Talkin' Rock with Tommy Clufetos
Category
😹
FunTranscript
00:00Rock, metal, prog, and everything in between.
00:04If you're into rock, you've come to the right place.
00:07Welcome to this episode of Talkin' Rock with Meltdown.
00:11Don't forget to follow the audio-only Talkin' Rock podcast on all podcast platforms.
00:15And now, it's time for today's conversation.
00:18Here's Meltdown.
00:20And there we have it. Just like magic.
00:23Almost.
00:24Well, yeah. Magic is a bunch of overage dudes trying to fix something.
00:30We got magic.
00:31We were supposed to start this 10 minutes ago, but because of technical difficulties.
00:35But we're here now.
00:36So, Tommy, thanks for taking the time out to talk with us here today.
00:39Of course, the Token Lounge coming up with Tommy's Rock trip on the 28th of March.
00:44So, tell me about this. What is this all about?
00:46What is it about?
00:48It's about getting your face ripped off, isn't it?
00:50Isn't that what all Detroiters want?
00:53And that's what I hope to bring.
00:54I hope to bring that to them.
00:57No, I put together my own rock and roll group because I had some pent-up rock and roll energy.
01:03And I'm bringing it home.
01:05And I just hope people come on out.
01:07And I just basically hope they have a good time.
01:09I hope they dig the music.
01:10I hope they get the feeling of what rock and roll is supposed to give you because I hope to give you that.
01:19I want it to be loud.
01:20I want it to be just four guys playing music without all the other hoopla that can get involved nowadays.
01:27So, it's just some martial amps, some drums, a bass, and we're going to give it a go.
01:34And I really just hope people come on out and have a good time.
01:37That's what I hope for.
01:39Now, the last time you were at the Token Lounge, I think I was at that show.
01:42Who did you play with?
01:43I'm trying to remember.
01:44Was it a...
01:44It was the band called...
01:46It was, yeah.
01:47And that was actually the only time I've been there in my life.
01:50Really?
01:51Okay.
01:51Yeah, and I loved it because it brought back memories of growing up.
01:55That's what rock and roll places, they were all like that, you know?
02:01Now, a rock and roll bar is like...
02:03Or a brewery or like they serve coffee.
02:06There ain't going to be any coffee or craft beers at the Token Lounge.
02:11It's perfect.
02:13Yeah, I've seen John 5 there, like, obviously, a bunch of times.
02:16How tight are you with John?
02:18I talk to John all the time.
02:20We played in Rob Zombie's band for five years together.
02:23And we stay in touch and visit with each other when time permits.
02:27Yeah, 5 loves to...
02:28And he's doing great with Motley Crue, and I'm so happy for him.
02:32Yeah, we'll talk about Motley coming up here in a bit.
02:34Yeah.
02:34Got some history with them as well.
02:36But first of all, you said four guys just making a racket on stage at the Token.
02:39So who else are you bringing along with you?
02:41I found four young guys here in the Nashville area.
02:45They're actually...
02:45I stole them from the same band.
02:47They're all in their 20s.
02:49And we've been in...
02:51As I sit here, I'm in my clafetist boot camp rock and roll rehearsal room.
02:57And we've just been blasting away.
02:59And I've been...
03:00I mean, I'm kind of from the old school.
03:03And I'm realizing the old school doesn't exist that much anymore.
03:06Of just getting in a room and none of this click track stuff, none of these tapes, no filters going through the music.
03:15And these young guys, they aren't even really...
03:17They've never really done it this way of, okay, we're going to do it again.
03:21We're going to do it again.
03:22We're going to do it again.
03:23We're going to do it again.
03:24And it's been great because they're responding really good.
03:27That's kind of why I wanted that youthful energy because I still have that youthful energy.
03:32And for me, when I do something, the process never changes.
03:36It's that Detroit work ethic of getting in there and making it happen.
03:43And if you've got to do it 100,000 times, sometimes that's what it takes.
03:48Yeah.
03:48So for people that don't know that might be outside the area, you grew up in Rochester.
03:52And you're playing the Token Lounge coming up here.
03:54And in my mind, Detroit has like three places.
03:56They've got the east side, the west side, and downriver.
03:59And it almost seems like neither shall meet, right?
04:02Yeah.
04:03Well, I mean, for part of my older life, I grew up in Rochester because, of course, I did the same thing my father did.
04:09I moved to the rich area of Nashville to give my daughter the best life.
