DEF LEPPARD Drummer: 'I Feel Very Blessed Doing What I Do'

Maximum Ink music magazine's Sarah Grant recently conducted an interview with DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen. A couple of excerpts follow:

Maximum Ink: How do you balance family with life on the road? There's got to be a push and pull somewhere.

Rick Allen: There is. When I'm sitting on a plane and I've resided myself to the fact that I don't have a choice, then I get excited about it. But before then, there's like a longing where I want to stay and spend more time with the family and just finish up things that I've started. It's a choice. The band is what I chose to do and my family seems to fit in really well with what I do and they're really excited for me. You know I feel very blessed doing what I do and you know what? It's probably not something that lasts forever, but we keep making new music and we keep being given the chance to go out on the road, so it's really a great way to live.

Maximum Ink: I've been reading a lot about your Raven Drum Foundation. It's admirable how involved you are in promoting such a beneficial program.

Rick Allen: Ah, to be able to share such an ancient form like drumming with the community is really rewarding. It's really interesting, because I think what happens is people re-remember a part of themselves that really was forgotten. And drum circle really is a metaphor for community; it's like a cross-section of the community. And it's beautiful to see that we can be supported by the rest of the community no matter what we're going through — good, bad, or indifferent. And some of the things that have really been rewarding are some of the cancer programs and incarcerated teens, I really enjoy working with them, and I still get really involved in a few local programs. Obviously I can't do everything especially when it's a touring year, but I really try to get involved as much as I can. My wife, she's really instrumental in creating the programs and finding some of the teachers to send out there, but like I said, whatever I can, whenever I get the opportunity to get out and involved. It's really good, it really grounds me.

Maximum Ink: Knowing all the obstacles that you've had to overcome, when you get to meet these people, what types of questions do they ask you?

Rick Allen: "What made you want to come back?" "What made you want to do what you do?" "How did you relearn playing the drums?" And interestingly enough, I have a theory that you don't actually relearn, I think it's a natural response of the mind and body to re-channel information that is already there. For example, I've spoken with several men and women coming back from the Middle East who have lost limbs. And it is interesting — there is a response that the body just automatically does and then I think the learning curve takes over if you have the will to go on. So it's a combination of two different things. And you know, I just tell them: "Whatever it is that you do, do it from your heart and you will succeed."

Maximum Ink: What is the biggest difference between playing your electronic drum kit versus your drums before the accident?

Rick Allen: It's the same difference between driving a VW Beetle and a Formula 1 car [laughs]. The Formula 1 car has a specific intention — you just wanna go fast — and it's great because I can express myself really well. But when I go back in the studio, I go back to the VW Beetle, which is something I do very well and I'll do a pass with kick, snare, acoustic drum in front of me, and another pass with say, the cymbals, and then try to marry the two. And then when I get out on the road, it's easier with the electronic kit, to play it all together.

Maximum Ink: Your electronic drum kit is a novelty within music, but I can imagine there are a lot of nuances that take time to get a handle on.

Rick Allen: It's true, just kind of coming to terms with playing the electric drums, having spent all this time being off the road and being in the studio and getting all acoustic with everything, and then all of a sudden I'm thrown into having to play this electronic drum kit again. It's about all the neurological pathways opening up again, all the mental memory comes back. It's different, but it's a challenge.

Maximum Ink: Did you ever try to use a prosthetic arm?

Rick Allen: Yes, and I tried it, and not that I would tell anyone to shy away from it, because it is a very valid point. But with me I lost so much of my shoulder it felt awkward, so I didn't necessarily pursue it.

Maximum Ink: What's next in the studio for DEF LEPPARD?

Rick Allen: Actually, we've just finished working on a new record. We've been working on it since the last tour. We have a room that we call the Sparkle Lounge, and everything we do we work out in the Sparkle Lounge first, but it's really nice because we go on tour so you get an idea of what works live and what works in the studio. I think that when it's just four walls, you don't necessarily get a sense of how an audience are gonna react. As soon as you play a new song in front of an audience you go "Ah," now we know how it really needs to go.

Read the entire interview at www.maximumink.com.