Does anyone know if you can do a drum roll with bristles?

Do you mean brushes ?

Yeah their called brushes.

And I actually don't own any, I will get some soon though. But i have used them before and I didn't try rolling, but my guess is no, you cannot.

The answer is yes but you have to practice doing "pull up" strokes to get good at it. It's best to do these on something with little rebound like a pillow. Drummers, especially jazz drummers, have been doing rolls with brushes for years, at blazing speeds.

yup...he's right...u can do anything with the right technique

what is the "pull up" technique?

I have a set of brushes, but don't have the roll technique down with them. They are way to soft, unless you have your kit mic'd. But then drummer is the man and he knows what he is talking about. I'm just a cluless drummer who tries to occassionally use the brushes.