Chris Pennie - Interview

Being a gutiarist my list of drummers who I admire is pretty short; Portnoy, Rockenfield, Torres, Campitelli, but now after witnessing Coheed and Cambria live, I have added a new name. Chris Pennie. Coheed and Cambria are a fantastic prog rock band, tight, never too heavy and a joy to discover if you haven't already.

I found myself in a unique situation at their set at Nottingham's Rock City, as The Jitty's gig photographer for that night, I was trying to get pictures of the support acts drummer. Getting photo's of drummers is hard because they're usually camped behind a mountain of gear, light is limited, you can't use your flash, and they move so damned quick. It's like trying to get a photo of a Jaguar, in the dark. Hearing Chris Pennie play, seeing the intensity, we just had to speak to him.

How’s the tour going so far and how are the Deftones treating you? How have their fans reacted to you, too?

The tour has been going really well. We are all big fans of the Deftones so it is an honor to be touring with them. I think the reaction has been great thus far. It's mainly their crowd, and their fans have been very attentive, so I think we can expect some new faces at our shows the next time we roll through town.

Was it a real culture shock coming from Dillinger Escape Plan to Coheed and Cambria, and what elements made you choose to join?

It wasn't a culture shock at all, both bands came from the same place, and have a great understanding of what it takes to be successful in the music world. There are A LOT of reasons why I wanted to join. I think personally we both were going through certain hardships at the time, in which we connected on, and when I went up to rehearse I instantly felt at home, playing wise and personally.The fact that we rehearse as a collective, and we write as a full band, is very exciting. Its also a great challenge to step into a different playing situation, and try to play it convincingly. I am still learning how to do it better.

Mike Portnoy copped a load of negative comments for leaving Dream Theater recently, with some of the comments on the internet looking like they’ve been made by people with this weird sense of personal ownership. How do you respond to people like that if at all?

I don't feed into the negative energy, of course you get emotional, and people get emotional over change, but to create drama over the situation is a waste of time. Life is pretty short, and full of change. There is plenty to do and there is never enough time to do it.

Does the band now look back with a sense of relief and satisfaction that the five albums have been done that tell the story of the two main protagonists, and what’s next for Coheed and Cambria?

I would definitely think there is great sense of accomplishment in every phase of this band, and I feel there is so much more that we can do. I'm really looking forward to getting together after tour and working on some new ideas. We will have a little down time to just that.

Have any approaches been made in possibly making the series of 5 albums into a film? And if you were to have these made into films who would you get to star in them?

I know there have been talks in the past about working the story onto film media, but that is really not for me to say. That is ultimately in Claud's hands since he is the writer. I'm sure if the right people are behind it, and can help him represent his vision, then I think it would only be a matter of time.

New World Man – Tribute to Rush. How did you come to be involved in that, and how difficult was it to affectively fill the shoes of Neil Peart?

New World Man, was something that Pete from Magna Carta asked me to contribute on in between tracking for Year of the Black Rainbow, and the Heaven and Hell tour last year. For me it wasn't about replicating Neil's parts exactly. There was so much that was different about the tune when I received it that I felt that I would keep it loose and add my own interpretation just as the other musicians had done with the song.

One of our young editors, Lucy, would love to play the drums, but she made the observation that there were very few female drummers around, is that really the case? Any advice on how she should start out as a beginner and she wants to know how you overcome the ‘hands and feet thing’ (the hands going great and then as soon as you try hitting that foot pedal it all goes to hell)!

There are plenty of great female drummers out there. Some of my personal favorites are Cora Coleman, Cindy Blackman, Samantha Maloney, Terri Lynne Carrington, Evelyn Glennie, to name a few. As far as the hands and feet thing, you have to start really slow. I mean REALLY SLOW. Try playing the hi hat and feet first (SLOW) then try the hi hat and hands (SLOW) finally, try the hands and feet (REALLY SLOW). Just breathe and be persistent.

Many thanks to Chris for taking time out to answer our questions, and if you'd like to find out more about Coheed and Cambria you can visit their website here: http://www.coheedandcambria.com/us/home