Eric recently took some time out of his very busy schedule to talk with KISS ASYLUM and complete an in depth interview for all the online fans, including answering some questions which were submitted via email by fans specifically for this interview.
As you will see, Eric really covered the bases in this one on such varied topics as: the meaning of his tattoos; thoughts on hip-hop and “sampling;” his upcoming tour with Alice Cooper; his infamous watch collection; Gene as business man; drumming gear and technique tips; Russian women; his brutally honest “tell it like it is” walk through the nuts and bolts of how the music business really works; and, of course, ESP and his other musical endeavors. Read on for the “Essential Eric Singer Interview.”
KA: Everybody knows the work you’ve done with artists like Alice Cooper, Black Sabbath and KISS, but how were things when you first started and were trying to make a name for yourself. Particularly why did you play with the bands Drive and Stream?
ES: Well, the band Drive was like a heavy metal band, kind of influenced similar to like an Iron Maiden-ish, Queen type band. I was just hired as a studio drummer. I mean, even now, I still do studio work. It’s the same type of thing with a band called Stream I played for recently. When you do studio work that means you play virtually almost any type of style of music and you have to be not only capable of being a chameleon and adapting to the situation, but you have to realize that a lot of times you may do things that maybe aren’t of your personal musical taste. For example, that band Drive. Those guys were really good at what they did, but that’s not particularly the kind of band that I personally would want to play in. But that doesn’t mean that I can’t still go in and do a good job and enjoy myself and have a good time. The bottom line is that I’m a drummer for a living. I am a musician for a living. I play drums and I look at myself as a professional drummer; I make a living by playing music.
If somebody calls me up to play on something, I don’t say no unless it is somebody that I particularly don’t want to work with or I think it is something I wouldn’t be able to do a fair job for them. Then I would be honest and say, “Hey, I don’t think I am the right guy for what you are doing.” Otherwise I just accept and play anything, because I enjoy it. To me, playing drums is ultimately what it’s about. Being able to make music of all types. I enjoy playing with different people and the challenge of playing different styles of music and different things. Playing with the same people over and over for me is not challenging. Some people will justify it saying, “Oh, we’ve got more on our plate and I’m satisfied with just one band.” And that’s fine, that’s great if that’s what you feel. But I really like playing with different people. I like the chemistry of working with different people and playing different types of music. If you like just doing one kind of thing and that’s what you want to do and you are really immersed in your own band, that’s great. But for me, I like the challenge of doing different things.
Not everybody is capable of playing different stuff with just anybody. Some people, you know, they write their own songs, they play their own music and that’s what they do well, but that’s all they can do. The can’t go in and just sit in with other people and make it work. But that is basically how I make a living. Right now I am not a member of any one band per se. Like last week I played with a bunch of different projects, you know? And I’m gonna go on Alice Cooper’s tour, we start rehearsals in three weeks. I’ll go and do whatever because to me, as long as I like playing music for a living, I’ll play with whoever. I really enjoy the fact that I have the freedom now to do what I want. I can play with whoever I want or I don’t have to play with somebody if I dont want to. I have to pay my bills just like anybody else, so there are times where maybe I do make a little bit of compromise and say hey, I wouldn’t ordinarily do this given a different situation. But if you want to make a living you gotta take the good with the bad and accept the challenges of doing things that maybe aren’t really your favorite cup of tea. It’s not always about the money, I don’t just do things for money. There are times where I have taken things because I am going to get paid very well for it, and I realize that if I don’t do it I am an idiot!
KA: To the non-musicians of the world what you do seems like something that is fascinating and glamorous, something we all wish we could do. To you though, it may be something you enjoy but it is your job. Just like being a lawyer is my job, or pumping gas is somebody else’s job, or cutting hair or whatever.
ES: You got it! It’s just how I make a living. I mean, I own a house. I have a mortgage. I’ve got bills to pay. I can’t sit there and worry about taking this artistic attitude like, “Oh, I can’t compromise my music!” I’m not in a position to do that. That’s a luxurious position to take and I’m not in a position to do that. So, it means that I do all kinds of things, I’ll play all kinds of gigs and play all kinds of different music. But you know something, I enjoy it! I was just thinking how I’ve been really busy lately playing a lot, either rehearsing or playing, with some band everyday the last few weeks. You know something, I can’t complain. I’m making a living playing music and so many other guys wish they could say the same thing, that they are making a living playing music, playing guitar, or singing or whatever it is they do. They are working some day job that they hate, and I am able to make a living doing what I like. That’s pretty good. I am thankful for that. You know I may not be rich, but at least I’m rich in the fact that I get to do something I really enjoy and there is some richness in that.
KA: Absolutely. I don’t think you can get a better gig than to be doing what you love and being able to make a living at it.
ES: I couldn’t say it any better myself. You are absolutely right. That’s what it is all about, about doing the things, within reason, that you want and making yourself happy. And as long as you don’t infringe upon other people’s lives or rights in any way, then power to ya! You should do everything and anything you want to do. That is what it is all about. And if your expectations and goals are very simple and small, so be it. And if they are really big, fine. You should do whatever makes you happy and whatever floats your boat. To me, I’m happiest when I am playing music. I know that it keeps me more sane, keeps me more balanced, and that it why I will pretty much play in many types of situations and do a lot of different things because diversity, like variety, is the spice of life as well.
KA: Any plans to do another instructional video?
ES: Not really. About a month and a half ago I did another video for Pearl drums, but it was not necessarily another instructional video. It wasn’t like the one I did on my own. This was done for Pearl for their entry level/beginner type drum kits, basically an export series drum kit. They are kind of what they call a pre-packaged drum kit that comes with a certain set up and configuration of drums and hardware all in a box. Basically I did the “how to” video that comes with the drum kit. So, you can’t buy this video separately, you can’t buy it in stores as a separate item. It comes packed and included with these drum kits and is how to set up the drums and tune them, some basic drum tips. I do like a little drum solo on there, I actually do a drum solo at the end and there is a little bit of me doing a KISS drum solo, basically the same one that was on my KISS video at the beginning. That’s how it opens up. It kind of cross-phases into me doing this whole instructional thing.
