Stephen Perkins

WEBVTT
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During the ritual, suicidal tendencies open up for Janes.
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Mike Meir and Rob Trujillo said, We're making a record called Infectious Grooves.
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You want to play drums on it?
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Oh, absolutely, man.
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So I played drums on Infectious.
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Jane's addiction breaks up in 91 in Hawaii.
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Rob Trujillo and Mike Muir in the audience.
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They said, Perkins, we just got the No More Tears tour opening for Ozzy.
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Your band just broke up.
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You want to join Infectious Grooves?
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I was in a new band an hour later.
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They saved me.
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Welcome to Inside the Noise by Guitar Center, where we interview the artists, the leaders, and the innovators in the music industry.
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I'm Gabe Delporto, CEO of Guitar Center.
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Let's go inside the noise.
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Hello, everybody.
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I am here with Steven Perkins, drummer for Jane's Addiction, one of my all-time favorite bands.
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I just, I mean, I couldn't stop listening to them when I was growing up.
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Porno for Pyrrhose, uh, experimental work, Banyan.
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That's right.
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Um, so just a really incredible career with some phenomenal world-class uh uh groups.
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So welcome.
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Thank you for being here.
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Cheers.
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Thanks for being a fan all these years.
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Oh my God, like it was just ritual daily habitual.
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Like I just listened to it over and over.
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It was unbelievable.
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It's funny because after you do the mix, you want to get away from the record for a while.
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And then you start hearing it on the radio if you're lucky.
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Like, wow, sounds pretty good, actually.
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Yeah, pretty good record.
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And then you go back in and visit it.
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And uh, it's a wonderful experience.
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That record especially was recorded live in the studio.
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We were a great live band.
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Nothing shocking, we took about a month or so and we experimented in the studio.
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Ritual, played the songs, put the mics up, done.
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Yeah.
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Because it was a great live band by that time.
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By that time.
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Yeah.
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And we always were, but we were so tight.
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We can just play the songs and just pick the pick the version.
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But uh, thank you for having me and and GC for all the support in the last 40 years of my life.
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Thank you for being here.
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And look, I mean, I'd love for you know to give you an opportunity to tell tell your story.
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And so like take us back a little bit before maybe uh Jane's addiction, and like how'd you get connected to music?
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What were you like as uh as as you were starting to learn your craft?
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Uh 10 years old, I found drumsticks and a drum pad.
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And in Sherman Oaks, California, I started taking lessons from a cat named Jim Engel every Tuesday for$7.
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And it was an hour lesson only on drum pads.
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$7 an hour.
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$7 an hour.
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No drum set, just the Remo practice pad and no cymbals.
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So I realized now looking back, he didn't teach me much about the feet and the other two limbs.
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It was all about rudiments and learning how to play and bounce off the head, you know, and holding the sticks correctly.
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So that was the first three or four years of my life.
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Jim Angle, what he taught me, and how to understand the rhythms and how to actually have technique.
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It was all match grip.
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Never, I mean it was all traditional grip, never match grip.
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And, you know, my love was jazz.
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Jazz drummers, each one had their own personality.
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Even when you were that young.
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Yeah.
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I just loved swinging and the understanding how the peaks and the valleys and the dynamics of a drummer and the upright bass, piano, and a saxophone.
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Everyone had control of what was happening in that quartet or trio.
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Yeah.
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But rock and roll was calling me, you know, and rock and roll music was everything to me as soon as I found friends that would plug in.
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I couldn't find anybody that played piano, upright bass or saxophone in my little neighborhood.
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So Jack.
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Yeah, exactly.
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It wasn't gonna happen.
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But so me and Jim Engel would discover jazz records, Elvin Jones, Buddy Rich, R.
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Blakey, all these great drummers.
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But uh after a while, I'd come in and go, Can you teach me Tom Sawyer?
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Can you teach me, you know, Heartbreaker by Zeppelin?
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And the rock and roll started infusing into my life.
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And I realized a lot of the early rock drummers were playing swing jazz beats because that's the record collection they had.
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Mitch Mitchell, Ringo, Charlie Watts, Bill Ward, Bonham.
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They were always swinging.
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They weren't just straight ahead.
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And so I was like, okay, you can infuse jazz and rock.
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And what that is, is Motown is kind of like an anchor.
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Jazz is a conversation.
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Rock is the marriage of those two things.
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You're the anchor, but then you can react off the singer or the guitar solo.
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So that was really like in a moment in my life where I realized I can still play jazz feel, but switch from traditional to match, play a little more powerful, and keep up with that volume, but still swing.
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And then at 13 at my bar mitzvah, I've got my first drum set.
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And that's when I realized you gotta start working on your feet.
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So at that point, at 13 and 14, I started playing with rock and roll musicians at that age.
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And I went to high school, joined the marching band, and I thought I was a pretty good drummer until there were 10 other drummers that did exactly what I did.
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I was like, okay, that competition pushed me up.
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I wanted to be first chair, so to speak.
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You know?
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And so there's eight snare drummers, four bass drummers, and tri-doms.
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One of the bass drummers was Dave Navarro.
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Oh my god.
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Dave's like, I don't play drums, but I wanted to be in the band, and I know the drummers are the cool ones.
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I play guitar.
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And I had some guitar players in my life that were pretty good.
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And I went to Dave's house and I was like, okay, this is the guy I want to play with.
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Not only did we get along, at the same sense of humor, we like the same stuff, the technique and the thirst to rock at high quality, high skill level, we both shared that.
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And at that point, it was all about me and Dave.
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I didn't even really know any bass players.
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It was guitar drums.
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And that's what I thought the conversation with Hendricks and Mitch Mitchell, Bonham, and you know, with Page, Clapton, you know, and and and everything Clapton did.
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But if you think about what happened in Cream, this just the power trio, there's this conversation happening.
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And I thought me and Dave really found something where we can literally fit together.
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And we had a band called Disaster.
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And Disaster played the troubadour, the Roxy, the Whiskey.
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This is 81, 82, 83.
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We were just kids, and we'd see Motley Crue play, and we're like, how do we do this?
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And I asked uh the manager for Motley.
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Who'd you have as a singer at that point?
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He was just another kid at high school, and our rehearsal place was so bad we couldn't hear him.
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So when we went to the troubadour, we finally heard what he sounded like.
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It was like, ooh, yeah, not so great.
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He had the look.
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He had like a denim vest and the slayer patches, you know, and we're like, that's our man.
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And he had a lot of guts, but he didn't really have the, you know, he wasn't in pitch so much.
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But uh his name was Jeff.
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So we did like three or four shows, maybe five or six total with disaster.
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And we kind of ran out of gas in 1984.
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And me and Dave said, Let's try to find a bass player and do a trio.
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And we started rehearsing up at Dave's house, and we couldn't find a bass player.
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We kept jamming and jamming, and all of a sudden, my girlfriend said, Would you like to see my brother's band or called Jane's Addiction?
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So me and Dave went to go see Jane's Addiction.
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Another drummer, another guitar player.
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I think it was their second show.
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And me and Dave were like, Oh yeah, that's a cool band.
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That's something that's not straight ahead rock and roll.
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They're breaking the rules.
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And we saw them once or twice, I think, some backyard parties.
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And uh my girlfriend at the time said they're looking for a drummer.
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So I told Dave, I'm gonna go check this band out.
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Did the audition, so to speak.
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That night I was in the band.
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So, where did you play it?
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You play one of their songs, or where did they have to play?
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Yeah, the songs we played, uh, it's called Pigs and Zen.
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And I brought not just the four-piece, I went with the Keith Moon, I brought everything.
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And I had the huge drum set, completely opposite of everything they were into.
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The singer, Perry, was 26.
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The bass player was 22, I was 17.
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So you gotta hand it to them to go back into the younger, you know, the shallow pool of young musicians that are hotshots.
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And the guitar player at the time was Ed, who was their age.
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And I kept on saying, My buddy Dave, I like Ed, but when you see Dave play, you're gonna see there's something different here.
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And it maybe about six weeks in, uh, Ed was started to kind of dissolve out of the picture.
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And so I brought Dave over, and uh, the first song we played with Dave was Whores.
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And the Triple X record has that song Whores on it.
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That's really what we sounded like that very first jam with Dave.
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It's just this fat bass line, slinky drums, guitar solos, aggressive lyrics, and all of a sudden we said, My God, this is this is something different.
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This is new.
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You know, Eric and Perry were into Iggy, Susie, Echo, Bauhaus, me and Navarro, Maiden, Zeppelin, Scorpions, came from different places, different record collections.
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That's how the sound really came together.
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And Perry's lyrics were poems.
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The lyrics I was listening to were Motley Crue lyrics, you know, about cars and girls and leather.
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Perry had some lyrics that were some deep thought-provoking lyrics.
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So there was something new about this that was fresh and really perfect timing because the strip was over.
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Rat, poison, motley, steeler, everyone got signed on the strip.
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85, it was done.
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The punk rock scene already peaked.
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X, fear, black flag, dead Kennedys.
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So everybody kind of hit the roof.
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They weren't going to get any bigger.
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But what Jane's addiction did is we brought that metal urgency and those flashy moments that metal had that punk rock didn't really have, except for the aggression, but they didn't have much technique of flash and solos.
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They were great players.
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And that was the marriage.
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And so me and Dave knew about the whiskey, the roxy, all those places.
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But these bands were playing late night parties.
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They weren't playing the strip.
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But everybody who went to the strip needed a party to go to at midnight.
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So Jane's Addiction would play this place called The Scream.
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That was downtown LA, and we moved locations every three weeks.
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In the audience, there was Nikki Six, Tommy Lee, Faster Pussycat, Flea, Anthony.
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They all needed a place to party.
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Uh-huh.
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We were the band.
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Oh wow.
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We were the house band for The Scream.
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And they had many bands, but we were the ones that really brought it all together.
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We played the Scream maybe 20 times, different locations.
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Geffen actually put a Scream record out.
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You can look.
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The bands of Scream, Jane's Addiction, TSOL, Counterwall, a couple other bands.
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But those are the bands that were playing that little circuit.
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So, you know, that late night after hours party was something new for me and Dave.
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We weren't even 21.
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We weren't actually allowed into those places.
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You know what I mean?
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We were the kids.
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And uh someone came up with the name Teen Rockababes for me and Dave, because we were complete teenagers.
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You know, meeting Flea at the time, he seemed like a full adult, even though he was only five years older.
