Ian Paice ["Deep Purple"]

S.S.F.: What it means to be a "legendary drummer" and "rock star"?

I.P.: It's not something to think about. I was just lucky. In the times when I started, the music was very open and free, which gave musicians favorable opportunities and chances to develop their individuality. I was lucky that I started playing at that time - in the sixties of the twentieth century - when all the roads were open, when the map of musical space was still full of white spots. my youth passed along with the development of rock and roll, and, at the same time, from the earliest childhood, I absorbed the music of jazz big bands, whose records I listened to my father is at home. Therefore, on a subconscious level in me always there was a swing influence. I was incredibly lucky to have from birth God-given good "internal metronome" and a good degree discoordination of limbs.

S.S.F.: You've been on stage for over thirty years. Where do you draw "creative juices" and enthusiasm to continue to play on drums?

I.P.: It's just that I still get a kick out of drumming. Child picks up a musical instrument and tries to play it only because he likes it, because he gets from this "toys" fun. And you're having fun too, you're smiling, when you see a baby trying to play, right? So, if a child lucky, if fate smiles on him, he may be able to earn himself for life by playing this musical instrument. However, nowadays anyone who enters music in the hope of making it his profession leads like a maniac. What you should never lose sight of is the pleasure you get from playing your instrument. BUT pleasure ends where business begins - when the game is for the sake of entertainment turns into a game for money. What is music as a medium earnings? You see, there are days when you don't want to play, but you have to. It happens that you don’t want to go on tour at all, but you have to. But, in the end, you play primarily to get from this pleasure, right? Otherwise, is it even worth it? do?

S.S.F.: For many, Deep Purple are pioneers, favorites, an example to follow. How do you feel about this?

I.P.: On the one hand, I think we did some interesting albums. We've taken some of those steps in rock 'n' roll that, perhaps no one but us would have done it. On the other hand, in my opinion, we did a number of mediocre concerts and recordings. When it comes to the group like "Purple", you can never guess in advance how it will turn out, 'cause we never took the stage to play day in and day out the same concerts. Starting to play any song, none of us knew in advance exactly how we would play it today, say, in the middle. AT depending on the occasion, the song could turn out to be played cool, mediocre or completely disgusting. I love that kind of flexibility. It is much more interesting to have such flexibility than to work day by day some standard, knurled and effective formula. If you don't enough "creative juices", I think you are missing this very easy not knowing in advance what will happen next, in which you will always be interested and which will give you a constant opportunity to improvise and invent something new.

S.S.F.: Do you have any of the most favorite album?

I.P.: The smartest answer would be "my favorite album is this is the next album! [laughs]. In fact, it is "Made in Japan". So many years have passed, and this album remains one of the most interesting and possibly one of the best live performances ever made. records. This album is, in fact, the fruit of a happy combination of various circumstances. Judge for yourself: we recorded it in Japan, absolutely territory unknown to us then, in an excellent hall with excellent acoustics. At we had a lot of new material that we honed on tour trips for a couple of months, and which has clearly grown out of the studio format. Therefore, we decided to record a live, live album. With us worked a great sound engineer - Martin Birch - who gathered together everything that which today can be described as "very primitive equipment", and ended up making a great record.

S.S.F.: How do you manage to combine touring with family life and maintaining good health?

I.P.: It might sound a little weird, but sometimes I think that I could play not one, but two concerts a day. When I was 20 or 25 years, after each concert I was exhausted to the limit and felt absolutely devastated. Now, although I have not become physically more hardy (although, perhaps, it is), after playing a concert, I feel yourself full of energy. I just now know HOW to play so as not to get tired. I am very lucky that at my age I am still healthy as an ox. I I drink a little more than I should, I like to eat a little more than should, and, like most of us, too lazy to go in for sports, but ... (let's knock on wood ... pah-pah-pah! ..) I have still good health.

S.S.F.: What do you think is the best approach to work in the studio?

