Ive said half-jokingly that with Frank, I learned how to play all the notes, all the subdivisions. Im pretty excited about this project with them. I was like, Man, Ive got to have some time with my family. Just trying to make the best use of the time. And Maurice too, actually. You couldnt be less than what you were supposed to be. Prog Rock is melodic and can be romantic, there's a difference between romantic and cheesy, most Phil Collins songs are cheesy. None of that. most great drummers won't ever do that, because they live for their drums. Feb 7, 2021 #34 . Hes gone., Were the dates in Australia and other markets you didnt hit the first time? 153K views, 2.9K likes, 787 loves, 221 comments, 2.6K shares, Facebook Watch Videos from Genesis Reunion 2020: Phil Collins and Chester Thompson Genesis The Last Domino Tour . 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. Those early prog-rock records? Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Chester Thompson took to the drums at an early age.James Harris, a family friend and jazz drummer, first introduced Chester to the drum kit at age 11, and by the time he was 13, Thompson was already doing club gigs in the greater Baltimore area. I had no idea. I got to play some really cool stuff. I guess they were never able to release it because Peter is pretty spontaneous and it drove the sound engineer crazy. So, youre a freelance drummer hoping to get re-upped for a gig with a guy who has hired you again and again over more than two decades, and you dont send a holiday card? I called Joe and was like, I just got this message from Wayne saying not to come to the studio. That was Ralph Humphrey on drums. Early life [ edit] And much less, a black American. Phil was not sure family-wise and he hasnt had the easiest of times there. 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!! Most of the drummers have musical studies, to make arrangements you need to read and write music, even if you don't make the arrangements, you need to read music in order to understand the new arrangements that bands do after every tour in old songs. I still remember that. He wasnt a fan of the music. Her daughter was this quiet little kid, but shes turned into this monster artist named Judith Hill. Phil wrote in his book that he had a major drinking problem in that time period. !-REACTION RisbyDaCreator 10K views 2. So I can understand he creates mixed emotions , the disappointment we all felt with the direction of music through the 80s but I think he has been turned intoa scapegoat for a much broader trend. After 1978, this must have felt like a long-term gig. What was he like? He canceled a tour and was honest about it. 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. I was there just a week and I actually ran across them in Sydney. 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. It pretty much broke me up. That was that. Phil and I, from the very first rehearsal when he sat down and we started jamming together, we just locked. I love the Tokyo Tapes show you did with Steve Hackett and all the prog guys in 1996. Thread starter Vistalite Black; Start date Feb 5, 2021; Prev. Just listen to Brand X andlive Genesis. And so the horns would make a mistake and hed turn around and look at me. It just turned out to be a one-off, but fortunately we recorded and videotaped it. Id always wanted to teach myself. It didnt frustrate me so much that I didnt do it. Im not 100 percent involved, but its really interesting, the stuff that happens here. Jeff Porcaro: a great drummer but not a main composer in Toto. In the book Tony says that Phil liked Yes and brought some of their playing ability to Genesis. Yeah. But not only did Thompson stick with Genesis all the way through their Turn It On Again reunion tour of 2007 Collins also brought him over to his solo career in 1981 and used him for nearly all of his tours between 1981 and 2010. He must have a contract for a hundred and one sappy stereotypical songs for Disney movies. He said they were going to be doing something totally different and they werent interested. This was the European stadium tour with Bob Dylan. Tom Fowler would stand onstage with a pointer and would point to the notes he was supposed to play. And to be honest, my whole career has been about playing different kinds of music. Unknown to me, he quit over the Christmas holidays. Well, after the first tour they were like, Were going to bring you in for the next album. Phil was all for it. So, he had to be at the front of the stage. Not at all. If you listen to the title track, there are two different drummers on two different days of recording. The Genesis so many of us like wouldnt have been without any of members. And initially, that was so families could travel. Hed recently wrapped up stints with Frank Zappa and Weather Report that lasted about two years each, and Genesis previous touring drummer, Bill Bruford, bailed after just four months on the road. Yeah. Chester Thompson sheds some light on relationship with Phil Collins. He would be onstage. I still thought it would just be a couple of tours. 