I had to add my 2 cents in on the Simon Phillips skit...
I saw him play a drum clinic a waaaaaays back in North Miami and was the first drum clinic I'd EVER attended and was completely blown away by him, whether he was on the kit or on a snare.
I have in my possession (sp?) a collage of drumming related vids that starts off with a solo from Simon during a tour he did with Steely Dan? (not sure, but they did Rikki Don't Lose That Number, so it HAD to be them, right?). I'll ship it out to Steve or Derek for uploading (xfer to VCD/DVD, if'n either are interested).
It's got a drum duo with Phil Collins and Chester Thompson, also... "lotsa notes, yeah."
Lemme know, you two... [img]biggrin.gif[/img]
Yeah, I agree about Simon.... He plays every style well, be it rock with The Who, Toto, Los Lobotomys,
or jazz with Buddy Rich band, and his quartet straight ahead stuff with Jeff Babko. Through it all, you still know it's Simon.... Plus, he's MUSICAL, not just a technical acrobat....
You can tell his father's dixieland band playing days rubbed off on him.....
Simon is not an in-vogue right-here-right-now celebrity drummer like Virgil, Vinnie or Dave. But if those three were sittin' in a bar drinkin' and Simon walked in they'd all rise, make room for him and argue over who was gonna buy him his first round. That's equals for ya! Big kids who play in the deep end of the pool (while I stay in water shallow enough that my feet always touch the bottom.)
Thanks for the input, D-man, and it is response like yours, Pocket's and Fuse's that sometimes, I admit, hasten me to make sweeping statements like 'Simon is every bit as good as Vinnie and Dave.' Simon could've handled any of those jazz gigs you mentioned however and has played in as many diverse styles as any other successful sessionman, and can whizz through odd times with all the aplomb of Vinnie. Maybe Corea and Zappa's club dates were hipper gigs than Townsend and Jeff Beck's arena tours but I'll betcha the eagle flew a lot higher.
Your reply didn't disagree with my statement much, as it's really unarguable, but rather reinforced it with: "I love Simon's playing, he's one of my all time faves, big time, wonderful." Like I said, Simon's every bit as good as you said. [img]tongue.gif[/img]
Simon might not be In-Vogue like you said but the Man has made his mark and put his stamp down in a big way and is no doubt a terrific drummer
who has proven he is a pretty diverse musician who plays with great feel and has very nice taste. And yes VD, VC and DW would make room for him at their table they all have great respect for Simon.
Digital
Pocket, interesting you mentioned that Simon's playing sounds like a race car driver, but if Simon wasn't playing drums, he would want to be a race car driver! That's his other passion.
I've been listening to Simon for a long time. There is no question about his technical skills. He can PLAY pretty much any style and do it well. Stepping in to fill the HUGE shoes of Jeff with Toto must have been crazy. I must stay, I don't care to listen to the old Toto tunes with Simon's interpretation of the playing. I'm just too used to hearing Jeff play the parts. But all the new Toto stuff with Simon's original parts are great. And talk about getting a great drum sound...well, toms anyway...
Danny
Five Eight,
LOL! "Buying the first round"... interesting analogy and yeah it fits.
I realise this being off topic, as a side note to your comment:
"But if those three were sittin' in a bar drinkin' and Simon walked in they'd all rise, make room for him and argue over who was gonna buy him his first round."
What will touch me more about any of those cats is their characters/attitude, in the sense of them not thinking of themselves higher than they should. Having said that, guess what would be impressing me... To see those same three making room for any of us walking in, especially a young student getting started.
Just a thought...
LOL... [img]smile.gif[/img]
Thankfully though... Vinnie has switched substance...(or definitely the abuse of it) He'd be drinking water and as per Fuse's report on the N.Y Chick Corea concert not too long ago, Vinnie might very well be interested in earing what you have to say... [img]smile.gif[/img]
<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ September 03, 2003 02:16 AM: Message edited by: beat Hit ]</font>
<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I think the term you're looking for is ONE of the lads. OOTL's means : Friendly, Down to earth and sees's others as an equal.Originally posted by Five Eight:
He seems to have that Jack the Lad personality that Pocket spoke of.
A jack the lad would be a punk kid in your country i think? Someone who thinks they're tough? Correct me.2 5/8 if im incorrect, and i'll understand your US wording.
Jack the Lad is what I thought was British slang in an English book entitled MOON THE LOON (American title: FULL MOON). I saw the term in other books and always took it to mean the American equivalent of 'good ol' boy' rather than tough guy.
At any rate Simon Phillips seems to be very much one of the boyz. Check out the front of his T-shirt in the Los Lobotomys DVD for just one more reason. [img]cool.gif[/img]
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