Alan Wren

Citizen Insane

Senior Member
Alan Wren from the Stone Roses, I really like this dude, he is very funky and tight. I love the drumming on the song "I am the ressurection". Those little high hat fills he plays in the bridge of the song are awesome. He has a very laidback and creative style. Also I think he is one of the first drummers to utilize a three-peice drum kit. A thing that many indie drummers will take influence from many years after the Stone Roses. Very underrated drummer.
 
It was Reni who got me playing drums, his playing on the Second Coming is hugely underrated.

Heard a few stories about him being quite a strange character though!?
 
It was Reni who got me playing drums, his playing on the Second Coming is hugely underrated.

Heard a few stories about him being quite a strange character though!?

I'd like to hear these strange stories! =p
 
Heard one from a reliable source that in his band after he left the Roses, they were in a van on tour in the middle of nowhere on some Motorway & one of the members decided to start a discussion on Politics only for him & the rest of the band to be kicked out the van & left there on the spot by Reni. There were other stories but I don't want to paint a bad picture of a great Drummer & someone I've never met.
 
My Main influence form a drumming point of view by far, totally underated by the drumming world. He may well have been strange but lets not forget Keith Moon, my other main influence.

I'd love to see some vids up but I think they are few and far between,anyone know what he's up to now?
 
My Main influence form a drumming point of view by far, totally underated by the drumming world. He may well have been strange but lets not forget Keith Moon, my other main influence.

I'd love to see some vids up but I think they are few and far between,anyone know what he's up to now?

Bump, anyone have any information on what Reni may be doing now, a huge talent as has been mentioned here,

Check out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umwQG7fue84&feature=related
 
I've been working with a guy who worked on The Second Coming at Rockfield (we've been recording there too), and he had some funny stories about that whole time and some good uns about Reni. Me being a big fan asked him a lot.

He used to ask Reni if he'd mind him sitting in the room to listen/watch him do his drum track/run thru's/warm ups - sometimes he'd go on for ages but it was always something to watch and hear.

One day he turned up (they were notorious for not being there at all, the studio guys just sat around for months on end) so they started to get all his drums ready 'wow, we may get something here!!', he walked in and asked where the others were 'we havent seen anyone for ages' came the reply. So, he just nips to the loo for a pee, doesn't come back for weeks and weeks.

Turns out he jumped outta the window, walked across all the fields, hitchiked to London, slept on mates sofas and became really ill. Eventually he walked back in, looking ill and very slim, but started work on the album.

So yeah, bit of a strange one, he is also as good on guitar as he is on drums apparently.
 
Lilbonzo, Thanks so much for sharing, I have read a few articles about the struggles associated with making the "Second Coming", it's great to get some stories from such a unique perspective.

What was your experience of recording at Rockfield like, If I recall, don't you have to get to the studio by boat?

All the best
 
Lilbonzo, Thanks so much for sharing, I have read a few articles about the struggles associated with making the "Second Coming", it's great to get some stories from such a unique perspective.

What was your experience of recording at Rockfield like, If I recall, don't you have to get to the studio by boat?

All the best

No, that's the studio in the west country (can't remember the name). Rockfield is a farm in Wales outside the village of Monmouth. Been going since 1969 I think.

Hawkwind, Queen (I played the bohemian rhapsody piano while I was there!!), Oasis, Stone Roses, Robert Plant etc etc.

Great place, the old echo chambers are immense, so are the 19 pubs in the local village. Loved it, might be back there again soon.
 
did some Google detective work, its Sawmill Studios, in Cornwall.

Here's the link:

http://www.sawmills.co.uk/

Can't imagine how you go about loading in a kit!

Sawmills, well done you!! ... Yeah, its tidal too I think, so if ya get a boat to the pub and stay a bit late, you cant get back to the studio.

I might be going to Grouse Lodge (Ireland) in march, another good un.
 
Watched the Stone Roses live at Heaton Park last night - completely underrated drummer. Even better live than on record, his groove is right on the money.
 
He was great at the Dublin reunion show they did earlier this year.

Was pleasantly surprised to see how good the band were live after returning.

Also don't forget the amazing backing vocals he recorded for the albums.
 
I agree he has his own style and plays some nice funky shuffle rhythms and he has some technique as plays the odd double stroke roll but when I hear him get mentioned as best drummer that is where I have to draw the line as so many drummers would lay claim to that title first from John Bonham to Stewart Copeland to Vinnie Colaitu to Terry Bozzio to Bill Bruford to Ian Paice to Josh Freeze to Brooks Wackerman. I think you get the idea he plays well but he would be a long way down the list of a drummer's drummer.
 
Someone once commented after a gig that my style was less Neil Peart and more Alan Wren. I think it was meant as a put down but I took it as a huge compliment, not that I'm comparing myself to the great man (Reni not Peart)
 
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Big Reni fan here. I love his playing style, and he was a partial influence for me going with a 3-piece setup. Not going to get into an absurd argument about who is the "best" drummer, because I believe there is no such thing, but I do share Pete Townshend's opinion of Reni:

The Stone Roses' first London show was a benefit gig being hosted by Pete Townshend. Having seen the band's performance he commented that Reni was the most naturally gifted drummer he had seen since Keith Moon.

'We came off stage and Townshend was, like, 'You look really good up on stage and your drummer’s great,’" said Brown. "Then he said, 'as an end of the night thing, I want to play a couple of tunes,' and he asked Reni, 'Do you want to do it?' Reni’s like, 'Yeah!' He ended up playing three or four The Who tunes with Townshend."

And I thought this bit was pretty funny:

Couzens noted in a later interview, “I stood on the side of the stage going 'Oh fuck he’s going to join The Who now. First gig and we’ve lost him.' That was pretty surreal."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reni_(musician)
http://www.gigwise.com/features/73449/Exclusive-read-an-extract-from-new-Stone-Roses-biography

It should also be noted that the Stone Roses relied heavily on Reni's backing vocals, which really filled out the band's sound. It definitely takes some skill and talent to sing and play drums at the same time, and do them both well. This is a good example, where Reni is singing harmonies throughout most of the song, as well as laying down a tasty and energetic groove.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HdxkzKdZn2I

Great stuff. I can understand why a band would hate to lose a drummer like that.
 
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