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. The vocalist is the frontman, he/she has to move around face the audience, etc and a drummer is normally attached to his kit. No one also seems to mention how great of a drummer he was (I am not sure if he still is). Hes passed away now, but we were in about 10 or 12 bands together growing up. He was a virtuoso, no question, but most of his stuff was straight 16ths. but it was some kind of fight for the power and Tony won. 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. Man, what a wacky period. We played together a lot in L.A. between Genesis tours and stuff. You couldnt take yourself that seriously. Phil Collins had to hire Chester Thompson and Bill Bruford. The difference being I wasnt so much into the English drummers, like Keith Moon, and he was. I never went in under any pretense of thinking it was going to be anything other than what it was. Say It Right, Aug 16, 2018 #152 The_Windmill likes this. Unfortunately, it really took off, so I dont think it worked as a tax write-off. Oh, goodness. My first drum lessons were in jazz. Even Collins, Bruford (who only received a few musical lessons), Steve Howe, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, etc. I was thinking back to the clinic I saw in 84-85 at DRUMS in Crafton PA. That was every night. Several times. For lack of a better word, they are really, really British. I have mixed feelings about Phil Collins. Well, he was a little different from me. But after reading the (excellent) interview, I have to say I'm quite surprised at how Chester was treated by the guys through the years. There was a lady with the band I kind of had a crush on and we were very much in touch. They were all good friends to the point where they said, Lets do this. So the vibe was great. Oh, my goodness! When my mom showed me that letter I wrote in fourth grade where I had outlined I hadnt done everything in that letter, but so much of it had already happened it kind of blew me away. JavaScript is disabled. Id love to do my own tours. 1; 2; 3; . Well, yeah. It became my second instrument, but its still for my pleasure. Do you recall first hearing In the Air Tonight? I thought, That probably isnt a great idea. But it had gotten to the point where the front row at the L.A. Forum was all Hollywood celebrities as opposed to your fans. She scored one of Spike Lees movie. 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. Don Henley: another drummer who is lead singer, and main writter with guitarist Glen Frey, and he also sings ballads without being "hated" as Collins is. It had been years. I wish I could afford my son. Apparently he was a close friend of the band because in 1969 Genesis moved to cottage owned by Richard Macphail's parents to concentrate on writing. We played songs and that was that. Im grateful. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7_vNpVXubA, What happened from there? Everything wasnt that, but a lot of the tunes went that way. Not sure what's up there? [Laughs] That was fun. The guy had a great feel, but he wasnt a real reader. And then it got to be a little more honest. At one point, he toured with us. Pat Mastelotto: I don`t know about his status with King Crimson. According to my mother, even before I can remember, she mentioned getting a toy drum and me standing on the front steps and playing as people listened. Again, as humans, we adapt. We started playing the whole deal, the real stuff in the book. Do you talk to Daryl still? If you did your part, it was fun. Right. 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. As it turned out, I wound up doing a little, brief drum-clinic tour down there in Australia. This new thing Ive been working on with my friends in L.A., its [bassist] Pee Wee Hill and [keyboardist] Michiko Hill, his wife. And I think its a fantastic opportunity that his son gets to play with him because his son drummed backstage when he was five. I cant be gone that much at this point. Thats when Ricky [Lawson] wound up doing [the Phil solo tours of the mid-Nineties]. Tell me about recording One Size Fits All. What was the first music you remember hearing as a child that really struck you? Let me remember: Leee Kerslake. Its one of those What Will You Be letters. As a matter of fact, we had already been told what dates to hold for 2008. I grew up in the projects, so in the summer there would be people outside playing music. He made Frank laugh and a big part of those days was humor. "And so the horns would make a mistake and hed turn around and look at me! 