Andy Newmark

I was a 'student' of Andy a couple of years back. When in his company he makes you feel you can achieve anything you set your mind to. The 3 hour lesson I had with him taught me more about our craft than I had learned in 25 years of drumming. Only 5 minutes was sent on the kit and I didn't play a thing. He spoke about time and feel, no books, no 'come back next Wednesday', it was very much a one-off. I to this day tell complete strangers in the bus queue about the the day I first met Andy Newmark.
A few months later I shared a train journey home from London (he lives two stops up the track from me in Kent, England) after a clinic, again he spent no more than 5 minutes of a 3 hour clinic on the drums but it was like the sermon on the mount as far as I was concerned. He tells some great stories like his time with the greats, in the West End orchestra pits and the time he threw out all his gold records!
He truly is a humble man and wonderful human being and dare I say a friend? We e-mail every 6-8 weeks or so but I don't like to hassle him. But be warned, he never remembers your name!!!
Bless you Boss!

Si Phillpotts, The Bresslaws, Kent, England.
 
Well if your band name is 'The Bresslaws' and you're from Medway then I'm guessing he only lives a couple of stops away from me! Good guy, great drummer.
 
I have to throw some props to my all-time favorite drummer, Andy Newmark. His discography is a virtual Who's Who of KILLER albums by great artists. His work with Sly and The Family Stone is sublime funk. When Bill Bruford was showing Zak Starkey an example of "feel" he played Andy's work on Sly's "Fresh" album. From Carly Simon to Cat Stevens, John & George, EC, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, David Bowie and tons more, Andy has consistently shown what a perfect drummer is: versatile, unique, musical and supportive. His work with George Benson is amazing.

If you're new to Andy (you've more than likely heard him), check out the grooves he plays on Ron Wood's "I've Got My Own Album To Do", Roxy Music's "Avalon," Sly's "Fresh" and any of the other dozens of albums he's played on.

A true underrated master.

Peace, MT
 
I thought Keltner was on Gary Wrights Dream Weaver...no?

Love his Jim Gordon story too, watching him in the studio (You're So Vain) take after take of perfection and consistency, huge crater in snare drum.
 
Funny I just heard Love Is Alive the other day and thought, this must be the Newmark track. But Dream Weaver screams Keltner, he sounds so unique and alien to me most of the time, in the best possible way!

As for name confusion, I think for years I didn't know if Aynsley Dunbar and Sly Dunbar were different people, like maybe Sly was a nicname for Aynsley.
 
Several seasons ago, I fell into a strong musical urge that saw me listening endlessly to Bryan Ferry material. So much great stuff to choose from throughout a lengthy career. One particular favorite was a rendition of "All Along The Watchtower." The video on YouTube features Andy on drums, simply killing it performance wise. Classy drummer for sure with lots of great tracks under his belt.
 
There's a new volume of the often wonderful 33 1/3 series of books out, this one on Roxy Music's Avalon, and Andy Newmark gives this absolutely awesome quote:

"Back then all studios in New York had their own drum kit set up and mic'ed and ready to play 24/7. Drummers showed up with drum sticks only. Fantastic! I don't remember what kind of drums they were and in truth it doesn't matter what brand they were. Secret: They're all the same."
 
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