KA: It’s like a video instruction manual then?
ES: Yeah, that’s exactly what it is. A video instruction manual. But it is not a separate item, it’s not something people can buy. I am going to try to look into asking Pearl if there is some way that I can obtain those on their own so that I can maybe offer to sell them as a separate item just for the people who might be interested and want that kind of stuff for a collection thing. But the thing that is really cool is that it’s gonna be in like 50 different countries, it is going to be all over the world! Pearl sells a hundred thousand kits a year, of those beginner sets, and that video’s gonna be in a hundred thousand kits a year in like 50 different languages all throughout the world. Kids in Japan or Pakistan or wherever, they are gonna have someone dub my voice in all these foreign languages! So it is going to be great exposure for me. Just on a person level it’s a cool thing.
KA: That’s pretty cool.
ES: It really is. Actually it’s kind of funny because it was me doing that other video that is why Pearl asked me to do this one. They needed one of their endorsees to do this particular video, this instructional video thing. And the artist relations guy and the vice-president of the company had seen my video, ’cause they showed it to all the people in the company and the president, and they said, “You know, let’s check out Eric’s video. The way he did it he’d be good for this. Get him to do it.” So that’s how they asked me to do it. It’s kind of funny that doing the other thing actually parlayed me into getting work. That ain’t bad!
KA: Best of both worlds! One of the drummers who submitted a question wanted to know what you tune your drums to if you use a drum tuner.
ES: I don’t tune my drums to specific keys per se, as a in a particular musical key. I try to tune the drums themselves with a good relationship between one drum to another. I try to tune the drums in relation to each other and basically what they call an interval. An interval is the different range of pitches between drums. I try to tune them basically by the third, anywhere from a third to a fifth in tonality between the drums. But it all depends on the situation and the particular sizes and the drum kit. Ultimately I try to make each drum sound good within itself, so I try to tune the top head and the bottom head of the drum in a good relationship to each other. I tune the the bottom head a little tighter than the top head, the top head being the batter head that you hit. I tune the bottom head a little higher just to get a little bit more overtone and I try to get a good sound within the drum itself.
I usually find that if I tune each drum individually where it sounds its best or optimum, usually when they are all set up together they end up sounding pretty good in relationship to each other – as a general rule. And then sometimes I will fine tune to get the pitches between two maybe exactly where I would like to hear it. But really I just do it by ear to what I think sounds good. I think it is a personal choice. If people want to try and go for certain specific notes on a keyboard or something, that’s fine too. There are no rules. You do whatever sounds good to you and whatever you like. And if you do hear something you like, then try to investigate or ask a person how they got that sound. The variables all make a difference from the type of drums, to the type of drumheads, to the type of sticks, and ultimately to the drummer because it is the way a person hits the drums. That is what it comes down to.
KA: Do you design your drum solos for the audience you are playing to, or for the song you are playing? For example, if you were doing a drum clinic where you knew your audience was mostly drummers would you play a different solo than you might play in concert to a general audience?
ES: Well I probably do both of those things in regards to playing for a specific song or a specific audience. I don’t really care about doing drum solos, but sometimes the reason I end up doing drum solos is because the other people in the band want to take a break. So it’s really kind of out of necessity of them wanting a break to get a drink, wipe their brow, and do their thing. Like Brian May, when I did his tour last year, I didn’t want to do a drum solo but he wanted me to do a drum solo because he wanted to be able to have a break in the set for like 5 minutes. So, once I knew he wanted me to do a drum solo I based the solo off of a song he had done called Resurrection. It’s a good type of rhythm and tempo to start a drum solo off of. It was almost the same kind of groove or similar type of feel to 100,000 Years by KISS in a way. It’s kind of like in 6/8, for those that know music, it was like in the 6/8 time signature so I was able to play triplets with my bass drums.
I used to actually play the same kind of beat when I used to do the breakdown in 100,000 Years when I would play it with KISS. When Paul would do the rap section I would always play with the double bass going underneath. The song Resurrection is similar to that. I didn’t do a solo in 100,000 Years live with KISS, but that would have been a great song to do it off of because it is in that time signature that is, for a drummer, a good way to take off, a good launching pad. So with Brian May I ended up doing that for Resurrection, but then we ended up incorporating where Bryan would just do a guitar solo and then I would come on and start playing that basic kind of beat underneath him, go into my drum solo, and then coming out of the drum solo we would go into the song Resurrection. We kind of did it backwards. We went from the drum solo into the song, rather from the song into it and back again.
From there I figured I wanted to do something that was a little bit visual and entertaining, because to me drum solos are basically boring unless you are an amazing technician. And especially for a rock and roll audience, people want to have something to look at and be a little more entertained visually. So I decided to do the flaming drumsticks thing; that is where I came up with the idea for the flaming mallets. I actually had this idea for many years and I’ve always wanted to do it, I just never did it until now. So I experimented around and found a way to make it work and the first few times were kind of trial and error. Sometimes they would go out and that type of thing until I found out what worked the best. It always went over well. The audience loved it, Brian loved it, he thought it was great. I was with Alice Cooper last year, and then I left to go do the Brian May tour, and then I came back and played with Alice again at the end of the year so I incorporated it with Alice because I did a solo there too. Alice does a song that had a drum feature part in it on the original record, so there again I do a drum solo with Alice because it gives him a chance to do a costume change and get a breather.
I don’t always care about doing solos because I am not a drummer who cares about doing a drum solo. But usually people con me into doing it or talk me into doing it because, like I said, they either want a break or they say, “Hey, you should do a solo!” A lot of drummers have big egos about doing a solo, they will say, “I want to do a solo. I want my feature spot.” Personally, I really honestly don’t care. If somebody said we don’t want you to do a solo I would say fine. Ultimately to me what it’s all about is how you play the songs, what you can do in the context of songs, and playing music and being entertaining and visual within the songs. That is what it is about. The music is about the songs, not about me jerking off on a guitar solo or drum solo.