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. It is an impressing line up. It was a rare thing where the lead singer of a band is also the drummer. Had they said, Were going to change the feel a bit, I would have been fine with that. The five of us lined up for a picture. On the We Cant Dance tour in 1992, did you sense that Phil wasnt going to continue with Genesis after it? I go down there and jam with the band. There was no getting around it. In my mind, these guys were almost hippies compared to what I was used to. (I am totally serious, the tamborine dance is amazing), Phil Colinskilled my friends younger brother, I saw him do it i swear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I knew it was in the works. Genesis' The Last Domino? I probably heard more Elvis than anything in the Fifties. I know people were caravanning from here to see it, but it was still a little too raw at that point. Chester Thompson: Schlagzeug; Leland Sklar: Bass; Brad Cole: Keyboards; Produktion. [1] Thompson has performed with his jazz group, the Chester Thompson Trio, since 2011. And then he added the drums and it was like, Forget about it. We were all in the car going to the first show in Japan. In between, were doing this project. A couple of the Drum Duets were released as singles in several places in South America and some countries in Europe, which is kind of cool. How has your Covid year gone? It was really disturbing because for the first two weeks. If you like it, get Tokyo Tapes, with live versions of various songs from this album, ITCOTCK and I Talk to the Wind by King Crimsonplus a semi acoustic version of Heat of the Moment and a lot of Hackett material. 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. I dont think that far ahead. But Phil being Phil, he detailed every single fill, every single detail of every single song. He told me that I sounded like crap and all that. None of the other members really knew how to communicate in a funny way with their audiences. Id hang out with these guys and theyd play all sorts of crazy stuff Id never heard before. He could really play. But you have read him saying that anything after Fragile is crap, and that was a literal quote. Fortunately, the bass player [Bob Babbitt] stepped in and started the tune. I was just thinking, What in the heck is going on here?, I imagine one day you guys will speak again. Hed mentioned that theyd been through a few drummers that year. He also has composed good music, not only elevator music, as you say. His disparaging remarks about prog was probably a case of being less than honest.Another point in his defense is that he was one of the later ones to "sell out". Too bad Vinnie couldn't make it. 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. I dont do gigs on it or anything. I could not follow a single conversation. We just did a short tour of Canada and that was that. Even though [guitarist] Daryl [Stuermer] and I werent technically in [Genesis], we toured as the band. It was something called Kung Fu. Unfortunately, it never got released. -Drummers who are lead singers "better should stay behind the drum kit and not to sing". But he just enjoyed being around us since we were so lively and fun. How did you wind up touring with Ben E. King in 1969? I think try get hold of the album. After a year with him, I spent some time in Boston with a keyboard player named Webster Lewis, who was phenomenal. The way my life has gone down, I cant say that I planned any of it. Exactly as described! I might. Her parents are now in her band. And hes that good at them both. Phil Collins on lead vocals. I have no memory of that whatsoever. Who were some of your drumming heroes as a teenager? In my opinion, everyone has to sell out a little bit to survive. Chester has a great attitude. Beans and Corn Bread was probably my favorite Louis Jordan tune. All three members of the trio Genesis played a part in the decision to simplifiy their sound, with Banks being the most in charge. It was a lot. Hes just turned into this monster musician. I think try get hold of the album. Well appreciated, keep up enjoying Phil Collins! He isn't the main cause of downfall for Genesis, so shut up about that. To be honest, the problem started with all the band specially because many people believe (I also do) that the relation between Tony and Steve wasn't good since he recorded Voyage (Tony was clear, no solo projects, and Steve didn't invited him but calling Mike and Phil), plus the fact that Tony was suposed to be the main songwritter, but Steve wanted to fight this position with him. Its just that on tour, Daryl and I both would sometimes get dragged to a media thing. [Laughs] If I could have him, Id be touring with him right now. I cant scroll fast enough to the good parts! I never liked the idea of re-recording old favourites but Im getting a little bit intrested now. A Godly man a class act. I felt like I needed to work on my playing. His work ethic was just phenomenal. Youve played Take Me Home hundreds of times. It scared the pants off me. When Phil called, the first thing he said was, Theres no audition. That was my first real, name person I worked with. I could track one guy, kind of, but then somebody else would jump in. I was playing with adults. During that same conversation, I said to him, As a matter of fact, I need to take a break from doing both. Billy Cobham: a very good drummer who shimnes mostly as soloist. I dont know how to describe it, but it was based on holograph technology. I started thinking, Now what did I do? And