He got a film-editing machine and wanted to really dig in and learn how to use it, which he did. In this 2014. I didnt really know what was happening in the background. this can result in this site earning a commission. Do you think if Genesis come to America, youd want to go see the show? Phil Collins, Robert Colby . I always thought he was a pretty good friend to me. I played every weekend from eighth grade until I graduated high school. He would be onstage. The five of us lined up for a picture. He might have some fives and sevens instead of triplets, things like that. Napoleon Murphy Brock was auditioning at the same time for vocals and saxophone. Weve been healthy, fortunately. It was great. Its one of those What Will You Be letters. Not at all. yet (see the forest thru the trees) don't miss the interesting and insightful drum life Chester has led. It made me realize that it really was a band. As a matter of fact, we had already been told what dates to hold for 2008. I dont know. He was pretty disappointed. Chester Thompson: Schlagzeug; Leland Sklar: Bass; Brad Cole: Keyboards; Produktion. In fact, I had called. A lot of well-known names. I absolutely loved this round table discussion of Zappa's drummers. And Caribou Ranch was magical. Zidkyahu was used on the tour.]. It was amazing to be in the room while they were playing at full tilt and because . Basically, Phil flipped at Chester during the Going Back tour, for not playing exactly what he wanted to play, and they haven't spoken since. Phil Collins is a top ten drummer, a good backing vocalistr, an average lead singer and a lousy songwritter, that's my opinion. It had been years. I did one of his solo albums and we had been pretty good friends. I had a conversation with Mike Rutherford, not knowing what they were going to be doing. Wed do eight-hour rehearsals. At least 50% of the already mentioned are composers also, and yes there are few drummers who are lead singers, because they would need to hire another musician to replace them while singing. What were your early impressions of Frank? How about if I come in and play some percussion along with Alex [Acua]? But it was uncomfortable. I got to play some really cool stuff. Bill knew that world. Just to mention a few key members that played drums. The first few stadiums, its like, Oh, my goodness! And then it starts feeling normal. 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 I think some of that might have something to do with it. It was a vocal version. Reading the book I get the feeling that he only felt really involved in Selling EnglandFirst he says he had a slight inferior complex as a composer, his ideas were not well recieved, his marriage ended etc. That stuff smokes. Captain Beefheart plays harmonica on the album. She was with Michael Jackson and was actually working with Prince when he passed. We started playing the whole deal, the real stuff in the book. They limit the amount of times you can access their site. They assumed we were starting a new band like they did. Bruno Primas Forum Resident Location: Wisconsin I believe I saw him on that same clinic tour 84-85 in NJ. It was about to move to Chicago and I was kind of wondering, Why havent I got my contract yet?. [Ed. But at this point Id be curious to see it. 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. [Laughs] Again, Im loving what Im doing with my band. Hed teach me how to play along with albums and where to put the fill and how to sing along with the melody and not get lost in the solos and how to make it swing. All three members of the trio Genesis played a part in the decision to simplifiy their sound, with Banks being the most in charge. Phil and I locked way easier than Ralph Humphrey and I did. And I dont want to ever only play one thing. Come the day of the show, Peter was wherever he was at the moment, which wasnt where he said hed be the day before. We wouldnt just play a song in five. We go in the studio with Jaco, and Alphonsos feel and Jacos feel are radically different. Hes sort of a quiet guy. They are like 15 feet away and everyone is wearing masks. Phil was in pain, and Chester makes it sound like 2008 didn't happen because Phil was just being difficult. We laughed a lot. It was not fun. Except the horrible version of Your Own Special Way (Already horrible) because Paul Carrack sounds as Elmer Fudd , the mediocre Bossa Nova version of I Know What I like and the hard to swallow Waiting Room Only, the rest of the album (8 more tracks) is outstanding. One tour, he bumped it up by bringing in this guy, Jeff Simmons. Im always looking for the new thing, the next thing to me. Its me in the beginning and then in the middle of the tune, when it goes into the bridge with the swing feel, you hear a completely different ambience, different drum sound, different everything. And so when he quit again at the end of that, I think there was a shock. I don't subscribe and I sat and read it for a good 20-25 minutes. How was the 2007 Genesis tour? But he just enjoyed being around us since we were so lively and fun. Santana had actually asked me to play in