Po njegovem odličnem nastopu na Rock in opposition festivalu, se mi je uspelo na kratko pogovoriti z Daveom Kermanom, legendarnim bobnarjem skupin 5uu's, U Totem, Thinking Plague in seveda Present. Pogovorila sva se o festivalu, njihovem nastopu, načrtih za prihodnost, in še o mnogih drugih rečeh.
RockLine: Kako bi ocenil svoj nastop na RIO festivalu?
Dave: Težko je primerjati nastope in jih dovolj natačno preučiti, da bi jih lahko ocenil. Na RIO festivalu smo bili v nekoliko manj udobnem položaju, saj smo se morali ponovno naučiti Rogerjeve skladbe. Sicer jih dobro znamo v električni izvedbi, a težava je z akustično izvedbo, kjer nastopa še dodaten pianist. Imeli smo le nekaj dni za vaje, da smo razdelali aranžmaje in na novo napisali dele za tolkala za nas pet. Poleg tega smo pa želeli napraviti še nekaj novega in izvirnega. V tem pogledu mislim, da nam je kar dobro uspelo. Skladbe so dobile bolj "klasičen" pridih kot ponavadi, no...bil je eksperiment. In mislim, da je eksperiment bil v skladu z duhom festivala.
RockLine: Kateri nastop je bil zate težji, akustični ali električni?
Dave: Osebno mi je bil električni težji, ker sem imel le nekaj ur časa, da pozabim na stvari, ki sem se jih naučil za akustični nastop. Podobno je bilo kot da bi se učil voziti kolo, s tem da sediš obrnjen v napačno smer. Čeprav bi marsikdo menil, da se te reči hitro vrnejo, ni tako. Ena težava z akustičnim nastopom je bila, da je pošta izgubila vsa klasična tolkala, ki sem jih poslal na kraj festivala par tednov prej. Tako sem igral na improvizirane bobne, ostali so pa morali tolči po velikih posodah za smeti, sodih, itd. Nič ni šlo po načrtu, a na nek način je akustični nastop ravno zaradi tega zaživel, ker smo morali igrati na to, kar smo imeli.
RockLine: Kako dolgo ste vadili za nastopa? Igranje je bilo izjemno točno.
Dave: Hvala. Za akustični nastop smo imeli vaje in smo pripravili aranžmaje le v petih dneh v manjši festivalni dvorani. Za električen nastop smo imeli vaje enkrat ali dvakrat v majhni sobi za vaje tisto jutro, ko smo nastopili. Pred tem se nismo videli približno eno leto.
RockLine: Ali je težko organizirati vaje, saj so namreč člani skupine Present razkropljeni po vsem svetu?
Dave: Ker smo tako razkropljeni, pravzaprav sploh ni možno organizirati vaj. Pred turnejo ali snemanjem imamo v le nekaj dneh toliko vaj kot bi jih morali imeti v par mesecih. To je lahko zelo utrujajoče in intenzivno, a čeprav včasih pride do prepirov, smo v resnici ena velika družina: smo bratje brez krvne povezave. Vsak občuduje drugega in navadili smo se tega, da ima vsak svoje navade.
RockLine: Kako si sploh prišel v Present?
Dave: V zgodnjih devetdesetih sem bil član skupine U Totem, ki je bila prav tako na založbi Cuneiform. Založba je Univers Zero in Present predlagala, da bi šli na koncert na univerzo v Bruslju, ko smo bili na turneji v Evropi. Po nastopu mi je Roger Trigaux (Present) rekel, če bi se jim pridružil, saj je Daniel Denis nameraval oditi, ker je hotel oživeti Univers Zero. Na licu mesta sem sprejel, brez obotavljanja in nikoli nisem obžaloval. Na koncu koncev je šlo za glabenike, ki so mi bili heroji: Roger, Daniel, Guy Segers (univers Zero), Reggie Trigaux (Present)...
RockLine: Skladbe Rogerja Triguauxa so zelo intenzivne. Kakšen je občutek, ko jih igraš, če to primerjaš s svojimi lastnimi skladbami?
Dave: So precejšne razlike. V skupini 5uu's smo imeli "pravila", kjer smo se skušali držati strukture skladbe in same kompozicije, tudi kar se tiče mojega bobnanja. Za razliko v Present vsi igrajo po Rogerjevih notah, razen mene. Roger pusti, da so bobni med živimi nastopi svobodni, pusti mi, da sem samostojen in da me vodi situacija. Roger mi zaupa, da se bom med nastopom spomnil česa zanimivega (ponavadi improviziranega) in za to sem mu večno hvaležen. Razlika je tudi v tem, da so moje skladbe čudaško težavne, medtem ko skladbe skupine Present počasi dozorijo in se razvijajo.
