IT’S NOT MANY DRUMMERS WHO CAN HONESTLY SAY THAT PLAYING IS THEIR LIFE.
BUT SIMON PHILLIPS CAREER NEARLY COVERS EVERY ONE OF HIS 66 YEARS ON EARTH.
MOST MUSIC FANS IN THE STATES FIRST HEARD HIS PLAYING BACK IN THE 1970s, PLAYING ON THE PROGRESSIVE ROCK ALBUMS BY THE LIKES OF PHIL MANZANERA AND BRIAN ENO.
HIS OWN BAND, PROTOCOL, HAS BUILT UP AN IMPRESSIVE CATALOGUE ALL ITS OWN, WITH A SERIES OF GIGS AT THE BAKED POTATO THAT WAS A WORKSHOP IN HOW DRUMS CAN LEAD FROM BEHIND.
WATCHING HIM AT THAT CONCERT, AS WELL AS DURING HIS STINT WITH HIROMI, I COULDN’T HELP BUT BE IMPRESSED BY HOW ORCHESTRAL HIS DRUMMING APPEARED. IT WASN’T JUST A MATTER OF TIME KEEPING OR SOLOING, BUT HE SEEMED LIKE A PART OF A GREATER WHOLE, AND IT WAS THRILLILNG TO TAKE IN.
WE HAD A CHANCE TO CATCH UP WITH PHILLIPS, WHO IS COMING BACK TO THE POTATO THIS MONTH IN ANOTHER FUSIONED INCARNATION
THE FIRST TIME I HEARD YOUR PLAYING WAS ON PHIL MANZANERA’S 801 LIVE WITH BRIAN ENO. THAT WAS SOME ENTRY INTO THE MUSIC WORLD OF RECORDING
That’s funny, because in the States, that’s the first time everybody would have heard of me.
What they don’t realize is that, prior to that 1976 album, I had played on many albums, movie soundtracks and sessions since 1973.
YOU MUST HAVE STARTED YOUNG!
I was the youngest London session musician, probably ever.
I joined my dad’s jazz band when I was 12 years old; I’ve been a professional since 1969 (when I was 12)
It was a very unusual scenario.
The style of his music was very old fashioned; it was 1930s dance music with a Dixieland twist to it. He was very well known in England in the 50s, and before the War, two. He had formed one of the first jazz bands in England, in 1925
He was in the United States, went to New York in 1937 and wrote arrangements for Paul Whiteman and did a radio show. Dave Tough was his drummer. He worked a lot with Fats Waller
Then the War came along and he sailed back, and didn’t do anything musically during the War. He was involved in other things, let’s put it like that. After the war he put his band back together, and was successful, but he never travelled then.
His music was very old fashioned, and most drummers at that time in London didn’t want to play it anymore; they wanted to play bebop. So, he had a terrible time finding a drummer to play the gigs.
I was very young, but the one thing that I did know was how to play his kind of music, because I had grown up with it.
My mom suggested that he take a 12 year old out on the road, and he said it was ridiculous. “He’s too young”. She said, “Yeah, but he can play”
So he gave me this amazing opportunity to be in one of Britain’s leading dance bands at 12 years old. Let’s just put it that I had an interesting childhood! (laughs)
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“My mom suggested that he take a 12 year old out on the road, and he said it was ridiculous. “He’s too young”. She said, ‘Yeah, but he can play’.”
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WHAT DOES A DAD CONVEY TO A 12 YEAR OLD DRUMMER?
Musical discipline; that’s what he was about.
It was all chart reading; every tune had a chart, and he was very particular about what you played, and you had to play exactly what the chart said.
If I played a cymbal crash, and it wasn’t written, he’d go ballistic
He was an old father; he was old fashioned, very Victorian and military, being in the RAF during the War. He didn’t have patience; he treated me like an adult. Sometimes the other band members got picked on, and it was rough, but for me it was wonderful apprenticeship and discipline to play four years in his band.