I.P.: When you go into the studio, you have to be prepared for what's not There are no rules or laws in making records. You can ask to play at a certain pace, which will be just one of those in which you feel uncomfortable and you can't get enough worthy to prove themselves - for there are no people who could equally well do all. Ultimately, the particular entry you make will serve as a benchmark for that particular song and will be considered a reflection you as a musician. I have tempos that I like to listen to but It's hard for me to play at that pace. The pace of medium slow is a bit uncomfortable for me, so if I have the opportunity, I always register in at such a pace with a click recorded on a separate track, so that I easier to play them. At some paces, just my "internal" metronome. As a rule, I record no more than eight takes. each song, after which, for the final choice, which of the takes will go on the album, I leave only three of them. If I have at least three different takes of the same song, then I already stop worrying about of whether I signed up well enough, because, in the end, above my head you won’t jump, but three doubles is quite a sufficient number to choose that version in which the song I played will be "immortalized". But in general, HOW to work best in the studio is not so important when you ALREADY working in it.

S.S.F.: What a snag you had with Steve Morse during working on the album "Perpendicular"?

I.P.: We met Steve while we were working on this album. And, although the album turned out pretty good, it has a number of "raw" moments - not "crap", no - but some lack of that special mutual understanding that people have for a long time working together. Before the recording of our latest album, Abandon, we played about two hundred concerts to "feel" each other. For example, John and I understand each other perfectly musically: not even looking at each other, each of us at any moment knows exactly what the other one thinks what he thinks. In order for this kind of understanding takes time. Now with Steve we have developed a similar understanding, allowing him to play more confident.

S.S.F.: I don't want to draw parallels with Ritchie Blackmore, but, apparently, in this case, all of you were damn pleased to work with each other on stage, which wasn't always the case when you played with Richie, right?

I.P.: Richie gets high from the noise, the turmoil, the mess, the... madness. Sometimes it began to seem to him that if everything was going smoothly with us, then it became maybe there's something wrong here. This caused us all a lot of stress and, in ultimately led to unproductive work, strained relationships in a collective. And we've been playing for so long that if we don't get pleasure from our playing on stage, which means that the audience will not get pleasure that we can never afford. We're not twenty-year-old boys bulging on stage in cool "sexy" poses. We are just musicians lucky enough to play for a long time, and we love it, we are proud of what we have achieved throughout our many years of career. It's stupid to try to hide it. As for Richie, we allowed him to dominate the writing process for too long, which eventually led to the fact that we lost a whole decade. But this is very it is important for us to visit North America as often as possible so that people saw that it is still too early for us to “retire”, that we are still capable of put on a show that is a sin not to see!

S.S.F.: Why have you been attached to the family for many years "Pearl"?

I.P.: I've been playing Pearl drums for 15 years now. I have always been a little old-fashioned in regards to tradition, and so when I heard that Pearl is releasing a limited edition of Silver Sparkle drums, I ordered one set from them for myself. I just wanted my the drums were of that color, because this color reminds me of the good old days.

S.S.F.: What kind of music do you listen to?

I.P.: I rarely listen to rock, because the vast majority of samples this music does not "insert" at all. Too many secondary groups. Many musicians think that if they sound like someone from famous performers, then they themselves will become famous. I listen to singers - they, in my opinion, more inventive and melodic. I also like jazz. More like some techno stuff than mainstream, but in general I listen to everything little by little. Some bands may well challenge us and put us on the shoulder blades. Let's say a group called "Massive Attack" - she told me like it.

S.S.F.: What would you say to the drummers who decided to go, as they say, to Your feet?

I.P.: The only advice I think it makes sense to give them is It's always about trying to be yourself. I don't want to say that you can not adopt anything from your idols. I just want to say that I don't reason to become a clone of me, or Simon Phillips, or anyone else. In any case, there is no point in being always and initially the second number. Try to bring as many elements into your game as possible, "overheard" by you from other drummers, but at the same time try to once you play them so that they become as if your own. So In this way, you will develop your own, individual style. Sometimes sometimes you need to play with a considerable amount of imagination, and sometimes you need only no more, than to keep the rhythm and gather the group, as they say, into a single fist. As if you don't play, love to play. Just enjoy drumming.

S.S.F.: Can you tell us anything about classes?

I.P.: There are no general rules regarding classes and there cannot be. Someone needs to practice for several hours every day - and he is in bliss. And someone on the contrary - almost does not work at all. In the end everything we play for pleasure, for fun, and if success comes along the way - it's nothing more than a bonus. Don't forget to enjoy the game on drums.