This is a great interview with Jeff Pocaro

What a great interview. What an in touch guy.
 
Interesting passages how he describes you can still apply emotion and 'feel' to parts of songs (say chorus vs. verse) even when playing along to a click.
Also never knew he never played drum solos.
 
This cat couldn't not groove, even in the way he conversed. Crap, you listen to him talk and he makes that feel good.

Love this video and wish we still had him.
 
I watched that video a few weeks ago. What I love is his honesty. It shows that even the greats have trouble sometimes in some areas and often have to play beats they're uncomfortable with. Duh! I know. But at least he didn't try to hide that and pretend as if he can do it all with no problem.
 
Jeff's my hero.
Whenever I'm concerned about keeping a groove going for a tune, I'll refer back to some of his solid work to refresh my mind/muscle memories, reminding simple & steady is GREAT.
 
Great interview. Listening to him talk simultaneously impresses me and makes me feel not so bad about my own drumming. One of only a handful of drummers I aspire to be like.
 
MARCH 8, 2015
BY S. VICTOR AARON
Steely Dan Sunday: Katy Lied turns 40 this month

When I sit down to think of what else is standout about Katy Lied, there are too many to keep this article even halfway tidy, so here’s just a partial list of what makes this album so damned great:

* Jeff Porcaro, who drummed on every song save for the Great Hal Blaine’s fill-in appearance on “Any World (That I’m Welcome To)”. All of Porcaro’s fills are timely, varying, and succinct. An early display of his signature rock shuffling abilities comes forth on “Black Friday,” and later, an authoritative blues shuffle on “Chain Lightning.” And then there’s “Your Gold Teeth II,” where he ends up sounding like Elvin Jones playing behind John Coltrane. That innate ability to swing so strongly just doesn’t happen with rock drummers but even this early on, Porcaro wasn’t merely a rock drummer.

Full Story
 
I love playing along to Toto albums at my lockup. The pocket this guy lived in was immense.

Check out Lea on Isolation, it's such a simple groove but yet so hard to get the feel that Jeff does but it's perfect for the song.

Can't wait to see Toto in May! Wish I'd have seem em with Jeff.
 
I was surprised to hear Jeff say he is not a good reader. I don't think I've ever heard him discuss that topic before. But, based on his family upbringing and the musical company he kept - I would have guessed he was a very good chart reader.

Best,
skf
 
Nice video showing the insights of a great musician on the drums. I'd trade all the WFD discussions of a lifetime for one hour of Jeff's thoughts.
Thanks for posting it.
 
I was surprised to hear Jeff say he is not a good reader. I don't think I've ever heard him discuss that topic before. But, based on his family upbringing and the musical company he kept - I would have guessed he was a very good chart reader.

Best,
skf

Me too, but the guy was so self-deprecating (in a modest way). My sense is that, as with his ability to play amazing shuffles, he maybe downplayed his ability to read charts.

On another note, this interview has prompted me to go back to study Jim Gordon's work more intensively, a project I'm enjoying a lot.
 
I liked that he fooled the Sonny & Cher people to think that he was reading. He just has that drummer memory for music. I can't remember where my keys are but I can remember little nuances of a song I haven't heard in 30 years.

I never would have guessed that shuffles were frustating for him early on. What a great guy.

One of the comments on the vid says he was all coked out. I didn't get that impression at all. He looked and sounded healthy to me, unlike some of his later vids where he is clearly having stomach issues.
 
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