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Page 188 |
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1976 - 1980: My STUDIO OWNER period |
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After completing engineering school, I began running ads in the Los Angeles Free Press. It generated a lot of different kinds of business for me. There were lots of upstart studios in the L.A. basin and I found it to be very competitive. Still, some of my clients included, now famous, Jamie (James) Horner. James has gone on to become one of the premier movie score writers in the business. His credits are long and he is highly respected in the industry. Among other songs, James composed the music for the movie, "Titanic"and his scores for "Apollo 13," "Braveheart," "Field of Dreams," "Alien" and (most recently) "A Beautiful Mind" featuring vocals from Sony artist Charlotte Church, have all been nominated for Academy Awards. He was a major talent, even as a young man. Other film composers include Basil Poledouris, who is also very active and successful in the business. We did the soundtrack for a movie called, "Dolphin" which I attended the premier. Sometimes, I would be the engineer for these sessions, while other times, I acted as second engineer, all requiring much advance preparation for the sessions. I was a "studio nerd," so I loved all of it, even the long hours and doing special bias adjustments, requested by the clients. It was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity to do what I love and hone my craft even more. Jeff Porcaro, drummer for "TOTO," came to the studio one night, just to hang out. He sat down and jammed a little. What a monster Jeffrey was. A very personable, forthcoming guy, who was a particular joy for me. This "kid" had the most solid meter I've ever heard in my life, wonderful chops and a sense of humor that was so becoming on his young successful "butt." Being kind of fans of ours and good friends of Joe Schermie's, Jeffrey and David Paich would occasionally hang out at our 3DN rehearsals, in the early days, around 1971-72. In time, we heard them play and kept telling them, "Man, we're telling you. You guys should form a group; you could have some hits!" They'd always blow it off and say something like, "Aw, thanks, but we're doing pretty good now, just doing sessions around town, making about $200,000 a year doing that." Damn! Not bad for a couple of kids. Ultimately, they DID form TOTO and you know the rest. Jeff's death on May 8th, 1992 came as quite a blow to me. I was on the road and heard about it while in my bunk on a tour bus. Here's a copy of the obituary from the newspaper that was a bit misleading in its "cause of death." I see no reason to upset his family with any comment regarding that.
Jeffrey Porcaro was DEFINITELY one of the best drummers to ever come down the pike. Some even say he was the best EVER. He loved Floyd Sneed and applied Floyd's "Lafrican" influence in a way that most drummers today use as the source. It's called "ghost beats," now. My personal favorite of all the things Jeff recorded was a tune called "Low Down," on the Boz Scaggs album "Silk Degrees," released in 1976. It remains the funkiest, coolest and crispest double bass drum beat song I've ever heard. Jeff didn't use a double bass drum set when he performed this song. It was strictly his "killer technique," applied like only he could do it. Please give it a re-listen sometime. He was truly amazing in his talent.
To give you an idea of how prolific of a career Jeff had, I have copied a page from a TOTO web site that has a tribute to Jeff on it. Brace yourself, because you won't believe the depth of his discography. A "who's who" of the recording industry. Click here to view it. (Return link provided) |
