By Jeb Wright

Carl Palmer is a drummer’s drummer. He has spent decades honing and perfecting his craft. He remains intrigued and challenged by drumming even today. He remains teachable, and he has a longing to learn more. He is as much the student as he is the master — never satisfied with resting on his laurels even though he could do that and still leave audiences with their jaws agape.

He has achieved multi-platinum success with two bands: Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Asia. He has received awards of excellence and has a gaggle of amateur and professional drummers placing him on a pedestal, or at least a drum stool, in homage to his talents.

Palmer is currently on a global tour trek in support of his third in a series of live albums recorded as a guitar/bass/drums three-piece band. The album, simply titled “Working Live: Volume III,” takes ELP-like progressive rock and bashes you over the head with electric guitars where the keyboards and vocals once were. The Carl Palmer Band is not simply remaking ELP classics, however. The band is more interested in taking classical music and infusing it with what Palmer calls “hard-core prog.” The result is a unique blend of music that satisfies the snobbiest of classical critics as well as a guy who is more into heavy-metal guitar soloing.

In this interview, we discuss how technology had to catch up to Carl’s vision, and how playing with younger virtuosos helps keeps an older virtuoso on his toes. Palmer is a drummer, a visionary, a bandleader, a rock icon and man consumed with musical perfection and technical elegance.

You have accomplished excellence again with your “Working Live: Volume III” release. We all know that the drumming will be great, as it is a Carl Palmer album. I think people are really blown away by the guitar player in your band named Paul Bielatowicz. He has to play these difficult keyboard parts on guitar.
A: I had to sit down with a specialist who specializes in transcribing keyboards to guitar. It was really quite a long procedure. I have to tell you that if you had asked me that question 10 or 20 years ago, then we would have all said it would be impossible for a guitar player to accomplish what he is doing. The advancements in technique have come a long way. There are quite a few guitar players who can play that type of music. I am very fortunate that it has come along at a time when I wanted to do what I am doing.

Q: When did the idea first hit you to take ELP music and take it down to a guitar, bass and drum three-piece set up?
A: I wanted to play classical adaptations of music but I didn’t want to be compared to Emerson, Lake & Palmer. I didn’t want the keyboard or the vocal elements of the music, either. People in Europe have always liked this kind of music. I have found a niche market, and I realize that it is not a supermarket or even a delicatessen approach. It is very intellectual. You either like it or you don’t, but it has a harder edge to it. Playing classical adaptations on guitar put a new spin on it, and I am very pleased with it.

Q: I think this setup is one of the most unique projects you have been involved with, and that includes ELP and Asia.
A: It is very different, and it is being received very well considering this is only the second tour of America. In Italy, for example, this is an art form that they are all about. They either are very romantic or they are very hard-core prog; they think they invented it. We are scoring really big there. In America, it is very different than what I have been used to. It is going to take some time, but I am enjoying doing it. I will take the time because I am enjoying it so much and I will get my point across.

Q: One of the most impressive things is that you don’t realize that you are listening to a live album. When you do think that it is a live album, you are blown away with what is going on. I would imagine there are not a lot of overdubs on this thing.
A: The only time we overdubbed or corrected anything on this album was on “Pictures At An Exhibition,” as it is such a long song. There were certain places where crowd noises or other noises got in the way of the guitar, so we fixed that. The band is well rehearsed, as that is a policy of mine. As far as I am concerned, this is a true measure of what we are all about.

Q: In your other bands, you have been an equal member. This is all under your name. How is it different?
A: Obviously, whatever I say goes, and if people don’t like it then they can do one of two things: They can leave, or they can stay. I make all the decisions of where we play. I am older than the rest of the band, so I have more experience. Playing this type of music is a great opportunity for these young musicians, as there are very few outlets out there that allow this. If you have got instrumentalists, then this is the ideal opportunity for them. They might as well enjoy my experience and enjoy the music they are playing. I have to admit that is pretty much how I run it. I try to get other people’s opinions, and I try to understand what they think about their part. You have got to realize that my bass player is only 25 and my guitar player is only 30. I understand that, and it works out great for me.

Q: “Volume III” proves you are doing something correct. I think this album needs to be listened to from start to finish. What makes a live performance go from good to great?
A: That is kind of you to say; thank you. You have to remember that the equipment you record on today is far advanced, and therefore you can obtain live recordings, digitally, that are equal to a recording in a studio. What you are really talking about are great bands having a great night. The performance is always going to be better when it is played in front of an audience. I think that when you have great performances and you are well rehearsed, then you should be able to reproduce an album live on stage every night. For me, it is a magical process recording these albums. The technology is there today, and the technique the musicians have is there, and that was not always the case. It is all there now, and it has come to the forefront and allows you to make a great live album. Assuming everyone plays great and there is no feedback, or nothing breaks down, then you will make a good, if not a great, album.

Q: Will this project continue now that you have fulfilled your contract obligations?
A: I would like to play some original material as we move forward. I think the classical approach will always stay with this band, and I even have some ideas of some classical pieces I would like to record. There was a contract to make three live albums that we have fulfilled, but we really enjoy recording live, so we may continue recording live.

