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Nickey Alexander (also known as Nickey Beat) is an American hard rock drummer. In 1977, Alexander, along with John Denney, Dix Denney, and Cliff Roman, founded The Weirdos. He left the band in 1980, but participated in the 1988-1991 reunion.
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- Nickey Beat
May 28, 2011 · Drummer Nicky Beat lived in a small warehouse known as the Love Palace that doubled as a rehearsal studio. But the musical connection didn't end there. Anyone who...
Nickey Alexander (also known as Nickey Beat) is an American hard rock drummer. In 1977, Alexander, along with John Denney, Dix Denney, and Cliff Roman, founded The Weirdos. He left the band in 1980, but participated in the 1988-1991 reunion.
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- Jerry Nolan
- Tommy Ramone
- Clem Burke
- Topper Headon
- John Maher
- Nicky Beat
- Rat Scabies
- Dj Bonebrake
- Chuck Biscuits
Punk rock was supposed to be rock ‘n’ roll stripped down to its primal essence, free of years of pretension to art. And rock ‘n’ roll is all about the beat. Most people think it’s about electric guitars. But the six strings require a solid foundation—a beat that drives all those distorted histrionics. That means you need a monster with a good sense...
CLAIM TO FAME: New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders And The Heartbreakers SIGNATURE MOVE: Some of punk’s best trap set bashers actually rose in the protopunkera. Think of the African, cymbal-less beats of the Velvet Underground’s Moe Tucker, the Stooges’ Scott “Rock Action” Asheton’s hard grooves and Dennis “Machine Gun” Thompson’s Keith Moon-like deton...
CLAIM TO FAME: Ramones SIGNATURE MOVE: It’s hard for the novice to understand what made the first guy seated on the Ramones’ drum throne more crucial than any other guy who occupied it. Yes, Marky Ramone—who drummed behind Da Brudders for two separate terms, a total of 14 years, longer than anyone else—and Richie Ramonewere technically better playe...
CLAIM TO FAME: Blondie SIGNATURE MOVE: Clem Burkewas Blondie’s secret weapon. Most eyes were focused on Debbie Harry, exuding her icy ‘50s movie queen charisma as she crooned their thrift store mashup of ‘60s garagepop and girl grouptheatricality. As the ‘70s melted into the ‘80s, they became supreme cross-genre art popsters. Holding the package to...
CLAIM TO FAME: The Clash SIGNATURE MOVE: Terry Chimeswas a perfectly serviceable punk-rock drummer on the Clash’s self-titled 1977 debut album, even if his politically driven exit from London’s Number Two Punk Outfit precipitated an uncharitable billing as “Tory Crimes” in the credits. He unfortunately was about as stiff as the entire contents of a...
CLAIM TO FAME: Buzzcocks SIGNATURE MOVE: It wasn’t just Pete Shelley’s two-minute pocket symphonies of bruised romance that made Buzzcocks such a crucial band. Nor was it the endlessly creative ways Shelley and Steve Digglemade two guitars clash. John Maher’s crazed but steady drumming—seemingly an endless series of stumbling rolls around his minim...
CLAIM TO FAME: The Weirdos SIGNATURE MOVE: The darlings of Los Angeles’ early punk scene, art school tearways the Weirdos managed a precise, dadaist blast that welded Captain Beefheartatop the Ramones, decorated with Dix Denney’s Johnny Thunders-esque Gibson damage. Propelling the works: Nicky Beat, the closest the City Of Angels has seen to its ow...
CLAIM TO FAME: The Damned SIGNATURE MOVE: You’ve already seen Moon’s ghost arise many times reading this list. The Whocast a long shadow over early punk. But no punk drummer absorbed what lessons Moon had to teach than the Damned’s Rat Scabies. All drunk-falling-down-staircase rolls and battering-trash-can-lid cymbal work, he drove the Damned throu...
CLAIM TO FAME: X SIGNATURE MOVE: “My musical hero is Captain Beefheart,” X’s longtime sticks twirler DJ Bonebrakedeclared in their The Unheard Musicdocumentary. He then explained it was the avant bluesprimitivist’s sense of playfulness that attracted him. He certainly brought that to Los Angeles’ Ramones-meet-beat-poetry quartet, alongside the musi...
CLAIM TO FAME: D.O.A., Black Flag, Circle Jerks, Danzig SIGNATURE MOVE: Please allow this writer one last Keith Moon reference! You simply cannot speak of Chuck Biscuits, the teenage drum dynamo behind Vancouver punk standard-bearers D.O.A.’s classic lineup, without mentioning the Who icon’s trap set insanity. All early D.O.A. recordings—“World War...
- Tim Stegall
Explore Nicky Beat's discography including top tracks, albums, and reviews. Learn all about Nicky Beat on AllMusic.
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