Admin (Pete) wrote:Like I said - Billy is the father
of us, all. It's all him.
Dear Pete,
I've been telling this to Boomer since the early 70s when he first invited me to a Dreams rehearsal in NYC when I was on my summer job and he and the Gang were about to recorded "Imagine My Surprise." And now some nearly 38 years later the man still wonders what the heck I'm talkin' bout. Billy IS a father on the percussion: and it takes a careful ear and heart to hear his contribution without runnin off in the wings as if so few were influenced by him. Some "johnny-come-latelys" might attribute their skills to modern day influences: but what those among them "johnnies," (no pun intended, PLEASE), is that they fail to recognize their influences. I speak of no one here specifically... only of myself in a corporate creativity when I hear and see folks just play without acknowledging anyone: which is what music is NOT about.
Dear Harris,
What was your original moniker anyway? Just curious!
Harris K. wrote:Pete, Suss, Don, thank you for the kind words! I've listened to all of your playing, from the audio and video files you have posted here and on the old forum, and your comments, coming from players
"
I honorably prefer Harris' version of this rendition!"
Suss, sorry but you are wrong on this!
My "polished" version pales compared to the sheer acoustic power of yours!
No... we are both right: and neither of us are "sorry!"
We're just not perfect and BOTH seeking to bridge gaps by the music in our hands, rather then the words in our mouths. I really love your version of "Torpedo Flow," since it reflects an alter-ego of mine. I tend to play precisely within any genre without losing myself (I even make up stuff to span rhythmic bridges). Yet at the same time I loose a part of myself in MY hesitance to express myself when in studio environments and producers who want "this, that and the other thing!." You Harris incorporated some subtle improvisations within the beat that unless a careful person was listening, they'd miss it. I mean that. You have rekindled some things that I believe (as Pete said, and Don concurred) is what I experienced since 2002 coming back into my percussive roots (and honed well before then).
These days under such scrutiny, so many are hesitant to express themselves in an effort to keep "working." Some work rudimenally, while others work melodically. The trick is the bridge the gaps and work within the song compositionally: viz: Just Play the Music and Improve Yourself In Doing So! Once the Seed is sown, there must come a harvest. Eventually, your OWN personality will come out in the Music YOU play - and everyone else can benefit. I cannot begin to tell you how when the "Condundrum" release came out, there were some well able, but reticent, to even put their hands and feet to it. They were either timid or ill equipped. Those know of whom I speak. Put the wood to your own drum head and the pedal to the
mettle is what so many have been saying before me! No typographic error here and every analogy intended.
Musically speaking, such should be Boomer's Community. The man works hard in Mission, Music and Passion. My only regret is that personalities and international politics (and the "biz/busyness" gets in the way of our expressing oursleves to each other within this surrogate forum honoring the living legend. That is a REAL sadness of mine from where I contribute and walk. All Applaud for the right reasons and no veiled ones.
Thank you for your compliment Harris. Sincerely and truthfully. I know in my "soul without a 'hole' that I'm on Target with this torpedo. May it not explode to discouragement. I still have the original cds that came with Conundrum... but they are packed away. More importantly, they are in my heart and hands. I don't get a lot of opportunity these days to play "live," but when I do I do so with the same preparation, flavor and presentation. More often, my stuff is recorded. Over the years, I've learned that "less is more." But be prepared for the "MORE & with the Goods!" That too is my preparation. I sense it is yours also.
When I recorded my rendition of the tune (TF), I had a partially miked drum kit as I said before in either this or previous forums. Yet to read your recording challenges makes me even more convinced that what you do has yet more to come. I am humbled that you were influenced by my version. Please remember that Billy Cobham was only providing a TEMPLATE for us to replicate (and that on a widely published Warner Brothers Publication release only 8 years ago). I hope I'm making sense to you, as well as those with ears. My secret was to act as if every limb was unto itself while working together. That in itself is a secret however imperfect we humanly are.
I frankly couldn't play Billy's version without having that second H.H. cymbal under the Ride cym. That kind of independence requires more interfacing than I've had for the last three years. I play open handed at times, but only when the syncopation requires it in passing tones/colors around the kit. Generally, I rely upon a conventional attitude when approaching the kit, but with both traditional and matched grip handling. What some may speak of "Moeller" versus some other is not in my vocabulary. I wonder if it should be anyone's after all these millenia. If it isn't in your heart, it certainly won't be in your music, is what I say: no matter what your technique might be. Just produce the goods on demand and have fun doing it.
Please - do not pretend to know what I'm writing about however longwinded Woofus thinks I am.
He's the clown:
. Yet None of us are STUPID, nor are we gladiators to the death. So There Keith!!!
Hey take this on for your Building-Up - especially my erstwhile Nephew who wrote "I don't need this right now [back in 2003]." Thanks Billy, I'll go there if I have the opportunity by the Grace of God Himself. Been to the Caribbean often; but not recently. With Pete, I tried to tell everyone about the affordability of HostOnce without the frik & frak! We all need a vacation in Eleuthera.
http://www.johnsussewell.com/Eleuthera-BillyCobhamWSuss-2003.mp3Billy wrote the tune among the "Conundrum" anthology: I just played it after our corporate and musical hearts. There is so much outside of the boxes than within them. Venture out from the comfort zone and provide Comfort for those in need.
Be Comforters & Encouragers Guys... particularly in Billy Cobham's Forum; but more Importantly in Life and your Relationships.
Sincerely, with: