Only Able to Play The Piano Well When….

Posted on October 15, 2015 by Scott K Fish

“A long time ago, when I was just a child and my mother was forcing me to learn the piano, I said to myself that I would only be able to play it well when I was in love.”

Source: Veronika Decides to Die, by Paulo Coelho, One Spirit Publisher 2003

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Frankie Dunlop’s Christmas Card

Posted on October 14, 2015 by Scott K Fish
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SKF NOTE: Going through some boxes of writings, photos, and other leftovers last night, I found some items, like this Christmas card from Frankie Dunlop, that bring back good memories.

This was probably Christmas 1984. I met two or three times with Frankie, interviewing him for Modern Drummer. The last time we met was at my house in Connecticut – which Frankie refers to in his Christmas card note. I moved to Connecticut after I left MD in the fall of 1983.

I don’t remember if photographer Chuck Stewart took Frankie’s MD interview photos. I hope so! From his note, Frankie clearly had an appointment with Chuck.

Frankie’s “Apple Juice Fizz” reference is to a concoction Frankie had with him, a simple mixture of plain seltzer and apple juice. I still drink it from time-to-time, except I call that drink a Frankie Dunlop.

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Max Roach: A Great Drummer Looks Back at Influences (1958)

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: One of my favorite Down Beat issues. DB editor Don Gold includes several Max Roach insights on great jazz musicians like Thelonious Monk, Kenny Clarke, and Miles Davis. Max was 33-years old at the time. The cover art is by Peter Gourfain.

The underscored parts are mine, probably for research in preparation for my interview with Max or for some other drum article. I also underscore notable passages in books.

Finally, the Max Roach Zildjian and Gretsch ads are included in this Down Beat too.

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Keith Richards: The Beat Should Shift, Fly, and Move

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: A couple of useful thoughts on drummers and rhythm from one of the world’s renowned rhythm guitarists.

rollingstone.com
Keith Richards on Getting Busted, Zeppelin and Stones’ Future
“God knows what laboratory made it, but it’s a kind of natural thing,” says guitarist of Stones’ chemistry
By Patrick Doyle October 8, 2015

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“I love studios, even when they’re empty,” says Keith Richards…on a recording-studio couch in downtown New York. [T]here’s nothing but a faint electronic noise. “There’s that little hum. Silence is your canvas. You look out there and you think, ‘Ah, the possibilities! Given a good song and a good drummer.'”

Patrick Doyle: You’ve always managed to kind of screw with sounds and come up with something new…. I tried to learn “Before They Make Me Run” once with a band, and figuring out where you skip beats and go into the chorus a bar early can be really hard to follow!

Keith Richards: [Laughs] It is, yeah. The beat is something to be played with, moved around. The beat isn’t there as some solid, concrete “one, two, three, four.” It’s something to shift and fly and move. I’m very jazz-like — [I like] Philly Joe Jones. I love looseness.

Full Story

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Scott K Fish Interview: Jaimo and Butch Trucks

Posted on October 13, 2015 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE Jan. 25, 2017. I am very sad to hear about Butch Trucks’s death. He was a great guy and an essential part of the Allman Brothers sound. 

SKF NOTE: I don’t need to add much explanation to this first ever interview with Butch Trucks and Jaimo. Bill Grillo was a friend, a drummer, and a big fan of Butch and Jaimo. He had listened to the Allman Brothers much more than I had. His insight was an invaluable help with this interview.

Also, until he settled on spelling his name “Jaimoe,” Jaimoe used several different spellings for his name. In 1981 he used (preferred?) “Jaimo Johnson.” That’s why it appears the way it does in our interview.

Jaimo and Butch are great guys. I need to touch base with them again. I miss them.

The complete MD interview is available here.

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