@@GaryHusbandKeyboardsandDrums Can you play in my band? Ha! I value your deep and personal connection with music. It's like a religion to me. What a fantastic interview! Thanks for sharing your story with Rick even though I'm nearly 4 years late.
Wonderful interview! Gary is one of my favorite musicians; when I first heard him with Allan, he blew my mind in terms of inventiveness, same story when I first heard him playing piano & keyboard stuff. Since his departure, when the Holdsworth's guys talk about the Maestro, tears start to flow... but, anyway, great Sounding Off episode. Thank you Rick!
Really aligned with Gary's sentiment that "every note counts" and that FEELING ultimately supercedes technique ; it's a unique handshake, but FEELING is what everything we all do is all about. Music is an art form whose job is to express and share FEELING. I also loved his comments about the shortness of the attention spans of today's people because of the endless distractions of the world of media, something I think we all need to curb or at least step back from and separate ourselves from, somehow gaining an insight into a bigger picture of who we are and WHO owns our minds, for our minds should only be owned by US, and we should be able to separate the distractions and compartmentalize them so that we can focus ourselves for long periods of time without it feeling obtuse. Rico, thankyou as always for your endless efforts to bring to this crazyass world the true meaning of what it means to be A MUSICIAN. Hi Dylan !!!!!!!!!
My favourite memory of listening to Gary was at the 606 club. In the interval between bands Gary sat at the piano for about 10 minutes and noodled on some chords with a few melody lines thrown in. So quiet, spacious and emotional and, I assume, just the thoughts and feelings of the moment. Sometimes, less really is more.
Brilliant Rick & thanks Gary for taking the time out to share your skills, wisdom, experience and heart with us! Hey Rick: Could you get John McLaughlin on this segment by any chance?! Your insightful, musical and other inquiries pull out much more than the usual interviews and we've seen and read 100 interviews with John, but yours might be the ultimate!!!
So many years ago I remember seeing IOU in Baltimore, MD. I drove over 300 miles to see the band. They played in a tiny second floor bar in the middle of Baltimore city. It was unforgettable. No one even knew who they were back then. Memories! Bittersweet memories......
I am so sad I never got the chance to see the Allan Holdsworth play live with Gary Husband and Jimmy Johnson. I got to see him play a couple of times but never with them and it is still one of my big frustrations. Gary Husband is a monster musician!
Thanks for the truly personal and insightful interview Rick and Gary. I've listened to IOU since it was released and have never stopped going back to it and it always sounds unbelievable as does all of Holdsworth's music.
Very cool to hear him talk about IOU. That album was very significant for me. I listened to it for years after discovering Holdsworth in the mid 90's. His drumming was a completely new concept for me. Husband and Wackerman played in a way I had never heard before at that time.
Gary’s Father was a great influence on how he evolved as a musician but also he had diverse influences. Like his friend Allan Holdsworth….That thumb under the fingers with the coin on top is an extraordinary story on technique development. (Paul)
Rick, your channel is the bees knees! Great content, and now these interviews with Gary Husband and Steve Hunt! These interviews mean a lot to those who loved Allan's music. Doing a good service to his memory to talk about the process behind the music with these geniuses. Cheers!
Saw him, Haslip, and Holdsworth @ Reggies in Chicago 2014. A great great memorable experience. Never heard live music at that level. Maybe get Haslip on. Another recommendation is Tim Lerch(youtube him, he is a Ted Greene disciple), he has a jazzy guitar tone that will melt walls down.
Matt F I asked for Jimmy Haslip ages ago! He did a great interview recently on an Australian Bass players channel, can't remember the channels name as I type..;-(
Saw the IOU group at the Bottom Line club in NYC back n the day,if you will. What made the IOU record so brilliant was the perfect combination of both the musicians and their contributions! Great record...bravo gentleman!
You know what would be a great sounding off? Vinnie Colaiuta! after the Vai video and the polyrhythm talk, I'd love to have YOU asking some interesting questions. There's a rumor out there that Vinnie sight read a Zappa tune that was more challenging than the black page, and ate sushi off a music stand while doing it. The internet deserves to know if it's true. These are the kind questions that only Rick Beato would ask!!
