INTERVIEW – Tom Harriman (*shels)
Published on October 18, 2010 by Karl Sellers · No Comments
*shels are going to release their much anticipated second album Plains of the Purple Buffalo soon and Love-It-Loud were lucky enough to grab an interview with drummer ‘Tom Harriman’.
Fans are expecting big things from Plains of the Purple Buffalo after their brilliant debut ‘Sea of the Dying Dhow’ exceeded all expectations. Mehdi and Tom met whilst in their previous band Mahumodo and when Mahumodo split up they went on to form *shels.
Thanks Tom for taking the time to talk to Love-It-Loud. How long have you been playing drums. Who would you say are your main influences?
“I’ve been playing for about 15 years now, getting old. Dave Grohl was pretty much the reason i started playing drums, just makes it look sooo fun. And he never seemed to be concerned with showing off what he COULD do, just played what worked best with amazing passion. He’s definately the biggest drumming influence for me. Theres really too many dummers that have been a big influence to name but i think there’s something to be learned from pretty much everyone who plays, no matter how good or bad they are. Some of my favourite drummers have been technically simple and often sloppy, but have amazing feeling. Wayne Morse, the original Will Haven drummer was incredible!”
I’m a sucker for a good drummer and it’s not often that they stand out anymore, but the first time I heard *shels your playing stood out. Are you involved from the start in the song writing process as it sounds to me like a lot of the music could have been built around the drums.
“Thanks! It depends on the song. Most, especially newer ones, are written before drums. There are some exceptions on Sea of the Dying Dhow. Actually, a couple of songs on there had the drums recorded waaay before the songs were even written. A few other bits have come out of recorded jams. Really though, the songs are written pretty independently from the drums. I think the most important thing for us is to have good songs, regardless of embellishments. If a song doesnt sound good just played on acoustic guitars, without drums, then i dont think its worth persuing. To me, drums are more of a musical decoration than a foundation. You need a good foundation!”
*Due to me causing some confusion, Tom only answered the questions regarding the drumming. You can read about what Mehdi has to say here.
http://shelsmusic.com/
http://www.myspace.com/shels
http://www.last.fm/music/*shels
http://www.facebook.com/pages/shels
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