John Riley bustin'

[deseipel]

[Terry Branam]

Yeah man. Beautiful playing. It's cool to hear him in this type of context,

Have you all checked out the interview in the latest Drumhead mag? He basically landed the gig with Frank Zappa right after Vinnie split the first time!!

Really interesting story. John is a really classy guy, and his playing/teaching totally speaks for itself.

[Rodge]

They play an Aaron Park's song named "Karma" from the album "Invisible Cinema", you have to listen what does Eric Harland on that album, juste pur beautiful music.

[Dave Capuzelo]

I love that blend of playing smooth, yet aggressive. Very few guys can pull that off.

[nomsgmusic]

Terry,

There was nothing "basically" about it. He LANDED the Zappa gig! I haven't seen the article but I remember John telling me about this in lessons, I always wondered when he would let the cat out of the bag. For anyone who (incorrectly) is surprised by John's versatility. I will suggest listening to Luis Bonilla's new CD. "I Talk Now." Although Luis is a "jazz trombone player," this is free-wheeling, fusion-ish, very aggressive and over the top. I was shocked by it's sheer audacity when I first heard it, it had me literally laughing out loud. Just ridiculous (and dare I say, sort of Vinnie-ish in it's over the top-ness!)

On the other hand Hubert Nuss' new CD "The Book Of Colors," is very free and sublime, and John sounds very Motian-ish.

Then go back to John Serry's "Enchantress," which is sort of smoother (but with substance) fusion. Sort of Elektric Band-ish at times.

John is very classy, and one of the BEST teachers out there. One of the very few HIGH quality musicians who can REALLY teach. His observational skills with a student are second to none (I know from first hand experience!!!) He will point out tendencies, shortcomings, and whatever is there to really put you on a course for improvement.

Like Chaffee, the books barely scratch the surface. LIke his books (which have become "standards,") John's recent video is very good, it's very jazz oriented. But you know, musicianship is musicianship, it knows no stylistic boundaries. A GREAT teacher shouldn't care whether you are playing Miles or Meshuggah, he (or she) will help you hone your musical tools, and then you use those tools for whatever you will. That's exactly what John does. And I (for one) feel that this can only be done face to face. Books, videos, youtube, etc. are nice, but without face to face real HUMAN interaction, real musical, conceptual, and creative progress is VERY difficult (some might even say impossible.) EVERYONE (!!!!!!!!) could benefit from a few lessons with John.

As far as his playing, it speaks for itself, check out that Bonilla CD.
Mark

[DSOP]

I only recently began going through John's books, and they're really making me a better player. His DVD is very good too. I would LOVE to take a one-on-one lesson with him if I ever make it out to New York again. He seems like a super genuine, extremely talented and knowledgable guy.

[David Francis]

I'd LOVE to get a copy of that Drumhead interview.

I tried to buy an online subscription yesterday in order to read it but they've stopped offering that service

[Dave Capuzelo]

John is very classy, and one of the BEST teachers out there. One of the very few HIGH quality musicians who can REALLY teach. His observational skills with a student are second to none (I know from first hand experience!!!) He will point out tendencies, shortcomings, and whatever is there to really put you on a course for improvement.

Like Chaffee, the books barely scratch the surface. LIke his books (which have become "standards,") John's recent video is very good, it's very jazz oriented. But you know, musicianship is musicianship, it knows no stylistic boundaries. A GREAT teacher shouldn't care whether you are playing Miles or Meshuggah, he (or she) will help you hone your musical tools, and then you use those tools for whatever you will. That's exactly what John does. And I (for one) feel that this can only be done face to face. Books, videos, youtube, etc. are nice, but without face to face real HUMAN interaction, real musical, conceptual, and creative progress is VERY difficult (some might even say impossible.) EVERYONE (!!!!!!!!) could benefit from a few lessons with John.

As far as his playing, it speaks for itself, check out that Bonilla CD.
Mark

Great post! Quick question for you, if you dont mind.

As a teacher, is he intimidating? I took lessons with Chaffee, and Ill just say that his reputation for being a hard ass is well deserved, lol. Dont get me wrong, I continued to see him, knowing that I was going to get my ass kicked, and I wish I could still learn from him because he changed the whole trajectory of my career as a drummer.

