Is Dennis Chambers ill?

Let me share this:

When I was 24 yrs old I was playing the Namm show. On a riser, in the middle of room D, with no glass around me or anything. Back then the sound police were much nicer. Anyway I get done playing, covered in sweat and I look up and there is Dennis Chambers.

He shakes my hand and says "man I really dig the way you play" I of course almost crapped my pants. We hung out the rest of the afternoon walking around Namm and hanging out together. We exchanged phone numbers and have been friends ever since. I will never forget that day, and what It did for me as a drummer and a person. It was really amazing and the start of a nice friendship. Can you imagine at 24 yrs old the man you viewed as an idol tells you to send him more video of you playing, and is very complimentary of you. Plus when he introduced me to other cats like all the main guys he was like you got to hear this kid. Thats the kind of guy he is.

So excuse me if this one hits a little closer to home than most. Excuse my passion and my opinion. I won't post about this again, it was not my intent to cause an argument, I was just looking for some of you to have some human compassion and whether you agree or disagree go along with the family wishes. Me, I'm praying for my friend and his family. Thats what I'm gonna do.

With all due respect to you, Joe - as a person and as a musician - this isnt really about you.

The flip side to all this brouhaha is that for those of us for whom Dennis is a larger -than- life figure- someone who has played a key role in our development as musicians - it really is the same as asking about a close relative: " Oh, Bob isnt well??? What happened, he seemed fine last Thanksgiving".

To take PFG's comment to imply that people are curious because they need to gossip or sensationalise or trivialise his illness, is kind of insulting.

My two cents


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I met Dennis a while ago and told him about my #1 student who is 12. Dennis said "Is he here, can I meet him?".

Dennis Chamners is not only a great musician, he is one hell of a great guy.

Thinking of you Dennis. Get well soon mate.
 
You seriously should be ashamed of yourself.

Ashamed? For what? That's just preposterous.

You're letting raw emotion cloud the intent behind what's actually being said here, Joe. I used no language that was disrespectful to Dennis' condition and I just can't for the life of me fathom how you could have possibly deemed it disrespectful to you......even with due consideration to your prior friendship.

I think everyone has been thoroughly respectful of a very curious situation that has most definitely created more questions than answers. I merely voiced my disagreement with your summation of the reactions presented in this thread and I continue to stand by it. You're kickin' guys arses for a perceived slight against the man, his character and his family that just didn't occur.....and certainly not with the level of malice you're implying.
That's nothing for me to be ashamed about at all mate........not by a long shot.

That said, I respect that you're worried about a mate. It is completely understandable. Hopefully Dennis is on the mend and all involved will be able to find a little bit of peace and comfort in the coming days. Yourself included.
 
I'm just going with wishing the man,a speedy recovery,and may the road back to good health,be devoid of obstacles.He's complety self taught,and plays like a man ...born to play drums.The list of musicians he's played with is a who's who of the music world.I also completely understand the need for privacy,as I never had that till later in life,and kind of enjoy mine as well.You go Dennis.:)

Steve B
 
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I totally agree with Mrs. Renee Chambers and Joe Morris. This is a private matter. Anyone should be ashamed to discuss what type of illness, specific details, speculations etc. All to be concerned about is - is he getting better. I am sure he is.

When I heard that he was hospitalized through the Thomas Pridgen FB page, I had an urge to share with fellow drummers, etc. But I didn't. I just told two of my closest fellow drummers and my girlfriend.

And I am saying this as one of his biggest fans as you can see from my avatar image. I live in Eastern Europe and I was swept by this hurricane of a drummer in 1996 when I saw him live with John McLaughlin. Since then I've been dreaming to meet him, which happened 16 years later in my home town with Jeff Berlin. But yes, he was so private and detached - after we waited for almost an hour he didn't even say a word - to me, to anyone. Am I to be offended by that? I must admit - I was not very enthusiastic, but who am I to have fan's demands? This is how the man is and everyone should be respected as one is. What is not given to us - is just that - not given to us to know and to have.

