Ian Paice Drum Clinic. Tuesday 13th January

This was more of an audience with Ian Paice, than a clinic, as he wasn't out to teach people anything, more to have a good time.

The tone for the entire evening was set before Ian had even finished saying hello, as some wag in the audience shouted out

Hey Ian...when did you grow the belly!!

Paice: This cost a fortune, boy. And I had to try different beers around the world to make it work as well!

And it was pretty much downhill from there!

He played a little bit, than answered questions from the audience, which covered anything from the state of DP past and present, to what kind of drums to use to technique.

The club was pretty much full, with about 500 people attending. Before Ian came on stage, and during the break when he signed stuff for people, the audience was enterained by the video of Heavy Metal Pioneers, Scandinavian Nights and Doining Their Thing, along with stuff taken from Singles As and Bs.

I was actually surprised at the number of young people at the show, and I not just talking 16 year olds. There were a couple of dozen kids there (at least) who must have been under 12. And they seemed to have dragged their parents along rather than vice versa. With that, and the fact the number of _|_ and LATO covers Ian was given to sign, we can maybe hope for a rosey future of DP afterall ;-)

As I said, questions varied a bit.

What size are your drums?

Ian: Well, this one's quite big...
(before going on to answer the question properly)

Most people reading this will be more interested in the DP stuff, so I'll stick mainly to that.

When asked about Blackmore, Ian said one of the best things TMIB ever did for the band was leave, but stressed he meant that in the nicest way ;-) He told stories on how the other 4 members would be jamming together, and Ritchie would come along, plug into his amp, and play WAA WAA WAA WAA, as load as he could until the band stopped what they were doing and did what he wanted.

He also said it was their own fault for letting him get away with it so long. He also happily acknowledged Ritchie importance to the band in the past, but wished the world at large would take more notice of the band's secret weapon - Jon Lord!!

On other past members and musicians he had this to say...

Hughes: Good when he played the lower notes, but had a tendancey to play too far up the neck.

Coverdale: Great on stage, but wanted to live the Rock'n'Roll lifestyle 24 hours a day.

Bolin: He said Tommy was this great doppy guy, who just couldn't get things to work on stage with the band. He told a story of how Tommy flew from LA to Munich, and with 9 hours of jetlag, went straight out to a nightclub. The rest of teh band were still at work in the studio at 2am, when Tommy came back with a couple of girls. Tommy spied some sleeping pills that someone had supplied to band, and takes five of them, then asked what they did...he seemed a bit upset when they told him, and the promptly fell asleep for two days.

Gary Moore; A bit of a perfectionist, and like to over rehearse

Neil Murray; A great guy and a good bass player, who, like RG, could play exactly what was required, when it was required.

Other stuff....

Who got the most women on tour?
Ian: Well, drummers have the rythmn and the stamina...

How do you keep a band togther?
Ian: Don't have a guitarist, or if you do, get a very timid one... Don't have a vocalist either!

Ian played three demo pieces. Two just a couple of minutes long, and one nearly ten minutes long. He also played the intro's to Fireball and Pictures of Home, stopping just when youn expect Messers Lord, Morse and Glover to jump in!

He praised Buddy Rich, and said he didn't really listen to many current drummers, as they all sound the same. He claimed a lot try to run before they can walk, and don't realise a drummer's main job is to get people's feet tapping and make the rest of the band sound great.

He was on stage for about 90 minutes, with another half hour or so spent signing stuff in the middle. He also hung around after to finish the job as well. Also, a new Pearl Snare drum was given away in a prize-draw.

All in all, a great night.

Cheers,
Doug MacBeath

[ reviews | the highway star ]