his band right before the call came from Phil. In fact, most of the names of the drummers appear almost always at the end of the credits in the album covers. Collins was perfectly happy to exist behind his large collection of toms and cymbals during Genesis' Peter Gabriel-led . I just knew that he was a radically different person than Id ever known. Phil was not sure family-wise and he hasnt had the easiest of times there. A couple of days later, he brought the whole band in. But it got very political and it just got ugly. He figured it out pretty quickly. Unfortunately, they never really had to change drummers before. Hed mentioned that theyd been through a few drummers that year. We were like 9,000 feet above sea level in Colorado. Theyve got a studio. In recent years, hes taught at Belmont University in his adopted hometown of Nashville and toured with the Chester Thompson Trio. His work ethic was just phenomenal. Hes just turned into this monster musician. I worked with him during a really happy period in his life. That wasnt going to work. Phil Collins says he lost his ability to drum during 2007's Genesis reunion tour. I called Frank immediately and he wasnt happy about it, but he knew that my background was more jazz and stuff. The rhythm sections at several of the gigs had big bands. What are you talking about?. He would have subdivisions within a bar. My opinion is that Phil is a nice person with a good sense of humour. Several times we were on Phils tour in 2005 and they had meetings about how to put this tour together. Those two weeks, man, I dont think we ever laughed that much all the years wed been together. You didnt finish the tour, though. This is before they had their own studio. The worst thing you could do in Weather Report was play the exact same thing you played the night before. Has Phil talked to you at all in the past 10 years? Great drummer. I dont think hes holding a grudge. In the meantime, the few months before, they went with different management, the same people that managed Earth, Wind, and Fire. He was into a lot of the American jazz drummers. I hadnt done that. Weird. That is the reason he left the drums to Chester and Bruford. And then it was Louis Hayes and Elvin Jones. They just edited in that other day of his recording. Thats what they did when they left their gigs with Miles [Davis] and Cannonball [Adderley] to start Weather Report. Right. Oh, yeah. Well, after the first tour they were like, Were going to bring you in for the next album. Phil was all for it. Do you recall first hearing In the Air Tonight? I checked with the manager. Basically, I had to jump right into the deep end. My audition consisted just of jamming. But Phil Collins still did great things with those two albums. I didnt know until later. The guy's a pro, and he plays his ass off. It was just there. An adult who lived in the projects where I grew up was named ODonel Levy. Carmine Appice, Cozy Powell: composers as soloists, mainly. Drummers and keyboard players don`t have the same status as them". I don't think he was ever going to be on board with expanding it to additional legs. 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. Soon after that, I wound up touring with [jazz organist] Jack McDuff. I still remember that. They are phenomenal musicians. Man, what a phenomenal singer and piano player. I just basically kept my mouth shut and my eyes open. My first drum lessons were in jazz. Ralph and I had to watch each other like hawks and really listen carefully. Genesis, as soon as they could afford it, started chartering planes for tours. This edition features drummer Chester Thompson. It was a much bigger band, Thompson told Rolling Stone in a new interview. Absolutely. By then, my son was starting college. In fact, most of the names of the drummers appear almost always at the end of the credits in the album covers. But what a great tour and what a great band. That is when we actually had soul music stations. If you did your part, it was fun. When Phil said that his 2004 tour was going to be his last one, did you believe him? But I did wind up coming back in 1999. It was fun. Also, drum parts in Genesis are not very easy to play and sing at the same time on stage. Ive never not played jazz. At one point on that show, I was supposed to play a backbeat to go into the last tune. Exactly. Heres the crazy thing, man. They were doing Cloudburst and all that stuff. He flew me out to L.A. and liked my playing and we immediately started rehearsing. I didnt find out any of this until later, but the timing was amazing. I am reminded of this Amazon review of "Dance Into the Light" (which, incidently, has the funniest Phil Collins album cover). When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, HE WAS RECRUITED BY PHIL COLLINS, TO REPLACE PHIL AS THE PRIMARY TOURING DRUMMER. Probably not. Thompson believed he had landed a short-term job when Collins asked him to join Genesis without an audition in 1977, but he went on to take part in every road trip until 2007 and was also a. Oh, my goodness! I cant do that.. That was just rhythm section, [keyboardist] George Duke, [bassist] Tom Fowler. 