Drummers You Should Know (part 2): Joey Baron

Joey Baron by Marco Quarantotto

Joey Baron is my all time favorite drummer. Period!

I've been mesmerized by Baron's playing for more than 12 years now. After the first couple of years of my incessant quest in dissecting his playing, on every album I could find, I had to actually put myself through a “Joey Baron Exorcism”. My total obsession with his playing was beginning to affect my playing... I was using all of his licks! I had to distance my self from it not to become a clone. Wise decision!

Btw, I’m absolutely convinced it’s very important for us musicians to take a break from listening to and studying our musical hero/heroes. Too many instrumentalists get totally obsessed with veneration of their role model, inevitably ending up sounding like a pale copy.

That was one of the many lessons I learned from this guy.

When I got back to revisiting my favorite Joey Baron albums, after a couple of years of abstinence, I was shocked to find that I was still getting blown away by his playing. Sounding as fresh and exiting as the first time I ever heard those tunes. Clearly, this guy’s playing will never cease to make my head spin.

And here’s why…

I firmly believe that Joey Baron is one of the few artists behind drums that epitomize musicality, creativity and freedom in its purest form. The words 'musicality' & 'creativity' get thrown around within the drumming community a lot, too often used wrongly in conjunction with the names of thousands of drummers.

Here I’m writing about a drummer who went on tour by himself, performing on a four-piece kit in front of large audiences, alone. No musical peers on stage, no laptops triggering sequencers, no pre-recorded music. Not talking about a workshop or clinic, but concerts. Just one drummer and a small basic drumkit. Creating music on stage.

I remember seeing a video of one of these solo performances on YouTube for the first time (unfortunately I missed it live... still regretting it badly), Baron was playing 'songs'. Intros; verses; choruses; improvising over the form... it was all there. The audience transfixed; totally immersed in the music he was creating, by himself, on the spot. The melodies reverberating off the drumheads, rims, cymbals, stands... A one man orchestra! I was floored.

After listening very closely, I could clearly hear harmonies.

Heavy stuff!

Yes, Ok, there is Terry Bozzio, pushing the boundaries of solo performances, but have you checked the size of his “drum kit”???

Joey Baron was conjuring incredibly vast musical soundscapes on a four piece kit, with a hi-hat, crash and ride cymbal!!!

His performances with John Zorn’s famed quartet “Masada” are monumental.

I highly recommend checking out Masada “Vol.7”.

I remember hearing that record for the first time at a friends place while at Uni. I can still recall the burden of the big question mark that materialized over my head right after the first minute into the first song.

“What is happening there? What’s that he’s playing? How’s he doing that? The sound???”

Luckily, the friend who played the album for me was an older and mature drummer, and he explained to me what “could” have been going on there: “He’s definitely using his hands and fingers in this section…in the next one…hmm.. I’m not sure. Maybe some odd type of drumstiks? Let’s rewind that bit…”

Inevitably, I became the biggest Joey Baron fan on the planet and ended up doing a lot of research (YouTube wasn’t around then… unfortunately). It took a while, but after countless hours of studying and experimenting on the kit myself, I learned to hear and identify what was “going on” in his playing on that record and how he was doing it.

Hands, fingers, chopsticks, cocktail sticks, wire… everything that could be used for getting the right sound for the song.

Flipping the snare drum upside down to get a crisp staccato sound. Playing with the sticks on the snares themselves for an even more staccato/thrashy sound. Flipping it back again for the next section. One would think that he was really using a drumkit as big as Terry Bozzio’s after all. But nope.

I still apply a lot of the “extended techniques” I lifted from only that single record, on most of my Jazz and experimental gigs. And am still surprised by the reaction by the seasoned musicians involved, being amazed by the “creative solutions” I come up with.

Kinda strange… but that’s when I realized that most of the professional “creative” musicians I was/am working with didn’t know about the likes of Joey Baron. Very few drummers still don’t today. Especially the younger generation who are into pop, rock and R’n’B. “If it's not flashy-not interested”. Well it takes some time, experience and maturity to recognize the “real deal” players, regardless of style. Baron is one of those cats.

Sound and Gear

Another thing I was fascinated by was the sound he was getting out of his ride cymbal. Extremely dry and dark with no wash at all. I was digging all over the net and quizzing all the drummers I knew were into his playing, to find out what cymbal it was.

I discovered that he was using a Spizzichino! A Cymbal custom made by the great late Italian cymbal-smith Roberto Spizzichino. “So that was it! He made him the Cymbal to sound like that!!!”… Wrong.

The cymbal was only responsible for half of the sound…It was Joey Baron’s approach in playing and “preparing” it, that completed the equation.

He would tape the bottom of the ride cymbal up with loads of gaffer tape. Right to the point where it totally choked its resonance, and than he would swing on it with a heavy 5B drumstick. “All of that” combined, was what created the sound that was haunting me for so long. And hurray, I knew exactly how to reproduce it. And successfully did on many of my future recording sessions (if/when such a sound was needed).

This guy's playing, groove, swing and sheer creativity is still influencing me immensely today.

The pocket of his groove… Undeniable! The swing, smooth but angular at the same time.

Career

There aren’t many drummers around today that can claim a CV as diverse as his.

From backing up jazz greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Carmen McRae, Jim Hall to playing and recording with pop icons such as Bob Dylan and David Bowie, pushing the boundaries of experimental and avant-garde music with John Zorn, Tim Berne and Bill Frisell, to even playing punk-hardcore with the likes of  Naked City and Moonchild…Pure inspiration.

The quintessential musical chameleon.

Ah, Haven’t I mentioned that when on tour, the only equipment Baron’s taking along is his drumsticks!!!

Yessir. Exactly, touring around the world, performing with the greatest artists, bringing only his drumsticks. Whatever drumkit and cymbals are provided by the venue will do. No fuss. No problem.

In today’s world of spoiled, endorsed pseudo star-drummers who can’t/won’t play on anything but their specific instruments, there still are the real gurus that will always sound impeccably unique and personal, regardless of equipment.

And yes, the sound is in the “hands”. I’ve seen him play live in several occasions, every time on a different set of drums/cymbals, always having his own signature sound.

As Art Blakey once said “I play the instrument. It’s not the instrument playing me”.

I highly recommend checking him out to every drummer who’s serious about his playing and hungry for inspiration.

Suggested Listening

My personal favorites (there are too many… so I’ll strip it down to these):

John Zorn Masada “Vol.7 Zayin” (for the free-avantgarde and technical aspect of his playing and incredible orchestration)

Bill Frisell Trio “Live”  (showcasing his unique signature broken up grooves and “melodic” groove playing)

Joey Baron “We’ll Soon Find Out” & “Down Home” (For the deep pocket)

To find out more about Joey Baron, the artists he's played with, and a list of albums and recordings, check out his Wikipedia page http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joey_Baron.

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