In regards to doing a drum clinic, if I was going to do a drum clinic then I usually go out and try to do a little bit different kind of thing solo wise keeping in mind that there are some drummers there. I do approach it a little differently. But I don’t have the advantage in a clinic situation of being warmed up really well, playing half the show then going right from a song into a solo. I don’t get that luxury, although I am sure I could do that if I wanted to. I could run DAT tapes and play along and then go into a solo off of a DAT machine. I definitely approach things a little bit differently, but most of the time live it is usually based as part of the show and incorporated off of specific songs getting in and out of the solos. I try to approach it from a more visual point of view live, keeping in mind not to get too technical only because most people don’t really know that much of a difference between technically what a drummer is doing. There are certain things that just seem to work live I notice. Anytime a drummer does anything visual, like spinning sticks, they like that. Most people tend to like anytime you play like double bass. The most simple things like just going (makes double bass sound) with the bass drums and playing the other drums over the top off that, people just tend to relate to that. They relate to the very almost like, I don’t want to say elementary…..
KA: Kind of like a tribal type of thing?
ES: Yeah, tribal things, exactly. Ultimately people like to be able to pump their fist in the air or tap their foot. Yeah, anything that is very simple, almost like neanderthal…. primitive is the word I am looking for. People relate to more primitive things. Most people don’t have a trained or sophisticated musical ear. That’s not to say that people don’t know the difference between good and bad, but it is really not an issue good or bad. It is really whether they like it or not. Musical taste has nothing to do with knowledge, it all has to do with whether you like it or not.
KA: Which is why it is always funny when people get into these arguments about who is a better drummer.
ES: Right. There are a lot of intangibles involved, those things that you can’t put a finger on. There are so many of those things. Chemistry and charisma are two ingredients that exist, in all things in life, but especially in rock n roll. There are reasons why a certain configuration of musicians sound really good. Well, not so much “sound,” but why people like them. Because it is not even that they play well, it is just that somehow together it creates a sound and vibe and an experience that people relate to. I can cite so many bands that are a great example of the reality that the sum is greater than the parts. There are a lot of bands that if you break them down individually, they are not some of the greatest musicians, but together somehow they create a sound a look and a vibe that people relate to and like. It’s purely an intangible thing. You can’t put your finger on why it is that they like that, because if you really talk to somebody with a real musical knowledge or a trained ear they would say well these guys aren’t very good and this guy can’t really play. I don’t see what the big deal is. The bottom line is that together, somehow, there is a chemistry there that people like and you can’t explain it. I think KISS is one of the best examples. And I don’t say this in any way disrespectful, but KISS is about the show and the makeup. Let’s be fair, if the original band was on stage with no makeup on, just went out there and played with no makeup in regular street clothes, how many people would really be interested in seeing them?
KA: Probably not very many.
ES: There you go. And I’m not saying there wouldn’t be any people who would be interested, but how many people? It would never have the impact in a live presentation the way it does, and people just wouldn’t care as much, not near as much. There are people that still would care, but it’s the whole package that makes it great. And that’s what from the beginning always made it great was the fact that they were able to put together a presentation and a total package. There is a definite chemistry between those four people that makes it work. And I am not talking about chemistry like getting along really good, like me and my wife have a great chemistry — I’m not married, but you know what I mean — it’s not that kind of chemistry. It’s just something that works together when they are together on stage in the makeup. All those variables together, somehow it works in that special way and you can’t put a finger on exactly what it is because when you break down the parts, it might not hold up to logic. A musician might say, “Well this guy doesn’t play very well. I don’t think that guy sings very well.” They could say whatever they want, but you know something, bottom line is not about that. It’s about the fact that there is a charisma, there is a chemistry that works, and there are a lot of bands that have it.
It’s like Aerosmith. Aerosmith tried different lineups, but what worked is when they got back together. They also got clean. They had a lot of problems personally and with drugs, but once they got their shit together, they got the original band back together, they got a record company that got them hooked up with songwriters and they really did all the right things to make it work. That it why it became so successful for them again, they have done all the right things. Aerosmith has had amazing success, at least like radio wise and records sales. Amazing. They have been a bigger band now than when they were when they were younger. But that’s because they did the right things to make it work.
Chemistry is a funny thing. Cheap Trick is one of my best examples that I use for a sum is greater than the parts, even though I think Robin Zander is the best live singer that I’ve heard in rock, no doubt about it. Every time I see the guy he is on the money. He just nails it and he is so effortless and so great. That guy is amazing live, but when you break them down Rick Nielsen is not a great guitar player, Bun E. Carlos is not a great drummer. Neither is Tom Petersson a great bass player. But you know something, Cheap Trick is a great band. They play those songs with a certain feel and swagger and a sound and all of them together is just a great sound. That is why I think they are one of the best rock bands, even though they don’t have the big success and attention that some of the other older bands do. Man, every time I go see them, I tell ya, they sound great. Robin Zander, I can’t praise him enough. He is the best live singer, him and Freddie Mercury were the two best live singers I ever saw in rock.
Freddie was the king. Unbelievable. Not only amazing on record, but live the guy just wailed. The whole band sang great. I mean Brian and Roger were great background singers, as well as lead singers themselves. That was one of the best bands ever musically. There was a band that really had the rare ingredient of not only having amazing chemistry together, but individually are fantastic musicians they are all just great. Everyone of those guys in that band was a great musician, good songwriter and together a phenomenal band. But that is a real rare exception. It’s too bad that things ended up the way it did for them because that was one of the best bands. I don’t know how much of a Queen fan you are, but I am like a major Queen fan.
KA: I’m a big fan of the music, I just never had the opportunity to see them play live.
ES: Unbelievable. If you would have experienced it in front of your face you would have been going! I can’t believe how good these guys play and how good they sound. It is amazing because you are getting four great musicians that just have this even more phenomenal chemistry together.
KA: Well speaking of musicianship, what do you think of artists today becoming famous by sampling songs from other artists and taking the cut and paste approach to music?
