Rick Beato/Bernard Purdie Interview

[cornelius]

 

[bbunks]

Oh man, one of my best friends and I have been having a lot of Steely Dan conversations since he's just discovering
Gaucho and Bernard. This is going to blow his mind!

 

[JDA]

(he's losing his..+/- lol
'you only wanna get rid it of when you don't have it'
-BP 2022
still has the toms reversed tho that's cool.
``````````
"Paul Griffin"...?
yep Paul Griffin (just don't recall on the album credits) but yep.

Paul Griffin (musician) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Paul Griffin (musician) - Google Search

www.google.com

``````

Landmark Interview here (maybe almost the last one)
Archived for future Gens

 

[Stone Wilcoxon]

I watched this this morning. I have always, will always, dug... dig... BP's recorded output. One of the highlights of the one time I went to NAMM was seeing hearing a righteous groove coming from a distant booth, following that groove, and and discovering Bernard laying it down and chuckling to himself all the while.

 

[5stroke]

Thanks for posting this! I love Bernard and listening to his interviews. Very candid, down to earth guy with simple but powerful drumming tips. And watching him play/his techniques up close, so instructive. Plus, Rick being such an astute interviewer, the pointed questions drill down to the finer points as well. One of the best Bernard interviews I've seen.

 

[Formula 602]

I saw B P with Jeff Beck in Detroit….1975..Cobo Hall….with Mahavisnu Orchestra opening!..
Of course,John McLaughlin came out and jammed with Beck later on!..

I saved up some Thai Stick I had..especially for the gig…
Surprised I remember even being there!

Then,saw B P at the very first Zildjian Day..which was in Chicago….1982?

 

[drummingbulldog]

I absolutely loved this interview. What he says about simple and the china being mounted correctly. The rimshot. Cross stick rimshots. Microphones pick all that stuff up. Mics don't get nuance as much as dynamics. I have had some of these same conversations with other drummers who don't record and the china's go upside down. Their cross stick rimshot is not audible or the beater is buried. Mics don't lie. The tape or track shows how you make a track feel by how on top, in front or behind the beat you are.

I saw this and l thought about other guys who like Purdie are perhaps misunderstood. My teacher thought Bonzo couldn't swing. Ginger Baker said that about Bonham too. People say Stewart Copeland is arrogant. I myself admit that l get the vibe that Purdie is arrogant with his Ringo commentary or just in general. I think Ginger Baker was a great musician who played drum set but I think of him more as the first progressive rock drummer who swung. Do you guys get what l mean? That's just drummers but there are a ton of musicians, usually the innovators, who are completely misunderstood.

Eddie Van Halen ,for example, is remembered historically for tapping but he is one of the best rhythm guitarists ever. That is his real gift. His tone and his feel. He was listening. Don't get me wrong. He was a heck of a lead guitarist too and compositionally very talented. Average Joe will remember the videos and the red guitar and Jump or Beat It.

Purdie was so influential to many guys in the same way Ringo/Bonham/Tony/Elvin/Gadd/Peart/Weckl/Buddy were. Those dudes made a lot of guys want to play and study drums. They helped innovate and push us to try to play or sound like them because what they played, their sound or the bands they were in were so good. Good stuff.

 

[Squirrel Man]

Not crazy about Beato but I can watch Purdie all day long and twice on Sunday.

Great watch!

 

[5stroke]

I thought Rick really shined as an interviewer in this, asking intelligent and well-timed questions (that weren't so techie your average listener would get lost) w/out interrupting Bernard. This is the best BP interview I've seen out of maybe the 4 on YT available. And I love BP, like Squirrel Man, could listen to him all day long, and really love his cross stick-finger tapping grooves, along with his other simple but effective fill techniques that have helped me better understand his role in the songs he contributed to. Will watch it again... and again...

 

[Tornado]

Purdie is always hard for me to listen to. I love the guy, but it's a real chore trying to follow what he's saying. Kudos to Rick for conducting the interview with such grace. Jared Falkner didn't come off very good with the Drumeo session. You kind of have to let Purdie be Purdie and let him make his points. Good stuff in this one.

 

[drums1225]

Purdie is always hard for me to listen to. I love the guy, but it's a real chore trying to follow what he's saying. Kudos to Rick for conducting the interview with such grace. Jared Falkner didn't come off very good with the Drumeo session. You kind of have to let Purdie be Purdie and let him make his points. Good stuff in this one.

Totally agree. At times, he uses a lot of words to say very little. You can usually tell the point he's trying to make, but he often doesn't quite get there on his own. That said, I dug this interview. The insight on the Steely Dan sessions is worth the price of admission. You have to love BP's energy and enthusiasm. He so obviously loves music and drumming. Legendary.

 

[DanRH]

Tell you what, I’m seriously considering trying the opposite Tom configuration now. I might try it in the shed first though. It just looks so weird…

 

[JDA]

(it's fantastic)
opens new worlds

 

[JDA]

somebody had an error that (1966) day;

 

[JDA]

gets rid of the stinky 10" as the first tom and puts it in an accessory auxiliary position "where it belongs and actually truly does well."

(and) also how is a piano configured?
Right. How Bill Cobham sets up his massive front tom array
Low to hi. (With a mid respite (

 

[JDA]

drums ain't cosmetics

 

[Tornado]

Tell you what, I’m seriously considering trying the opposite Tom configuration now. I might try it in the shed first though. It just looks so weird…

For descending and ascending tom stuff (that we all do but would probably rather do less of, lol), it's really natural. Put a larger floor tom on your left, and you've got a kind of marching quads configuration which let's you go up and down the toms more smoothly for lots of right hand lead licks. I don't do it, I'm a 4 piece guy 99% of the time now, but wouldn't hesitate to set up that way.

 

[JDA]

I don't think (....debatable) you have to go "that far".
Just the small switch -up top-- between twin toms.
Putting Floors on your left gets into (too much logistics when going out to a gig ( ha

flip switching the top toms costs no extra effort-

 

[Tornado]

I don't think (....debatable) you have to go "that far".
Just the small switch -up top-- between twin toms.
Putting Floors on your left gets into (too much logistics when going out to a gig ( ha

flip switching the top toms costs no extra effort-

Yeah, I wouldn't go that far, just giving a visual reference

 

[JDA]

http://vintagedrumguide.com/images/slingerland_drum_sets/1967-slingerland-catalog7.jpg

mini-