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 was a real wake-up call. Phil Collins on lead vocals. Former touring drummer Chester Thompson and Collins had a falling out and have not spoken in years. Not at all. What are your goals over the next few years? But with Phil, youre one of a cast of thousands. When did you start doing professional gigs? I wish him nothing but the best. 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. The very first tour was a tour of England. It's just horrible. And Id been doing it long enough at that point that I didnt have any expectations beyond knowing, Im here to do what he did [on the records]. When we played together, it was like he was the guy and Im there as the backup, to support him. Its going very well. I have no idea. We want to hear it. Later that year, he also cancelled two gigs after falling in his hotel room and hitting his head, a result of the drop foot mentioned above. Exactly. I was never in a teenage band. Music Department: The Who's Tommy, the Amazing Journey. -Drummers who are lead singers "better should stay behind the drum kit and not to sing". Had they said, Were going to change the feel a bit, I would have been fine with that. I was seriously intimidated. They did some concerts and demos and then the real story started with Tony Banks and Peter Gabriel joining Ant and Mike 1967. I'm a fan of Phil and his music, but he comes off as a bit of a putz. . I could track one guy, kind of, but then somebody else would jump in. Im fine either way. Shed been on the road for three years straight and she got it. You couldnt be less than what you were supposed to be. Before one tour, we sat there and listened to all the previous tours and everything we did. 2023 Rolling Stone, LLC. We basically tracked it with no bass. I dont know how to describe it, but it was based on holograph technology. Unknown to me, he quit over the Christmas holidays. Phil Ehart: owner of the name "Kansas", who also worked as their manager sometimes, he is not one of the main composers in the band. -Ballads in Prog Rock are underrated, because Prog Rock is not "romantic". 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, "Culturally, we were on opposite sides of the world," says Chester Thompson of touring with Genesis. This is the live version of Inside Out, recorded in Berlin in 1990. He asked me if I read [music] and he showed me a chart and asked me if I could learn it by the next day. Everybody had a say. As of late though, I think Phil Collins has sold out, but not the with Genesis. [Ed. A little bit later he goes, Man, I think I broke my finger. We all went, Come on. Its interesting to see peoples perception of what they think it is as opposed to the way it really was. We did it at Ike Turners studio, Bolic Sound. Im just really enjoying life. Thats because it was getting close to time to go back out with Phil. Who knows what thats going to look like at this point. Phil Collins was always skittish about leaving the drum stool. Basically, I want to keep putting things out. Fortunately, the bass player [Bob Babbitt] stepped in and started the tune. He's a good drummer. It just turned out to be a one-off, but fortunately we recorded and videotaped it. He played beautifully on that ballad Cannon Ball. I had already tracked most of Black Market. 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. Mike, Tony and Peter seem to be working very well together composing and its hard for Phil and Stevein the beginning to contribute. It`s not true. Ive crossed paths with Joe many times since and he even apologized at one point for the way it all went down, but I didnt have a problem with it. But he still had that American stuff. Roger Taylor: good singer, good composer, good drummer, but he has never had the same success as Collins with his solo albums. I actually kind of felt bad for him, he was trying to impart what it takes to be a working drummer (discussing things like getting no sleep with Zappa, his approach to odd times, prepping for touring, being versed in many styles, reading etc..) part of the audience was peppering him with Genesis questions like "what is Phil Collins like?," and the other half just wanted to hear some blazing solo.. odd crowd. Boy, we got in rehearsal and it was like oil and water. His work ethic was just phenomenal. Phil Collins (onion head) <-nickname), is a great drummer and that is where i believed he should have stayed. I was pretty well into music and so I started going to every single show. Bill Bruford, Neil Peart, Phil Ehart (even producer), Ginger Baker, Keith Moon, Jeff Porcaro, Carl Palmer, Mike Portnoy, Mick Fleetwood (The band uses his name ), John Bonham, Carmine Appice, Stewart Copeland, Cozzy Powell, Lars Ulrich, Lee Kerslake, Don Henley, Pat Mastelotto, Terry Bozzio, Roger Taylor, Billy Cobham. (I am totally serious, the tamborine dance is amazing), Phil Colinskilled my friends younger brother, I saw him do it i swear!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And even though Im not doing it anymore, Im glad that he decided to go back to work. 