04:15But we were the poorest people in Rochester.
04:17So history repeats itself.
04:20But I grew up in Troy and Sterling Heights, and I was born in Redford.
04:25And, I mean, Detroit is still such a big part of my life.
04:31And the attitude that I carry, you can't get it out of me.
04:35I've lived in Los Angeles for 20 years, and now I've lived here in Tennessee for a couple years.
04:40And I've realized there's a certain thing to the Michigan way and the Detroit attitude.
04:47And it's very black and white.
04:49I'm a very black and white guy.
04:51And I've noticed that's very different than anywhere else I've lived or different musicians that I've played with.
04:57If it's like, let's just, it's like rehearsing with the guys here.
05:02Nope.
05:02Do it again.
05:03Do it again.
05:04And then if you just grind it out, you know, that Detroit grind it out thing, you get a reward out of that.
05:11And it's tough, but there's a certain zest for life that I get of grinding it out, baby, you know.
05:19Yeah, there's, you know, I haven't been to Los Angeles, and it's got to be 14 or 15 years.
05:23If I never go back, that's fine.
05:25I love being in the Midwest.
05:27I love being with the real rock fans.
05:29You know, this is what it's all about here.
05:30They work hard.
05:31Yeah.
05:31I quote one of your old bosses.
05:34Exactly, exactly.
05:35But I did meet a beautiful California woman, and I stole her away from California and brought her here.
05:39So beauty does exist there.
05:42I may have got the only piece of it, though.
05:45California was great, and it was great.
05:47It was just time for me to leave.
05:49So who knows?
05:50Maybe I'll end up back in Michigan one day, except the winters are brutal.
05:54Yeah.
05:54Well, they haven't been crazy as of late, but I know what you're saying.
05:58So, of course, a huge history with all sorts of rock bands.
06:00You've gotten to play with all sorts of rock legends and heroes from Ozzy to Zombie to Alice Nugent and the whole thing.
06:06One of your most recent projects was with that L.A. Rats band with John 5, of course, and Nicky 6.
06:13I mean, how do you get hooked up with all these guys?
06:15Just from being in L.A., kind of networking and just playing with bands?
06:19No.
06:19Here's one thing I've never done is so-called network, which is maybe part of my problem.
06:25How I network is I play my guts out up there, and I always try to do my best.
06:32And I've never gotten a gig through reaching out or hanging out at a party.
06:37In fact, I don't like to leave the house.
06:39But when I leave the house and I go on that stage, that's the opportunity for me to be the best that I can be.
06:46And a gig has always come out of that.
06:48So, I mean, I was the young kid in Detroit just playing in a little bar or a wedding or whatever it was and just hoping for a break.
06:58And a break can be the smallest little thing.
07:00You never know when somebody is going to see you.
07:02So that has been my networking.
07:05And it's always it's been a slow, very slow climb where this thing leads to this thing, but this thing leads to that thing.
07:13But it's always some kind of connection.
07:15You know, when I remember I started playing my father's group in Detroit, and one time Alto Reed came to a gig.
07:21God rest his soul.
07:23And I remember you would be in Detroit and you'd see guys from Bob Seger's band around.
07:29You'd go, oh, wow, there's Chris Campbell or that's Drew Abbott or whatever.
07:33You'd see these little things growing up, and it was super cool as a kid.
07:37And then Alto was at a gig, and he started calling me for gigs.
07:40And that actually, you know, I'd play in his band a few times, and that led to me playing with Ted Nugent because he was doing a song with Ted Nugent in the studio, and he recommended me.
07:52So that was the it's all connected somehow.
07:55And for me, it's all come from playing on the stage somehow.
08:00So that's my networking.
08:02So Alto was like the first major rock star you played for and then went to Nugent?
08:06Well, before Nugent, I played for Mitch Ryder, of course, who was so awesome, and I love his music so much.
08:16In fact, I'm so spoiled because I love Detroit music so much.
08:20It just ruins everything else.
08:23The drive, the guys that I'm, Mitch Ryder is driving rock and roll.
08:27Ted Nugent is driving heavy.
08:30And I don't mean heavy.
08:31It doesn't have to be loud, but there's something in Detroit music that just has a different thing that gets my heart.
08:37It gets my guts, man.
08:39So everything kind of fails in comparison, to be honest with you.
08:45And but yeah, I started playing with Mitch, and then Alto called me, and then I started playing for Ted.
