John French (musician)

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John French 2012 in Liverpool

John French (* 1949 ), also known as Drumbo , is an American drummer and singer, best known for his work for Captain Beefheart's Magic Band .

Musical career

Early years

John French lived in Lancaster, California , in the same area as Frank Zappa , Don Van Vliet and other members of the Magic Band and the Mothers of Invention . As a teenager, he became very interested in the local music scene, moving around with Doug Moon and seeing The Omens on stage.

Around 1964 he played in Merrell & The Exiles , a band in which Jeff Cotton (Antennae Jimmy Semens) was guitarist. French and Cotton met Mark Boston (Rockette Morton) in the band Blues in a Bottle in 1966 . Bill Harkleroad ( Zoot Horn Rollo ) later joined the band. Thus the core of the band that recorded the album Trout Mask Replica had come together.

Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band

John French joined the Magic Band in late 1966, replacing Paul Blakeley on drums. After playing on the album Safe as Milk , his distinctive style of drumming shaped the heavy psychedelic blues of Strictly Personal (1968) and Mirror Man (produced in 1968, but not released until 1971). For Trout Mask Replica (1969) he transcribed the musical ideas that Beefheart played him on the piano and wrote them down for the band. After completing Trout Mask Replica , John French was fired from Beefheart and replaced by Jeff Bruschell. Beefheart soon brought him back, however, and he recorded the albums Lick My Decals Off, Baby and Spotlight Kid with him, on which he played drums and percussion with Art Tripp (Ed Marimba) . In late 1972, shortly before the US tour, he left the Magic Band again .

Beefheart couldn't tour and record under his own name for contractual reasons, so he toured with Frank Zappa on his Bongo Fury tour. Then Beefheart hired John French again as drummer and musical director. In 1976 the original version of Bat Chain Puller was recorded, which for legal reasons was only released in this form in 2012. John French also played guitar on some of the songs here. When his friend John Thomas (keyboards) was fired from Beefheart, John French also left. In 1977 he helped out Beefheart again, but was then disaffected to continue working with him.

In 1980 he was involved in the recording of Doc at the Radar Station in search of work . Here he played guitar and drums in two pieces. When Beefheart gave him a list of forty songs that he was supposed to learn within three months, he resigned and left the band before the upcoming tour.

Other Projects

John French made two solo albums: Waiting On The Flame (1994, with Henry Kaiser , Bill Harkleroad and Scott Colby , among others ) and O Solo Drumbo (1998, on John Zorn ’s label Avant Records ). He was also a member of the experimental band French Frith Kaiser Thompson (with Fred Frith , bass, Henry Kaiser, guitar and Richard Thompson , guitar). He played with Henry Kaiser over and over again. In 2000 he was involved in the production of the Beefheart anthology Grow Fins . He also gave insight into the problems of working with Captain Beefheart in the BBC documentary The Artist Formerly Known as Captain Beefheart.

In 2003 the Magic Band reunited as a live band with Rockette Morton, Denny Walley and Gary Lucas . John French took over the vocals and harmonica , and left the drums to Robert Williams . They released the album Back to the Front (2004) and the live CD 21st Century Mirror Men (2005).

In 2008 John French released the album City of Refuge under the name Drumbo . He was supported by the old Magic Band colleagues John Thomas, Rockette Morton, Zoot Horn Rollo and Greg Davidson ( Ella Guru ). The album was released on the English label Proper Records .

In 2010 he published his memories of his time with the Magic Band with Beefheart: Through The Eyes Of Magic (Proper Music Publishing, London).

In 2016, Rolling Stone listed French as 48th of the 100 best drummers of all time .

Discography

With Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band

With Henry Kaiser

With French Frith Kaiser Thompson

  • 1987: Live, Love, Larf & Loaf , Demon Records
  • 1990: Invisible Means , Demon Records

solo

  • 1994: Waiting On The Flame , Demon Records
  • 1998: O Solo Drumbo , Avant Records
  • 2008: City Of Refuge , Proper Records

With Magic Band

Collaborations

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ankeny, Jason: Captain Beefheart: Biography , Allmusic , accessed September 12, 2012
  2. ^ Bill Harkleroad LUNAR NOTES, SAF Publishing 1998, page 36 ff., ISBN 0-946719-21-7
  3. ↑ Discography: John French , Allmusic, accessed September 12, 2012
  4. ^ Layne, Joslyn: Biography: French Frith Kaiser Thompson , Allmusic, accessed September 12, 2012
  5. ↑ John French: Discography , united-mutations.com, accessed September 12, 2012
  6. ↑ Discography: John French , Allmusic , accessed September 12, 2012
  7. ↑ 100 Greatest Drummers of All Time. Rolling Stone , March 31, 2016, accessed August 6, 2017 .
personal data
SURNAME French, John
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Drumbo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American drummer and singer
DATE OF BIRTH 1949