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But when you're 17 or 18 and they're 24 or something, it's a big difference, you know?
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So we were the kids.
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And uh what we brought to the scene was something that was, like I said, not a sunset strip, not the punk scene.
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It was something brand new going on.
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Yeah.
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And our first record was live at the Roxy.
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So we said, we want to record a live record.
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We've never played the strip, but we know the Roxy sounds great.
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So we pulled in between the rainbow and the Roxy, there's a little parking strip.
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We pulled in a camper.
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It was a mobile recording unit back in the day.
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And we got a guy named Tim Pinch.
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Pinch, I think it was.
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And the camper said, it's a cinch with Tim Pinch.
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And supposedly he recorded, yeah, he supposedly he recorded a lot of great live records.
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So we did an acoustic set and then we did an electric set and went back and mixed the record, and that's the triple X record, live at the Roxy.
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So my first record was a one take.
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I had one take, that's it.
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That's what I'm so proud of is no click, no retakes, live at the Roxy.
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And I look back at that record and go, that's really what we sounded like every night.
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And they're actually incredible.
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It's so hard.
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Yeah, it was great because we didn't know any different, you know what I mean, about tuning and speeding up, or any of the strange things you learn about recording process as you get better and more, you know, experience in the studio.
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We didn't have any of that.
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It was all live at the Roxy.
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So that was our very first record.
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In the audience was Capital, Warner's, Geffen.
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Uh, all these labels were ready to sign us because they would go to the scream and see a thousand people waiting to see Jane's addiction.
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And we said, no, we're gonna put our own record out with Triple X.
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Distribution was very small, but we we went for it.
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And we had a great moment with an agent named Mark Geiger.
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And Geiger's like, I want to help you guys find gigs.
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Not with Van Halen and Aerosmith.
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Well, I want you playing with some punk bands, Iggy Pop.
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I want you opening up for Love and Rockets.
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I want you playing with the psychedelic furs.
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I want you in front of audiences that can understand what you're doing.
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And he put us on some great tours in front of some great audiences, young audiences that were ready for what we were given.
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Because they were bored of the strip and the punk scene.
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There they needed to be something new.
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If you had a cure poster and a Metallica poster, you could be a Jaynes fan.
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That's really where, you know, two of the guys were into the cure, two of the guys were into Metallica.
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That's the sound, you know?
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And that was 86, 87.
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And then we had a bidding war, which was pretty remarkable where all the labels were fighting to sign us.
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And it wasn't about how much money we were getting, it was about how much control we had.
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And Warner Brothers said, full control.
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Geffen said, we'll give you more money than Warner's, but we're gonna help produce it.
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Tom Zutat, who signed Motley and G and R, wanted to sign us.
00:14:19.600 --> 00:14:21.440
We're like, no, we're not Motley and G and R.
00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:22.320
We're not going to Geffen.
00:14:22.879 --> 00:14:25.759
We're not gonna do my clink for production.
00:14:25.919 --> 00:14:28.000
We're gonna go to Warner's and do it our own way.
00:14:28.240 --> 00:14:34.879
And Warner's wanted us to go to Sire, that had Ramones, replacements, pretenders.
00:14:34.960 --> 00:14:38.399
They were built for our music, radio, college.
00:14:38.639 --> 00:14:40.159
We're like, no, we want Warner's.
00:14:40.240 --> 00:14:41.759
We want to be on Warner Brothers.
00:14:41.840 --> 00:14:47.279
So we had to challenge Lenny Warner and Mo Austin to kind of figure out how to promote this band.
00:14:47.600 --> 00:14:53.759
And they looked at us and said, do whatever you want to do artistically, musically, lyrically.
00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:56.559
We want to show the world what it's like after midnight in LA.
00:14:56.960 --> 00:14:58.480
We're not talking about from 9 p.m.
00:14:58.639 --> 00:14:59.039
to midnight.
00:14:59.120 --> 00:15:02.320
We're talking midnight to 6 a.m., what's going on in LA?
00:15:02.559 --> 00:15:04.480
And that was nothing shocking.
00:15:04.720 --> 00:15:08.879
And we spent a month recording that record and enjoying the studio.
00:15:09.039 --> 00:15:14.000
Like, okay, the song Summertime Rolls, the first four minutes was a four-piece scratch.
00:15:14.159 --> 00:15:19.120
Then the next day we came back and did the next two minutes of the song on a big Ludwig, you know.
00:15:19.200 --> 00:15:21.360
And I'm like, you can split the song up.
00:15:21.440 --> 00:15:24.000
I didn't even realize that you could do that kind of stuff, you know.
00:15:24.159 --> 00:15:29.200
And we had a great time just exploring the studio for Nothing Shocking.
00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:34.320
And before Nothing Shocking, we recorded all our songs for Warner's.
00:15:34.639 --> 00:15:36.159
So we had about 40 songs.
00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:40.240
Warner's picked maybe 15 to say, let's put this on Nothing Shocking.
00:15:40.399 --> 00:15:43.679
We'll save the other ones for what turned out to be ritual.
00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:59.759
And the nothing shocking experience for us was the power to be ourselves and then to put it out and hear mountain song or ocean size or had it had and to hear it actually stand out.
00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:01.440
It was different than what was happening.
00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:11.039
You know, and to be friends with the LA scene, the G and R and the Bullet Boys and the Faster Pussycat, those are all our friends, but we weren't sounding or dressing like them.
00:16:11.200 --> 00:16:12.799
We were something different.
00:16:13.200 --> 00:16:22.080
And I think that's really the chemistry that made James Addiction, I guess, explosive worldwide.
00:16:22.799 --> 00:16:28.080
You know, the work we put into that record, not only recording but touring, was intense.
00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:33.279
And so it was a little hard for us physically because we didn't have any money.
00:16:33.360 --> 00:16:34.879
So we'd get one hotel room.
00:16:35.120 --> 00:16:36.960
Me and the singer would share a bed.
00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:38.799
Dave and Eric would share a bed.
00:16:39.039 --> 00:16:43.440
I mean, literally, this is all we had, you know, the show, the bed, the show, the bed.
00:16:43.840 --> 00:16:46.799
But we got to be a great band on stage.
00:16:46.879 --> 00:16:47.519
We got to experience.
00:16:47.919 --> 00:16:50.799
So you tore around like at this point in a van, you got a bus.
00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:56.080
We had a van, and then we graduated to a camper, which back then was only called a Winnebago.
00:16:56.240 --> 00:16:56.399
Yeah.
00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:59.039
That was the only camper available at the Winnebago.
00:16:59.120 --> 00:17:01.440
And, you know, we thought it was amazing the first week.
00:17:01.519 --> 00:17:03.759
And then about a week into it, we're like, oh, this is awful.
00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:05.519
This is just like, woo.
00:17:06.240 --> 00:17:08.720
But uh we really worked our butts off.
00:17:08.799 --> 00:17:15.279
You know, I mean, it was fun and it wasn't work, but if you look back, we put a lot of time into it.
00:17:15.680 --> 00:17:22.240
And after the nothing shocking tour, right back into the studio for ritual, like I was saying, we're a great live band.
00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:25.680
So we did three days, done.
00:17:25.920 --> 00:17:28.079
We did, you know, then she did, done.
00:17:28.240 --> 00:17:36.880
We did the songs on that record, we just played them and we listened back and said, cool, man, this is we can do another version, but it's not gonna be better or worse, it'll just be a little different.
00:17:37.119 --> 00:17:42.880
And I think the the ritual record, listening to it, I'd rather hear the mix.
00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:44.640
I would remix it a little differently now.
00:17:44.720 --> 00:17:45.680
I hear back.
00:17:46.160 --> 00:17:52.319
But um, at the time it was the perfect picture of what we were and sounded like.
00:17:52.960 --> 00:18:00.240
And you know, the the experience for me and Dave from high school to that, we couldn't believe what was happening.
00:18:00.720 --> 00:18:06.480
The experience for for Dave and Eric as a you know, the the string section.
00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:08.079
Dave got to learn so much.
00:18:08.240 --> 00:18:10.880
Now, Eric for me as a bass player changed my drumming.
00:18:11.440 --> 00:18:16.400
I didn't realize what bass player's role was until I met Eric.
00:18:16.720 --> 00:18:24.079
When he played me Mountain Song, he's like, that's all I'm gonna do.
00:18:24.240 --> 00:18:26.720
I'm like, you're not gonna go, you're not gonna jam?
00:18:26.960 --> 00:18:28.640
He's like, no, man, I'm gonna do this bass line.
00:18:28.960 --> 00:18:31.920
Write a drum beat as badass as that bass line.
00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:33.599
And I was like, Well, I never thought of that.
00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:34.720
Okay, think of a drum beat.
00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:37.119
Was that the sort of song he came up with that riff?
00:18:37.359 --> 00:18:37.759
Oh, yeah.
00:18:37.839 --> 00:18:40.319
I mean, Eric said, here's the bass line, what are you gonna do with that?
00:18:40.400 --> 00:18:43.839
You know, you got an idea, and I can go a million directions with that.
00:18:45.599 --> 00:18:47.920
I can do four on the floor, I can play some funk.
00:18:48.319 --> 00:18:55.440
But I was deep into Babatundi Alatunji, African drummer, and Fela Kuti at the time.
00:18:55.599 --> 00:19:00.720
And I thought, what happens if I impregnated this rock and roll bass line with some African rhythms?
00:19:01.279 --> 00:19:06.079
And if you play mountain song on a drum set, it kind of reminds me of a gym baby.
00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:20.000
So I try to leave spaces, no hi-hat, just toms, and make a melody with the drums that works with that bass line.
00:19:20.319 --> 00:19:26.319
One of my favorite artists, his name is MC Escher, and he does the black ducks and the white ducks that go off the page.
00:19:26.799 --> 00:19:28.559
That's what I think a rhythm section should be.
00:19:28.880 --> 00:19:31.039
You don't know if you're looking at a white duck or a black duck.
00:19:31.279 --> 00:19:32.960
Is it a bass drum or a bass guitar?
00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:33.839
What's happening?
00:19:33.920 --> 00:19:36.480
It's just mended and melded together.
00:19:36.720 --> 00:19:38.960
And and Eric took me to that spot.
00:19:39.119 --> 00:19:43.519
Like I say, before Eric, which is me and Dave, I'd be chasing the guitar solo.
