Rhythm Interview
Spring 2000
Always one of Brit-drumming's most individualistic talents, Gary Husband is
also an accomplished pianist and composer.
"My objective," he tells Rhythm, "is to make people think they've been struck by a bolt of
lightning."
Words: Cliff Douse Photography: James Cumpsty
What do Level 42 and fusion hero Allan Holdsworth have in common? Gary
Husband's played with both of 'em - that's what! And, in addition to gracing
their recordings with his superlative drumming, he's also contributed a number
of his own compositions to their albums.
Gary's been a highly-respected
topflight drummer for more than 20 years. During this time he's played with
artists such as Jack Bruce, Billy Cobham, the Pet Shop Boys, Eddie Van Halen,
Zakir Hussain, and a whole load of others. He's been featured on no less than
30 albums, including a couple of his own. He's even got an instructional drum
video out - Interplay and Improvisation (Rittor Music) - featuring jams with
the likes of Gary Moore, Mark King and Brit guitarist extraordinaire Steve
Topping. Last year he completed work on Time, a fascinating jungle-meets-jazz
project by renowned trumpeter Iwan Van Hetton.
But that's not all. Gary is also an accomplished keyboard player and is a
composer in his own right. His first album, Diary of a Plastic Box (FMR
Records) is a selection of solo compositions recorded while on tour with
several bands during the '80s and early '90s. And he now leads a jazz trio,
The
New Gary Husband Trio, featuring himself on piano, Mick Hutton on bass and
Gene
Calderazzo on drums. Their new album, From The Heart (Jazizit Records), is a
blend of original tunes penned by Gary, along with a selection of jazz
standards ranging from Dave Brubeck to Cole Porter.
Rhythm: You're a drummer and yet you're not playing drums in your own band.
What's it like working with someone else playing the drums in The New Gary
Husband Trio?
Gary Husband: "I'm not really very conscious of it, but then I don't see
myself
only as a drummer - just as a musician. I've never known what it's like to
only
play just one instrument. And, to tell the truth, Gene is a great drummer who
knows his stuff and his style is very different to mine, so I'm just happy to
let him do his thing."
So which came first, the piano or the drums?
"I studied classical technique and theory on piano first but I'd started
messing around with drums by the time I was ten. In a lot of ways the drums
represented a rebellion against the more formal classical angst which I
realised early on wouldn't ever manifest in terms of me being a concert
pianist. Drums were a way to come back and re-evaluate everything. I was
inspired by the amount of power you were capable of creating with a drum kit -
in terms of dynamics, energy and emotion. I still am."
Who were your first drum influences and what were the first bands you played
in?
I first got into the drums when my dad was working with the Northern Dance
Orchestra. Bob, the drummer, was great with a big band, and I was getting into
all drummers because I found them exhilarating??? the sound of shimmering
cymbals
and driving drums. Mitch Mitchell playing with Hendrix, Billy Cobham with the
Mahavishnu Orchestra, Mel Lewis and that understated but relentless big band
swing. There was Keith Moon for his abandon, Buddy Rich for his discipline,
and
a lot of pop drummers who just played 'inside' the song. And, of course, the
great poet and master artist, Tony Williams.
"I knew right from the start that I was always going to be a musician. I
started playing in bands around Yorkshire but I had a lot to prove. In the
North of England, where I grew up, to be a musician meant you were a girl. A
cissy! So I left school as soon as I could to go on the road with Syd
Lawrence's Orchestra. We played big band covers from the '40s, '50s and '60s.
It was a good band and an excellent experience for me."
So you were into Jazz and improvisation from quite an early age?
"Yes, I was always aware of being an improviser in that every time I sat down
to play I knew I was going to do something different, even with a big band.
There's no experience like setting up brass figures - learning how to place
yourself underneath them and 'carry' them and their phrasing. But, for it to
really be alive, you have to set up a different interpretation every night,
and
everybody's on their toes. The fire of that band was amazing and it fell right
into my objective, which was to make people feel like they'd just been struck
by a bolt of lightning."
And you were still young when you were playing with the extraordinary jazz
rock
guitarist, Allan Holdsworth. How did you get to meet him?
"I was aware of Allan through his work with Tony Williams' Lifetime but I
didn't meet him until about 1978. I had just been fired from Barbara
Thompson's
band (Paraphernalia) for playing too loud. I was doing my two weeks' notice at
Ronnie Scott's club and during that time I met Jack Bruce and Allan who were
playing together with the drummer Jon Hiseman. There was a certain poetry
attached to the whole thing because Jon took my place when I got fired and so
I
started playing with Allan instead. And, funnily enough, both Jon and I are
still in the same bands to this day.
"Those early days with Allan were quite frustrating. A lot of people were very
excited about the prospect of him having a band but nobody was prepared to
give
the band any action. It was almost impossible to get a record deal and so few
people came to the gigs that we had to pay the place at the end of the night
for hiring the PA. So we were literally paying to play in those days! We used
to just get in each other's cars at the end of each evening and drive away in
total silence.
Allan ended up having to go over to the States to make
something
happen and our IOU album didn't come out until 1982. In fact the band was
called IOU because we always owed everyone loads of money.
"Allan and I go back a long way - we have been playing right through until
today. We're back to a three piece band again, which is nice because there's
more space for my drums in the music now."
Talking of drums, what sort of kit are you currently using?
