The Positive Spin on Drums by Chris Belin Musical Reflections and Remembrances of the Week Levon Helm This past week I’ve been running into all kinds of Levon Helm tributes. For those who are not familiar, Levon passed away Thursday April 19th at age 71 after a long battle with cancer. He was primarily known as being the drummer and one of the vocalists for The Band. You can find a lot of information on him and The Band, as well as some great stories about his affiliation with Bob Dylan. On a side note, I actually got to see Bob Dylan last year (minus Leon on the skins) in concert and he didn’t disappoint one bit! This week I also discovered lots of Levon Helm solo material I was previously unaware of via Sirius radio. All the above really showed his talents as a multi-instrumentalist. In the last few years I’ve performed “The Weight” & “Up on Cripple Creek” with a few bands, getting a chance to analyze Levon’s tasteful drumming first hand. Also, two of my favorite clips of Levon that haven’t been featured in any articles i’ve seen are his appearance in the Steve Jordan drum video “The Groove is Here” as well as his scene in the “The Shooter”, a movie starring Mark Wahlberg. Rock N’ Roll Hall of Fame 2012 induction I was so psyched to hear a few weeks back that three bands I was heavily influenced by as a kid, Guns N’ Roses, The Beastie Boys, & The Red Hot Chili Peppers, were all going to be inducted into the hall of fame. I was looking forward to seeing the original G N’R lineup perform the most, but it was not to be. I’m still hopeful but not holding my breath. Based on Axl’s letter to the hall of fame it looks like I won’t be seeing his goofy half microphone stand circa 1992 from the Use Your Illusion tour, my first concert when I was 12. Maybe Steven Adler will donate his logo bass drum head from the “Sweet Child O’ Mine” video. Regardless, I thought Duff McKagan gave a great speech & the rest of the band seemed grateful for the honor. Looking forward to next year’s list. Maybe Kiss & Rush??
top of page
bottom of page
Comments