Veteran rock drummer Tommy Clufetos recently opened up about his relentless drive to succeed in the music industry and shared his honest thoughts on Canadian progressive rock legends Rush.
During a recent chat with Meltdown on Detroit’s WRIF station, the musician—famous for keeping the beat for Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath, Rob Zombie, and Alice Cooper—reflected on his early days and his massive career goals. When asked if he ever imagined playing with Ozzy while growing up in the local Detroit music scene, he admitted that he always had his sights set on the biggest stages possible.
“Well, in a strange idea, yes, I did think, whether it was Ozzy or somebody else, I did envision whatever’s happened in my life to happen. And I envision more to happen. I didn’t get into drums to play at the corner bar. Even though I played at the corner bar — I got no problem with it — but I had the biggest aspirations. I still do, and that’s where my fire comes from, is I want.”
Tommy explained that his intense dedication remains exactly the same whether he is performing for a handful of people in a tiny club or playing a massive stadium gig with heavy metal royalty.
“They say, “Well, you can’t play in every band.’ And I go, ‘Why not? Why can’t you? Why can’t you?’ I can do whatever I want, and wherever my talent leads me, I will follow. And that’s what I’ve always done. And it’s led to playing with Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath and Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper. But I always approached it the same when I was playing at home in Detroit, the same death grip of the drumsticks and going for it. That’s where I got my craft. That’s where I got to play for all these greats, is from playing in Detroit like it was the end, ’cause it’s always the end. And that’s what I’m gonna do at the Token Lounge [in Westland, Michigan when I play there in April with my band Tommy’s Rocktrip]. I’m gonna play just like I was playing at the BRIT Awards [as part of the Ozzy tribute], like everybody’s watching, because everybody always is watching.”
He emphasized that true success comes from an uncontrollable passion that pushes a musician through the hardest and least glamorous parts of the business.
“It’s not about being a used car salesman, but it’s about having a passion for what you do. And hopefully that passion ignites inside of you, and you can’t help but let it out. I can’t help but let it out. When I get behind my drums and I do what I do, the Motor City and playing gigs till four in the morning and lugging my gear in the snow and loading up the P.A., and bar owners screwing you on money and all these hard things and all these things that you secretly love come through the passion of what I do.”
The conversation eventually shifted to the progressive rock giants Rush. While acknowledging their incredible technical skill and wishing their new touring drummer, Anika Nilles, the best of luck, he confessed their music never quite resonated with his personal tastes.
“I appreciate Rush, but I wasn’t a Rush guy. That wasn’t my thing. But they do have a wonderful new female drummer [Anika Nilles], who I’ve seen play with Jeff Beck. I’m sure she’s gonna do awesome… We have the same cymbal endorsement company, so I have met her and I saw her play and she’s a phenomenal drummer. And I’m sure they’re just gonna go sell out everywhere.”
Elaborating on his musical preferences, he pushed back against the common advice that musicians need to force themselves to enjoy every single genre in order to be well-rounded.
“Like I said, I appreciate Rrush. [But] that wasn’t my side of things. That wasn’t where I was coming from [musically]. And you know what I found out? As I got older, everybody, they tell you, ‘Oh, you gotta enjoy all types of music. You gotta be so well rounded.’ And the older I get, I go, why? Why can’t you just like what you like? And that’s okay too. And maybe do your thing. The older I’ve gotten — you can appreciate other things in music and you can partake, but that doesn’t mean because somebody else is a big band that you have to love it. I’m not saying I don’t appreciate it, but it doesn’t get my guts — like it gets somebody else’s guts. You know what I mean? And they’re not gonna get off on the same music that I get off on. That’s the cool thing.”
However, despite not being a diehard fan of their catalog, he expressed immense respect for the band’s late drummer, Neil Peart, noting a deep connection to the way the legendary percussionist handled his life and career.
“So, yes, I absolutely appreciate them. They’re a killer band. I did watch their documentary, and what a story. And I do have utmost respect for Neil‘s approach and his dedication and the way he spoke about his family and certain things like this that I definitely connect to that side, maybe more so than the actual… I like some of their older stuff where it was killer rock and stuff. I did like that.”
