Dave Weckl On Drumming Before and After Studying with Gary Chester (1983)

Posted on May 3, 2017 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: This is excerpt is from my August 5, 1983 interview with Dave Weckl. Modern Drummer published a much shorter version of this interview in April 1984 as an Up and Coming profile of Weckl. I’ve posted a copy here.

Dave Weckl is 23-years old here. He was living in Bridgeport, CT getting ready to go on tour with Simon and Garfunkel  — arguably the first major gig that put Weckl on the map. I asked him if any of the Simon and Garfunkel drum parts he was learning for the tour were tough to learn. The song Allergies was a bit challenging, and that’s where Weckl begins on this excerpt.

With Gary Chester’s daughter, Katrina, and former drum student, Tony Cruz, working on a Gary Chester documentary — it’s interesting to hear Weckl talking about studying with Gary almost 34-years ago. This is not Weckl recalling what it was like studying with Gary in 1983. Weckl is speaking in the present in 1983.

If you’ve not yet visited Katrina’s official Gary Chester Facebook page — now’s the perfect time.

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Adding a Piece to Gary Chester’s Tapestry

Posted on May 2, 2017 by Scott K Fish

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SKF NOTE: Last Saturday I visited Tony Cruz at his Nyack, NY home. We were meeting in person for the first time, but being interviewed on camera, by Tony, about drummer extraordinaire Gary Chester was the real purpose for my visit. Tony and Katrina Chester, Gary’s daughter, are producing a Gary Chester documentary.

I left Tony my only complete transcript (61 typed pages) of Gary Chester’s interview so he can scan the pages. Also, I passed on to Katrina the original two-page typewritten letter Gary wrote to Modern Drummer to introduce  himself and to give us a first peek at his strong career as a studio musician.

Somewhere I have my Gary Chester interview tapes — which I will digitize and give to Katrina. The one tape I’ve located is digitized and with Katrina and Tony. On that tape you can hear Gary Chester introducing me to Katrina — who was age 14 at the time.

If you’re a former Gary Chester student, co-worker, and have some stories you’re willing to share, please consider contacting Katrina and Tony. Every piece of the tapestry helps. I know, for example, Gary gave lesson instructions to students through audiocassette. Katrina and Tony have at least one of those in hand. Odds are there are more of those cassettes floating around.

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Ed Shaughnessy Launches ‘Energy Force’ Big Band

Posted on May 1, 2017 by Scott K Fish

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SKF NOTE: An pre-internet example of how drummers kept up with news of our favorite players. This December 19, 1974 Down Beat magazine release about Ed Shaughnessy‘s “new 17-piece ensemble” Energy Force has a photo of Mr. Shaughnessy worth studying. Pearl was a new drum company at the time. Seeing Ed’s drumset — the two different size bass drums, the position and tilt of his four rack toms, his cymbal choice and placement — pure gold for drummers.

I never heard Energy Force. Neither can I find any evidence the band ever cut an album. “We’ll play concerts, clinics, and clubs…,” Shaugnessy says in his press release, which also tells us Shaughnessy plays “acoustic and electronic drums.”

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Artimus Pyle – How He Got the Lynyrd Skynyrd Gig (1982) 

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: In this second excerpt from Artimus Pyle’s June 23, 1982 interview for Modern Drummer, Artimus and Paul T. Riddle tell how, around 1972-1973, Artimus – with help from Marshall Tucker Band members, Charlie Daniels, and others who believed in him – helped him get an audition with Lynyrd Skynyrd. From there, Pyle’s personality and drumming skills secured him the gig.

The first voice heard is Artimus Pyle. Paul T. Riddle’s is the second voice. My voice is the third.

The photo of Artimus seated behind his yellow drumset was taken the day of this interview.

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Owen Hale: Can a Studio Drummer Earn Enough to Consider It a Steady Job? (1982)

Posted on April 27, 2017 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: An excerpt from my 1/12/1982 interview with Owen Hale for Modern Drummer. A reader asked a general question, “Can a studio drummer earn enough money to consider it a steady job?” I posed that question to Owen when he was a new studio drummer at Muscle Shoals studio.

Roger Hawkins had mentioned Owen Hale to me as a new studio drummer who deserved some attention. When Roger Hawkins puts his stamp of approval on a drummer, it’s a good idea to pay attention.

A trumpet player for fifteen years, Owen didn’t start playing drums until he was about twenty years old — and played his drumset backwards. But as you can see from the 1982-2016 photos of Owen included in this YouTube video, he was the perfect drummer to ask about studio drumming as a steady job.

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