Q: Have you gotten any feedback from Keith Emerson or Greg Lake?
A: They have both been along to see concerts, though not on this tour; they have seen my band. It is very different for them, as there are no keyboards or vocals. They honestly don’t know what to say, although I know they enjoy it. I like nostalgia, and I played with Keith and Greg last July, and it was great, but I am very into playing with younger players who are at the top of their game, and that is what this band is all about.

Q: Are you comfortable with the way people idolize you?
A: I personally don’t need to be told how great I am. I also don’t need to be told if I played well. I know if I played well, and I know if I played badly. I think when someone compliments you on doing this or that, then that is nice. For me, the minute it is said, however, it goes in one ear and out the other, as I am only interested in what I think. It is very nice when someone says that I have influenced them, because I know how I feel about the people that have influenced me. I do like that. It is not my main priority to be idolized. As long as I know that I have done my best, then I am OK. If people want to idolize me after that, then that is OK with me, but it is not a priority.

Q: I hear you saying it is more about the art form and the craft.
A: Exactly. What I am doing with my band is just keeping alive what I did with ELP. I don’t want to just duplicate what I did with ELP. I actually only play three songs that were written by ELP. The rest of the music was recorded by ELP but has been done by dozens of other orchestras. I do keep some of that older stuff alive, and I am really proud of it. It’s more about being a classically based prog rock band. Prog is a word used to describe innovation, and that is what I am trying to do today. I don’t need to have vocals anymore, as there are plenty of bands with vocals today. This is an intellectual band that really goes balls to the wall. There is nothing romantic about it at all. There is a lot of feeling in the music, but it is also very technical.

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Keith Emerson Band Featuring Marc Bonilla
Moscow
Varese Sarabande (302 067 050 2)
Grade: 4

By Michael Popke

The three members of Emerson, Lake & Palmer have each reinterpreted that seminal progressive band’s catalog using hotshot guitarists in their own solo outfits. While Greg Lake and Carl Palmer opted for young axe slingers, Keith Emerson anointed weathered journeyman Marc Bonilla (Toy Matinee, Glenn Hughes) as lead guitarist and Lake-like vocalist.

Filmed in Russia in 2008 with 5.1 surround sound prior to the release of the Keith Emerson Band Featuring Marc Bonilla’s eponymous album, this 15-song performance rocks, breathing new life into such ELP classics as “Karn Evil 9,” “Lucky Man” and “Tarkus.” The quartet also unexpectedly tosses in “Touch and Go” from the short-lived Emerson, Lake & Powell, plus a handful of new songs.

Emerson sets up shop with his gigantic Moog in the same corner of the stage he occupied with ELP, but he’s not quite as crazy as he used to be. He even lets Bonilla cut loose on guitar every now and then.

By Carol Anne Szel

Carl Palmer truly embodies the show that never ends.  This legendary Asia and ELP drummer is heading out on tour this October and November in what is billed as “Carl Palmer & His Band – Celebrates The Music of Emerson Lake & Palmer.”   Bringing some of the classic instrumental ELP sounds arranged  with what his website calls a “bold” new stance, Carl Palmer will present a musical trio, sans vocalist,  of guitarist Paul Bielatowicz and bassist Simon Fitzpatrick on his first big solo tour in four years.

A while back I had the chance to catch up with Carl Palmer to ask him his thoughts about the past, present, and future of music.

How has the music industry changed over the years?
Carl Palmer: I think the media has completely changed. Radio is completely different in this country. If you want music, you can go straight to the Internet and download tunes or whatever you want. So the whole thing has changed rapidly.

What is live performance like today as opposed to back then?
CP: I think live performance is different now for most artists. I think people of our demographic like to be in a place where they can actually see the band instead of watching videos. So we have that to deal with. And then on the younger side, I’m sure there’s still a reasonable amount of people interested in bands playing big stadiums, who can watch a show for a couple of hours. It just seems to have changed radically, though, because there’s not as much of that happening as there used to be. I think for live performance and recording, the media has just changed. The media being sort of the governing body of it all. What gets played on the radio is very important, of course. Radio is still very strong, but it’s not as varied as it used to be. So we haven’t got that vehicle intact as much as we’d like anymore.

It seems as if an artist has to already have a hit to even be played on mainstream radio these days.
CP: That’s it, really. It is like that, and that’s very, very difficult. By the time it is a hit and people go out and play and do whatever they’ve got to do, they’ve not really perfected their craft. And their shows really aren’t that good. They have to have the smoke screen and the dancers. So there’s not the training ground there used to be. It’s all very quick. Careers come and go in a flash, and that’s the way it is.

Do you feel image plays a big role?
CP: Absolutely. Even CDs don’t have the impact from an art point of view. CDs are small; you don’t get the same kickback from it as if you were sitting looking at an album sleeve, which is fairly big and you can enjoy. We’ve now got videos. But where there’s a plus there’s a minus, and that’s the way it goes.

