Genesis' Reunion Tour: 8 Questions We Have - Rolling Stone You could hear that it was something special. George and Napoleon were from San Jose and were living in Hawaii when Frank offered them the audition. It was Phils gig, obviously. I think he was playing a very deep Pearl snare, and it was setup similarly to the live MAMA tour snare, the whole kit was just a smaller version. Just listen to Brand X andlive Genesis. It was this huge frame of all their albums. How has your Covid year gone? We just did a short tour of Canada and that was that. That aint me., Despite thoseearly troubles, Thompson recalled that he hit it off immediately with Collins, which made their regular drum duets easy to perform. He might have been. I guess I should. No one also seems to mention how great of a drummer he was (I am not sure if he still is). The 2021 tour is billed as "The Last Domino?" named after the song "Domino" which . Its an interesting gig musically speaking. Collins was perfectly happy to exist behind his large collection of toms and cymbals during Genesis' Peter Gabriel-led . Not too many of them sing even backing vocals. Drummers are kept in the background because DRUMS CAN'T MOVE AROUND THE SCENARIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Say It Right, Aug 16, 2018 #152 The_Windmill likes this. Phil and I, from the very first rehearsal when he sat down and we started jamming together, we just locked. A Godly man a class act. I had to use oxygen tanks after every take. When Chester Thompson joined Genesis as a drummer for the Wind and Wuthering tour in 1977, he had every reason to think it would be a short-term gig. Phil was in pain, and Chester makes it sound like 2008 didn't happen because Phil was just being difficult. That's pretty much the zest of it. note: Collins did a four-city tour in June and July 2010 to promote his Motown covers record Going Back.]. He was a great writer and arranger. I saw online that Phil said in some interview he was quitting the band. I was never in a teenage band. He spent 30 years in Genesis as a touring drummer, but he had a falling out with Phil Collins in 2010 and they haven't spoken since, "Culturally, we were on opposite sides of the world," says Chester Thompson of touring with Genesis. I didnt really know what was happening in the background. Yeah. Do you talk to Daryl still? Playing that stuff from the Seventies was full of charge. I dont know details of what happened with that, but I think Peter was busy putting something else together. Thiswent further,Steve wasn't even invited to the 1982 reunion in Milton Keynes (Only played the encores, because he was in audience). It was interesting because Tom Fowler, our bass player, had broken his hand on tour. That was my first real, name person I worked with. It lets me read for about 90 seconds before it yanks the article. [Laughs] But Ive really been enjoying my life. That is the reason he left the drums to Chester and Bruford. But at this point in my life, Im not owed anything. Thompson believed hehad landed a short-term job when Collins asked him to join Genesis without an audition in 1977, but he went on to take part in every road trip until 2007 and was also a stalwart of Collinssolo group fromthe initial Hello, I Must Be Going tour in 1982. And the tour was that way too. Its not something he did. I called Frank immediately and he wasnt happy about it, but he knew that my background was more jazz and stuff. It was amazing stuff, absolutely. Was that a challenge for you? His marriage was falling apart. Why didn't Chester Thompson get the drum gig after Collins quit Genesis Watcher of the skies is very good and solid vocals by John Wetton, Fountain of Salmacis is great with an acoustic guitar intro and Steve singing ections with vocodsr , but my favorite is the Orchestral version of Firth of Fifth, very beautiful. That was my introduction to that. We played together a lot in L.A. between Genesis tours and stuff. Jeff Porcaro: a great drummer but not a main composer in Toto. First thing out of his mouth was, Would you come back to the band? It was perfect timing. Phil Collins says he lost his ability to drum during 2007's Genesis reunion tour. It became my second instrument, but its still for my pleasure. How did you manage to bridge that gap culturally? In the book Tony says that Phil liked Yes and brought some of their playing ability to Genesis. He was a drummer deep down in his very soul, one that would take on occasional backing vocal or songwriting duties only if he had to. Part of that was no matter how well I prepared, he always made some pretty intense changes. My problem is not even Phil the singer (Even when I like Pete's voice and singing more), my problem is wiyth Phil the songwritter. Theyre such great singers. That happened because of ODonel Levy. According to my mother, even before I can remember, she mentioned getting a toy drum and me standing on the front steps and playing as people listened. The first album after Gabriel left was still very progressive sounding, and as the albums after came out, the change could be heard more and more. I met him the night before at his house. It was great. Even though [guitarist] Daryl [Stuermer] and I werent technically in [Genesis], we toured as the band. He was into a lot of the American jazz drummers. He was into a lot of the American jazz drummers. It was sort of weird, though. And I dont want to ever only play one thing. Reading some of these commentaries in this threadI started to think that Phil Collins is really underrated because not too many drummers are key members in their bands. Avatar: Photo of Solar Eclipse, Mexico City, July 1991. What I don't like is MUZAK (Elevator music), and that's Phil's field. Why did you leave? I didnt know, but he did step back for quite a while. Boy, we got in rehearsal and it was like oil and water. Exactly. When the audition came, I was absolutely up for it. Not every Rock musician has musical studies. Were drums your first love as an instrument? So I can understand he creates mixed emotions , the disappointment we all felt with the direction of music through the 80s but I think he has been turned intoa scapegoat for a much broader trend. Don't judge you, by the contrary, I'm happy to have an intelligent debate woith people well informed and not with some blind fans from other site that say everything Genesis did is perfect becausee it's Genesis. In the meantime, the few months before, they went with different management, the same people that managed Earth, Wind, and Fire. All rights reserved. Prog Rock is melodic and can be romantic, there's a difference between romantic and