If you’ve been going out of your mind trying to figure out why Judas Priest drummer Scott Travis holds his sticks backwards, there’s good news: Your wait for an answer is finally over.
Travis, who plays with the butt ends of his drumsticks, says he adapted the unusual playing style from watching a pair of drummers he admired. “Many, many years ago, two of my favorite drummers, Neil Peart of Rush and Tommy Aldridge, who’s played with Ozzy Osbourne and Whitesnake — I noticed they would have the butt end on the left hand, which is normally the snare, and then they would play the tip on the ride cymbal for clarity,” he explains. “So I kind of stole that idea, and then I just figured that if it works on this hand, it’s good enough on this hand.”
Besides, Travis adds, playing with the opposite ends of drumsticks is easier on one’s budget. “When you have to buy your own drumsticks, which I used to do, they last longer,” he says. “Because, obviously, that’s thicker than that. That’s what she said. And so that’s where it got started, really.”