out the band archspire nor even the drummer is crazy fast also the singer. Rapid elemental dissolve would be a good song where you can see him playing.

[@zdrowe5131]

Yes!!!! Thank you! I forgot about this band but these guys are amazing!!!

[@33matou]

Try to listen and understand Lyle Cooper from the faceless playing planetary duality it's amazing bro

[@sacredxgeometry]

This is my favourite band for sure. Probably seen this band 10 times live. I know every word to every song and they're responsible for twisting and expanding my knowledge of musical time as I've studied their music so often. It's almost like to me, they're a band that's simply _standard_ in my library. So glad to see you post this band to your audience.

[@TheSentinel909]

Dude! Can't believe you've not done Jay Postones (of Tesseract) yet! That guys is half man, half ghost note

[@takerlaster1750]

David Diepold - Obscura "Vortex Omnivum"

[@ericsanger4408]

Good but....meh. Within human possibility. Watch Carbomb.

[@666risedeadcult666]

I miss Jonathan on vocals and Tilley on bass. I stopped listening to them after Intrinsic. I don't hate them now but I just can't get into their new stuff :(

[@BlackLabel2021]

There are much, much higher quality playthroughs of this done by Joey. It's a shame you were listening to this muddy mess. This song is gorgeous.

[@JustusVidyo]

theres some rad videos by Exivious'es drummer Yuma on their bands channel that also merge metal and jazz quite nicely

[@valtu7037]

nice reaction!! you shuold check out matt greiner @ zildjian live, super cool! :D

[@jameslevario2254]

new patreon here!! just wanted to support you for making great content. i've watched your carbomb vid at least a dozen times.

[@shadow_self.]

Dude you talked entirely WAY too much through this one. All the best parts got overlooked because you’re talking over them 🙄

[@wrektem240]

I fucking love the contortionist! Definitely worth seeing life ! Hot damn!

[@eliminatetheleader]

Every time I've seen them, they've saved this for end of the set, but after they released they're latest album. I think they did open their old sets with this when supporting this album.

[@Gwunhar]

It's a shame the sound in the video wasn't very good, because there's so much amazing shit going on in that song. Easily my favorite Contortionist song.

[@shroskies9353]

Check out Bill Withers- ain’t no sunshine lido remix you definitely gonna like them chops

[@jbasti227]

Please react to the drum cam for Silent Planet - Trilogy. It got uploaded recently and their drummer Alex Camarena is so good.

[@jonasturklbach2705]

Enjoying the videos, g-money. Cant wait to watch ur slow descent into madness throughout the coming months. 👍

[@mortuarykrematorium4650]

Somebody recommend this guy Havok, their drummer is awsomeY

[@DD8MO610]

Vinnie Colaiuta at the Baked Potato?

[@Sabin41]

Lots of fucking with time is the best description I've ever heard of The Contortionists music