What are you talking about?. [Laughs] That was fun. Phil Collins had to hire Chester Thompson and Bill Bruford. Wed just sit in a side room because all they really wanted was the three guys. What I can't still understand is the almost in memorian picture of him in Live 73. The reason we were doing it was to raise money for Peter since he went broke doing his first WOMAD show. But he deserves more respect. I guess he is as close as you can get being a Genesis member without being one. And at the end of the show, he just went off. I agree, one weak album, because GTR was a multi members enterproce that involved even Steve Howe, but it wa a disaster. None of that. Hed recently wrapped up stints with Frank Zappa and Weather Report that lasted about two years each, and Genesis previous touring drummer, Bill Bruford, bailed after just four months on the road. Theres quite a music community here in Nashville, man. It was not fun. He might have some fives and sevens instead of triplets, things like that. Id have to say, I dont think Jaco was too comfortable with that. Rolling Stone interview series Unknown Legends features long-form conversations between senior writer Andy Greene and veteran musicians who have toured and recorded alongside icons for years, if not decades. The worst thing you could do in Weather Report was play the exact same thing you played the night before. I have no memory of that whatsoever. Just like Dean Martin or Perry Como were passe by the 70s prog was out of fashion in the late 80s and I don't think anyone could really change that. Phil helped survive Genesis. They were doing Cloudburst and all that stuff. Im not 100 percent involved, but its really interesting, the stuff that happens here. Genesis Reunion 2020 - Phil Collins and Chester Thompson - Facebook We go way back. How did you grow as a drummer during your time in Weather Report? Everything wasnt that, but a lot of the tunes went that way. 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. Well appreciated, keep up enjoying Phil Collins! Gabriel, Hackett, Rutherford and banks Are great composers. 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 By Andy Greene February 4, 2021 "Culturally, we were on. 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. I dont know if I had an expectation one way or the other. It was a fun tour. We normally had a lot of eye contact at shows. I think some of that might have something to do with it. I called Frank immediately and he wasnt happy about it, but he knew that my background was more jazz and stuff. He said, I double-track everything anyway, so it would be great if we could just do it together. But they all live very close together and they always had a set writing period where theyd be like, Okay, from blank to blank, were writing. They would each do that, come back with what they had and basically it was just too easy to go, OK, lets put this down. And thats what they did. Not at all. [Laughs] They were like, How could you be down here doing this and not our tour? I was like, Im just here a few days. But I was really trying to be mindful of family time. I wasnt aware of any of that. During this time, the drummer somehow also found time to tour with Santana and the Bee Gees and maintain a solo career. And he just totally shot down the idea of doing anything. But I was pretty surprised when he left. I had to use oxygen tanks after every take. I think the first song that really stuck in my head was On the Sunny Side of the Street. I have no idea whose version it was. It was another situation of me not getting any sleep since I was up all night writing charts. 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. It scared the pants off me. Thank you, I agree with you about the intelligent debate and even if we disagree about somethings in the end its down to a matter of opinons. He was smelling the money. He's a good drummer. The first album after Gabriel left was still very progressive sounding, and as the albums after came out, the change could be heard more and more. How was that? I have no idea. It was really awesome. Really cold of Phil to not reach out after 10yrs. The vibe just changed. A couple of the Drum Duets were released as singles in several places in South America and some countries in Europe, which is kind of cool. The Cover Looks Like An portrait Onion. They kind of assumed that he would. Its not something he did. It wasnt the same kind of luxury and stuff, which is fine., He added that Genesis was very balanced, instead of having a leader, and everybody had their say. But his first experience with Collins as boss was kind of a drag. He only truly related to drums," Thompson explained. IMO, he is a good composer, a funny showman, a very good lead & backing singer, and one of the best drummers in Rock music. Much of the show is just you playing drums, but during a lot of the instrumental breaks, Phil would come back and play along with you. Yes, it`s true, but none of them became the permanent lead singer in their bands like Collins. 