The ELP (and Asia) drumming icon has carried on after the death of his rock bandmates, touring with virtuosic musicians and presenting his prog-rock music “in another way.” The Local Spins interview.
Playing With as Much Authority as Ever: Carl Palmer brings his “ELP Legacy” tour to Holland.
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It’s not easy following up your tenure in a supergroup that made you a household name and sold 48 million records — not even by forming another supergroup that eventually sold millions as well.
It’s sure not easy carrying on when two of the bandmates with whom you are most closely identified passed away within eight months of each other, and one from your other group died a month later.
And it’s certainly not easy playing drums with the same kind of power and finesse at age 67 as you did at age 27.
Carl Palmer
Then again, Carl Palmer has never been about easy.
The Hall of Fame drummer brings Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy to Holland’s Park Theatre at 8 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 30). While the group will be playing many of the songs made popular by Emerson, Lake & Palmer nearly four decades ago, don’t expect any wild keyboard sounds or powerful vocals. Get tickets, $25-$75, online here.
That’s because this band features Palmer alongside young bandmates Paul Bielatowicz on guitars and Simon Fitzpatrick on bass and Chapman stick. No organ, no synthesizer and no singing. And no slowing down for one of rock music’s best and best-known drummers.
Why an all-instrumental group with no keyboards?
“I’ve told this many times before, but I’m happy to do it again,” he said, sounding not particularly happy about it despite the disclaimer. “In 2001, there were more virtuoso guitar players than keyboard players. It seemed right to present it (the music) in another way, so I decided to go with it.”
Despite performing with players some two decades younger, Palmer doesn’t just keep up with them. He drives the music with as much authority as during ELP’s heyday. His prodigious technique is on full display throughout the show, egging on his bandmates. (See videos below.)
ELP’s swan song was the band’s performance at the High Voltage Festival in 2010. Palmer said he called a halt to the band following the show. Despite five weeks of rehearsal and the fact that performance was later released as a live recording, Palmer felt it wasn’t up to the group’s standards. “It wasn’t sounding as good. If we couldn’t achieve our standards with five weeks of rehearsal, we didn’t want to do a nostalgia (tour).”
‘PLAYING TO A NEW AUDIENCE,’ WITH A NEW BOX SET BEING RELEASED THIS WEEK
Palmer said Emerson agreed, but Lake was not as understanding. In fact, the two didn’t speak for the last several years of Lake’s life. Emerson died in March 2016 and Lake in December, while Palmer’s rhythm section partner in Asia — bassist and vocalist John Wetton — passed away Jan. 31.
While saddened by their deaths, Palmer has soldiered on. Earlier this year, the co-founder of Asia and his bandmates – Geoff Downes, Sam Coulson, and new bassist/vocalist Billy Sherwood, who replaced Wetton – opened on a tour for Journey.
No Synthesizer: Carl Palmer on stage.
Following that, he hopped right back on the road for the Yestival tour with Todd Rundgren and headliners Yes. Though he said early on in the tour that he wasn’t quite sure how well Rundgren fit in with the prog-rock crowd, Palmer invited him to perform with his band on ELP’s first hit, “Lucky Man.” “We played to more people” as part of the triple bill, he said. “I enjoy playing to a new audience.”
He’s also had other guests sit in, including guitarist/harmonica player Steve Hackett, who, like Palmer, has been on the prog-rock Cruise to the Edge, and organist Mark Stein of Vanilla Fudge fame. But mostly it’s all about guitar, bass and drums locking into a groove while spiraling out parts originally sung or played on Moog or Hammond. And all without missing a beat.
While Emerson, Lake and Palmer may be a thing of the past, the group’s music is shining as brightly as ever, thanks to a new box set. “Fanfare: Emerson, Lake & Palmer 1970-1997” is due to hit shelves the day before Palmer’s Holland show on Friday (Sept. 29). “Fanfare” will include all of ELP’s remastered 11 albums; five CDs of previously unreleased recordings; a never-before issued triple vinyl set (“Live In Italy, May 1973”); 1 x Surround Sound Blu Ray audio, plus a variety of memorabilia, including a 40-page hardback book
Palmer seems pleased with the release. “They have to run them by us for quality control, even though there’s only me left. It’s quite complete,” he said.
Art Inspired by ELP: ‘The Great Gates of Kiev’ by Palmer.
Other recent releases include the “Live In The USA” CD with his band and “Pictures At An Exhibition – The Keith Emerson Tribute Concert,” a DVD featuring Hackett and Stein.
Palmer is also an accomplished artist. His abstracts have been exhibited across the country. His signature series of abstracts, dubbed “The Rhythm of Light,” was created completely from rhythm, a series of signed and numbered prints on canvas featuring stunning visual images constructed from drum performances. Working with acclaimed L.A. art team Scene Four, the artwork combines motion, color and lighting. You can see images at CarlPalmerArt.com.
Tickets for the Park Theatre show are available online here. For more on Palmer’s work as a musician, go to CarlPalmer.com.
VIDEO: Carl Palmer Band, “Welcome Back, My Friends!”
VIDEO: Carl Palmer Band, “Hoedown”
VIDEO: Carl Palmer Band, “Pictures at an Exhibition”
Copyright 2017, Spins on Music LLC
