by smax on 05 Feb 2011 22:06
"What about Bill Bruford from King Crimson?
I did a concert with him and we had a drum-off. He had a show and I had a show and someone had the bright idea of getting us both on stage. The problem was that his musical persona is very delicate. On drums, that's not me. For me, playing drums is a very hairy-ass, silverback, male-dominance, noise-making experience. He had to play louder than he ever had in his life and I had to play quieter. When I sit at the drum set and start playing, it's all primal."
which reminds me, i've lost my boot of the rhythm sticks festival, anyone know where i can find one?
"Bruford / Copeland
Royal Festival Hall, London
After voyaging through the distant galaxies of art-rock with Yes, King Crimson, Gong and others, Bill Bruford has now been performing with his band Earthworks for 15 years. With this much mileage under their wheels, the quartet have developed a fast and fluent rapport, nonchalantly passing the ball around while negotiating any manner of devious time signatures. It almost seems invidious to bill them as part of the Rhythm Sticks festival, since this is very much a band rather than a drummer with sidemen. Still, Bruford must be a joy to play with, always pushing forward and asking questions while never allowing his pin-sharp articulation to slacken, and keeping time as punctiliously as an atomic clock.
In contrast to the lean economy of Bruford's men, Stewart Copeland packed the stage not only with his own enormous drumkit, which hogged the right-hand portion like an Egyptian catafalque, but also with the strings and brass of the Matrix Ensemble and the percussive arsenal of Ensemble Bash. While his ex-bandmate Sting goes around concocting upholstered fuzak and saving Africa, Copeland has converted himself into an award-winning soundtrack composer and "rhythmatist".
Like his music, Copeland is noisy and extrovert, and the performance was a barrage of sun-drenched musical colours and thundering rhythms. Grace, named after one of his daughters, blasted along like Charles Mingus with the difficult bits taken out. Equaliser, from the TV series, featured galloping brass fanfares and a smidgen of string quartet. A hoot.
· Bill Bruford and Stewart Copeland play the Dome, Brighton (01273 709709), tonight, then tour. "
<---A photo of me with Stewart pointing at a photo of Stewart pointing at me.