In the wake of Joe Porcaro‘s passing, DrumChannel have dacided to pay a tribute to this renowned drummer and educator by unlocking an interview with him and his life-time friend Emil Richards. Hosted by Terry Bozzio and Don Lombardi, the conversation tells the story of Mr. Porcaro’s hall-of-fame career that covered nearly 50 years. The first part talks about how he happened to end up in Los Angeles.
Here’s an excerpt:
“After growing up in Hartford, Connecticut and establishing myself as a drummer, percussionist and teacher, I was looking for a change. Emil was already working in LA so I called him up one day and he said ‘Come on out.’ I went out to Los Angeles and hung out with him for a week.”
“The first day Emil got up at 7 or 8 in the morning to go to MGM from 9:00 until noontime. Then he’d go to Sunset Sound to do an hour jingle. Then he went to United Artists to do a record date, 3 hours. Then, at night, he’d go to Capitol to record with a big artist like Frank Sinatra.”
“This happened every day of the week. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I said ‘Oh my God, this is for me. I think I can handle it.’ I went back to Connecticut, canceled all my gigs, packed up my wife and kids and drove out to California.”
Watch the complete interview on DrumChannel
Joe Porcaro recorded with Natalie Cole, Don Ellis, Stan Getz, Freddie Hubbard, Gladys Knight, Madonna, The Monkees, Gerry Mulligan, Pink Floyd, Howard Roberts, Frank Sinatra, Nancy Sinatra, and Sarah Vaughan. He did film scores with James Newton Howard, John Williams, Jerry Goldsmith, James Horner, Danny Elfman, John Frizzell and his son Steve Porcaro. With educator and drummer Ralph Humphrey, he was one of the founders of the Los Angeles Music Academy (LAMA) in Pasadena, California.