so I kind of froze. But the opening fill, all of that, is me. Roger Taylor: good singer, good composer, good drummer, but he has never had the same success as Collins with his solo albums. George shared with me that [violinist] Jean-Luc [Ponty] didnt enjoy it so much because he couldnt stand being silly. This was so clear that inSeconfsOutduring the mixture they recorded guitar parts withan incredibly low volume. The vibe just changed. At the very beginning, did they make it clear that youd be playing on the tours but not the albums, because Phil does all his own drumming? Look At The Sussudio LP Cover. Among other things, in one interview Bruford said: "In YES, the most important members are the singer, the bassist and guitarists like Rabin and Howe. Not at all. 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. But he still had that American stuff; it was a big part of his background, and we just hit it off immediately. Ive got a studio here. A little bit later he goes, Man, I think I broke my finger. We all went, Come on. I think some of that might have something to do with it. 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. Im constantly writing, constantly trying new stuff. What did you study? Id always be checking out the rhythm section because some of them brought their own rhythm section. Affiliate programs and Who did you see after that? During this time, the drummer somehow also found time to tour with Santana and the Bee Gees and maintain a solo career. I wasnt enough of a diplomat to just say, Oh, everything is wonderful. The Genesis stuff was more musically challenging and interesting to me. I mean to be keep in the background in their importance in the bands. You were still able to pack stadiums. The guy's a pro, and he plays his ass off. What I don't like is MUZAK (Elevator music), and that's Phil's field. Im just really enjoying life. Oh, my goodness. I just love the adventure of life. Its going very well. He put everything into it. It was a fun tour. I dont know when he slept. It was a huge deal. So I continue quite off topic!Actually I havent heard Hacketts Genesis revisited - is it good? note: They chose instead to record with drummers Nir Zidkyahu and Nick DVirgilio. We were out there hitting it together and theres something about that. But I had let him know on the last Genesis tour that I was going to take a break from doing his tours since I thought he was going to keep doing the same every-year-in-between thing. What a nice man, Don Van Vliet. Did you work remotely? What happened with the Calling All Stations period with Genesis? He was pretty disappointed. [Laughs] But Ive really been enjoying my life. I was asked by Genesis's manager if I would go and photograph the band at a secret location in Surrey (which may have been Mike Rutherford's studio) and take some pictures while they rehearsed ahead of the Knebworth show in 1978. The only person I didnt see was probably Otis Redding. We learned how to deal with it. The drum instructor left and Id gotten to know the head of the department. We went up to New York to record. It lets me read for about 90 seconds before it yanks the article. I recall someone asking Chester if he could swing with his snare tilted so steeply. this can result in this site earning a commission. But I did wind up coming back in 1999. [Laughs] He figured it out pretty quickly. Basically, Alphonso left during the Christmas break [of 1975]. It was just there. Im sure if you spent time with him one-on-one it would be different. . Ive done a couple of jazz trio albums that I really enjoyed. Well, immediately after McDuff, I spent about six months in Boston. There was quite a bit of Louis Jordan. I am a huge Genesis fan, but am only in high school so I never experienced Genesis when they were popular. The other guy called himself Sonship, Woody Theus. And then I ended up doing Phils Motown thing and that didnt go well. No. When the audition came, I was absolutely up for it. No. I think he got a little annoyed since I had done an interview and they asked which I enjoyed [Genesis or Collins solo] more. And so, we had met and played together on a few occasions. If Phil made a compilation of 70's albums I wouldn't think he's running out of money (In first place nobody will acept to do a Prog Genesis album with him), I would think hre wants MORE money, and he's trying to recapture Prog' fanbase. Every night after the show wed hang out. And he put down some intense, complicated stuff. Rolling Stone is a part of Penske Media Corporation. He figured it out pretty quickly. I just basically kept my mouth shut and my eyes open. So I am a huge fan of the bearded Collins in the 70's, especially that dance he did with the tamborine when they performed I Know What I Like live. He was smelling the money. By the time I was eight or so, maybe a little older, you started hearing some Motown. Maybe once in a lifetime. An adult who lived in the projects where I grew up was named ODonel Levy. By then, I had heard a lot of the prog-rock stuff and was very interested to play with those guys. 