SIMON PHILLIPS - Drummer (Toto, Judas Priest & many more) 

I had the privilege of playing with Simon 1999 TOTO world tour as a backup vocalist and light percussionist. Simon is a gem of a person and a delight to be around. I love him like a brother and admire him immensely.

Dom's skills as an interviewer are to be commended. Really fascinating stuff!

I went to school with Simon. He used to be allowed in late on the morning after playing with his Dad's band the night before. I remember the Revox G36's his mum had.

Simon's drum parts on Sin After Sin album were exceptional'!

He’s the man

Sin After Sin is my favorite Priest album and Simon's drumming on that album is stellar.

Simon is a genuine dude, he knows his shit.

Not too many know this, but Simon is also an exceptional sound/recording engineer.

Love Simon and cannot wait until he and Protocol make their way back home to so cal

Im not a drummer, but when i saw simon playing the drum, i feel that this is the real drummer, the skill, variety in technique and the power is excellent

Simon is exceptional!

Legend, I love many drummers but back in the 70s he started me off along with Ian Paice.

Watching this interview has made me a better drummer. And I don't even play drums.......

I'm a musician of very little note (after 30-odd years I still daren't call myself a 'drummer'), but this series makes me feel SO GOOD! There really are genuinely nice, modest, incredibly hard-working, inspirational, talented people out there who have won in life by being modest, personable, incredibly hard-working, inspirational, talented and genuinely nice... Hey, the system WORKS! :-)

Simon Phillips is the coolest and a very nice person.

Michael Schenker Group debut instant classic. LOST HORIZONS has to be one of his best.

Simon is outstanding!

His work with Phil Manzanera''s 801 band is always fun to revisit. 801 Live is masterful and a personal decades-long fave.

Simon is one of my all-time favorite drummers. He is a Monster!

I LOVE THE WAY THIS GUY CAN PLAY THE DRUMS, HE IS FOR ME WITH JEFF PORCARO, THE VERY VERY BEST DRUMMERS IN THE WORLD, NICE INTERVIEW, I MISS THIS DRUMMER WITH TOTO.

Simons opening track on Burning for Buddy (Neil Peart produced with Cathy Rich Buddy's daughter) was the first track for a reason. Simon is the bench mark most master drummers try to obtain. He is a force of nature with such fluidity and finess. His work with the Luke in Los lobotomy's is phenomenal! A must listen for any intermediate to advanced drummer.

Wonderful interview, thank you so much!

Back in 1982, when I was about sixteen, I went to a drum clinic featuring Simon Phillips at Whittier music in SoCal. At the time I didn't know who he was, but watching him play was a life changing event for me.

サイモンは、TOTOのジェフとはアプローチが１８０度違うけど、山の何処から登っても頂上に着くのは一緒！どちらもorchestrationが凄く、ヒューマンなドラムで大好き！💜

I discovered Simon after I bought the first Michael Schenker Group album. He then went on to tour with Toyah, who had that massive hit, It’s a mystery.

Simon has played with almost all the famous musicians..bands..the list is..very long..awesome and clean drummer..

I've heard so many of Simon's recordings. Great to hear him talk so eloquently about them. Dom is also an old favorite of mine. I've seen him in clinics....the pure JOY of his playing. He once knocked his glasses off during an inspired solo. He just kept going, smiling, interacting. The joy of drumming..............

Simon Phillips = Greatness, Musical Genius, Class, Gentlemen, One in a million!

Wow what an interview with one of the very best ever Simon Phillips who I discovered on Jeff Beck There and Back. The song Space Boogie made think who is killing on the drums? Hearing him talk is priceless.. After hearing him on dozens of other stuff it became apparent he was a true go to studio and live drummer.

Dom you are one of the most outstanding interviewers of all time! Thank you!

Legendary Simon Jeff porcaro is Very proud

He played with Jon Lord on Bach Onto This (from Before I Forget) which is a classic track, plus Jeff Beck on El Becko (from There And Back). Another classic.

Back around 1990, I saw him at the NAMM show doing a drum clinic with Bill Bruford...It was amazing! Roy Burns got me in to NAMM with some weird name bad with some strange Russian guy's name on it (you can't get away with that these day lol).

Man. Great stuff. You can clearly imagine him exploring,becoming a musician and working hard. He basically explained how he's become that good of a drummer.

First heard Simon with 801. Blew my mind. Brilliant drummer & a terrific interview!

