Thursday, November 12, 2015

The Man at the Back of the Mask

It’s dark and the crowd is humming, the pre show music is playing, the Mask is ready……I step out from behind the stage and proceed to my office for the next two hours.  Excitement runs through my veins as I get settled into my throne, hook up my in ear monitors and grab a pair of sticks.

ON WITH THE SHOW…..

I begin the steady kick drum beat for the beginning of the classic Fleetwood Mac tune, The Chain.  Like a thumping heart, the beat rhythmically keeps pace and I stroke the chimes which add their mystical ringing to the sounds emanating from the stage….the guitar kicks in and adds its raw power to the sound and then the vocals start…CLASSIC MAC!

I have been “Behind the Mask” for over three years now and I never get tired of playing Fleetwood Mac’s incredible music.  Mick Fleetwood has laid down some of the most interesting drum beats to the most popular music in rock history.  And I get the privilege of recreating his drum techniques and style (with a little Don thrown in here and there) every time Fleetwood Mask takes the stage.

Being behind the band gives me a unique perspective to what is happening in the crowd, on the stage and behind my drum kit.  I SEE EVERYTHING!!  That experience is nothing short of spectacular and I love seeing the crowd get into the music, singing along with the songs they know by heart…perhaps remembering the first time they heard Rhiannon, listening to Dreams on their turntable (remember those relics of a different age?), dancing to Monday Morning, or getting up the courage to tell a boyfriend or girlfriend to “Go Your Own Way”!

Fleetwood Mac’s music is both timeless and wonderful.  The sign of great music is that it endures the test of time and sounds just as fresh as the day it was released.  Think of the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, the list goes on and on…and Fleetwood Mac owns the 8th bestselling album of ALL time, 34.0 million copies sold worldwide…RUMOURS, Amazing music by amazingly talented musicians.

Hope to see you at a MASK show soon….I will be looking for you from behind the drum kit….BEHIND THE MASK!!

Don aka Mick