CORNERSTONE - 'Radar Love' Live at Frisby

Here is some more footage of my band's recent gig at Frisby - and this time it is us having fun trying to play this impossibly difficult song! Hope you enjoy it!

If you have seen my drum cover of this (it's here on my channel), then you will already know my thoughts on this epic, epic Golden Earring track. Not only is 'Radar Love' one of the greatest moments in Rock History, the drumming on the original is stunningly beautiful, precise, flowing, intiricate, fast and perfect. It is an incredibly demanding piece to play on drums - I guess most people don't realise that until they sit down and actually try and drum along!

Certainly, when I first sat down to learn this for my YouTube video a year ago, I very nearly gave up. I found it way too difficult. The shuffle is hard, the bass drum weaving in and out of the shuffle is harder still, it requires very fast single bass drum footwork, blindingly fast fills, a careful watch on tempo; the stops; the hectic bit with the guitar solo before the drum solo; the drum solo (way more awkward than you think) with it's paradiddles and cross-overs and outrageously fast single stroke bit on the snare; and then, assuming you manage to pop out the solo at the right moment with the rest of the band, you've got to play a delicate little jazz theme, at the right tempo naturally, but in half time.........and then drop back to the shuffle groove with your bass player and it all starts all over again.........aaaaaarrrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!!!!

Suffice to say, I love drumming to this, but it scares the pants off me when playing in front of a paying audience! Still, it always gets a great reaction :-)

I have always approached this song, with my band, by trying to play the original drum track as note for note as my ability and memory allows. Sometimes I get it about right, other times I struggle like hell. As it happens, I played this about as well as I ever have at a gig, getting most of the key bits and pieces in, so it's nice I got it on camera :-)

Those of you who might want to have a pop at us for not covering this 'perfectly' - well, I defy most bands to play this spot on like the original! It is very, very hard to play , for all of us, and the vocals need to be horribly high if you want to play it just like Golden Earring! And I aint no Cesar Zuiderwijk.........(the drummer).

In the final verse, after the drum solo, you'll note that Dave forgets his lines and falters on the guitar - so would you if two members of the audience flashed their breasts at you at close range! You'll see Dave laughing......!

Anyway, all in all, great fun :-)

Please have a look at the other footage I've uploaded from this gig - Hendrix 'Hey Joe' and Lynyrd Skynyrd 'Sweet Home Alabama'. All played through our incredible new Bose Model L1 Bose P.A. System (one for drums, one for guitar/vocals, and one for bass/vocals).

More from this gig soon.

I'm going to upload the Gorilla video next though - I dressed as a Gorilla earlier that night, and did the whole Cadbury's advert thing :-)

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Golden
• Earring
• Radar
• Love
• Cornerstone
• Frisby
• Bose
• L1
• Alex
• Warwick
• drums
• drumming
• jouxplan
• live
• band
• cover

[arjunkaul]

Love your band's sound. Sounds like a CD. Whats your exact setup? 3 Compacts? Anything else?

[jouxplan]

@arjunkaul Thank you!

3 Bose L1s with 3 tonematches is the PA set up. Nothing else :-)

[BornIntoMusic]

Excellent job on the drumming. The rest of the band was decent. But the drumming sir... my hats off to you.

[jouxplan]

@BornIntoMusic I don't know what to say :-) I'll just stick to saying a big thank you for the drumming comment! Cheers!

[MrMikewheels]

This is really good but u need some swag man!. wear the bass and guitar low move around get crazy!

[jouxplan]

@MrMikewheels Ha! I'm afraid that is just not Dave's or Ivor's style :-) Anyway, glad you enjoyed it!

[jouxplan]

@Hessenfan94 Yes, I know what you mean about ending up with either a flam or a dead snare. I can play it at tempo too with a full shuffle, but it never quite sounds right, and does not groove much (at all!). So certainly, given my limited skills, my way is the best way. If however you are Cesar, maybe the proper way can be made to work!!

[jouxplan]

@Hessenfan94 Thank you! I actually play it as rr rL rr rL. I have a horrible feeling that Cesar actually plays a full shuffle with right hand - rr rr rr rr, where the left hand hits the backbeat on the 3rd right hand hit (if you understand me). In effect what I do is cheat by missing out the last part of the shuffle, coverage that omission by the left hand! Basically I am not good enough or fast enough to play the full shuffle on right hand.

Bottom line - Cesar is incredible :-)

[jouxplan]

@ShadowBeatzz I thank you :-)

[ShadowBeatzz]

Joux, very nice, really, really great job dude. :)