a different perspective
Uh, wow. As most people who read this blog (all four of you) probably know, I used to be in a band called The Rainmakers. The band was signed to Mercury/PolyGram in 1985 by one Peter Lubin. I always liked Peter—he had more amazing rock’n’roll music stories than anyone—but lost track of him over the years. It appears that these days he is music-blogging at Popdose, no doubt among many other things.
Anyway, by coincidence today I happened upon Peter’s account of signing our band. Which was pretty interesting for me to read, and maybe for you too.
I wasn't in the band at that point, btw, as Peter’s post makes clear. I guess for purposes of this story I am “an appropriate drummer.” Or better, maybe “the best they thought they could do under the circumstances.” Anyway, there it is.
Comments
Thanks for the link. That was an interesting read.
Posted by: Ellen K. | March 22, 2008 05:37 PM
Pat!
I sense a certain animosity in your summation here that is both surprising and disconcerting to me. "The search for an appropriate drummer" is hardly a denigrating remark, and nowhere do I remotely suggest that you were "the best that they thought they could do under the circumstances." These are your words, not mine, making the use of quotation marks all the more unsettling.
The events retold in my piece pre-date your involvement in the band. Therefore, and most unfortunately, it also by its nature excludes my extremely high regard for your subsequent contribution to the band's enormous prowess.
The drummer makes the band, my friend, and this case was no exception!
Best regards,
PL
Posted by: Peter Lubin | March 23, 2008 12:04 PM
Cool story. Thanks for linking to it.
Posted by: Andrea | March 23, 2008 02:27 PM
Peter, I apologize that my clumsy attempt at self-deprecating humor came off as hostility towards your role in the band's history. That's certainly not what I meant.
I'm honored to have you comment on my blog, and it's great to hear from you via the emails we've exchanged over this post.
I thought it was really interesting to get your perspective on signing the band--that's a story I hadn't heard before. As you note, this all happened before I was approached to join the band. Thanks for your kind comments about my playing.
Posted by: pat | March 24, 2008 10:36 AM
Great story - gotta find my copy of "25 Songs," which I think was a copy of your copy...
Posted by: doug sparling | March 24, 2008 09:36 PM
Thanks for sharing that bit of band history, Pat. BTW, you were way more than an "appropriate" drummer; you were THE drummer Steve, Bob, and Rich needed; the sound that made it all come together and work. Remember a guy named Richard Starkey and the little outfit he was brought into? Connect the dots, my friend! Cheers!
Posted by: Doug Fergsuon | March 27, 2008 11:25 AM
Pat,
I've always thought Long Gone Long was one of the best songs ever written and when I saw the clip from performance in England you gave it a great groove and took it to a new level. It's a shame you didn't get to play drums on the first two albums. By the way your drumming on Johnny Rebb is BRILLIANT.
Posted by: Andy Prebish | March 28, 2008 02:52 PM
Thanks, guys. I really wasn't trolling for compliments. But thanks.
Andy, it was the '80s, and sequencers ruled. Sigh. At least the drums were programmed to tapes of what I played during band rehearsals with the producer. And learning how to program a sequencer has turned out to be a useful skill.
Posted by: pat | March 30, 2008 02:40 PM