tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587725.post7019810318277072070..comments2024-03-28T13:45:40.907-07:00Comments on Cruise Ship Drummer!: Paul Motian documentaryTodd Bishophttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06814005635510193577noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587725.post-57357236316745074532023-05-26T10:33:43.786-07:002023-05-26T10:33:43.786-07:00That's awesome! That should be going on your b...That's awesome! That should be going on your blog, man! <br /><br />That movie made me feel it kind of acutely that I'm not playing enough these days. I guess that's normal now, but gee whiz, I need to do more. <br /><br />Reminds me of Ethan Iverson's story, Charlie Haden telling him “You were listening to Paul Motian? Never listen to Paul Motian!”Todd Bishophttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17481104613152814648noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7587725.post-42687716087210156522023-05-25T21:24:27.543-07:002023-05-25T21:24:27.543-07:00Swallow's comment is hilarious.
Motian once p...Swallow's comment is hilarious. <br />Motian once played on my set, including my cymbals, in the early '90s when we played together one night at a festival. <br />After the show, Swallow thanked me because Paul had sounded so good, making it the best show of the tour. <br />Apparently he didn't just pick up a stick and hit something, but also didn't pay much attention to the tuning of the rental drums and carelessly grabbed some rental cymbals. <br />Not that Mr. Swallow couldn't describe exactly what drummers do. <br />Here is what he said about Pete LaRoca: <br />“The sticks Pete used were Pro-Mark Pee Wees. They had plastic tips, which made the attack of his cymbal sound very specific. Before Pete, I never tuned into a drummer’s right hand as clearly. His right hand was insistent. It had a beautiful, graceful motion. He played way back at the end of the stick and there was a wide arc to his stroke. I was getting lessons, visually as well as aurally, watching that wrist and long stick floating through the air and hitting that cymbal. <br />“The rest of his drums were tuned very musically and in the low-mid register: resonant and singing, with an 18-inch bass drum and a certain beater to give a very specific attack. He had such a beautiful groove. Pete said that he was playing as on top of the beat as reasonable, but I did not hear it that way. To my ears he was putting it in the perfect place, neither on top nor below, exactly where I wanted. When we put our quarter notes together it was a marriage made in heaven."<br />Makes me wonder which drummer he preferred himself to play with.....Michael Grienerhttp://www.michaelgriener.denoreply@blogger.com