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Ron Gannaway
(September 2005 Issue)
Country Versatility The first time Ron Gannaway went into the studio
with country
singer/guitarist Steve Wariner, with whom he had been touring for
several years, he had a question. "I asked
Steve, 'Why am I here?' He
had always used great Nashville studio drummers on his records. Steve
told me he
liked the way I played on the demos we made in his home
studio."
Gannaway appeared on three tracks from
Wariner's 1986 release
No More Mr. Nice Guy, and also co-wrote "The Brickyard Boogie." Then
Gannaway played on
over half of Wariner's next release, Burnin' The
Roadhouse Down, including the hit single "Holes In The Floor
Of
Heaven." On Wariner's current release, Two Teardrops, Gannaway played
on about half of the tracks.
"In
Nashville," Ron explains, "it's pretty rare for a tour
drummer to get the opportunity to record. But Steve gave me a shot
and
it worked out. Things have always seemed to work with us musically and
personally. There have been times when he
hasn't toured as much, so
I've gone off and worked with other artists. But I always come back
when Steve picks it
up again."
Wariner's albums feature straight-ahead, backbeat-oriented
pop/country drumming. But when
playing live, Ron says, Steve likes to
stretch a little bit and incorporate jazz and blues influences into his
playing. "Steve was
very influenced by Chet Atkins, so I draw on Larrie
Londin, who recorded with Chet a lot. I also like Steve Ferrone and
Dave
Mattacks. I consider myself a commercial drummer who can play the
kind of stuff you hear on the radio. I like drummers who
groove,
obviously, but I also like drummers who play musically."
When Wariner produced an album by legendary
country songwriter
Bill Anderson, Gannaway got the call to play in a more traditional
style. "I was excited about approaching
that record the way Buddy
Harman or Kenny Malone would play," Gannaway explains. "In a situation
like that, you use a
brush in one hand and get a good cross-stick rim
sound with the other hand. Overall, the drums shouldn't have
that
bombastic, in-your-face rock sound that's taken over country radio.
Even when you go to a full shot on the snare, it
should have a nice
tone and maybe a lower tuning so the drum sits in the track real nice.
Rick Mattingly
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