ES: I don’t always agree with that. But, I do think some people do some real creative stuff with it. I think some of the hip-hop stuff, whether people want to admit it or not, how could you not at least like it to some degree? Most people like anything that has rhythm and cool beats. Being a drummer I especially relate to it, so that is why I personally like a lot of it. I think some people have done a good job of it and I think that some of its kind of a joke and there is no originality in it. But it has become such a business that people look for shortcuts and the easy way to do anything that makes a buck. Record companies look at it as a product. You know, it has really become that. KISS is a product. It’s like everything is a product. And the business has created that. That is why I give Gene a lot of credit, because Gene has been smart enough from having business insight and savvy to realize this is how the game works and I am going to learn how to be a businessman and make this work for me. I give Gene credit for being very smart that way and being very entrepreneurial and for having the ability to take the bull by the horns and really being able to take control of his business and not let all these other people come along and rape and pillage.
I know KISS probably got reamed and fucked over in the beginning by different managers and business people as they were learning and didn’t know any better, but I think they have a reasonably good handle on things now for the most part. I know they still make mistakes, everybody does. You always make mistakes in this business because you can’t have a finger on every single aspect of every facet that is going on all the time, it’s just impossible. That is why you have managers and lawyers and you can only hope that they are going to do their job and that they are not going to burn you. But unfortunately they do sometimes. But for the most part, I admire any band that can take control of their careers and their situation because it’s such a dog eat dog thing. People just drain bands and then once the band is over with they don’t care. Anytime a band can make the money more than the record company or the business side of people I’m like, “Power to ya!”
I use KISS as an example because obviously this is a KISS related site. I’m glad to see them making the money rather than everybody else. Not that other people aren’t making money off of them, you know, but anytime they make the money rather than all of the other business people that is the way it should be. They are the product, the commodity, not these other people. And it is so fucked up and unfair when everybody else in the business makes the money first instead of the bands. And the band is the one who creates the product. I’m always glad for any bands that can really reap the benefits because that is they way it should be.
Fans don’t realize the way the business works. It’s like for every dollar a band generates, right of the bat a manger is gonna take 15 or 20 percent, could even be up to 25 percent depending on what the arrangement is. Many successful bands sometimes have a deal where they don’t pay as much out because they already have an established career that generates X amount of income automatically whether that guy is managing the band or not. The band has catalog sales that do a certain amount of business so they can renegotiate those deals for example.
But you are looking at anywhere from 15-25 percent right of the top taken. Then, if you have a lawyer or accountant on retainer they might take anywhere from 3-5 percent each, unless you pay just time and charges. Then you have to pay your taxes off and any other bills that you are paying out, phone bills, all your expenses, running offices and all that stuff. At the end of that dollar, only then, you get what is left which might be 50 or 40 cents. Then you divide that by, let’s say four guys, every band is different or course, but if the deal is a four way split then you have 40 cents left and each guy only gets 10 cents. The manager has made more than any guy in the band!
KA: Hardly seems equitable when you break it down like that.
ES: Right! Now let’s say you have a record deal. For all record sales they withhold like 15 percent of the money, so you aren’t getting even 100 percent of the royalties to start with. They withhold 15 percent for stolen goods, packaging, etc. There are so many loopholes and little things that they pull on everybody. It seems like everybody else gets paid first. The manager always takes his money right off the top, so does the accountant, so do the lawyers, other bills, everybody else gets paid first. What’s left is what the band gets, and then that gets divided up. When you really break it down, the guys in the band end up a lot of times making less money than everybody else, and yet the band is the one who is producing the product, which is the music. The band produces this product, everybody else helps sell it, market it, manage it, promote it. And then when you go on tour, the agent takes 10 percent of your live revenue! So let’s say a band is making $100,000 a night off of a concert, getting paid for their show. Well, a manger takes $20,000, $10,000 goes to an agent. Now you are left with $70,000. Out of that you have to pay your crew, all your sound and lights expenses, travel, hotels, per diem, salaries, accountants, all this other stuff. Whatever is left is what the band gets.
KA: Split by however many ways and percentages you have set it up between yourselves.
ES: Exactly! So the band is the last one to get paid. I have been, most of my career, I have been a gun for hire, drummer for hire. And I’ll be honest with you, sometimes in the long run it’s been a better way for me to do it, to make a living at it. Unless you are in a successful band and you have a piece of a that successful band, you aren’t going to make money if you aren’t a partner in that band. You are better off just to be a salaried guy and take the guaranteed money.
KA: That makes a lot of sense, but most people don’t look at it like that.
ES: Some people want to put people down for that, oh they are just a whore. No, it’s not being a whore! I am a professional musician and I make a living as a musician. When a job ends or a gig is done, I am out of work again which means I go and find another job. Hey, I would love to be a member of a band and be an equal equity member of a band that is very successful, but that is very, very rare. I don’t know that many bands that are that successful, with everybody a partner and everybody makes a good comfortable living. That’s really hard. And most bands that are really established are not going to let somebody come in and just give them a piece of the action and make them a full member when they built the band up and it is their thing. You just don’t do that. I am not saying it never happens, but it is very, very rare. I know of a few people who have had it happen, where they came into a band and they were made partner or they were made an equity member and they got treated very, very nicely and very fairly. But it’s usually not that way. People just treat it as a business. It’s like we need a drummer or we need a singer or whatever. But at the same time they’re thinking we have been together for five years or ten years and we built this to what we are and we aren’t going to let somebody just come in and take a piece of it or give it away to them.
KA: Which, when you translate that idea to any other business setting besides music, makes perfect economic sense. But somehow, when you put it in the music context, people seem to see it as a slam or a pejorative to be a hired player for an established “company.”
ES: Because most fans have a romantic view of music. They look at it like the band is the Three Musketeers or are all these great guys that grew up together and are all friends, all for one and one for all. Well, that is a fantasy, it’s a fallacy, and that’s just not the way it is. Some bands did grow up together and start of that way, but you know something, you take the egos of the individuals and you bring money into the situation and you will find out people will change. Or maybe not change, maybe you will see their true colors is a better way of putting it. Money is the root of all evil, as they always say, and in music it seems to be true.
