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Knowing when to stop.
Posted by Bill: Monday 9th February 2009
I must begin with heartfelt thanks to everyone for the many messages on the Forum, MySpace, blogs etc. offering thanks, congratulations, protestations, invitations to dinner, sound-engineering services and sundry pearls of wisdom. I haven’t been this popular since I left Yes! To those I know – Russell, Cameron, Dan K., Paul, - and those I feel I know - H. Potts, Mario C, James Donegan, Bill Kraemer, Joao Froes – and to everyone I don’t know, so many thanks for your support over so many years.
As D.W.Harding wrote in 1963 in ‘Experience in Words’, “The important thing is not what the author, or any artist, had in mind to begin with but at what point he decided to stop.” Too true, be it at the level of the phrase, the solo, when to leave a project or band, or an entire career. I was never one for the three-hour show, either. Always leave an audience wanting more, I reckon.
Everyone goes about this music-making thing in their own way and at their own speed to greater or lesser effect, often attenuated by outside forces beyond their control. Some make a little talent go nowhere, some make a modest talent go a long way, some make a huge talent go nowhere, and some make a huge talent go everywhere.
I’m in the modest-talent-long-way department. With the help of many others I’ve been fortunate enough to go further than I probably had a right to go, but there it is. The best bits were usually where I dived in where others may have feared to tread (electronic drums with acoustic bass, anyone?), believing, as I always have, that it’s about the broader imperfect gesture rather than a smaller perfection.
Having just written some 120,000 words on what makes me tick, I think we can safely put that subject to bed, and I have only to thank again all those of you who have patiently followed, and bought tickets, CDs, T shirts or written to the Forum.. Right now it hurts too much to go and hear great live music; it’ll take a little time before I can enjoy the work of others without immediately wanting to join in or leave the building.
***
When I was growing up, it was assumed that if you wanted young people - usually a son, daughter or student - to excel academically, athletically, or artistically, they could safely cruise along trying options till they till hit puberty or early teenage years, when they might be expected to make a reasonably informed decision between, say, swimming or diving, drums or guitar, science or maths. They’d probably tried and declined options, and were aware of the what they were letting themselves in for when they chose to specialise.
In that relaxed spirit, I was about 12 before I first noticed drummers on TV, and started to noodle with a pair of drumsticks. I practised all the way through school, picking up rudimentary techniques by ear, but it wasn’t until I was 18 that I even considered giving this drumming thing a go professionally. I may be the last of a generation of players who picked it up by ear as we went along.
This leisurely sort of beginning contrasts sharply with the hot-housed kids of today. The mantra goes that if they’re going to be a player at anything – especially athletic or musical - gotta start ‘em young. Some academic came up with the notion of ‘10,000 hours’, which says that if you don’t put those hours in, you won’t stand a chance of making the first grade, but conversely, if you do, you will. It’s almost all in the application – the more you practise, the better you get. Any human does. As we approach the Olympics, pre-pubescent gymnasts and baby-faced swimmers are hard at work before dawn, putting in those hours at the pool or gym, for the greater glory, usually, of the parents.
Si it seems that if you want to be good on drums now, kiss goodbye to hanging out at the bus stop waiting for the babes to walk by, because you’ll be practising, practising, practising. Your entire adolescence and then some will see you strapped to a practise pad, but if you put in the hours, you will get there. I kind of liked the older ways, with the bus stop, but I guess they’re gone forever.
Drum Clinic, Kitchener, ONT, Canada. May 2007. It's a bit like an operating theatre up there..
Quick Picks:
Ulli Spiegel - 1/11/2009 10:00:05 AM
Hi Bill: First of all I want to tell that we timed the birth of our third son on May 17th, although he is a bit younger than you and has started to play the trombone.
Having played with the Buddy Rich Big Band wouldn't you like to go further into the realms of big bands (as already done with the Earthworks Underground orchestra)? In Germany, we have have several great big bands like the NDR BB, the HR BB and especially the WDR Bigband that played with great jazz and rock artists like the Brecker Bros, Joe Zawinul, Billy Cobham, jack Bruce, Bill Frisell.
Don't you think that it could be a nice birthday celebration to play with some of these (or any other) big bands?
