Carl Palmer

Hope he is OK, my favorite drummer for a large period in my life. Loved ELP
 
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Best drummer I've seen live. Plus he's only from down the road in Handsworth, you wouldn't believe it now if you went there!

Saw him on the Asia 25th Anniversary tour and the solo from The Heat Goes On was top drawer. The precision and showmanship was awesome, this guy has never lost it.

I studied with his brother Steve for a year he's really good with Latin drumming great feel to his playing and never let on who his brother was until it popped up randomly in conversation, that's a drumming family you'd be scared to be in, Ian Palmer is a good player as well.
 
On the one hand, that was very impressive! I had no idea his chops were that good, to be honest. It was very reminiscent of the old-school drum battles I watched on TV as a kid.

On the other hand, that was a long, boring drum solo. lol I guess I'll never really be a fan of drum solos, anymore. When I was young and learning what could be done, yes, but now that I'm older I just want to hear a piece of music, a song whose melody I can remember later. :) That's just me, I know, and I don't mean to take anything away from how great his playing is!

Thanks for sharing that, Larry. Reminded me of a great talent that has created some music I really love!
 
I was never really a big CP fan. Went in kinda negative. But by the end of it, I had to hand it to him. He did some cool stuff. But it wasn't my idea of the most beautiful solo either. I just have to really hand it to someone who can go about 8 minutes all alone do a great job. I could never do that.
 
On the one hand, that was very impressive! I had no idea his chops were that good, to be honest. It was very reminiscent of the old-school drum battles I watched on TV as a kid.

On the other hand, that was a long, boring drum solo. lol I guess I'll never really be a fan of drum solos, anymore. When I was young and learning what could be done, yes, but now that I'm older I just want to hear a piece of music, a song whose melody I can remember later. :) That's just me, I know, and I don't mean to take anything away from how great his playing is!

It's not just you, when you're young you want to be as technical and fast as possible. Nobody teaches 'the pocket' though. I can listen to pocket players all day, most people do and don't realise it!

CP just does things the old fashioned way solo wise and there's not many around that do these days.
 
Pocket and drum solos...hard combination to pull off.
 
Haha, glad it's not just me.

I found this vid, which I liked even more. It's just a snare solo, but A) It is shorter!! and B) is a really good capture of some of the cool things he does that get lost when you can't see them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouJetiHNAv0
 
Watching the 64 year old legend breaking out the gong mallets while rolling with the double kicks was a pisser!
 
holy crap, how do I miss that. I have his signature snare I would have had him sign. damn...

Saw him last year at the Met in Providence.
 
Although I was totally into Carl from day one. What he is trying to do now if pull off ELP with Emerson. Just a bass and guitar player. Sometimes you knew where they were going, but just quite didn;t seem right, if you know what I mean.

Still powerful and great chops for his age. He was pretty awesome seeing him live many time in his prime back in the day.
 
holy crap, how do I miss that. I have his signature snare I would have had him sign. damn...

Saw him last year at the Met in Providence.

Just bought one last week,aren't all of his snares supposed to be signed from the factory?
 
Had lessons from his brother Steve in my first year at uni. His family are from Birmingham, which is just up the road from me. His brother can really play too, very good with latin drumming.

Saw Carl on the Asia reunion in 2006, that was a cool gig. He's the best I've seen live. Reminds me more of a big band drummer than a rock drummer in the way he drives a band.

He was using his Paiste snare when I saw him which sounded amazing. He was also using a Brady Kit as well which was stunning.
 
Just bought one last week,aren't all of his snares supposed to be signed from the factory?

Yes. There should be a paper tag inside the shell signed by Carl.

Amazing snare. the video of Carl playing it is priceless.
 
Yes. There should be a paper tag inside the shell signed by Carl.

Amazing snare. the video of Carl playing it is priceless.

oh I gotta look then.

But, when and if he comes back to Arlington again, I'll have him sign the inside of the shell.
 
oh I gotta look then.

But, when and if he comes back to Arlington again, I'll have him sign the inside of the shell.

I managed to get a discounted price on the CP snare as most dealers can't advertise for less than Minimum Advertised Price (MAPS)($359).

Cascio had a 20% off flash sale ,so I got it for $287 US shipped.

Free shipping , no sales plus a 20% discount works for me.

As for CP ,did you catch the part about him complaining that Ludwig was shipping the drum using string instead of snare straps?
So much for being true to the artist specs.
 
I'm rather envious of all you folks who actually met E, L or P. The closest I ever actually got to meeting any of them was in the early 90s when ELP came to Albuquerque for their Black Moon tour. It was the first time I ever saw the guys live (I didn't discover the group till '75 or '76- well after their wave had crested). I was standing in the lobby waiting for the doors to open when a side door- which opened from the lobby to a hallway leading directly back stage- opened up and there stood Carl, taking a look at the size of the group waiting to see the performance. I was maybe 10 feet away and I shouted. "Hey Carl!" He looked at me for a moment and replied, "Hey, how're ya doing?" and disappeared back through the door. That was the extent of my contact with any of the members. Oh, also: Hours before the show actually started, I went into the Convention Center where they were to be playing with the intent of figuring out where I'd be sitting in relation to the stage. I actually didn't expect the doors to the theater to be unlocked, but to my surprise, they were. Much to my delight, ELP were there doing their soundchecks! I sat hiding in plain sight in the darkened theater for maybe 30 minutes before one of the security guys with the band busted me and gently but firmly insisted that I leave until showtime.

Oh, and Delta: Peart did, in an interview I read in Modern Drummer some years ago, unashamedly cite Palmer as one of his influences. I agree that Palmer was/is more than a little sloppy but to me personally, that sloppiness puts a very human sound on his playing which Peart's inhuman perfection lacks. That's why I said Peart's incredible technique can sometimes wear on me. He's so damn perfect that I sometimes have to remind myself that I'm not listening to a well-programmed drum sequencer...

Palmer will always have a special place in my heart because it was Carl, and Carl alone who inspired me to pick up a pair of sticks in the first place. I had seen the likes of the awesome Buddy Rich, Louis Bellson et al throughout my childhood but never considered the possibility of becoming a musician. I was always the nerdy kid with my head in a book, or my hands in the guts of a TV or radio tinkering with some sort of electronic project or gadget. Everything changed when I first sat down at a drumset in a music store (after air-drumming to ELP with a pair of Regal 5B sticks someone gave to me years before) and I literally discovered at that moment that I could actually carry a beat... I could play drums! Soon afterwards, I convinced my folks to co-sign an agreement with a local music store who offered a rent-to-own deal on a beginner's CB700 5 piece. The shells were tissue-paper thin, the hardware was wobbly and rickety, but it was a drum set and it was mine! (at least the cymbals were good; 14" A. Zildjian new beat HH, and one 18" A Zildjian crash/ride) It took less than a year of almost constant practicing before I was in a paying band and for almost 20 years I never looked back.


Black Moon sucked.
What a God awful album.
The drumming could have all been done on a Linn drum.
 
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