I ended up doing all of the broadcasts when I was 13, doing my first recording session with him.
He passed away very suddenly in 1973, and I was left with this predicament of whether I should continue with his band (which I didn’t want to do at all), wanting to play rock and roll of course, so I disbanded the band, putting myself and a few other musicians out of work until some things just started to happen.
Suddenly I was getting gigs around London and doing a few sessions. That’s how it started
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“I’d turn up in the studio with my little lovely kit, I’d meet the bass player, the guitar player and we’d exchange numbers because they could see I could read music and can play the tune”
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YOUR DAD STARTED A BAND IN 1925? MY DAD WAS BORN THAT YEAR, AND YOU ARE MY AGE! YOU WERE A LATE ARRIVAL!
He was 49. Amazing!
WAS THERE A SPECIFIC ROCK AND ROLL DRUMMER YOU WANTED TO EMULATE?
The first band that I really got into was Chicago, Chicago Transit Authority. That was drummer Danny Seraphine.
The reason that I got into the band was that I grew up with brass instruments. So, the music that really made sense to me was the rock and roll that had a brass section. You had Blood, Sweat and Tears, Dreams and Chicago. In England, you had the Keith Hartley Band and various blues bands.
To me, that made a lot more sense because I was familiar to a section with a trumpet, a trombone and a tenor or alto sax.
I loved that first Chicago album, and Danny’s playing was so musical and inventive I used to play along with that record for hours. Also Blood, Sweat and Tears.
Funny enough, everyone’s favorite guitarist was Jimi Hendrix. Mine was Terry Kath; he was my Jimi Hendrix. I didn’t “get” Jimi at that time, probably because it was a three piece band. And Jimi loved Terry; Jimi wanted to produce the next Chicago album before he died.
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“everyone’s favorite guitarist was Jimi Hendrix. Mine was Terry Kath; he was my Jimi Hendrix… And Jimi loved Terry; Jimi wanted to produce the next Chicago album before he died.
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HOW DID YOU GET FROM THEIR TO “ARTSY” ROCK WITH MANZANERA, BRIAN ENO AND ROXY MUSIC?
My first “rock and roll” gig was actually Jesus Christ, Superstar, the London performance.
That was just a stroke of luck. One of the piano players that used to play with my dad (Dave Cullen) was playing the London West End show, and they were looking for a new drummer. Thankfully, he recommended me. He put my name forward.
I got called by the contractor, I went to do an audition. He brought all of the charts around and looked at me very suspiciously. “Why am I dropping all of these charts off to a 16 year old?”. I got the gig!
That’s really where it all started.
Back in those days, people didn’t have drum machines , Pro Tools or Porter Studios.
If you wanted to make a demo, you had to hire musicians, hire a four (or eight, if you could afford it) track studio, and you recorded it. That’s how you did it.
To get into the session world, that’s how you started. People in the cast would come up to me and say, “Hey, can you come up and do a session with me?” and I’d say “Sure!”
I’d turn up in the studio with my little lovely kit, I’d meet the bass player, the guitar player and we’d exchange numbers because they could see I could read music and can play the tune, and they’d say “Wow!”
That’s how it worked; it was a chain effect.
By 1974, I was doing sessions for Andrew Lloyd Webber, as he saw me in Jesus Christ, Superstar. I started to do jingles; I played on a couple movie soundtracks, and then started doing these rock and roll sessions because my name started getting about.
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“You learn a lot more at a bad gig, when it’s tougher and didn’t go so well”
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HOW DID YOU MEET PHIL MANZANERA’
Phil Manzanera heard about me and played on a couple tracks for Listen Now, and that led to the 801 scenario.
ARE YOU MORE COMFORTABLE IN THE STUDIO OR IN CONCERT, AS IN THE 801 LIVE?
The first four years of my playing, from 12-16 (1969-73) was pretty much all “live”, with a bit of studio work.
