Brian Doherty

1-11 Track 11/Drum Loop w/Rim Click by Brian Doherty/www.briandoherty.net by Briandoherty

1-07 Track 07/Drum Loop w/Extended Intro Fill/www.briandoherty.net by Briandoherty

Keep It Simple 2.1 Drum Loop by Brian Doherty by Briandoherty

This band came to New York to record songs for a children’s television show. I was hired to play drums. As the date loomed, I was a bit anxious due to the fact that this band was notorious for being difficult on drummers. They spent years without a steady drummer and seemed to only hire the best. My predecessors where Dave Mattacks (Fairport Convention, Richard Thompson) and Pat Mastelotto (Mr. Mister, King Crimson)–two of my favorites. The date finally arrived. The band was great and the session was a piece of cake. I’m very proud of this recording.

XTC/Cherry In Your Tree w/Brian Doherty on drums by Briandoherty

I was in a musical funk and in search of some new material to listen to. An album that would reveal a little more upon every listen. In the past, records by Wilco, The Jayhawks, Boston, Weezer and Pete Yorn had done the trick. Now, I was coming up empty. I blindly reached into the CD case and pulled out the first disc I touched; The Police’s Zenyatta Mondatta. Jeez, this vinyl record had lived on my turntable for months when I was in college. I spent a semester listening to the entire album at least once a day, digesting every lyric and drum fill. Now as I was driving, I stuck it in the player waiting to hear how it would sound after all this time.

It was just what the doctor ordered. A real band playing music before the pro tools era of “fixes.” Simple arrangements allowing  the instruments to breathe and the spaces to take effect. And of course, the unparalleled creative energy of Stewart Copeland’s drumming. This guy wrote the book on a style of drumming that we haven’t heard before or for that matter, since. Songs like “Bombs Away” and “Driven to Tears” now sounded as fresh as ever. His bell and ride cymbal patterns transcend rhythm and at times sound like counter melodies. Granted, Sting has proven to be a star all on his own, but I think that some recording artists are not better going solo.

This got me thinking about artists who also parted with their drummers. Tom Petty and drummer Stan Lynch. The Pretenders and Martin Chambers. AC/DC and Phil Rudd. Aerosmith and Joe Perry (They recorded an entire album with another drummer and shelved it after it was decided “it didn’t sound like Aerosmith”). What about R.E.M. and Bill Berry, or The Replacements and Chris Mars? Some of these bands have wisely reconnected with their drummers. However, it looks to me that these break-ups were an effort by the artist to move on, move up, be better and reach a higher station in the business, as if it was the drummer holding them back.  (Thoughts on why this happens will appear in Part 2 of this series).  UPDATE 5/29/10: I share some of my thoughts and hypotheses regarding this narcissistic artist syndrome in another piece which can be read here.

So, how did it work out? Has Tom Petty exceeded the standards of “American Girl” or “Breakdown” since the firing of Stan Lynch? How did it go for R.E.M.? If today were the beginning of their career, where would they stand? Stewart Copeland’s drumming was integral to the success of The Police. Perhaps a little too much so. Is it possible that Sting ditched The Police partly because the drummer’s style branded the music? Has Sting truly done better and more innovative work since dumping Steward Copeland?  It appears that some recording artists ruin a good thing just so they can say, “This is all mine and I did it all by myself.”

Conversely, I imagined The Rolling Stones without Charlie Watts and Rush without Neil Peart. Dave Matthews without Carter Beauford, but I couldn’t do it. Thank God that Page and Plant did not pursue Led Zeppelin without John Bonham. It seems that these artists embraced their drummer’s musical personality, making it part of their brand, front and center.

1.02 Medium 4/4 Syncopated Snare Hits/www.briandoherty.net by Briandoherty

We travelled to East Berlin to shoot this video in a television museum. In it, you’ll notice that I never open my eyes. For some reason, the director insisted that I play with my eyes closed, as a way of conveying intensity and drama. Ha? What? Anyway…did you notice the dude in the electric chair? The original script read that this guy’s character would get his head shaved on an operating table before going to the electric chair. When it came to shooting the scene, the actor cried like a baby as the electric shavers turned on. The director took pity and omitted the part where the guy gets his head shaved.

Of noteworthy:

• This location was a Soviet style television studio turned museum after the fall of the Berlin wall. It had an eerie feeling.
• I got the sense that Flansburgh had a hard time with this director at the wheel.  You may know that Flans himself is a creative and highly qualified director.  It took everything for him to keep his mouth shut during this shoot.
• The day before this shoot, I was at home in Stone Ridge, NY when I realized that I didn’t have a plane ticket yet.  Tony, the bass player, also didn’t have one.  We immediately called the TMBG office and got an intern to book our flights.  Why the screw-up?  What would the Johns have done had we not made the video shoot?  They would have enjoyed the travel savings and hired two Germans to mimick the bass and drum parts. 

There are some great shuffles recorded in recent history. Jeff Porcaro and Bernard Purdie come to my mind immediately. However, in my opinion, this shuffle is the mother of them all. It sounds effortless, human, yet technical and extremely difficult at the same time. Besides, that quarter note triplet ride on the bell kills me. Every time I hear it I wonder, “Did he have to shed that?” If so, “How much?” I would’ve loved to be a fly on the wall while he worked this groove out. Although I’ve heard it a million times before, I can always learn something with every listen. Enjoy.

Here’s the Musician magazine article. I think the problem is fixed (thanks Jade!). Click the link and the file should load. It may take a few seconds, so please be patient. This article was written by Bill Flanagan, who shadowed the band while we recorded in Gainsville, FL.

The final installment of this series will be posted on Monday, March 1st.

The Silos Musican Mag