Greetings
Ulli
Ulli, I’m well aware of the great German big bands and am really enjoying Brown Street, with the music of Zawinul, and the incredible Nat Townsley on drums. I think BB drumming is one of the most exciting challenges for a player, but to be honest, my reading wasn’t up to it. By now you’ll have noticed I have retired from this, so no need for me to worry about it now!
Jay Kuhn - 1/11/2009 6:50:13 PM
I really enjoyed (as i enjoy your blog) reading about your experiences getting to gigs. In my younger days I was a drummer
(ok, not "percussionist" :) I thought only idiots at the bottom
like me would have experiences like you had getting to and from gigs and how disorganized it was at the time. :) When i was playing wedding bands, i was really into your era of KC and being in Michigan, i read all i could in melody maker or anywhere else. I thought once you were "famous" and had records out, you were "set", Robert fripps Great Deceiver notes ect. quickly cured me of that and your stories (even recording the buddy rich one) are like what i would think unknowns would have to do for jobs...never a name person. I think you really have to be born to it. I record stuff for myself and friends and i am quite happy to do that. The sad thing is from all i have gathered you, KC didnt even get paid for gigs, even big ones. In my crappy little wedding band some nights we made up to $250 (this was in 1977-1980) and we were horrible. That totally isn't fair. And rehersals? who cares, follow the music as best you can. :)
As Yes got bigger, i can remember reading articles interviewing Steve Howe about taking commercial flights to gigs ect. Now i realize that wasnt handed to the band. the flights came out of their money. Didn't they have a chartered Yes jet at some point? cha-ching.
Ah the horrible truth behind our teen-age fantasies about becoming rock stars!!!!! Heck, Hendrix had 21k in the bank when he died, it didnt get better as he got more famous. Now there are exceptions...like The kingson trio or the ventures :). I think the secret was really matching outfits.
again, thanks for all your hard work. Ok this year join a huge famous arena band and rake in the dough this year! :) Maybe have dancers like Madonna and Brittany do...maybe back them up on a tour, but insist they add "Five percent for nothing" to the show. I don't know how royalties work out on a live performance though. you might just get five percent of nothing! I am sure they would comply.
Jay
Jay: There’s a big gap, psychological and financia,l between being a rock star and the more humble pursuit of excellence in music. A bit like sex and love – they may be related, but not necessarily. Never wise to muddle them up! Quick correction – King Crimson got paid handsomely for concerts. They just cost a lot to put on, that’s all.
Rory McGregor - 1/13/2009 1:50:25 PM
Hi Bill, There are many jibs in drumming, and I probably admire the cut of yours the most, so I've come to you for a bit of advice if you're happy to give it.
I'm a bass player and the drummer in my group, bless him, has developed a bit of a tendency for dropping/throwing sticks. He's done four drops in three gigs (1/2 hour sets) and actually, when I think about it, the gigs where he hasn't dropped are vastly outweighed by the gigs where he has.
This may sound bizarre, but how often have you ever dropped sticks at gigs? Is there anything that can be done? I worked with one guy a long time ago who wore special gloves but I suspect that concept would breach my present sparring partner's sense of aesthetics!
Is it me? Am I being too hard on the fella? Should I retreat behind my amp and let him get on with what is frankly a fairly sweaty activity at the best of times?
Any thoughts would be much appreciated,
Rory.
Rory: You’re not being unreasonable at all. I presume his dropping the sticks causes an audible glitch in the smooth flow of the music, and it sounds like these glitches are coming fast and often. His grip is wrong, and may need adjusting. If he doesn’t acknowledge there is a problem, you need a new guy. If he acknowledges the problem, he should be adjusting his grip, and desisting from playing the kind of things that are going to cause him to drop a stick, until he feels more capable and confident. It’s not gloves or sweat, it’s confidence in his technique and grip. Point him to a good local teacher to get it fixed.
Steven W. Brown - 1/18/2009 5:50:55 AM
Bill, There for a bit, Roy Harper's band, Trigger, included you and Chris Spedding. Chris has long been a favorite of mine - especially with Nucleus, Jack Bruce, Pete Brown, and others. How was that experience, both recording & playing live?
Steven.
