Gavin Harrison interview Part 5: On progressive rock drumming and Porcupine Tree 

He DID change the band. In a very good way, I think. By the way, Anesthetize is a crazy crazy crazy song. It's just absolutely sick. The closest thing to perfection.

The reason why he is so successful in prog rock is because those awsome fill in and playing in odd time signature comes from his jazz background. Honestly the jazz peoples can play outstanding when they join a rock band

i can't tell if he's trying to be modest or this is just the way he is. though without a doubt, he's one of the best prog drummers out there, and honestly, his modesty makes me admire him even more. not just as a musician, but as a person too. long live sir gavin harrison, and long live porcupine tree! :)

UK always puts out the most creative and best musicians.

the only word to describe his playing is mesmerising

interesting how much this guy sounds like bill bruford's lost twin. jazz backgrounds with no intention of joining a rock band become a legend in the prog rock scene. there are life lessons to be learned here.

the album Dead Wing has some of the best drumming i've ever heard.

"I am just a drummer..." Well, this is sort of what I do not agree with. There are so many drummers in this world, but the ones I call "special" I can count on my two hands... and yes, Gavin definitely is one of them. I was honored to see a live show at Vienna many years ago at a small club with an audience of about 200-300 people. For me as a non-professional musician this experience changed my idea of music. I would like to thank Gavin and the whole PT band&crew and would really be looking forward to see them again...

"...I'm just a drummer..."... wow. Either this is clear british understatement or Gavin is really something else. Love the relaxed approach and straight bluntness and uniqueness of his take on music.

I saw a Renaissance concert (Charlottesville) around 40 years ago. I wonder if that was my first exposure to Gavin! I have always wanted to see him live, but PT, KC never played a show anywhere close to where I lived. So, maybe I did! Wish I could recall something about the show.

This interview is changing my life and perspective on the drums.

It must be the jazz influence that makes Harrison's drumming so smooth!! No one grooves in odd times like Gavin.

Gavin! England is proud of ya mate!!

Great Guy-Greatest Drummer !

What a prodigy. And such hard work. I'm glad he ended up playing for King Crimson, entering the legacy of the monsters that played with Fripp.

Thank you so much for uploading!! Gavin, we salute you!!

An absolute drumming Genius ! ...

this interview series is still valid after 9 years. Thanks for uploading.

favorite drummer...ever...more than carey or reinert even, this guy is monumental

....that last fill.....fuck me!

"- King crimson? i don't know who the hell you are, apart from 1 or 2 songs - Great come join us!"

He's a drum genius!!!!

7:06 made me think of the first time I heard PT. I was introduced to PT by my favourite singer, he played Dark Matter for me. And although I did like it, the music did not grab me. And then In Absentia came out and from the first note I was like: Hey, they sound and feel different, I like this! Wait, why? And then I looked it up and found out they had a new drummer. I'm hooked eversince 🙃

For mine, the most exciting drummer around (now Bruford's retired).

Number 1: Renaissance and Gavin was a very great combo* I still think of their music as a great inspiration. Gavin in the more contemperary bands Porcupine Tree and King Crimson is definately getting my excited these days to drum and be in music Now as well *

Wow... I never knew he was this deep, or his background this varied. I've always liked him but my respect for the guy has ballooned. Great stuff.

Gavin you literally ROCK BROS.!!!!! I'M ALSO A CRAFTSMAN. NO SHORT CUTS, NOR THE PEOPLE WHO WORK WITH ME. PEACEEEEE.

Gavin is a phenomenal player and a great guy.

What a very humble genius!

Gavin's tour with Renaissance was captured on video. Just look up "Renaissance Park West 1983" on YT. Just be warned: Renaissance's brand of prog has nothing in common with PT. They were founded in 1969 as a post-Yardbirds project for Keith Relf and Jim McCarty so their origins and sound are rooted in late 60s folk rock and 70s symphonic rock. By the early 80s -- like most 70s prog bands -- Renaissance were on their last legs and the tour with Gavin was their last (of that era.) Secondly, Gavin says here that maybe his jazz background helped him give prog music a different slant. Many would say that's what made prog so distinctive from its beginnings -- most of the time the drummers in those early band came from jazz or big band backgrounds. Bill Bruford, Carl Palmer, Michael Giles, etc. So in that sense Gavin's in very good company.

