Happy Thanksgiving to each and every one of you!
This is going to be an odd post in terms of content, being Thanksgiving, Throwback Thursday, and the 25th anniversary of Eric Carr’s passing, who was both an amazing drummer and an amazing human being.
I met Eric a few different times, including when House of Lords and KISS were rehearsing in the same rehearsal studios in LA, and Eric and I would pop our heads into each other’s rehearsal studios briefly to listen. (House of Lords was then working with KISS bassist Gene Simmons as well, so it was a bit of a “family” atmosphere.) Eric was a genuinely nice person; no pretense, no “rock star” attitude, and no over inflated ego. He was just amazingly down to earth the times I met him, and by everyone’s account, he was a very special person in that way. He was very humble and always glad to say hello! I did not know him extremely well, but in my encounters with him he certainly left a very lasting impression as someone I would really want to be good friends with, and he is missed.
He was kind enough to lend me one of his drum kits when I was recording the second Fifth Angel album, “Tiime Will Tell,” in NYC at Media Sound Studios, with the famed Terry Brown (Rush and of course Neil Peart fame) producing. Terry Brown produced many of the Rush albums including Moving Pictures, and dialed in the drum sound for almost all of the Rush albums us drummers hold dear, lol, so it was an honor to work with him as well. The photos here are of Eric Carr of course, the kit he lent me, me tracking on the kit, and a blurry photo of bassist John Macko and Producer Terry Brown in the control room.
Again, have a great Thanksgiving! We all have much to be thankful for.