"I recently teamed up once again with the Tama company, and I'm very, very
happy about it. I always thought they made the best snare drums around and
now,
with the Starclassic line, they too are housing a lot of Gretsch principals
like thinner maple shells, die-cast hoops and excellent suspension of toms. I
was previously with Pearl for about ten years.
"My current set-up changes from situation to situation. Typically, though,
I'll
be using a 20" or 22" bass drum - just one now, but with a double pedal, which
I've been getting into recently. I'm also likely to use 12" and 13" standard
size mounted toms, with three floor toms; a 14", a 15" and a 16"."
And what about cymbals?
"Cymbal-wise, I'm still a great lover of Zildjian and I can't ever imagine
that
changing.
The 'A' Customs became an instant hit with me - especially the
crashes, because they have great spread and personality but don't hang around.
Perfect, too, for someone like Allan Holdsworth who suffered for many years
standing right next to me on stage.
"Up until the recent company change I've had a very large set, which I adore,
but I never really saw much of it because it was always in storage. I'd break
it out for Gary Moore's stuff, I recorded the Steve Topping album on it, and
it
also appeared on my drum video. But I can't get it in three cars, never mind
one, so it rarely gets used.
"I do have a new signature stick which I designed with Zildjian. It's a great
stick, capable of both power and sensitivity. I'm happy, because for the first
time I'm only having to have one type of stick in my bag. A real first."
So how would you describe your own drum style?
"Hopefully all-encompassing. I've put a lot of work into developing out of
many
styles of music. I basically believe that if you come and hear myself and the
small set with Jim Mullen's quartet, or with Holdsworth or Mark King, you'll
hear one guy and his drums.
I think it's clear that the same presence of
personality and musicality is identifiable as being the same guy, and that's
important to me.
The ideal label would just be Gary Husband - musician."
Which drummers you particularly admire?
"I like to hear strength of character behind drumming and I don't often hear
that these days. I want to hear an individual player and the way he sounds
with
other individual players.
I want to hear the guy's life in there and I want to
be made aware of it and moved by it. These days stuff can be very by the book
or just plain derivative, whereas I'd much rather hear someone who's going to
stretch out and maybe even make a mistake or two."
You mean someone like Keith Moon?
Yes, that the kind of drummer. You could just hear his personality and
character all over his playing. You couldn't ignore his voice in The Who
because it was too powerful, coming from a deep and personal place unique to
him. And, of course, the same thing goes for brilliant jazz pioneers like Tony
Williams or Elvin Jones.
"I actually went up to Pete Townsend a few years ago when he was playing with
a
rather lame drummer at some big club event in London and, after a few
bourbons,
I said, 'Hey man, if you ever want anybody to stir the shit up again, give me
a
call'. Poor old Pete, bless him, said, 'Oh, I've been through all that
already', which was a shame, but I guess at least he *did* do it when he did
it."
Are there any of your own drumming moments that you're particularly proud of?
"A lot of the nicest moments have come out of things I never expected to be
pleased with. There was a concert for radio Level 42 did which was released as
Live At Wembley, so I went out and bought it expecting feelings of horror, but
it was really, really flying! Allan Holdsworth bootlegs too.
I still like the
'Unmerry-go-round' track on Holdsworth's Metal Fatigue album, and I've also
done a lot of stuff with Steve Topping that I'm very proud of."
And what about the terrible moments? There must have been a few concerts when
everything just went completely wrong?
"Er, yes. I remember certain gigs where drums collapsed. There was one when I
was with the Syd Lawrence band when the rostrum collapsed and I fell backwards
with all my drums falling back on top of me. On another occasion I had to play
along with a really primitive drum machine to Level 42's song 'World Machine'.
It started off at an ungodly slow-tempo and, when the rest of the band looked
around, I panicked in front of a live audience of thousands and stepped up the
bpm more than a little bit too far. We ended up having to stop the whole thing
because it turned into a jungle track!
"And, perhaps best of all, there was an Allan Holdsworth gig at the Rock
Garden
when we launched into our strange brand of music and one of the members of
staff thought we were just having a warmup. After a while he came up to us and
asked us if we realised that the audience was in. Talk about taking the wind
out of our sails."
So, after all of your diverse experiences in the music world, what advice
would you offer to a young drummer who's just starting out?
"Well, to listen in to yourself and to the 'little voice inside', cultivating
those personal impulses and ideas, being open and being confident as an
individual. Just like yourself in your life.
You have to learn and forget - the knowledge, just like having absorbed a manual, comes to
you when you need it.
So will wisdom. Allow for other people's ideas but ignore their attempts at
pressurising you. And, whatever you do, don't be a clone of somebody else."
SELECTED DISCOGRAPHY
GARY HUSBAND ALBUMS
Diary Of A Plastic Box (1998)
From The Heart (1999)
WITH ALLAN HOLDSWORTH
IOU (1982)
Metal Fatigue (1985)
Atavachron (1986)
Sand (1987)
Secrets (1989)
Hard Hat Area (1994)
WITH LEVEL 42
Staring At The Sun (1988)
Live At Wembley (1992)
WITH BILLY COBHAM
Focused (XXXX)
WITH STEVE TOPPING
Time & Distance (1998)
More details about Gary's albums and his video can be obtained from his Web
sites: www.newgaryhusbandtrio.com and www.1212.com/a/husband/gary.html
This page last updated May 10th 2000.