I don’t ever want to sound like I am being negative because these are just the realities of the situation. The key is to find a way to take a positive spin on that. It’s like the half glass of water — I have a half glass of water, is it half empty or is it half full? And you have to take the attitude and the high road that I am gonna make this situation work for me rather than against me. The odds are against you right from the get go trying to be a professional musician. The odds are against you from so many angles. I just gave you the example of how the business, just in the way the business is set up and operates, things are not in your favor from the get go. People think getting a record deal is what it is all about, but that’s not what it is all about.
KA: That’s where the work really starts.
ES: That’s when the work starts! It’s almost like the fun part is getting all the work and getting up to getting that deal. Because once you get that deal, if you put a record out and it doesn’t happen then all of a sudden it is like, “Where do I go now?!” You’ve built all this momentum and energy and emotion into getting to a certain point and now it is not happening. That is a scary thing. And this happens for thousands and thousands of bands every year, day in, day out. Such a small percentage of people ever really do anything in this business. And that is why, I’ll be honest with you, I feel fortunate that I am still out playing and surviving and making a living. I am fortunate, I am blessed and I am happy. I mean I may not be rich or famous but I look at it this way, I can’t think about what I don’t have or how much somebody has more than me. I have to think about what I do have and how fortunate I am to even be able to make a living and do this because I know so many other people that would love to, who would like to be doing the same thing and they are not. They have to work crappy day jobs and it’s just not happening for them. And that it is very frustrating, I know.
I’ve had my ups and downs. I have had periods where I haven’t been able to find work or haven’t been able to get gigs or haven’t worked much. It can be a roller coaster ride up and down, but the good thing about a roller coaster is that while you are sitting there chugging up the hill and waiting around for the rush of going down, you know, that makes it worth it, the excitement of it. This is what I really enjoy and I have a passion for it, so all the bullshit that I have to deal with 90 percent of the time for that 10 percent of the time when it is really a great rush and a blast, that 10 percent makes it worth it. The payoff is worth it ultimately. For me it is and I am sure other people would probably say the same. Those that are able to make a living or reap some of the benefit of the good things, I am sure they will agree.
KA: Well, many of those struggling drummers who would love to experience that 10% wanted to know what sticks, cymbals and pedals you use.
ES: I use Zildjian cymbals and sticks, and the Zildjian sticks that I use are my own Eric Singer Model which you can buy in music stores. In the studio I use usually lighter cymbals that are faster reacting, and live I use a little bit bigger and heavier for volume and for cutting and for durability. The pedals I use are Pearl, I use all Pearl drums and hardware. For this next Alice Cooper tour I just had a custom kit built and it is a Pearl Mahogany Masters drum kit. So the shells are made out of Mahogany, and it has a special color scheme. I had it painted so every drum is a different color and they all have these hologram rainbow sparkles in them. It’s a pretty trippy looking kit!
KA: Sounds pretty awesome.
ES: Yeah, its really killer! Every drum is a different color so it is really wild looking. I have actually been using it around town. I have this cover band GLAMNATION where we do early 70’s glam. The band has Ryan Roxie, who plays with Alice Cooper, and this guy Eric Dover, who used to be in Jellyfish, and Derek Sherinian from Dream Theater, who also played with KISS on the Revenge Tour, off-stage. We just do it for fun. We just started doing them recently and we play on every Sunday night at The Gig. We play at 11:30 at Club American Style which is located at the Gig on Melrose Avenue. The cross street is Poinsettia, like the flower. We’ve done it two times and we are doing it three more times, and then I am leaving to go on tour with Alice and so is Ryan. Ryan and I are going to go do Alice’s tour, but we are doing it three more Sundays. We actually do early 70’s glam like Sweet, David Bowie, Mott the Hoople, that kind of stuff. Put it this way, everybody will know every song that we play and they will really enjoy the songs.
And we actually have all glitter glam guitars and clothes and makeup, we do the whole schtick! We do it just for fun and people that have come down so far have really liked it! The reaction has been nothing but really positive. I had this idea to do this last year, I wanted to try and put something together last year with some other different people and it just didn’t work. I wanted to do something for fun because my attitude has basically always been that if I am not going to be rich or famous in this business, then I better damn well have fun! You know, when you played for beer keg parties in kids’ basements when you were teenagers you didn’t think about money. You played because you had fun, you got a kick out of it and it got you off. I wanted to still do things like that once in a while that are just purely for the sake of entertainment, enjoyment and fun.
And that is what GLAMNATION is all about. I mean, these guys talk with English accents, I mean it’s like Spinal Tap, but in a more legitimate way because we actually play. It is really funny. I guess I shouldn’t say Spinal Tap because I don’t want people to think it is totally comedic. There is a little bit of that in it as well, but we just totally do it for fun. I tried to do it last year with some other guys and the availability didn’t work out. Then Ryan Roxie, he runs this club, decided he was going to do a club called Club American Style at the Gig and he was going to actually put a different band together with different people. Then I approached him and Stefan and said, “Hey, why don’t we do this glam thing I talked about doing before? This would be a good opportunity because now you are running the club and you can put the band together that you want, let’s do this.” So we found all the musicians that wanted to do it and who were available and everybody was up for it. The reaction was really cool the first time and the turnout was great, so we thought let’s just keep doing this while we are available! So we are just doing it for three more Sundays and then everyone is going their separate ways to do different things. But you know, maybe we will revive it again later on in the fall. We’ll see when I get back. If everybody is around and if everybody is into it and wants to do it again, well do it.
I also play Tuesday nights with Teddy Zigzag, who runs like a jam night kind of a thing at the Baked Potato in the Valley. There are two of them in L.A. area and it’s at the Valley Baked Potato on Tuesday nights. The band is Teddy Zigzag, Gilby Clarke and Stefan and myself, called Blues Mafia, and we just do like some blues stuff, some rock and roll stuff, and then we let people come up and jam. Bruce has come and jammed, Slash was there a couple of weeks ago, C.C. Deville was there two weeks ago and came down with his band and played, you never know who might come in. Bruce Willis has come in there and jammed! Teddy Andreadis, we call him Teddy Zigzag, Teddy runs the show and and he has had different musicians in the band at different times. Right now he has been using myself and Gilby and Stefan for the summer and we are going to be doing that on Tuesday nights up until the 17th. 10 to 2 Tuesday nights at the Baked Potato in the Valley.