00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:48.160
And Eric's like, okay, you can do that all you want, but what are you gonna do with my bass line?
00:19:48.480 --> 00:19:53.839
And he opened my eyes to what the possibilities were for a rhythm section.
00:19:54.160 --> 00:20:04.079
So you've mentioned now uh like jazz, you mentioned um African, like you're you're obviously a student of percussion and obese, right?
00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:05.359
So like tell me about that journey.
00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:06.400
Absolutely.
00:20:06.640 --> 00:20:09.680
With the love of jazz, I hit the roof.
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.000
And then embracing rock and roll, I hit the roof.
00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:16.880
How many times could I play to a rush record?
00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:19.279
How many times could I play to a Zeppelin record?
00:20:19.359 --> 00:20:21.759
I need something else to kind of inspire me.
00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:31.200
And that's when I started buying Latin records, East Indian records, African records, records that I didn't even, I wasn't looking for a song to sing along to.
00:20:31.279 --> 00:20:36.480
I just wanted to feel the pulse and the rhythm of different drummers from different parts of the world.
00:20:36.960 --> 00:20:40.160
And that was really the the light bulb.
00:20:40.319 --> 00:20:45.119
And also buying a pair of bongos when I started playing rhythms just with my fingers.
00:20:47.039 --> 00:20:49.440
I was like, oh my gosh, there's so many rhythms.
00:20:49.680 --> 00:20:55.839
The drum set are these bigger rhythms, the hand percussion are these tiny little circles, you know.
00:20:55.920 --> 00:20:57.279
That's how I see the rhythms.
00:20:58.079 --> 00:21:02.480
They repeat, kind of like an egg going down a hill or a ball going down the hill.
00:21:02.559 --> 00:21:03.599
They both get to the bottom.
00:21:03.680 --> 00:21:05.519
The egg's got a feel.
00:21:05.680 --> 00:21:08.160
I want to have a feel to my beats.
00:21:08.319 --> 00:21:14.640
And even if I don't put it in every beat, I want to know that it's available to make it feel peaks and valleys and a hump.
00:21:14.799 --> 00:21:25.519
So those African records and those, you know, it in a sense getting away from West Western music opened my eyes up to this new kind of feel.
00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:30.000
You know, the Brazilian beat is very different than something in Cuba.
00:21:30.160 --> 00:21:31.039
You know, why?
00:21:31.200 --> 00:21:33.599
I don't know why, just different people playing different rhythms.
00:21:33.759 --> 00:21:42.720
But if you can take all that and put it into your arsenal somehow, and after a while you don't even think, your body just starts to play.
00:21:42.880 --> 00:21:47.599
You're not just swinging, you're not just rocking, now you're doing African stuff or Latin stuff.
00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:49.039
It just starts to happen.
00:21:49.200 --> 00:21:54.960
And then when hip hop came out, I was like, man, those are programmed drum beats.
00:21:57.599 --> 00:21:59.599
I'll put that on and try to play to that.
00:22:00.079 --> 00:22:02.079
And after two weeks of that, my drumming changed.
00:22:02.160 --> 00:22:04.880
You know, mmm.
00:22:05.200 --> 00:22:12.559
Like I wouldn't think that way as a drummer, but the hip-hop music, you know, straight out of Compton, I used to play that record over and over and over.
00:22:12.720 --> 00:22:14.000
It changed my drumming.
00:22:14.240 --> 00:22:16.000
And I still have that quest.
00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:21.440
How do I break everything I've worked for and keep breaking it?
00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:25.119
You know, I've worked so hard to get personality out of my drumming.
00:22:25.200 --> 00:22:26.799
Now I'm bored of my own personality.
00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:27.519
You know what I mean?
00:22:27.680 --> 00:22:29.119
I don't want to sound just like me.
00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:30.559
I want to break free.
00:22:30.720 --> 00:22:32.000
And that hurts.
00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:38.079
It's painful when you play something and you listen back and you're like, that's killer, but it sounds like me five years ago.
00:22:38.319 --> 00:22:39.279
That's not good.
00:22:39.519 --> 00:22:40.799
Where am I now?
00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:45.359
And I don't want to just change my part just because I'm older.
00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:51.920
I want to change my parts because I'm a better musician and I'm more aware of everything around me.
00:22:52.559 --> 00:23:07.359
And the lyrics, the syllables, the subject, the phrasing of the words, the bass line, the guitar solo, the guitar riff, and today's music with so many different frequencies, like you didn't have that in the Beatles.
00:23:07.519 --> 00:23:10.000
I mean, how much real estate does that take in your music?
00:23:10.160 --> 00:23:15.599
You know, I mean, bands like Limp Biscuit and Corn and stuff, they embraced rock and roll with those hip-hop sounds.
00:23:15.680 --> 00:23:16.559
It's not easy.
00:23:16.720 --> 00:23:22.480
Because you have an 808 in a rock and roll riff, it's gonna cover up too much real estate.
00:23:22.640 --> 00:23:25.519
So I started to realize the mix.
00:23:25.680 --> 00:23:29.200
How do you fit your instruments in a mix in today's world?
00:23:29.440 --> 00:23:36.079
The cymbals and the voice and the guitar is up here, the bass and drums are down here, the kick drum and the subs are below.
00:23:36.240 --> 00:23:40.319
So I started visualizing the mix even before I play.
00:23:41.359 --> 00:23:42.640
You're visualizing the vocals.
00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:43.359
Absolutely.
00:23:43.440 --> 00:23:46.160
I'm trying to figure out how this picture works together.
00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:50.960
Because you can always, it's easy to overplay as a drummer.
00:23:51.119 --> 00:23:53.599
And we all as drummers practice alone a lot.
00:23:53.920 --> 00:23:57.680
So we're going off, and you get into a band, you're like, oh my God, everyone else is playing.
00:23:57.759 --> 00:23:59.680
I gotta subtract and edit myself.
00:24:00.079 --> 00:24:05.599
And it's okay to play less if you can get the job done to make people feel something, you know.
00:24:06.079 --> 00:24:15.039
I as a drummer, our job, I think, of course, to blow some minds with technique and some flash, it's cool.
00:24:15.200 --> 00:24:17.680
But if they can't move, what's the point, man?
00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:22.880
We're supposed to we're trying to unite people and and have people groove together.
00:24:23.039 --> 00:24:27.119
You know, I don't want to divide anybody, I want to unite people with my drumming.
00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:31.119
And even in high school, I would do drum circles.
00:24:31.519 --> 00:24:34.160
You know, everyone brings the party favors to the party.
00:24:34.319 --> 00:24:44.319
I would bring a Moracca and a bongo to the party and be like, cool, man, you guys are doing your thing, but and I found that the drums would unite people.
00:24:44.880 --> 00:24:48.160
Uh, born and raised in LA, there's the Venice drum circle.
00:24:48.480 --> 00:24:52.480
And I would never join it as a kid because I was intimidated, but I'd walk by it.
00:24:52.720 --> 00:24:54.079
It always smelled good.
00:24:54.400 --> 00:24:57.759
But you hear all these people boom, and people just dancing.
00:24:57.839 --> 00:24:58.799
And I was like, cool.
00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:05.279
I mean, they're not all professionals, they're not all great drummers, but they're united, and you don't see that in the guitar world or the bass world.
00:25:05.839 --> 00:25:12.000
You know, it's you don't go into a guitar center and like have like 10 guitars in a circle playing all at the same time.
00:25:12.559 --> 00:25:13.200
Exactly.
00:25:13.440 --> 00:25:23.759
So there was something great in United, even in the in the the drum, you know, section in the marching band, the to unite and be powerful as one sound.
00:25:24.240 --> 00:25:33.119
So I, you know, I think as a drummer, if I can get people to move and feel something, and then maybe once in a while throw something that's like, whoa, how did he do that?
00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:37.599
As long as it doesn't interrupt the vibe, you know, my job is is done.
00:25:37.759 --> 00:25:42.799
Um, I'm always trying to grow and find something new to inspire me.
00:25:42.960 --> 00:25:47.920
If it's not music, it's a movie or a book or an experience or a hike or a view.
00:25:48.160 --> 00:25:52.400
Bring that into my life somehow and remember that when I play music.
00:25:52.799 --> 00:25:57.440
You know, it's like every morning I do practice.
00:25:58.480 --> 00:26:00.319
I go traditional, do my rudiments.
00:26:00.480 --> 00:26:07.200
Sometimes I break out mallets and just kind of like make music out of the drum set, you know, not worry about any technique.
00:26:07.440 --> 00:26:10.640
Sometimes I do double bass for 10 minutes and do an endurance test.
00:26:12.079 --> 00:26:15.599
It's not even musical, it's just me going for it, like running in place, you know.
00:26:15.759 --> 00:26:17.599
So you can do that or a Peloton.
00:26:18.000 --> 00:26:18.720
Exactly.
00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:28.720
But the drums to me is like it's a beautiful musical instrument, but it also is this internal self-giving cycle you get from drumming.
00:26:28.799 --> 00:26:35.039
It's like extra any exercise, you know, or working out, you miss a couple weeks, you miss it, and your body starts to change.
00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:38.960
You get back into it, and your body feels normalized again.
00:26:39.119 --> 00:26:41.839
So drumming normalizes my life somehow.
00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:45.759
So tell me, like, I mean, you've studied all these different techniques.
00:26:45.839 --> 00:26:54.400
I mean, give me an example of a song where you feel like you've been able to bring something totally outside the normal into that song and make it something special.
00:26:54.640 --> 00:26:54.880
Great.
00:26:54.960 --> 00:26:56.799
Uh the song Porno Papyros.
00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:03.039
When we started the band, me and Perry thought, we're not gonna find another Dave Navarro.
00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:09.359
Let's find a guitar player that writes songs, real simple songs, and we'll leave more room for the rhythm section.
00:27:09.680 --> 00:27:14.880
So we found Pete DeStefano on a surf trip at a campfire playing acoustic.
00:27:15.119 --> 00:27:17.599
And he's like, you know, writes these great songs.
00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:20.319
Of course, he could solo, but it was about the songs.
00:27:20.720 --> 00:27:33.039
So as we were working on the new record for the porno record, I kept on thinking, I'm gonna infuse rhythms that will and somehow bubble underneath this great song.
00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:37.920
You know, Porn Fapyros or Pets, all the songs on the first record.
00:27:38.160 --> 00:27:40.720
Really great songs just on a campfire level.