On the other hand, I grew up in the studio; I was dragged around London studios from when I was three years old.
Also, my mom was a pretty keen amateur recorder. She had some nice equipment; she had a couple of nice Revox G36 tape machines, and I loved that stuff.
I used to just sit in the studio and look at everything; the tape machine (in the control room, where musicians weren’t allowed back then). It was mono, four track, quarter inch tape A big console with only four channels, and one speaker in the corner. They were all mono in the BBC in those days, up until the early 70s, amazingly enough.
I was very comfortable in the studio, straightaway.
I didn’t do that many live shows because I was a “studio guy” at that age, but playing “live” was fine.
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“You have to assess what the music needs, and what’s required of you to give the best performance”
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IN JAZZ CONCERTS, THERE SEEMS TO BE THIS RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN DRUMMERS AND BASSISTS. IS IT THE SAME REGARDING MORE ORCHESTAL SITUATIONS?
I approach it on purely musical terms, what the music requires.
I don’t think about “I’m playing with So and So, and we’re really going to groove hard”, because it may not be that kind of music. Especially if you’re doing film music or classical.
You have to assess what the music needs, and what’s required of you to give the best performance.
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“my drums are plenty loud enough. I want to hear the other guys; I want to hear what’s happening”
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I ASK THIS BECAUSE YOU’VE PLAYED WITH GUYS WITH CHOPS LIKE SATRIANI AND BECK, THEN POP ROCK BANDS LIKE TOTO AS WELL AS ARTSY ROCKERS LIKE ZAPPA. YOU DON’T ASK YOURSELF “WHAT DOES THE LEADER WANT OF ME”
I ask “what does the music need”. That’s really what it is.
You even ask “What does this song need?” on a song by song basis.
You just hope that everybody else is on the same page. When you get to play with a really great bass player, you know the difference.
Often, I don’t even need to look at the bass player; I don’t need to think about him or her. If they’re great, it’s instant. It’s lovely when that happens
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“The gigs that go really well, and you play great, are great for the ego, but does absolutely nothing for improving”
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STARTING SO YOUNG, DID YOU EVER FEEL ANY SPECIFIC CONCERT OR RECORDING WAS A “BAPTISM BY FIRE”?
At that age, all of it was! (laughs)
Every single one was nerve-wracking. “Am I able to do this?”
Most of the sessions that I did in London were with somebody I knew on the session.
But occasionally, a contractor would call me, and the producer didn’t know what he was getting. He was relying on his contractor. I’d turn up at the studios, and the only person I knew on this particular session was the engineer.
I turned up, set the drum kit up, got all the mics , got the sound. All of these people started arriving . I was in the control room, having a coffee.
The room started filling up , and I didn’t recognize any of them.
The producer, Tony Ashton, comes in and asks , “Say, has anyone seen this drummer Simon Phillips?” I gingerly put my hand up and said “That would be me”.
They all turned around at me and went “Huh?”
But two of them recognized me. But they didn’t say anything until later.
He asked “Do you read?” I said “yeah”
He hands me a chart, we go out and start laying this track down. We did couple takes and Tony goes “Let’s take a listen”
In those days we were all in the same rooms, but with screens to divide you up. There were no isolation booths.
The percussionist pokes his head around the corner of the screen and goes “I know you!” (laughs)
We had met at my dad’s gigs. He was filling in for Phil Sieman, who was a famous jazz drummer in England in the 50s and 60s. He was the guy who taught Ginger Baker
The work just slowly started working like that, and they’d keep calling me back.
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“I don’t think I’ve ever been told what to play. They know what I do and all of the stuff that I’ve played on. They’ll just say ‘This is how the song goes’”.
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WHEN YOU DO A SESSION WITH SOMONE LIKE GIL EVANS OR EVEN TOTO, DO THEY PROGRAM YOU AHEAD OF TIME AS TO WHAT THEY EXPECT? OR DO THEY GIVE YOU FREE REIGN?
