The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time This is before they had hits, but they did have Yes We Can Can. In those days, they were doing pretty much doing all Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross stuff. Some of it was Frank. That is the reason he left the drums to Chester and Bruford. It was this whole haunting thing that was really cool. It pretty much broke me up. Hed mentioned that theyd been through a few drummers that year. Juli 1990 auf der Berliner Waldbhne, kurz nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer. If you werent busy enough with Genesis tours and Phil Collins tours, you joined Santana in 1984? Id love to do my own tours. Chester Thompson on His Years With Genesis, Frank Zappa, and Weather Report He spent 30 years in Genesis as a touring drummer, but he had a falling out with Phil Collins in 2010 and they haven't spoken since www.yahoo.com 1975 Slingerland Stage Band, Poplar/Mahogany, White Marine Pearl (20,12,13,14, plus 16 Premier) Theyve got a studio. When the audition came, I was absolutely up for it. It was really cool. Enjoy! . You are using an out of date browser. I saw online that Phil said in some interview he was quitting the band. I think some of that might have something to do with it. When I worked with him, the core of the group was Napoleon on saxophone and singing, Bruce Fowler on trombone, Tom Fowler on bass, [percussionist] Ruth Underwood, George ,and Frank. The five of us lined up for a picture. How was the 2007 Genesis tour? They did some concerts and demos and then the real story started with Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel joining Ant and Mike 1967. After a year with him, I spent some time in Boston with a keyboard player named Webster Lewis, who was phenomenal. Are you still teaching? We started playing the whole deal, the real stuff in the book. [Ed. What are you talking about?. The guys work ethic he just worked. Not at all. Im grateful. George shared with me that [violinist] Jean-Luc [Ponty] didnt enjoy it so much because he couldnt stand being silly. [Laughs] But Ive really been enjoying my life. You have four guys with British accents [Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Steve Hackett], and there was tour management and a couple of other guys, all with British accents. I wasnt aware of any of that. If hedidn't have considerable good qualities the band would not have stayed together for sixteen years which is like an epic length.As for him selling out I think what everyone underestimates is that the taste of the public had changed by the 80s. By the time I was eight or so, maybe a little older, you started hearing some Motown. most great drummers won't ever do that, because they live for their drums. At one point, we discussed it and it was like, If we dont really need to be there, you guys are fine to go and do what youre doing. [Laughs]. It was a different situation in Chicago. Thank you, I agree with you about the intelligent debate and even if we disagree about somethings in the end its down to a matter of opinons. Did it surprise you that they called you back? As a matter of fact, we had already been told what dates to hold for 2008. You knew it at five years old. It was really cool. Breaks Down His Killer White House Correspondents Dinner Set, Bernie Sanders: Many GOP Leaders 'Don't Even Believe in Democracy'. Phil wrote in his book that he had a major drinking problem in that time period. We were out there hitting it together and theres something about that. Carl Palmer: again great drummer but not a main composer in ELP or Asia. I have no idea. All are renowned in the business, but some are less well known to the general public. Basically, we rehearsed eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. I grew up in the projects, so in the summer there would be people outside playing music. The drum instructor left and Id gotten to know the head of the department. Chester Thompson and Phil Collins Chester Thompson - From Jazz to Genesis Aug 17, 2018 by Bill King Comments Its been 42 years since drummer Chester Thompson, bassist Jeff Breeh, and myself were the backing/touring piano jazz trio for the Pointer Sisters. Ive crossed paths with Joe many times since and he even apologized at one point for the way it all went down, but I didnt have a problem with it. I was wide-eyed and paying attention and had no idea what was going on. With that said, I love all of the Genesis albums from 1972-1977, including A Trick of the Tail and Seconds Out which both have Phil Collins on lead vocals. Did you watch Bobs show a lot? My audition