Nicko McBrain Talks About why his 'Galloping' Drumming Works so Well with Iron Maiden

[Music] I wanted to ask you about your get into your style because you know Iron Maiden is iconic for that gallop galloping style you and Steve just have have gotten that style to be so like specific and an iconic in a certain way that makes this type of metal like it's super fun exactly yes it has to be fun laughs any music any genre has gotta be fun when I first joined I met the guys in 1979 mm-hmm and they was on their very first European gig and I was playing in a band called my kitty it was a three piece and you know I had a couple years with Pat Travers so my playing style suit in a three-piece band because I wasn't just a straight timekeeper right I mean I my background is like soul funk and blues and blues being the primary what I love to pray in you know later in my teens and whatnot but that lent itself to my style of playing when Maiden but when I you know when I first met the guys they were all genuine down-to-earth guys you know it was their first European show in Belgium I was on that same bill with this other band then three years later on get offered a gig and we went and we met in 1982 they offered me the job 1983 was my official first gig with the band the vibe was just so much fun and you know mistakes I was making we were doing sums like killers and number of the number of the beast Rothschild prisoner so I I did five songs you know yeah and it was all over the shop but we had so much fun and that's the same today yeah and there's mistakes made or I make mistakes all the time I like getting right one day but you know it's never there was never any anger there's always I thought Steve will come up why did that kind of push be he said that everything you do that in the right place all right I'm sorry Steve I was just trying something out you know and then it's still fun yeah and the today that's when I get on that stage of the band it's like 38 years ago 36 years ago and you see that energy when it when you get exactly now the Galant was Steve um people say well you've got a really fast right foot well to a degree yes because I have to compliment with you know the rhythm section is the bass and the drummer yeah the drummer is always right yeah no question the drummer is always right but when you look in with your bass player you've got to find what works for the rhythm part against the bottom end of what he's playing and steve is an absolutely incredible bass player still is today is one of them oh yes hot by diamond less to play with this guy I mean I don't know what he sees in me I fingers just even beat me up when he wants when like we're eagles they're the classic triplet feel we had unprotected yeah or the trooper five you know the the that Steve's way of writing he likes that rule on the edge fast you know particularly the old string bit and so I had to find and learn really to play with him so I have put it down to play and I've always played with great bass players by the way I've always been blessed to be in bands with phenomenal bass players Charlie to my from B Bob their likes was in the key phenomenal bass player miles counting with Pat Travers John clutter always street war was front blues prior man this guy was you know face up he was bit marking before mark King came out there always is so important as a drummer you know you can see it was on dad you know but I go doo-doo-doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo down you go talented with the wood with a three beaten you know just to compliment what he's playing right then you stick in you have a little bit's with the guitar players and whatever and phrasing with the vocals it I'd look I really give Steve the credit for for why it's weird innit it's all down to area it's happy to do with me so I've developed to that the bass drum part to play with him and it you know people say you do that with without one foot but it's the way it sounds with the bass yeah you take it away ain't that quick you listen to all these double bass hundred eyes ago right yeah it's because that's it that's not just quite fast yeah that's really quick because you've got to but that's nice that's like that runaway still this is still the same space so people go oh I can't play that quick yes you bloody will care just the way your ear where you feel it so yeah we we you know it's the maiden thing we've got our own identity there's some nights we'll play it I'll play you know the last few tours my timing has got more disciplined we're in the past we just go out and fly from that have some nitrous absolute Hallows for crying Abruzzo got an area now I go you know that was really great with it Oh what somehow were you lot yeah oh you know so you know but that makes that Maiden's live performances of what makes made mainland yes forget in order dressings forget that wonderful you know flamethrowers and stuff you take all that away and you put us on a stage you're still gonna get that band you know yeah but it's visually it's it's it's theatre yeah and you know people like I've come to expect that for maiden shows when they come up what so now they know you've got YouTube this is shame we because it's a spoiler alert for everybody who I've seen the show yet or saw it or not want to see it because he'll be an absolute surprise I wanna go because the way that the way the set changes so I now you know I'm spoiler alert in the other I'll have a black gong at the beginning yeah I change it to the cathedrals wrong for the middle section and then I'll put a red guy for help so with the colors in the drum set it works but you just see the top of the wrong yeah and the top of the cymbals and my top of my eye so we go hello I'm actually back here everybody yes the good-looking one still here you said you know guys like Ringo Starr John Bonham oh those people are you in for saying I guess get into like what made what made you learn from from those people and well first of all Joe Joe Morello was a guy ouchie well I saw him do a drum solo live on telly with with Dave Brubeck and take five and track take five and must have been 62 middle of 62 and I was just content and I remember seeing this guy and I went straight to the television and you know he's little yeah he didn't have real dark sunglasses but he had two shades on and and he just flew around his drum set and I'll hit him on know dad was up there ining lizard bird who's that yes Joe Morello Joe Joe Morello sound I'll say that's what I want to do so you'll