RockLine: Kakšen se ti zdi nov Present album?
Dave: Prezgodaj je, da bi kaj rekel, saj ga še vedno postopoma snemamo. A prav mogoče je, da bo najboljši doslej.
RockLine: Ali misliš posneti kakšne nove stvari s tvojimi drugimi skupinami (5uu's, Thinking Plague)?
Dave: Rad bi, a so tudi člani teh skupin oddaljeni drug od drugega. Te skupine pa je ravno tako težko predstaviti kot Present. Udi Koomran, Bob Drake in jaz vedno nekaj naklepamo za 5uu's, Mike Johnson pa za Thinking Plague; a mora vse iti po maslu. Snemanje in mešanje vzame precej časa, veliko je stroškov, vpletenih je tudi precej čustev, tako da ponavadi počakamo na pravi trenutek, potem pa izkoristimo trenutek. Ko bomo preskočili nekatere ovire, bodo ljudje lahko znova slišali kaj od teh skupin.
RockLine: Kaj se dogaja s skupino U Totem?
Dave: Mislim, da je skupina mrtva, čeprav še nihče tega ni uradno izjavil. Z Bobom Drakeom sva lani posnela album skupaj z Jamesom Grigsbyjem in Jerryjem Wheelerjem, z naslovom "NIMBY". Če bi s to skupino lahko šli na turnejo, bi to bilo nekako nadaljevanje skupine U Totem. Vsaj čustveno, saj je glasba precej drugačna; obarvana s humorjem in prej te udari, medtem ko je bil U Totem bolj težaven in dovršen, in precej precej kompleksen. Ostali iz U Totema imajo tudi že svoje karijere. Na primer Emily Hay je posnela že precej albumov in je ogromno nastopala. Še vedno smo dobri prijatelji in se družimo, če se lahko, a do tega pride zelo redko.
RockLine: Tvoj način bobnanja se zdi blizu Danielu Denisu. Je bil on eden tvojih vplivov, ali pa je glasba, ki jo igrate, preprosto tako podobna Univers Zero, da se bobnanje le zdi podobno?
Dave: Oboje. Daniel je bil prvi bobnar skupine Present in nekatere dele moram stilsko odigrati podobno, saj so pomemben del zgodnjega dela skupine. Zato na nekaterih mestih igram poliritmične vzorce, ki so podobni njegovim zaradi tega, ker je to pomemben del skladb. A včasih se najina sloga precej razlikujeta. On je zelo resen bobnar, medtem ko sem jaz na odru cirkusant. Rad ušpičim kakšno vragolijo. Kar se tiče njegovega vpliva name: seveda. Ko sem odraščal, je bil v določenem obdobju Daniel moj najljubši bobnar. Ko sem postal član skupine, je on še vedno bil uradno zraven. Na mojem prvem Present koncertu sva skupaj igrala bobne. Bil sem navdušen. A od leta 1994 sem postal stalni bobnar in sem moral v skupino prinesti svoje ideje in vplive, a v tem sem užival.
RockLine: Igraš tudi mnogo drugih inštrumentov. Ali se ti zdi, da si bolj bobnar, skladatelj, ali kaj drugega?
Dave: No, sicer igram druge inštrumente, a precej slabo, vsaj glede na standarde v glasbeni industriji. Igram jih, ker jih moram, saj na teh inštrumentih skladam in sem tudi razvil svoj slog. A kljub vsemu je bobnanje v ospredju. In čeprav menim, da sem tudi skladatelj, tekstopisec, aranžer, producent, predsednik založbe plošč, in direktor distribucijske firme, se najbolj udobno počutim za bobni. Bobnanje mi je strast že vse odkar sem odkril kisik. In ravno po tem si me bodo ljudje zapomnili, če si me sploh bodo zapomnili.
RockLine: Enkrat si mi omenil, da si nekdaj živel v Sloveniji. Ali je bilo to povezano z glasbo?
Dave: Na nek način je bilo. Evropo sem imel nekaj let kot bazo. Imel sem slovensko punco, živela pa sva v Lokvi, a sem večino časa bil drugje – Belgiji, ZDA, Izraelu. Vedno, ko smo bili na turneji, smo igrali v Sloveniji. Vedno so mi bili všeč ljudje in tempo življenja. Slovenci imajo pristop, ki bi ga lahko imeli tudi nekateri ostali ljudje: izjemen smisel za humor v precej čudnih položajih, in ležernost v situacijah, kjer bi zahodjaki eksplodirali. Že sedem let nisem bil v Sloveniji, morali bi me povabiti. Poznam izjemno restavracijo v Ilirski Bistrici s čudovito srbsko hrano.