KA: Sounds very cool for fans in the L.A. area. You sure are doing a lot of drumming, and one of the questions that was asked was whether you worry about carpel tunnel syndrome or other types of arm/wrist injuries and do you perform any special exercises to prevent these things?
ES: Well, you know, everyone is obviously physically built differently, and genetics and all those things factor in, but there are some things that everyone can do that are preventative. For example, taking care of yourself, eating good, sleeping well, and exercising or at least stretching or warming up properly before you play. I know of other people who have had problems, other guys who play other instruments, bass or drums, that have had problems like carpel tunnel. I did have a problem once years ago back in like ’86, but it was really because of the way I was playing. I became aware of what I was doing and what I wasn’t doing and then I realized that I had to start using a little bit different technique and start relaxing a little bit more. Playing drums is kind of the melding of two extremes, trying to play as hard and as physically as you can, but in a relaxed way; trying to play in a loose way, but also very physical. And for some people it is very hard for them to attain that, but I notice that warming up properly makes a big difference.
KA: Another drummer asked about use of the double pedal and concerns that their left foot is not as strong as their right. He wanted to know if you have any suggestions for exercises to get the left to have the same impact and strength as the right.
ES: The only thing, the old thing that everybody always says is practice. You just gotta have the repetition. It’s like anything, the more you do it the better you get at it. Swimming, riding a bike, working out, running, anything. Everybody knows you get results by the more time you put into it and just by sheer repetition. But ultimately, for specific individual instructions, I would tell somebody if they have a drum machine or a sequencer to play along to it. Practice playing double beat double bass patterns at different tempos, playing along to a sequencer or drum machine so you have something to monitor and control the tempos and the time. The most important thing is to do things a lot, over and over. And get as many videos as you can, or any other instructional materials, take lessons, whatever. Knowledge is Power. There are no shortcuts, but there are definitely ways to get there faster and information is the way to do that. Also, they can do the same exercises and beats that they would play with their right foot, try doing the same thing with the left foot, playing those patters and get the left foot.
KA: During the recording of the ESP album, did each of the guys play separately, or was it recorded with everybody playing at the same time?
ES: Both. Ultimately the way we recorded stuff it was done without click tracks. I played like live. I used a very small drum kit. Some of it was recorded at Karl’s house. A couple of the tracks that we used were done at Karl Cochran’s house. But all the over dubbing and stuff we would play as the band. For example, it would be like Bruce and I cutting it, or Bruce and I and John, we would cut the basic track, and if the guitar part or bass part was good we would keep it, maybe fix any little mistakes. In most recordings situations you go for the drums first, trying to get a good drum track because you can always go back and overdub.
It’s like a house. The foundation is laid down first, before you put the walls and roof on. So that is the way we did it. But it was mostly done very live. We would basically listen to a track, learn the song, the arrangement that we wanted to do, and then we did everything in like the first three takes and then they would overdub on it. Like when Ace came in and did the “Foxy Lady” solo, that track was already done. Ace came in one night after a rehearsal and just came down and burned a couple of solos. And then we just basically did a comp, which means a compilation of the different parts of the solos and took the best things that we wanted and compiled a solo. Which many times that is how many guitar players do their solos, they do what they call a comp. They will put anywhere from between 3, 4 to 10 solos mixed together, picking the pieces from each that they like to construct something. And Ace basically just came down and did it very quickly. He just came down and just banged off a couple solos and then we put it together.
KA: Any plans to do another disc with this group?
ES: Only time will tell. We’ll see. Right now this one just came out officially, so we will see if it makes sense for everybody to do another one. If it sells well enough and the record company people say that they want another one and everybody is up for doing it and is available then I don’t see any reason why not. But we’ll have to wait and see.
KA: Fair enough. So far there have been three different versions, an American one, a European one and a Japanese one, each with a slightly different track listing. Are there still any other unreleased tracks from the recording sessions?
ES: There was one other track that Karl and I did which was a Grand Funk song called “Some Kind of Wonderful.” I was actually gonna do that as a duet with Karl and we actually put that down, Karl and I cut that ourselves in his studio, but we never ended up using it. We ended up using the other songs and had chosen “American Band” as the Grand Funk song which ended up on the Japanese version as a demo. You know, basically you do a lot of songs when you record and then you pick. You may end up saying we need ten songs, so you pick ten songs and something gets left off. And a lot of times people go, “Hey, why didn’t you put that song on?” Or, “I like that better, that is one of the cooler ones.” Well, you don’t necessarily know those things at the time. You make the choice of what you think is the best thing to do at a given time. Sometimes you find out later that people really liked another outtake that you didn’t use. But that was the only other track that was recorded that didn’t get used. And it was never finished. I don’t think we ever sang it, we just did the music part of it. I imagine Karl still has it laying around somewhere.
KA: Somebody asked about your tattoos, Animal from the Muppets and Woody Woodpecker. Did you pick them because they match your personality?
ES: Yeah, partly. I mean I can only speak for myself, but I think most people that get tattoos get something that kind of reflects some aspect of their personality. But I kind of wish I never had any tattoos. I am actually in the process of trying to slowly have them removed. I had them lasered once, but I never went back. I changed, you know. I am such a different person than when I was growing up, in a lot of ways. I mean, I think at the basic core I am a lot the same person, but just my taste in food, women, everything is totally different then when I was in my 20’s, and I mean completely the opposite. I used to eat nothing but junk food and hamburgers. Now I don’t eat meat. I quit eating red meat in ’86, and quit eating like turkey and chicken a little over a year ago. I only eat seafood. My taste is just like totally different. My taste in women, totally different then when I was younger. I used to like the typical blond haired, blue eyed type girls when I was younger. Now I like more exotic looking women. And you know, I don’t even know why my tastes changed in all these different things. It just did. It’s just something that happened.
KA: Natural evolution.