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. Yeah. Chester Thompson sheds some light on relationship with Phil Collins Well, he was a little different from me. Phil helped survive Genesis. I was okay one-on-one, but they speak much, much faster than we do. In this 2014. Basically, we rehearsed eight hours a day, 40 hours a week. His name was Birdlegs [James Youman]. At the same time, it was a little weird investing that much time in something you were never going to be a part of. The last solo thing I did ventured a little outside that format. Most of the people i know think he is dead, even when the death man is healthier than ever. Juli 1990 auf der Berliner Waldbhne, kurz nach dem Fall der Berliner Mauer. Was that a challenge for you? Phil Collins on lead vocals. You guys did a drum duet at that first Genesis show in 1977 and it never left the set list after that. I mean, how many damn sings can one guywrite for Disney? Oh, yeah. Music education. Shed been on the road for three years straight and she got it. The way my life has gone down, I cant say that I planned any of it. Say It Right, Aug 16, 2018 #152 The_Windmill likes this. When Phil said that his 2004 tour was going to be his last one, did you believe him? Again, I think its fantastic that hes playing with his son. He actually double-tracked all that stuff. Alphonso and I had a real swing thing between us, real 16th, triplet bass feel, which is really the core of the whole funk thing. What did you study? It was a much bigger band, Thompson told Rolling Stone in a new interview. Had they brought me, they would have had to pay another musician just to sit there. Part of me is not disappointed that Im not playing those same tunes again after 30 years. If you did your part, it was fun. That was amazing. Right. He isn't the main cause of downfall for Genesis, so shut up about that. You did four sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium. I just knew that he was a radically different person than Id ever known. Had they said, Were going to change the feel a bit, I would have been fine with that. I dont know if they were connected owner-wise, but there was a whole circuit of those theaters. Also note that Onion Head didn't do much writting on the good Genesis LPs like: Foxtrot, Trespass, Selling England, Lamb, Nursery, Trick of the tail, EWnd and Wuthering. You have four guys with British accents [Collins, Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, and Steve Hackett], and there was tour management and a couple of other guys, all with British accents. ), Forum Policies, Rules, and Terms of Service. They just edited in that other day of his recording. I was taking lessons from a friend of my brothers who was a jazz player by choice. We just did a short tour of Canada and that was that. The first couple of years, I pretty much put it together. I mean, I know what I hoped for. He is just a great drummer. Other than that, Id go back to the hotel. 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. Part of that was no matter how well I prepared, he always made some pretty intense changes. Absolutely. They were in town and Alphonso said, The guys are in town. But at this point in my life, Im not owed anything. 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. Just to mention a few key members that played drums. Man, it was wonderful. When we got to rehearsal, I didnt know about the stuff that was going on in Phils life. Im fine either way. Im constantly writing, constantly trying new stuff. But they set up mics around the stage where he said he was going to be. It was non-stop laughing every day. That was fun, but it was a one-off. Why didnt it go well? The 50 Worst Decisions in Music History Her parents are now in her band. It was a weird, lonely feeling to be in the room with people that supposedly speak the same language and not be able to understand what was going on. My wife and I went down to see his big band in Birmingham. He was already going on tour in summers between school. They assumed I was going with Alphonso. But Im over it now. 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. You guys have always done that. They were all good friends to the point where they said, Lets do this. So the vibe was great. All rights reserved. He had seen what turned out to be my last Weather Report concert, but he was very familiar with the Zappa stuff. Yeah, apparently so. Serious Hits Live! - Wikipedia There were all these conversations going back and forth that Id try to track. I started thinking, Now what did I do? And so I kind of froze. That must have been a very satisfying experience. None of the other members really knew how to communicate in a funny way with their audiences. Max Roach and Art Blakey were first. You can tell he is play acting. I had no idea. 