SIMON PHILLIPS (Protocol 30th / Toto) - interview @Linea Rock 2019 by Barbara Caserta

Stuck right in between soundcheck and dinner, on November 19th 2019 yours truly BARBARA CASERTA had finally the chance to talk to Mr SIMON PHILLIPS, who delivered a wonderful performance with the amazing quintet PROTOCOL on the 30th Anniversary Tour (presenting the brand new 6CD box set, with all the production plus bonus material) at Druso in Bergamo, Italy. Honored and happy, here I lead you to the Champions League of drumming! In the past I was invited to meet him twice, and both times it was cancelled due to change of schedule, traffic, delays… so the amount of questions during the years accumulated and finally found an answer in this long chat about his long, bright, tireless career: let’s start with his “new plaything”, his luxury toy named Protocol conceived originally as a studio project, then developed into a proper band; and what’s Protocol’s protocol? is he demanding with his musicians?... Of course we talked about TOTO: got some rare stories, including his audition, great memories on how Steve & the boys made him feel welcome to the family in the early 90s, his favourite songs to play in those days (from his albums and back), his mixed emotions about the band calling it quits… He runs off some of his many collaborations with the biggest names in music, including his mentor Mike Oldfield and Judas Priest (1977, very young he played on the “Sin After Sin” album and he remembers it like it was yesterday!)… the variety of his style which led to a monster-creativity... aaaand “those drums!”! His main influences, his confrontation with two separate music worlds: Jeff Porcaro and Keith Moon (Simon infact also played with The Who)… And, does he approaches music any differently working on his own then as a sideman?… How he figures himself mainly by DNA: drummer, well-rounded musician or as a producer? Is it maybe the combination of the three which makes somebody like Simon the real deal, a champion of music? He started to play as a child and succeeded making a living thru this passion: today we see hundreds of kids playing like consummate musicians, here on You Tube for example: having been a prodigy from an early age, is it something healthy from his point of view or in the end it someway stole his childhood, making it even more risky nowadays to cross the line? And does he have a ultimate goal after such a brilliant career? Of course he does… and you’ll hear from the voice of His Excellency od the Drums!
Very special thanks to Domenico Turiano of GGM Studios, to Marijo Suica and to you, little big man with the magic sticks!Enjoy & Share!
Subscribe for updates
Linea Rock - Radio Lombardia - 100.3 FM From 8 PM to 10 PM
Live streaming http://www.radiolombardia.it/
Facebook:   / linearock  
Web Page: http://www.radiolombardia.it/programm...
App: http://www.radiolombardia.it/app/

http://www.radiolombardia.it/

add subtitles
http://www.youtube.com/timedtext_cs_p...