cheesy, most Phil Collins songs are cheesy. As far as I know he doesn't have the health I dont know if I had an expectation one way or the other. He is just a great drummer. But there was always a second kit near him, and. But after reading the (excellent) interview, I have to say I'm quite surprised at how Chester was treated by the guys through the years. Discover what he did to anger Thompson so much they haven't exchanged holiday cards since 2019. We played songs and that was that. As some of the other guys have said, a really great read. Chester Thompson was born on 11 December 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. I dont know when he slept. I go down there and jam with the band. The vocalist is the frontman, he/she has to move around face the audience, etc and a drummer is normally attached to his kit. I was totally gasping for air. We always opened and usually left afterwards, though Carlos sometimes came out with Bob and I stayed to watch two or three times. Phil Collins: A Nasty Man? - Progressive Rock Music Forum - Page 5 He wasn't the only member of the band, and it wasn't a chnage that happened overnight. At one point, they were talking about going out with Peter Gabriel and Steve Hackett. I wish him nothing but the best. I think try get hold of the album. Get out of here., Turns out, he went to the hospital and he really had broken his finger. Im still pretty good friends with the only two that are left, Ruth and Anita. not too many of them are composers, not too many of them become famous as soloists, not too many of them are very good lead singers. . Well, basically, I hadnt prepared in as much detail as I usually did. Oh, and this blew my mind. We normally had a lot of eye contact at shows. The 100 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. It was really interesting because I never considered that I might learn to play other instruments. [Ed. Phil Collins was always skittish about leaving the drum stool. First of all, I arrived in California straight out of the hood in Baltimore. Chester Thompson Unfiltered:On Drumming With Genesis & Phil Collins Rolling Stone suspended its policy on Genesis not being cool enough to report on for a long interview with Chester Thompson. In 2017, Collins revealed that he was a type-2 diabetic, undergoing treatment with a hyperbaric chamber after the condition caused obsesses on his foot which became infected. By the time I was eight or so, maybe a little older, you started hearing some Motown. PHIL COLLINS on HIS DRUMMING PHILOSOPHY , DRUMMING STYLE & DRUMMING WITH CHESTER THOMPSON JOHN EDGINTON DOCUMENTARIES 23.2K subscribers Subscribe 2.3K 148K views 1 year ago NEW YORK PHIL. He was already going on tour in summers between school. He was smelling the money. The guy was brilliant, amazing. And so, we had met and played together on a few occasions. That blew me away. He would have subdivisions within a bar. Were just dealing with Covid. [Ed. Mike Portnoy, Lars Ulrich: I don`t know nothing about them. I didnt see it coming. For lack of a better word, they are really, really British. yet (see the forest thru the trees) don't miss the interesting and insightful drum life Chester has led. How about if I come in and play some percussion along with Alex [Acua]? But it was uncomfortable. Yes, it`s true, but none of them became the permanent lead singer in their bands like Collins. I was okay one-on-one, but they speak much, much faster than we do. Ralph Humphrey was very helpful that whole time because I had been getting into odd times, but not at the level Frank was doing it. What was he like? They were all good friends to the point where they said, Lets do this. So the vibe was great. Peter says that Stevewrote things they all liked but quite a lot that they didnt like. Serious Hits Live! - Wikipedia So I continue quite off topic!Actually I havent heard Hacketts Genesis revisited - is it good? Unfortunately, they never really had to change drummers before. But the next thing I know, they started having meetings. If hedidn't have considerable good qualities the band would not have stayed together for sixteen years which is like an epic length.As for him selling out I think what everyone underestimates is that the taste of the public had changed by the 80s. What I don't like is MUZAK (Elevator music), and that's Phil's field. Alan White studied a bit of piano, but he is mainly self-taught as a drummer. I said, Man, I cant do that. I agree 100% it0s absurd to consider him nasty, the guy made a solid contribution with his drumming and backing vocals during Gabriel years and a pretty decent job as lead vocalist in ATOTT and specially on W&W. But Steve wa always a Genesis fan, even when he wanted to make some modifications, he only could achive that making it himself, and lets be honest, he used an expensive cast: LOL. We had a bunch of 78s. Phil Collins had to hire Chester Thompson and Bill Bruford. Im just not going to do that.. Id always wanted to teach myself. Just to mention a few key members that played drums. Still love to practice. Thats where I met my wife. I did one of his solo albums and we had been pretty good friends. We learned how to deal with it. And of course, my mom loved music. That's pretty much the zest of it. Yeah. -Ballads in Prog Rock are underrated, because Prog Rock is not "romantic". Duke lp is OK but Misunderstanding shoud not be on that LP that is more of Onion Head solo lp song. Phil jokingly said, Well, were all together. Chester Thompson - IMDb Also, drum parts in Genesis are not very easy to play and sing at the same time on stage. His work ethic was just phenomenal. I knew it was in the works. We all knew he was going to be a great player. I still thought it would just be a couple of tours. I didnt really get it. But it got very political and it just got ugly. He was a member from the beginning, when they did there really masterful work, but no one seems to mention that. Yeah. He had seen what turned out to be my last Weather Report concert, but he was very familiar with the Zappa stuff. Phil Collins had to hire Chester Thompson and Bill Bruford. I think Onion Head's communication skills are obnoxious. But Im over it now. It was the RKO [Proctors Theatre] in Newark, the Arcada Theater in Chicago, the Royal Theatre in Baltimore, and the Howard Theatre in D.C. Some info from Hugh Fielders book:In 1965 Ant Phillips formed the band Anon with Richard Macphail, Rivers Job, Rob Tyrrell & Mike Rutherford. Oh, my goodness. Not at all. https://www.rollingstone.com/music/llins-frank-zappa-weather-report-1122064/amp/, https://ultimateclassicrock.com/chester-thompson-phil-collins-solo-tour/.