It is really interesting listening to drums master Simon Phillips

Simon Phillips is a great drummer with an impressive reputation and resume'. I like his 20+ yrs with Toto and time with the Who...

Simon. what a down to earth , sweet, funny fellow. absolutely adorable. my fav

One of the GREATEST cats of All Time!!! Just a Super Cool Cat Simon is!!

Gentlemen of drums both of them.

Mr Famularo your work expanding the knowledge about music in special about drums have extremaly impact nowadays for the young generation and amplify who is not younger anymore making the whole drum community connected. Thank you master Dom!

Simon! Great musician

One of my favorites!

I absolutely love this series. Dom is a superb interviewer. Dom asks seriously informed questions of these Percussion Giants, that Drummers want to know, that most interviewers , who are not drummers will not know to ask. Simon is one of my absolute heroes.

One of my favorite drummers for a long time.

Has anyone ever seen Simon and Eric Idle at the same place at the same time? Hmm...

These interviews are priceless, Dom has a gift as a drummer, teacher and interviewer. Simon is incredible.

oh my gosh ! My Immortal, ever

One of the nicest guys in drum world :)

Dom and Simon! Two of the GREATS!!! Fantastic interview!

Mr. Phillips is damn right with the analog/digital thing. Really. I do a lot of VST drumming, meaning using drum samples (Superior Drummer 3 by Toontrack) and these guys are amazing. They take an awesome sounding studio, with great drums, famous mics and outstanding engineers (all for a particular genre) and records that stuff. Lately I grabbed the "Hitmaker SDX" drum library and the "making of" say literally what Simon Phillips said: Hugh Padgham used THE ball-and-biscuit mic used to produce the famous Phil Collins "In the air tonight" intro fill compressed tom drum sound. Wooow. And actually he used a lot of "old" gear like several consoles because of their special e.g. warm sound. Yes, that characteristics of the sound are only a thing of the signal path: studio-mic-preamps ... what Mr. Phillips said. In the end it's just stored on a digital medium. Now there are actually plugins for Digital Audio Workstations (DAW) that emulate the tape recording effects like saturation etc. And with those drum libraries I can use these sounds recorded and mixed by Hugh Padgham, Eddie Kramer, George Massenburg, Tom Dalgety, Michael Ilbert with my edrums. That's absolutely amazing for me as a tiny hobby musician.

these interviews are inspiring and full of vital information! thanks so much what you do Dom!

Simon Phillips, un style unique, un vrai délice pour moi, d’écouter un telle virtuose

There is an album by the late Guitarist Gary Moore, on that album is a track called "Would You Rather Bee Or A Wasp". Simon starts this track with a snare roll then steps into a great groove, killer track. Regarding the band Toto, I think Simon did great job stepping into Jeff's shoes, not to clone Jeff's grooves or licks but to add his own personality to the band Toto. Really love Simon's "Protocol" Albums.

Watching Simon play, is an excellent example of constancy, and displays a high degree of excellence!

Cool . first time I heard him on early Priest album ..I was well Young ..Drummer my self. he done double Bass drum on that album. heavy but also sensitive, bit of Jazz feel too ...

Love this series. Great interviewer who really seems to listen to his subject. Simon is so brilliant.

You might hate this Simon, but I still love 801 Live.

I first heard Simon playing on the 1977 eponymous Metro album--songs written by Duncan Browne, Peter Godwin and Sean Lyons--then I started searching for albums that Simon played on--fabulous drummer.

What a fantastic player Simon is.

He is my hero!!!!!

Fantastic interview. RIP Dom!

Simon is awesome! So is Dom!

outstanding!

What a legend!!!!

We caught a Simon Philips drum clinic at the Drum Shop in Houston, mid 80's or so. Soon an octopus was whirling, and 4 drummers seemed to be playing. A guy raised his hand and asked if Simon considered himself ambidextrous or multidextrous, however he put it. A moment of silence, then everyone burst out laughing. Obviously the rest of the house considered him multiambidextrous. Dude sat down -didn't hear another question from him. afterwards, Several were slapping him on the back, to shake off the not so bright question. I reckoned he had an octopus in his lineage. Didn't feel the need to ask whose side it was on

R.I.P. Dom

Really good interview. I almost feel like I am there with them for some reason...

I Love his drumming and his music and his sound. One of my favorites.

Instant subscribe.

