Excellent post John.

I equate it to martial arts. You can learn the motions, but it's not "art" until you are flowing your energy the right way. Very little effort should yield plenty of sound.

I've been asked many times about my sticks, got comments on "how do you play such a backbeat (blues) with a traditional grip?!?" stuff like that.

Good tuning of the drum(s) and good technique playing them pay off big time.

Another detail I'll touch on as we 'Amtrak' this thread, is setting up the kit is often overlooked. Years (maybe decades at this point) ago I realized that my sticks should address every drum the same. So, I mount low as possible to conserve energy, and my toms are all angled such that I can (and occasionally do) play rim shots on every drum. It looks a little odd at first, and is not "match grip friendly", but I can play with no fatigue for long periods, even though I don't have the endurance I had when I was practicing daily.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program...