what kind of crazy stuff did Buddy Rich do to his bandmembers

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

ive heard about this but never any solid stories....anyone have a funny one 2 share?

[Chas]

http://www.cis.rit.edu/~ejipci/buddy_rich.htm

[brownie]

Previous thread on this Buddy Rich audio

http://www.organissimo.org/forum/index.php...c=16291&hl=

[Free For All]

Buddy didn't do anything "to" the band members (beyond some verbal abuse which often including firing players, sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for good), he just would occasionally "go off" and the recipients of this verbal abuse were usually the band members. I think many of the big band leaders behaved in this way from time to time, it's just that's Buddy's rants have been particularly well documented. The rants of Dorsey, Goodman and Shaw are also legendary.

Woody could also be a real prick at times, but you just came to realize it wasn't (for the most part) personal and was just a tension release. I think sometimes his blow-ups were a means to get a player to be more assertive, to find their voice. A lot of guys would come on the band and feel like they were obligated to copy someone who previously played their chair, but Woody wanted players to find their own style, and being confrontational/intimidating was his way of doing that.

Also I think it was a matter of the old lion proving he could still roar, and he could do that!

I haven't clicked on the links to check, but I hope someone included the recording of "Cute" where all the drums breaks are Buddy's voice sampled and set to rhythm. Great shit.

[uinaband.com]

Buddy didn't do anything "to" the band members (beyond some verbal abuse which often including firing players, sometimes for a few minutes, sometimes for good), he just would occasionally "go off" and the recipients of this verbal abuse were usually the band members. I think many of the big band leaders behaved in this way from time to time, it's just that's Buddy's rants have been particularly well documented. The rants of Dorsey, Goodman and Shaw are also legendary.

Woody could also be a real prick at times, but you just came to realize it wasn't (for the most part) personal and was just a tension release. I think sometimes his blow-ups were a means to get a player to be more assertive, to find their voice. A lot of guys would come on the band and feel like they were obligated to copy someone who previously played their chair, but Woody wanted players to find their own style, and being confrontational/intimidating was his way of doing that.

Also I think it was a matter of the old lion proving he could still roar, and he could do that!

I haven't clicked on the links to check, but I hope someone included the recording of "Cute" where all the drums breaks are Buddy's voice sampled and set to rhythm. Great shit.

sounds like monk! goin off of stage,

[Niko]

from a lengthy interview with Ray Charles alumni Mitch Manker and Daniel Jackson (who also played with Rich

)

which is found here:

http://entertainment.signonsandiego.com/profile/274134

Q: How did Ray and Buddy compare?

JACKSON: Well, they were fabulous human beings, so you can't compare them.

Q: Was Buddy as much of a terror as his legend would indicate?

JACKSON: He threatened the audience! Another time, we were in upstate New York on his band tour bus, driving through some forest, and he was riding in a limousine ahead of us. He stopped the bus, got on, and said: 'All you women on here, you girlfriends (of the band members), I'm not paying your salary. You're getting off my bus, now!'

MANKER: Who?

JACKSON: A bunch of young guys in the band, who had their girlfriends on the bus. He made them get off.

MANKER: In a forest? In the middle of nowhere?

JACKSON: Yeah. Then we went to the concert venue and he made the band rehearse, and called them all kinds of names. I was the only black guy in the band. He talked real bad about them. Then he want on his drum stool -- he couldn't read (music) -- and played the arrangements, and said: 'That's the way it was supposed to go.' Then we played the concert. It was set up for two shows, and he played one, and said: 'I'm not playing two shows.'

The audience didn't know how to react. But one guy in the crowd was like: 'When you come outside, I'm going to kick your ass.' Buddy was like: 'I'll meet you out there!' And that was the start of 77 one nighters!

and

Q: Did you guys ever stay in the Hilton?

MANKER: I don't think we ever stayed in the same hotel as Ray.

JACKSON: Band leaders are like that.

MANKER: They don't stay in the same hotel as the band.

JACKSON: When I was in Willie Bobo's band, we were on tour did a show in Boston. And [trumpeter] Jerry Rush and I were walking back to the hotel after the gig. We kept seeing fire engines go by us, with their sirens on. When we got to our hotel, it was filled with smoke and water, and we couldn't even get in to get our clothes or luggage out of our rooms. We went to the hotel where Willie was staying, and told him what had happened. And he said: 'Get out of here!' This was our first night in Boston.

[Jazz Kat]

I've heard lots of stories about how Buddy was a nice person. Frank DeVito told me they they used to hang out at Nick Ceroli's house and all play, and he was as nice as can be. I think he just had a terrible temper. I can relate. My dad is this way. One minute, you love him, the next he's screaming at you!

[Chuck Nessa]

I heard when nobody was looking, he passed gas.

[slide_advantage_redoux]

This is from my friend Conrad Herwig. When he was with Buddy in the early 80s, he once walked back stage to see Buddy walking around with one foot inside of Conrad's trombone gig bag, saying "look at my snow shoe".

Conrad hollered at him to take his foot out of his case....he did.

Conrad also said that one of the jazz tbn players responsibilities was to keep an eye on Buddy's cymbal stand. If it started shifting away from his kit, he would have to move it back (while Buddy was still playing...assumedly during a drum solo).

[GregN]

I heard when nobody was looking, he passed gas.

LOL

I wait till your lookin