Last year I saw Deep Purple with my friend Derek and was blown away at how some of these older musicians continue to play drums in their later years as they age. Ian Pace, their drummer was awesome as well as the rest of the band. If you are a fan of Deep Purple, you probably know that they had a few lineup changes over the years. Currently, their guitar player is an amazing gentleman who can master the styles of Richie Blackmore and their other guitarists but the rest of the band is in their 70’s and still sounds awesome. Hitting the drums hard like they did when they were young was more difficult now as well as playing some of the acrobatic patterns they were known for when they were younger. I spoke with Max Weinberg from the E Street band a few years back before one of his Giants Stadium shows and asked him what he did to supplement his playing which keeps him in top form. Aside from being a personal trainer back then, he would icebath his wrist before he played. I am sure there were other things they may have done including simplifying some of the stuff he plays in ways the audience wouldn’t notice. Rat Scabies from the Damned had Dupuytren’s contracture, a condition where the tendons in the hand tighten up. For most, it is an inherited condition that my uncle and father both had. For myself, I have managed it successfully with chiropractic care and haven’t had problems due to it. Like many rock and roll drummers, he adapted so he could still play shows sounding like the old days. Many bands use chiropractors on the road to help them move and feel better along with massage therapists. Since the drums are physical, they need to remain in top form as problems in the lower body, legs, and ankles will eventually affect how their arms and shoulders work. Check out the article featured in The Guardian. Many of the bands whose members are aging out of rock and roll do so as they have many of the physical manifestations of aging. The good news is that with proper personal care, your career can last into your 70’s and beyond. I have personally found this out as an aging chiropractor by taking care of myself and staying in shape. Never mind the back pain: how rock’s drummers cope with furious sets in their 70s From Rat Scabies of the Damned to Paul Cook of the Sex Pistols, we ask rock and punk’s greatest drummers how they deal with long nights of fast songs – and uncover a story of arthritis, cardio, and turmeric oil.At 69 years old, Rat Scabies isn’t the same man who erupted into the public consciousness as the flailing, destructive drummer of the Damned in 1976. “I’ve got this thing called Viking disease [Dupuytren’s contracture], where your whole hand claws up, and some lumps, and arthritis. And I was always a heavy hitter, so I don’t think that helped.” But still, he tours – he is speaking from a hotel room in Glasgow, ahead of a 22-song, 105-minute show, including a drum solo, at Barrowlands – and he knows it is going to hurt. “The aches and pains get incredibly frustrating because there are some things you want to do that you can’t anymore. But as long as I’m still playing New Rose properly, and I can still make the songs sound like they should … Read the entire article here.