KJ Sawka
Age 33
Drumming Experience 20 years
Band Pendulum
“Most definitely. Soft beats especially. But even with bashing loud beats, you can always hear the chick of the hats. When it gets gated or cut out of a beat during recording and producing, you still feel it. Without chicks in the beats, no one will dance.”

Branden Steineckert
Age 33
Drumming Experience 17 years
Band Rancid
“Absolutely! I think the hat is the driving force behind that classic Ramones-style mid-tempo punk-rock rhythm. The distinction of the notes on a closed hat really flexes at those tempos/grooves.”

Neal Morgan
Age 32
Drumming Experience 23 years
Bands Bill Callahan, Joanna Newsom
“As someone who rarely writes beats that have extended repetitive hi-hat notes, the chick for me is most important as an accent or a single-note component in a full-kit pattern.”

Kyle Rose
Age 26
Drumming Experience 14 years
Band Hell or Highwater
“I wouldn’t say that it’s essential for me, but it definitely can help in keeping a natural tempo in any beat or groove.”

Coby Porlier
Age 15
Drumming Experience 8 years
Band Edelweiss
“Hi-hat chick is absolutely essential. Closing my hats on every off-beat makes for a very groovy dance beat.”