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Being John Molo " |
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At this time it was early 90's, The Range kind of took a break then, right? Yeah, late 80's… I can't remember when The Range split up. We were working on Harbour Lights then. Jerry was on that album… Yeah, lots of great people were on that album - Branford [Marsalis], John Bigham from Fishbone - a lot of cool players on that record. Bruce started jamming a little bit more. The thing I noticed the most was between tunes with Bruce Hornsby and The Range before the Dead experiences, Bruce would count off after each song and we'd go right into the next song. After he had played with those guys, he was just like, "Let's just take a couple of seconds and see what I'd like to do." He stopped relying so much on the setlist and just got into playing the room. It was a very cool time. Any more Dead memories? [SEE REALVIDEO STREAM (DL)]: I went one time to hear the Dead at RFK, this is a different time, Sting was opening and I really wanted to go and hear Vinnie Caliuto. This is great I go down to the stage and I had talked to [Steve] Parrish and Billy Kreutzmann the night before, and Kreutzmann says, "Yeah man, come on down man and when we start playing come over into my tent." So I was like, "Wow, man! Kreutzmann - my man!" So I walk up to Robbie Taylor and go, "Hey Robbie, the guys invited me down." He looked at me and said, "It's not our stage!" And I was just like "Blahhhh! But I came to see Sting and Billy invited me…" - I was just kind of sitting there with my tail between my legs thinking, "Well, I thought you guys liked me." [laughter] [SEE REALVIDEO STREAM (DL)]: The Shunning! I was almost in the inner sanctum - I was almost in the backstage of the stadium, but I had three more layers of security I had to get through. (laughs) So I ran into Parrish or somebody, and they brought me on stage and said, "Listen man, when you walk by Taylor say 'Thanks'." So I walked by Robbie and I said, "Hey man, thanks!" He went, "Yeah." I was in the inner sanctum - I was on stage! Bruce and I watched Sting and he was kickin' ass. Vinnie Caliuto was great! So I was backstage and I had just flown back from Europe and I guess I was really dehydrated or something and I was a little fatigued - so anyway the Dead started playing and Parrish walks by and says, [in gruff voice] "Hey, Molo. Put on Garcia's mix - it's right there." So I said, "Well, okay." It wasn't what I really wanted to do at the time but I didn't want to insult Steve. I put these headphones on and I'm listening to Garcia and they're jammin'. [Molo mimics Garcia's guitar riff] Now, what happens next has never happened to me. I'm not into astral projection all that much - I'm a meat and potatoes guy, but I was listening to Garcia and the next thing I knew I was in this deep, dark and cavernous place and I thought that must be the reason that everybody comes to these shows! I wasn't tripping or anything, just the right combination of jet lag, Jerry and the phones that Parrish strapped on my head. So I'm listening to this and thinking, "Man, that's truly amazing." It was the first time that I really heard Jerry. Wow, he's a powerful sucker! Was it just his mix coming through the headphones?
No, the band was a little bit in the mix.
I take off the headphones and I open my eyes and see up on Harmon
Kilabrew, George Allen and all of these names from my past,
my sports childhood, and I'm going, "Wow, Garcia's making me
just leave the planet and I didn't even plan to." So he comes over and I'm ducking behind this case and he says, "Come on man, stand up! It doesn't matter." And I say, "No man, I don't want to stand up. You guys are playing!" [laughter] So we're bantering and it seems like a long time and it probably wasn't at all. Finally I come over to him and he says, "Can you hear me in the mix?" [laughter] I say, "Yeah Bruce, I can hear you. You're jacked up in the mix. I can hear all of the cool chords you're playing and the rhythmic stuff." He's playing with the band and listening to me talk to him. [laughter] It was just an amazing time. I sort of became a fan - and it was a long process for me - but there were a lot of little funny things [like that] for me. Lots of layers of exposure to the music while exploring the inner sanctums of it. Definitely. So we were playing in San Francisco one night and Phil showed up for the gig. He sat in with us I think it was one of the first times he played in public for a long time. It was at the Fillmore and Aquarium Rescue Unit was opening. Yes. You guys played Truckin' with Phil, Bobby, and Mickey [Phil & Bob Weir sat in with the Bruce Hornsby Band for Truckin'>Lovelight>Not Fade Away; Encore: The Weight - Fillmore, SF, CA 4.12.96] Oh yeah! That was really a great long-term connection for me - playing with Mickey, Bobby, Bruce, Phil… A beautiful acceleration into the Grateful Dead's musical spectrum! Absolutely. Just rode in on Bruce's coattails. So you're first show with Phil was April 20, 1998 at the Warfield with Bruce and Branford. It was a Phil