Great interview Dom..thank you

These guys 👍👍👍👍

Two gentlemen shooting the shit...excellent interview. Been a huge fan for a long time now. R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

Great on Townshend’s All the Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes. I understand the Dixieland drum intro now on "Stop Hurting People" :)

MONSTER player

Awesome!

thanks dom for all these great interviews

Awesome interview with a true drum legend!!

Great great great series!!!!!! Thanks from Belgium!

Thanks again Dom , for another inspiring conversation with one of the greats!!!

Wonderful interview!

"Phillips found early prominence as the drummer on the 1976 LP 801 Live with Phil Manzanera and Brian Eno. He replaced Judas Priest drummer Alan Moore on the band's Sin After Sin album (1977) and went on to record Michael Schenker's 1980 debut album The Michael Schenker Group. Phillips then performed and recorded with a wide array of musicians including Big Jim Sullivan, Pete Townshend, Big Country, Toto, Steve Lukather and Los Lobotomys (Candyman), Jeff Beck, Whitesnake, Jack Bruce, David Gilmour, Frank Zappa, Brian Eno, Duncan Browne, Toyah, Mike Oldfield, Jon Anderson, Bonnie Tyler, Trevor Rabin, Gary Moore, 10cc, Mick Jagger, PhD, Joe Satriani, Russ Ballard, Mike Rutherford, Phil Manzanera, John Wetton, flamenco guitarist Juan Martin, Asia, Stanley Clarke, Jimmy Earl, Derek Sherinian, Nik Kershaw, Gordon Giltrap, Camel, Jordan Rudess and Tears For Fears. He was also the drummer for The Who on their 1989 American reunion tour, and appeared on solo recordings by band members Roger Daltrey and Pete Townshend. Phillips has played on, co-produced, and mixed five Derek Sherinian solo records - Inertia (2001), Black Utopia (2003), Mythology (2004), Blood of the Snake (2006), and Oceana (2011). He also co-produced and mixed two albums by Mike Oldfield. Phillips also appeared with Jeff Beck, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Steve Winwood and others in the video for the 1983 A.R.M.S. benefit concert for Ronnie Lane. In the early 1980s, Phillips formed part of RMS with fellow session musicians, Mo Foster and Ray Russell. He has released four studio albums of varying styles.In 2006, Phillips released a DVD with his jazz band, Vantage Point, called Resolution with writer and pianist Jeff Babko, Trumpeter Walt Fowler, saxophonist Brandon Fields and bassist Alphonso Johnson. In 2015 at The 14th Annual Independent Music Awards, Simon Phillips was the winner in the "Jazz Instrumental Album" category for "Protocol II". -wiki

I fair enjoyed this interview. Thanks!

I always enjoy these interviews. Thank you Dom.

This is just great - best SP interview I’ve seen. Thanks so much!

Beautiful interview. Thanks for this.

Very underated but an exceptional person/drummer 👍👍👍👍👍

These interviews are simply amazing: its like having a private session were all the best questions are asked.Bravo again!

Great interview. The lack of recording experience nowadays, Simon mentions towards the end, is on record labels. People often don't get the chance today. It has to change again, there are too much controllers and lawyers interfering with music and artists.

Magic!

Dom and Simon!!! Love both drummers. I was lucky enough seeing both live doing drum clinics. Fantastic of course! Great interview!

The invention of the cable hi-hat creates interesting possibilities.

Great interview!

I saw him play with 'The Who' when they did their Tommy tour in 1989... They played the Tacoma Dome outside of Seattle... What a great show... and I was dosed so hard... you should have seen Pete put the whammy bar thrtu his hand...

Go check out Simon playing with The Who...the song is called Extra Extra from Tommy. It will make you cry because it's that good.

The drums on “rip it out” are crazy. Not really a Ace Frehley fan but damn the song rocks

Dom Thank You!

Great interview, thanks :)

Hey Dom! Thanks so much for this interview. Your listening skills are superb and you definitely should be doing more of this, except that you're also an amazing drummer and teacher. Too talented! See you back at Drumeo. Simon's an absolute class act, speaking of talent. I love the part about how he discovered that open hand technique was for him...just made sense FOR HIM, not necessarily everyone. The sound engineer path is astounding! He knows when to step aside, too, and not tread on other people's feet. Rather, he watches and learns. What a cool guy! Both of you! Thanks. :)))

TOTO really lost a major asset when Simon left. Lukather briefly talks about it in his book, "The Gospel of Luke." Simon had been with the band for many years but still wasn't being given the opportunity to have that much input. So he began seeking out other opportunities like Hiromi, etc. He's an exceptional musician.