consisted just of jamming. He told me what he had in mind. Well, he was a little different from me. What did you study? . I know people were caravanning from here to see it, but it was still a little too raw at that point. The Genesis so many of us like wouldnt have been without any of members. He made the comment at his press conference to announce his Not Dead Yet European comeback tour, which kicks off with a five-night residency at London's Royal Albert Hall in June 2017. Influenced by the likes of Max Roach, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Tony Williams along with the popular music . The difference being I wasnt so much into the English drummers, like Keith Moon, and he was. That was my introduction to that. Why did you leave? It just turned out to be a one-off, but fortunately we recorded and videotaped it. Phil Collins (onion head) <-nickname), is a great drummer and that is where i believed he should have stayed. What I don't like is MUZAK (Elevator music), and that's Phil's field. In fact, most of the names of the drummers appear almost always at the end of the credits in the album covers. In my mind, these guys were almost hippies compared to what I was used to. Look At The Sussudio LP Cover. This is before they had their own studio. I just knew that he was a radically different person than Id ever known. He would have subdivisions within a bar. The guy's a pro, and he plays his ass off. I didnt know until later. It was great. We basically tracked it with no bass. He hung out with the band after the shows and stuff. I agree 100% it0s absurd to consider him nasty, the guy made a solid contribution with his drumming and backing vocals during Gabriel years and a pretty decent job as lead vocalist in ATOTT and specially on W&W. No. Why not? And I gotta tell you, man, Barry Gibb might have been one of the most professional people Ive worked with in my life. It was pretty valuable stuff. Chester Thompson was born on 11 December 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. That is the reason he left the drums to Chester and Bruford. I was pretty well into music and so I started going to every single show. Phil helped survive Genesis. Its an interesting gig musically speaking. Steve saw it as a compromise joining the band. Phil Collins Takes The Drum Quiz | The Jonathan Ross Show 4.1M views 6 years ago IN THE AIR TONIGHT-PHIL COLLINS-THIS SONG MADE ME JUMP OFF THE COUCH!! This is the live version of Inside Out, recorded in Berlin in 1990. But there was always a second kit near him, and. Affiliate programs and I dont know. I read it and just wept because most of it had happened by that point. Has Phil talked to you at all in the past 10 years? JavaScript is disabled. Did you take a crash course in Genesis before you went in? My problem is not even Phil the singer (Even when I like Pete's voice and singing more), my problem is wiyth Phil the songwritter. I have a big MS Word file with interviews about the "Union" album of YES. No. Bruno Primas Forum Resident Location: Wisconsin I was like, Man, Ive got to have some time with my family. Not even Peter made an album with all Genesis tracks, only Steve. In the meantime, they had brought in [drummer] Narada Michael Walden. But hed get more comfortable with it and be really involved with putting it together. It wasnt the same kind of luxury and stuff, which is fine., He added that Genesis was very balanced, instead of having a leader, and everybody had their say. But his first experience with Collins as boss was kind of a drag. He only truly related to drums," Thompson explained. Hed then go off to a studio and work on whatever he had in the can. As far as I know he doesn't have the health It may not display this or other websites correctly. Exactly. Yeah. If you were in Franks band, you had to be willing to be silly. Phil was very shocked and surprised and annoyed that I didnt say that his stuff was more fun. Always wondered what happened to Chester. Do you think if Genesis come to America, youd want to go see the show? Boy, we got in rehearsal and it was like oil and water. And at the end of the show, he just went off. Well, yeah. It's just horrible. Basically, he tried to come up with stuff the band couldnt play, and we always managed to pull it off. Let me remember: Leee Kerslake. [Laughs] He figured it out pretty quickly. Peter Criss (Even lead vocals), Keith Moon, Carmine Appice, Roger Taylor (Much better backing vocalist than anybody else and even lead a couple of times). I started with those frat parties, bars, and little dives. It was kind of like asking your buddy to come cover your band because