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 Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Bill Bruford: A conversation
Posted by peter

biog1.jpgBill Bruford is still learning. To those who consider him a god in the field of drumming and percussion, and one of the most innovative musicians in a genre — progressive rock — known for pushing the envelope, hearing that might come as a surprise.

Then again, if you know musicians, rarely do you find one who takes his craft seriously that thinks they know everything.

Recently, Bruford (photo at right by Paul Pugliese), who made a name for himself with Yes and then spent 25 years — not consecutively — with King Crimson, talked with me about his 40 years in music for a Q&A that will appear in the June 20 issue of Goldmine. A good portion of that interview did not fit in the print issue, so I thought you all might like to read a bit more of it. And if you're good, I'll let you read a little of the extra stuff in more upcoming blogs.

So, for a preview of what's coming in the print version of Goldmine, I offer you this, a sampling of quotes from Bruford about his time with Yes, his Earthworks project and how he developed his unique drumming style.

Regarding Yes, he was asked about fitting in with such a stellar cast of musicians, and rightly, he pointed out that in the beginning, Yes' musicianship (outside of bassist Chris Squire) wasn't so stellar.

"What stellar cast of musicians?" asked Bruford. "Jon couldn't play anything, and that left Chris. A guitarist called Clive Bailey wasn't going to set the world on fire. We didn't really get going 'til Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman signed on a couple of years in. I didn't ask what anybody wanted from the drummer, and there was no blueprint. We were all just making this up as we went along, an admirable 'modus operandi' which we could use a whole lot more of today. I'm all for fewer instruction books."

Being the self-taught genius he is, Bruford never had any use for textbooks.

"I'm a self-taught drummer," says Bruford, "and, along with perhaps (Phil) Collins, (Stewart) Copeland, and the guy from the Chili Peppers (Chad Smith), perhaps the last of a do-it-yourself breed. We made it up from the stuff we heard on our record players and found lying in the street. I cobbled together a mish-mash of attitudes from Joe Morello (odd-meters), Art Blakey (sound, forward drive), Max Roach (effortless command, no wasted notes, cool as a cucumber, maximum of restraint, minimum of fuss), and some Ginger Baker, and brought that to the table. Seemed to go down OK. Now, drumming is pretty sophisticated, and it may well be best to have a good teacher make sure at least that you're not going about things the wrong way. The danger with my method was of falling into terrible habits on the set that would inhibit me further down the line. To this day, I have the classic amateur's technique — I know some fancy stuff, but I also have a lot of holes in my basic knowledge."

To learn more about what Bruford is up to these days, visit www.billbruford.com. Stay tuned to www.goldminemag.com for a podcast interview with Bruford and a review of the Bruford DVD "Rock Goes To College."




5/21/2008 5:35:39 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)  #  Comments [4]
5/22/2008 6:03:57 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
Nice to read :) However, I feel that to say 'then spent 25 years — not consecutively — with King Crimson' is slightly inaccurate.. Surely he spent 9 years (3 shots of 3 years [Three of a Perfect Pair?]) over a 25 year period reflects what actually happened; rather than, maybe, 8 years here, 10 years there and another 7 years for good measure...

:shrug:

Being a self taught drummer myself, I have a huge sympathy with Bill's viewpoint, perhaps largely since he's been a big influence on my playing (both from record player and street). I teach, as well as play, though I often feel that my lack of text-book technique means that I might be passing on my bad habits - but the pupils don't seem to mind!
A curiosity of teaching drums (or maybe any other instrument) is that, really, you can't 'teach' a pupil anything: all you can do is enthuse and communicate your love and passion for the medium. You show them a signpost, then 'hope' that they get to the destination - but don't be precious about whether they take your directions or not!

I look forward to the podcast :)

DSP
5/22/2008 3:13:08 PM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
Yeah, you're right. I probably should have clarified that about his years in King Crimson and been a little more clear. But it was a fascinating interview. I talked to him by e-mail and over the phone, and he was really open and witty and really delved into how he viewed percussion and his role in bands like Yes and King Crimson. I think anybody who's into drumming or just progressive rock in general will find him interesting. Thanks for reading Duncan.
5/23/2008 4:06:03 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
"I think anybody who's into drumming or just progressive rock in general will find him interesting"
Absolutely agree. He's recently been writing his 'memoirs', and posted some of it up on his blog. Fascinating, well written, insightful. You can here his voice (that cross between Roger Moore and Tom Baker) in the writing. I think it will be essential reading for anyone interested in the music business, not just drums and prog. Get that man a publisher!

DSP
5/23/2008 9:54:50 AM (Eastern Daylight Time, UTC-04:00)
Yeah, he's clearly one of more intelligent musicians I've ever interviewed. I felt like a mental midget talking to him, but he was extremely gracious and didn't pull any punches about how difficult different recording experiences were.
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