SKF NOTE: This is Part 1 of my interview with Barry Keane, published in the August-September 1981 Modern Drummer magazine as a feature interview titled, “Barry Keane: Canadian Studio Kingpin.”

Our discussion was as much about Keane’s studio drummer work in Canada as it was about his membership in Gordon Lightfoot’s band. In August 1980, Barry had been with Lightfoot five years. I was freelance writing for Modern Drummer, two months away from being hired as MD‘s first Managing Editor.

This interview, I believe, took place after the band’s soundcheck at the Performing Arts Centre, Saratoga Springs, NY on August 2, 1980. Gordon Lightfoot’s album, “Dream Street Rose,” was released two months earlier.

Researching drummers in 1980, even well-known drummers, was often labor intensive, yielding few results. There just wasn’t much backgrounder information available on most drummers. Modern Drummer was successful, in part, because it showcased drummers in-depth. No other magazines had done that.

When Barry and I, along with my friend and Lightfoot fan Wayne Pasco, met at Saratoga Springs in 1980, I didn’t know much at all about Barry’s background or his studio drumming career. Re-listening to this interview after 43 years, my nervousness, my trying to ask the right questions to gather the best elements of Barry’s story, is quite evident. At least in spots.

Of course, neither Barry nor I could have known we would sit down for another interview 42 years later: