Excerpted from the September 2003 issue In his last interview, published posthumously in October 1978, Keith told International Musician and Recording World, “You can’t work out things too much. We do certain build-ups and things, but you can run into a danger of becoming an automaton if you do everything exactly the same each night. You just stop thinking. Sometimes I’ll build up with timpani; sometimes I’ll build up on a cymbal or with a roll around the kit. There are so many variations on each effect.” Mike Portnoy reflects on Moon’s considerable latitude: “I can’t think of many others who play with the absolute ‘controlled chaos’ that Keith did—the constant pulsating 8th notes on the kick drums, the furious stampede of constant tom fills, and the steady whirlwind of crash cymbals.” Mark Kelso drummed in the Toronto stage version of Tommy for ten months. Mark says, “I spoke with […]

December 2021 Issue