Percussion Discussion Podcast

Back in the legends lounge again today with Budgie.
 Peter Clarke, better known as Budgie is a wonderful English Drummer best known for his drumming with Siouxsie and the Banshees and The Creatures.

 Join Budgie and myself as we talk about his early days with a busy cabaret band gigging around the North West of England onto his remarkable career as a drummer with a brilliantly unique style, snubbing more traditional 4 on the floor grooves for brilliantly busy & syncopated driving rhythms around the drums! 

We talk about his early days in Merseyside playing with The Spitfires, then onto Big In Japan alongside Jayne Casey, Ian Broudie and Holly Johnson and how they actually ended up supporting Budgies soon to be new band Siouxsie & The Banshees.

 Budgie talks about the recording of the Seminal Slits Album - Cut, and where the vast amount of influences came from, Especially the heavily reggae influences.

 We of course talk about Siouxsie & The Banshees and how the gig came about, alongside the banshees came The Creatures, featuring Siouxsie on vocals and Budgie given an incredible and (almost) free roll on Drums and Percussion, including Marimba and Vibraphone! 

This was such a fun hour, one i enjoyed hugely! Budgie as well as being a terrific drummer is also a wonderful human who really likes to talk about his career, this is a joy as a podcaster! 
Budgie, thank you so much for giving up your valuable time to speak to me from a snowy & cold Berlin!

 Huge thanks must go to former guest on the show and Budgie's friend Steve Grantley for putting us both in touch!

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Kyle Stevenson - Percussion Discussion - Episode 102

Joining me today is Kyle Stevenson.

Kyle is best know for being the powerhouse drummer for the last 16 years for American alternative metal band Helmet 

Join Kyle and myself as we talk about his career from the very beginning of his music career from starting as a 14 year old with a rented Percussion Plus drum kit through to moving to LA in 95 to go to film school, this didnt last too long before Kyle joined a band called Flash Point and how they toured on Ozzfest in 1999 as an unsigned band with Black Sabbath, Slayer, Primus and more!!

 Kyle explains how how go the audition with Helmet in 2006 after the band parted company with John Stanier, he also tells us how his first gig with Helmet was opening for Guns n' Roses on a stadium tour and how the band were pelted with bottles and coins by the impatient Guns n' Roses fans!

 We also talk about Kyle's other band Attempt Survivors and the difficulties of writing and recording when the band members are spread across different states in the US and how hopefully the new album recorded this summer will be out soon!

 Kyle - Thank you for giving up your time so generously to do this!

Many thanks also to our mutual friend and former Helmet Drummer now of The cult John Tempesta for connecting us up!

Percussion Discussion - Episode 101 - Steve Grantley

 Joining me today is british drummer Steve Grantley. Steve has an enviable CV with names including Julian Lennon, The Alarm, Eight Wonder, Billy Duffy, Glen Matlock, Jake Burns and the Big Wheel, RT-ZED, but for the last 25 years he has been the driving force for Northern Irish Punk Rockers Stiff Little Fingers. 

Join Steve and myself as we chat about his amazing career from his teenage years depping on high profile , big band gigs for his teacher and then making the gigs his own, through to being a hairs breadth away from being the new drummer in The Clash after Terry Chimes departure at the tender age of 21! Steve Explains how he picked himself up again after the final audition didnt go his way and how he auditioned succesfully for Jake Burns and the Big Wheel, eventually joining the reformed Still Little Fingers. 

25 years later and Steve is still occupying and thoroughly enjoying the SLF drum stool but also is heavily involved in his other project RT-ZED, their latest album having been released the day before this interview!

 This was a fascinating conversation and it goes to prove if you want something badly enough you can get it! 

Thank to Steve for giving up his time so freely, also many thanks to our mutual friend Adam Parsons for connceting us up!

Percussion Discussion - Episode 100 - Billy Cobham 

We are 100% firmly in the legends lounge for the 100th episode of Percussion Discussion - Billy Cobham.

 In 2001 Billy Cobham was named one of the 25 most influential Drummers by Modern Drummer Magazine, Billy is one of the very few who can truly be called a pivotal drummer in music history!