ES: Yeah, it was. Just an evolution on its own. And we all kind of evolve in a way, and if you try to be open minded in life and be a little accepting of different things you know, culturally and otherwise, you will find that there is a big world out there and there is a common thread that runs through all of us. I mean, I haven’t been everywhere, but I have been a lot of places and people are basically people. There are a lot of common threads that run through all of us. People are basic people wherever you go, but then when you break it down further there are a lot of differences culturally and otherwise between different people as well. It all depends on how you look at different things and your personal attitude toward it all.
KA: Of people you haven’t worked with, is there was any one artist or band that you really would like to work with?
ES: Well, I wouldn’t say just one, but there are a lot that I would love to play with. I would love to play with Jeff Beck, would have loved to work with any of the Beatles. Probably the one I would like to work with the most would have been John Lennon, but I would say any of the Beatles. The guitar player I would have liked to work with the most would have been Jimmy Hendrix. For a modern day guy I would say Eddie Van Halen or Randy Rhodes. Definitely Hendrix, because he was to me one of the most influential and innovative electric guitar players ever. He totally turned electric guitar playing on its head. I would also say Jeff Beck of a guy that’s still alive because I think he is my favorite guitar player of anyone out there still.
And I have gotten to play with some of my favorite guitar players thank god. I got to play with Brian May, who for me is the best guitar player I have ever played with, just amazing. He has his own thing, which is just incredible, and he is an even nicer guy. He is such an amazingly great person. Gary Moore, I got to play with him too and he is also one of my favorite guitar players. So I have been lucky to play with at least a couple of people that I really was a big fan of before I ever met them, people who I really admired their playing. It’s like I can appreciate it after the fact more. I don’t tend to feel that way when I am actually working with the person, not that I don’t appreciate it or enjoy it, but I kind of like treat it more like this is my gig. I’m just real professional about it. But then when I get back away from them, the little kid in me kind of goes, “Wow! That’s cool!” I just feel really honored that I have gotten opportunities to play with some of these people. But sometimes you gotta step back from yourself and you gotta let that little kid come out.
And I feel that way about almost every band I play with, including KISS. I was a big KISS fan when I was a little kid. I though it was really cool that I ended up getting to play with Gene and Paul. I was at the shows front row when I was like 17 or 18. Who would have thought back then that one day I would be playing with some of those guys. Same thing with Black Sabbath. I remember going to see Sabbath when I was younger, and I would have never thought I would be on the same stage with them, working with them. And the reality is that that isn’t a dream, its reality. I worked hard for what I do, and I have been given opportunities and I have been able to sometimes take advantage of those opportunities and be fortunate enough to get to work with some of these people. But I have earned my way into dong it. It’s not like somebody just like went, “Ok kid you won a contest, so you get to play with us.” It’s not like that. Sometimes I think fans don’t understand. They don’t realize that I do this for a living and that I have been doing it for so many years that my perspective is different than if I was just some fan. But I am still a fan at the same time.
KA: Yeah, but you have paid your dues and you have worked hard. Like you said for the guy who was asking about the left foot, its practice, practice, practice and if you do it right and the stars align you might get where you want to be.
ES: Exactly. If it is meant to be, it will be. But you can do something to help promote those things and make things manifest themselves. The whole idea with everything in life is that you just want to be able to have the opportunity to take advantage of something if it manifests itself. And that is where the practice and preparation and preparedness and all that come in. Because there is nothing worse than something coming by and then you miss the boat because you weren’t ready or you go for an audition and you didn’t know the material. Well, that is kinda your own fault then. If you didn’t get the gig, you can’t wonder why when you didn’t really prepare yourself and rehearse or practice. So life is about trying to be aware and prepared the best you can so when the opportunities come up you can at least know that you can give it the best shot and have a better chance of maybe it working out. Preparedness only does one thing. Ultimately, at the end of the day it is the most important thing because it gives you confidence. Confidence is sometimes what will sell you to people or what will carry you through a situation because you come in people can sense it. They can sense when you come in and you carry yourself very confidently.
And I’m not saying do it in a way with an air of arrogance, but in a way where you are very sure of yourself and you can be cocky a little bit, but in a way where it is a sign of confidence, not of arrogance. And if you come in prepared and show that you know what you are doing, you are there to do the job, you can do the job that is required. Then it comes down to apples and oranges you know, the little intangibles that you can’t put your finger on. Ultimately you can only do the best you can. Always be straight up and be honest, never talk shit because it’s gonna come back. They are going to know if you are not telling the truth. The truth always will prevail so you gotta just be straight up. Just be yourself because ultimately they are going to find who you are anyway. Don’t try to portray yourself as being something you are not because if you think you are going to fool somebody, later on down the line it isn’t gonna work. So be yourself and be prepared because those kind of things will give you confidence and that is what is going to sell you. You can’t be green as the old saying goes. People aren’t in the position or don’t want to take the time to wait for you to fucking learn the ropes of how things work. They want to know if they can get somebody that is going to come in and do the job and knows how things work as professional.
KA: Sound advice. Completely switching gears, how about a couple of miscellaneous personal questions. You collect watches as a hobby, and a couple of people wanted to know how you got into that and what are some of the highlights of your collection?
ES: Oh, boy. (Laughing). I just got into it because I’ve always liked watches since I was younger. I don’t know why in particular. It’s like why does somebody like their favorite color purple or red or green? Who knows, they just like it, you know? So I just always liked watches. I usually like to collect chronographs, which are watches that have like a stop watch built into the watch with extra little dials and buttons to stop and go. I like mechanical, usually older vintage watches from the 70’s and older. I really like chronograph type watches and I have a whole bunch of different ones like that. There are a lot of watches that I wish I could have, you know, but I don’t. But I do have some of the ones I always wanted, so I am happy about that.
KA: Do you think there is any one particular song or album that represent your drumming best?