never be as good as John or Ella when I say no one out and pick noise up beat the out my mum's cooker and and you know thinking I was joke I've just seen him playing he inspired me he made me pick up a pair sticks and then of course the Beatles were out and you know Ringo was my first pinup and I had a poster with him on the wall and I go to bed sweetheart I'm gonna do that I'm gonna be better than him mmm I'm gonna play with the Beatles and that kind of inspired me then of course we had we had Mooney come out and then the stones were there and Charlie Charlie was mister laid back you know Ringo was more yeah Charlie was just do you know he had this there's been classic and of course then Keith Moon turns out all right yeah and I'm like oh my generation I'm like and then that kind of moved me from this you know you know you got Ginger Baker although I wasn't a big fan of cream it's weird on it later in life I became you know really could see I didn't see what the fuss about was it was about ginger be honest we're intubations you know and whatnot but I grew to appreciate him later in life he wasn't one of my early heroes so it went it was Ringo Charlie Keith John and then of course that that genre of music went well you know cuz the the the earlier the Zeppelin was very bluesy and very freeform and I loved that and I'd started to get out of my rut playing in sort of funk bands and you know bright-eyed steam with a couple of brass bands I loved all that love I love funk yeah you know and I would ever see a good great family drama you know it just gets me every time Barry so you those guys influenced me from what they would give into the band and they you know being I wanted to be a drummer they were the guys and then the course and you know any 68 and mystery and pace turns out and that we were blessed with all these great drummers in England and then we started to get influenced by the American players you know Carmine Appice and raised wonderful players dino dinelli you know I mean stick see so my earlier career you know influenced we were definitely based around that pop genre and so the WHO and then John and then Ian Paice and purple coming out and all these he's great bands so I found that our you know no one apart from ginger out of all that law set for it Mooney had two basins but you didn't play both of them very rarely played the left bass drum yeah and I asked him I said why you've got the other bass drum beats you put some items on it see I'll put more Tom's up on that in the other base now oh okay yeah yeah and so um I was blessed to know no Keith I met John one time the Roxy Club in LA in the ER in the mid seventies and he was very drunk with us today you probably do you remember me in Mako examiner but yeah those four guys primarily molded Mike my playing and then you know going through going through with with the three-piece bands and whatnot you know it allowed me to stretch out I mean our plight before I was with power work with a man called Street walkers that were very progressive but very very soulful and funky in their style of playing and you know the way they wrote songs Charlie Whitney and and Roger Chapman and Bobby tench was singing backup vocals oh man what a voice he's got so I I kind of started to mold my my earlier playing the all into the one from the street walk was onwards and then we Pat I could just open up a bit and that's when I first got a big drum set which I still play the same configuration right today as I did 1976 how long do you think you guys can go and like is that energy still there are you like this is totally well going forever kind of thing like what's now you know you can't kid yourself you know we wish you know but father time and and God's only graces with so much time on earth and you know then you know as soon as you're born you're dying and at the end of the day we will I I will rock this band as long as I've had and this last tour it was great because there was a lot of different moments in the set where we were using tapes to introduce the next section we were using blackouts to change sets so I had a lot of breathing time mm-hmm so the first two three or four songs in fact Isis ice starts to set off which is I can't passed you know I've got my own that this is the story boy we start rehearsing it and I've kicked it off and I clocked it an agent goes back into fast with us no I is apply it slower took it down like 20-piece a minute it's still too fast hey what's up alia and I said listen you wait till we get where he goes there then you'd tell me this so anyway Isis ice starts and then there's a whole type section of about half a minute yeah that sets up where Eagles there and it's only primary it's only the only reason we do that is it sets the mood right from the Spitfire because we've got to get that bat deflate it get the army you can't punch it with a knife that's it it's gone right cuz we got to use him again so there's there's that time when I finished the show I am spent and this is why I need to have a good day arrest and if I want to get up and go out and have a stroll of it because walking is the best thing to keep fit really I mean people say go to the gym you know watch your diet you haven't loved right yeah I don't drink anymore for me and I've told the guys is told them all this after the last leg I said look guys you know the the day you feel that I'm not running and I'm just trotting yeah you got to let me know because I'm gonna feel like I'm racing a lot of thoroughbred Raisa yeah yeah but I may not be because it's physically your your body changes I don't hit the kid hard as I used to I couldn't I couldn't do this job I have to pace you know pace myself so yeah I I will bail out gracefully I won't be the rat that sinks was hangin I won't be the rat that the deserts a sinking ship the whole domain ain't sinking I'm not a minute you know what I mean but no so yeah go until I'll go and tilt it you know he ever ready battery fella yeah yeah I hope that you keep going thank you so much god bless you thank you lot behave yourselves [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Cosmo Music - The Musical Instrument Superstore!

Views: 272,926

Keywords: Cosmo Music, Iron Maiden, Nicko McBrain, Bruce Dickinson, Legacy of the Beast, Heavy Metal, Iron Maiden Tour, Spitfire, Aces High, Flight of Icarus, CosmoFEST, Neil Shukla, nicko mcbrain interview, iron maiden drummer, iron maiden drummer nicko mcbrain

Id: 8WsOR8NsLe0

Length: 15min 15sec (915 seconds)

Published: Wed Dec 11 2019