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. Influenced by the likes of Max Roach, Art Blakey, Elvin Jones, and Tony Williams along with the popular music . But they set up mics around the stage where he said he was going to be. During that particular run, there was none, ever. Yeah. So Phil did pop some good , some average and some contrived but all big selling. Yeah. He also has composed good music, not only elevator music, as you say. It was really cool. There was quite a bit of Louis Jordan. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/llins-frank-zappa-weather-report-1122064/amp/, https://ultimateclassicrock.com/chester-thompson-phil-collins-solo-tour/. It was the RKO [Proctors Theatre] in Newark, the Arcada Theater in Chicago, the Royal Theatre in Baltimore, and the Howard Theatre in D.C. Yeah. 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. IN THIS 2014 INTERVIEW, PHIL COLLINS DESCRIBES HOW HE RECRUITED THE AMERICAN DRUMMER CHESTER THOMPSON TO PLAY DRUMS WITH GENESIS, REPLACING PHIL AS THE PRIMA. Getting the gig was no walk in the park. It was just different. At one point, we discussed it and it was like, If we dont really need to be there, you guys are fine to go and do what youre doing. [Laughs]. Let me remember: Leee Kerslake. How has your Covid year gone? Smart interviewer, letting an interesting subject just go. You can tell he is play acting. Well, immediately after McDuff, I spent about six months in Boston. We just did a short tour of Canada and that was that. Affiliate programs and He actually went over everything and duplicated it, put everything down twice. 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. Behind a login thing. We arent, like, chums, but we stay in touch. We picked what we wanted from them and made something new. I probably heard more Elvis than anything in the Fifties. It took me a while to get over it, but I really wish him well. In my opinion, everyone has to sell out a little bit to survive. I never liked the idea of re-recording old favourites but Im getting a little bit intrested now. After I left, Robin got really ticked at me. But she once gave me a letter that I wrote in fourth grade that pretty much outlined my whole career. Its not something he did. He basically played us these tunes hed come up with. But Steve wa always a Genesis fan, even when he wanted to make some modifications, he only could achive that making it himself, and lets be honest, he used an expensive cast: LOL. What happened when Jaco Pastorius came in on bass and Alphonso Johnson left? [Laughs] He figured it out pretty quickly. I dont know if they were connected owner-wise, but there was a whole circuit of those theaters. I could track one guy, kind of, but then somebody else would jump in. There were all these conversations going back and forth that Id try to track. the Amazon Associates Program via amazon.com. They assumed I was going with Alphonso. First thing out of his mouth was, Would you come back to the band? It was perfect timing. Ive never heard anything he did that had that particular feel to it. but it was some kind of fight for the power and Tony won. Goodness. It was really brilliant. When we got to rehearsal, I didnt know about the stuff that was going on in Phils life. It was a lot. I guess they were never able to release it because Peter is pretty spontaneous and it drove the sound engineer crazy. I think try get hold of the album. Tell me about recording One Size Fits All. Its an interesting gig musically speaking. Thats where I started. Nothing against Phil's son, I'm sure he's good, but why hasn't anyone said anything about Chester? At the same time, there are artists Id love to play with as well. There were all these conversations going back and forth that Id try to track. Even though Daryl and I werent technically in the band [Genesis], we toured as the band. Don't judge you, by the contrary, I'm happy to have an intelligent debate woith people well informed and not with some blind fans from other site that say everything Genesis did is perfect becausee it's Genesis. I watched it a couple of times, but Bob hung out with us the whole time. They hadnt been renamed R&B. This new thing Ive been working on with my friends in L.A., its [bassist] Pee Wee Hill and [keyboardist] Michiko Hill, his wife. Chester just says 'maybe' he wouldn't want to play the same Genesis songs yet again on a new tour, but IMO he doesn't give a definite no. Yeah, apparently so. It got awkward. Let me remember: Leee Kerslake. George and Napoleon were from San Jose and were living in Hawaii when Frank offered them the audition. I guess I should. Her daughter was this quiet little kid, but shes turned into this monster artist named Judith Hill. Thats where you started hearing Motown and stuff. But he deserves more respect. How were the Phil solo tours? 