ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON SEPT. 2, 1983
By Steve Newton
Vancouver drummer Jerry Adolphe has played with several local musicians since leaving Victoria and his original group, the Sample Stearns Band. He’s worked with Al Foreman, Doc Fingers, Valdy, Rick Scott of Pied Pear, and Shari Ulrich. And for the last 2 1/2 years he’s been tapping the skins behind classy bluesman Jim Byrnes.
But perhaps Adolphe’s biggest musical concern these days is his involvement with the Can-American recording act Prototype, whose self-titled debut album was just released last month.
The first single from the album, “Video Kids”, gained close to 50 radio ads during its first week of availability in Canada, and the group is currently working on plans for a live show that would bring their mainstream rock sound to fans all across North America.
I spoke to the affable Adolphe in the offices of PolyGram Records recently, and asked him how he came to meet Prototype originators Dan Lowe and Brad Steckel, how he dealt with problems both technical and physical in the recording of the album, and how he feels about the new revolution in electronic percussion.
How did you come to join Prototype?
Well, four years ago I was working in a club in Calgary and Dan Lowe came down to recruit me to do some sessions for him. After I left town we touched bases every now and then. Then he phoned me up about a year and a half ago and said “We’re doing our own album; I want you on it.” So he flew me back out to Calgary, I listened to the stuff, and away we went.
I understand you had a broken foot while recording the album.
Yeah, it was really scary. We had cut all the bed tracks and they were just fantastic–everybody was really high. We went out that night and celebrated, and when I went home and stepped out of the car–it had snowed–I slipped and crack. I fell down and injured my shoulder as well. When I woke up the next morning I was in pain. I couldn’t move my shoulder, and my ankle was like a balloon.
How could you drum in that kind of shape?
Well it was really strange. What happened was Dan phoned me–just a couple of hours before I was going to leave town–and said “I’ve got some bad news. The oxide’s falling of all our tape, and we’ve got to recut all the beds.” It was like “Oh no!” I thought I was dreaming.
Has that ever happened to you before, where the tape has screwed up like that?
I’ve heard about it happening, but I just didn’t believe what was gong on. The tape heads were black–snare drum parts were just falling right off. It was really scary; we’d be listening to a track and then all of a sudden no snare drum!
You won’t be using that brand again.
That’s right. We couldn’t get any money–the company wasn’t covered for that. They just said they would replace the tape.
Did you find it difficult to do things sort of backwards–recording the drums after some of the other tracks has been recorded?
No, it was actually great for me, because usually the drums go down first and then I leave and three months later I hear what they’ve done. They sort of build from me.
This was, I think, more musical because the tracks were down–the guitar parts and the vocals–and I had a better idea of the song. And so I would work with that, rather than just going in blind and saying, “Okay, this is sort of what the vocal’s gonna be like, and this sort of what we’re gonna add on later.”
What’s your favourite song on the Prototype album?
My favourite song is “I Want You”.
Why?
It just has this spacey feel to it. It’s got that open-style guitar stuff like the Police and then it fades into this real heavy groove. There’s just something about that song.
Was there much feedback from the other members of the band in the studio? Were Brad and Dan open to comments and criticism?
Oh yeah, that’s the whole secret to why they chose the guys they did. Over the years they had worked with everybody, and they knew that everybody was gonna put something into it. Nobody was just gonna fly out, work their eight hours a day, get their money, and go home. It was a special project to everyone.
Lee Oliphant, another Vancouver resident, played some bass on the album. Which songs was he on?
He was on “Behind Your Eyes”, “I’m Sorry”, “Communique”, “Live Forever”, “Soldier”, and “Money Talks”.
I’d been working with Lee for about 17 years now, so I guess Dan just felt we might as well lock in the real tight rhythm section for those songs. And it worked out real good.
In the song “Video Kids” there’s 45 tracks of video game sounds, and they were supposedly all created through synthesizer.
That’s right. What [synth player] Amin [Bhatia] did was go out with a tape deck and play video games for a few days. He taped the sounds and went home and programmed them on his synthesizer. You have no idea what this guy can do with a synthesizer. Like on “Money Talks”–with the roulette wheel and the jet landing–he even has the wheels touching down. That’s all synthesizer.
How was Thunder Road Studios? Were you impressed by what they had there?
Yeah, it’s great. It’s the type of thing where Dan’s been working there for quite a few years. He’s been engineering and producing so he really knows the studio and how to get sounds out of it.
And he flew up Jim Gaines, who engineered the first big Journey album. There were three of them that were mixing, so not too many things got by unnoticed. If you have one guy trying to mix an album it’s like two months later you hear something that really bugs you, that shouldn’t really be there. But with three guys and three different sets of ears it helps a lot.
Will Prototype be touring in the not-too-distant future?
From what I hear, late fall or around New Year’s. It depends what’s happening with the album. We want it to be the right time to go out. And it’s the type of thing where everybody’s in their own projects as well.
Who are your favourite drummers?
John Bonham. John Bonham was the guy for quite a while. And a lot of Motown drummers–Ed Green, Bernard Purdie.
When did you start drumming?
I was about seven. It’s been about 13 years now professionally. My dad’s a drummer; he works in Victoria. He’s in a weekend band that plays in the Empress Hotel dining room.
What sort of drums do you use?
Right now I am happy to say that Ray Ayotte of Drums Only! is building me a set of his own drums now. They’re the best drums I’ve ever played as far as getting a real ballsy tone out of them. I just can’t say enough about them.
Do you use electronic drums much?
Yeah, for the album I used a LinnDrum, which actually sounds like a real drummer. For example, on “Video Kids” they wanted that metronome-type feel, but on top of it they wanted me to play like Keith Moon–with lots of tom fills and open-ended stuff on top. So we programmed the Linn for snare, and I played high-hat, cymbals, and toms on top of it. And when I’d go for a fill, we’d just punch the snare drum out.
There’s a lot of innovations happening in the drum world. Do you ever fear that the human element is missing with the new automations?
Nope. For me, anyway, it’s working with the machine and getting the most out of it. I can’t see anybody being really scared about losing their job over it.
To read over 100 of my other interviews with local Vancouver musicians since 1983, go here.