April 1977 - Modern Drummer - Roy Burns

Roy Burns is the kind of guy. who on first meeting, makes you feel as though you've known him for twenty - five years.

He's sincere, outgoing, personable, and totally dedicated to his chosen profession. A mid-westerner • from Emporia, Kansas to be exact • his natural inclination for drumming got him on the bands of Woody Herman and Benny Goodman while still practically a teenager. noble feat, to say the least.

A After a lifetime of vast musical experience, Roy now devotes most of his lime in the capacity of clinician for the Rogers Drum Company, a job which takes him to cities all across the country. He's very much in demand as a clinician and it's not hard to figure out why; a Roy Burns clinic is a memorable educational experience.

It's not uncommon for Roy to voice his views on the matched grip, time division, rolls, rudiments, and finger control, not to mention a wealth of ideas regarding choosing and caring for cymbals, tuning drums, and practicing techniques all within the course of one lecturedemonstration. Roy can - and often will cover just about everything a young drummer might concerned about.

have reason to be

Anyone spending time in the presence of this gentleman can't help but get the impression of a man who is bursting over with a true love for drums, compounded with a deep compassion for young drummers, with whom he feels a special kinship. The man is a study in positive attitudes reflected in a sincerity that comes across just as crystal clear as his snare drum touch. His clinics are a virtual labor of love -a sheer pleasure to watch. We caught up with Roy at a clinic sponsored by Victor's House of Music in Ridgewood, New Jersey, where after an exhausting day of two 2½ hour long lectures, Roy graciously sat with us just prior to catching a flight to another clinic city, to relax and answer a few questions. MD:You were quite young when you started playing professionally with Benny Goodman's band. What kind of an experience was that for you musically? R B : Playing with Benny Goodman's band, now that I think back, was like going to school. Isreal Crosby was the bass player on that band, and when I played with him I suddenly realized the difference between playing in four and playing in two. Kenny Burrell and Zoot Sims were both on the band at that time and just to play with those guys was a learning experience. I didn't realize just how much I was learning u n t i l five years after I left the band.

Without that "TO ME IT'S ESSENTIAL THAT YOUNG PEOPLE SEE THAT YOU CAN BE A PROFESSIONAL, UNDERSTAND YOUR INSTRUMENTS, STILL PLAY WELL, AND STILL TAKE TIME OUT TO ANSWER A QUESTION FOR A YOUNG GUY. WHEN I GET TOO IMPORTANT TO ANSWER A YOUNG GUY'S QUESTION - THEN I THINK I OUGHT TO GET OUT OF THE BUSINESS." experience, I don't think all the things I did later would have been possible. MD: What about your relationship with Benny? R B : Benny was very nice to me. Of course, he has his problems like everyone else, and we eventually did have some disagreements, but I must say for the first two or three years, he was very nice to me. It helped me a lot - there's no doubt about it, especially the big band experience. MD: Who else have you worked with during your career? R B : Buck Clayton, Charlie Shavers, Gene

Sedrick, Joe

Bushkin, Ben Webster, Marty Napoleon, and I was on Lionel Hampton's band for about a year; that was a great experience. The first record date I ever did was with Teddy Wilson, and I also spent some time with Woody Herman's band. When I joined Benny, he had just made the "Benny Goodman Story". The band was going through a big revival, and here was this young looking kid playing drums. It all seemed to work out great. MD: You were quite active in studio work in New York at one time, at a fairly young age. How did you break in? RB:

I was working in New York and doing a lot of teaching for Henry Adler - to stay alive. One of my first big breaks came on a record date Mel Lewis was doing that ran late. Hymie Schertzer was the contractor on that date, and somebody said, Hey, call that kid who plays with Benny's band - he can read and hold a band together and he lives nearby. So I went up and did the date; I did pretty well and I met a lot of people. From that, I began to get a lot of other work. MD: What kind of studio work did you do in New York? R B :

A lot of record dates. Eventually, I got into the TV scene. I did some things with NBC, and I did the Merv Griffin Show for a long time. Plus, I did the Tonight Show on Monday nights and Jack Parr, occasionally. I also did a lot of commercial jingles for a whole bunch of people. MD: How did the transition studio musician to clinician from come about? RB:

Rogers wanted me to do some clinics, but I was always tied up with a TV show or working with a group. When I was free to do a clinic they didn't have anything set up, so they offered me this full-time clinic position. We eventually worked it out so I could keep playing and still do the clinics. Now I've gotten more into advertising and developing the new products like Memrilok hardware, and writing a lot of the educational material about the Paiste cymbals. All of this has really broadened me out. It's opened my ear up to new sounds and new ways of doing things; working with the engineers and other people in our company has helped me to understand sound better than I ever did before. I think it has helped my playing, MD: Your technique is truly outstanding. RB:

Thank you. Some guy once asked me, How long did it take you to get your left hand that fast? I told him, till last Thursday. I've been working on it all my life. MD: What's life like for a full-time clinician? RB: Well, my schedule is quite varied, but one year I counted where I did over 60 concerts and clinics - not counting travelling days. It's funny because every place I go now-a-days, people say to me, Gee, it must be a drag you're not playing anymore.

One night in St. Louis, I had been to three night clubs - sat in - did maybe a total of three hours