and Friends show. That was before the first Other Ones show in 1998. How did you become involved with that? You know, I think it was Bruce. Phil had sat in and we played together and there was a connection there. Stan Franks was involved with that as well. It was kind of a fun night which evolved into a different thing. And two months later Other Ones began… You know I did some things with Mickey Hart after The Other Ones. I had a great time playing with him and I got to play with some other wonderful musicians. It must've been unique experience for you to play with Mickey. Yeah, after playing with Bruce - we could go into that. I had played with Bruce for about 20 years and you know, we'd play every once in a while and we knew each other just so well that I could tell when he wasn't diggin it and he could tell when I wasn't diggin it. Being a sideman for a singer/songwriter/bandleader you've got to be really supportive. I kind of swerved off the supportive track - not intentionally, but there were just moments where stuff would happen where either one of us wouldn't be diggin it. Bruce and I are funny - the way we started off I told you about it earlier. I mean he looked like some Shri-Trimnoi refugee all dressed in white and just out in the wilderness, out in the Hinterlands. [laughter] I mean I don't think he could even get a date back then and he'll tell you too! (laughs) He was sorry as he'd say, and I was kind of this slicky guy and somehow we met and almost passed in the night. I see him now on Regis and he's in this world of Pop and I'm in the world that he used to be in. It's funny we've got a lot of the same things together. I just know him so well that he could just pick up the phone and just breathe [takes a deep breath] and I'll just know it's him. It's just so deep. So we were having these moments on stage, like I was saying before about being a really good sideman, you'd just have to be really enthusiastic, really supportive, and a bit of a yes man. Even if I was on the outside - he just knew me too well. He'd be hanging out with someone like Chris Everrett before a show and I would just be thinking, "What are you doing man? Come and hang out with the cats!" Even though it was just tacit. It was just this kind of understanding. So I remember I said to him a couple of times, you know, "Bruce, why don't you get some drummer that you really like playing with." He said, "Man, I like playing with you." I said, "Yeah, but not all the time. There's moments." So I don't know if he really heard it. I thought it fell on deaf ears. So we started playing with The Other Ones at the rehearsals and all of a sudden there'd be a band meeting. You know The Other Ones are really like sidemen and leaders, and the leaders would go off into this room and there'd be the sidemen out there (laughs) like Kimock, myself and Mark Karan and we would think, "You know, how are we going to get these guys out of this meeting?" So we'd start playing some groove or something. We'd just start jammin'. It'd be funny because we could always get Bruce out of there, you know? [laughter] I'd notice that we were like brothers in arms again. I was pulling him out of this meeting and the guys would say something to me and Bruce would be looking at me and I knew he was thinking, "That's the last guy you want to be listening to." (laughs) So we'd have this thing going on and we'd do duets and we'd jam…so we went out to sushi one night and that's when he said, "You know Molo, maybe you're right." We realized at that point that we were like young men again, so we decided to take a break at that point. All of this and fully planning to do The Other Ones and I thought I'd end up playing with Bruce occasionally. Well, that didn't happen. What did happen was that I started playing with Mickey Hart and played with, gosh some great players and really learned a lot about global, ethnic, world beat music - there are a lot of different names for it - you know, Mickey's thing. I got to play with the great Giovanni Hidalgo. Yeah, that was one of the great Planet Drum line-ups. Yeah, I thought so too. It is especially when you throw Mark Karan and Kimock into the mix. We could just rock the house and it was really just a fun band. From there I started talking with Phil and he started doing some gigs and he wanted me to play and I was lucky enough to do those gigs. So I've been really fortunate. It's really all through my connection with Bruce - making records, learning a lot of different tunes, jamming and being confidant. He's a great guy to be around. The toughest thing for me is not being around him. We talk on the phone and we're buddies but we don't have that same shared thing where we could go out and shoot baskets and hang out. The music thing, you know I played with him for a long time and there are a lot of great players, but it's more just a seeing his kids and being out there in Virginia, or tying in a trip to see my Mom - that's the stuff I really miss. I have a lot of friends back there in Virginia and that's the part I miss most. Yes. Home is where the heart is. And that's where part