Tony

I do not teach. I did
for a very short time.

I'm not a strong reader
and I believe that is
important for young
drummers to develop.

I've always been able
to work but because of
my ear. Of course, I
could not get any shows
or large ensemble gigs,
that being the case.

Young drummers NEED to
read music. They need
to be able to support
themselves financially
in their playing. This
is the best way to open
that door.

I talk to A LOT of drum-
mers, though, sharing
ideas and encouraging
them to move on; trying
to be as positive as I
can, while maintaining
a critical eye, which is
VERY hard to translate.

[img]cool.gif[/img]

Oh, the heads - I have
NO idea why he liked
those heads. I can't
say that I ever liked
the way they sounded
but since he used them,
so did I. I think they
were good targets. At
least, that's my im-
pression. What other
purpose they could
have served? I think
he might have liked
the look of them but
who knows. He never
said. At least, not
about that. Not that
he was talkative, to
which I'm his anti-
thesis but when he
talked, I had to list-
en... or else!

Yes, that "NY Live"
is cool. You can see
his muscle development
(all up in his neck)
and arms. Notice the
leveraging against the
throne, when he'd be
kickin' hard. Video
of Tony is really
priceless for drummers
who've never seen him.

Watching him for years
really places in persp-
ective what he said
VERSUS what he did. I
had a hard time grap-
pling with some of his
concepts and had to ex-
orcize some of these
demons later on. I had
help though.

It's nice to share the
few stories that I have
with you all.

[img]smile.gif[/img]

Did you get lessons on the bebop set or the big yellow tubs? What kind of records were in his collection or did you dare look? I can't imagine being inside Tony's apartment, what was that like? Did he ever wear that green jumpsuit offstage or was he a jeans and T-shirt kind of guy? That last question is crazy but those details fascinate me.

Wow! Great F@%# story! I won't sleep tonight after that one.
Btw: I heard Tony was hitting so hard during that time that he was breaking rims. Is that true or an old wives tale?
I also heard he was banned from playing the Village Vanguard due to his volume. Is that true as well? You know rumors take on a life of their own after awhile.

As a HUGE fan of Tony I have been eating up your reminisces Peter but that one is an absolute classic which makes me love him even more.

That man was the coolest!

As far as I'm concerned, Tony was the onyl genius of the drums I know of.

I remember the first time I heard Emergency. It was so damn out there but the drums were so logical and precise even though it seemed helter skelter and fluid. I was blown away. His "inside flamming", as I call those patterns between the ride, BD and snare, were something I'd never heard before. ANd the force he could play his ideas with, amazing.

And the thing is, you can listen to Tony one day and hear something and on another day, if you are in a different mood or different attention level, you hear something totally new that you didn't hear before and it is just as spine tingling.

With Vinnie or Dave, or even Cobham and Gadd, I don't get that "view" or perspective changing. They are more straightforward, complex but less deep. But I do hear that with Neil, go figure. I also hear that in vinnie Appice's playing of all people. I think it may have something to do with their interpretation and prhasing of the music.

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge and stories Peter C. I look forward to reading your posts everyday. Did you say you studied with Billy Cobham? If so; details!!(youthfully excited)

I did NOT study with Billy,
though he has helped me
over the last 3-4 years on
his site, my second home,
really.

Always an admirer of his in-
credible skill and music, he
has taken a personal interest
in some of our activities.

For instance, when I had a
debilitating arm condition,
he coaxed me into playing
"open" or leading with my
left-hand. I have never been
the same since.

He's also a very philosphical
and principled man - a real
joy to exchange with. We have
talked about EVERYTHING there.

I have a few Billy stories too,
not to mention Steve Gadd.

I wish I could have studied
with him but he's practically
taught me, while being on his
site. He's got great ideas.

Do you have his "Conundrum"
play-along? It's great stuff
to work on.

Check this arrangement out
from it:

www.thediametrixletter.com/stratus9.mp3

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<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 06, 2003 06:10 PM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>

Peter, I'd love to hear some more stories. Question: I saw Billy years ago at a clinic and when he was introduced it was mentioned that he was the drummer on the original Mission Impossible theme. Can you confirm this?

I don't think that's true
but I asked him. I'll let
you know what he says, if
he does.

Did you check out that ar-
rangement of "Stratus"? It's
a lot of fun to play to. I
think every drummer should
have it.

I'm kind of swamped with
market stuff but I will try
and tell a Billy story to-
morrow, perhaps start a
"Billy" thread. I have a
few decent ones.

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<font color="#a62a2a" size="1">[ November 06, 2003 06:43 PM: Message edited by: peter c ]</font>