I don’t think I’ve ever been told what to play. They know what I do and all of the stuff that I’ve played on. They’ll just say “This is how the song goes”.
Especially with Gill Evans
That was an amazing experience where we had a 1-2 hour rehearsal for a gig later that day at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Some of these chart are pretty involved!
There was one track we did, called “Dawn”, originally with Philly Joe Jones on drums. It’s kind of a drum solo around the arrangement. I was struggling with it, reading all of these charts and trying to figure out the hits and accents.
I went to Gil and asked “Can we run that song again please?”
He said ,”Nah, it will be fine”! (laughs)
He loved the looseness of it; he didn’t care. He just wanted makes sure everyone was on the same page. What a lovely man; he was amazing.
He made you play what you felt. He relied on the decisions that the individual musician makes”
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“(Gil Evans) loved the looseness of it; he didn’t care. He just wanted makes sure everyone was on the same page. What a lovely man; he was amazing”
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WHAT ABOUT FOR TOTO?
It’s all self evident what the track needs; that just comes from experience.
If you’ve made enough records, and somebody goes “I have a tune and it goes like this” it kind of falls into place.
It only works with experience and intuition
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“It only works with experience and intuition”
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WITH ALL OF YOUR EXPERIENCE , HAVE YOU EVER WORKED WITH SOMEONE THAT IMPRESSED YOU ABOVE OTHERS FOR THEIR MUSICAL MIND?
Every single situation, every single record, regardless of whether it was music that I really dug or not, it’s always a learning experience
Sometimes, the tracks that are tougher to record (and I don’t mean technically), the ones that are more elusive, that are just not working and you have to figure out a way of doing it and make suggestions, that’s where you learn the most.
You learn a lot more at a bad gig, when it’s tougher and didn’t go so well.
The gigs that go really well, and you play great, are great for the ego, but does absolutely nothing for improving.
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“Every single situation, every single record, regardless of whether it was music that I really dug or not, it’s always a learning experience”
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YOUR OWN PROTOCOL ALBUMS HAVE EVOLVED OVER THE YEARS. YOUR FIRST ONES WERE GUITAR-ORIENTED, AND THE LAST ONE IS MORE WEATHER REPORT-ISH WITH A SAXOPHONE.
The funny thing, is that in the mid90s, I did a record called Symbiosis. That was the same lineup, five piecesSymbio with horns.
Weather Report was my template. What I loved about Weather Report was the composition. It was a little different from the Mahavishnu Orchestra or Return to Forever (which by the way, both Chick Corea and John McLaughlin were magnificent writers, which is why those bands made such an impression on me) . It wasn’t the playing; it was the music that I loved.
Weather Report was the one band I wanted to play in. I probably wasn’t capable of doing it at that time.
Both Symbiosis and Another Lifetime were based on Weather Report.
When I started Protocol again, in 2013, we went down to a quartet and was guitar led.
But I really wanted a change; I wanted the band to look a little more lively on stage. So Protocol V went back more to a Weather Report lineup.
Compositionally, things were also a bit different with a horn back in the band. I can arrange things differently.
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“He made you play what you felt. He relied on the decisions that the individual musician makes”
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SEEING YOU PLAY IN A VARIETY OF BAND SETTINGS, YOUR APPOACH TO THE DRUMS LOOKS ORCHESTRAL, IF YOU GET THE MEANING.YOU’RE ALWAYS WATCHING EVERYBODY.
Yes!
In 1975, I was playing in this English rock band called Chopin.
We were signed to a very infamous manager named Don Arden, who also managed The Electric Light Orchestra.
We were supporting them on one of their UK tours. One of the shows we did was with Return to Forever. They had just released No Mystery. When I heard that we were doing a gig with RTW, I said “Yes!”
The opened, and we closed the show. We were definitely not headlining, because by the time that we went on, the room was empty. They didn’t know who we were.