of my heart is - that part of the country. You talked about being able to pull those guys out of the office so to speak, could you describe what your strong suits are as a drummer? What is it about you that makes people turn on to you so instantly? Wow, I would say that the reason is because I want those people to sound good. I want the music to sound good and I want the people I'm playing with to sound great. I really don't go up there trying to sound good. It's a weird thing some of the people I play with are concerned about the sound or some other thing and all I say to that is think about the music and you'll sound good. Don't think about your snares or kick-drum is loud enough in the mix. Just think about the music and you'll sound good. That's sort of what Phil's approach to the music is. It is and that's why we really hit it off. We want the music to sound great. Now, as a sideman you've got to make the artist sound great and the music sound great. Like when you're playing with Jackson you've got to make Jackson sound really great- I'm talking about Jackson Browne, or Bonnie [Raitt]. People are coming to see the vocals man, that's what they connect to so you've got to make them sound great. With Phil, it's a different thing. I don't know what they're expecting - but they're expecting some sort of tangible commodity to be delivered - some tangible commodity that they can hook on to and I want to be able to do that. Dan Schwartz, who is a fantastic bass player from LA and has played on Sheryl Crowe's albums, is a very selective bass player. He's got a picture of Jack Cassidy and Phil in his case when you open it up. He said, "You know the thing about you playing with Phil is that for the first time since he's played - the drummer's got his back. He can go wherever he wants and you're there for him." And I am. I don't want to hang Phil out there - or any other musicians for that matter - I don't want to hang them out there. I think of myself as one of those Border Collies herding those sheep in there. Every once in a while I see one of the musicians straying out there and I have to go out there and bring him back into the herd - the harmonic plantation that we have out there. I know I'm getting cosmic, I'm sorry. (laughs) No, that's good! (laughs) You know what I'm saying. We were playing last night [at The Wiltern on 10/29/00 in LA] and I was paying attention to Phil and realized I've got to go over there to Warren. I've got to get intimate musically with Warren here. I've got to go to Jimmy and oh, I've got to go to Rob and make sure he sings, you know, great. I think that's why people turn on to me. I've never done a lot of drum clinics. I can play in odd time. I can play all of my rudiments. I can read music. I think I'm one of a few drummers that can play a lot of different types of music at a very rare grounds. Art Davis, Be-Bop, I hate doing this because I feel like I'm bragging… No, no go right ahead! Psychedelic music, Pop music, Jazz, I played Country music with Albert Lee and JT Mannis, and I think the reason that I can do it is because I genuinely love all of those styles or genres of music. I love Country, Bluegrass, Coltrane! [Slaps drumsticks on table] I'm moved by all of those types of music. I think it enables me to think not how am I going to come across, but more how is the music going to sound to the people or to the tape? How does it feel with Phil to be so openly acknowledged and praised by both the leader of the band and the audience members? In other situations you've been grouped in as a "sideman" while with Phil, each member is more equally recognized? It's interesting that you bring that up. Yeah, I won a Grammy and was on all of these platinum records with Bruce and was livin' the good life. You know, I thought something was going to happen, but it wasn't really until I got involved with this that it's just been really great for me - not that those other situations weren't. In the Phil involvement, yeah I'm a sideman, but when he sells those shirts my name is on the back. I've never worked with any artists that put the names of the musicians on the backs of their shirts! Phil's one of those rare guys who plays with people - no this is what I think that he thinks - he plays with people that are as good as he is or better than he is - and he's okay with that. You know, he doesn't have to be like the 'baddest guy.' He also gives us permission to play. I've played with band leaders before where someone will be soloing and they'll be looking at the audience and say, "Hey, keep soloing" and the solo may be over or in the middle or what have you. Phil is one of the few guys that's like, "Man, if the music is going to go on, it's going to go on!" Man, he steps up to the mic sometimes and I think he's going to sing and it might be until about three minutes later because something has developed musically. He has this ability to give it up musically, just to play. That's a very unique thing. Through that also, I think he's always been searching for a drummer who can play lots of different types of music, and I can. I love Tony