BEHIND TROUT MASK
john french

from england 1(?) october 1997 RESONANCE vol.6 #1
is 26 may 1996 england workshop JOHN FRENCH
transcribed by mike barnes

note:
* actually the 'trout mask replica' part of a drum clinic
* similar text published earlier as (untitled) workshop john french in usa 199? website HOME PAGE REPLICA
* text included in full transcription john french. drum clinic. 26 may 96. in england 1 november 1998 fanzine APOCALYPSO * STEAL SOFTLY THRU SNOW #7

part 1 - THIS is PART 2

*

he told me things were going to be different. his picture was on the cover of rolling stone (14 may 1970 - t.t.) and he felt that i should get some of the credit and be in the band and make the money, not that they were going to go big time. so i came back into the band and they had all these songs but no drum parts. so don said: 'use the drum parts that you used on 'trout mask replica', because people will relate to that'.

the difference between the 'trout mask replica' and 'lick my decals off, baby' drum parts was that artie had two bass drums. so i used a double bass pedal. on 'doctor dark' it's both artie and me playing. it's really good fun to play with another drummer. you can do intertwining parts and he was really good at fine buzz rolls and the intricate needlework. i was good at clubbing the drums to death over these weird rhythms that no-one else wanted to take the time to play.

artie spent most of his spare time playing pool. i spent most of my spare time practising, that's why i was able to do these and he wasn't. he could probably have played them better than i had if he would have taken the time. i think that's what it boils down to: how much are you willing to put into being yourself, or expressing yourself? how much are you willing to sacrifice dating, having money, a car, or having a nice place to live and being secure, in order to do that?

at that point i didn't care. i wanted to do this more than anything else on earth. i can't say i've reaped a lot of benefits. but playing at the london musicians collective festival [which organized this clinic] was a very strong payback because i felt very honoured to be there and to play to people who appreciate the odd style that developed out of all this.

when you were notating the musical parts to 'trout mask replica' and you were going crazy having this idea about how you could fix it all together so it would be playable, what were the other band members' reactions to being given this music to play - and trying to link all the parts together, which would obviously not have been something they had done before?

well, the reaction was really positive because the way don always composed before was tedious, slow. it would take hours because he would do everything vocally and verbally and sing parts. sometimes he'd try them on drums, sometimes he'd try playing them on guitar, but it was always sort of (from band): 'is this what you mean?' 'no, that's not it.'

but with the piano and it being written down, there was usually a delay between the time it was written and the teaching to the band. in that length of time don would build the intensity level of the mode of creation and would be able to concentrate more on helping the person to understand what he was trying to do, so it actually made it a lot easier. everybody was very receptive to it as far as that goes. it wasn't: 'oh my god, this is térrible'.

it was actually more work, but we got a lot more accomplished and we wóuld have got a lot more accomplished if don wasn't the sort of paranoid personality that he was. he always thought that someone was trying to sabotage his music. we'd have these talks that would take days and everyone would be worn out and sleep for a day and then get back to work.

additional picture of john french practising, circa 1971
by c. michael french from john's book through the eyes of magic

as far as the workings of getting the actual music together and rehearsing, we had a great time doing it because we could work on our own endeavour. everyone had a line towards seeing this thing done - 'this is exciting, no-one has ever done this before, we are cutting new ground here, let's do it'. we had to roll up our sleeves and get working on it.

would you say that what was in his head came out of his fingers, or did he just play randomly and pick stuff out that he thought as usable? could he play the same thing twice?

he could; it was difficult for him but he could do it. i would say that he mostly sat down and experimented with something. that's what it seemed like to me. but there were times that he didn't take it very seriously and he'd just play something once. i'd go: 'was that it?', and he'd say: 'yeah'. we'd need a part for a song. don would say: 'oh well' (mimics running hands over keyboard) and throw the stones where they would land.

but there were times when he had moments. one of the most brilliant things he ever did was on 'lick my decals off, baby', called 'peon'. he played it on the piano and we recorded it éxactly the way it was played, except for maybe two notes we changed. that shows his brilliance and his ability to grasp the concept of what a keyboard was and utilise it in compositional form without any training whatsoever. (points to head:) so the man definitely had some smarts up there.

there was a song called 'wild life' that's on 'trout mask replica'. that drum part was one of my favorites. it's in five.

by the way, that second 'bake' of 'hair pie' recorded in the studio was done with cardboard on the drums. we did one version at the house, recorded on a remote system - and one in the studio. they asked me to put cardboard on the drums for that. i used to put it underneath the hi hat, and on all the drums and underneath all the cymbals to deaden them - nothing really noisy for the neurotic lady. so the drum sound there is dedicated to the lady who lived across the street.

we were all totally broke. there was no money. basically don's mother was supporting the band and zoot horn rollo's (bill harkleroad's) mother would send down cheques to pay the rent and buy food. i remember once going for a month and all we had to eat every day was one little ratio about this big, a four-ounce cup of soya beans. that was our food for the day.

*

remark:
the magazine was accompanied by a not for sale VARIOUS ARTISTS ceedee RESONANCE volume 6 number 1 (structure & freedom), including two tracks from john's concert the day before the workshop. both instrumentals - one of which is beefheart's 'p-k-ro p' beat - are early stages of longer versions later released on his O SOLO DRUMBO album