Drummer Keith Moon. "Jet engine" rock music

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The Who's early live performances invariably ended with Pete Townsend smashing his guitar and Keith Moon flipping his drum kit. This was followed by an explosion, accompanied by clouds of smoke. But unlike his bandmates, the drummer liked to put on a show not only on stage, but also off it…

Unlimited Creativity

Friends remember that the great drummer "had no switch": when the group "Ze Hu" did not give concerts and did not record in the studio, Keith Moon tried to find other ways to express himself.

One of the most favorite jokes of the hero of this article is to disturb the peace of large British villages with shocking announcements. For this purpose, he used a police loudspeaker, in addition, the rock star's car was equipped with an amplifier and speakers. This equipment allowed him to inform the population about non-existent dangers, such as impending floods, the invasion of poisonous snakes, and so on.

However, drummer Keith Moon is famous not only for such jokes.

Performing style

Many music publications call the hero of this article the greatest drummer in history. He himself spoke more modestly about his art. "I think I just fit right in with The Who. I never had aspirations to be a great drummer. I just wanted to play drums in The Who. That's it," he once said. Roger D altrey, the band's vocalist, recalls that when he first heard Keith Moon play behind his back, he experienced the sensations that you get when you stand near an airplane, and it starts jet engines.

The bassist admitted that sometimes it was difficult for him to play with this drummer, because he constantly changed the pace: faster or slower.

Among the most striking works of the hero of this article is usually called the album Who's next, which captivates listeners with a brilliant drummer.

Keith Moon's attitude towards drum solos

Unlike his contemporaries such as Ginger Baker and John Bonham, The Who's drummer did not like solos and refused to play them at the band's concerts. While performing at Madison Square Garden on June 10, 1974, Townsend and Entwistle suddenly stopped playing during Wasp man to listen to Keith Moon.

The drummer continued to play, and then stopped and shouted: "Drum solos are boring!". Nevertheless, in 1977 he participated as a guest in a Led Zeppelin concert. Then he joined John Bonham during the performancehis solo composition "Moby Dick". The illegal recording of this concert was widely known among fans of both bands.

Drum set

Throughout his career, Keith Moon has been expanding his drum kit. At first, his installation consisted of four, then five instruments. And in the seventies, timbales (ethnic Cuban drums), gongs and timpani were added to the traditional set. These are cauldron-shaped instruments with a leather membrane stretched over the body. They, unlike many other drums, have a certain pitch. They remained in the musician's arsenal until the end of his life.

Keith Moon is also known as one of the pioneers of the use of two bass drums. This technique has become widely used in the heavy directions of rock music.

In the late 1960s Premier made a special drum set for Moon called Pictures Of Lily. In 2006, such sets went on sale. Now they were called Spirit Of Lily.

Biography

Keith Moon was born in London on August 23, 1946. He was a lively boy with a rich imagination. As a child, he loved a variety of musical radio programs. Keith Moon (see the article for a photo of the musician) played the trumpet in the cadet corps orchestra. Over time, he felt that this instrument was too complicated, and switched to drums. Also, as a child, the hero of this article loved to make small explosions using the kits of a young chemist. Passion topyrotechnics remained with him for life. It manifested itself in the frequent use of fireworks during The Who's early concerts.

On the way home from school, Keith Moon often stopped by Macari's music studio as there was an opportunity to practice drumming. The young man went to study at a technical college, where he received the profession of a radio engineer. Working in his profession, he was able to save enough money to buy his first drum set.

Teacher

The Who's future drummer studied with one of the most famous drummers of the time, Carlo Little, paying 10 shillings a lesson. Keith Moon's playing style in the early years of his creative career was influenced by jazz, surf rock and rhythm and blues drummers. Then his idol was Hal Blaine, a drummer from a recording studio in Los Angeles.

Groups

The first band that Keith Moon played drums in was called The Escorts. In December 1962, he joined The Beachcombers. This ensemble played hits by other musicians such as The Shadows.

The Who

The story of how Keith Moon joined The Who is quite interesting. This team was already quite famous when he first attended their concert. Their permanent drummer then left, and the band invited a session musician for one performance.

After the first part, drummer Keith Moon approached his future bandmates and unabashedly stated that if he played with them, their music would sound much better. He was invitedon stage, and after the team played a few songs, it became clear to all members of the team that they had found a great drummer.

Outstanding musician has recorded eight albums with the band and one solo disc.

Keith Moon died in 1978 of a drug overdose.