NEIL PEART
years with them. And playing two bass drums and open concert toms again was fun. MD: Was it tough at fi rst to play that old setup again? Neil: It was tough. The ergonomics of it all. I used to make everything so close and under me. But it was counterintuitive thinking. I used to think the closer it is, the more power I can get on it, but that’s not true. You have to get it the right distance. Close or near doesn’t matter. And the way the set list works out, I had to solo on that set. I’d much rather solo on my modern set in every sense, musically and physically. But there are cool things as well. I used to
have timbales on my left side, so I got those again and they’re fun. That’s part of the solo. But it grew organically and naturally by what excited me to play. And I never practiced this solo the way that I used to. I used to really compose the solo, and this one never went that way. And there are things in my solo that have been there since I was sixteen, that always thrilled me and still do. MD: The snare stuff . Neil: Yes, I can vamp on a snare drum all day long. And the four-on-the-fl oor. It feels exciting to me. And in the solo it’s all
spontaneous. There are places I like to get to, like the waltz, because I love that. And I’ll go up on the concert toms over the waltz, because I like how that works. And I want to get the cowbells in because they’re funny. And there’s a little Brazilian ostinato I love, though it’s not in there every night. MD: I’d fi gure you’d have the fearlessness to improvise a solo like that back in the day, but you’re doing that now, later in the game. Neil: I didn’t have that fearlessness. And it was a responsibility thing. I wanted to make sure the performance was consistent. And I don’t want to use tricks, but tools. There’s a very important distinction. The quarter-note bass drum can be a terrible cliché. But if you use it at the right time in a complicated arrangement or something, there’s nothing more powerful. I don’t ever abuse it. To me, my solo has become a soundtrack
to an imaginary movie. When I want to build up the excitement, it has to be organic. When I build up that rudimental snare part and I bring the bass drum in, as soon as I start stomping on the hi-hat, it starts glancing, it’s more exciting, and it’s more exciting to play. And for years I had 13" hi-hats, clamped down tight. Peter Erskine said he used to be
like me—he had his hi-hats super-tight and super-controlled. He said to just try to let them slosh for a while and see what happens. I did, and sure enough I learned that when they’re moving like that, your velocity has to be exactly right and it helps your time sense. I got used to it, and it has this whole other benefi t. Like in “Roll the Bones,” the part with the sloshy hi-hat. I play that so much better now, and the feel in my bass drum foot is so much better for the quick hits. As is the time control, because I have to play to that moving hi-hat. Rhythmically, the velocity of my stick aff ects when it’s coming back and the interval in between. And it’s funkier. It’s not just a sloshy hi-hat—it’s part of the time. MD: It’s a shame you can’t have all this fun on the kit you’d rather be playing. Neil: Old things are nice, but new things are better. And I just know so much more through all the learning and evolution. The newer kit is just such a comfortable instrument, while the second one is ad-hoc. It came together bit by bit. Playing it now, I have to sit at it diff erently. My posture. And think about it and look where I’m going. The fi rst time I tried to hit crash cymbals without looking, I was bleeding. And very many
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SHOWN IN FIGURED BIRCH WITH BLACK NICKEL HARDWARE AND HOOPS
40 Modern Drummer January 2016
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