 Join Bill and myself as we chat about his remarkable career, from his teenage years cutting his teeth in Drum Corps, through to his time in the military and on to his early days in the Jazz world touring in the UK with Horace Silver and a whos who of jazz legends!

 We talk about drum / head selections for different gigs, the importance of good quality monitoring and the recording of Bitches Brew by Miles Davis! 

Of course we spend time chatting about Billy's Iconic release 1973's Spectrum, im not going to tell you what was said..... you need to listen, it is full of wonderful little nuggets of information!

 wow, what a remarkable hour chatting to one of the most iconic drummers of the last 60 years!
 Bill - thank you so much for your time! its truly appreciated! www.billycobham.com 

Many Thanks to our mutual pal Joey Smout for putting us intouch! 

Percussion Discussion - Episode 99 - Joby Burgess.

 Joining me today is one of the UK's most diverse percussionists - Joby Burgess.

 Joby has played for the likes of Peter Gabriel at Red Rocks Ampitheatre and The Who at Wembley stadium but is equally at home as a studio musician performing on soundtracks such as Black Panther, Rocketman, Ad Astra, Mission: Impossible, The Darkest Hour, Dr Who and The Green Planet. 

Join Joby and myself as we chat about his remarkable career so far, from starting out as a drummer before switching to Percussion in his teens. we talk about the imminent release of his new solo album A Percussionists Songbook released on September 30th with a short concert tour of the UK starting on the same day! 

We chat about how and where it was recorded and the process of learning the material to perform it live on the tour. We also about his lockdown project involving a performance of Eric Whitacres "Sleep" with a virtual Marimba Choir, bringing together 227 percussionists from over 40 countries to perform this stunning work online, Joby tells us how this was achieved without using a click track!

 I really hope you enjoy this conversation with a quite remarkable musician, something a little different from the regular drummer interviews! 

many thanks to the wonderful percussionist Pete Lockett for suggesting Joby as a guest. 

please check out Joby's website - here you will find all of the information about the forthcoming album release and tour! www.jobyburgess.com

if you are enjoying these conversations, please leave a short review if you can find a spare minute.

Percussion Discussion - Episode 98 - Joe Franco

We are firmly back in the legends lounge today with legendary New York drummer Joe Franco.

Join Joe and myself as we chat about the highlights of his remarkable career so far, from his early days with The Good Rats (if you havent heard this band, you must. check out Tasty and be prepared to be blown away!)

We had to talk about Joe's incredible Double Bass drumming book that is celebrating its 40th anniversary, Joe explains the concepts behind this book and talks about the accompanying & groundbreaking VHS that accompanied the book that i and im sure many other thousands of young drummers owned back in the 80's.

 Joe talks about his time with Twisted Sister having taken over the drum chair from AJ Pero and his dissapointment that the bands producer decided to use Joe's programmed drums on the album Love is for suckers... This was only intended for demo purposes, i think its testamant to Joe's talent as a drum programmer, to create such great sounding drum tracks with the limited resources available to him in the 80's.

 Anybody who knows me knows that i have a mild obsession with Premier Drums, Joe was the poster boy for Premier in the 80's and 90's along with Rod Morgenstein so we had to talk about Joe's incredible and long lasting relationship with Premier

What a way to spend 45 minutes, chatting to one of your drumming Hero's!

Joe, thank you so much - you are a gentleman.

please check out Joe's website www.beatstreetnyc.com

Many thanks also to our mutual pal John Macaluso for connecting me up with Joe

Joining me today is Tristan Head, the owner of Drumattic in Frome. 

Join Tristan and myself as we chat about all aspects of Drumattic, they have recently moved to a much bigger premises in Frome from Radstock and are still outting the finishing touches to what what will be a stunning space including Shop, Workshop and eventually a rehearsal space. 

We talk about Tristans love of vintage drums, how he buys, sells and repairs them, including re doing bearing edges, re wrapping, cutting down the shells and pretty much anything that needs doing! Tristan also tells us how he laps his own brand of calf skin heads (i own some and can vouch for the quality ) and how he perfected this age old technique.

 As well as selling drums and thousands of parts and spares for vintage drums of all brands, Tristan also has an enviable hire stock of vintage kits and snares that are regurlarly found in recording studios across the south west. 

