From Brian Curtis (193_UIS_IL@smtplink.fcs.follett.com) MODERN DRUMMER - AUGUST 1993 PORTRAITS: ANDY STURMER OF JELLYFISH by Teri Saccone With a little coercion, Andy Sturmer admits that the new Jellyfish album, "Spilt Milk," is an ambitious endeavor. "Yeah. You have to sit down and listen to it from beginning to end a couple of times. There's a lot in there." 1990 brought Jellyfish's first effort, the splendid "Bellybutton," which was a showcase for catchy, gut-level rock/pop songs. "Spilt Milk" weaves a subtler and sometimes more elaborate web. Sturmer (lead singer, multi-instrumentalist, drummer, and co-writer) and keyboardist Roger Manning have forged a musical partnership so highly attuned to melodies and tasteful rhythms that they often invoke the work of Lennon & McCartney. As a lead singer, Andy has a prominent live role - further emphasized by his masterful command of his stand-up drumkit. Playing drums while literally fronting the band is a tough task, especially given Jellyfish's partiality to harmonies. On tour in support of the new album this year, Sturmer continues to prove that you can't keep a solid, inventive timekeeper (sitting) down. TS: Melodies are the most conspicuous aspect of your songwriting. Yet some people are surprised to find out that a drummer writes and sings those melodies. AS: I once read an interview with Carlos Santana, in which he said something that I think is really true. He said that drummers write the prettiest melodies, because they aren't trained on a melodic instrument. When you're trained on a melodic instrument, you become so focused on the melodies that you work with that you can't see the most basic, beautiful, in-your-face melody. Coming from a drumming background, I go for the really obvious, pretty melody. But as I get better on other instruments, who knows? TS: Was it just you and Roger in the studio recording the new album? AS: Roger and I did all the demos for the record, and we wrote all of the songs. We also have a new bass player, Tim Smith. Roger and I did most of the work, but Tim was part of it. TS: Is it collaborative on every level between the two of you, or do you tend to divide the work with one writing lyrics and the other composing melodies? AS: It's not collaborative on every level. I write all the lyrics, but we write the music together. The way Roger and I write is that we embellish each other's ideas, like painting a picture. We grew up together and had a lot of the same records in our collection, so we don't have to explain our offbeat ideas to each other. I was talking with [producer] Don Was, who's a friend that comes by the studio to hang out. I was telling him about a song on the new album called "Russian Hill." I told him that we put alto and bass flutes on that song because we were going for a Henry Mancini kind of vibe. He laughed and said, "I can't think of any other band who would want to go for a Henry Mancini kind of vibe." But it sounds great. In my record collection there are Henry Mancini albums. I have the "Planet of the Apes" soundtrack next to a Black Sabbath album. That stretch of influences is what we're about. TS: I know you compose a lot on guitar, but have you ever written a song around an interesting beat you dreamed up? AS: The only song I've ever written that was based on a drum pattern was "All Is Forgiven" on "Spilt Milk." The drums are usually the last thing I think about. TS: I'm guessing that you didn't have the traditional drums idols as a kid. AS: Actually, I did. Growing up, I was a real jazz-head. I was into Miles Davis because my brother was a trumpet player and my dad was into jazz. I had really long hair, but I was into bebop. I loved Elvin Jones, and I also liked Art Blakey. The last jazz concert I went to was Jack DeJohnette at the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco. That's when I knew I'd never be Jack DeJohnette! [laughs] But I could become Don Henley. That I could handle. I think Hal Blaine is an amazing drummer. And Jim Keltner is also a big hero of mine. His feel is undeniably his own. I remember when we were mixing "That Is Why" off the first record, Jack [Joseph Puig, coproducer] said, "Keltner's down the hall." We were at Oceanway Studios in L.A. I've worked with many famous people, but...Jim Keltner! It just so happened that he walked into our studio because the music was blaring. He said hello to Jack and then said, "Who's playing drums? This is really good." I completely melted. It was like, "Forget it. I'm retiring now." He was probably just being polite, but it was real nice to hear. TS: Do you play a standard sit-down kit in the studio? AS: I do, because it's easier. Playing standing up is like trying to spin five plates in the air. Playing drums standing up, singing, and talking to the audience is hard - but like anything else, you get used to it. TS: Is Jellyfish your first outing with the stand-up drumkit? AS: I was in a band called Beatnik Beatch, which was like the Everly Brothers meets Devo. I had this awkward setup where I was playing a nitrous tank for a bass drum, and it had a doorbell hooked up to it. I stood up for that, but it was a lot different from what I'm doing now. TS: What's the hardest thing about stand-up drumming? AS: The hardest part is the balancing. All of my weight is on one foot because I've got to play the kick drum. I'm playing a closed hi-hat, and I can vary that by playing with the butt