why did JGB get a new drummer at the end?
Gary Beckwith
in the 80s. Why did they switch? The old guy was a lot better. This
guy just bangs on the snare drum every beat like there's nothing else to
do.
Lazzaro9
JGB had a real polished sound in his years. It was good, but often the shows
sounded similiar and I agree, he played a bit too straight..he was like a
flashy studio musician- listen to the JGB double CD and how he really raps on
that snare going back into verses on "I Shall Be Released"
He is tight and I think he helped solidify them, but at times he was TOO
professional/tight sounding, that or he over played on a lot of jams- lots of
jazzy Billy Cobhma like drumming during stuff like Don't Let Go etc..
Again, I prefer to have Jerry drive the train-
guest musicians and guys that overplay really take away from the Jerry
experience IMO
80s had many guys , Tutt who played w Elvis (& everyone else), Kreutzman and
Greg Errico...which 80's guy did you like?
Reggie Dunlap
"Lazzaro9" <lazz...@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040219021827...@mb-m05.aol.com...
David Kemper replaced Greg Errico on 7/20/83 and played w/ JGB until
11/19/93, with a brief break from late '85 to early '86. Donny Baldwin then
took over and played '94-'95. Baldwin may be the guy you thought didn't
sound as good. I recall an interview w/ Kemper where he said he just got
frustrated b/c the JGB had som much potential and they were so tight, but
Jerry never wanted to stretch it out and take big chances musically with
them. He said Jerry was kind of content with the way JGB worked (quick and
easy for him). I guess Kemper just felt stagnated and moved on. It's too
bad, b/c he was the best drummer JGB had, IMO. ROn Tutt was good too (and
he gets points for having played w/ Elvis.)
I saw Dylan few years ago and thought the drummer looked and sounded really
familiar. Turns out, Dylan's drummer for the past few years is none other
than David Kemper. Go figure.
-RD
volkfolk
As a musician I can tell you in my experience, a band is only as good as its
drummer. I don't care how awesome everyone else is, if the drummer sucks
then the band sucks.
Duke Ellington said it best. "It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that
swing"
I liked Kemper the Best with JGB
Scot
BZLRBI
>familiar. Turns out, Dylan's drummer for the past few years is none other
>than David Kemper. Go figure.
>
>-RD
Dylan fired Kemper about 2 years ago. No particular reason given; it was done
via fax per DK.
Dylanstubs
Kemper played drums in Dylan's band Oct '96 - 2001, and was replaced
by George Receli in 2002. Kemper's playing is rather straightlaced.
Competent, but dull.
Lazzaro9
guitar and they had a "new" drummer they introduced- a rather beeft black guy
that really excellent. was he the one who replaced Kemper?
I liked Kemper, the JGB were really tight w him, but sometimes he was a bit too
studio/profesional/flashy for my tastes.
Overall really good though.
sometimes Kemper veered towards "Steve Gadd good"- too much playing for
something like TLEO.
JC Martin
I personally find Kemper's drumming pretty tasteful. Donny Baldwin on the
other hand had little to say on his instrument and his feel was a bit
stiff---not a style that works well with Garcia's playing IMO.
-JC
-JC
Jim Morrison
Kemper was with dylan from 94 to Janurary, 2002 (and was on time out of
mind and love and theft). Dave was replaced by drummer George Recile.
Kemper is actually an artist and is focusing on that now in LA.
Sexton is gone to, that was a big loss to the band in my opinion. Billy
Burnette replaced him but that only lasted a few months. Larry Campbell
now holds the key guitar spot with Freddy Koelle as the other guitarist.
Jim
Joker4153
WIIAAHSWYP?!
supersoaker
Meanwhile...
I remember showing up at the Kaiser on 11-11-94, after not seeing the
JGB for a little over a year, and being really bummed out the Kemper
was no longer on the kit. I always thought that he did a terrific job
of being creative while still giving Jerry the space to be Jerry. It's
hard to play that slow burn thing. And he got Jerry to do "The Maker",
for which I'll always be grateful.
Donny Baldwin was certainly no improvement. In fact, I thought he
really sucked, much as JG did that evening in Oakland. Here's DB's
bio, FWIW:
"Donny Baldwin joined Jefferson Starship as drummer in September 1982.
He holds the distinction of being the longest-serving drummer in
JA/JS/S history, having stayed until late 1989. He appeared on JS'
final album, No Protection (1984), and on all three Starship albums,
Knee Deep in the Hoopla (1985), No Protection (1987), and Love Among
the Cannibals (1989).
"Little is known about Donny's background. He is from Palo Alto, CA,
and was a member of the Elvin Bishop Group from 1973-78, appearing on
six albums. He then joined the Santa Cruz, CA, band, Snail, which
recorded two albums, Snail (1978), and Flow (1979). He has also toured
and recorded with Kenny Loggins, Pablo Cruise, Chuck Berry, and Van
Morrison. During the JS' 1983 hiatus, Donny joined Mickey Thomas in a
sideline band, Little Gadget & the Soulful Twilight.
"On December 17, 1988, Donny married Lisa Avila. Starship bassist
Brett Bloomfield was best man, and Mickey and Craig Chaquico served as
ushers.