Huge thanks to Tristan for giving up his time to do this.

 Drumattic
 Unit 7 
Vallis Mills Trading estate 
Frome
 Somerset, 
BA113DT 
T - 07421 327509
 E - [email protected] 
W - www.drum-attic.co.uk

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Percussion Discussion - Episode 97 - Steve Williams.

 Joining me today is Steve Williams, from 1974 to 2010 (apart from one very short spell) Steve was the powerhouse drummer with Welsh hard rock/heavy metal legends Budgie. 

Join Steve and myself as we talk about his amazing career, from his early days as a young drummer ( and not particularly being a fan of Budgie!) through to getting the audition and recording Steve's debut album (and my personal favourite) with the band 1975's Bandolier. 

We talk about the wide ranging styles of music on this album and how Steve"s versatility as a drummer along with Burke Shelley"s genius helped facilitate this!

 Budgie played some incredible festivals and tours during their existence, Steve tells us about supporting Ozzy Ozbourne on the Blizzard of Oz tour and a particularly successful Reading festival appearance, both in 1980, He also talks about the 1982 headline slot at the same festival and how he thinks the band didnt have a big enough stage show to back this up!

 Many thanks to Steve for finding the time to talk to me, this was a fascinating conversation, one i hope you all enjoy. 

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Joining me today is Mark Jeffs, the main man behind one of the biggest Vintage drum shops in Europe - Rusty Drums. 

Join Mark and myself as we chat about the incredible Rusty Drums and how it has grown from a fairly small set up operating from his drum studio at his family home to the industrial unit that now is home to Rusty Drums stocking some 180 Vintage kits and countless snare drums!

 We talk about Mark's career in drums from starting out as a drummer in his local brass band through to studying jazz drumming at college, how he juggled working in Talkin Headz... a drum shop in Milton Keynes, with teaching and gigging. 

Mark tells us how he sources all of his drums from America, they are shipped to the UK in shipping containers (adding huge sums to the already significant cost with shipping charges and import duty) so 99% of Mark's stock is fresh in to the uk. 

This was a fascinating conversation - especially for a vintage drum geek like me, Mark has made an incredible success of Rusty Drums, he still teaches 3 days a week plus he is also a gigging drummer, i dont know how he fits it all in! 

Please remember if you want to visit Rusty Drums, it is by appointment only, dont just turn up, please contact Mark in advance or you will be dissapointed!

 www.rustydrums.co.uk
 Rusty Drums Ltd 
Barton Industrial estate 
Faldo Road 
Barton Le Clay 
Bedford MK454RP

 Email - [email protected] 
Opening - strictly by appointment.

 Thanks to Mark for giving up his valuable time for doing this.
Please leave a short review of you are enjoying these conversations - thank you.

John Coghlan - Percussion Discussion - Episode 96.

Firmly back in the legends lounge today with one of the most requested interviews, the fabulous John Coghlan.

John played drums for Status Quo from 1962 - 1981 with the classic line up with Francis Rossi and the late Rick Parfitt & Alan Lancaster playing on the first 14 albums with countless gigs and tours to back the albums up! 

John set up John Coghlans Quo, playing all the classic Quo songs with an incredible band performing all over the world.

Join John and myself as we chat about his career, including his early days, including how he ended up playing in Staus Quo in the early 60's, through to the manic schedule of the 70's some years recording and releasing 2 albums in a year (unheard of these days) as well as lengthy tours to back them up!

 we had to talk about some of the amazing drums that John has used over his career including Ludwig Drums, Yamaha Drums and of course Premier Drums which John is very well known for playing! (it is a drumming podacast after all, what did you expect!)

 We also talk about the Classic Quo reuninon and Documentary Hello Quo and the tour that followed, alledgedly selling out in 20 minutes, how it felt to be back onstage with that classic line up and how much touring had changed (for the better in the last 20 years )

 It was a thrill to spend an hour chatting to John, he is genuinely a lovely guy with an obvious passion for music!

 John, thank you for giving up your time so generously, and thanks to his lovely wife Gillie for setting it up. Thank you both.

www.johncoghlan.com