08:50And it all started from an honest place, and it still comes from an honest place.
08:55You know, I still play my drums every day.
08:59I literally put on a record, and I imagine myself just like when I was seven years old playing in my parents' basement.
09:07I still do the same thing.
09:09I can put on a Bob Seger song, and I can imagine that I'm playing Pine Knob with Bob Seger and just visualize.
09:17And I've done that my whole life.
09:18So as crazy as the music business can get, as crazy as life, as crazy and complicated as you can make it seem sometimes, at the end of the day, you still got to go back to why you started and what makes it special.
09:35And hopefully it's always about the music at the end of the day.
09:39And that can get complicated as you get older and you get kids and you get houses and you got to keep the money rolling in.
09:45But I still love it.
09:48I still get pure enjoyment out of it.
09:51And at the same time, I still love the craziness of it.
09:54I love the ups and downs, and I love the fighting through hard times, and I love enjoying great times.
10:01It's all one big, super cool thing.
10:04I mean, I rode in vans, and I remember sleeping under the seat in the vans and going, this is cool.
10:10Now, I'm super tired, and I'm using a roll of duct tape for a pillow, but this feels good.
10:18I'm doing something.
10:19You know, I'm working towards something.
10:21Yeah, yeah.
10:22And, you know, you mentioned, well, let me ask you about this.
10:26You've kind of been a journeyman your whole life.
10:28Did you ever want to be in a band, or is it one of those things where because of what you do, you're playing with different bands all the time?
10:33And that's kind of what gets you going.
10:37I mean, it just happened so early that people would start calling me to play drums, and I never dreamt of playing in bands.
10:47I just dreamt of playing drums.
10:50It made me feel good when I played the drums, and I noticed that people would respond.
10:55When I would play, people would – even if there's two people in a bar, somebody would come up to me and say – and I'd be a little kid, and they'd be, man, you sure can play.
11:06And there would be some kind of reason to move forward with it.
11:11So whatever opportunity came up, I mean, I'd go, well, okay, I'm going to take that.
11:18And this is the path that – I don't know if it was carved or I carved it or whatever it was.
11:24That was the path that was meant to be for me.
11:27So – but I just wanted to play and play good music, and I wanted – the one thing I wanted to do, no matter who I was playing for, I wanted to be the best drummer that they ever had.
11:39That's always my goal for – not, wow, that guy can really play rings and drum solos.
11:46I wanted to be, man, when Tommy's in my band, he makes my band better.
11:49When Tommy's around, he makes it fun.
11:52When Tommy's around, I feel confident on stage.
11:56That's what I'm after.
11:58So, you know, it's not always like – today music can get very convoluted into this self-absorbed kind of playing.
12:08That, you know, with the Instagram and the YouTube and the posting videos, and I was always after, man, when I play a job or I go to a gig, I want them to call me again and them want to use me because it makes them feel good.
12:25And so far, that's – it's worked out pretty well.
12:29But I've never – I've never had an opportunity to really join a band, but it doesn't hurt my feelings, or I can't say that it's – you know, that that was a supreme goal of mine.
12:41Okay.
12:42Yeah, fair enough.
12:42I was talking with – I think it was Simon Phillips not that long ago, and he's kind of done the same thing.
12:49He's like, you know, to be honest, I want to play different things all the time.
12:52Well, I don't mind playing the same music and over and over, but also there's a whole other ball of wax that comes with being in a band, you know.
13:00I can do my gig and I can go home, you know.
13:03Maybe I kind of like to do my gig and be quiet and go home and spend time with my family.
13:09I'm not really a networker, party guy, red carpet guy.
13:16I don't really enjoy those kind of things.
13:19I don't like a lot of self-promotion as I'm doing an interview.
13:22But you know what I mean?
13:24It doesn't – all that kind of stuff doesn't – I'm not great at it.
13:28So maybe it's as it should be, if that makes sense.
13:32Well, it does make sense, and I was just going to say that Ozzy was recently asked about, you know, put together your dream band.
13:38And he put you in there along with, I think, McCartney and a bunch of other people.
13:42Yeah.
13:43That's – see, that – I mean, that makes me feel really good.
13:47You know, Ozzy is such a – he knows what he – he gets it.
13:54I mean, the guy's been doing it for 50 years.
13:56He's had enormous success.
13:59And I've played on stage with a bunch of people.