00:27:41.039 --> 00:27:43.839
We can just sit and sing them without a drum part.
00:27:44.079 --> 00:27:48.880
So when we started writing the songs, Campfire style, I had a shaker in my hand and a bongo.
00:27:50.079 --> 00:27:51.519
It didn't have a drum set.
00:27:51.680 --> 00:27:56.079
And all those little rhythms were fitting in the song when I got to the drum set.
00:27:56.160 --> 00:27:59.920
I was like, how do I impregnate those ideas onto the drum set?
00:28:00.480 --> 00:28:05.200
And the bass player Martijn Lenoble, he is from Amsterdam.
00:28:05.440 --> 00:28:07.359
He didn't grow up with any of the music I did.
00:28:07.440 --> 00:28:10.079
I couldn't say, you know, the third song on the Zeppelin record.
00:28:10.559 --> 00:28:13.279
You know, he grew up with uh, you know, Dutch music.
00:28:13.519 --> 00:28:14.640
So that was great.
00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:16.240
We couldn't reference each other.
00:28:16.400 --> 00:28:21.759
So I'd be playing something, and I'm like, you know, kind of like the beat from then he's like, I don't know what you're talking about, man.
00:28:21.920 --> 00:28:24.079
So it was a completely fresh band.
00:28:24.400 --> 00:28:33.519
You know, me and Perry had the idea of making it campfire song-like, but also aggressive rhythmically.
00:28:33.839 --> 00:28:40.559
Martine was so new to our scene that he was bringing something very fresh as a bass player, just like Eric did for me.
00:28:40.799 --> 00:28:42.160
Something brand new.
00:28:42.480 --> 00:28:48.559
But that song, Porn for Pyrrho's, quick note, we got the name.
00:28:48.880 --> 00:28:56.240
Our accountant was around when me and Perry were looking at a uh, it was like a fireworks catalog.
00:28:56.480 --> 00:29:00.880
And our accountant said, Oh, that's a porno mag for fireworks catalog.
00:29:01.039 --> 00:29:01.279
Yeah, right.
00:29:01.440 --> 00:29:02.640
In fact, in Arizona or something.
00:29:03.039 --> 00:29:05.599
Our account said, That's a porno mag for pyromaniacs.
00:29:05.680 --> 00:29:06.079
Oh my god.
00:29:07.920 --> 00:29:10.480
But the lyrics came from the riots in LA.
00:29:10.720 --> 00:29:19.279
The name of the band was already in place, but when the riots happened, Perry started writing lyrics about the riots, and that's what that song's about.
00:29:19.599 --> 00:29:33.359
But the rhythm itself, so I had two bongos, tom, floor tom, and I try to come up with this musical beat that would give that egg shape.
00:29:33.839 --> 00:29:37.440
And it would end at the bottom of the hill, but with a hump.
00:29:37.759 --> 00:29:45.680
And it's still one of the most difficult parts to play for me with sensitivity and reaction.
00:29:45.920 --> 00:29:49.119
If you listen to the recording, it's exactly the way I wanted it.
00:29:49.279 --> 00:29:54.799
If I listen to myself playing it live, I'm always like, mmm, you know, you you want to get better at it.
00:29:54.880 --> 00:30:06.960
But that's the one of the beats that I thought it's completely an original rock and roll song because of the lyrics and the music and the bass, but because of the drum part.
00:30:07.599 --> 00:30:08.960
And it's quite busy.
00:30:09.039 --> 00:30:13.119
And if you strip the music away, it's almost like wall-to-wall carpet.
00:30:13.359 --> 00:30:14.559
It's covering everything.
00:30:14.720 --> 00:30:18.160
My drum part, you know, but but it's still musical.
00:30:18.480 --> 00:30:23.039
And since I have bongos and tom-toms, it's got peaks and valleys.
00:30:29.599 --> 00:30:32.400
And it's really uh it's activated.
00:30:32.640 --> 00:30:35.680
And I think, and reactive off the lyrics.
00:30:35.839 --> 00:30:37.359
And I always did that with Perry.
00:30:37.440 --> 00:30:39.759
There's a song called Trip Away with Jane's Addiction.
00:30:39.920 --> 00:30:47.279
He would say trip away, psh, then he'd say trip away, and I go trip, and I'd act, you know, I just react a little different.
00:30:47.920 --> 00:30:49.519
And I'm always aware of those words.
00:30:49.599 --> 00:30:51.039
And same with porn for pyros.
00:30:51.279 --> 00:30:53.039
When he says something, I react.
00:30:53.200 --> 00:30:57.680
If he moves the accent just a little, I wait and then push it.
00:30:58.000 --> 00:30:59.839
And the bass player's like, what are you doing?
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:02.079
I'm reacting to the lyric, you know.
00:31:02.319 --> 00:31:07.759
So there's that place almost like when Tarzan lets go of the rope before he grabs the next one.
00:31:07.920 --> 00:31:08.960
You're you're flying.
00:31:09.039 --> 00:31:09.680
You know what I mean?
00:31:09.759 --> 00:31:13.119
You you trust that rope's gonna be there, but you have to have trust.
00:31:13.200 --> 00:31:16.400
And that's the band would trust me to go somewhere.
00:31:16.559 --> 00:31:18.240
And and I'll I'm gonna come back.
00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:21.200
Don't worry, I'll be there, but I'm gonna kind of leave you suspended.
00:31:21.599 --> 00:31:22.720
I love that suspension.
00:31:22.799 --> 00:31:31.119
It's like a drummer can take a piece of taffy, you know, just stretch the beat, or put the yo-yo and let it you know, walk the dog, you know, and then bring it back up.
00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:32.880
The drummer has that power.
00:31:33.200 --> 00:31:37.440
It's true if you think about the feeling that the drummer controls.
00:31:37.759 --> 00:31:48.319
If you think about a conductor, someone can do Beethoven's fifth in eight minutes, another conductor can do it eight minutes in three seconds because he slowed down the violin moment.
00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:50.240
Or he sped up, you know what I mean?
00:31:50.319 --> 00:31:52.960
Yeah, it's the same piece of music, but it's three seconds longer.
00:31:53.119 --> 00:31:53.359
How?
00:31:53.519 --> 00:31:54.240
It's the conductor.
00:31:54.400 --> 00:31:55.599
A drummer can do that.
00:31:55.920 --> 00:32:01.440
Can totally pull back, go push a little harder on the solos.
00:32:02.240 --> 00:32:09.039
And for young drummers or old drummers, don't be afraid of the click track because the click track is not the boss.
00:32:09.200 --> 00:32:12.480
It's just to remind you, you don't have to play on the click.
00:32:12.640 --> 00:32:17.200
You can play around the click, you can play right before it or after it, as long as you know it's there.
00:32:17.519 --> 00:32:23.119
What what uh like if you're playing a little before it or a little bit, what feeling does that give someone in the audience?
00:32:23.440 --> 00:32:23.839
Absolutely.
00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:27.359
Well, I like holding back when there's a lot of words.
00:32:27.599 --> 00:32:36.559
I want to make sure the guy or girl can sing all those words and syllables with with confidence and not being pushed by the drummer to hurry and get the words out.
00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:39.440
So I like to hold back a little bit on the verses.
00:32:39.680 --> 00:32:46.720
And that gives that gives that feeling, like almost of that comfortable feeling, like, oh man, this this feels good.
00:32:46.799 --> 00:32:48.319
And then the guitar solo comes.
00:32:48.480 --> 00:32:50.640
I like to fucking edge it up a little, you know.
00:32:50.720 --> 00:32:53.359
And even if the guitar player's like, slow down, man, where are you going?
00:32:53.680 --> 00:33:06.880
But it's just a little, just a couple beats, you know, even if it's a half a beat more, but a couple beats per minute, a little quicker, it really does increase that intensity and and not anxiety, but almost like uh, you know, explosive.
00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:08.480
It gets explosive that way.
00:33:08.720 --> 00:33:13.359
The click track as a young drummer was like, oh my god, not the click track.
00:33:13.440 --> 00:33:16.160
But now I understand it's just a guy playing cowbell in the band.
00:33:16.400 --> 00:33:21.200
He's not the he's not the boss, he's just playing cowbell, and you can play around him if you like.
00:33:21.359 --> 00:33:27.599
You know, and if you think about the click or even counting, one, two, three, four.
00:33:27.920 --> 00:33:31.440
One starts with the letter O and ends with E, but it's a long word.
00:33:31.759 --> 00:33:32.319
One.
00:33:32.559 --> 00:33:37.200
You can be a drummer and start on the O, or you can start on the E.
00:33:37.359 --> 00:33:39.279
Like Stuart Copeland from the police.
00:33:39.440 --> 00:33:41.680
One, he's always on the beginning of the word.
00:33:42.160 --> 00:33:44.640
Bonham seems like to be at the end of the word, one.
00:33:45.039 --> 00:33:45.519
One.
00:33:45.680 --> 00:33:46.799
You know, it's think about that.
00:33:47.119 --> 00:33:48.640
Subdividing those little things.
00:33:48.799 --> 00:33:57.200
Drummers think about that crazy subdivision of what's between the beat, what's between the the counting of the of the feel.
00:33:57.440 --> 00:34:02.480
And you know, it's like six, eight, you know, five, four, four, four.
00:34:02.640 --> 00:34:06.640
If you play six, eight for like an hour and you go to four, four, it feels stiff and ugly.
00:34:07.119 --> 00:34:08.639
Because six, eight's like flowing.
00:34:08.880 --> 00:34:10.559
One, two, three, one, two, thick, one, two.
00:34:10.880 --> 00:34:14.079
And then you go to four, four, one, two, three, four, like, what the heck?
00:34:14.159 --> 00:34:14.719
It's stiff.
00:34:14.800 --> 00:34:18.320
But then if you play four, four for an hour and you go to six, eight, like, whoa.
00:34:18.559 --> 00:34:30.639
So it the the feel of the song, and not only the time signature, but the way you make it feel, is is I think a personal experience from the drummer giving to the audience.
00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:36.079
Um, I never want to take control of the band when they're looking at me.
00:34:36.239 --> 00:34:39.280
And why are we why are we headed in this direction all of a sudden?
00:34:39.440 --> 00:34:41.039
You know, so you got to keep your eyes open.
00:34:41.119 --> 00:34:44.719
A lot of drummers close their eyes, which is cool too, but you got to look and be aware.
