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Cozy Powell A Tribute to Cozy Powell 29 December 1947 - 5 April 1998 Introduction - Death Reports - In Memorian - Interviews - Quotes - Photos - Links CRASH, BANG, WALLOP, POWell 
Maybe it's Cozy Powell's attitude that has made him something of an unsung drumming hero He doesn't boast the Spartan-like devotion of battering the skins every day In fact he never practices: his sticks are only ever raised for group rehearsals and concerts.But before you raise your hands aghast remember that Cozy has drummed with Jeff Beck, done all manner of session work for everyone from Stevie Wonder to Donovan and now plays in Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. "There was a time when I used to practise", he says, "but you loose so much of your energy doing it, I prefer to release my energy in a spontaneous burst on stage." The young Powell had a penchant for breaking snare drums in the school orchestra So they put him on the cymbals which he quickly dented, feeling frustrated at only playing them once every 65 bars At 13 he waved goodbye to the orchestra and began playing in local bands around Cirenchester and Bristol After being kicked out of school, a pre-requisite for many a rock'n'roller, he moved out to Germany playing most of the night and a good part of the day in clubs At the end of '69 Cozy moved to Birmingham where he met the then thin John Bonham and played in Young Blood, a band by ex-Move man Ace Kefford Cozy got involved with session work before meeting up with Jeff Beck with whom he stayed for two elpees Later he did some singles for Mickie Most and seemed to be in danger of being moulded as a teenybopper hero He split from drumming to race cars and chances are he would still be doing that today had he not received a phone call from Ritchie Blackmore. "Oh, I was getting a bit pissed off with the whole scene," says Cozy, "I didn't really want little girls drooling over me Frankly I don't think many of them really were anyway I thought I'd have a break and then one day after about nine months of not playing the drums Ritchie phoned me up inviting me to join his band. "I'm not the most subtle of drummers, I'm a crash and bang merchant and I'm honest about it There's a hell of a lot of musicians walking about thinking they're God. "I think that drumming has become too much of a technical exercise It's studied so closely these days that it seems to lack feeling A lot of drummers over-play - Carl Palmer for instance - he tends to dominate too much A good drummer is one who sets up a solid foundation in the background and then leaves you gasping when he plays a brief snatch over everybody else Mind you, Carl's top of the drumming polls and I'm not even on there, which must prove something. 
"Don't get me wrong I'm not trying to sell myself short It's the hardest thing in the world to keep a continuous rock beat going, to keep the band tight The simplest things are often the hardest to actually play I don't really think you should teach anyone to play the drums, I'd never give anyone a lesson It's too constricting to be taught along set guidelines, you just become a copy of someone else and there's enough of those going around at the moment."I remember my early influence was the drummer in the Shadows but I've listened to all sorts of people Maybe that's why I was able to do a lot of session work The only style I've never been really happy with is jazz rock It's something I've never been able to get into. "The two drummers I admire the most are Jon Hiseman and John Bonham Hiseman because he's a master of every style - and it's a pity that his band isn't bigger Bonham I like because he's a thumper like me It's nice to know that I'm not alone in that respect. "I may not practise but I do keep myself fit I don't take drugs and I don't drink so I'm rather untrendy I do a lot of work in the gym and driving keeps me in trim I've got a terrible temper and I believe that helps drummers a lot If you're in a temper before you reach the drums then you play all the better, because you can vent all your aggression on the skins - far better than kicking somebody's head in. "I use a Ludwig kit because frankly they're the only people who turn out a kit that can stand up to the punishment I dish out." Cozy uses a customed Ludwig Red Sparkle with two 26x20in bass drums, two 14x10in top tom toms, two 16x16in floor tom toms and one 6½x4in metal symphonie snare, six Ludwig heavyweight cymbal stands, one Slingerland hi-hat pedal, plus two Premier 250 BD pedals with wood beaters He uses a wide variety of cymbals by Paiste and Ludwig 35 sticks - the meatiest he could find. Rainbow are carrying on in the Deep Purple traditions of being loud In order to hear himself play, Cozy has his own monitoring kit set up on either side of him on stage. "It was built by a Japanese electronics wizard," he says "It incorporates a mixing desk which I pre-set before I go on I discovered that such a device was going to be the only way I was going to hear myself play. "Frankly I think the band is too loud I suppose it's because we've got to live up to Purple's reputation Actually I go to the doctor for a check up on my hearing Apparently it's still perfect - he doesn't know how I manage it. After nine months away from the drums, how did Cozy react to recent strenuous tours by Rainbow? "Except for a few aches and pains in the first two gigs, I've had no problems at all" he said "It's the results of keeping fit d'ya see. "It's a hell of a pace we've got to keep up until now and the end of the year I think we've only got about two weeks off I think I can last the pace Pity that I won't have much time for racing though. Robin Smith, Record Mirror 1976  |