This is fantastic, Rick! I don’t know how I missed this one considering it’s 3 years after you published it. Husband is on such a level that few artists attain and his persona and humility is so refreshing given his absolute brilliance in an industry rife with narcissistic, egotistical assholes. I too, had a chance to meet him at the Catalina Jazz Club in LA (it might’ve been at a Chick Corea concert) and he was the perfect gentleman.
Another great conversation!! Is it because I'm 58 that the hour flys by..;-)) Played at The Rock Garden in Camden years ago. Talking Heads played there as well if I remember correctly as did Blondie etc etc...
Great interview of Gary Husband! Saw the first 1982 IOU gig at The Stone in San Francisco. Had purchased one of the first 500 LPs which were pressed in England...from the tour manager who was selling them in the club. Was right in front of Allan that evening. Was musically a life changing experience.
One of my favorite people on the planet from the music world, Gary Husband, 1st foil to my all time favorite, John Mclaughlin. Such a wonderful thing to see this interview and the personal insights into the God of music that are Gary's peers. GH is such a humble human being and its both warming and tearful to see him talk about the late Allan Holdsworth! Thanks for your great efforts, contributions and facilitations in relation to these geniuses of music, Mr Beato!! :-)
Great interview Rick, I love Gary! Regarding modern proficiency, my thoughts on imitation over creation: ‘anyone can master Microsoft word but it doesn’t make them an author!’
Gary Husband is one of those fantastic musicians I knew about, but haven't investigated beyond hearing his music. This video was a perfect introduction in hearing his thoughts on various music subjects. This series has served that purpose many times already.
It’s really nice to hear Gary talk about allans phrasing a bit here. I saw that band in San Diego in 94. I was blown away from the start when they played looking glass by how they phrased some of the passages together. You just could t write something like that out. I’ve seen Allan with different drummers and they were all terrific. But Gary really got it. Definitely and honour to have see that live.
With Allan it was an obsession but it was a GOOD obsession….33:34 ,from what Gary says here it’s no wonder Allan didn’t get on with producer Ted Templeman on the Road Games album…lol…Allan described it as ‘a disaster on wheels’ …..lol
I'd like to hear your interview of the Greatest Bass Player in the world (who nobody knows) Jimmy Johnson. But Allan Holdsworth certainly knows he's the Greatest. His quote being "To me, he's the Greatest Bass Player in the world". People in the know recognize this. It is a shame that Johnson has never received the notoriety that he deserves. But then again nether did Holdsworth, in musical circles Allan is of course revered, but your average person on the street remains clueless to this. Same with Johnson. You would no doubt do (your usual) amazing interview with him. Please do.
Great interview! Gary Husband is of the greatest musicians alive. He has the sensibility of a classical musician, the sophisticated sense of rhythm of a conductor or chamber musician even as a drummer, and his keyboard playing, his language is - truly contemporary, of his time, modern, and perfect for John McLaughlin.
What an amazing person. I really miss being able to see Gary play and even talk to him in my hometown. I remember once I showed up to an Allan Holdsworth concert and got to speak with Gary. The first thing he said was "I like your shirt". I had a Buddy Rich t-shirt on. The funny thing was, at the time, I didn't know Gary had done big band drumming. Now I know why he liked my shirt. Thanks for everything you've done Gary. It changed my drumming.
And here comes GARY HUSBAND - probably among the top 3 Drummers IN the WORLD ! - and ...ooh .... he´s ALSO a piano virteous ! And Such a Gentleman ,- Its very emotional , to watch , but i coulndt stop laughing : Hey Allan , what kind of time signature is it ? "well- everthing is in ONE,- " ;-) ..... SO Allan ! :-)
How awesome was that! It does my soul good to hear a musician speak of music the way it should be. It's Art. Art of speaking, art of playing, art of listening, art of understanding, art of decision making, art of not playing, art of intention, art of everything ... You name it.
Great interview Rick. Thanks so much for getting G Husband. Pretty cool to hear he was influenced by a few of my favs , Jan Hammer, Cobham, Stan Kenton. Very cool !
