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Posted on 03/22/2026 10:02:44 AM PDT by LS
https://larrys.substack.com/p/a-short-musical-bio
Sometime in the late 1970s I abruptly became a history professor. Prior to that, I was a rocker who was "almost famous." Here is a little of my drumming bio, experiences, and influences.
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Click here: to donate by Credit Card Or here: to donate by PayPal Or by mail to: Free Republic, LLC - PO Box 9771 - Fresno, CA 93794 Thank you very much and God bless you. |
I love it! Nothing compares to the 60s and 70s when it comes to life and rock and roll. Just glad we lived to tell about it :)
Great stuff, I had similar things happen in my music career. Playing bass is still my happy place. About to go see a friend in the hospital and play/sing for her.
Amazing LS....
Never Imagined.
Excellent, LS...nice to hear from you...:)
I believe the Sixties were musically groundbreaking, but I have always thought the music of the Seventies was superior from a specifically melodic perspective and overall musical perspective.
That is, Seventies music was an obvious artistic evolution from the Sixties music.
Dare I ask for Your first thoughts on
Keith Moon?
This fits nicely alongside some Professor of Rock videos I’ve been catching.
Larry, you are a gem, sir.
I still believe Trump won the 2020 election.
That was a great read, and you really got around.
Interesting stuff LS. I had somewhat similar experiences as a guitarist and pianist.
You mentioned Mitch Mitchell. At the 1968 Hendrix concert I went to see Jimi on guitar but was surprised how much time I spent watching Mitch Mitchell on drums! Lots of energy.
Incredible that you played with Jim McCarty. Most people don’t even know who he is. What an influence and a player. Wore out the Devil with a Blue Dress 45.
Thanks for sharing all that.
By the way, I loved your mini-bio, and especially your analysis of the playing style of Ringo Starr.
I have long felt that his strength was that he often did NOT stand out, which as anyone who has ever played with a self-centered drummer, is a hard thing for many drummers to do...to subjugate your personal spotlight to the task that drumming has defined for you.
And Ringo Star did that so well, with tasteful, understated, yet precise parts that did just exactly that.
.
Did you inject?
It was interesting what you said about Bill Bruford and Alan White with Yes. I'm just a guitarist, but Bruford’s drumming on the early Yes albums through Close to the Edge was fantastic - as was a lot of what he did with King Crimson. That said, Alan White brought power and passion and was phenomenal.
I also really liked what you said about ‘overplaying’. I love intricate music, but only if everything fits and has a purpose. Part of me agrees with the Tom Petty approach - ‘don't bore us, get to the chorus’.
For me it’s a Telecaster in open G.
It just has to be twangy...lol
I have a 13.5k hot rail bridge pickup... bright n’ loud.
I bought a nice pedal that can add drums and bass automatically to whatever you decide to play.. it’s a bit simple minded though... but fun. It’s hard to play rhythm without something backing you up.. even if it’s just a silly AI toy.
“DigiTech Trio+ Band Creator and Looper Pedal Band Creator Effects Pedal with Automatic Bass and Drum Parts”
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=DigiTech+Trio%2B
Thanks LS, very interesting!
Thanks LS. Been doing it on and off since ‘62. Still doing it and I’ll be 79 in June. Have 38 gigs currently booked for the year so far. Retirement! Ain’t but grand! 😊👍
Interesting, thanks for sharing.
Good read! Thanks. I put your songs in my favorites so they will get some plays. Hopefully you get some royalties!
Do you have decent master copies of your original stuff. Recording demos I found that that gets kinda hard to do.
Thanks for posting this. An interesting story.
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