Lillian Barney: 70 Years ‘Humming and Drumming’

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Scott K Fish

SKF NOTE: What a gift. Ms. Barney is a living link to 70-years of drumset history. I wonder if anyone in Canton, OH has recorded her stories for future generations of musicians.

Canton drummer still jamming for 70 years
Feb, 6 2015 00:00:00
by Todd Moe, in Canton, NY

Feb 06, 2015 — Now in her mid-90’s, Lillian Barney remembers keeping the beat for dance parties during the Big Band era, the Big Bopper and beyond. She was one of only a few women musicians in New York’s North Country dance bands that started in the 1930s.

Barney grew up on a farm near Rensselaer Falls, the only girl in a family of seven. Her grandfather and the radio were her teachers. She inherited his sense of rhythm and spent many nights listening to big band and country music on the radio. Barney was a member of several local groups, including the Hammond Kitchen Band in the 40s — a time when Saturday night social dancing was something not to be missed.

…Barney still has a set of drums near her room at Maplewood Campus, a retirement home in Canton.

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‘Birdman’ Composer Sanchez: One of the Hardest Things You Can Do

Posted on February 14, 2015 by Scott K Fish

‘Birdman’ Composer Antonio Sanchez on the Difficulties of Playing the Drum-Score Live
by Chris Willman
2/12/2015 5:47pm PST

2014-12-29-snchez2-thumbJazz percussionist Antonio Sánchez has never had the chance to do a two-hour drum solo in concert before. But that’s effectively what he’ll be doing Thursday at L.A.’s Theatre at the Ace, where Birdman will have a special screening stripped of his one-man percussion score so that he can recreate it on stage for roughly 1,600 viewers….

“Unfortunately, they kind of sprung this on me just last week, right before I went to London for the BAFTAs,” [British Academy of Film and Television Arts] Sánchez [said]. “I’ve been practicing for the last two days, so hopefully it will be at least decent. It’s not easy….”

And if you’re thinking it might be tough to recreate something…composed spontaneously rather than with a great deal of premeditation, you’d be right. But [Sanchez] already did it once before, when [Director Alejandro González] Iñárritu had him re-record the score because they agreed the sound of the first drum set they used was too clean-sounding.

“To recreate something that was improved using your stream of consciousness is one of the hardest things you can do as a musician,” [Sanchez] said.

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Densmore: Kreiger Wrote ‘Light My Fire,’ Not Morrison

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Scott K Fish

Part 4: Doors Drummer John Densmore Talks About Preserving Band’s Legacy
By Jim Clash Contributor

densmore-434x578John Densmore: ….I had hoped…we would pay the rent for 10 years, and my hair is grey now. And that’s another thing about money. We all have nice houses and cars. If we didn’t, I wouldn’t have been so hard-nosed about Jim [Morrison]’s legacy, what he had wanted. When Buick came to us to use Light My Fire in its commercial [in 1968 – “Come on Buick, light my fire”], we were all salivating. We were young and the money was big. Jim didn’t really write that song – Robby [Kreiger] did – but he still went nuts.

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Venzella Joy Williams: Living Out Her Dream

Posted on February 8, 2015 by Scott K Fish

Young, Gifted & Black: Beyonce’s Drummer, Venzella Joy Williams
BY STARR NATHAN

Success doesn’t happen by accident. Venzella Joy Williams, better known to family and friends as Joy is a testament to that.

Venzella Joy Williams: “For years and years I dreamed of playing with Beyonce. I would even go as far as in my practice time to study her records so when the time came I would be prepared.

williams_venzella_joy“I lost my mom in 2009, but while she was here she told me to live out my dream, which is music. She also encouraged me to pursue my education; I graduated from Canisius College in 2010 with Bachelors in Criminal Justice and a Minor in Music. I’m very grateful my mom was there to push me in both facets.

“Five years from now I see myself doing a lot more writing and a lot more production. Maybe even artist development.

“I would love love love to play with Daft Punk. I love electronic dance music. I would also like to play with Tamar Braxton, Brandy, Tina Turner, Lady Gaga, and Earth Wind, & Fire. That would be incredible.

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Alan Dawson: How Do You Sound vs How Do You Look

Posted on February 7, 2015 by Scott K Fish
Alan Dawson

SKF NOTE: This exchange is from my interview with Alan Dawson for Modern Drummer’s January 1986 10th Anniversary Issue. The interview took place sometime in 1985 in Alan Dawson’s Massachusetts’ home living room.

Alan Dawson: I’ve always admired the sound of what things were. When I’ve seen a drummer who can twirl his sticks and do this and that, I’ve said many times that that’s fine. But what about a record? What happens on a record?

Well, that’s as if I was saying that the record is the real thing. There’s a turnaround in that, because what you hear on a record today is something totally different than you’re bound to hear on a live performance — unless someone has access to all of these technological advances.

When you really come down to it, each guy does his own thing. I never particularly went out for the flamboyant, visual thing. Certain things came about, however.

When I think about it, Jo Jones impressed me very much. I heard him before I saw him. I certainly was impressed with his sound. There was nothing else that influenced me then.

When I saw him do a solo cross-handed, I must say, I was very impressed: Here’s something that’s proven itself soundwise by my just hearing it — and on top of all this he’s got this wonderful visual thing too. In that sense, that’s great.

Jimmy Crawford was a fine player. On top of that he was a master at twirling sticks. Sonny Payne too. It didn’t hurt that they could entertain you as well as the fact that they could play.

If it’s a case of entertain or play, if you can’t play, I’m not interested.

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