end of the stick. But all of my weight is on my left leg for an hour to an hour and a half, so it's become stronger than my right leg. TS: Does your style of playing ever cause the tempos to fluctuate? AS: Definitely, but I don't think that's a bad thing. Even the tempos on the records fluctuate all over the place. We don't use click tracks. Because I'm the singer and I write, I know where I want the songs to pull back. I can play drums as a lead singer - as opposed to singing as a drummer. I know when a verse is going to pull back, so I can bring the band with me. The bass player who toured with us last time, Chris Manning, wasn't really a bass player when he joined the band. We invited him to come on the road with us because he was our buddy. So I got the chance to really train him. I told him, "Chris, only you and I exist. Don't worry about anything else." He went from partying in Humboldt, California one day to playing at Wembley about three weeks later. He totally pulled it off. I listen to those live tapes now and think how tight the bass and drums were. I'd slow down or speed up in the middle of a song when I felt it needed to be done, and he'd be right there with me. TS: I understand you've been experimenting with your kit to make it more responsive to your needs. AS: I've been working on it for this tour. Because the drums are front and center when we play live - and since we are an opening act - I want to be able to just roll the kit into place. I also like to be on the same level as everybody, so I would never use a riser. The biggest problem for me is that, because I'm the lead singer and I really hit the drums hards, the drums leak into my vocal mic. I'm trying to figure out ways of getting more separation, so I've been looking into internal miking systems to make things easier. TS: You have a distinctive voice; you could feasibly just be the lead singer. Do you think it's a sacrifice for either your vocals or your drumming when you are on the stage doing both? AS: I'm not a real extroverted person, so it would be very difficult for me to go up and just sing. It's not me at all to get up and do the moves. The drums are a crutch for me; I like having that little bit of wall there. It's not a huge kit, it's very small - but it's something. TS: You worked with Ringo on his "Time Takes Time" album. How did you make the connection? AS: We were touring with the Black Crowes. When we came into Los Angeles, we got a phone call from our record comapny saying Don Was had called. He was working with Ringo Starr, who really liked Jellyfish, and he wanted us to sing on something. Would we be interested in doing something on this record? After I picked the phone up off the floor - I had dropped it when I heard this - I said, "Sure." We wrote five songs for that record, and the one they decided to use, "I Don't Believe You," was written in a couple of hours as an afterthought. TS: You were pretty knocked out when you met Ringo, I suspect? AS: When I walked into the studio, the Beatle drumset was sitting there with microphones all around it, and I was immediately drawn to it. Nothing else existed in the world. I wanted to touch it - yet I didn't want to touch it. Then behind me I hear this voice: [in perfect Liverpudlian accent] "Got that for the Ed Sullivan show." I was so into the drums that at first I wasn't aware that Ringo was behind me. Then he showed me the cymbals, which were the same ones he used for the Ed Sullivan Show. They were terribly dirty. He was telling me all about the drums, and as he was talking, I couldn't forget that he was RINGO. He's a great guy and a really amazing drummer. He has that feel that's between a shuffle and straight-8ths - Ringo territory that nobody else can do. He played some amazing stuff on that album. It's hard to forget he was a Beatle, but I tried not to think about it. We also couldn't believe it when we got to work with Brian Wilson, who is an idol of ours. Don Was also hooked us up with him. Not only was Brian on Ringo's record, but Don was producing Brian. We did some writing with him, and Roger and I couldn't look at each other because we would freak out. So we just concentrated intensely on what we needed to do and why we were there. It was all so weird, but so great. You hear stories about Brian, but the fact is that there's still a lot going on in that head of his and he has many great ideas. We had a wonderful time writing together. TS: You're able to express yourself musically through different instruments, and you have a lot of studio savvy from your own albums, as well as from working with others. Do you anticipate a producing career when and if Jellyfish is over? AS: The greatest feeling for me is writing and recording music - that's timeless. To have a tape or CD that I can show to my grandchildren - that's really neat. Playing live is fine, but it's for an evening. What you try to remember is that if the show is great, the people sitting out there might remember it for the rest of their lives. That's what pumps you up to go out there. I do think that producing other people is the next step for us. I've had offers, but I'm not ready for that yet. I don't want to do it half-assed. I want to be really good. We've also had some offers to do movie soundtracks, which would be a great opportunity. But I don't want to enter that in the deep end, either. I want to study the technique and be ready to do it well.