00:34:44.880 --> 00:34:46.800
It's like the catcher on a baseball team.
00:34:46.960 --> 00:34:48.480
You're the only guy looking.
00:34:48.800 --> 00:34:49.679
You see everything.
00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:51.119
Everyone else is looking at you.
00:34:51.199 --> 00:34:56.159
I mean, that you know, all the musicians are turning around, but you're always looking and seeing what's happening.
00:34:56.320 --> 00:34:59.280
You are this the catcher on the diamond.
00:34:59.519 --> 00:35:04.719
And to be aware of that is it's an exciting, powerful responsibility as a drummer.
00:35:04.960 --> 00:35:14.800
Um, to see people move is a great like energy, like it's cyclical, you know, the cycle of seeing people move and you're making a move.
00:35:15.039 --> 00:35:20.480
I remember I learned uh dance the night away cowbell when I was like 14.
00:35:20.559 --> 00:35:23.119
And I brought my friends over and I was so proud of myself.
00:35:23.280 --> 00:35:29.440
But when my friends got excited, that was like even more powerful than me learning it.
00:35:29.519 --> 00:35:30.960
It was seeing people react to it.
00:35:31.199 --> 00:35:32.400
Like, wow, that's cool.
00:35:32.480 --> 00:35:33.760
That sounds just like the record.
00:35:34.239 --> 00:35:34.880
Yeah.
00:35:35.440 --> 00:35:45.440
We can, as musicians, we can take people out of themselves, take them to another spot, and release whatever fear, anxiety is in them.
00:35:45.599 --> 00:35:47.440
Music can release that, you know.
00:35:47.519 --> 00:35:56.960
And play in a small club when everyone's got their eyes on you, or play in a massive stadium where people are 100 yards away in a Ferris wheel, they're still hearing my drums.
00:35:57.119 --> 00:35:58.960
They can't stop hearing my drums.
00:35:59.119 --> 00:36:03.119
So you don't have to see people to react to, to have them react.
00:36:03.360 --> 00:36:06.400
Just play and know that they're gonna feel those vibrations, you know.
00:36:06.559 --> 00:36:13.119
And the vibrations are so strange because, you know, a guitar looks like a Z and a bass has like a hoop.
00:36:13.360 --> 00:36:14.320
What does a drum have?
00:36:14.480 --> 00:36:20.000
I mean, it's got the low end, it's got the cymbals there, all these different vibrations are kind of shooting out there at people.
00:36:20.239 --> 00:36:24.880
And they don't go away, they're out there in the earth somewhere in the space, you know, they don't just stop.
00:36:25.679 --> 00:36:34.800
The journey of a drummer that wants to get great and then show off and then edit that to make the song sound good.
00:36:35.039 --> 00:36:41.440
You know, you always heard as a young man, Ringo plays for the song, and you listen now, and you're like, God, they're right.
00:36:41.679 --> 00:36:43.840
He just makes the song sound good.
00:36:44.159 --> 00:36:56.639
Uh Charlie Watts, some of those early drum beats when Charlie, when there was maybe the Brian Jones days, it would, you know, under my thumb and uh get off of my cloud, those drum beats are hooks.
00:36:56.800 --> 00:36:59.360
You don't even need a song, and you got a hook.
00:36:59.599 --> 00:37:02.000
And that's always been a challenge for me.
00:37:02.159 --> 00:37:11.360
Every time I write a beat, if I can find a hook in my drum part, mountain song, do do do do do all that, then it goes da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
00:37:11.599 --> 00:37:14.960
That drum fill, I do it every time.
00:37:15.119 --> 00:37:17.119
That's my hook, I think.
00:37:17.280 --> 00:37:17.920
You know what I mean?
00:37:18.000 --> 00:37:21.599
It's like it's not just a beat, it's that three against four snare fill.
00:37:24.800 --> 00:37:27.360
Just holding it back and then punching them down.
00:37:27.679 --> 00:37:36.960
And, you know, and as a drummer making an imprint on the world and the music, um, that's not the point.
00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:55.280
But I think after Jane's addiction, there was a great moment in the the scene where you know, Primus and Tool, and you know, of course, the what was happening in in Seattle, drummers were all becoming very different because for a while everybody wanted to be Tommy Lee.
00:37:55.519 --> 00:37:56.239
You know what I mean?
00:37:56.320 --> 00:37:59.599
I mean, and after after a while, everyone started to do something else.
00:37:59.679 --> 00:38:08.400
And same when Travis showed up or Grohl showed up, you they make an imprint on the world, and half the world wants to sound like them all of a sudden, and then they break free from that.
00:38:08.639 --> 00:38:21.280
Uh, you know, not that Jane's addiction people wanted to sound like us, but I think they had that idea, like, wow, you can make a hybrid uh look at these guys, they're doing Jane says, Summertime rolls, ain't all right, how did that?
00:38:21.679 --> 00:38:26.960
Each song is a different universe because we all feel differently all the time.
00:38:27.199 --> 00:38:30.800
You know, I don't feel every day.
00:38:30.960 --> 00:38:32.719
I also don't feel groovy every day.
00:38:32.800 --> 00:38:35.920
You know, I I try to take those feelings into my music somehow.
00:38:36.239 --> 00:38:38.639
So you you mentioned after Jane's addiction.
00:38:38.719 --> 00:38:46.079
So um, you guys come together, you create something utterly original, you have the world singing your songs, and you decide to break.
00:38:46.239 --> 00:38:46.480
Why?
00:38:46.719 --> 00:38:47.119
Yeah.
00:38:47.360 --> 00:38:53.039
Well, in '91, if we had a great manager, someone would have said, take a year off.
00:38:53.199 --> 00:38:53.679
Yeah.
00:38:54.000 --> 00:38:56.960
But no, you gotta strike when it's hot, and we were burnt.
00:38:57.119 --> 00:39:00.480
We weren't, we weren't ready to get back as Jane's addiction.
00:39:00.559 --> 00:39:16.320
After the nothing shocking tour, eight months sharing beds together, the ritual tour, which was a year long, we did three shows at the LA Palladium, toured, two shows at Universal, same record, toured, three shows at Irvine for Lollapalooza.
00:39:16.559 --> 00:39:17.920
That's all on ritual.
00:39:18.159 --> 00:39:24.559
That's how much we grew from you know the Palladium to Universal to Irvine Meadows on the same record.
00:39:24.880 --> 00:39:29.599
So we did the job, but um no one said take a year off.
00:39:29.679 --> 00:39:30.800
They said keep going.
00:39:31.280 --> 00:39:32.320
We're done, man.
00:39:32.960 --> 00:39:34.639
So this is a great story.
00:39:34.800 --> 00:39:39.760
During ritual, uh suicidal tendencies open up for Janes.
00:39:40.159 --> 00:39:43.519
Mike Meir and Rob Trujillo said, We're making a record called Infectious Grooves.
00:39:43.599 --> 00:39:44.639
You want to play drums on it?
00:39:44.960 --> 00:39:46.239
Oh, absolutely, man.
00:39:46.559 --> 00:39:48.480
So I played drums on Infectious.
00:39:48.719 --> 00:39:51.760
Jane's Addiction breaks up in 91 in Hawaii.
00:39:52.000 --> 00:39:59.599
Rob Trujillo and Mike Meir in the audience, they said, Perkins, we just got the No More Tears tour opening for Ozzy.
00:39:59.840 --> 00:40:00.880
Your band just broke up.
00:40:00.960 --> 00:40:02.559
You want to join Infectious Grooves?
00:40:02.719 --> 00:40:04.480
I was in a new band an hour later.
00:40:04.800 --> 00:40:05.679
They saved me.
00:40:05.840 --> 00:40:06.320
I don't know what.
00:40:06.719 --> 00:40:08.000
Did they save you or were you still burnt out?
00:40:08.159 --> 00:40:09.119
No, man, I was ready.
00:40:09.840 --> 00:40:10.639
I don't burn.
00:40:10.800 --> 00:40:12.159
Um I'm ready to play.
00:40:12.320 --> 00:40:15.039
I can't, I don't know what to do with myself if I can't play.
00:40:15.360 --> 00:40:24.719
So two weeks after Jane's breaks up in Hawaii, I'm at rehearsal in North Hollywood with Infectious Grooves, getting ready for the Aussie tour.
00:40:24.800 --> 00:40:32.000
And that tour had the great Randy Castillo on drums, Mike Inez on bass, Zach Wilde on guitar.
00:40:32.079 --> 00:40:32.960
What a band.
00:40:33.199 --> 00:40:34.159
What a hang.
00:40:35.199 --> 00:40:38.880
And that really, I think, saved me.
00:40:39.199 --> 00:40:42.400
Me and Perry were talking about porno, but he wanted to take a whole year off.
00:40:42.639 --> 00:40:44.880
So I'm I'm going out with Infectious.
00:40:45.119 --> 00:40:53.920
And what was cool about that is because the Jane's thing was surrounded by some great musicians, Lollapalooza, we had Suzy, Living Color, Ice T.
00:40:54.239 --> 00:40:58.880
But when I got into Infectio and doing with Aussie, all of a sudden I was in a new scene of metalheads.
00:40:59.119 --> 00:41:02.559
And all the shows were full of metal guys, and I was meeting all the new metal guys.
00:41:02.639 --> 00:41:10.960
And then new metal, the Deftones, Corn, and all these new metal guys that wouldn't be going to Jane shows, or maybe they would have, but I wouldn't have met them.
00:41:11.119 --> 00:41:14.239
The infectious and Aussie tour put me in a whole new circle.
00:41:14.400 --> 00:41:19.119
And I met all these new cats and became friends with all these guys, and still am.
00:41:19.360 --> 00:41:21.440
I can show up at the Deftone show.
00:41:21.599 --> 00:41:22.639
What's up, fellas?
00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:24.639
From that, from that tour.
00:41:24.880 --> 00:41:29.920
Really, really was really good for me, you know, before Porno to be an infectious.
00:41:30.079 --> 00:41:34.400
And when I left Infectious, Brooks Wackerman took my place, and he was like 15.
00:41:34.639 --> 00:41:36.559
And he was like, dude, you're who took your place?
00:41:36.800 --> 00:41:37.760
Chad's brother.
00:41:37.920 --> 00:41:39.119
I was like, no, he's a kid.
00:41:39.199 --> 00:41:40.239
They're like, no, man.
00:41:40.320 --> 00:41:41.920
He's the new drummer for infectious.