suddenly youre doing something different. He kept trying to get me to take less than what I was already making. That's pretty much the zest of it. It was amazing. How did you wind up touring with Ben E. King in 1969? The vocalist is the frontman, he/she has to move around face the audience, etc and a drummer is normally attached to his kit. -Ballads in Prog Rock are underrated, because Prog Rock is not "romantic". Not sure what's up there? Absolutely. And that was the end of that. They all put in something that made their music special. And then I ended up doing Phils Motown thing and that didnt go well. That stood out more than anything. I didnt really get it. . Here, these artists tell their complete stories, giving an up-close look at life on musics A list. He had done all the R&B and soul stuff, but at that point in his life he just really dove into jazz. We did most of the tracking up at Caribou Ranch in Colorado. Again, as humans, we adapt. I mean, as a matter of fact, the seed got planted on Phils tour at the end of 2005. That's pretty much the zest of it. I guess they were never able to release it because Peter is pretty spontaneous and it drove the sound engineer crazy. Still his guitarplay wasvery important to the music even if his composing didnt reach the albums. Not all his music is that way.With the exception of his Disney music albums and his "Testify" album, I have listened to most of his albums.I found some good songs there. Basically, Phil flipped at Chester during the Going Back tour, for not playing exactly what he wanted to play, and they haven't spoken since. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. During this time, the drummer somehow also found time to tour with Santana and the Bee Gees and maintain a solo career. I cant be gone the whole time. And Maurice too, actually. And the tour was that way too. Just like Dean Martin or Perry Como were passe by the 70s prog was out of fashion in the late 80s and I don't think anyone could really change that. Turns out it was purely a union thing. I mean, there was mutual respect and stuff, but there was never, like, a friendship. It must have been interesting to watch them evolve from And Then There Were Three to Duke to Abacab and see them embrace New Wave to some degree and change up their sound. Hes sort of a quiet guy. Chester's performance and recording experiences have influenced over three decades of music and musicians. I had gone back to Baltimore. The very first live concert I saw was Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. I actually kind of felt bad for him, he was trying to impart what it takes to be a working drummer (discussing things like getting no sleep with Zappa, his approach to odd times, prepping for touring, being versed in many styles, reading etc..) part of the audience was peppering him with Genesis questions like "what is Phil Collins like?," and the other half just wanted to hear some blazing solo.. odd crowd. He was happy. Turns out they had hired Jaco. Bill Graham and I could just never agree on the money. And Phil and I had a lot of the same roots. I dont know if they were connected owner-wise, but there was a whole circuit of those theaters. If you know the history, Joe [Zawinul] and Wayne [Shorter] were real good friends. Napoleon Murphy Brock was auditioning at the same time for vocals and saxophone. Its amazing what you can get used to. Youve played Take Me Home hundreds of times. Probably not. Ive still got pretty mixed feelings about it. And the best artists do it without you even realising it. Those two weeks, man, I dont think we ever laughed that much all the years wed been together. We normally had a lot of eye contact at shows. After Invisible Touch, I remember their conversations where they agreed to take five years off. So Phil did pop some good , some average and some contrived but all big selling. And then it was Louis Hayes and Elvin Jones. Not at all. I was never in a teenage band. It was about to move to Chicago and I was kind of wondering, Why havent I got my contract yet?. Yeah. It was a rare thing where the lead singer of a band is also the drummer. I managed to get 11 songs tracked with my own band in L.A. because we decided a while back not to just sit around. And initially, that was so families could travel. The vibe just changed. And hes that good at them both. I mean, how many damn sings can one guywrite for Disney? That aint me. But basically, for 14 years hed tour every other year and Genesis would tour in the off years. Ive done a couple of jazz trio albums that I really enjoyed. Yes, some of his ballads are cheesy. It`s