1. Neil Peart
A lot of media publications and sites have of course written "top ten drummer" stories, but Buzzfeed hadn't. Well, now BuzzFeed has a drummer-writer.
My qualifications? I began playing drums right out the womb, according to my father. I used to arrange the pots and pans around me on the floor in a semi-circle, and pound on them with wooden spoons. Now, my dad's one of the biggest bullshitters in the world, but my mom backs up the story.
I got my first real set when I was six, a used Ludwig 4-piece my parents bought for $100. I shit my pants (probably literally) when I saw it. I took six years of lessons from an old jazz drummer who taught me a thing of two.
I was "first snare" in my high school concert and marching bands (hold the applause).
I played in 6 shitty bands between the ages of 15-28, including one punk band that was less shitty than the others. My favorite show ever was a CYO church hall dance in my South Jersey hometown when I was 16, and we played "Freebird" as an encore. I never sweated more in my life, and that church never again hosted a band dance.
I now play drums on my desk and the floor at work, and drive my BuzzFeed co-workers insane — particularly Editor-In-Chief Ben Smith.