Fred Below: No Practicing Drums in the House Until You Could Play

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: This is the second excerpt from my interview with drummer Fred Below, arguably the father of Chicago electric blues drumming. Mr. Below recorded with Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, the Aces, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, and other pivotal blues musicians.  The interview was published in Modern Drummer‘s September 9, 1983 issue as, “Fred Below: Magic Maker.”

I was at my MD desk in New Jersey using a suction cup mic and an audio cassette to record this interview. Mr. Below was at his Chicago home.

This is Fred Below talking about starting out playing on a practice pad. After graduating DuSable High School in 1944 Mr. Below went into the U.S. Army infantry. He practiced on helmets, boxes, and other things. Eventually, at Fort McClellan in Alabama, Mr. Below met jazz bassist Tommy Potter and saxophonist Lester Young and had opportunities to play music with them.

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Bucket Drummers: The True Meaning of Brotherhood

Posted on March 4, 2015 by Scott K Fish

‘Drum Beat Journey’: an interview wit’ organizer and filmmaker Elilta Tewelde
March 3, 2015
by The People’s Minister of Information JR

Elilta Tewelde [is] a Pan African organizer.., teaching Africans born in the Americas about our brothas and sistas from the continent, and vice versa.

She recently was living in Chicago and took a group of young Black male bucket drummers from the hood to Senegal, West Africa. She filmed the whole experience and is fundraising to get the documentary, “Drum Beat Journey,” made.

M.O.I. JR: What attracted you to the bucket drummers that you brought to Senegal? How old were they?

Elilta Tewelde: I was attracted to their vibrant energy. The musical sounds and vibrations…from the buckets and sticks reminded me of African drumming. Ages during our trip to Senegal: 15, 17, 19 and 19.

I was interested in Senegal for many reasons.

[O]ne of the main drums played in Senegal is…the Sabar, which is played with a stick in one hand and the other hand is used to play on the drum. I felt that was a great connection to make with bucket drumming.

[Also] Senegal is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. [T]he young men.., born and raised in Chicago, …don’t have the opportunity to experience what it feels like to be near the ocean and…swim in it.

Overall, Senegal has a rich culture filled with art, music and dance.

Senegal has a strong spiritual energy, so the boys experienced a lot of transformations…. They saw the importance of community and the roles that elders, children and parents played in that environment.

[D]uring meal time [i]n Senegal…everyone sits in a circle and eats together. [F]amily and friends have the opportunity to talk and share stories.

[The bucket drummers] are used to eating when they’re hungry and not sitting and eating together as a family.

This trip allowed them to be free and express emotions…bottled up in them for a long time.

They experienced the true meaning of what brotherhood feels and looks like amongst men of all ages.

M.O.I. JR: How much do you need to raise?

Elilta Tewelde: $15,000. We’re crowd funding on Indiegogo

Full Story

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Brian Blade: The Bedrock Foundation for Everything I Do

Posted on March 2, 2015 by Scott K Fish

Drummer’s music is more about tunes than drum solos
By Tad Dickens // Posted: Monday, March 2, 2015 12:15 am

blade_brian

Courtesy Brian Blade’s Facebook page

[W]ith Brian Blade & The Fellowship Band[..,] Blade is the act’s leader and chief songwriter, but drums are in the mix strictly for rhythm and texture. On the band’s recent releases, “Landmarks” and “Season of Changes,” no drum solos are heard.

Not that Blade’s playing is chops-free. The man can burn….

Blade took the stage with [Chick Corea] last month to gather up the [Grammy’s] best instrumental jazz album award. The album, “Trilogy,” was a three-disc live set from the shows that Blade, [Christian] McBride and Corea played together.

“If I started thinking to myself [about past Corea stick men] Steve Gadd or Lenny White or Dave Weckl, they’re just daunting,” he said. Instead, “What have I learned from these great masters, and who am I?

…Blade[‘s]…father…has been pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Shreveport, Lousiana, for 53 years.

…Brian moved onto the drum throne at church. “[I]t set the bedrock foundation for everything else, musically, that I do. [W[hen I’m home on Wednesdays and Sunday, I’m back in the seat at church, playing drums still.”

Full Story

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Fred Below: Becoming a Professional Drummer

Posted on March 1, 2015 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: This is an excerpt from my interview with drummer Fred Below, arguably the father of Chicago electric blues drumming. Mr. Below recorded with Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson, the Aces, Little Walter, Chuck Berry, and other pivotal blues musicians.  The interview was published in Modern Drummer‘s September 9, 1983 issue as, Fred Below: Magic Maker.

I was at my MD desk in New Jersey using a suction cup mic and an audio cassette to record this interview. Mr. Below was at his Chicago home.

All of my Modern Drummer interviews were recorded on audio cassettes. The Fred Below interview is one of two I’ve digitized. (The other interview is Roy Haynes.) My goal, as time permits, is to digitize them all, and to offer excerpts to the public. I think music writers often err in digitizing full interviews, running an hour or more, and uploading only the full versions for public listening.

Let’s face it. Even the best interviews have dead air, small talk, and uninteresting talk. So, just as I do with my written word excerpts on this blog, I will post the best of the audio excerpts.

This is Fred Below explaining his decision to become a professional drummer.

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From There to Here: Revisiting My Life in Music

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Scott K Fish

From There to Here: Revisiting a Life in Music
by Scott K Fish

Scott K Fish's writing space circa 2012

Scott K Fish’s writing space circa 2012

A new friend, a musician, upon learning of my Modern Drummer past, can’t believe it. “No! You were managing editor of Modern Drummer?” His reaction surprises me. I think, “Well, somebody has to be managing editor of Modern Drummer.”

I was hired as Modern Drummer‘s managing editor in 1980, part of a MD‘s transition to nine issues a year from six issues. I stayed exactly three years. October 1980 to October 1983.

My friend asks, “How did you get that gig?” My short answer: “The publisher was looking to hire a drummer who could write. I fit the bill.” That answer usually works to change the topic of conversation. But my new musician friend is still curious and keeps asking detailed questions. He is like a little kid. In response to every question I answer, he asks, “Why?”

Also, I was on the phone recently with a Maine State University professor interested in my speaking to a class of music majors about a career, or supplemental career, in music journalism.

How do I condense a half-century of my musical life into brief remarks that might help college students? Thinking about that, and also coming up with answers for my musician friend, has me remembering people and places – influences – for the first time in a long, long time. Some days it feels like I’m solving a 1000-piece music career jigsaw puzzle.

I knew very early – age six – I wanted to play drums. Around age 18 I also wanted to be a writer. Not just a music writer. A writer. How did I get from there, to Modern Drummer, to here? Looking back over those 58 years – can I recall moments – good and bad – that might help aspiring music journalists and drummers?

There’s one way to find out. And Life Beyond the Cymbals blog is the perfect place to post pieces of my story, my jigsaw puzzle. I will commit to at least one post a week until the puzzle is complete. As always, I welcome your questions and comments.

–end–

Posted in Revisiting My Life in Music, SKF Blog | 3 Comments