ES: I’d say some of the stuff from the Badlands record is a really good example of the way I play, even though that record was done ten years ago and I think I have developed in other ways as a drummer since then. But I do think that record is a good example mainly because of the fact that I wasn’t coming in and playing through a predetermined sound and direction that the band had already established. We started off as a brand new band and created our own sound. So good, bad or indifferent at least we had our own thing. Badlands had its own songs and I had to play drums and be musical. I wasn’t coming in and learning KISS songs or Black Sabbath or Gary Moore or Queen songs or anything like that. It was me coming in as Eric and creating Eric’s drum beats for these new songs. Although, I mean I did do that in a way when I played, for example, on Revenge.
That is actually a good example. Hopefully I got asked to play on this record because of the way I play, but also because of the fact that they know I can come in and give them what they need. It’s not coming in and just playing the way I want, it was playing the way they need to do their song and direction. Because KISS, mainly vocally, but in general too it has a certain kind of sound, although it has varied a little bit on some records through the years. I mean listen to the old records and they don’t sound anything like Revenge or Psycho Circus or Carnival of Souls. Or take some of the stuff in the eighties and it was really indicative of what was going on musically in that time period musically with other bands as well. But there is a kind of a common thread that runs around all of it and I think that is because of Gene and Paul’s voices. Anytime you hear them, then it sounds like KISS, at least for the most part.
KA: Any particular song or songs that you would say were the hardest to learn as far as style or tempo or signature? What were the hardest to learn?
ES: Sometimes what people would think are the simplest things to play are sometimes the most difficult because it is really more about a feel and stylistic thing. I can’t think of anything in particular, but I would just say sometimes it’s actually a little more difficult to play more simple. When you play simple there is a lot of space between the beats and to really make things pull together in a solid way sometimes can be actually more challenging than playing more technical or busy.
KA: Alright, that’s fair enough. Here is kind of a strange one — During the Revenge Tour did you ever get hit by the collapsing Statue of Liberty?
ES: No, but that was a concern when we were doing production rehearsals. That was a concern and they did have a net because you never know how things can fall, things fall in funny ways. They never fell the same way twice. The only thing that is the same is they always end up on the ground! They did have a net that was behind the drum kit to catch those pieces so they didn’t fall into any pieces of equipment or accidentally hurt anybody or anything.
KA: Here is one from somebody in Russia who was wondering what your thoughts were about Russia and the gig that you played there.
ES: I thought it was great. I didn’t really get to see as much of the country as I would have liked, but I thought it was really good. I though some of the women were some of the prettiest women I have ever seen. I mean, there were some really, really beautiful women! The people were all really nice. It was a different experience because in a lot of ways they are Westernized and a lot of things are very same, but there were other areas where you could see that things were definitely somewhat backwards. You could see that. It was cool though.
KA: Any plans to work with Brian May again, and are there any live recordings from the tour which could see the light of day?
ES: That remains to be seen if I will work with Brian again. I would hope to and I would love to work with Brian again. If he would ask me to I would definitely in a heart beat go work with him because the guy is not only a such a great musician and inspiration in that way, the guy is just a great guy. He kind of renewed my faith towards musicians that are very famous and wealthy and successful in regards to his attitude. He is like the most gracious and fair and appreciative person that I ever worked for. As much as I was always impressed with him as a guitar player and always will be, what really impressed me about him more than anything was what a great guy he was, how fair he was, how cool he was, and how appreciative of the musicians he had in his band. He is the kind of guy that makes people really feel like he is really happy that you are there and he is really appreciative of the fact that you are there and he shows you by the way he treats you.
You can tell anybody anything they want to hear, but that only goes so far. The way that you can show people what they mean to you is by how you treat them, you show them. We can all talk the talk, but walking the walk is what it is all about. He definitely does the things that makes people really feel appreciated. I really hope I will get to work with him again because it was such a good experience. We did record a lot of shows live, I don’t know probably 40 shows at least. We also did a live concert video at the Royal Albert Hall in London, but when and if that is supposed to come out I haven’t seen anything of it yet. I was told that it was going to come out as a live concert video, but I don’t know if they would do an album with it as well. The last tour he did four or five years ago he did a live video and CD, but I don’t know what is going to happen with this. So we’ll see. I hope so.
KA: Open mike time. Is there anything else you want to say or tell the fans that wasn’t already covered?
ES: I appreciate anybody who takes any interest or involvement in any way of anything I do. I am alive and kicking and out there dong other things. There is life beyond KISS. I will be on tour with Alice Cooper, so if I am playing in your area check us out. I will be doing that starting September 1 out here in California, and then we work our way up the West coast and across Canada for 15 shows and then down around the East. I don’t even know all the tour dates, but I am sure they can find them on the Internet if they go on the Alice Cooper website. After that, it looks like Alice is going to do a studio record so I might be in the studio doing Alice’s next record. I am going to try and see about putting together to go and do some playing with ESP, schedules permitting with Bruce, John and Karl. Same thing with the other things I play.
Whenever I am home and in town I always play with Gilby Clarke because Gilby is a good friend and I have fun playing with him and Stefan and whoever is in the band. And I am always tinkering around with other projects, I keep myself busy. Mostly I am having a lot of fun just playing with different people like those Tuesday night jams where we have a blast. Same thing with GLAMNATION. It’s totally a lot of fun. And sometimes you gotta do things just because it’s to get out and play and to have fun. It’s supposed to be about fun. It can’t be about all this business and bullshit all the time, all this negative stuff that makes you not want to play. All that other stuff makes you not want to play, makes it not fun to play. You can’t always think like, “What am I getting out of it? How much money am I getting?” If it is always about that then what the hell are you doing it for? Ultimately there are times when you have to throw that shit to the side and go, “Wait a minute. I started playing because I really like it!” And that’s what it’s all about.
KA: Eric, thank you so much for taking the time for this.
ES: Sure, now that I’ve bent your ear for an hour and a half. If nothing else, I can talk! Even if it’s just babbling on, at least I can talk. (Laughing).
KA: Well, you can drum your ass off, too! Again, thank you so much for your time.
ES: No problem. Thank you for doing it.
Note: This interview was originally posted on the website KISS ASYLUM, which I was co-owner/content manager of from 1997-2004. ©Elizabeth A. White. Additionally, some of the photographs that originally accompanied the interview have been replaced with more recent images, as the originals were no longer available.
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