Description
The way I approach songs played by Carter Beauford is to use the song as a framework for grooving, jamming, and trying to learn some of his licks and how he places them in the song. I have nowhere near the time or patience required to cover his work exactly. In fact, I'll guarantee that even he can't play his songs the same way twice.
Carter is one of the drummers we can all learn the most from as he plays incredible rhythms and cool beats in the midst of a relatively straightforward rock environment. In real life, these songs are the types we play live and the drums don't have to be stale. In my opinion, he is the single one element most responsible for the Dave Matthews sound. In concert, he uses a ton of double bass and is one of the tightest grooving drummers you'll ever see. His left-handed hi-hat playing gives him a huge advantage with all those little accents and 32nd notes.
Try to ignore the drum-clutter in spots and just jam!