“Music has charms to sooth the savage beast.” quotes Freddie Berman, drummer and longtime staple in the Philadelphia music scene. “It’s spiritual, sensual sometimes, introspective if people can relate to the lyrics. When you’re playing and watching the audience and how they’re reacting to the beat, it makes you realize how important the drums are to the way music makes people feel.”
The drums carry far more weight in pop music than most people think, and this well-versed Overbrook Park native has certainly proved that by providing a beat for many large and small-scale musicians, from jazz cats to Motown mavens. He currently plays with Philly-born folk/soul songwriter Amos Lee.
Berman recounts his past and present as a musician, from his initial delve into the music world as a young boy tapping on a drum pad, to playing in big-name night clubs and touring with the likes of Sister Sledge and Gloria Gainer.
Photographer: Johanna Austin
Michele Zipkin: What made you want to start playing drums?
Freddie Berman: Seeing Ringo Starr on the Ed Sullivan Show. I had been into his music before that, because all my friends’ older brothers were really into Motown and James Brown. I was really into that as a little, little kid. Then when I saw the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan and saw Ringo, I declared to my family that I could do that, and wanted to do that. My dad tried to talk me out of it; he tried to talk me into playing violin. That didn’t fly, and then trumpet and that didn’t fly. We went away on summer vacation and I remember there were two bands at this place in the Pocono’s from NY who were playing all the hits from the day- British invasion stuff. I sat by their side and became fascinated by the drums.
So when we came back from the Pocono’s, my parents said I could take lessons. I started out with this little practice pad I still use to this day. Little by little I got a snare drum, then a rack tom, then a high hat. I built a kit over the following years.
MZ: Did you start a band as a kid?
FB: I put together a band with my buddies. It was truly a garage band. We played songs like “Gloria” and “Louie Louie” in my parents’ living room. The first official band I had was called The Rebels. I believe every single one of them is still involved with music today, and I’m still in touch with all of them.
MZ: How did you initially break into the music scene?
FB: I did the whole standard thing that musicians back in the day. When I was 17, I started playing in clubs and started playing top 40. The first time I played original music was with this guy named Alan Mann, who has since passed away. That was in ‘76, so I was around 20. I went back to top 40 because that’s where the money was. So I was going to school and making money playing clubs five or six nights a week. I was making $250 a week, which was a lot of money back then. After that, I went on the road with a group called First Choice (a sound of Philadelphia group.) We were opening for the Village People. That was my first big touring gig. We toured with Sister Sledge, Peaches and Herb, and Gloria Gaynor.
Photographer: Johanna Austin
MZ: What did you do when the tour ended?
FB: I came back and played some lounge bands. That lasted for about a year. Then I came back home and was kind of disillusioned- just knocked around Philly. I played a chain of clubs in Philly called the Cabarets- Chestnut Cabaret, 23 East Cabaret, the original Westchester Cabaret, and the Ambler Cabaret. I played in a blues band called the Allstars, or Nine Below Zero was what we were later called. We would open for the Nighthawks- a blues band from DC, and the Fabulous Thunderbirds. I did that for a few years and taught. That was around the time I met my now my ex-wife. We had twins, so I was dad when I was 26. Two years later we had another son. I was still playing music but wasn’t making a lot of money, so I started doing weddings and bar mitzvahs- whatever I had to do.
MZ: Who are your idols and influences?
FB: Bernard Purdie. He played with everybody from Aretha Franklin to Steely Dan. There’s another guy named James Gadson, who is a studio drummer, Charlie Watts has a special place, and Art Blakey- he’s my favorite jazz drummer. When I was younger there was a period in high school when I was listening to a lot of Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, Dizzie Gillespie. Then I got into jazz fusion- John Mclaughlin, Chick Corea. I was really a purist when it came to that stuff. I also really like reggae. The summer after I graduated high school I went to Martha’s Vineyard with a friend, and the movie The Harder They Come was playing there. That was right around the same time that Bob Marley first got popular in the states. Toots Hibbert of Toots and the Maytals is also one of my favorite singers.
MZ: Who else of note have you played with?
FB: In the nineties I played with Tommy Conwell, a singer/guitarist from Bala Cynwyd, who I helped start a group called the Little Kings. He was kind of a dichotomy because growing up his two favorite types of music were bebop and punk rock. His two favorite artists were Charlie Parker and the Sex Pistols. But what he could play really well was the blues. He put out two records on Columbia, and then he recorded a third for MCA that never came out. He called me and wanted to put together a jump/boogie blues band that had punk rock energy to it- The Little Kings.
MZ: Did you ever take a break from playing to spend time with your family?
FB: The most recent time I stopped playing was when I split up with my wife. I had too much on my plate, and I had a job with Disc Makers. I think that’s a good thing sometimes, because when you come back you feel really renewed. You have different concepts you picked up that you wouldn’t necessarily have if you play continuously.
I moved to Roxborough where a lot of musicians were playing and living at the time. I played with Tommy Conwell again around that time- in the early ‘90s. About a year and a half after having moved to the area, I discovered The Dawson Street Pub which kind of became my home base. It just felt like home. Little by little I started getting back into playing, mostly just playing percussion. I was in there playing with one band or another a lot of nights during the week. I started becoming a freelance musician- mostly original stuff. I was just getting to meet a lot of people in the scene.
MZ: Do you think there’s a set formula for making a successful rock song?
FB: I suppose you could approach it that way- I’m sure a lot of people have. You could say ‘I’m going to study my favorite artist, and I’m going to take what they did and deconstruct it and add my words and music.’ But it really comes down to – are you saying anything that people want to hear? Is your melody catchy? Does it have the right groove to it? A good song is a good song is a good song. In other words, you can take a song and do it in any vein. If it’s a good song, it’ll hold up. Amos does a country version of “Billie Jean,” and we do a rockabilly version of Queen’s “Fat-bottom Girls”. A good song is a good song is a good song. It’s always gonna be that way. There’s really nothing new under the sun, but there are different ways to approach things.
MZ: What do you think is the most prominent stereotype or misconception about drummers, if any?
FB: (Laughs) That drummers aren’t musicians- that drummers aren’t musical. Maybe in some cases it’s true. Like with any instrument, it depends on what limitations you have. Everyone has their own field of expertise. You can be the best hard rock drummer in the world, but when it comes to playing a blues song with brushes, that may not be your field of expertise. Not everyone can do everything equally, but the goal is to be versatile when it comes to different styles of music.
MZ: How does making music capture the way you relate to the world?
FB: When you’re playing, watching the audience and how they’re reacting to the beat, it makes you realize how important the drums are to the way music makes people feel. That’s a good thing. Sometimes there are lots of people in the audience, and it’s like doing a dance- people are bopping in their seat, sometimes they’re standing up. We’re all doing a dance together. It’s good to know that what you do affects people, hopefully in a good way. Being at a show is a shared experience. It’s spiritual, it’s sensual sometimes, introspective if they can relate to the lyrics. They say, “Music has charms to sooth a savage beast.” When I’m caught in bad traffic, the last thing I want to hear is a big, loud, rockin’ beat. So I’ll invariably always put on WRTI, and it calms my nerves. There’s a line from a Bob Marley song- “There’s one good thing about music, when it hits you, you feel no pain.”
Written by: Michele Zipkin