not true. It scared the pants off me. In fact, most of the names of the drummers appear almost always at the end of the credits in the album covers. It was a real wake-up call. Im always looking for the new thing, the next thing to me. They were really nice, cool people to work with. This new thing Ive been working on with my friends in L.A., its [bassist] Pee Wee Hill and [keyboardist] Michiko Hill, his wife. He's probably one of the nicest, most down-to-earth guys in music (and that should be a good thing). It was another situation of me not getting any sleep since I was up all night writing charts. Yes, it`s true, but none of them became the permanent lead singer in their bands like Collins. I always thought he was a pretty good friend to me. I certainly wasnt surprised that he was successful. He played us the demo on the way to a gig before it had drums on it. Ive done tours of my own with my jazz trio. I was like, Yeah. We go in the studio with Jaco, and Alphonsos feel and Jacos feel are radically different. In San Francisco, they have a minimum on these shows. I had to use oxygen tanks after every take. They didnt find out until pretty late in the game that Bill wasnt going to do the next tour. I dont know details of what happened with that, but I think Peter was busy putting something else together. But Chester, Ralph Humphries, Chad, Terry and Ruth made for a great conversation. Well, lets see. The guy had a great feel, but he wasnt a real reader. -Drummers who are lead singers "better should stay behind the drum kit and not to sing". I think Onion Head's communication skills are obnoxious. When I was about to transfer to a four-year school, I got the audition with [Frank] Zappa. But the next thing I know, they started having meetings. What was he like? What were your early impressions of Frank? My wife and I went down to see his big band in Birmingham. I like Genesis lps up until the release of Abacab (grabascab) after that they really went down hill for me. A lot of well-known names. Thats because it was getting close to time to go back out with Phil. I wish I could afford my son. It was sort of weird, though. I remember doing an arena after doing stadiums and it felt like an intimate club. Chester just says 'maybe' he wouldn't want to play the same Genesis songs yet again on a new tour, but IMO he doesn't give a definite no. But I believe Steve won more, because he didn't took part in the POP Genesis (Something with what he clearly disagrees) and made a solid career. All of the above. [Laughs] If I could have him, Id be touring with him right now. There was no leader. Those early prog-rock records? It came up again [in 1984] and it was just great. He was pretty disappointed. The first album after Gabriel left was still very progressive sounding, and as the albums after came out, the change could be heard more and more. It was just there. Mike Portnoy, Lars Ulrich: I don`t know nothing about them. Alan White studied a bit of piano, but he is mainly self-taught as a drummer. Was he demanding? What a nice man, Don Van Vliet. After 1978, this must have felt like a long-term gig. I still remember that. Was that fun? She scored one of Spike Lees movie. It was something called Kung Fu. Unfortunately, it never got released. How about pop music? It was a big part of his background, and we just hit it off immediately., One of his biggest problems on his first Genesis tour was trying to understand his English bandmates speech. Since then, I was pretty upset. Everyone had gotten over themselves by then and it was just really fun from top to bottom. I was just thinking, What in the heck is going on here?, I imagine one day you guys will speak again. I have no memory of that whatsoever. He wasn't the only member of the band, and it wasn't a chnage that happened overnight. Listen Renaissance, Marillion, Pendragon Barclay James Harvest, Moody Blues, Procol Harum, The Strawbs, etc are full of ballads, and nobody ever made a problem. What was the first music you remember hearing as a child that really struck you? The peak of Genesis on a commercial level was the Invisible Touch period. Carmine Appice, Cozy Powell: composers as soloists, mainly. But I recently read some speculation here on Chester and Phil's falling out, and I thought people might like to hear it from the man himself. Well, yeah. You taught for years at the college level. Unfortunately, they never had enough of his clear vocals to release it, or anything. I agree, one weak album, because GTR was a multi members enterproce that involved even Steve Howe, but it wa a disaster. Even though he played with Brand X, he