ELP were groundbreakers with their live show. You really set the bar high.
CP: I think we crossed a lot of boundaries at the time. Obviously we were trying to sort of play music that was new. We tried to involve technology as much as possible. We crossed all of that over with eventually going out with an orchestra and expressing the music that way. I think we were always trying. I think the art, the musicality that we produced, the standard remained high.

And today?
CP: We still have three tracks in the FM rock radio, however you want to call it, the Top 500, we still have three tracks there that are played on a regular basis. So that’s quite good. The music is still played and still heard, so it’s really good.

THE CARL PALMER BAND – ON TOUR – 2010

Tue 10/12/10      Hamilton, ON Canada      Studio At Hamilton Place
Wed 10/13/10     Toronto, ON Canada     Lula Lounge
Thu 10/14/10     Montreal, QC Canada     Gesu Theatre
Fri 10/15/10     Londonderry, NH     Tupelo Music Hall
Sat 10/16/10     Foxboro, MA     Showcase Live
Sun 10/17/10     Lakewood, NJ     Strand Center For The Arts
Tue 10/19/10     New York, NY     B.B. King Blues Club
Wed 10/20/10     Glenside, PA     Keswick Theatre
Thu 10/21/10     Annapolis, MD     Rams Head On Stage
Fri 10/22/10     Rockville, MD     Robert Parillia Performing Arts Ctr
Sat 10/23/10     Cleveland, OH     Beachland Ballroom & Tavern
Sun 10/24/10     Detroit, MI     Jazz Cafe at Music Hall
Tue 10/26/10     Indianapolis, IN     Slippery Noodle Inn
Wed 10/27/10     Chicago, IL     Reggie’s Live
Thu 10/28/10     Milwaukee, WI     Shank Hall
Fri 10/29/10     St. Charles, IL     Arcadia Theatre
Sat 10/30/10     Iowa City, IA     Englert Theatre
Tue 11/02/10     Denver, CO     Soiled Dove Underground
Thu 11/04/10     Park City, UT     The Star Bar
Sat 11/06/10     Petaluma, CA     McNears Mystic Theatre
Tue 11/09/10     San Diego, CA     Brick By Brick
Thu 11/11/10     Agoura Hills, CA     Canyon Club
Fri 11/12/10     Santa Ana, CA     Galaxy Concert Theatre
Sat 11/13/10     Las Vegas, NV     Cannery Casino Hotel
Sun 11/14/10     Phoenix, AZ     The Compound Grill

JIMI HENDRIX’S performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight festival came just a month before his untimely death. Courtesy Laurens Van Houten/Frank White Photo Agency

By Dave Thompson

With the exception of Woodstock, the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival is the most visible classic concert ever held. Full performances by many of the week-long event’s performers are now readily available on DVD… Jimi Hendrix, Leonard Cohen, The Who (a career-best outing), Miles Davis, Emerson Lake & Palmer, Jethro Tull, Free and, most recently, The Moody Blues among them; while director Murray Lerner’s cameras were also responsible for a two-hour-plus documentary of the entire event, “Message to Love.” Taken together, they add up to an essential souvenir of a truly legendary event.

Located just off the south coast of England, the Isle of Wight was no stranger to festivals. Events had been staged there in 1968 and 1969, although the 1970 event was to be the biggest of them all — in fact, at the time, it was the largest festival ever staged. Running from Aug. 26-31, 1970, at Afton Down, the attendance has been estimated at anywhere between 600,000 and 800,000 people.

The fact that many of these visitors entered the grounds for free, breaking down the fences around the festival, was material only to the venue’s organizers, Fiery Creations. But Ron Foulks (one half, with brother Raymond, of that team) was adamant. “This is the last festival. Enough is enough. It began as a beautiful dream but it has got out of control and become a monster.”
The Isle of Wight’s residents agreed with him. Reeling from an unprecedented invasion of long-haired pop fans, it would be 2002 before the authorities again opened up their island to a pop festival.

Putting the festival wheels in motion in the first place, Fiery Creations knew they had a hard act to follow. The previous year, Bob Dylan broke a three-year concert silence to play the festival, and when the first plans were laid, it was hoped that The Beatles might be tempted to break their own live embargo to perform.

Of course they wouldn’t — the band broke up in February 1970. But Jimi Hendrix made a fabulous substitute, and with him on board, other artists were quick to add their own cachet to the bill. (See the sidebar for the list of performers.)

“Message To Love” paints a very thorough portrait of the festival itself, both the good (the majority of the featured performers) and the ugly. We see the audience booing Kris Kristofferson after his performance was reduced to sludge by sound difficulties; The Doors performing in near darkness after Jim Morrison refused to allow spotlights on the stage; and, most memorably of all, promoter Gary Farr attempting to restore order by taking the stage and howling the audience down. “We put this festival on, you bastards, with a lot of love! We worked for one year for you pigs! And you wanna tear down our walls and you wanna destroy it? Well, you go to hell!”