I love his floor tom sound!

Jazz is the Foundational Style of All drumming

So much of PT's music is like it's made for drumming. Anesthetize is a drum track primarily. There's some mesmerising music around it so it doesn't sound like a drum solo, but it's just perfectly written for drums.

god damn it i didn't even like porcupine tree that much until this guy joined

The whole song, from background to the loud one is Anesthetize, from Fear of a Blank Planet. amazing song, IMO, one of the best of all times.

@stallpooh Indeed man, indeed. One of the most musical, tasteful and inspiring drummers of these days.

Gavin Harrison may be the most musical drummer of our time.

I like how honest this guy is, and what he said, of course young kids will be more prone to like porcupine tree and those "old guys" won't go crazy about this band, because the music has nothing to do with prog rock, and it is more in touch with younger people subjects and feelings I think, and because not everything that is complex in terms of composition means instant prog rock.

He has a Sonor SQ2 kit with a 14x5" 6 ply Birch Snare.

1:15 thats what I love about Porcupine Tree. They have elements of progressive but still keep it commercial and not too crazy which gives them their unique sound

Well he plays in the bands Porcupine Tree and King Crimson, ;) actually the first scene where he's playing with that track, thats the Porcupine Tree song Anesthetized

he is one of the best

He's the best!!!

There must be tons of guys like him - session drummers - who haven't ever found a band for themselves. ://

The song is Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize

more like he doesnt take anything for granted...

Can anyone post the link to this anesthetize playthrough. I have watched the modern drummer one but I want this version

There used to be a full version of that performance on here about a year ago. I wonder where it went. Hudson probably took it down.

@jez12 This in not a 14" Q2 Snare. This is his 12" Designer Signature Snaredrum

what is the song in the beginning and at 3:30? anesthesize aswell?

Is there anywhere that I can get a video of the entire song without the interview?

4:55 Funny how Marco Minnemann went through the same thing with Dream Theater and they didn't pick him. He didn't know anything about them and told them in person, yet he seemed like one of the guys who had the best chemistry with them. Now, DT did what they had to do, but I still think it was extremely dumb to look for a new drummer demanding him to play the exact same way their older drummer did. Robert Fripp's approach with Gavin in the other hand, was perfect when you're talking about creative drummers like Gavin.

same here dude!

Part 6 hasn't been released yet.

@Spacecowboyy No, he played for a ton of other bands in that time, that's just the gap in between prog bands.

I think Gavin Harrison is someone to start looking at more - very good drumming personality here.

i wana here some of there stuff pre gavin.

@jez12 & @anyone else reading this post - if you've the full drum session of gavin harrison for anesthetize please upload it.. i really want it to see! thanks :)

great interview! is there any chance to get just the background clip where gavin is playing anestethize?

The whole time it is just one song: Anesthetize (Fear of a Blank Planet album)

I know. But many have not.

@irontheater77 AMEN!!!!

It was the internet, Gavin. The internet got the younger generation into PT. :]

How is it the name of the song? Excellent video!

ya i love that too. like heavy psychedelic is how you would pretty much get PT.

Flams between hands and feet.

does anyone know what he plays at 3:47

I'm sure he's got three arms

@chribba001 from which album is it?

DANG WHAT SNARE DRUM IS GAVIN USING ANYONE?

5:26 which song is that plz respond

its not the heavy elements which gets younger people into porcupine tree.

Somebody knows the name of the track he is playing?. Thanks!.

Porcupine Tree - Anesthetize

Who is the sole clown that keeps disliking his interviews???? Must have a grudge against the guy!!

What's the song he's drumming to for the first minute or so of the video?

Like 'old guys' shouldn't be listening to younger bands. Did you tell Fripp he was an old guy Gav?

0:54 Gavin's mind: Stop laughing, you'll make yourself look like a fool and instead nail this interview before you have to do another take

Even though he is a great drummer, in my opinion Porcupine Tree went to shit after Gavin stepped in. Not the drumming, but the composing as a whole. I know how musicians want to grow and try new things but all of those albums after Lightbulb Sun weren't my cup of tea.