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. That is the reason he left the drums to Chester and Bruford. 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. First, a great interview. How much did you know about his music before the audition? . I checked with the manager. It was kind of like asking your buddy to come cover your band because suddenly youre doing something different. Let me remember: Leee Kerslake. I just knew that he was a radically different person than Id ever known. Had they brought me, they would have had to pay another musician just to sit there. It didnt surprise me. We had a theater like the Apollo. Theres a great jazz community, too. I read it and just wept because most of it had happened by that point. Rolling Stone suspended its policy on Genesis not being cool enough to report on for a long interview with Chester Thompson. 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. Turns out it was purely a union thing. most great drummers won't ever do that, because they live for their drums. I don't think he was ever going to be on board with expanding it to additional legs. It took me a while to get over it, but I really wish him well. A lot of well-known names. And so we were doing Salt Peanuts at like 200 miles an hour. We had a bunch of 78s. And he just totally shot down the idea of doing anything. Discover what he did to anger Thompson so much they haven't exchanged holiday cards since 2019. That was my introduction to that. Bill Graham and I could just never agree on the money. We laughed a lot. It was non-stop laughing every day. Phil and I, from the very first rehearsal when he sat down and we started jamming together, we just locked, he said. Ive still got pretty mixed feelings about it. Phil double-tracked all the drum parts. It turned out he was Ben E. Kings musical director. and (apart fromthe bluesalbum)he hasstayed on the same ground, progrelated and close to classical guitarmusic. The news that he left didnt come out until 1996 or so. The manager of Chicago [Jim Guercio] supposedly bought it as a tax write-off. Carmine Appice, Cozy Powell: composers as soloists, mainly. However he did turn Genesis into a pop group and laughed all the way to the bank. 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. yet (see the forest thru the trees) don't miss the interesting and insightful drum life Chester has led. At the same time, it was a little weird investing that much time in something you were never going to be a part of. 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. Man, I still love to play. And theyd never had an American in their ranks. Even though he played with Brand X, he was not comfortable with soloing. How was that? He would have subdivisions within a bar. We go way back. Do you think if Genesis come to America, youd want to go see the show? 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. But if youre a music-ed student, you need to learn a different instrument group every semester. Phil Collins (onion head) <-nickname), is a great drummer and that is where i believed he should have stayed. I was playing in the San Francisco production of The Wiz back then. Wed do eight-hour rehearsals. So many songs, so many albums, so many concerts. Im just not going to do that.. And goodness, the emails I get! I think the first song that really stuck in my head was On the Sunny Side of the Street. I have no idea whose version it was. So they took some time off. Thiswent further,Steve wasn't even invited to the 1982 reunion in Milton Keynes (Only played the encores, because he was in audience). I didnt know, but he did step back for quite a while. I dont think hes holding a grudge. We had this other guy jump in. Its not as bad as its made to be , Havent exchanged cards since 2019 ?? Oh, yeah. His marriage was falling apart. Thats where I started. In the meantime, hed gotten a solo record deal. [Laughs] There was no way I could learn it by the next day. I had gone back to Baltimore. After 20 years, it was enough. According to what Chester said in an interview, he had offered his services as a drummer, but Mike and Tony were looking to make a fresh start and looked for different musicians to play with the band. I kind of fell in love with the flute. 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). Phil Collins says he lost his ability to drum during 2007's Genesis reunion tour. So Phil did pop some good , some average and some contrived but all big selling. You guys did a drum duet at that first Genesis show in 1977 and it never left the set list after that. Drummers and keyboard players don`t have the same status as them". They felt that was pretty interesting, but it was the only way we got through it. ), Forum Policies, Rules, and Terms of Service. Their manager was someone I knew from L.A. We had worked on a couple of things together. I cant do that.. Phil Collins had to hire Chester Thompson and Bill Bruford. When Phil said that his 2004 tour was going to be his last one, did you believe him?

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