The following interview took place during 2010 when Jamie Little was touring the UK with Texas Blues artist, Hamilton Loomis. It first appeared in digital format on the ADC Drums website.
Mention Birmingham or the Midlands of England, and most people visualise an industrial landscape, dominated by concrete, motorways, pollution and silent factories that were once the lifeblood of the British car industry. Behind this somewhat blinkered façade, it is easy to forget that the area spawned a music scene Continue reading “Interview With Jamie Little”
Let there be no illusion, my relationship with the active Liverpool music scene is one borne from its lack of ability to offer anything other than the same reconstituted, jingle-jangle-three-chord pop ditties that were its stock-in-trade of 40 years ago. There was a brief period in the late 1970’s when it embraced the new and almost buried the old. 
First to share their musical life experience was Ralph Salmins, known more for his Jazz work than mainstream cuts and the (not too) elder statesman of the show. After his opening shot of playing along to a live rendition of Georgie Fame’s ‘Yeah Yeah’, Ralph got straight to the business of showing everyone what “makes the money” in his game. Needless to say, it had nothing to do with flurries of recycled rudiments and everything to do with Time, Feel and Sound. This was aptly demonstrated with the aid of a metronome and a simple, hypnotic brush groove, showing the mixed results of pushing and pulling the groove around machine dictated Time. Clearly Master of his own inner-clock, Ralph was adamant that if practised, this simple exercise was key to providing what producers and MD’s look for in a drummer – creating Time other musicians want to live inside. “That’s what makes the dollars!”
Getting a self-penned Fusion track out of the way and certifying that he did have a few extra ions in his Pop drumming fire, Karl Brazil proceeded to play through a selection of tracks he’d drummed on for artists such as Take That, Feeder, Jason Mraz and long-time friend/housewives favourite, James Blunt. Reiterating and reinforcing all the good points that his predecessor had touched on, Brazil went on to emphasise how different Snare drums played a big part in how the sound of the backbeat could affect the song vibe, changing them between tracks. Watching this left hander play a right handed kit (a la Ringo), it’s becomes obvious why he’s on many an MD’s speed-dial, displaying a natural versatility and feel for the work-space he occupies.
Possibly, the most important and sobering part of the night was during the Q&A session when drummers on the other side of the fence got to ask some very pertinent questions about what it’s like to be a pro player in today’s challenging climate. The answers did not paint a good picture, with studio sessions progressively on the decline and no sign of the ‘old days’ returning until the physical product (CD’s) starts making money again. That is of course, a huge ‘if’ but there was some saving grace with live work being on the increase, becoming the mainstay income on what’s left of the session circuit. With repeated references to the music industry “being on its knees” this part of the night didn’t make for easy listening. However, the flip-side was the encouragement both Ralph and Karl gave by saying that success can still be achieved by hard work and determination.
Overall, Ralph Salmins and Karl Brazil served a taste of reality; these are the faces at the coalface of an industry whose glory days are long over, but still manage to stay afloat in a market where extra-safe, mediocrity rules and internet downloads have diluted the profitability of record companies. Looking at the low-level produce churned out by today’s ‘sell ‘em cheap pile ‘em high’ Pop industry moguls, it’s no secret that these players are grossly over qualified for a portion of the roles being asked of them. Despite this, they still exude an enthusiasm and genuine love of playing music, embracing the opportunities given under such austere artistic and economic conditions. But if you want to make a living at ‘the top’ these days, you have to take what’s on the Paymaster General’s table, no matter how uninspiring some of the product may seem.