Steven: Long time back, is how it was. It was quite a change from the progressive thing – Roy’s muisc needed calm steady support rather than too many fireworks – playing for the song, totally – and it was the first time I’d had material on the one hand so simple, but that demanded exactly the right thing. Steve Gadd would have known what to do – as usual, I muddled through. Roy is a National Living Treasure.
Bill Kraemer - 1/26/2009 9:31:14 AM
Bill, I read the announcement of your retirement from public performance. Although I find it disappointing because I'll not get to hear new recorded live performances, 41 years on the road is a long run.
And although you've retired from the road, are you still going to produce studio recordings? I'd hate to see your output dry-up.
Thanks for all the music you've given us.
Bill
Bill, thank you for your long-term suppor, through fair weather and foul! I recorded an album last year which will be out on Summerfold in the summer: “String and Wire: PianoCircus featuring Bill Bruford plays the music of Colin Riley” In which a composer supervises a jazz drummer who used to be a rock drummer playing with a group of classical pianists best known for performing systems music.
Andy Corbie - 2/6/2009 9:55:30 AM
Hey Bill, Thanks so much for allowing the solo from the Frankfurt '87 gig to be posted. I always wanted to see the "...Mercury" group live. Maybe some other bits of the show might emerge in some form or other, who knows?
Hearing the MIDI-Simmons stuff really took me back. It's the sound of my carefree mid-20s!
Thanks for all those groovy noises and all those hot Earthworks dates in all those close, sweaty little theatres and clubs. Was it always a languid summer night when Earthworks played or is it just the mechanics of nostalgia at work, I wonder?
Andy: it was always a languid summer night, of course!
Andy Corbie - 2/7/2009 7:56:09 AM
Hello again, Hmmm... I'm still fixating on the Frankfurt footage. Aside from one or two bits on Torn's "Door X", the short lived Bruford/Karn rhythm section really isn't well documented.
If memory serves (and it often doesn't) Karn was originally slated to appear on the "Cloud..." studio sessions. What happened, I wonder, and what recollections do you have of working with this interestingly slippery sounding bassist?
Andy: It's a stretch to remember this. My recollection is that Tony was always the guy in the band – we rehearsed in Woodstock NY and then cut the album in London – but then dates got tangled up with Tony’s other commitment to Peter Gabriel. There was always a lot of waiting around, particularly in K.C., for Peter to make up his mind when he was touring, so we could work around him and get T.Lev. Meanwhile Torn came up with the great idea of Mick ‘slippery’ Karn.
Andrew - 2/8/2009 12:15:18 AM
So you have finally reached your 60th year and decided to 'retire'. Good on you. I will be 53 this year and still remember seeing you play with YES at the Hemel Hempstead Pavillion, about 1970 - launching 'Not Fragile' I think Rick Wakeman had just joined the Band as he was making it up as he went along!
Saw you last at Southampton Uni last year playing the improvised music with pianist Borstlap. Really appreciated meeting you afterwards and signing the CD's. it was a great evening.
Read the first chapter of the book so need to order it.
Do you think it's too late for me to start learning to play drums again at 52!?
Thanks for all you have contributed to music through my years of listening you always had that special ability to 'Add Colour' like no other.
Very best wishes to you Bill and to your family
Andrew, Broxbourne, Herts
Andrew: Never too late for anything. I’ll keep practising drums if for no other reason than it’s extremely good for the brain.
Sean Brady - 2/8/2009 11:53:38 PM
Dear Mr. Bruford, Excuse me, but: "Retiring from public performance"??!!
Bloody Hell! I go off on holidays for a couple of weeks and this is what the world is coming to!!
Pardon my cynicism, but this wouldn't just be your publisher's idea of a newsworthy jaw-dropper of an announcement to make what with the book about to be launched and everything, thus generating interest, debate and... sales... perchance?
I mean, I'll be buying it but I know publishers are fond of such public manipulation for the cause. Or am I wrong?
Sean: This has nothing to do with the publisher. I’ve been thinking of retiring for some time. Everyone’s going to ask why, so I thought I’d write a book that gives the answers, among a lot of other things. What I do and say and play is not, and never has been, a matter of manipulating anybody.
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