"In 1994, Donny joined the Jerry Garcia Band, and played with them
until Garcia's death in 1995. Currently, Donny plays with remnants of
that band, now known as JGB."
Starship, yeesh. Donny "Built This City" Baldwin. That's embarrassing.
I'd like to imagine that he and Jer were just old buddies from when he
played with Bishop. But whatever.
If you want to hear some great, great L.A. studio drumming, get a good
vinyl copy of Joan Armatrading's 'Show Some Emotion'. Kemper rules on
that record, especially with his mastery of the cymbal kit --
something he didn't show off much in the JGB.
Gary Beckwith
Reggie Dunlap wrote:
>
> David Kemper replaced Greg Errico on 7/20/83 and played w/ JGB until
> 11/19/93, with a brief break from late '85 to early '86. Donny Baldwin then
> took over and played '94-'95. Baldwin may be the guy you thought didn't
> sound as good.
Considering those dates, then yes, Baldwin is the guy I don't like.
Monotonous banging on the snare on every beat. Seems like a 10 year old
could do that.
I recall an interview w/ Kemper where he said he just got
> frustrated b/c the JGB had som much potential and they were so tight, but
> Jerry never wanted to stretch it out and take big chances musically with
> them.
geesh. I'd say that JGB took more chances than the Dead.
He said Jerry was kind of content with the way JGB worked (quick and
> easy for him). I guess Kemper just felt stagnated and moved on. It's too
> bad, b/c he was the best drummer JGB had, IMO. ROn Tutt was good too (and
> he gets points for having played w/ Elvis.)
Considering the dates you mention, I agree, the drummer from 83-93 was
very good.
Gary Beckwith
(IMHO).
thanks for clarifying. I wonder how/why they picked Baldwin, when it
seems there are other better drummers out there. If you listen to JGB
tapes from those last two years, the drumming is horrible.
Gary
Jperdue4
one..
JonP
JimK
wrote:
>supersoaker <cd...@yahoo.com> wrote:
>>Back to the question: does anyone here know why Kemper got canned?
>
>Via google:
>
>http://www.well.com/user/shmo/kemper.html
>
>He speak to the mystery of his firing about 2/3 the way down.
>
>Matt
Kemper's answer to the last question of the interview pretty much says
it all, doesn't it? Being in the same room with Jerry was sure was a
great place to be.
JimK
BS: That’s a good question to conclude with here: What do you think
the audience wanted?
DK: That’s easy: the audience just wanted to be in a room with Jerry.
They didn’t care if they were hearing fast music or slow music; they
wanted to be in the same room with Jerry. That’s all I could see. And
it didn’t matter if it was good or bad or who he had on stage with
him. The crowd didn’t come to see me or John or Melvin. They came to
be in the same room with Jerry. It’s that simple. And I don’t blame
them. Being in the same room with Jerry was a pretty damn wonderful
place to be.
Neil Krueger
gary...@adelphia.net wrote on 2/20/04 11:32 AM:
> geesh. I'd say that JGB took more chances than the Dead.
You have GOT to be kidding. JGB was just an overblown bar band. A bar band
with some very talented musicians, no doubt, but "taking chances" wasn't in
their vocabulary.
Peace,
Neil X.
BZLRBI
>
>He speak to the mystery of his firing about 2/3 the way down.
Funny thing...
He gets fired via a phone call from Parrish, without explanation. I read a
subsequent interview with him where he got fired by Dylan via fax, again
without explanation. I'm guessing it's the fear of conflict that explains
where Jerry and Bob got along so well.
Gary Beckwith
Gary Beckwith
supersoaker wrote:
> Donny Baldwin was certainly no improvement. In fact, I thought he
> really sucked,
<snip>
me too.
Gary Beckwith
that sucks. and to this day he still doesn't know why.
must be a personality conflict.
m-ca...@theworld.com wrote:
>
> supersoaker <cd...@yahoo.com> wrote:
> >Back to the question: does anyone here know why Kemper got canned?
>
> Via google:
>
> http://www.well.com/user/shmo/kemper.html
>
> He speak to the mystery of his firing about 2/3 the way down.
>
> Matt
> --
> Note:
>
> To reply to me, remove any hyphen ("-") from my user name, if present.
Gary Beckwith
single chance. every show sounded like a CD. I was at some JGB shows
during that time period when unexpected things would happen almost every
night. i'll never forget the "Johnny Too Bad" out of nowhere. And the
jams were longer and different every time. the whole thing, dead or
jgb, was about Jerry anwyway. And he jammed longer and messed around
more during JGB shows. at dead shows he had other egos to worry about
and there was less improvisation. go back to the mid 80s and before, and
it's a different story.. just my opinion.
SKNavis
>he gets points for having played w/ Elvis.)
And the "Jewish Elvis," Neil Diamond! :-)
Peace,
Shaun
Neil Krueger
gary...@adelphia.net wrote on 2/20/04 8:35 PM:
>>
>>> geesh. I'd say that JGB took more chances than the Dead.
>>
>> You have GOT to be kidding. JGB was just an overblown bar band. A bar band
>> with some very talented musicians, no doubt, but "taking chances" wasn't in
>> their vocabulary.