00:41:42.079 --> 00:41:49.760
So Josh and Chad, I mean, excuse me, Josh and Brooks were continuing the infectious, and uh then porno started.
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:56.079
And with Porno, like I said, it was about the songs and reinventing the rhythm section.
00:41:56.400 --> 00:42:03.119
And even though Pete can solo like a maestro, it was really about less solos, more song-oriented.
00:42:03.760 --> 00:42:09.599
And I think my drumming in Infectious and Jane's was a hard rock.
00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:14.079
And then more, I guess you can say world beat with porno.
00:42:14.719 --> 00:42:18.000
One of my favorite beats on the porno record is Pets.
00:42:18.400 --> 00:42:20.159
And most of the records are quite busy.
00:42:20.559 --> 00:42:22.079
Pets is just simple Motown.
00:42:22.159 --> 00:42:23.440
I have a 10-inch timbali.
00:42:25.599 --> 00:42:29.119
Perry, I was feeding my pet snake, Bobo.
00:42:29.599 --> 00:42:31.760
Perry said, Man, we'd make great pets.
00:42:31.920 --> 00:42:32.639
I go, What do you mean?
00:42:32.800 --> 00:42:38.960
He goes, Man, when the aliens come, not if, but when, we'll sit there and just wait to be fed like your snake.
00:42:39.199 --> 00:42:41.679
And so he started writing lyrics for pets right there.
00:42:42.079 --> 00:42:45.679
And I thought, when the aliens come, I'm gonna be a clock.
00:42:46.000 --> 00:42:47.519
Tick, t-tok, tick, t-tok.
00:42:47.840 --> 00:42:49.840
So I wrote the beat with the words.
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:53.360
I wanted to be this ticking of when the aliens come.
00:42:53.760 --> 00:42:55.280
Separate of the guitar and the bass.
00:42:55.360 --> 00:43:00.159
So I stuck to that beat and listening to that beat on the record is so opposite than the rest of the record.
00:43:00.239 --> 00:43:03.519
Like I say, the rest of the record is very talkative on the drums.
00:43:03.840 --> 00:43:09.840
That one is just a simple Motown beat, but with selected drums, 20-inch bass drum, no pillow.
00:43:10.079 --> 00:43:13.679
Boom, boom, small snare and a 10-inch tambali.
00:43:13.840 --> 00:43:15.679
That's the sound of the drum set.
00:43:15.920 --> 00:43:19.679
And you can hear it unusually tuned.
00:43:19.920 --> 00:43:23.519
I wanted to be something special as a drummer on that song.
00:43:24.000 --> 00:43:28.719
But I'm always trying to find the marriage of what the song's about.
00:43:29.039 --> 00:43:30.960
What's the subject matter?
00:43:31.199 --> 00:43:32.480
How do I support that?
00:43:32.559 --> 00:43:35.840
If it's possible as a drummer to support a subject, you know what I mean?
00:43:36.000 --> 00:43:38.559
How do you support a story as a drummer?
00:43:38.800 --> 00:43:41.840
I'm always trying to tell a story as a drummer.
00:43:42.000 --> 00:43:48.400
I mean, contemporary music and hip hop and most of the music and pop, they just want to be, they don't want much storytelling.
00:43:48.559 --> 00:43:51.519
Jazz drummers, it's all storytelling and reactive.
00:43:51.679 --> 00:43:52.320
So you're going back to room.
00:43:52.400 --> 00:43:52.880
I'm still torn.
00:43:53.440 --> 00:43:54.239
You're back to your roots.
00:43:54.400 --> 00:43:54.880
Yeah, exactly.
00:43:55.119 --> 00:43:56.000
You know, back to that first.
00:43:56.559 --> 00:43:57.280
Absolutely, man.
00:43:57.360 --> 00:44:00.559
I I love talking musically to People.
00:44:01.039 --> 00:44:10.800
Um I had a great day at 606 Grohls Place a couple years ago where this the piano player was there and I heard him playing jazz and we didn't speak.
00:44:10.960 --> 00:44:15.039
I ran in there, I think Taylor's kit was up, and we just started swinging.
00:44:16.079 --> 00:44:17.039
Piano and drums.
00:44:17.199 --> 00:44:18.079
And I listened back to that.
00:44:18.159 --> 00:44:22.719
I'm like, that's some of the best drumming I ever did because I don't know who that guy was.
00:44:22.960 --> 00:44:33.360
I don't know anything about what he was playing, but we we conversed under the microphones at 606, and it's real, it's there, it's honest.
00:44:34.079 --> 00:44:41.039
And not that I showed off and was doing anything special, but I was musical and very intuitive to the piano.
00:44:41.119 --> 00:44:43.440
And like I said, I always wanted to play with a piano player.
00:44:44.000 --> 00:44:47.920
I always wanted that control of volume with a bass player that's playing upright.
00:44:48.239 --> 00:44:51.360
You get quiet, really quiet, and you punch it.
00:44:51.760 --> 00:44:53.679
It's hard to do that with electric instruments.
00:44:53.760 --> 00:44:57.360
Once you plug into your Marshall and your AMPEG, they're there, you know.
00:44:57.840 --> 00:45:03.199
So I'm always searching for a way to say something new on the drum set.
00:45:03.440 --> 00:45:08.239
But like I say, you you know that contemporary music needs that pulse.
00:45:08.639 --> 00:45:21.039
And I wasn't afraid of what was happening in the 80s with electronic drums, but there was a moment where you think, okay, Human League and Thomas Dolby and all those bands, they don't need a drummer.
00:45:21.360 --> 00:45:23.199
And they're having massive hits.
00:45:23.599 --> 00:45:29.119
But there was also new wave bands that had real drummers the Cars, B-52s, Gary Newman.
00:45:29.280 --> 00:45:32.880
So it's possible to be a real drummer in a new wave situation.
00:45:33.199 --> 00:45:36.000
And that was 85 or 82, whatever it was.
00:45:36.159 --> 00:45:40.079
But I started realizing don't be afraid of change.
00:45:40.239 --> 00:45:44.000
Don't be afraid of what technology can do to music.
00:45:44.159 --> 00:45:49.039
Embrace it and put one foot in there and keep one foot where you like it.
00:45:49.119 --> 00:45:49.679
You know what I mean?
00:45:49.920 --> 00:45:51.280
So let's let's talk gear for a second.
00:45:51.519 --> 00:45:53.360
Like, what are you playing now?
00:45:53.519 --> 00:45:55.920
Are you experimenting with some of the uh electronic kits?
00:45:56.000 --> 00:45:59.599
Are you experimenting with some of you know the other technology?
00:45:59.840 --> 00:46:00.239
Mm-hmm.
00:46:00.719 --> 00:46:06.719
Well, my my heart and soul is an acoustic trap kit.
00:46:07.119 --> 00:46:13.119
When I can play drum set with drum heads and cymbals, I can really speak and it speaks back.
00:46:13.280 --> 00:46:23.119
When you go into the electronic world and you're picking sounds, even though the dynamics and the sensitivity is amazing now, there's something that is less personal about that.
00:46:23.360 --> 00:46:29.360
Not that it's good or bad, but I don't feel a personal connection to the electric drum sounds, but I love hearing them.
00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:34.400
You know, you can't get that from a regular drum set.
00:46:34.559 --> 00:46:36.800
But it also changes the way you drum.
00:46:36.960 --> 00:46:38.800
I I like the pitter-patter on my kick.
00:46:40.320 --> 00:46:40.800
You know what I mean?
00:46:40.880 --> 00:46:41.519
Soft and loud.
00:46:42.079 --> 00:46:45.760
You gotta be careful when you have electric drum sounds because they take up a lot of space, you know.
00:46:45.840 --> 00:46:48.239
So boom, boom, ka.
00:46:48.719 --> 00:46:52.000
You don't want to be pitter-patter on your kick drum with those kind of samples.
00:46:52.159 --> 00:47:02.400
But I do enjoy that hybrid drum set of a real drum kit, a couple pads, pick some sounds that maybe one or two per song.
00:47:02.639 --> 00:47:11.679
Uh, maybe one song go completely electric and take the sound of the of the band into a new world off the acoustic drum set.
00:47:12.079 --> 00:47:25.440
You know, what's happening in the world of live music and everybody playing the tracks and having this incredible mix happening, even if the band stops playing, the tracks are rolling and it sounds great.
00:47:26.000 --> 00:47:32.719
Nothing wrong with that, but I think that's taken away the the journey a little bit.
00:47:33.119 --> 00:47:37.679
The journey of who you are and what you've been through and how you can deliver that message to people.
00:47:38.239 --> 00:47:44.800
And there is no battle, I think, between electronic music and and acoustic music.
00:47:45.039 --> 00:47:49.760
There shouldn't be a battle between, you know, the the jazz drummers and the rock drummer.
00:47:49.920 --> 00:47:56.400
Everyone should mend, but there is a place where you feel comfortable, and it's okay to grow out of that.
00:47:56.480 --> 00:47:59.280
But my comfort my comfort zone is a real drum set.
00:47:59.679 --> 00:48:04.480
Um, you know, looking at DWE now, they're electric drums with no wires, no cables.
00:48:04.800 --> 00:48:05.119
So cool.
00:48:05.360 --> 00:48:06.239
It's incredible.
00:48:06.480 --> 00:48:24.800
Imagine being now in a marching band, so a guy in the laptop is walking near the band, keeping your sounds, and you're on a roller playing a drum set, but it's it's going through a PA somehow, you know, or doing a halftime show, rolling a drum set out with no microphones, just because it's e-drums.
00:48:25.039 --> 00:48:28.320
And so there is something great about that opportunity.
00:48:28.400 --> 00:48:33.840
And for a young person who can't play at a rehearsal place, put headphones on, you play all day and night.
00:48:34.000 --> 00:48:36.079
If I had that as a kid, who know where I'd be now?
00:48:36.159 --> 00:48:40.719
Because I was allowed to play from you know, after whatever homework from 5 p.m.
00:48:40.880 --> 00:48:43.840
to 8 p.m., that's it, you know, or play on your pillow.
00:48:44.079 --> 00:48:51.360
So there is that great opportunity for the electronic drummer to practice more, to expand his sounds.
00:48:51.920 --> 00:48:54.320
It's great writing songs with an electric drum set.
00:48:54.559 --> 00:48:56.000
Oh, cool, I'll pick these sounds.
