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STREET BEAT |
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PATRICK DOODY |
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by Eric Steiner
Last month, I caught up with Patrick
Doody during a break from producing the next MariZen
CD in Los Angeles. Pat
plays the drums in behind Mari Calip on vocals, Pauly Doerr on bass, and
Glen Gilbert on guitar. We
talked about MariZen and his philosophy of music, both as a player and a
producer. Doody is one of most
versatile musicians I’ve ever interviewed, and his knowledge of music
is all over the map, from country, jazz, rock ‘n’ roll, to the
blues. Patrick is a quick musical study, and his encyclopedic
knowledge of music is truly impressive.
During their road
trip, MariZen played L.A. nightspots The Blue Saloon on Lankershim Blvd
and Hallenbecks on Cahuenga. Locally,
MariZen has played rooms like the Double Door, The Lyon’s Den, The
House of Blues, and Navy Pier. This month, MariZen
will play an acoustic show at the Rockhouse Café in Rolling Meadows on
August 2nd and at Chicago’s Elbo Room on North Lincoln Avenue on
August 16th.
With Pat behind the
soundboard and the drums on tour and on record, MariZen’s got a quite
a double-shot of talent.
Later this fall,
MariZen will celebrate its third anniversary as a band.
Patrick joined this past May, and has worked to bring the
band’s unique sound to a wider audience both as a producer and as a
drummer. You can catch the
‘Zen online and listen to soundclips of their songs“Star” and “Impression”
on the web at: www.marizen.com
In addition to talking
about MariZen, we went deeper into the blues and the importance of the
producer’s role in music.
“Blues players are a
very unique breed,” said Pat. “They’ve
got a great foundation. This
unique form of American music really came first, long before rock and
jazz. It was basically
created by slaves, and then became the first truly American art form.
Blues players have a solid understanding of the basics, like the
alphabet. Once you have a
blues foundation, you can play jazz or rock.
It’s not the same the other way around with rockers, though.
Not all rock ‘n’ roll drummers can go back to the blues.”
Pat’s formal
training began in high school. “I am glad that I didn’t do the
garage band thing,” he said. “I
started by playing rudimentary parts in drum corps, 24/7.
I think the blues has one of the biggest musical contradictions
around: it may be a simple
beat and we often play an extremely oversimplified form.
On the other hand, we have to stay on the right beats at the
right time throughout the song.”
“I came up listening
to Prince and the Revolution,” said Pat.
“I also listened to Alabama, Willie Nelson, and Neil Diamond.
In the 80’s, if you wanted to be a rock ‘n’ roll drummer in
Chicago, you would not make a dime. A lot of guys then looked at the blues scene as a way to
develop their skills and make some money.
Miles Davis used to recruit for his live shows in the clubs
around town, and guys like Peabo Bryson and Lionel Ritchie graduated
from very small Chicagoland clubs to some very big gigs.”
Pat’s been a working
musician since 1987. Along
the way, he’s toured with blues great Lonnie Brooks, and played with
B.B. Odom, Junior Wells, and Don Griffin.
Pat’s resume reads like a “Who’s
Who” in music, as he counts Billy Cobham as one of his early
mentors (go to, natch, www.patrickdoody.com
“As a 19-year-old, I
worked The Checkerboard Lounge two or three days a week,” said Pat.
“There was a real blues scene in Chicago back then up and down
Ashland. Both B.B. Odom and
Don Griffin played over 380 different gigs a year.”
Pat’s also behind
the drum kit on Don Griffin’s CD’s
“Bad Bad Man” (1995) and “Play
It Loud” (2000).
Griffin toured with
The Scorpions and Foghat among others, and by the time Pat hooked up
with him, Don had tired of the road.
After high school, Pat
honed his chops by working the blues’ best apprenticeship: to play in
clubs that were incubators of the Southside of Chicago sound and play
with legends, too.
“The sound of the
blues today is getting fogged up,” said Pat as he described some of
the clubs that purport to offer the blues.
“In some clubs, the music you are likely to hear sounds like ‘Mahavishnu Meets Muddy Waters.’ It’s hard to find the real blues today.”
We also talked about
the importance of production, particularly of blues artists and Pat’s
new record.
“Radio stations
today expect a certain production level for a song to get played on the
air,” he said. “There’s
no way that an old song from the 20’s or 30’s would get on the air
today if it wasn’t cleaned up to match the standards our ears have
grown accustomed to.”
“Artists like Keb’
Mo’ have a clean Los Angeles sound.
Tracy Chapman has that feel to her music too, and Bonnie Raitt
really hit it big when Don Was produced ‘Something
to Talk About.’ They
are blues artists, but they have been helped and influenced by rock
production. Think about it:
these records actually sound like they’ve got million dollar
productions behind them. Radio
and television stations can’t play blues originals like Hound Dog
Taylor. Listen to Jonny
Lang’s production values: he sounds big on his records and that’s
due in part to the ear and talent of his producer.”
“Originally, my
record was supposed to be a drum instructional record,” said Pat. “I
was going to have six tracks that show off different forms of blues in
Chicago.”
The self-titled
“Patrick
Doody Group” CD grew into a baker’s dozen that features some
nasty funk in “Funk That,” the heart-tugging Gospel of “Walk Like Jesus,” and the scorching blues of “Boomerang.” I
can’t think of a more varied and entertaining record that’s all over
the musical map. Sample it at:
www.patrickdoody.com
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