King Crimson returns with a new lineup and a new recording, “Heroes.” The current incarnation of the on again/off again band, which formed in 1968, continues to be led by its founding member and leader, iconic guitarist Robert Fripp. This time around ‘the Crim’ will be performing as an octet.
Back in 2014 King Crimson toured in the U.S. as a 7-piece band with 3 drummers lined up across the front of the stage. One of those drummers, Pat Mastelotto (XTC, Mr. Mister, etc.), was first “invited” to join King Crimson in 1994 and he has performed with them over the years since then, through various band incarnations. He discussed how the unusual 3-drummer lineup began and the current state of the band in a telephone interview from his home in Houston.
“It was totally Robert’s idea,” said Mastelotto about the 3-drummer lineup. “I was not part of (the decision) and none of the other drummers were. I was excited by (the concept), actually.
“It was funny when Robert called. He called in September, 2013. He said he wanted to put the band back together. He told me there would be 7 members. He told me 3 of them would be drummers. And (he asked if I) would do it, and I said yes. And that was about the end of the conversation,” Mastelotto laughed. “I didn’t ask who the other drummers, or who the other musicians were. It was a few days after that that I found out who was involved.”
Mastelotto then discovered that his drumming partners would be Gavin Harrison and Jeremy Stacey.
“I should mention that it wasn’t just any 3 drummers that he wanted; Robert wanted us, to provide our distinct personalities.
“It was very exciting. I was definitely up for the challenge. I have played in some situations with double drummers. With 3 drummers that is quite a bit more unusual. We just do it. It’s pretty simple. Robert just wanted us to reinvent drumming. No big challenge, just reinvent the wheel,” Mastelotto said in a total deadpan manner.
Reinventing the wheel, so to speak, has manifested itself with different formulas. It all began with the 3 drummers rehearsing together extensively prior to rehearsing with the full band.
“We got a song list of material… and then we went song by song and looked for an approach that would work for that specific song. There’s no particular way that works all the time. Sometimes there’s 1 drummer who’s more the ‘lead’ drummer, if you would, and the other guys ornament that. Other times there are 2 or 3 of us playing in different time signatures.”
Of course King Crimson is known for pushing the envelope creatively and spearheading the prog rock genre since their inception 49 years ago. The diversity and unusual approach of having 3 drummers has made for an exciting musical experience, for the band members as well as the audience.
As in 2014, Harrison and Stacey continue to join Mastelotto up front. Band members also returning include guitarist and vocalist Jakko Jakszyk, bassist Tony Levin, saxophonist Mel Collins, and of course Fripp. The newest band member is keyboardist Chris Gibson. Gibson replaces Bill Rieflin, who was unable to accompany the band on this tour.
“The band has evolved so much,” marveled Mastelotto. “I mean I’m sure we were very good (in 2014). I know people I talk to were blown away, but we’ve come further. We’ve got a lot more material, we’ve got a lot more little nuances that we’ve developed and I guess the most important thing is trust. More trust has developed between all of the musicians. That allows you to go a little further out when you know you have the support of your buddies.”
Those who saw the Crimson septet in Philadelphia in 2014 can expect a similar experience but more diversity in the set list.
“It’s similar, but it’s bigger,” said Mastelotto. “We just keep adding more and more material. We’re learning 2 or 3 more older songs. We learned 7, I believe, earlier this year. So the set list has expanded. We’re playing quite a bit of the material from the early ’70s. But the set list is different every show. Robert Fripp makes up the set list about 12:00 each day.”
In addition to the older material the band has added a few selections from the early ’80s version of the band, which they hadn’t done on the previous U.S. tour.
One song that the band is likely to play is a rare cover – the title track of their latest EP “Heroes” (DGM, 2017), the famous David Bowie song that was cowritten by Bowie and Brian Eno and on which Robert Fripp played guitar. It was recorded on last year’s King Crimson tour at Admiralspalast in Berlin, Germany.
“We did (“Heroes”) in the early 2000 version of the band, what Robert called the double duo, when it was Trey Gunn and myself and Adrian Belew and Robert… And one day there was a TV commercial or something with Bowie doing ‘Heroes’ and Adrian and Robert looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, we should do that.’
“Then we never thought much about it or played it ever again until just this last year. I guess with the passing of David, Robert suggested that we could add ‘Heroes,’ (which is) usually as an encore. And you know, it’s just such a great song and such a great spirit. It’s an emotional experience to play the piece.”