Just if some close friend of Dennis would let us know when he recovers and starts playing again. That would be great.
 
When I heard that he was hospitalized through the Thomas Pridgen FB page, I had an urge to share with fellow drummers, etc. But I didn't. I just told two of my closest fellow drummers and my girlfriend.

Just if some close friend of Dennis would let us know when he recovers and starts playing again. That would be great.

So that means you did share (gossip) and are curious to know any news...like many others on this thread.
 
I totally agree with Mrs. Renee Chambers and Joe Morris. This is a private matter. Anyone should be ashamed to discuss what type of illness, specific details, speculations etc. All to be concerned about is - is he getting better. I am sure he is.

Sorry to disagree, Dennis is a living drumming legend and very, very famous, it's almost impossible for famous people constantly under the spotlight to keep such news private, I'm afraid that this come with the fame, if Dennis was a nobody, his illness would have been very private, but he's not, he's one of the giant in drumming history, it's only human to want to know what's happening to him.

I wish Dennis a speedy and full recovery.

...after we waited for almost an hour he didn't even say a word - to me, to anyone. Am I to be offended by that? I must admit - I was not very enthusiastic, but who am I to have fan's demands? This is how the man is and everyone should be respected as one is...

??? ...strange to say the least, that's not my experience when I met Dennis Chambers.

I met and chatted with Dennis in 1993, the man behaved like he was my best friend, very spoken, full of humour and extremely nice.
 
I understand what it's like to want privacy. Unfortunately, true privacy in a public arena is next to impossible.

It's natural to want to keep a person here as long as possible. It's selfish in a way. Most people are more worried about THEIR loss, not the person being lost. It's much harder to remain living than to be the one who dies. No one has any control over that, and it's an acceptance thing. Birth certificates don't come with expiration dates, they are all unknown. You've been given a gift but everything has an unknown time limit here. That's the rub.

I went to a grief meeting with my wife a few days ago, She lost her 18 YO about a year and a half ago. Everybody that was there at the meeting told their stories of how they lost their children. They do this regularly. I couldn't help but be struck that they were re-living this tragedy over and over. That's not for me. My stepson had a great life while he was here. Everybody was richer for the experience. But he had to go. Life is for the living, it's for the future..

We can re-live losses all we want, but what's the point? To soothe ourselves because it's so hard for us? Probably. And you know, anyone you lose...is still in your life whether you know it or not. Of this I am convinced.
 
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My only comment on this "private matter vs public matter" issue is to look to the great Sammy Davis Jr. That man lived a public life because he knew with his fame, his life would be public. He had no issues with not having a private life - as he has lived mostly all of his life in the spotlight. His funeral wasn't private either, it was a public affair.

I get that when famous people are even admitted to hospitals, people will be prying trying to find out how they are or what happened (that happens alot here in Southern CA). But sometimes it irks me when celebrities get chuffed about not having privacy. In fact, the ones that openly lash out about not getting enough privacy, always seem to be the ones that never get it. Whereas celebrities that are always gracious and deal with the fact that they're an actual celebrity, seem to be given a certain level of public respect (trust me, I see this with alot of the celebrities that come to the Happiest Place on Earth).

On the other hand, celebrities need the public to like them too. So you can look at it like the dog that bites the hand that feeds when it doesn't get what it wants. After a while, regardless of the situation, if you complain about everything in your celebrity lifestyle, you end up like Kanye West.

Again, I wish Dennis a speedy recovery and hope he is back playing soon!
 
I totally agree with Mrs. Renee Chambers and Joe Morris. This is a private matter. Anyone should be ashamed to discuss what type of illness, specific details, speculations etc. All to be concerned about is - is he getting better. I am sure he is.

When I heard that he was hospitalized through the Thomas Pridgen FB page, I had an urge to share with fellow drummers, etc. But I didn't. I just told two of my closest fellow drummers and my girlfriend.

