Question:
Hi Simon,
I'm a young drummer from Germany and I wanted to know your drumming philosophie in a few sentence. By the way ... I was at the Toto concert in Frankfurt yesterday. And ... what should I say!? I'm fascinated by the groove of the whole band. How did you get this groove in you playing?
Thanks for answering. Jakob!
Simon:
Really my philosophy with playing is playing for the song. It's the song that is important - not the playing. That is where you make all the decisions about how little, how much, etc etc. There are times where playing simply is all the song needs - and then there are times when lots of energy is needed. Music first, playing second.
Question:
Hi Simon! I know you are intrested in motorracing, so I´d like to ask you who you think will be the F1 champion this year? Also, are you still driving that Honda 2000?
Thank you for the music!! //Matti from Finland
Simon:
Ha ha ha - I couldn't tell you who the World Champ will be - but probably either Alonso or Kimi. They have the right package to be consistent. However we could be surprised by Jenson Button or Fisichella!
No - it was time to give up the S2000. I drive a Mercedes SLK 350 now. Quite sophisticated and hi - tech. I tend to prefer very hard ride, sporty 2 seaters where I can really feel the car and it's contact with the road surface. However the SLK's torchy little V6 is pretty sweet. There is a lot of electronic stuff going on when driving which I don't like so much - but it does ride well and is pretty quick. Much lower rev limit though!
Question:
Hi Simon, I recently watched back the video tape called "The Making of Burning For Buddy". And you performed a song call Dancing men. Your performance on that song is really amazing. I have some questions on the song and hope you can still remember it.
1. You're wearing the headphones, was it use to monitor the whole band or use it for click track monitoring.
2. You played a vamp solo during the middle of the song, after 2/3 of your solo, you had a unison with the bass player, was the unison comes spontaneously or it was already written on the chart?
3. Before the cut, how many times you'd spend to rehearse with the band
4. Was it one take for the song or you'd tried few times?
Best regards,
Stiv Yau (Hong Kong)
Simon:
Ha ha - that's going to take some remembering!
1. Well - the headphones were to hear everyone in the studio - there was no click track.
2. It was all spontaneous - no plans!!
3. I think we ran it down a couple of times before taking it.
4. I believe it was done in one take - in other words no drop ins. Probably take 2 or 3.
It was so much fun playing with that band - I wished I had had more time to prepare for it though.
Question:
I'm a big fan of Your drumming. I've spent couple of hours reading Your answers and i hope You heaven't answerd this one before - i've been recently listening some latin jazz. Especially music of Michel Camilo blows me away, and of course tremendous playnig of Horacio "El Negro" Hernandez. My question is: do You like this kind of music? What is in Your cd player?And i'd like to know if You have the opportunity to listen some playing of El Negro? What are Your thoughts about him as a drummer? It's is interesting for me, because his style is so unique as Yours. Thanks alot, my best regards. Keep rockin' ! Wojtek, Poland
Simon:
Thanks for your interest. Horacio is an amazing player and I bumped into him recently at the NAMM show in Anaheim. We have played a couple of clinics together and just watching him does my head in. I love his playing and also Michel Camilo's music. It is amazing hearing Horacio's stories of growing up in Cuba and having to play only permitted music. I think he spent some time in prison for playing rock music!!
Question:
I was also wondering about your role with sequencing in TOTO. I was at a show in Hawaii where you played with the Hawaii Pops last summer and you guys opened with Girl Goodbye. I spoke to Dave later that night and he told me that you wrote that intro. I wanted to know how you go about putting those together. What software are you using, and are you approaching it from an electronic standpoint. point and click and it sounds good, or are using western theory to write those parts?
Simon:
Thank you for your interest in this subject. I approach it as a mixture of composition, arrangement and production - just like if I were producing a band or artist or writing for a movie. It all starts in your head - or mine!!! I use Pro Tools - for midi and audio. It's all about taking a part of the song and extemporising, modifying and creating a different approach to the same song. I am also using my engineering chops to make it all sound right for the purpose. Really hard to explain where it comes from because when I start I may not have much of an idea myself - it just kind of happens!!!
Question:
Greetings Simon,
I have a quick studio question for you. I know that you have a studio and I love the drum sounds that you get. I am currently building a ProTools studio with an ICON console and am wondering if you have used the new Grace 802r's yet. I'm looking into putting in 16 channels of those and 16 channels of the ResoPre 873. Your input would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
Paul Price
Simon:
I am a big fan of Grace Designs mic pres and I have an 801 in my studio. I use it for pretty much everything especially Vocals, Horns and Guitars. I am not so keen on it for Piano, Kick or Snare - I prefer a softer more colored sounding mic pre like a Neve or Focusrite. Grace state that the 802 has some upgrades to it - I am curious as to what they are. It looks like it will work nicely with HD. Sounds to me like a sound choice.
Question:
Are you planning to do some new didactic DVD or maybe a DVD version of your old VHS? Waiting for your answer and for a lot of new videos... I send you my personal best regards.
Simon:
I have been talking to Warner Music Video about releasing my 2 videos on DVD and I hope that will happen soon. No plans yet for a new DVD - they take a lot of planning and a lot of work!
Question:
Hello Mr. Phillips, is it right, that, from your sunny yellow drumset you played at the symbiosis album, only two exists?? and that you selled the second a few years ago a member of the meinl-company named max in germany? thank you so much for an answer, your greatest fan, martin, germany. Tony
Simon:
From memory I had one in LA, one in Germany at Meinl and one in Japan. I believe the LA kit was shipped to Bensalem, PA for use in Tama's rental fleet. I don't know what Meinl did with the German kit - same with the Japanese kit. As technically I don't own any of my kits I can't sell them - only Hoshino or Meinl and other distributors can decide their ultimate fate.
Question:
Hi Simon,
I really enjoy your playing and have been both inspired and influenced by your work. My question is, have you ever been criticized because of your big drum set-up? You know sometimes other musicians can be quick to judge, at least I've experienced this, where people think that you're compensating some how or trying to steal the show if you show up on a gig with the "big set". This, I think is more prevalent these days. The small set-up is "in". I admire you for developing your concept and sticking with it through the years!
Tony
Simon:
Early on in my career I would have to say yes but once whoever it was with that concern heard me play then it was never a problem. I used to turn up with a Ludwig Octaplus to most sessions in 1977 onwards. It really depended on teh type of work I was doing. 1973 to 1976 a lot of sessions I was working on were 3 hour single session - and maybe 3 a day, so I had 2 small Ludwig kits I used to piggy back between studios. Later on I started to work on more album projects so the kit would stay set up for a few days - maybe weeks in those days. I still get comments but now people expect that of me and quite honestly, deep down, I think they would be dissapointed if I turned up without my usual set up!! Stick to what you believe in but also make sure the glove fits too ( a delicate balance). Sometimes it's better to turn up with a more conventional set up.
Question:
Hi Simon
I play drums a bit as a hobby. I feel that there are song compositions inside of me but I cant write/read music. People have said either sit down with someone who can write music and transcript a song or hum melody into a dictaphone. Your views on these ? Any other ideas ?
Many Thanks.
Simon:
Get a keyboard with an onboard sequencer and just start playing around yourself. Pick out your melody on the keyboard and then select a tempo, program a beat and slowly build up your composition. When you have all your ideas down and are at the limit of your musical theory then get someone to help take it to the next step. That way you will learn from them and end up doing a bit more each time you work on your own.
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