Drum Dungeon Interview with Prairie Prince, www.thedrumdungeon.com

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Drum Dungeon Exclusive Interview with Drum Superstar Prairie Prince - by Lew Bowman

DD - Hey Prairie, just like to start out with a big thank you on behalf of the drum dungeon on taking time out from your busy schedule for an interview.

PP - No problem, appreciate it!

DD - Speaking of busy schedules; what all do you have going on right now musically? and how about your design/production company with Michael Cotten?

PP - My schedule of late has taken me on lots of touring with both Todd Rundgren and The Tubes. My design and production projects have been a bit on the back burner. As far as collaborating with Michael Cotton, he has been busy working in the field, producing sets and concepts for Phil Collins, Katie Perry, and Gloria Estephan. We consult each other often and have plans to work on some upcoming projects in the near future.

DD - You play with at least three major bands [and then some] at any given time; what's the biggest hinderance or obstacles for you going between so many diverse projects?

PP - The diversity between all of the things that I do is the reason I can stay vital and intrigued with the art form. I must continually be inspired by the world around me, keeping a movement flowing between and during many projects and events that I undertake. Sometimes shear exhaustion overcomes me and I’ll abandon everything for a few days and recoup with books or surf [life by the ocean].

DD - The White Punks on Dope documentary being put together by Michael [Cotten], what state of completion is it in [hopefully not backwards]? Looking foward to it, any release dates in mind?

PP - Michael Cotton and his protégé Brad Stuernagel have been at work on the Tubes Project Documentary for 5 yrs plus. They think there is a light at the end of the tunnel and with Michaels screen credit for art direction on the Michael Jackson documentary “This Is It “, possibly a backer. I’m going to NYC to perform with Todd next month and will see the new edit for the Tubes film at that time. We have high hopes that it will be produced in the next year.

DD - How was it writing and recording in the early days having a full-fledged percussionist with you in your rhythm section?

PP - The Tubes writing and recording processes were interesting and varied depending on who and where we all were at the time. Mingo Lewis was very vocal in our drum arrangements and collaborations. He was sort of a mentor to me. He knew so much about Afro Cuban rhythm and taught me a lot as we shared the drumming chair for some years. His enthusiasm was never wasted and we worked out intricate parts on some songs and others played a double drummer role for ultimate power.

DD - What was your relationship like with your percussionist Mingo Lewis?

PP - We were great friends and inspired each other to push the limits of duel drummers. We would die laughing at the drop of a hat on and off stage, and with the direction of Kenny Ortega, come up with dance routines to accompany our show. I miss playing with him a lot and who knows.. maybe again someday.

DD - On The Tubes writing process, having so many awesome musicians in the band; did you have a role? was it offered or did you have to work your way in?

PP - My main role in the writing dept of the Tubes was to try and imagine the most unusual and off beat themes I could think off. We all had a sense of the absurd and would take great strides to be different in the early days, which gained us our reputation for the zany, wacky group of art school artists/musicians we were, looking to take the odd road instead of the commercially more formulated approach. I penned several songs lyrically, sometimes with the help of a friend and sf music critic Michael Snyder. Sushi Girl, Attack of the 50 ft woman, tip of my tongue, wild women of wongo, to name a few. We would get together and jam out ideas and poems all with a tongue and cheek style. Mike Cotten and I would come up with wild concepts for sets and costumes to help illustrate these songs for presentation on stage. Now and then the reverse approach would lead us to a song from an already visualized character or event.

DD - The movable drum riser on wheels for the Completion tour; Whose Idea? How much fun was it for you being able to move with your instrument, one that ordinarily is very stationary?

PP - I’m sure it was MC’s [Michael Cotton's] genius to have the set risers able to move. Most viewers were under the impression that the movement was mechanical but, no, they glided back and forth, spun from side to side by shear roadie muscle. I will say that some times the pushers got out of hand during my solo and disrupted my rhythmic flow on occasion.

DD - The Tubes back in 1973; what was it like opening up for Led Zeppelin?

PP - The Tubes opened the entire show for Led Zeppelin in 1973. We went on stage at 10am to a large crowd that had been waiting for days in line and were ready to rock. We were so excited to play for this show and were well rehearsed with a wild set that we debuted for the first time. Lots of costume changes for the entire band and it was the first appearance of Fees Character ‘Quay Lewd”. The first thing out of the shoot was white Punks on dope where he threw bags of candy and flour that looked like drugs down on the crowd below. They responded by hurling it all back at us as well as anything else they could get their hands on. We soon realized this was not such a great idea. Anyway we had an epic performance and many Tubes fans were born that day. I got a black eye from a fastball in the form of a ripe peach. LZ was 4 hrs late and didn’t hit the stage until late in the afternoon. But were incredible!

DD - The Tubes tagged along with various other big name groups as co-headliners quite a bit; What was your favorite [peer] act to tour with?

PP - The Tubes co headlined with Utopia in the mid 80’s, which I really enjoyed. TR [Todd Rundgren] was our producer at the time and we had fun touring together. We lost our dancer to Todd that tour and she later became his wife, Michelle. Another band we toured with in the 70’S was Squeeze. They were brilliant and fine company. We all thought a grand combination for a concert.

DD - You were the original drummer for [originally prog-rock band] Journey before Aynsly Dunbar; How did the Journey gig come about? Why did you leave after completing the demos?

PP - Journey began as a recording project, the brainchild of Mr. Herbie Herbert. He had been involved with a management team that was handling the Tubes at the time. He came to me and revealed that his idea was to put some musicians together from a few bands he knew to write and record. He called it the Golden Gate Rhythm Section and it would include Neal Schon and Greg Rolie, newly departed from Santana, and Ross Vallory and George Tickner from a group called Frumious Bandersnatch, and me. We rehearsed, wrote and recorded for over a year and debuted in SF [San Francisco] at winterland opening for Santana NYE 1973. The next day we flew to Honolulu and played the Diamond Head crater festival with Bonnie and Delaney. The hardest part was telling them my allegiance was with my band the Tubes and the rest is history.

