Photo courtesy of Cybelle Codish |
Larry Fratangelo is a self-professed drum fanatic. He's always been about getting
to the heart of his craft and learning all he can about it. "I love the fact that
there are so many diverse percussion instruments," states the animated percussionist.
"The sound of them intrigues me. I've always wanted to play every drum on the planet and
learn their history." With a musical career that began in the early seventies and still
flourishes today, Fratangelo has virtually done just that. The native Detroiter cut his teeth, first in local rock, jazz and fusion groups and later in Detroit recording studios. In 1978, on a session with George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, the eager sideman got the big break he was looking for. "I did four tracks on the song 'One Nation Under a Groove' Fratangelo explains. "It really blew George out! I said 'if you like the stuff so much how come you don't have a percussionist on the road?' He asked me if I could leave Thursday, and I guess the rest is funk history." (Hear Larry's solo percussion piece, Brettino's Bounce," named after his son, which is on the Funkadelic "Electronic Spanking of War Babies" album.) Other recording and touring opportunities followed incuding stints with Aretha Franklin, Anita Baker, Albert King, George Benson, Was-Not-Was, Red Hot Chili Peppers and many others. "My recording experience has been having the freedom to play what I feel," Fratangelo explains. "Producers usually weren't sure what they wanted so they trusted me, and my job was to come in and add some spice and a human feel." Fratangelo, who cites Art Blakey, Tony Williams and John Bonham among his influeces, equally divides his time between recording, clinics, teaching, and producing World-music artists like Ja, and leading his all-percussion ensemble, Drum Devils. The trio, which also features George Bennett and Dennis Sheridan, has a current album called "Taming the Russian Dragon." It is an eccentric and clever amalgam of original conceptual pieces played exclusively on organic and electronic percussion instruments. "I really got my feet wet as an engineer, producer, writer and group leaer," says Fratangelo about Taming the Dragon. "It is a mix of primitive non-western and sampled sounds put into a melodic and harmonic pop format, combining traditional and no-so-traditional grooves." Modern Drummer Magazine (Feb. 2004). Written by Eric Harabadian |