Carl Palmer and His Five Thousand Pound Steel Drum Set

In his time, Carl Palmer was considered to be one of the best drummers in rock music.  He came from a musical family, and has incredibly fast hands. His style is over the top when it comes to prog, but I would say that when he explores other styles of music he’s got bit of a jazz edge.  He’s not the best double bass player in the world, but in his day he did impress. He’s still going strong, still playing a pretty massive kit, but do you remember the stainless steel monster he played back in the day?   

His sponsor was British Steel.  The kit was to be made of stainless steel, with pretty cool etchings all over the shells.  In comparison to all of his other kits, it didn’t look massive.  There were eight rack toms a single bass drum, and one floor tom.  Then why did this drum set weigh 2.5 tons?  Because Carl asked for half inch thick shells.  He had two gongs, a large bell, tubular bells, and a pair of tympanis.  I estimate that my drum kit, (single bass drum, two floors, and three rack toms,) weighs almost 400lbs.  Imagine what the ELP roadies went through.  The drum risers needed to be reinforced; the bass drum took two men to move.  The cost of hauling the kit all over the world was something that the band did not take into account.  If you think about it, all the gear for a four piece rock band, humans included, is probably one third the weight of Carl’s drum kit.
As Carl says in later interviews, “It was the 1970’s. Excess was the norm.”  If you take into account what the entire band was doing at the time, it was par for the course. ELP took a lot of flak for being such an over the top band, when it comes to production. If you compare a modern pop superstar’s show to the “Works I” ELP tour, the old prog rockers look tame in comparison. It’s rumored that Ringo Star purchased Carl’s steel kit, and it sits in storage somewhere.  

I had the chance to see Carl play at Shank Hall.  He took the time to come out from behind the drum set and explain a little bit about each song before playing it.  He had a pair of young men playing bass and guitar on that tour.  They performed ELP instrumentals.  It was almost like having Carl in your living room.     

Mike Watt Returns to Shank Hall with Couch Flambeau

Mike Watt, founding member of the band Minutemen will be performing at Shank Hall this Saturday night, April 16. Opening for Watt will be none other than Couch Flambeau. I never had the chance to catch the Minutemen back in the day, but I did see Watt perform his solo work from the disk Contemplating The Engine Room. That disk has some serious sounding songs.

The opposite of serious would have to be Couch Flambeau. Jay Tiller was a drummer that inspired me. I stole some of his licks, to be sure. (Thanks Jay.) My favorite song from Couch Flambeau would have to be The Zoo Is Cool, off of the album The Day the Music Died.

Best Live Music Venues in Milwaukee

I figured that it was about time that I put my two cents in about which Milwaukee venues are the best place to see live music. I will try to be honest, and unbiased. It really doesn't matter that much since I am only one person in a city of 500,000 people.

Guidespot.com lists Sauce as the best venue, but when I read the sentence "Fashion-conscious sophisticates flock to this upscale restaurant/bar in the trendy Third Ward," Sauce loses all rankings in my book. I'm not one to dress like a slob at a show, but c'mon, the words Fashion, upscale, and trendy are all jammed into the description. I'll pass on that one.

They list the Bremen Cafe as number two. That's a realistic ranking.

Some put Shank Hall at the top of the list. I guess you could say it's in the top 20, if that's a good thing to be one of twenty clubs to see a live band. I have to say that the sound has been great there, but the venue has not changed inside very much.

Others prefer to put the BBC at the top of the heap. Yea, the staff at the BBC has been nothing but professional when I go see a band. A nice waitstaff makes you feel so welcome. If I had any criticisms of the BBC it would be that the sound is hard to dial in. The place is big, there is a post in the middle of the stage, and the windows reflect so much sound, that you wonder if putting up some baffles for live shows wouldn't be a bad idea. The only other hurdle is loading all the gear up and down those stairs. If it is a rainy night, you risk a hard fall. Yea, the BBC gets high marks.

Some prefer to head to Bay View's Cactus Club. Sorry, I stopped giving that venue my money a long time ago. Who wants to go to a club to be treated like dirt by the owner and his staff? The regulars sit on their butts and stare into their beers. What fun!

I have to say that Mad Planet gets high marks. The staff is nice, there is plenty of room, the stage may be small, but you don't feel like you are crammed into the hall. I like the risers along the east wall. You get a chance to stand above the crowd.

Points East is another one of those friendly clubs. Hang out front and have a beer before the show starts. The stage is angular, but tall. The parking has never been a problem at Points East.

Looking back at my choices, it's safe to say that I lean towards the rock venues. Milwaukee has so much more to offer than what I posted here. I barely scratched the surface. I left out all the large venues on purpose, but if I had to list just one, it would be the Milwaukee Theater. When I have Milwaukee Theater tickets to a show, I know that the sound will be great, the entertainment top notch, and it's easy to sneak out to get a drink. The Riverside is a close second, but Milwaukee Theater goers will agree with me.

Ghost town in Milwaukee next Thursday

My boss has to entertain friends this coming Thursday. He asked me to search all the larger local venues for something to do. I started with The Pabst Theater and worked my way down to Shank Hall. Nothing. If he was talking about a Friday night, there are plenty of things to do. They Might Be Giants are in town. The Music of Led Zeppelin performed by the MSO on Friday and The Wallflowers are in town on Saturday night. If you are touring the country, I guess Milwaukee is the last place you want to be on a Thursday night. Speaking as a touring musician (over the years), I wanted to be in large cities on those off nights. That increased your chances of a good crowd. Ok, I found something to do on Thursday. Get a Milwaukee Admirals ticket. They actually play Houston on Thursday.

Greg Koch, a Milwaukee boy

Greg Koch has a great line of guitar lesson books. Greg Koch plays a lot of Summerfest gigs. Greg Koch has a great attitude. If you want to score yourself some Greg Koch rock at Shank Hall, you better show up with tickets in hand on September 7th. That's when Greg will be crankin' out the tunes.