NEIL PEART
the synth part], which was going to be the same every night. But I learned from that, to get set up and to get there and to flow through it and out of that. At the end, this piano sequence comes in, and typically toward the end of a song you might be speeding up—that’s human nature. But I had to learn to train myself to know that thing is going to be coming in, and I want that to feel great. That should be the lift; that can’t be the drag. So my time feel on those songs is that subtle difference that doesn’t sound different but absolutely feels different to play, and better to play.
The Nature and Nurture of Change MD: Back in the day you were part of a movement of idiosyncratic drummers who had a “sound.” Stewart Copeland, Billy Cobham—if those names were on a record, it was going to sound a certain way. Guys who imposed brilliantly on the music, like Jack DeJohnette. Neil: One of the masters. I’ve said of Jack that he’s the one who best bridges classic drumming and modern drumming. MD: Beautiful player, but he’s not going to appear on a Katy Perry pop session. Neil: [laughs] Let’s hope not. MD: And country records all sound quantized. Is it a healthy time for drummers? Where’s the individuality? Where is the instrument going? Neil: It’s difficult. We were rehearsing in Toronto and I was driving back and forth and made it a point to listen to Top 40 radio. And it was fine. I love the R&B/hip-hop combo— it’s very healthy for what it is. And I’ve always loved pop music if it’s honest. Don’t pretend you’re a rocker in a leather jacket if you’re a pop star. What is pop short for? Popular. It’s not the same thing as being in a rock band, where I think a certain amount of integrity is inherent with the definition. Over the two weeks, I didn’t mind the music, but I did not hear one drummer or
one drum. But all of these acts have real drummers live, because the difference on stage—the theater of a live drummer—is enormous. The hope for the future is as performing drummers. It’s hard to encourage young musicians now, because my rote advice is so useless, because I say, “What you have to do is play live.” When I was a kid, we used to get gigs at the high school or the roller rink on the weekends, and during the week I could get paid $20 to jam at the coffeehouse with other musicians. There were a lot of opportunities to play live if you were willing to ride in a van and pay your dues that way. There’s no better way to learn. For this band, when we got together in
1974, when we went out opening a tour, if the headliner took a day off we would go back to Akron, Ohio, and play the club. We would play anywhere and do anything. It was a slow build, and we worked so hard as an opening act. We were all supply and no demand. So later, when the demand grew, we eventually had to learn to say no. To not play ten shows in a row. Those were lessons along the way. But we had the opportunity to play, and
together. First, to build that unity, and then, over making subsequent albums, to learn how to write and arrange songs, and to learn to play and have a thing like “La Villa Strangiato (An Exercise in Self-Indulgence).” We knew what we were doing. Yeah, we were playing all this stuff because we could, but that’s what we were supposed to do. MD: Your music demanded the audience to invest in it. Neil: We built our enduring reputation by live performance. Our albums would sell up and down, but people would still come to the show: “I didn’t like that album so much, but I know that they’ll play the rest of them, and the show will be good and they’ll give it all they have.” There was a trust factor there. So that’s the hope for the generation of the
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42 Modern Drummer January 2016
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