was not comfortable with soloing. I enjoyed it though. I didnt know, but he did step back for quite a while. [Laughs]. Im not 100 percent involved, but its really interesting, the stuff that happens here. They hadnt been renamed R&B. Thanks for sharing. Phil Collins was always skittish about leaving the drum stool. And I have to say, as much as I always felt separate and apart from the whole thing, seeing everyone together was an amazing and surprising feeling. Wed do eight-hour rehearsals. And its fine. Editors picks But it got very political and it just got ugly. I know they are planning a European portion. With the exception of when he is doing his solo work, Collins is usuallythe one most in the background, going with the opinions of the rest of the group. We learned how to deal with it. I got back to L.A. and I called them up and said, When are we going back in the studio? They were like, Well, you dont need to go back in. I was like, Whats going on here?. Id say we agree on his drummingskills. The 200 Greatest Singers of All Time Hes passed away now, but we were in about 10 or 12 bands together growing up. I played every weekend from eighth grade until I graduated high school. We didnt do a lot of shows, but at the very last show [at the Montreux Jazz Festival on July 1st, 2010], he wasnt the happiest hed ever been. But when that whole tour was announced, Phil was very insistent that it was not going to be a big tour. I go down there and jam with the band. I guess life had happened in between. After rehearsal, Id go back to the hotel, go to sleep, wake up at 3 a.m., practice for a couple of hours, go back to sleep, wake up, have breakfast, and do it again. The last solo thing I did ventured a little outside that format. I guess he is as close as you can get being a Genesis member without being one. Music education. It turned out he was Ben E. Kings musical director. First thing out of his mouth was, Would you come back to the band? It was perfect timing. It was not at all unusual for all the families to be on tour together. No. Lee Kerslake: he sings backing vocals but again not the main composer in Uriah Heep. HE WAS RECRUITED BY PHIL COLLINS, TO REPLACE PHIL AS THE PRIMARY TOURING DRUMMER. It was not fun. Keith Moon, John Bonham: great drummers, yes, key members, because their band never sounded the same without them, butthey weren`tthe main composers in their bands. I could track one guy, kind of, but then somebody else would jump in. And then I got into better clubs around Baltimore. (I am totally serious, the tamborine dance is amazing), Phil Colinskilled my friends younger brother, I saw him do it i swear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And he just totally shot down the idea of doing anything. I also had an older brother in the military. Weve been swapping ideas back and forth, writing and tracking. I like ballads like Lucky Man, Still you Turn me On, Redezvous 6:02, Soon, Lonely Wind, July Morning, Carpet Crawlers, and a lot more. It was an incredibly difficult piece of music that we actually nailed in the studio. He was a phenomenal player oh, my goodness. It was the RKO [Proctors Theatre] in Newark, the Arcada Theater in Chicago, the Royal Theatre in Baltimore, and the Howard Theatre in D.C. Had they said, Were going to change the feel a bit, I would have been fine with that. It was interesting because Tom Fowler, our bass player, had broken his hand on tour. How was Frank as a bandleader? I was never going to be a full partner, but theres no denying it was a band. Its one of those What Will You Be letters. Even though [guitarist] Daryl [Stuermer] and I werent technically in [Genesis], we toured as the band. This means nothing at all, it's almost a tradition. Hes gone., Were the dates in Australia and other markets you didnt hit the first time? It was a lot. I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress . most great drummers won't ever do that, because they live for their drums. That was just rhythm section, [keyboardist] George Duke, [bassist] Tom Fowler. You could hear that it was something special. You guys have always done that. He told me that I sounded like crap and all that. He liked having a big band onstage, too. Rolling Stone suspended its policy on Genesis not being cool enough to report on for a long interview with Chester Thompson. Man, what a wacky period. The difference being I wasnt so much into the English drummers, like Keith Moon, and he was. And Id been doing it long enough at that point that I didnt have any expectations beyond knowing, Im here to do what he did [on the records]. When we played together, it