14:02And when I'm behind Ozzy, we go to war together.
14:08He's so – it's like I was watching – I like to look up to my elders, put it that way.
14:16I enjoy – it's like when I was a kid and my grandpa would be sitting there.
14:21Maybe your grandpa doesn't speak all the time.
14:23They know when to speak.
14:24They'll want – you can pick up a lot of things from older musicians because they have the experience and they're five times more experience down the line than you are.
14:35And if you watch, you can pick up a lot of clever tricks.
14:38And I've learned so much from Ozzy.
14:41I've learned so much from Ted Nugent where you can go, oh, in 20 years, I'm going to use that trick that they just did.
14:49It was one split second.
14:50So all these little showbiz tricks, I have a lot of things in my back pocket from working with very experienced, talented people.
14:59And I've been so lucky for that.
15:01Yeah, and I mean, what is it like the first time you take the stage?
15:04And not only are you behind Ozzy because you played with Ozzy before that, but all of a sudden you look out and Tony Iommi's in front of you and Geezer Butler.
15:11You know, it's – like I said, the steps.
15:17The steps to playing locally in Detroit.
15:20The steps to learning to back other people.
15:22You know, when I started playing with my dad, we would play all these – the so-called oldies shows where there would be five, six, seven acts on a show.
15:31And you had to learn how to read the front singers and play different styles of music.
15:38So I've done all these little different – many different millions of different things of learning to play in different situations that it all adds up to playing with Black Sabbath and being ready when that opportunity presents itself.
15:52It's like I talk to a lot of young kids and they'll – they think some of these – they'll think some old people are kind of cheesy and goofy.
16:00And I point out to them, well, you know, back in the 60s, those were the rock stars.
16:07Maybe they're 75 now and they may like goofy to you, but you can learn a lot.
16:12Like I used to play for Little Anthony and the Imperials, which is a big, I'd say, doo-wop 60s group who had a bunch of hits.
16:19Four wonderful Black singers.
16:22And they were – at the time, they were in their 60s.
16:25And they would all get ready together and put on their suits together and make sure their hair looked good.
16:30And they danced in the moves and just soaking this energy in of always being professional.
16:36Always going up there and giving it your best.
16:40When I go up with my own thing at the Token Lounge, it's not going to be any different.
16:44I can honestly say from being in Detroit, from being raised the right way by my parents, through having a work ethic and being professional and wanting to be the best that I can be, it all adds up to what you're doing.
16:58So I'm going to bring the best of what I have to that Token Lounge gig on March the 28th.
17:03Yeah, with Tommy's road trip, of course.
17:06Rock trip.
17:07Rock trip.
17:08Right, rock trip.
17:09You got it.
17:09You're ready for another vacation.
17:11You're still in Key West.
17:12That's right.
17:13Yeah, I took a road trip.
17:14No point.
17:15Yeah, I know.
17:15I went from Key Largo to Key West one day, and I'm like, oh, my God.
17:18That's like the longest eight-hour drive of my life.
17:21It's only two and a half.
17:21Is it?
17:22Oh, my God.
17:23You never took that ride before?
17:25Nah.
17:26It's beautiful, but, man, it takes forever.
17:29Ooh.
17:30But it's better.
17:30Florida.
17:31It's a little too muggy down there for me.
17:33My hair would be like this.
17:35Yeah, that makes one of us.
17:37So working with Ozzy, we just talked a little bit about John 5 playing in Motley, and how
17:42many gigs did you do with Motley?
17:44You did, like, half gigs or something?
17:46I don't know how many.
17:48Maybe it was six, seven, eight gigs I did with them.
17:50I just filled in for Tommy Lee because he unfortunately broke his ribs, and he played
17:56maybe a couple tunes, and then I would play the rest of the set.
17:58Those guys were super nice, super professional, and it was a stressful situation, and I was
18:05glad to come in and alleviate some stress.
18:09Yeah, no doubt.
18:10So you talk about a bunch of highlights, obviously, playing with Sabbath and Ozzy and all this
18:14stuff.
18:15How badly did you want to play on that Sabbath record?
18:17Well, you know, like I said, certain things happen.
18:23Certain things don't happen in life, and I just, whatever I can do and I want to do,
18:30I will do.
18:31But sometimes there's powers that be, and they don't see things that way.
18:35So I didn't play on the record, and what are you going to do?
18:40That's the way I look at it, you know?
18:43Yeah.