Williams. I hate to say that I can play these styles because I'm not a Bee-bop player, I'm not a Rock player, but I love these types of music and I can bring it into Phil [and Friends experience.] That's why it works so well because you're so diverse and the Grateful Dead repertoire… …is so diverse and it's evolved over the years. Like last night when we played "Cryptical," I thought that we played that great and I think I can play that music! You have the confidence. You know, growing up - no, I didn't know - I just wanted to be a really good player. All of a sudden this whole catalogue of music comes up and I'm like, man, I can play this stuff. I can play "Box of Rain." I can play "Cryptical." I can play with Bobby. I can play in seven - you know, "Estimated Prophet." I can do all of this stuff. It's a weird thing because I remember this one time I was practicing in my practice room and I went, "Man, if there was any gig in the world that I could do it would probably be the Grateful Dead." Of course that will never happen. [laughs] How is it for you to be in all of these different Phil incarnations and watching it evolve over the past year or so? How do you feel? Do you think this music has come a long way between you and Phil? Yeah, I guess I've been the one solid guy in there. I've played with some great musicians, you know. The thing with Steve Kimock just broke my heart, because I thought that we had… (pauses) man, I can hardly even talk about this…I thought we had such a great core musically, but then you play with someone like Jimmy Herring, or Robben Ford and it's just like some girl all of a sudden - you just forget. [laughter] Yeah, there are some tough times and Phil and I have gone through some tough stuff. We've played a lot of gigs now and it just evolves through players that come along. Man, Scofield sat in with us and God, it was great! He sat in on a couple of rehearsals and man! Playing with Robben Ford, Billy Payne… Yeah, with all of these people coming in was it just non-stop excitement? Yeah, it was just unbelievable and Phil was just going, "Yeah man, just blow! Just PLAY!" Truly great. So the evolution of the thing has been really interesting to me and I think we're at the point now where the time we put in has really paid off. I mean he works really hard - rehearses, works the vocals, works the arrangements and everything and I think it's really paying off. I think it has evolved. The guys from Phish… Yeah, what did you think of those shows last April [1999 at The Warfield in SF]? They were really powerful. Yeah it was amazing! I didn't know anything about Phish. I didn't know Trey [Anastasio] from Page [McConnell]. I knew who John [Fishman] was but I didn't know the rest of the guys or really anything about their music. Did you turn on to their music right before those shows happened? Yeah, a little bit. I was never really a big fan of their writing. Their songs never really got me, but their jamming - WHEW! The void that they filled and their connection with the audience is just amazing. You know, I go to see a show and their doing 2001 Space Oddessey and there's white smoke coming out and to me that's like watching N'Sync dancing or the Backstreet Boys lip syncing. [laughter] It's a really weird thing for me. You know, I'm just old. [laughter] You know, I wouldn't be caught dead playing 2001 Space Oddessey. To me it just looked like the show Solid Gold. [laughter] As I watched the crowd, they were just so into it. So that's my taboos. That's my problem. That's my hipness factor of being so precious and hip. (laughs) Phish was connecting with their audience in a big way so I learned something from those guys about jamming, playing and connecting. You know I really learned something from them and it was really remarkable to go see a show. Those were the first concerts after Phil's transplant. What was his temperament like for those shows? Yeah, Phil is amazing. You know, I didn't really know Phil all that well before Phil and Friends. We hung out a bit in The Other Ones, but that was more of the leaders and sidemen thing that I was talking about before. After the transplant his face looked different, his energy was different, his hair looked different, his musculature, man his ass looked different (laughs) - you know, I'm looking at him from behind all the time at the drums! [explosive laughter] God, you know I sound like Showtime at the Apollo you know, "He didn't have no ass before!" [laughter] I'm playing with this guy and I'm looking at him from behind and he looks like he's 35-45 years old! It's blowing my mind! He whips our asses! Sure I noticed a difference. He plays for three hours all night. Like last night - I couldn't believe it. It was the last night of the tour and that's like the last set of push-ups you're going to do. It's hard and his energy was just incredible. Yes I do notice a difference. He was definitely a little run down with The Other Ones still playing cool, but he was not as energized or engaged. "Being
John Molo" - Conducted by B.Heisler & R.Lucente This
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