JOHN JR ROBINSON
Karl: “It’s such an honour to be talking to you, JR, and I will always remember that first time I got to see you play at Zildjian Day. The line-up was incredible – Dave Weckl, Peter Erskine, Andy Gangadeen, Neal Wilkinson and Chuck Sabo – and with no disrespect to anyone else on the bill, for me the most inspiring part of the day was seeing you sit down on that four-piece kit and play a song and groove... The whole room lifted.”
John JR Robinson: “Those were great days, and I vividly remember what it was like as an artist when you got an invitation to perform at one of those events. It was always nerve-wracking thinking about how you were going to compete with great drummers like that, but you just had to go out and do your thing, and obviously one of the songs I’m know best for is ‘Ain’t Nobody’. I wrote that bass drum part, but it’s so hard to play!”
K: “And so many drummers play that track wrong – including me! Is it true that you had to do the bass drum part separately?”
JR: “I actually did kick and snare first and then added hi-hat and fills – so, kind of separately. It was a way of working that was used a lot in the ’80s to keep the hi-hats out of the snare mic. I ended up putting a towel on my right leg, so I could at least play eighth notes, but my leg was black and blue afterwards!”
K: “As