Gary mentions Ronnie Verrell. Verrell (RIP) was the drummer for 'Animal' on 'The Muppets'. He was also possibly the drummer on Tom Jones's 'It's Not Unusual' and Petula Clark's 'Downtown'. He is in the Dusty Springfield video of her at the Royal Albert Hall (on RU-vid), and though the band is under rehearsed, the drumming is great.
Level 42 guaranteed was Gary and Alan's amazing storyline masterpiece! An amazing completely inspirational CD And I'm not trying to leave out mark king
What can you say… And they used to say rock musicians didn’t understand music. I think to get to virtuoso level on one instrument is rare … think of Allan Holdsworth…but Gary is at that level on drums and keyboards. Respect.
Great interview Rick!! I was hoping to find out if Gary ever got any of his gear back after he was robbed and lost ALL of his drums and cymbals a few years back?
Allan has been my biggest influence on the guitar since I was 15 years old (20 years ago) and I've always said in interviews and to students that tone is 90% in your hands and all the other bits make up the remaining 10%.Steve Viaonce told me a story of Eddie Van Halen getting on Steve's ultra complex guitar rig with all kinds of rack gear and a huge pedal board and he said that as soon as he started playing, it sounded like Eddie. He didn't recognize the sound of his rig. I love that Eddie was responsible for Allan's only major label release. Such a fun little trivia fact.
thanx so much for this....huge fan of Gary's work with both Holdsworth and Level 42...never heard an interview with him, and his insights into playing with Allen revealed things that are rarely discussed or worried about these days (ie: his comments about the importance of "feel"...)...
Great interview. I hearded to talk about Gary Husband 20 years ago more or lesswhen my drum professor showed me Level 42, but before this i listened Allan Holdsworth without knowing that Gary played the drums :)
Amazing! You can hear how much his drumming is informed by instruments outside of drums. Gary Husband's playing is uniquely his own. Always makes the list of inspiration.
Interesting that Allan Holdsworth, Gary, John McLaughlin and Mick Ronson all came from Yorkshire. People talk of the Surrey Delta (Clapton, Beck, et al) but rarely of the Yorkshire triangle (Bradford/Leeds, Doncaster, Hull) 🙂
this is a great interview, thanks Rick. I took guitar lessons in high school, gave up after 7 years when I couldn't grasp enough of Allan's playing... I naturally gravitated towards drums, fast forward a few years later and I'm revisiting AH's music. Since developing a lot more of a sense of rhythm and time I'm finding all new musical phrases and concepts but at the same holding an even greater appreciation for the melody and harmony that I heard years before.
That point on Allan only thinking of timing on ONE does explain a lot actually…It could explain WHY he was such an unrestrained improviser …And GARY was also this, so they fed each other’s spontaneous creativity….The Things You See(on IOU) yes. Can’t write it but ‘feel’ it. Yes.
I think one of the main reasons sophisticated art /jazz music isn't popular is because you need a certain intellect to appreciate complex musical progressions. I believe the more accomplished a musician you get the more your ear becomes attuned to dissonance and unusual progressions. Allan was so advanced that very few people today would appreciate his music or get what he achieved. The majority of people are not of high intelligence or musical wizards, so it will never be that popular IMO, in fact I'm surprised it was quite popular in the early 80s. You look at the vast majority of music which is commercially very popular, musically it's generally very basic.
C'mon, Holdsworth and Husband were English. That explains why they mention Elgar and Vaughan Williams to reference their most tender effervescent moments. Same with Yes and Genesis. The English cathedral choir tradition runs deep whether they know it or not.
I will always consider Gary as the drummer for AH. His controlled chaos on I.O.U. and his almost untechnical style always appealed to me. I like his organic expressiveness on the drums - his improvisation as he states in this interview. The feel, not necessarily the precise time signatures. As Gary has said before "what is implied"
We feel compelled to mention that Radiohead, as well as a number of other artists that are less well-known, have all maintained a form of “art” music that combines a vision and dedication to push music to new horizons... Never-the-less, a very passionate interview. RIP Alan Holdsworth, a true original.
his comment about the drummer being the "center"- so true...if they don't do their job well, the whole band suffers...they are the fixed point in the group...