I got to sit behind Lenny White and watch the whole show, but I was also a huge fan of Chick Corea by then; one of the first albums I ever heard was Now He Sings, Now He Sobs.
I was watching Chick, and what I noticed was that Chick never looked down at his keyboards. He was always watching Lenny, or Stanley (Clarke) or Al (DiMeola). I realized “Wow! That is such a cool way to play music!” To be that aware. I basically took that on; from now on that was how I was going to play. I’m not going to put ***my head down. I don’t need to look at what I’m doing; I need to be aware of what everybody else is doing
I always look up at the other musicians on stage and see what’s going on.
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“I was watching Chick (Corea), and what I noticed was that Chick never looked down at his keyboards. He was always watching Lenny, or Stanley (Clarke) or Al (DiMeola). I realized “Wow! That is such a cool way to play music!” To be that aware”
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WHEN YOU GO SEE A BAND, WHAT DO YOU LOOK FOR IN A DRUMMER, AND DO YOU HAVE ANY PET PEEVES?
I have a pet peeve of any band where everybody’s heads are down and not communicating. They’re not looking at each other; they are tied up in everything that they’re playing and how it fits in with the music, rather than thinking about how the sum of everybody is playing. Trying to listen to the music as a ****whole, as if you were in the audience. It’s very difficult to do, because you really have to forget what you’re playing, yet still have to concentrate on what you’re playing
You have to learn to try to distance yourself and hear yourself in the Big Picture’
That’s why monitoring can be an issue. I don’t have myself in my monitors at all; my drums are plenty loud enough. I want to hear the other guys; I want to hear what’s happening.
You’ve got to think of the final result, which is what the public gets to hear.
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“You’ve got to think of the final result, which is what the public gets to hear”
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WHAT MUSICIAN, LIVING OR DEAD, WOULD YOU PAY $1000 TO SEE PERFORM?
There are rather a lot!
I was fortunate enough to see Joe Zawinul just before he died
One of the bands that I was just a tiny bit too young to see was the original Mahavishnu Orchestra. I would definitely pay $1000 for that; I would have loved to have seen that band.
I spoke to Jan Hammer yesterday; we did some work together with Jeff Beck in 1986. He is phenomenal, I learned so much from Jan.
Billy Cobham was a huge influence on me; his playing is ridiculous.
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“I don’t need to look at what I’m doing; I need to be aware of what everybody else is doing”
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ANY ONE IN WORLD HISTORY, LIVING OR DEAD, YOU WOULD LOVE TO SPEND AN EVENING WITH AND PICK HIS OR HER BRAIN?
John McLaughlin, for one.
Miles Davis. He wouldn’t talk very much, so it might be a wasted night! (laughs)
I find it fascinating to talk to anybody who has had a rich history of music. I couldn’t break it down to one.
I was recently the editor of a Dutch drumming magazine called Slagwerkkrant. It was their 40th anniversary, and they wanted me to be their guest editor.
I wanted to interview three of my drummers growing up as a kid, and three of today’s young guys who are impressing me
Due to time, I wasn’t able to interview everybody, but I was able to interview Billy Cobham, Lenny White and Harvey Mason
From 1973-75 I used to get as many records as each of those guys played on to try to figure out how to play my sessions.
There were many other drummers like Steve Gadd, Ed Greene, Bernard Purdee, Grady Tate; I’d listen to them as well. But to be honest, it was the records Harvey Mason played on (and he played on a lot!), on a wide variety of records. Billy, too, on a wide variety. Ap, art from his own stuff, he’d play with McCoy Tyner, and a lot of CIT recordings 3303, with Grover Washington, Deodato, etc.
That’s what I was trying to figure out. That’s why I wanted to interview them. It was wonderful to talk to them. And they all crossed over as they are all around that same age. It was a wonderful experience to actually interview them, and to learn their beginnings
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“Weather Report was the one band I wanted to play in. I probably wasn’t capable of doing it at that time”
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ARE THERE ANY BOOKS THAT YOU’VE READ WHICH HAVE INFLUENCED YOU THAT YOU’D LIKE OTHERS TO READ?