>>
>> Peace,
>> Neil X.
> More from Gary:
>
> no, i'm not kidding... for the last 5 years the Dead never took a
> single chance. every show sounded like a CD. I was at some JGB shows
> during that time period when unexpected things would happen almost every
> night. i'll never forget the "Johnny Too Bad" out of nowhere. And the
> jams were longer and different every time. the whole thing, dead or
> jgb, was about Jerry anwyway. And he jammed longer and messed around
> more during JGB shows. at dead shows he had other egos to worry about
> and there was less improvisation. go back to the mid 80s and before, and
> it's a different story.. just my opinion.
If you're going back 5 years, you're incorporating '90 and '91 Dead into
your blanket statement. There were some seriously mind-bending GD shows in
the early 90s. There is no comparison. 90s JGB was as spontaneous and
unexpected as a bar of soap.....
Peace,
Neil X.
Jperdue4
What are you some kind aof antisemite racist!!?
:)
Jonp
Gary Beckwith
opinion that there is no comparison between the two, but in my opinion,
during those times I was happier at JGB shows. I enjoyed the longer
jams, not to mention the smaller venues. I wouldn't say it was a bar of
soap, but if it was, it would have to be some kind of crazy flavor...
:)
Media69
>during those times I was happier at JGB shows. I enjoyed the longer
>jams, not to mention the smaller venues.
if I recall, the JGB were doing arena tours near the end. Which pretty much
meant the same audience who went to see the Dead saw Jerry.
Lazzaro9
shows and projected images of dancing bears...I preferred JGB from '90 on
also...much rather hear Jerry do "Shining Star" or "Breadbox" than Lucy in the
Sky or Days Between and all the other garbage new tunes..all the while sucking
and the crowd not even knowing the difference..I thought the later GD shows
were cruel, like they were an exhibit, esp Jerry..deteriorating w a bunch of
shitfaced yahoos screaming for more...it made me sick.
Mejpbrklne4
garbage ? some nice songs came outta 93
.....................................................
Lazzaro9
the last good GD song. Corrina, Samba, Broken Arrow, LSD,Tomorrow Never Knows,
Rain, I fought the Law, Baba O'Reilly - most of the new songs & cover material
from 90-91 on were garbage IMO yes.JGB was a far better time for me.
Pat Buzby
> very weird. they fire him, with no explanation, and then hire someone
> that sucks. and to this day he still doesn't know why.
>
> must be a personality conflict.
Interesting contradiction re Don Baldwin: Grace Slick says in her
autobio that she thought he was a great guy, but Joel Selvin's
Airplane/Starship bio reveals that Starship basically ended when
Baldwin punched Mickey Thomas.
Pat Buzby
Chicago, IL
-mike-
Mejpbrklne4
Mike Helm
>Back to the question: does anyone here know why Kemper got canned?
>
>Meanwhile...
>
>I remember showing up at the Kaiser on 11-11-94, after not seeing the
>JGB for a little over a year, and being really bummed out the Kemper
>was no longer on the kit. I always thought that he did a terrific job
>of being creative while still giving Jerry the space to be Jerry. It's
>hard to play that slow burn thing. And he got Jerry to do "The Maker",
>for which I'll always be grateful.
>
>Donny Baldwin was certainly no improvement. In fact, I thought he
>really sucked, much as JG did that evening in Oakland. Here's DB's
>bio, FWIW:
>
>"Donny Baldwin joined Jefferson Starship as drummer in September 1982.
>He holds the distinction of being the longest-serving drummer in
>JA/JS/S history, having stayed until late 1989. He appeared on JS'
>final album, No Protection (1984), and on all three Starship albums,
>Knee Deep in the Hoopla (1985), No Protection (1987), and Love Among
>the Cannibals (1989).
>
That wasn't JS, that was the Mickey Thomas Band
Bill
"Pat Buzby" <pbu...@surfnetcorp.com> wrote in message
news:9fd3c272.0403...@posting.google.com...
I was a bit shocked when I learned here recently that Baldwin had been a
drummer for JS and other bands going back to the early 80s. I had figured
the guy had little experience and had got the job because he was a good
friend of Jerry's or was a drugfriend of Jerry's. His drumming skills were
sooo far behind David Kemper's that for Jerry to not have a problem having
that amateur play behind him just when he had a pro like David Kemper for so
long shows how screwed up Garcia was in the last two years and how badly it
was affecting the music his band was putting out.
The guy who used to play in the highschool band had better chops than
Baldwin.
Bill
>
> Pat Buzby
> Chicago, IL
DBrophy479
>Interesting contradiction re Don Baldwin: Grace Slick says in her
>autobio that she thought he was a great guy, but Joel Selvin's
>Airplane/Starship bio reveals that Starship basically ended when
>Baldwin punched Mickey Thomas.
I've heard Mickey Thomas sing.Where's the contradiction?
Dave
> that sucks. and to this day he still doesn't know why.
>
Hey, the Dead hired Vince after Brent didn't they?? I don't think the
Dead were the kings of good decisions once they put down their
instuments.
dave