18:44Would it have been nice?
18:45Sure.
18:46But, oh well.
18:48Onward and upward, as far as I'm concerned.
18:51They made a great record, and they had a number one record, so you can't argue with the success
18:56that they had with it, you know?
18:58Yeah.
18:59What was it like for that last gig?
19:03Yeah, I get asked this a lot, because it's not my last gig.
19:07I wasn't involved with the band for 50 years, so, of course, I don't have the same feelings
19:11that, but to me, it just felt like everybody was, the Sabbath thing was such a machine.
19:18It was rolling.
19:20When we did soundcheck, it was, bam, this is what we're doing.
19:23When we walked the stage, it was, bam, this is what we were doing.
19:26Everybody was, I never played with four guys where everybody was on the same page.
19:32Like, it was a machine.
19:35We all moved together, and I was happy to be a part of that.
19:38It was one of those, it really reaffirmed what I felt about music, how it should be done.
19:44So, when that machine was rolling, you get to the last gig, and it felt like just another
19:50gig.
19:50Because, to me, it's like, how's it played?
19:53Aren't you excited to be playing Detroit?
19:55Well, yes, but it's still as important as playing in Idaho, as far as I'm concerned.
20:00It's a gig, and it's an opportunity to go play your music for people, so every gig should
20:06be important.
20:08And that's why I never had problems doing things when I was younger.
20:13You know, you may play a club five nights in a row, and there's nobody there.
20:17But how do you go to the next stage?
20:20How do you learn the craft if you're not willing to put in the time and the effort, and what
20:27somebody would call bad or a bad gig?
20:30I can say I've never had a bad gig in my life.
20:33That shouldn't exist.
20:35It's all the journey, and it's all getting through it and learning through everything.
20:41You can learn something through all the hardships.
20:45So when you play that last final gig with Sabbath, you may go, what a great tour I had.
20:52I feel like I did a great job, and I felt that way.
20:55I go, what a great tour.
20:57I did the best that I could do, but next.
21:02You know, that's how I feel.
21:05Did you have a gig lined up?
21:07Meaning what?
21:08After that tour.
21:10Did you already have some?
21:11I mean, the music business is so crazy, it's, I mean, we went on the Ozzy's last tour right
21:18after that.
21:19I don't think too far of that, but it's like, I don't even know what lined up means anymore.
21:24Well, look, I go to work every day, and I have to go to work every day, and I'm thinking
21:29if you're a drummer, and you're kind of freelancing, you know, kind of playing different bands like
21:32that, if you have stuff already lined up, like you know that this.
21:35Some people do, I have not always had that fortunate line-up thing.
21:41I think one of my pluses, and one of my drawbacks is, is when I'm with a group, I tend to always
21:49put 110% of my focus into that, as if I'm a band member.
21:56I honestly can say that, and I go, no, I don't want to do this.
22:00No, I don't want to do this.
22:01I stay in the dressing room, and I focus on the gig, I don't do the networking that
22:06may lead to the, you know, I always see guys, and they're talking to the other bands and
22:11doing this, but I always feel the best way for me to focus on the gig tonight is to be
22:15focused on the gig tonight, and that can sometimes take away from your future networking possibilities,
22:23but also, me focusing on that gig that night means that I feel I walk away playing the
22:30best that I can, and sometimes that leads to things, too.
22:34So it's like, like you mentioned earlier, have you played in a band?
22:38Have you been a member of a band?
22:40There's pluses and minuses, and there's pluses and minuses of being a sideman.
22:44And so when the tour is over, the tour can be over, you know?
22:49Yeah.
22:50So, but that's show business.
22:52That's the gig, too, and you've got to know what you sign up for when you get into this
22:56game that I found myself in 25-plus years already of survival and rock and roll and
23:03ups.
23:03Any great rock and roller who's been at it a long time, they're up and they're down,
23:10and this happens, and that happens, and this cancels, and this opportunity comes up, but
23:16it's just like life, you know what I mean?
23:18But you don't get to go in every day and get that steady thing.
23:24That is definitely not a part of what I do.
23:27Steady is really not a word, except when I play the drums, it's going to be steady.
23:32I promise you that.
23:33That's right.
23:34Yeah, like I tell my son all the time, I go, find something you'd like to do and have
23:37someone pay you for it.
23:38Yeah, that's a great goal.
23:41That's a great goal.
23:42Also, seeing something's not steady, you always have to make sure that you're ready
23:48when the opportunity does present itself.