00:48:58.719 --> 00:49:00.559
And all of a sudden they're they react differently.
00:49:00.719 --> 00:49:04.960
You might not stick to those sounds, but it changes the songwriting, you know.
00:49:05.199 --> 00:49:06.880
So it's a great tool.
00:49:07.119 --> 00:49:11.599
Um, things are changing so quickly in the world of electronics.
00:49:11.840 --> 00:49:13.599
I think the symbols need help.
00:49:13.840 --> 00:49:15.519
You know, they don't feel quite right.
00:49:15.679 --> 00:49:15.840
Yeah.
00:49:16.000 --> 00:49:24.719
But the drum pads, they feel amazing and the sensitivity and those mesh heads, it's definitely a great tool.
00:49:25.039 --> 00:49:41.920
So going back to acoustic kits, if you will, for a second, um drum off, uh, which is you know a guitar center multi-decade experiment of um of you know taking thousands of people competing at local stores and then coming up to like a national competition.
00:49:42.159 --> 00:49:42.480
I love that.
00:49:42.719 --> 00:49:44.880
You've been a drum uh uh judge of drum off before.
00:49:45.119 --> 00:49:49.280
I've hosted five times, I've judged over and over, I performed six of them.
00:49:49.440 --> 00:49:57.039
I brought Flea and Navarro, I did one with Tommy Lee, did one with Tony Franklin, I did one with Mike Watt performing.
00:49:57.840 --> 00:50:06.079
The drum off to me is so big in the sense that all these amateurs are practicing their butts off to get to the final.
00:50:07.119 --> 00:50:13.599
And every time you see any of these guys play, or girls, there's ideas that I haven't thought of.
00:50:14.480 --> 00:50:16.800
Wow, what record are they listening to?
00:50:16.960 --> 00:50:18.480
What drum are they turned on to?
00:50:18.639 --> 00:50:21.039
What kit drum patterns are they trying to do?
00:50:21.360 --> 00:50:23.519
Because for us, Bonham had the best foot.
00:50:23.679 --> 00:50:27.679
Nowadays, the best foot is like blast beats, you know, it's a whole nother world.
00:50:28.079 --> 00:50:33.679
So I love that the spirit of everyone practicing, everyone competing.
00:50:33.840 --> 00:50:37.920
There is no best, but there is a great moment when you see someone stand out.
00:50:38.000 --> 00:50:38.559
Yeah.
00:50:38.880 --> 00:50:41.599
And is it because they're musical?
00:50:41.760 --> 00:50:44.880
Is it because they have some incredible flash?
00:50:45.119 --> 00:50:48.800
Or is it because they just understand what it takes to move people?
00:50:49.199 --> 00:50:59.199
You know, and the drum off to me, especially the regionals that are happening around the country, it's exciting for young people to practice, get their four-minute drum soul together.
00:50:59.440 --> 00:51:01.360
And I I love that pressure.
00:51:01.519 --> 00:51:05.280
I think it's a great way to grow as a musician, as a drummer.
00:51:05.519 --> 00:51:06.559
It's humbling too.
00:51:06.719 --> 00:51:09.119
You think you're a badass and someone else is better.
00:51:09.280 --> 00:51:10.079
It hurts.
00:51:10.239 --> 00:51:11.280
But it makes you practice.
00:51:11.360 --> 00:51:19.440
And same with all the great judges, Arnoff and Josh, all those cats are watching these people going, whoa, did you see what that guy did?
00:51:19.519 --> 00:51:21.039
I never even thought that was possible.
00:51:21.199 --> 00:51:24.880
And this guy is a young, you know, not a professional.
00:51:25.199 --> 00:51:31.760
So that that drum off, I guess, environment is good for the pros.
00:51:32.320 --> 00:51:41.920
It's good for the amateurs, it's good for the spirit of drumming to really put your balls to the wall and see what you bring to the table.
00:51:42.159 --> 00:51:45.280
You know, and some of my best drumming is not in front of people.
00:51:45.360 --> 00:51:46.960
Sometimes I'm alone and I do something.
00:51:47.039 --> 00:51:48.480
I'm like, oh my God.
00:51:48.639 --> 00:51:50.639
And I'm in front of people, I can't pull it off.
00:51:50.800 --> 00:51:53.039
I feel for you, drummers, that have that same thing.
00:51:53.119 --> 00:51:56.159
Like, man, the solo at home last night was epic.
00:51:56.320 --> 00:52:02.239
Today, in front of everybody, I dropped the stick, or the hi-hat clutch broke, or something broke the vibe.
00:52:02.639 --> 00:52:06.400
But that's probably the that moment you grow.
00:52:06.559 --> 00:52:10.800
I think the drum off is a growing experiment.
00:52:10.960 --> 00:52:13.360
It's not just a winning and losing.
00:52:13.519 --> 00:52:18.960
It's to help drummers grow and unite, and it's a hang for days.
00:52:19.280 --> 00:52:20.400
Such a good hang.
00:52:20.960 --> 00:52:25.840
And that to me is a community I want to be part of, you know.
00:52:26.159 --> 00:52:32.559
There's something harsh about losing, but we're all just kind of just playing drums.
00:52:32.639 --> 00:52:34.880
I mean, you're a winner if you get to play drums in front of people.
00:52:35.199 --> 00:52:35.679
That's it.
00:52:35.760 --> 00:52:38.800
I mean, you got a lot of winners.
00:52:38.880 --> 00:52:47.280
I mean, just to go to districts or regionals, like that's a that's a great platform to push yourself to see other great drummers.
00:52:47.760 --> 00:52:48.159
Exactly.
00:52:48.320 --> 00:52:52.480
To watch other great drummers and to have a reason to go home and practice more.
00:52:52.800 --> 00:52:54.800
That's what happens to the next, yeah.
00:52:54.880 --> 00:53:00.639
And then but the day after the drum off, I go home and go, oh God, I gotta, I really gotta practice, man.
00:53:00.719 --> 00:53:01.360
I never saw something.
00:53:01.599 --> 00:53:03.840
Go, I never knew you can do that.
00:53:04.079 --> 00:53:05.519
Okay, how did he do that?
00:53:05.599 --> 00:53:06.400
And why?
00:53:06.559 --> 00:53:09.280
And is there a purpose for it in song?
00:53:09.679 --> 00:53:16.960
That's also something the drum off, I think this year is gonna bring, is the understanding, can they play to music, not just the solo?
00:53:17.440 --> 00:53:19.360
That is important, you know.
00:53:19.599 --> 00:53:28.000
Uh you see these cats on on, you know, the YouTube drum extravaganza drummers are just like, wow.
00:53:28.159 --> 00:53:29.920
But can they push a band for an hour?
00:53:30.159 --> 00:53:32.480
Can they can they hold that's a whole nother world?
00:53:32.719 --> 00:53:33.280
That's a different thing.
00:53:33.519 --> 00:53:35.199
Yeah, it's really quite different.
00:53:35.360 --> 00:53:38.880
So all those things are gonna get shown, you blow the dust off.
00:53:38.960 --> 00:53:44.800
Any, you know, and and also it makes a drummer realize their weaknesses and their strengths.
00:53:44.960 --> 00:53:46.719
And I know my weaknesses.
00:53:46.960 --> 00:53:49.679
It's funner to work on my strengths because it's easy.
00:53:49.920 --> 00:53:54.480
It's painful to work on your your weaknesses, but it's important to realize them.
00:53:54.639 --> 00:54:02.719
And when you watch those other drummers, you're like, I need to work on my left hand or I need to work on my hi-hat patterns, or whatever it is you think you you might need help on.
00:54:02.880 --> 00:54:09.119
You know, oh, listen, that guy playing clavet with the left foot on a cowbell, and then, you know, and I gotta practice that.
00:54:09.199 --> 00:54:12.639
I don't practice that enough because that's that sounded cool, you know.
00:54:13.039 --> 00:54:19.440
Well, uh, you were um inducted into the rock walk in uh I believe 2011.
00:54:19.760 --> 00:54:20.719
That was a good honor.
00:54:20.880 --> 00:54:22.239
That was a great honor, really.
00:54:22.400 --> 00:54:29.840
Uh Dave Weiderman, uh who sold me my first drum set in 1980, was Was that in the Hollywood?
00:54:30.320 --> 00:54:34.800
That would no, that was a place called Valley Arts Laurel Canyon.
00:54:35.039 --> 00:54:36.239
It got burnt down.
00:54:36.800 --> 00:54:38.079
We're not sure who lit the fire.
00:54:38.239 --> 00:54:39.440
I don't think it was GC.
00:54:39.760 --> 00:54:42.159
Someone lit the fire and burnt that place down.
00:54:42.480 --> 00:54:53.840
But um, when Weiderman asked Jane's Addiction to be part of this great rock walk at GC on sunset, it's just like, yes, please, that sounds like a great day.
00:54:54.079 --> 00:54:57.039
And Dave called me, he goes, Where would you like your hands to be?
00:54:57.199 --> 00:54:59.440
I said, as close to Jimmy Page as possible.
00:54:59.599 --> 00:55:00.079
Yeah, exactly.
00:55:00.320 --> 00:55:02.079
So he put us underneath the yard birds.
00:55:02.320 --> 00:55:02.719
Oh, that's great.
00:55:02.960 --> 00:55:10.239
So when you're standing on the Jane's Addiction hands, you see Jeff Beck clapped in and Jimmy Page's hands, and then you go step back, there's Jane's addiction.
00:55:10.559 --> 00:55:14.159
So I was like, I bring my son there, I'm like, don't worry about us.
00:55:14.400 --> 00:55:16.079
There's Jimmy Page's hand.
00:55:16.320 --> 00:55:17.599
It's close to mine.
00:55:18.000 --> 00:55:33.760
But yeah, there's something great about making an imprint in LA and having that LA imprint go worldwide, and then have a guitar center tip their hat to us and say, you know, yeah, rock and roll is it's a powerful force.
00:55:34.000 --> 00:55:46.079
And to be part of that rock and roll stew, Jane's addiction, to be in there with cream or traffic, or any of the bands that we grew up with, Sabbath, Fog Hat, whatever, that soup.
00:55:46.320 --> 00:55:48.400
Jane's Addiction is in that soup now.
00:55:48.559 --> 00:55:50.239
I mean, that's massive to me.
00:55:50.400 --> 00:56:00.079
That's really, you know, to have in and in porno and infectious and the other groups I've played with, to be part of that rock and roll stew is just an honor.