The kind of books that I read are autobiographies.
I’ve read Herbie Hancock’s. Wayne Shorter’s, Cannonball Adderley’s..I think they’re all wonderful
The other books that I read are those of the engineers and producers, those who make the records. The Phil Ramone book is fantastic, and I was lucky enough to work with him a couple of times, but only once on an actual studio project.
***His style of production is what I take after. I’m not one of those producers that is making a solo album! (laughs) Spending their money to make my album.
My approach is to create the best atmosphere for the artist or band to work in. Get great sounds; make them all comfortable, and if you don’t need to say anything, don’t say anything. Let them get on with it; say something when something needs to be said.
That’s what I loved about Phil; he was so astute, so aware. Very technically minded, but you would never know it
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“Sometimes, the tracks that are tougher to record (and I don’t mean technically), the ones that are more elusive, that are just not working and you have to figure out a way of doing it and make suggestions, that’s where you learn the most”
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YOU HAVE A GOOD OUTLOOK AND WORK ETHIC. HAS THERE EVER BEEN ANY PHILOSOPHY, RELIGION OR TEACHING THAT HAS GUIDED YOUR COMPASS OVER THE YEARS?
No. Music is my religion.
I’m not interested in anything that is thrust upon us politically or religiously. I don’t have any time for it.
The only other thing outside of music is motor racing
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“I find it fascinating to talk to anybody who has had a rich history of music”
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WHAT IS IT ABOUT DRUMMERS AND MOTOR RACING?!? DAVE WECKL’S ANOTHER ONE AMONG MANY DRUMMERS WHO ARE REALLY INTO IT!
Yes, Weckl has a simulator in his home
Dave and I used to go go-karting at Adams’ in Riverside. He’s actually very very good.
I did Formula 400s in England. Almost professional, but not quite. I was too old and not good enough. I was with these young guys coming up, 18-19 years old, and I was already in my late 20s when I started
I just got back into karting. I just bought a chassis and an engine, and I take it out whenever I can.
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“You have to learn to try to distance yourself and hear yourself in the Big Picture”
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WHAT IS THE CONNECTION WITH RACING AND DRUMMING?
Coordination is part of it.
When I started driving, you’ve got three pedals that you have to operate like two. So there’s a lot of ***footwork going on. And then you have your right hand shifting gears, so you have a lot to think about all at once. That’s part of drumming, too.
Drumming is a four-limb exercise, as is driving a car.
As a drummer, you are in the driving seat, there is a lot of rhythm in it, although it’s not as metronomic as in music. You have to have a certain rhythm to drive a circuit properly.
And there is a bit of music involved because of pitch; you have to get used to when to change. You don’t look at the rev counter to change; so you’ve got to know when the engine reaches a certain pitch in order to change before you hit the limiter and you lose power
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“My approach is to create the best atmosphere for the artist or band to work in. Get great sounds; make them all comfortable, and if you don’t need to say anything, don’t say anything”
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Some players are very competitive. Maybe I used to be; not anymore. I’m more interested in playing musically. I’ll back off if there’s something going on comparatively.
It’s kind of the same with racing; I was never very aggressive. I was smooth, but there’s a certain amount of aggression that you need, and it might get you into trouble. You might hit somebody or get thrown off the track.
But I’ve always thought “if you want it that bad, you go out in front and I’ll see you later”.
It worked in one race. There was a small race in Silverstone, and it was raining like crazy, but in Europe we race in the rain.
Because of that, and of my patience and age, I was able to get from 9th to 4th by the finish because all of the younger people were sliding off all over the place. They were too aggressive, and in the rain you have to be smooth. It’s a wonderful psychological game.
