The cantankerous carrot-top has finally drummed himself off to the Other Side.
It goes without saying that I listened to a lot of Cream as a young ne’er-do-well, and this cut was a fave. So was this one. And this one.
Baker was apparently not fond of reminiscing about those days — “Oh, God, Cream’s a bloody albatross around my neck,” he once said — but I remember them fondly.
What I remember of them, that is. At least I managed to steer clear of the smack.
Mad Blog Media 
Good morning, Patrick, from just outside Boulder, CO. That post is a full scale first thing of the morning downer.
Bloody artists, always dropping like bloody flies.
Th’ hell you doing up to The People’s Republic? Spreading the Gospel of the Second Amendment? The Committee to Live On Our Knees will want a word with you.
Like Baker, Steve Miller is said to be a prickly sort. But he remains very much with us, though time keeps on slippin’, slippin’, slippin’ into the future. Who says there’s no such thing as good news?
We are up visiting a good friend in Lafayette, which is one town over to the East. She and my better half are planning a trip to jolly old England.
Aha. Herself was among the Limeys with a couple pals a few years back and they had a high old time visiting castles and whatnot.
They missed the Batley Townswomen’s Guild’s re-enactment of the Battle of Pearl Harbor, though. Pity.
These two warbirds are working out the logistics to a trip to London to see a bunch of Shakespeare plays. I’ll be holed up in Fanta Se for the month, so if anyone wants to drop by for bikes and beer (or ersatz beer), give a holler this month.
Hath they yet endured “Shakespeare’s Lost Comedie,” by Ye Olde Theatre Firesygne?”
Ooohh. I bet I would like that. Suspect Firesign is not on the agenda.
Drummers are an enigma to me. They make something difficult and complex look so easy while they are anchoring the group. They lead and the band follows. Amazing.
The drum must’ve been the second musical instrument, right? Just behind the human voice. Or maybe hand-clapping was second and drumming third.
Farting just missed the podium, but not by much. I expect the medalists caught a whiff.
I bet everybody thinks they can drum, too. We all do it. On dashboards, desks, tabletops, whatever. No wonder Ginger Baker was cranky.
I’ve often wondered if people who can dance well would also be good drummers. ???? Probably not, as good drummers are perpetual motion machines with all four limbs (not just two) moving at lightspeed and synchronized. ????
SO: “Dance like no one is watching, love like you’ve never been hurt; sing like no one is listening, and live like it’s heaven on earth.” And drum like you’re Ginger Baker!! 🙂
I think the first drummer I ever really noticed was Buddy Rich. The folks were big-band fiends, so I probably got to Rich through Tommy Dorsey or Artie Shaw.
Dude was un-real. Also notoriously short-tempered, like Ginger Baker.
Hola. You’re right, most folks think it’s pretty easy to do the basic beat. It is on one drum with one stick. Add in the second stick and a bass drum pedal and the pack of wannabes shrinks quickly. I went and looked at a beginner’s lesson on the you tube. Yikes, this shit ain’t easy.
I remember trying to pick up some drum basics in band class, back in junior high or high school, because the flute seemed a bit sissified (until Jethro Tull and Ian Anderson came along). Absolutely no hope. Like a dumb monkey beating on a log with a stick.
So glad I managed to get tickets to the Royal Albert Hall reunion years ago.