00:56:00.320 --> 00:56:05.360
And to be an ingredient in what, you know, because rock and roll is so young.
00:56:05.679 --> 00:56:10.639
I mean, my God, when Jane's addiction started 85, 30 years prior, was Elvis.
00:56:11.039 --> 00:56:12.880
It's it's amazing to think, right?
00:56:13.199 --> 00:56:14.800
And what a difference in three decades.
00:56:15.119 --> 00:56:16.239
And Elvis was controversial.
00:56:16.719 --> 00:56:17.440
Exactly, man.
00:56:17.760 --> 00:56:19.119
And that's only 30 years.
00:56:19.280 --> 00:56:21.039
Now, Jane's Addiction is 40 years old.
00:56:21.119 --> 00:56:26.000
Things changed a lot since then, but still, you've got to be dangerous to be a rocker.
00:56:26.079 --> 00:56:28.159
You gotta add a little of that danger, man.
00:56:28.480 --> 00:56:29.920
Well, that's what that's what changes music.
00:56:30.400 --> 00:56:30.880
Exactly, man.
00:56:30.960 --> 00:56:31.440
You gotta break it.
00:56:32.320 --> 00:56:32.559
Exactly.
00:56:32.639 --> 00:56:33.519
You break it, man.
00:56:33.599 --> 00:56:43.039
And you know, there's something great about what you know, Aerosmith or G and R or some of the bands are straight ahead rock bands.
00:56:43.199 --> 00:56:48.000
And then you see the punk bands, and you see the new wave bands, and you see the goth bands.
00:56:48.079 --> 00:56:52.960
But we all have the same people practicing in our bedroom at eight years old or ten years old.
00:56:53.119 --> 00:56:57.039
The genre might be different, but it's you in love with your music, you know.
00:56:57.199 --> 00:57:00.960
I still have a romance with my hands and my drumsticks.
00:57:01.440 --> 00:57:05.679
I just, it's it's I have very small fingers.
00:57:05.840 --> 00:57:08.400
My son can wrap his thumb around the top of the guitar.
00:57:08.480 --> 00:57:10.079
I look how small that guy is.
00:57:10.239 --> 00:57:13.039
He's he's good for holding drumsticks, you know what I mean?
00:57:13.199 --> 00:57:18.639
And that's what I feel good about when I get the sticks in my hand and and play.
00:57:19.039 --> 00:57:22.960
Uh, there's something quite unique about that feeling.
00:57:23.039 --> 00:57:31.440
You get, you know, people talk about the runner's high and at a different kind of elevation when you get when you're doing, you know, possible meditation.
00:57:31.920 --> 00:57:36.320
Drummers are running and meditating at the same time and repainting.
00:57:36.559 --> 00:57:37.440
You know what I mean?
00:57:37.679 --> 00:57:47.199
And there's so much going on in a drummer's head, especially if you're using all four limbs, it's really quite you have to be quite activated and relaxed at the same time.
00:57:47.840 --> 00:57:55.840
And that is, I think, charming really to find something in your life that makes you feel level.
00:57:56.159 --> 00:58:01.840
And like I say, no matter what genre you're into, you sit alone and you practice.
00:58:02.320 --> 00:58:05.280
It's just you, and you see yourself getting better at something.
00:58:05.679 --> 00:58:11.440
And then you can show that to people, not to get the tap on the back, but to turn them on, you know.
00:58:12.079 --> 00:58:16.320
When Slash plays guitar, people are like, ah, it feels good, you know.
00:58:16.480 --> 00:58:19.599
And Satriani does a solo that's out of this world.
00:58:19.840 --> 00:58:21.920
Like, my God, it's Steve Vai.
00:58:22.320 --> 00:58:27.840
Watching Steve Vai for fuck five minutes or an hour and five minutes, it just enlightens me.
00:58:28.079 --> 00:58:31.119
Terry Bozio, one of my favorite drummers of all time.
00:58:31.679 --> 00:58:36.880
I'm very lucky to get to meet some of these guys and have a handshake and get eyes with these guys.
00:58:37.199 --> 00:58:38.159
You talk about small hands.
00:58:38.239 --> 00:58:40.559
Uh Steve Vai is in the rock walk.
00:58:40.719 --> 00:58:43.519
And um, I went and I put my hands in his hands.
00:58:43.679 --> 00:58:45.360
His hands are full, like two inches longer.
00:58:46.559 --> 00:58:47.039
That's what I'm saying.
00:58:47.519 --> 00:58:48.639
They're like his hands are this big.
00:58:48.800 --> 00:58:49.599
He's built for guitar.
00:58:49.840 --> 00:58:50.400
He's born for it.
00:58:50.559 --> 00:58:51.039
He's built for it.
00:58:51.280 --> 00:58:56.639
You know, and that's that's pretty cool too, to at the drum off, to see all these people that are built for the instrument.
00:58:56.800 --> 00:59:02.239
And we're all different sizes, different shows, we sit differently, we play differently, but that instrument called us.
00:59:02.400 --> 00:59:05.679
And we all drummers know what it takes to do that.
00:59:07.760 --> 00:59:08.639
Okay, relax.
00:59:08.719 --> 00:59:10.719
Don't get stiff, or you know.
00:59:11.039 --> 00:59:24.960
And and real quick, even when things happen on stage or in front of people that can possibly humiliate you, it's like a like Shaq doing a free throw and not making it.
00:59:25.360 --> 00:59:26.159
Are you kidding me?
00:59:26.239 --> 00:59:26.960
It's a free throw.
00:59:27.119 --> 00:59:27.679
You're Shaq.
00:59:28.000 --> 00:59:29.039
You can't make that.
00:59:29.599 --> 00:59:34.559
I was doing a drum clinic once and I didn't warm up correctly, and I got a cramp.
00:59:35.119 --> 00:59:38.079
And instead of me freaking out, I said, All right, let's learn from this.
00:59:38.239 --> 00:59:39.360
I'm cramping.
00:59:39.599 --> 00:59:40.960
It's gonna happen to anybody.
00:59:41.119 --> 00:59:41.760
I'm a pro.
00:59:41.920 --> 00:59:42.480
You're not.
00:59:42.639 --> 00:59:43.679
It's happening to me.
00:59:43.760 --> 00:59:47.280
I cannot let's talk about cramping.
00:59:47.440 --> 00:59:49.920
Instead of me going, ah, hey, no, hold on.
00:59:50.079 --> 00:59:52.159
I made it, I took a made a lesson of it.
00:59:52.559 --> 00:59:57.199
So that's also something great about music and instruments alone.
00:59:57.440 --> 00:59:58.960
You can learn from your mistakes.
00:59:59.119 --> 01:00:04.079
You can share your problems with the instrument with other people, learn how to get through it.
01:00:04.239 --> 01:00:07.679
Uh, talking to Kenny Aronoff, one of the great drummers of all time.
01:00:08.239 --> 01:00:10.400
I'm not sure how old he is, 110.
01:00:10.559 --> 01:00:11.199
But whatever he's doing.
01:00:12.320 --> 01:00:17.760
We did a podcast with Kenny, and um also a great storyteller, a great story.
01:00:17.920 --> 01:00:20.000
Yeah, like world-class drummer.
01:00:20.239 --> 01:00:22.320
I mean, he's amazing, incredibly humble, too.
01:00:22.800 --> 01:00:33.840
Sweet, humble guy, and I like talking about how do you keep your body in shape, how do you keep that endurance, how do you keep the love of the instrument so real?
01:00:34.559 --> 01:00:36.320
He's not a fraud at any moment.
01:00:36.480 --> 01:00:37.119
You know what I mean?
01:00:37.199 --> 01:00:38.639
He's the real deal.
01:00:38.880 --> 01:00:43.840
And and looking at young drummers or older drummers and thinking, how do you do it?
01:00:44.159 --> 01:00:48.960
Longevity, how do you stay relevant?
01:00:49.599 --> 01:00:54.079
And how do you stay with the endurance and the stamina, all those things, you know?
01:00:54.239 --> 01:00:56.480
It's cool to see intensely physical score.
01:00:56.719 --> 01:00:57.599
Oh, it's insane.
01:00:57.760 --> 01:01:08.079
Yeah, and you know, touring chops is way different than session chops, you know, and you can practice all day long, but once you get on tour or on stage, something changes.
01:01:08.159 --> 01:01:11.280
It's like playing basketball at practice or at the game.
01:01:11.519 --> 01:01:13.760
At the game, it's a lot harder than practice, man.
01:01:13.840 --> 01:01:14.719
It's just the way it is.
01:01:14.800 --> 01:01:16.960
You're in the moment, live or die.
01:01:17.039 --> 01:01:25.760
But Aronoff and some of the cats that were 10 years above me already doing it, and they're still doing it.
01:01:26.079 --> 01:01:28.159
Like, okay, man, we're lifers.
01:01:28.320 --> 01:01:31.119
You know, we're not we're athletes, but we don't have to call it quits.
01:01:31.199 --> 01:01:31.360
Yeah.
01:01:31.519 --> 01:01:32.960
We can keep going, you know.
01:01:33.360 --> 01:01:34.000
Absolutely.
01:01:34.159 --> 01:01:36.719
Well, thank you for joining us, uh Steven.
01:01:37.119 --> 01:01:38.159
What a pleasure.
01:01:38.320 --> 01:01:39.679
Uh, what a great story.
01:01:39.920 --> 01:01:40.400
It's great.
01:01:40.639 --> 01:01:48.559
And um thank you for thank you for being like such bringing such incredible artistry to your music.
01:01:48.800 --> 01:01:53.599
I listened to it um, you know, growing up and uh just love what you've done.
01:01:53.920 --> 01:01:54.239
Thank you.
01:01:54.400 --> 01:01:55.519
So thank you for joining us.
01:01:55.679 --> 01:01:59.280
Thanks for um being part of the Rockwalk, being part of Drum Off.
01:01:59.679 --> 01:02:01.599
Um really appreciate all your contributions.
01:02:01.840 --> 01:02:02.880
It's a pleasure, man.
01:02:03.119 --> 01:02:07.519
GC, thank you for all your help and all those drummers out there.
01:02:07.599 --> 01:02:08.960
I can't wait to see what you're gonna do.
01:02:09.280 --> 01:02:10.800
It's gonna be amazing.
01:02:11.039 --> 01:02:13.199
It is, it's amazing.