A couple of drum questions for Michael.
First, of the recorded Love catalogue, from your perspective on the drum stool, what were your favored songs (either from the creative standpoint or maybe because they were the most enjoyable to play)? An example I would give as a listener would be 'Que Vida' and 'Hilldale/Clark'. The rythmic base built by the drums, while not seemingly flashy or complicated, is hypnotic when placed in the context of the songs and absolutely essential to them.
Second, regarding 'Revelation'. It has been pointed out that on the recorded version that the editing done by Elektra was a slice and dice, haphazard effort. Was the drum solo that was put on the record a) the actual whole solo that you did or was it edited down due to album time constraints? and b) was wondering if it was placed in the right context of the song, i.e. was it something you normally did at the conclusion of the song in concert or did Elektra arbitrarily decide that they would place it where they did?
Drum time
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silentseason
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Drum time
You set the scene
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jamestkirk
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And one more...how often had you performed REVELATION live & onstage, before, during, and after Da Capo?
Coming full circle, Johnny said he would perform REVELATION during the current run of concerts....nice. Mono's the best mix to my ears....
Coming full circle, Johnny said he would perform REVELATION during the current run of concerts....nice. Mono's the best mix to my ears....
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music".
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jamestkirk
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MichaelStuart-Ware
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drum time (bltn)
That "bltn" means "better late than never". You know, I was just scanning down the list and I realized I had overlooked a couple of questions placed by silentseason and jamestkirk from Mar 21 and May 7. Sorry about that, guys. I'll address those now, if it's OK.
Which songs did I enjoy playing? Actually I always enjoyed playing the tunes from the first album, maybe because those are the songs I used to enjoy listening to when I was drumming with The Sons of Adam. Also, the driving rhythms of songs like "My Flash On You", "Can't Explain", "You, I'll Be Following", (and really most of the material from the first album), lend themselves so well to drums.
"Revelation"? I know Johnny can hear the cuts and splices done by Elektra, I think maybe because he wrote it. I can't hear them myself, or could be I just don't remember how we played it in the studio as compared to how the finished product came out.
We recorded "Revelation" cold. The first thing I ever did when I joined up was to rehearse and record Da Capo, but we didn't really rehearse "Revelation," because it was more or less a John Lee Hooker jam that the group used to play a lot when Conka was drumming, so I had never played it before we recorded the album. Best I can remember, we just laid out the order in which everybody was to take a solo and then let it rip.
I played it many times, because the group toured quite a bit after we finished the album and we did "Revelation" every time out.
The drum solo? You know, I always felt that drums were their most effective when they were played as part of the whole ... in concert with the other instruments and not all by themselves, so I was never really into drum solos that much. Therefore when I was called upon to play one on Da Capo I guess I was taken somewhat by surprise. I just winged it best I could.
Which songs did I enjoy playing? Actually I always enjoyed playing the tunes from the first album, maybe because those are the songs I used to enjoy listening to when I was drumming with The Sons of Adam. Also, the driving rhythms of songs like "My Flash On You", "Can't Explain", "You, I'll Be Following", (and really most of the material from the first album), lend themselves so well to drums.
"Revelation"? I know Johnny can hear the cuts and splices done by Elektra, I think maybe because he wrote it. I can't hear them myself, or could be I just don't remember how we played it in the studio as compared to how the finished product came out.
We recorded "Revelation" cold. The first thing I ever did when I joined up was to rehearse and record Da Capo, but we didn't really rehearse "Revelation," because it was more or less a John Lee Hooker jam that the group used to play a lot when Conka was drumming, so I had never played it before we recorded the album. Best I can remember, we just laid out the order in which everybody was to take a solo and then let it rip.
I played it many times, because the group toured quite a bit after we finished the album and we did "Revelation" every time out.
The drum solo? You know, I always felt that drums were their most effective when they were played as part of the whole ... in concert with the other instruments and not all by themselves, so I was never really into drum solos that much. Therefore when I was called upon to play one on Da Capo I guess I was taken somewhat by surprise. I just winged it best I could.
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silentseason
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For Michael: Your previous response actually brought a great 'what if' scenario to my mind-Imagining what the first album would have sounded like if you had been on the drum kit. Not to short change Snoopy, but the debut album would have had a much different feel.
Which brings me to my question: since you were the newer member of the group, did you develop a musical chemistry with the rest of the band that usually only comes from a long history of performances and rehearsal? You know, a kind of innate ability to know what another member is going to do in a split second situation and to play off that in a good symbiosis of musical feel.
Which brings me to my question: since you were the newer member of the group, did you develop a musical chemistry with the rest of the band that usually only comes from a long history of performances and rehearsal? You know, a kind of innate ability to know what another member is going to do in a split second situation and to play off that in a good symbiosis of musical feel.
You set the scene
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MichaelStuart-Ware
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Destiny is written in retrospect, but the fact is, I was destined to become the drummer in the group Love. Therefore, I also have listened to the first album and imagined...but when Conka wasn't showing up for gigs, I wasn't in the audience, I was busy playing with a great band of musicians, The Sons of Adam, over at Gazzarri's, so that's the way destiny had it planned.
The chemistry I developed with Bryan and Johnny and Kenny and Arthur probably wasn't as profound as it would have been if, either, 1.) I had been been with the group from the beginning, or, 2.) we had played more often after I joined. I would say, as a rough estimate, 80% of the live gigs I played with Love were in the first 6 months after I joined. So, that's not very good.
It's really hard to develop a musical chemistry if you don't play, or ... "generally speaking, the more often musicians play together (especially live onstage in front of an audience) the better the opportunity for a musical chemistry to develop between them." That's Michael's Law of Musical Chemistry.
The chemistry I developed with Bryan and Johnny and Kenny and Arthur probably wasn't as profound as it would have been if, either, 1.) I had been been with the group from the beginning, or, 2.) we had played more often after I joined. I would say, as a rough estimate, 80% of the live gigs I played with Love were in the first 6 months after I joined. So, that's not very good.
It's really hard to develop a musical chemistry if you don't play, or ... "generally speaking, the more often musicians play together (especially live onstage in front of an audience) the better the opportunity for a musical chemistry to develop between them." That's Michael's Law of Musical Chemistry.