Eric Singer and Bruce Kulick About guitars,drums and equipment - Part 2

‘A part of it I really like, another part sounds very unnatural to me. You do hear that some songs weren’t written with Paul in mind, but would be perfect for Freddie, whilst those that do fit his voice better don’t sound like typical Queen. If he would have recorded them with Bad Company, it would have fitted. Now it just doesn’t. I have seen them live a couple of times and Paul Rodgers is without a doubt one of the greatest rock singers of all time, and Brian May is also one of the greatest guitar players of all times, but Queen simply was Queen, and it was unique. I’m not saying they need to stop playing, but it would be better if misters May and Taylor look for a singer that is more fitted to their music.’

‘A Philippino, isn’t he? Or did they find him in Home Depot? Isn’t that where Journey found there’s, playing in a cover band? I have heard that the collaboration between Queen and Paul Rodgers has come to a definite end. I know the rumour has been around for a while, but I recently heard they finally made the decision to finally call it quits. You know, I’m glad to have seen them in their original line up. I actually was at their last concert ever, in 1986 at Knebworth in England. I took the train from Birmingham together with Ray Gillen to go and see them.’

‘Nobody suspected that it would become their final concert. There were about 120,000 people around, and they were great. What amazed me most was that the toner of Brian May was so damn good that day. It surprised me, because a lot of times you get very crappy guitar sounds at shows like these. He has such a good technician that he would tell Brian how to EQ his sound on stage and he would do it on the PA, making everything sounding absolutely perfect. It didn’t matter what size a venue was or where they played, he would always make sure the tone was perfect.’

‘you know, I actually am more of a guitar guy than a drummer, to be honest. This afternoon I visited the Udense Muziekhandel, music instrument shop here in Uden and went straight for the guitars. I didn’t even look at the drums haha.’

‘I just wait for what Pearl sends me this time. I’m not so picky. I just try everything that is sent to me. I love Pearl, because everything is good, so putting a drum kit together is child’s play. What is forgotten by a lot of people is that when it comes to playing the drums it’s more about the player than the material. Yes, good equipment does make it a lot easier to play well. It also makes it a hell of a lot more fun, but you still need to be a good player. A bad drummer will also sound bad on a good drum kit. If I wouldn’t be playing on my own stuff during this tour, the fun would be a lot less.’

‘Of course it does, but it’s not as huge as many anticipate. They don’t require me to put down an enormous drum kit just to make the stage look fuller. That allows me to play with just one bass drum. The guys wanted to go back to the roots of Kiss, when there also was only one bass drum. I do use two toms and floors, and a number of cymbals. On this tour with ESP I only use one of each drum, just because I don’t need to use more. Every drum does give a different sound, but once you start playing live the way everything is amplified and transferred into the venue means that a lot of those differences get lost along the way, so there’s no use for so many drums at all. People sometimes come up to me and say I should be ashamed that I don’t use a big drum kit. That doesn’t bother me at all, as I only wish to play with what feels good to me, and nothing else. I only used to set up a double bass because it felt familiar to do it that way, not because it was more practical. I only started using them when I was eighteen, all the years before I just used the one bass drum, so this is a return to my roots as well as it is for Kiss. ’

‘In the studio I naturally have a very elaborate set up that I use. It allows me to know exactly what sounds come out of it, and that’s the main thing. It needs to be transferred onto tape properly, so I do have certain snares and other drums available, purely because you will hear every little difference on tape. I use a 24 inch maple base and mahogany tom toms. I almost always use Pearl, but if necessary I will also use a Black Beauty snare if needed. I use as many drums as I need to get the right sounds. But still, everything is up to the player, not the drums’

‘I have always used Zildjian cymbals, especially live. I have been playing on Pearl since 1986 and Zildjian my whole life. I do like them a lot and they do exactly what I ask from them. Of course it might happen that a studio is equipped with Paiste or any other brand to create certain sounds, but when it comes to playing I will always be loyal to Zildjian. That is my choice, and it always will be.’

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