RockLine: Kakšne načrte imaš v prihodnosti? Če bi te kdo lepo prosil, bi te zanimalo početi kaj drugega kot prog rock?
Dave: Joj, sovražim izraz prog rock. Čeprav je res, da so Present in ostale skupine, ki se jih uvršča v rock in opposition, videne kot drugi val proga, mi sami raje trdimo, da imamo več skupnega s starim pankom kot pa s progresivnim rockom. Bil sem član skupine Black Flag ob njenih zgodnjih delih. Praktično vsak član Presenta je že igral v nekaterih najbolj zabačenih pankovskih lokalih v Evropi. Za razliko igrajo današnje prog rock skupine na lepih prizoriščih, in igrajo sentimentalno glasbo za ljudi, ki so odkrito preveč čustveni. Present niti približno noče oditi v tisto smer. Trudimo se igrati glasbo, ki ni tako vesela in optimistična. Skušamo odkrivati obup, ponižnost, in tesnobo, kot v resničnem življenju in ne sreče in neskončnega veselja, kot v fantazijskem svetu. Seveda bi pa v prihodnje rad igral jazz fusion, ali grindcore, ali tech-death... a tega čemur pravijo prog vsekakor ne. In ni ti niti treba lepo prositi!
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After the excellent performance at the Rock in Opposition festival, where he played with the legendary Belgian group Present, the great drummer Dave Kerman (5uu's, U Totem, Nimby, Present, The Thinking Plague) took a few moments to answer some questions for our website.
Rockline: How would you rate your RIO fest performance?
Dave Kerman: It's hard to compare gigs, and to examine them enough to specifically rate. Surely at the RIO Fest we had placed ourselves in a less than advantageous position: Having to re-learn Roger's music, which we know well as a Rock band, as an acoustic ensemble, with the addition of a second pianist. We had only a few days' worth of rehearsal time to tear apart arrangements, score the percussion for 5 of us, and come up with something new and different. In this respect I think we did pretty well. There was a more "classical" feel to the compositions than usual, and...well, it was an experiment - one that we hoped would agree with the spirit of the festival.
Rockline: Which show was the more difficult for you, the acoustic or the electric?
Dave Kerman: For me personally, the electric set, because I only had a matter of waking hours to un-do all of the acoustic set's training. It was a bit like learning to ride a bike whilst sitting backwards on the seat: Although one would think it should come back easily, in fact, it didn't. One tough thing about the acoustic set was the fact that UPS had lost all of the classical percussion I had shipped to the festival site weeks earlier. So, I ended up playing a quasi-drum kit, and others were forced to bang on large trash cans, oil drums etc. Nothing was at all how we had planned it, but in a way, this gave the acoustic set a life of its own, as we were able to make due with what we could find.
Rockline: How long were you rehearsing for the show? You seemed to be playing really tight.
Dave Kerman: Thanks. We arranged & rehearsed the acoustic set for 5 days in the festival's smaller hall, and played through the electric set once or twice in a small rehearsal room there on the morning of that particular show. Other than that, we hadn't seen one another in roughly 1 year.
Rockline: Is it hard to organize rehearsal sessions, seeing as the members of Present come from all corners of the globe?
Dave Kerman: As we're so spread out, it's actually not possible to have a rehearsal schedule of any kind. We compress a few months' work into a span of a few days before a tour or recording. This can be tiring and intense and, although tempers can flare from time to time, we are all like one, large extended family; we are brothers with no common blood lineage. We are also one another's greatest enthusiasts, and we've learned over the years to tolerate each others' idyosynchcratic behavior, whilst somehow injecting that aspect into the mores of our little group of musical misfits.
Rockline: How did you get involved with Present in the first place?
Dave Kerman: In the early 90's I was in another Cuneiform band, called U-Totem. The record company suggested to Univers Zero and Present that they should check out our concert at the University of Brussels whilst we were touring in Europe. After the show, Roger Trigaux asked me to replace Daniel Denis in Present, as Daniel had wanted to leave the band to re-animate Univers Zero. Of course, I accepted the job right then and there, without hesitation, or regrets. After all, these were some of my hero-musicians: Roger, Daniel, Guy Segers, Reggie Trigaux……
Rockline: Roger Trigaux's compositions are very intense. How does it feel like playing them compared to playing your own material (not that your material isn't intense)?
Dave Kerman: It's very different. In 5uu's we had performance "rules", so to speak, where we faithfully tried to stick to the structure of the song, and the actual compositions, including my drum parts. By comparison, in Present everyone is playing Roger's scored instrumentation EXCEPT for me; He allows the drums to be the differential in live performances, letting me to step out of the mold however the situation may insist, or how I may see fit. Roger trusts that I will come up with something interesting for his music (often spur of the moment), and for that I'm eternally grateful. Also, my music tends to bear a sort of truncated complexity, whereas Present's compositions slowly and maturely take their time to unravel.
