Gary Willcox shared a link. Yesterday youtube/watch?v=gX0dZ6NF_2E Ive recently encountered some musicians ,who are younger than me, who had never heard of Bryan Spring. The reason for that is, unfortunately, Bryan doesnt seem to do any gigs in recent years. He used to have a monthly slot at the 606, but seems to have stopped. Bryan Spring is an incredible human being/musican, someone who has dedicated his whole life to playing a musical instrument. The commitment that Bryan plays with can only be understood when one witnesses it firsthand. Like Buddy Rich or the like. Bryan is an incredibly brave player. He is a TRUE ARTIST who is not afraid to take risks. You can see and hear this in the clip Ive included. Due to this he has sometimes been misunderstood and maligned. Ive been compelled to post this due a conversation I recently had with Steve Watts. Ive seen/heard Bryan play some incredible stuff. He had lessons with Philly Joe Jones in the late 60s ,when PJJ was a resident here, and Bryans style was very much coming out of that, but with turbo added. I saw Bryan once do a roll on the underside of his ride cymbal using the ring end of his brush, and just tensing his forearm to such an extent that , when lightly placed, the ring end of the brush created a roll sound. Steve Watts also remembered this on a gig he did with Bryan, where Bryan created a triplet rhythm. Bryan said to Steve...Nervo vibe Man.... I HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY OTHER DRUMMER ACHIEVE THIS, EVER. A unique idea. I also saw Bryan play a ballad, and he did a roll on his chinese cymbal for the whole tune, Bryan being totally focused on the tips of his sticks for the entire performance. I worked for some of it but most of the time it didnt. Fail...not the point. I also saw/heard him count in All the Things You are at an IMPOSSIBLY FAST tempo, it didnt work.....not the point. I used to go and practise with him, or attempt to, in the mid 90s. He had written this snare drum piece called The Pig, in Paradiddles, its a fantastic snare drum rudimental piece, that has a real swing to it. Bryan always tries to push the boundries. A beautiful cat, he once made a tape for me. It was of electro magnetic signals picked up by the 1979 Voyager Space Probe, seriously. A load of white noise, which he found fascinating. Ive still got it. He presented it to me with enthusiasm. Nuts. Its a shame that people dont see or hear Bryan anymore because he is a GENUINE ORIGINAL.
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 21:13:52 +0000