Jonathan 'Sugarfoot' Moffett interview for BeatIt, pt. 2

Drums Fusion is a festival with a long history, which (during over a dozen editions) has hosted such great artists as Urszula Dudziak, Cindy Blackman Santana, John H. Beck, John R. Beck, Richard Bona, Stewart Copeland, David Friedman, Benny Greb, Skip Hadden, Claus Hessler, Marcin Jahr, Manu Katché, Pete Lockett, Dave Lombardo, Bernard Maseli, Ian Paice, Jacek Pelc, Michał Urbaniak, Pat Metheny featuring drummer Joe Dyson, Jeff Balard, UB40 feat. Ali Campbell, Fun Lovin’ Criminals, or Senri Kawaguchi.

During last year’s edition, Jonathan ‘Sugarfoot’ Moffett gave a special performance (you can read our account of the show HERE). Of course, we could not and did not pass on the opportunity to have a chat with the man, so watch the second installment of that interview.

beatit.tv: 1996, I think it was September 20th, Michael came to Poland.

Jonathan Moffett: That’s right.

beatit.tv: It was a special moment for the Polish fans. Do you remember anything?

Jonathan Moffett: Absolutely! Great time! I remember the night we rode into the city. Stayed at a Marriott hotel, I believe. And my first time in Poland. It was a great time and the audience was really electric. Everybody was saying how they were hoping we’d come back again. But one key thing was – and it didn’t happen, I don’t know why – Michael was talking about buying a home here that year. During that tour, he was going to buy a home, move and have a home here as well as other places, but move here and live part of his life. He loved Poland so much. He spoke of that with us as well as to the public and to the media. He was very sincere. I don’t know what happened to that idea but he had a strong love for Poland and he said Polish people were really wonderful to him. He wanted to live here because he liked the life and the style as it was quieter and nicer and everybody was kind.

beatit.tv: Now, his music and the legacy brings you back.

Jonathan Moffett: And here I am, celebrating his life.

beatit.tv: Amazing.

Jonathan Moffett: It’s pretty incredible, yeah.

beatit.tv: A couple of technical questions because we are a drummers’ website. Do you have any special warm-up routines before a show like this, or before a recording session?

Jonathan Moffett: It’s a long time since I’ve been playing as I started at 6 and playing night clubs at 10, making money. So I’ve been making money at music since I was 10 years old. My brothers, me and our band would sneak me through the backdoor of the first club I played at. They gave me 5 dollars. I said: ‘What is this for?’, they said: ‘Well, you get paid for doing this’. I said: ‘I get paid for doing this? I’m going to buy some candy and I’m gonna do this for the rest of my life!’ So it was that little boy’s love for it. And I said: ‘This is what I wanna do’. And here I am all these years later, and I’m still doing it. I just feel the spirit is more than the technique and being able to do something that has a soul in music and a soul in drumming especially captivates us drummers and makes us want to spread that around the world. I’ve spent my life, and want to spend the rest of my life, sharing what I can do in my soulful way with other people, and turning the light on inside of them when I play.

beatit.tv: If we were to ask you about your favourite drummers, what names would you mention?

Jonathan Moffett: There’s so many names. Buddy Rich, first of all. And then you’ve got Charlie Watts, Ringo Starr. Then you’ve got my boys, like very good friend and family member, Zigaboo Modeliste from The Meters. My homeboy. He changed my vocabulary while listening to him and learning him. And then, Billy Cobham changed everybody’s language. He became a language unto drumming. And, of course, my ultimate – James Brown’s drummers: Clyde Stubblefield, Jab’o Starks and all the other ones. I think Melvin Parker. All the drummers with James Brown were just influential to me, and every funk drummer. Larry Blackman from Cameo. I worked with Cameo for 38 years off and on. He’s one of the funkiest drummers that ever was. You’ve got Danny Seraphine, Bobby Colomby. David Garibaldi is one of my super favourites. John Bonham is absolutely a fan favourite. There’s so many I love, gravitated towards and learned from. So many drummers. I could make a long list of guys that are part of my vocabulary because I learned from them on the records. They were in my house teaching me on vinyl, cassettes and CDs. I learned from them and loved it. I turned and modelled them into my own thing with my New Orleans feel and style, and made my own language.