[Yussuf]

I attended one of John's drumclinics some years ago. He is a great drummer and has a very clear and calm way of explaining things. Seemed like a down to earth, friendly guy. I'd like to have lesson from him definitely.

[nomsgmusic]

Dave, That’s a good question, and a tough one to answer. First let me offer some background that will help my answer. I know this isn’t a question about “me.” But I think I have to qualify my answer.

I am 40 years old. When I was a student of John’s I was a student at William Paterson, and it was almost 20 years ago. It was a different time in “education.” In today’s (politically correct) world where everybody’s “great,” and “everyone wins,” I really think education has SUFFERED. I didn’t want teachers to kiss my ass, please don’t tell me I sound good, I have friends that tell me that I sound like any one of my idols, which is nice, but untrue! As Dionne said, “That’s what friends are for.”

Both of my parents were teachers, and everything was a lesson!!! When my Dad did yard work, or changed the oil, I “helped.” Little did I know that I really wasn’t “helping,” I was LEARNING! Unbeknownst to me, I learned HOW to learn, and that it was fun yet very difficult. I trimmed a lot of hedges BADLY, and Dad would say, good try, but let’s work some more on that, because it’s not very good. He would go on and say something like, “Look at yours, and look at mine, what’s the difference between the two? Now let’s try again, and make it better!” I wasn’t a patient kid, but I wanted to “do good.” I also had a cousin (around the same age) who eventually played (for a bit) in the NBA, I saw him work (and sacrifice, and be humbled many times) when we were young, and I saw how it resulted in success in HS and college.

Back to John. I asked John to be painfully truthful with me, I asked all of my teachers to do that. I had a few teachers get right in my face and yell at me about how much I was sucking! But, I have also encountered sort of the same on the bandstand in my musical career. Have you ever seen the Jordan quote about MISSING the game winning shot like 300 times? But he never stopped shooting!!!

I think a student and a teacher MUST establish the groundrules. I think because of that, John was very hard on me! He had me on the verge of tears a few times. BUT, again, this was in a school that had a HARD reputation. Two thirds of the drummers that were accepted in the program (at the time,) DIDN’T graduate, most didn’t stay longer than a year. And there were some VERY harsh educational processes established in the program. Yes, they were harsh, it drove many people away, I LOVED them. And I have been able to make a living playing drums for the last 20 years. It must have worked, I don’t have any longtime classmates that I would think twice about recommending for a gig. And there are some very successful (and well known) drummers that have come out of that same environment. (Bill Stewart, Joe Farnsworth, Carl Allen, Ari Hoenig, John Blake, a young blind drummer from Texas (I forget his name,) Tyshawn Sorey, and MANY more without “big” names. However, I must say this environment was created by another GREAT educator, bassist Rufus Reid.

If I remember correctly John was an music education major at North Texas and it shows in his approach. I think Bissonette was an education major as well, and I think he and John were roomates for a while. You can hear the “educator” when Gregg talks and teaches as well. Good teachers (IMHO) DON’T intimidate, they INSPIRE!

So was John tough? YES. Did I ask for it? Yes. Am I the better for John’s teaching? AB-SO-LUTE-LY!!!! Has all of the “harshness” I encountered from all of my teachers helped me make a living as a musician? DEFINITELY!

Today, I love to teach, and with kids past a certain age, and with aspirations, I throw all of the “politally correct” BS out the window. As I mentioned, John has a wonderful sense of OBSERVATION, and then he teaches based on what he observes. Today, I try to do the same. Educators (like musicians) are human beings first. When they do “what they do,” you can not expect them to be “different people” from who they are. Could you imagine Gary acting like (for example) Negro or Elvin? That’s just NOT him. As a musician, John can excell in MANY different situations (which is the real subject of this thread.) As a teacher he is the same way!

Terry, I also forgot to mention in my previous post, that John is also a MASTER transcriber. Check out those transcription books of Simon’s first two DCI videos (amongst others.) John transcribed it all.

Expect Nothing, Blame No One, Do Something!
Mark