I was also recording with Nicky Hopkins at the same time and had a whole other schedule to attend to in England. We made two records and were accompanied by the likes of George Harrison, Mick Taylor, Ronnie wood, Klaus Voorman, Ray Cooper, Chris Spedding, Ronnie Lane and other luminaries from the English music scene. It was all too much for a young drummer.

DD - Todd Rundgren is doing select shows featuring the music of blues guitar legend Robert Johnson called "Todd Rundgren's Johnson" - do I dare ask; What's it like playing with Todd Rundgren's Johnson?

PP - [laughs] The latest Todd Rundgren project has been his TR”S Johnson, in which he covered an LPs worth of Robert Johnson tunes. He admits the skinny white English guitarists of the 60’s versions of the material inspired him more than the traditional approach to RJ's [Robert Johnson's] music.

DD - To do these shows, you obviously have very little to draw from collectively as Robert was a solo artist playing without the use of a full band; What was the process you went through to add the backbone to the guitar parts? Did you and Kaz work rhythm sections out first then bring it to Todd?

PP - Todd recorded its entirety on his computer, playing all the instruments and programming drums. I have the duty to interpret his compositions with a skinny white English drummer attack at heart. Its fun and its da blues. TR [Todd Rundgren] is an unheralded blues guitarist and I believe he is getting his due and having fun doing it, as we all are.

DD - Playing with Todd; What are the challenges say in contrast to the Tubes? Does Todd allow a certain amount of freedom from studio versions of his music?

PP - Todd likes to keep his music close to the form he originally composed it, in most circumstances. However he allows me the freedom to elaborate and give the songs my own personality. If I get out of hand he’ll reel me in on occasion. In the case of performing live with the Tubes, I wrote the parts and I play them how I feel at the moment. Heatedly or with restraint, depending on my mood or the state of the crowd.

DD - On that note; Was it a challenge or more fun to work on the Utopia stuff - Willie wilcox is great?

PP - The Utopia set was brought about as an opening act for The A Wizard a True Star tour. Since Roger Powell had agreed to play keyboards with Todd for this show it was suggested we do a short set of Utopia songs. Some of my favorites from that band and I had great time playing Willies parts with Kasim Sulton. He’s so good, KS [Kasim Sulton] that is. My respect goes out to Willie Wilcox as well, in the drum chair for so many years of recording and great live performances. I loved his electronic motorcycle kit. That one he played with when they toured with the Tubes. It spun on an axis like a barber chair, Wild!

DD - I love something you said in an interview I was reading in your Modern Drummer interview refferring to playing "The Cars" drum parts for "The New Cars", You experimented adding some flourishes here and there to their classic tunes but it didn't seem to work, "the drums that were originally written to fit these songs do the job very well, so for the most part that's what I play" With that in mind; What's your mindset on the "Less is More" drumming mentality?

PP - The” less is more” approach definitely has its merit when drumming to songs that need no more than is necessary. The Cars songs are a good example. The Chris Isaak material I played on, and Talking Heads, are all classic groove orientated composers that drumming to the edge of busy would kill.

DD - When you play or even listen to your own drumming; do you feel you draw from any one outstanding influence any more than the cumulative influence of all your heroes?

PP - I've always been very influenced by Mitch Mitchell [rest in peace] and like to channel him as much as I can. James Browns’ drummers were nothing to shake a stick at! Got to have the funk. Nothing but the funk.

DD - Matched grip exclusively? or when you rehearse do you use a bit of tradit?

PP - I use matched grip repetitively, unless I’m playing with brushes.

DD - Anything new coming up in your ongoing endeavors or at least plans you'd like to comment on?

PP - I’ve been faithful to my sponsors, Yamaha, Paiste, and Calato for over 30 yrs. I’m now endorsing Beyer Dynamic microphones that are brilliant live and in the studio. I’m planning on working on material for a solo project including some of my favorite musicians and artists in the next year and continue to perform and record with Todd and the Tubes. There is always something just around the corner that engages me and my vision usually takes me to yet a higher place creatively than I’ve been before. That’s encouraging.

DD - The drumming and percussion community are a very tight-knit, for the most part loyal group of musicians who take drumming very seriously; I know it's the cliche interview closer, but...any advice for young up and comers - maybe regarding being in a band and the give and take that must take place?

PP - My advice to anyone who is aspiring to seek new avenues in music and art, to not be inhibited by trends or over saturated markets and explore their souls as one or as a unit; give an ear and an open mind to your band mates, Its all about working together to succeed. Discover truth in the spirit of music to heal and guide people..It’s for the good of all. Drums for life!

DD - Thanks so much for your time Prairie, be safe on the road, and Drums for Life!

Drum Superstar Prairie Prince gave the Dungeon a bit of his time off from a busy touring schedule with The Tubes, Jefferson Airplane, and Todd Rundgren.

A founding member of The Tubes and Journey. He has also worked with Chris Isaak (on his first four albums), Todd Rundgren, Brian Eno, David Byrne, XTC, Tom Waits, Paul Kantner, George Harrison, Dick Dale, Glenn Frey, Richard Marx, Bill Spooner, Neil Hamburger, John Fogerty, Tommy Bolin, Phil Lesh, Jefferson Starship, The New Cars, and former Tubes and Grateful Dead keyboardist Vince Welnick.

We had a few select questions ready for him:

December 2010 - California

For interview requests with The Drum Dungeon, send your inquiries and requests to media@thedrumdungeon.com

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