was like he was the guy and Im there as the backup, to support him. The whole band took Tony's side (There's no Genesis without Tony) instead of compromising, giving more songs to Steve, It's ridiculous that Your Own Special Way was in W&W instead of Steve's superior material. And he put down some intense, complicated stuff. I interviewed Chester years ago for Percussive Notes, and he's a great guy, we actually spent an entire day together. What are your goals over the next few years? It was just different. [Laughs]. The first couple of years, I pretty much put it together. Nothing against Phil's son, I'm sure he's good, but why hasn't anyone said anything about Chester? Id always wanted to teach myself. Are there any salient quotes or paragraphs detailing why they fell out? That was their first tour in 10 years. What I don't like is MUZAK (Elevator music), and that's Phil's field. I don't think he's bnasty, seems a nice chap, but he said too many stupid things and then contradicted himself depending in the way the market went, He said Prog is crap when Prog was unpopular and harrased by Punk, Discoor New Wave, but when his boring pop became part of the past he changed and said he always was a proghead. Alphonso and I had a real swing thing between us, real 16th, triplet bass feel, which is really the core of the whole funk thing. Are you hoping to be back onstage soon? Phil is not one of those artists. No, I'm not a big fan of Collins, and no, I don't have any of his solo albums. None of the other members really knew how to communicate in a funny way with their audiences. The whole interview is a really good read. What happened when Jaco Pastorius came in on bass and Alphonso Johnson left? PHIL COLLINS on HIS DRUMMING PHILOSOPHY , DRUMMING STYLE & DRUMMING WITH CHESTER THOMPSON JOHN EDGINTON DOCUMENTARIES 23.2K subscribers Subscribe 2.3K 148K views 1 year ago NEW YORK PHIL. I found Richard Mc'Phaill here, at that point and due to the 1973 in memorian, I thought McPhaill was dead, later I found an interview by him (2001) and new he was alive and healthybutonlytoday found he made backing vocals in Genesis Revisited. Mike, Tony and Peter seem to be working very well together composing and its hard for Phil and Stevein the beginning to contribute. Avatar: Photo of Solar Eclipse, Mexico City, July 1991. I dont think that far ahead. not too many of them are composers, not too many of them become famous as soloists, not too many of them are very good lead singers. Former touring drummer Chester Thompson and Collins had a falling out and have not spoken in years. Behind a login thing. Not too many of them sing even backing vocals, not too many of them are composers, not too many of them become famous as soloists, not too many of them are very good lead singers. He was into a lot of the American jazz drummers. Its not as bad as its made to be , Havent exchanged cards since 2019 ?? The keyboard player, Brad Cole, lives in Nashville. George and Napoleon were from San Jose and were living in Hawaii when Frank offered them the audition. It is an impressing line up. I certainly never dreamed it would go on and on like it did. ", Chester Thompson on His Years With Genesis, Frank Zappa, and Weather Report, Watch Billy Joel Play Los Angelenos For First Time in 42 Years, U2 Announce Sphere Las Vegas Dates. The rhythm sections at several of the gigs had big bands. They limit the amount of times you can access their site. Id hang out with these guys and theyd play all sorts of crazy stuff Id never heard before. He was part of a band in Milwaukee that played a place that was the place to stop and jam when you were on tour. I think try get hold of the album. They really enjoy life and love to laugh. But with Phil, youre one of a cast of thousands. At the same time, it was a little weird investing that much time in something you were never going to be a part of. That must have been a very satisfying experience. But since I had been in his band and on the road so much, I hadnt had time to do any networking or meet many people in L.A. [Laughs] Umm I didnt really think it was going to be the end. I never liked the idea of re-recording old favourites but Im getting a little bit intrested now. Mick Fleetwood: owner of the band`s name, thier main founder, but not a composer in the band. We went back and forth. Roger Taylor: good singer, good composer, good drummer, but he has never had the same success as Collins with his solo albums. Unfortunately, they never really had to change drummers before. Im pretty excited about this project with them.
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