It might be me but I wasn't reading many diagnosis, specific details, armchair doctors, or speculations....just a lot of well wishes. I'm also reading a lot stories of people that have met him and talk about that more than the issue. I believe the consensus in the forum is that he get better and back to it ASAP. This isn't Yahoo or Youtube, we keep it civil and professional.

You do realize you read about his condition through FACEBOOK - the largest social networking site today? That's not private. I also read it on Todd Sucherman's FB page. Should they be ashamed too? It's drummer news, this is a drummer forum, it's going to be discussed.

Telling everyone to ignore it is nothing short of internet white knighting. And trust me, he won't be thanking you for not telling more than a few of your close friends.
 
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Politically correct weirdness has gone up our collective wazoos and into our digitally dominated and extremely solitary psyches and is now finally coming out of our ears, like cheese tarts.

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We are not prying like calling up his family or going to the hospital where he is at. Just sharing information that is already available.
We are fans and we care about him.
 
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Politically correct weirdness has gone up our collective wazoos and into our digitally dominated and extremely solitary psyches and is now finally coming out of our ears, like cheese tarts.

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You got it right, Aydee... Interesting thread to read through...from someone like me who's I guess an outsider and hasn't a clue as to who this guy is... No matter... I wish he and his family blessings and a quick recovery.
 
Statement by Renee Chambers: https://www.facebook.com/stanleyclarkemusic/posts/874013522627199

I'm sorry about spreading the rumors but very happy to hear, that "he is very much alive and doing much better."

Just read this, it sounds more like she was disgusted (as most reasonable people would be) with the internet trolls who have probably been all over various posts ragging on some thing or another about Dennis. This forum is much more civil and respectful but I can imaging what kind of tripe trolls have been clogging other forums and FB threads with.

I have some mutual friends (folks that tour with him and have grown up with him) and have met him away from the public a few times. He graciously encouraged my son after an idiot band teacher crushed his drumming dreams. My experience is that he isn't a limelight kind of guy, reserved in public and just a nice soft spoken fellow away from the public. Some folks get into this for the music, not fan adulation. Concern breeds a desire to know more, along with a wish there was something one could do to help. With some people that means leaving them to their family and close friends. And waiting for them to come back out in the public eye and do that thing they do.
 
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FROM GARY HUSBAND :

DENNIS CHAMBERS. I'm down in Monaco working with Bill Evans and band right now, and last night Dennis called Bill while we were having dinner! Later last night I had my first email contact from him, saying he was feeling okay and ON HIS WAY BACK HOME! We are all SO THANKFUL he's still with us! It's wonderful news.

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FROM GARY HUSBAND :

DENNIS CHAMBERS. I'm down in Monaco working with Bill Evans and band right now, and last night Dennis called Bill while we were having dinner! Later last night I had my first email contact from him, saying he was feeling okay and ON HIS WAY BACK HOME! We are all SO THANKFUL he's still with us! It's wonderful news.

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Great news indeed :)

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Politically correct weirdness has gone up our collective wazoos and into our digitally dominated and extremely solitary psyches and is now finally coming out of our ears, like cheese tarts.

...
I'm coming over to your place Abe. You obviously have the good stuff ;) ;) ;)
 
Great news indeed :)

I'm coming over to your place Abe. You obviously have the good stuff ;) ;) ;)

This world has gone, nuts Andy!...and yes please do, Andy. Promise you soul satisfying vino and a good cigar..... or other joy inducing varieties of rolled leaves
 
This world has gone, nuts Andy!...and yes please do, Andy. Promise you soul satisfying vino and a good cigar..... or other joy inducing varieties of rolled leaves
Wow, now that's an offer I can't refuse :)

Coincidentally, I'm entering a period when I'll be travelling into NA again after many years avoiding long haul. Mainly Philly, New York, Houston & Toronto. although there may be other excursions. I may have the opportunity to bolt on weekends to these trips, so I'm hoping to drop in on a few forum luminaries. No west coast plans thus far, but you never know.
 
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