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| The Dennis Davis Interview!- Part 1 |
| You will be hard pressed to find a drummer that displays the versatility and finesse' of Dennis Davis. You will be even harder pressed to find a kinder, more generous Man than Dennis Davis. When I began this site, it was imperative for Me to contact Dennis Davis. This site simply wouldn't have been complete without him on it, after all, Dennis is one of my biggest influences, absolutely knocking me out with his drumming on the great Bowie albums of the 70's as well as his stint with Stevie Wonder. When trying to contact Dennis via an e-mail address I found on the web, I found it was no longer good and I contacted his record label Ryman Records. They had no e-mail address but they gave me Dennis' home phone number. Naturally, I was a bit nervous about calling Dennis but when I finally made contact, Dennis was overwhelmingly kind to Me and was more than happy to take time out to do the interview over the phone with Me. Wow, my first phone interview! This is without a doubt the most fun I have had with the interviews yet and Dennis was a blast. I loved doing this great insightful interview and I think you'll like it as well! |
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| BD : Dennis, your resume reads like a 'who's who' in music and there isn't a musical style you can't adapt to. I understand that you studied under such esteemed luminaries as Max Roach and Elvin Jones. What is the most important thing that a young drummer has to key on to find musical happiness? DD: You need to learn how to get along with the people you are working with is the main key. You need to adapt to all the different personalities and learn the music. If you can't get along with the people you work with, then you won't be working for very long! There were guys out there who are better drummers than I am, but they just don't get the job because they can't learn to adapt. My advantage is I always adapted myself to the musical enviroment and that is why I was able to have such great relationships with everybody I worked with. BD: You have been working on your first solo album for quite some time and it is definitely a departure from the Dennis Davis most would be used to hearing. It is a great mix of your versatility from funk to hip hop. What are your thoughts on the finished product? DD: Actually, I have about 4 tracks to finish but I'm delaying them and hoping to incorporate some more styles such as Latin and Jazz, which I really enjoy playing. I am primarily an acid jazz type drummer these days but I really would like to do some Latin jazz as well. BD: Are you doing most of the vocals on the record yourself? DD: Yeah, basically so and a few other friends of mine have been adding vocals themselves. BD: "Skibbee" sounds like a really funky track, complete with oriental overtones and it is a real kick to listen to! You lay down a classic Dennis Davis groove to drive the song along. Would I be correct in assuming that you had some great trips to the Orient? DD: Yeah, basically "Skibbee" means Horny Old Man. I had some great trips over there with Bowie, Stevie and Roy Ayers and I hope to actually live permanently in Japan one day. BD: What equipment are you using in the studio and on the road these days? DD: Right now I'm using software by Cakewalk, plus other things such as Ddrum and Octapads complete with triggers and Akai machines. Things like that in the studio. I did have an endorsement deal with Arbiter but their service is getting a bit shabby lately. Every time I go to London, they expect me to pay them for using their drums, and at this stage I shouldn't have to do that. When I do small local gigs, I am using Mapex drums, right now, with a brass Pearl snare drum. Throughout the 70's and 80's, I used everything from Pearl drums to Sonor drums and everything from Sabian to Paiste to Zildjian cymbals. When I first started with Bowie, I was even using North Drums. I started off with a whole kit of North drums but they are just pretty much projectory drums so they eventually started sounding like crap. I am using Ufit cymbals these days which are Italian cymbals. I think they are distributed by DW. BD: Do you do much sampling? DD: Well what's funny is I don't do much sampling because I'm finding my drums are being sampled so much by everybody else. Especially with the Roy Ayers music. I do have about 50 kits sampled into my MIDI system right now, Tom Toms and all, that way, I can basically get any sound I want. BD: You mentioned to me earlier that your son is actually following in your footsteps and is a touring drummer right now. What kind of musical projects is he involved in right now? DD: Yeah, actually he's not my son, but he's like my son. I took him under my wing. He has come a long way and he is touring right now. He's actually had to turn down a gig with Pink due to other commitments recently. |