23:53So, whenever I got an opportunity to go play with somebody, there's been five to ten moments
23:59where I go, it's like I was playing for Alto, and he called me to play for Ted.
24:04And I go, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding.
24:08This is going to be a moment for me.
24:11I felt this is going to, I'm going to play with Ted in the studio.
24:15And I got home, and I had an email from Ted.
24:18Learn these 30 songs, just in case.
24:21I go, there it is.
24:23I played good in the studio, I was focused, and then, this was back in the day, you had
24:29to go to Harmony House and go buy 20 CDs to get all the songs, and so I went, and I learned
24:37all the tunes, and I was ready, and I was prepared, and every little, you get these little
24:42moments that if you are not ready, then whose fault is it, you know?
24:49Yeah, preparation is key.
24:50That's another thing I always tell them.
24:52Absolutely.
24:53Yeah.
24:54So, you know, Jason Hartless is a friend of mine now.
24:56He's Nugent's current drummer.
24:58You guys know each other, don't you?
24:59I know Jason.
25:00Yeah, he's a great drummer.
25:01Yeah, Jason's a good friend of mine.
25:02We go to hockey games and different things.
25:04He's a big hockey.
25:04Okay, cool.
25:05Yeah.
25:06Did you ever get a chance to meet Bill Ward?
25:09Yeah, I've met Bill Ward a couple times, yeah.
25:11Yeah, that's great.
25:12Very nice guy, and what a great drummer.
25:15Yeah.
25:15And I was happy to keep that legacy of Sabbath going on.
25:18And what about Chad Smith?
25:20You got any connections with Chad Smith?
25:21I know Chad a little bit.
25:23Yeah, Chad came to some Sabbath gigs, and of course, I know Chad through drumming stuff
25:28and stuff like that.
25:28I mean, talk about joining a band.
25:31Good golly, Miss Molly.
25:33But he's one of these guys who joined a band and also does a million other different things,
25:37too.
25:37He does, yeah.
25:39Yeah.
25:39I don't know if I was in the...
25:40I probably wouldn't...
25:41I'd probably just stay the hell home at that point, but God bless him.
25:44Yeah, I was talking to Bill Burr the other day, and he's doing a gig coming up with Dave
25:48Grohl and Josh Homme, and of course, Chad Smith, and Bill's a drumming fan.
25:52Have you ever met Bill?
25:54I've never met him, but I do know he's a drummer, yeah.
25:57Yeah, so we were talking different drummers and stuff, and I told him one of my favorite
26:00current drummers or whatever is Ray Lazier, and Ray's there in Tennessee.
26:04Ray lives very close to me.
26:06Yeah, we're kind of neighbors.
26:07Ray's a great drummer.
26:08And I know Ray from L.A., we used to rehearse in the same rehearsal complex, if you want
26:15to call it like that.
26:16It was more like a shantytown when we were first more upstarts in the L.A. area, so we
26:21were like right next to each other practicing.
26:24It would be me and him, put it this way, it would be me and him at nine in the morning
26:29practicing.
26:30Yeah, practicing the drums.
26:33Exactly.
26:34You had the whole full setup at your place, right?
26:40So you can't play drums or nothing.
26:42No, no, that doesn't exist here.
26:44No, no, no.
26:45It doesn't exist.
26:46It's full on.
26:47I don't get into the electronic stuff.
26:49I just, I'm not that guy, and it doesn't ring true to me.
26:53So I kind of do what I do.
26:56Who are some of the drummers that you admire nowadays?
27:00You know what?
27:01A lot of people ask me my influences, and the more, the older I get, the more I realize
27:06that my influences aren't necessarily drummers.
27:09Well, of course, let me say that.
27:10I love all the Detroit drummers.
27:13I love Don Brewer, amazing drummer.
27:16I love Johnny Bedanjic is a great rock and roll drummer.
27:19Of course.
27:20I love Charlie Martin, who played for Seeger, you know, on Live Bullet and all that great
27:26stuff.
27:27I love all the Bob Seeger, I'm a Bob Seeger nutcase.
27:30Love it.
27:33But I also get a lot of inspiration out of, to me, it's the approach that you take.
27:39You know, it's like, I can watch a Larry Bird play basketball or talk about playing basketball,
27:45and I go, that's how I think about playing drums.