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“But I’ve always thought ‘if you want it that bad, you go out in front and I’ll see you later’.”
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WHAT GIVES YOU THE MOST JOY?
The recording element is where I am at home; I spend more time in the studio than on stage. Both as a player, but also as an engineer and producer, because it’s immortalized.
We’re really experiencing that now, because so many recordings which previously never would have seen the light of day, are being pulled out of storage and being released.
Some of it, the artist probably didn’t want anyone to hear. We’re dragging up every type of a version of a tune; I find it quite interesting, but they were never made to be heard.
I’m in two minds about whether it works. But the thing is, its recorded and pretty much there for life.
I used to spend so much money on drum heads, because I wanted to get the best sound that I could for ***the recording. Back then in England it was pretty tough; I couldn’t always afford to eat, but I would always by drum heads because, once they were beaten up, even a little bit, I would lose the tone,
In those days we didn’t have tom tom mics, we only had a few mics for the drum kit. You really had to **make the drums project. So, I would spend everything on new drum heads, because I knew that it was going to be recorded, and you have to do the best you can, because it’s going to be there forever.
I most enjoy making records
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“I spend more time in the studio than on stage. Both as a player, but also as an engineer and producer, because it’s immortalized”
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WHAT FUTURE GOALS DO YOU HAVE?
I would have love to have gotten a Grammy for Protocol IV. (laughs)
I was nominated for it. As I was mixing it, I remember telling myself (very tongue in cheek) “I want a %#(!^$ Grammy for this!” as I thought it was great.
It’s funny, when you’re mixing a record, you actually don’t think like that. You’re thinking about what this or that needs. But there’s a point where the mix starts to sound like a natural record as opposed to a monitor mix, and you’re doing fine little tweaks, fading here or there, and its starting to sound really good. It was then that I thought it sounded great.
It did get nominated, but I got beat by another drummer, Steve Gadd, who absolutely deserved it.
There’s one category for jazz, and something like ten for R&B. I don’t get it.
I just want to keep improving on making records, getting sounds as an engineer. I love that. Of course keep improving my playing.
That is a challenge, because the older you get, it gets more difficult.
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“I have a pet peeve of any band where everybody’s heads are down and not communicating”
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HOW DO YOU KEEP IN SHAPE IN YOUR 60s?
The only way to keep shape in playing is to be out there playing on the road.
But, the problem with being out on the road is that you get exhausted because of the travel. The playing was fantastic and got better and better. We had three years off with COVID, and that really hit my technique quite badly; I’m probably practicing more now than I ever have.
When you hear drummers in their later stages, you can tell that they don’t have the fire or technique that they had, but on the other hand, they don’t need it; something else takes over
It is still nice to have a good technique and have that spark.
At our age, we’re a little more prone to injuries. I’ve got a little bit of a hernia issue right now, so every time I come off stage, I’m a little bit in pain, but I’ve found that a good chilled bottle of Stella Artois shoved down my pants does the trick. (laughs)
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“When you hear drummers in their later stages, you can tell that they don’t have the fire or technique that they had, but on the other hand, they don’t need it; something else takes over
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WHAT DO YOU WANT PEOPLE TO SAY AT YOUR MEMORIAL SERVICE?
“Thank God for that” (laughs)
We’re here for this selected time.
Tina Turner just passed away, and the news is just full of it, but next week you’ll hear nothing about her. It’s just the way it is these days.
What’s important is how we remember people. We’re lucky that with all of these records that we’re on we will be remembered.
You can’t ask for more than that.
IF YOU GET A CHANCE TO SEE PHILLIPS NEXT TIME AROUND, MAKE SURE YOU GET A SEAT NEAR HIS STATION, AS YOU’LL FEEL LIKE YOU’RE WATCHING A CONDUCTOR OF AN ENSEMBLE WHO JUST HAPPENS TO USE HIS DRUM KIT AS A BATON. VON KARAJAN AT THE TRAPS!