Rockline: What do you think of the new Present album?
Dave Kerman: Well, it's too soon to tell, as we're still recording it, piecemeal. But it may well end up being the strongest to date.
Rockline: Do you plan to record any new stuff with some of your other bands (5uu's, Thinking Plague)?
Dave Kerman: I'd love to. But, these bands are also spread out geographically, and are as much a challenge to present as Present. Udi Koomran, Bob Drake and I are always "scheming" for 5uu's, and Mike Johnson for Thinking Plague; but the situation has to be right. Recording and mixing can take considerable time, expenses, and emotional tolls, so we usually wait for just the right moment, and then pounce on opportunity as a cat might pounce on a mouse. Once some obstacles are overcome, people will hear more from these bands.
Rockline: What's the status of U Totem?
Dave Kerman: I would venture to say defunct, though no-one has ever said it publicly. Bob Drake and I made and album last year with James Grigsby and Jerry Wheeler, called "NIMBY". If we can tour with that band, it would be a sort of extension of U-Totem. Emotionally, at least, as musically it's quite different; humorous and immediate, whereas U-Totem was dry and academic, and very, very complex. The others in U-Totem have their separate careers, as well. Emily Hay, for instance, now has an extensive discography and performance schedule. We're all still close friends and see each other socially when circumstances permit, but that's like...on leap years, or something.
Rockline: Your style of drumming seems quite close to Daniel Denis. Was he one of your influences, or is the music you play just so close to that of Univers Zero that the drumming appears similar?
Dave Kerman: It's a little of both. Daniel was the original drummer for Present, and some aspects of his style were necessary to "simulate", as they were the quintessential drum parts for much of the band's early music. So, in some places, I play polyrhythmic patterns that are similar to his, simply because the music demands it. However, at other times, our drumming couldn't be more different. I mean, he's a serious drummer, and I can be a bit of a circusant on stage, as I'm a bit of a prankster by nature. As far as his influence goes: sure. Daniel was, at one point when I was growing up, my very favorite drummer. When I first joined the band he was still technically a member. At my first concert with Present we both played drums together, and I was quite thrilled. But since 1994, I've been the staple drummer for the band, and I've had to (and enjoyed) bringing into it my own voice and presence.
Rockline: You also play many other instruments. Would you consider yourself to be more of a drummer, composer, or something else?
Dave Kerman: Well, I do play other instruments, but fairly poorly, by industry standards. I play them out of necessity, because these are the instruments that I compose on, and I've developed my own style. Still, drumming is at the forefront. So, while I do consider myself to be a composer, lyricist, arranger, producer, tour organizer, record company president, and distribution company CEO, I'm most at home behind a set of drums. Drumming is a passion for me, and has been since my introduction to oxygen. And it's probably what I'll be remembered for, if I'm remembered at all!
Rockline: You mentioned once that you lived in Slovenia at one point. Was that somehow related to music?
Dave Kerman: It was, inasmuch as I was using Europe as a home base for a number of years. I had a Slovene girlfriend, and we lived in Lokev, but I was gone much of the time, to Belgium, the USA, and Israel. We always played in Slovenia when we toured, and I've always loved the people and the "pace" of life. Slovenes have a sensibility that most other cultures and people in the world would do well to embrace: a sense of humor un-paralleled in some of the strangest situations, and an attitude of ease during times when most westerners would lose their cookies. I haven't been to Slovenia in 7 years now, so you should invite me. I know a great little place in Ilirska Bistrica.....wonderful Serbian food.
Rockline: What are your plans in the future? Would you be interested in doing projects other than prog rock, if someone asked you nicely?
Dave Kerman: Eeee, I detest the term Prog-Rock; While it's quite true that Present and other bands that once fell under the banner of "Rock in Opposition" have become ideologically adopted by the second wave of "Prog", we would like to think that bands like ours have more in common with old-style Punk than Progressive Rock. I myself was a staple around the earliest workings of Black Flag (back when Greg Ginn and his pals were a band called Panic in Hermosa Beach, CA). And virtually every member of Present has cut his teeth in some of the very most squalid punk-squats throughout Europe. By comparison, todays Prog groups perform at nice venues, and play a sentimental type of music for people who wear their hearts on their sleeves. Present, for instance, is not at all interested in that direction. We endeavor to play music that comes from a less uplifting or spiritually resounding place, whilst attempting to examine despair, humility, and anguish, like real life - not happiness and unrelenting joy, like fantasy. So, sure, I'd like to play some jazz fusion, or grindcore, or tech-death in the future....but not this thing called prog. And you don't even have to ask nicely !
na vrh