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. I only wonder what your reaction would be if (a big if!) note: They chose instead to record with drummers Nir Zidkyahu and Nick DVirgilio. Her parents are now in her band. Id say we agree on his drummingskills. Im grateful. I have mixed feelings about Phil Collins. Phil wrote in his book that he had a major drinking problem in that time period. How about pop music? So, he had to be at the front of the stage. My wife had her own career when we met. I was okay one-on-one, but they speak much, much faster than we do. But Phil being Phil, he detailed every single fill, every single detail of every single song. How did you manage to bridge that gap culturally? Basically, he tried to come up with stuff the band couldnt play, and we always managed to pull it off. But I believe Steve won more, because he didn't took part in the POP Genesis (Something with what he clearly disagrees) and made a solid career. Frank never stepped foot in there again, of course. 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. They didnt find out until pretty late in the game that Bill wasnt going to do the next tour. Peter says that Stevewrote things they all liked but quite a lot that they didnt like. So many songs, so many albums, so many concerts. Did they audition you? I just love the adventure of life. Neal Peart: great drummer, lyricist, and sometimes composer of the music in Rush. And so we were doing Salt Peanuts at like 200 miles an hour. Why dont you come and jam with the band? I said, Man, Id love to, but I dont really want to audition.. IvanI think we have reached the end of our discussion wether Phil is nasty or not. 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. The amount of music he made in that time is just remarkable. Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Progatron, Feb 4, 2021. . Mick Fleetwood: owner of the band`s name, thier main founder, but not a composer in the band. Billy Cobham: a very good drummer who shimnes mostly as soloist. Carl Palmer: again great drummer but not a main composer in ELP or Asia. And theyd never had an American in their ranks. I go down there and jam with the band. I was like, Man, Ive got to have some time with my family. Not even Peter made an album with all Genesis tracks, only Steve. And they had great songs. Suddenly, Im there with no income. Ive heard lots of audiences tapes, but its pouring rain and none of them sound great. Yeah. I dont know when he slept. But doing it was really fun. We went back and forth. Right. We had a bunch of 78s. Basically, after the first day, I was like, The only way this is going to work is if you give me a list of which tunes you want to go over the next day Ill have them ready.. Unfortunately, they gave him the credit and didnt put my name on there. But he still had that American stuff; it was a big part of his background, and we just hit it off immediately. Hed then go off to a studio and work on whatever he had in the can. Well, basically, I hadnt prepared in as much detail as I usually did. In my mind, these guys were almost hippies compared to what I was used to. But with Phil, youre one of a cast of thousands. Rolling Stone suspended its policy on Genesis not being cool enough to report on for a long interview with Chester Thompson. Juli 1990 auf der Berliner Waldbhne, kurz nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer. When I was 13 and able to go on my own, I pretty much went every other week. That was their first tour in 10 years. . The peak of Genesis on a commercial level was the Invisible Touch period. Some of his hits are cheesy. How did you wind up touring with Ben E. King in 1969? 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. All of the above. When it happened, we got together in New York for two weeks to just play and see if they wanted to do it. But on that first tour Id be like, Come on, man. The other guy called himself Sonship, Woody Theus. 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). Thanks guys and gals for more than one million views and almost 6000 likes. It was a much bigger band. Discover what he did to anger Thompson so much they haven't exchanged holiday cards since 2019. Phil helped survive Genesis. What was the first music you remember hearing as a child that really struck you? Other than that, Id go back to the hotel. How was your experience in the Pointer Sisters touring band after that? Wed just sit in a side room because all they really wanted was the three guys. 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. This is why I don't think they sold out or did it for any other reason than that is what they wanted to do. That happened because of ODonel Levy. I was there just a week and I actually ran across them in Sydney. Did you get to meet him? Hes passed away now, but we were in about 10 or 12 bands together growing up. The cool thing was my family came out on the road a lot. He had proven to be really close friends with those guys and I never related culturally, so there was always this gap between us. Turns out they had hired Jaco. Phil Collins / Chester Thompson (Genesis) Drum Duet 1980 - 84 - YouTube 0:00 / 6:04 Phil Collins / Chester Thompson (Genesis) Drum Duet 1980 - 84 Seven Stones 2.15K subscribers Subscribe 1.5K.
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