27:49I can watch Louis Armstrong play the trumpet and him talking about his approach to music,
27:55and I go, that's how I think about playing drums and music.
27:59I can watch Chuck Berry, his tricks of the trade and how his timing, and I go, that's
28:06how I want to approach playing my instrument.
28:08So I don't really check out drums as much.
28:11I'm not really a drumistic kind of drummer, but you can pull influences or the approach.
28:17You could watch a martial artist, you could watch whatever and go, or a pitcher, or you
28:22could, like I watched this Noel Ryan documentary, and I go, man, I think that's how I think.
28:28This is how I think.
28:30You know, that's how I think.
28:31Or, you know, like a Michael Jordan, it's kind of more, that's where I really get my
28:35inspiration.
28:36And then, of course, you play your drums, but it's the thought process to me that leads
28:42to more than actually getting off on watching another drummer do a drum solo, you know?
28:48Makes a lot of sense.
28:49Has there ever been a time where you had to turn down a gig for any reason that you may
28:53regret?
28:55That I regret, yes, yes, yes.
29:02But you can't talk about it.
29:04No, I prefer not to, because what does it matter?
29:06It didn't happen, you know?
29:08There's been times that I've gone for things that I haven't gotten, and there's been things
29:13that I've got offered things where I didn't do it, but what are you going to do?
29:19It's like you asked me, were you upset you didn't play on the Sabbath album?
29:24Yeah, well, I've tried to learn to just, you got to have a thick skin in this business,
29:30and just kind of, it can be very crazy, but when you step away, it can also be a good
29:37metaphor for life on how to get through things.
29:39Sometimes you just got to, you do your best, and you leave it there on the table, and you
29:43walk away.
29:45You know, sometimes it's like, yes, the girl out.
29:48If it works out, now I'm married with a beautiful daughter, and I live in Tennessee, how did
29:53that happen?
29:54Because I went for it, and I did the best that I could, and I got a wonderful family
29:58for it, you know?
29:59So, whatever's meant to happen is really going to, it's going to happen, but I still
30:04have that mentality of a kid.
30:06When I get behind those drums, I go to do the best that I can, and maybe somebody will
30:12be, I want that guy.
30:14And that's happened a few times.
30:15I want that guy, and the timing lines up, and the timing's right, and I notice also as
30:20I get older, the connection has to be there, you know, that, you know, for it to really
30:27stick, like, I feel like my vibe and Ozzy's vibe, it really connected in our mental way
30:34of looking at things, you know?
30:36I'm not one of these, like, I don't get along with these kind of Hollywood guys that talk
30:41a bunch of BS, and, you know, I go, let's go on stage and rock and practice the best we
30:46can and go have a great gig.
30:47You don't got to go, like, overanalyze it after and listen to the show 35 times, and, you
30:52know, on bar three, that's not me.
30:55Right.
30:55So, I may not connect with people sometimes, you know?
30:59But in other ways, you may connect with some people.
31:02So, it's also got to fit, you know?
31:04Well, I'm glad that after 28 years of being on The Rift, you connected with me last week
31:08when I was on vacation, we made this happen, and of course, Tommy's rock trip is coming
31:12March 28th at the Token Lounge.
31:15Yeah, yeah, yeah.
31:16Are you coming?
31:17Or is it too late for you?
31:19No, no, no, no.
31:20I saw I have to go on stage at 945, I'm like, 945?
31:25I'm asleep by then.
31:28No, I'll be there, of course I'll be there.
31:30Great, I look forward to it.
31:31Then the next night, it's Jeff Scott Soto and my friend Bumblefoot with their Art of
31:35Anarchy band, so I'll be there two nights.
31:36Okay, we're going to blow them off the stage, you look out, you look out.
31:40What's the name of the band?
31:41Art of Anarchy.
31:42You know those guys, you know Bumblefoot and Jeff Scott Soto?
31:45I know them maybe slightly, but I wouldn't call them acquaintances.
31:50I know, you know.
31:52Yeah, great.
31:52He's super talented, so.
31:54Good luck, dudes.
31:55Good luck.
31:56I'm going to be bringing the heat.
31:57See?
31:58I can't help the Detroit attitude.
32:01It's great, Ed, for sure.
32:02Tommy, thanks so much for the time, dude.
32:03I appreciate it.
32:04Hey, thank you, Meltdown.
32:05Thank you, Detroit.
32:06I look forward to seeing you March 28th at the Smoking Token Lounge.