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. It came up again [in 1984] and it was just great. Well, its been quiet. They were really nice, cool people to work with. If hedidn't have considerable good qualities the band would not have stayed together for sixteen years which is like an epic length.As for him selling out I think what everyone underestimates is that the taste of the public had changed by the 80s. Not even Peter made an album with all Genesis tracks, only Steve. Im just not going to do that.. Just listen to Brand X andlive Genesis. But to a lot of the fans, I guess they feel like it is. After 1978, this must have felt like a long-term gig. Basically, I had to jump right into the deep end. I grew up in Baltimore and it was back in the days of AM radio. They had presented him with this amazing gift. My problem is not even Phil the singer (Even when I like Pete's voice and singing more), my problem is wiyth Phil the songwritter. The whole band took Tony's side (There's no Genesis without Tony) instead of compromising, giving more songs to Steve, It's ridiculous that Your Own Special Way was in W&W instead of Steve's superior material. So I continue quite off topic!Actually I havent heard Hacketts Genesis revisited - is it good? I'm a fan of Phil and his music, but he comes off as a bit of a putz. I also think that he is underrated, because he likes ballads, and not many people who likes Prog Music likes ballads. How about if I come in and play some percussion along with Alex [Acua]? But it was uncomfortable. However he did turn Genesis into a pop group and laughed all the way to the bank. Yeah. Drummers are kept in the background because DRUMS CAN'T MOVE AROUND THE SCENARIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I dont know details of what happened with that, but I think Peter was busy putting something else together. Yes, some of his ballads are cheesy. There was a lady with the band I kind of had a crush on and we were very much in touch. Yeah. The drum instructor left and Id gotten to know the head of the department. He actually went over everything and duplicated it, put everything down twice. Unfortunately, they never had enough of his clear vocals to release it, or anything. Chester Thompson sheds some light on relationship with Phil Collins. We were out there hitting it together and theres something about that. His work ethic was just phenomenal. When the audition came, I was absolutely up for it. Im just really enjoying life. Why did you leave? Well, lets see. Y'know, it's funny, but when I see the name Chester Thompson . 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. [Laughs]. Yeah. Exactly. The amount of music he made in that time is just remarkable. I managed to get 11 songs tracked with my own band in L.A. because we decided a while back not to just sit around. -Drummers who are lead singers "better should stay behind the drum kit and not to sing". He flew me out to L.A. and liked my playing and we immediately started rehearsing. 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. Even though Daryl and I werent technically in the band [Genesis], we toured as the band. Ive already played stuff for the guys. Phil Collins lost ability to drum on 2007 Genesis reunion tour How was Frank as a bandleader? 1; 2; 3; . My first drum lessons were in jazz. I cant scroll fast enough to the good parts! He was a phenomenal player oh, my goodness. They all put in something that made their music special. I got to be friends with some guys that managed an audio store. 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]. Some of it was Frank. The very first live concert I saw was Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers. They hadnt been renamed R&B. Long story short: Collins turned up in a bad mood for the 2010 "Going Back" tour and griped at Thompson because Thompson hadn't prepared the Motown drum parts in enough detail. Right. He jokingly referred to it as a "selection of shows". And then I ended up doing Phils Motown thing and that didnt go well. I dont know what they might have been going through behind the scenes, but our time together was just great. I wish him nothing but the best. It was just there. I thought, Why not? I had no idea I was going to fall in love with teaching. It ended up being a little awkward since they were going to be down there for seven weeks. There was no getting around it. We went back and forth. This is before they had their own studio. But on that first tour, Id be like, Come on, man. It lets me read for about 90 seconds before it yanks the article. Thats where you started hearing Motown and stuff. That's pretty much the zest of it. Phil Collins - Gesang, Piano, Schlagzeug; Daryl Stuermer - Gitarre; If you werent busy enough with Genesis tours and Phil Collins tours, you joined Santana in 1984? I still thought it would just be a couple of tours. JENNINGS: Phil Collins-led Genesis returning to Buffalo IvanI think we have reached the end of our discussion wether Phil is nasty or not. The vocalist is the frontman, he/she has to move around face the audience, etc and a drummer is normally attached to his kit. Again, as humans, we adapt. But they asked Daryl and I to come to this little room on the side. After Invisible Touch, I remember their conversations where they agreed to take five years off.