Canadian Musician - November/December 2017 | Page 50

Glenn Milchem
Change of Heart, Blue Rodeo
CM: What’s the most recent piece added to your
live set-up and why did it earn the spot?
GM: The most recent piece of gear I added to the kit
I’m using with Change of Heart is a Yamaha 14-in. by
5.5-in. brass Recording Custom snare. It cuts through
the loud guitar and keyboards and sounds great
tuned up a bit higher than I usually tune these days,
in accordance with how I tuned the snare back in
the early ‘90s when we recorded Smile.
CM: What’s the one thing you can’t go without
behind the kit?
GM: I really love the warm, buttery tones of Paiste
15-in. hi-hats. With Change of Heart, I’m using the
Masters Series Dark hats, though I also use 15-in.
Formula 602 Modern Essentials hats with Blue Rodeo
and other bands I play in. I find I much prefer them
to the chirpier, brighter sounds of 14-in. hats.
CM: For this tour celebrating the 25 th
anniversary of Smile, do you feel it’s important
to stick to the recorded versions of these or any
others in the Change Of Heart repertoire, or do
you have some leeway to revisit the material
with a fresh perspective?
GM: When Smile was recorded, I’d never played the
songs live and had learned and arranged the drum
parts over a two-week period of rehearsals prior to
going in the studio. When producer Michael Phillip
Wojewoda listened to the tapes for re-mastering,
he mentioned how different each take sounded
from the next. In other words, the parts were never
nailed down in a note-for-note fashion, and there
was also a fair bit of improv involved, especially in
songs like “Candystore,” “Erosion,” and “Falling Mouse
Blue.” So for me, the most important thing has been
to try to recreate the spirit and general approach of
the record, but not worry too much about trying to
recreate exactly what I played, since it never was the
same way twice anyway. It’s more about adopting
the attitude I had then – which was basically going
for it and throwing in any idea that came to mind –
and filtering it through the lens of 25 more years of
playing experience.
50 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
The well-spoken drummer, known by many for his work in Blue Rodeo, took a moment to reflect on his time with influential alt-rock group
Change Of Heart. The band is currently celebrating the 25 th anniversary of their album Smile.
CM: Ian Blurton is also known as a great
producer. How is it working with a frontman
that’s likely got some good input on drum
sounds and parts?
GM: Ian is a great producer and I’ve had the pleasure
of working with him in that capacity several times,
but when we recorded Smile, he had yet to start
producing and pretty much left me to my own
devices. When we got back together for these
reunion shows, I asked for his input regarding what
drums to use in order to recreate the vibe of the
record, while slightly updating the aesthetic to our
current tastes. But in terms of what I play live, he has
once again largely left me to my own devices, in
keeping with that original approach; however, when
we recently re-recorded a song left off the original
Smile album called “Delivering a Pot” to release on
Bandcamp, he put his producer hat on and got very
specific about the parts he had in mind, with very
cool results. It’s great working with Ian because he
knows when to let things be loose and when to get
in there and sweat the details.
CM: What do you think is important about
revisiting past work? Is there an artistic or
musical benefit or is it just powerful as a
human being?
GM: I think that depends on the past work you’re
revisiting. Sometimes it’s nostalgic, going back to a
significant time in your life. There’s definitely a lot of
that going on here, as Smile was recorded a week
before I recorded Lost Together, my first record with
Blue Rodeo, and my whole life changed. But for
me, the most important thing with these songs is
discovering the new things we can say musically
within them. There’s a lot of room for improvisation
in this material and we’re exploring that more now
than we ever did, with the added benefit of 25 more
years of musical and life experience. Some of the
jams in songs like “Falling Mouse Blue” have lasted
as long as half an hour or more in rehearsal. The fact
that this past work has served as a springboard for
new musical exploration has been a beautiful and
unexpected revelation.
The Gear
Yamaha & Ludwig Drums
• 12-in. Ludwig Vintage 1967 Rack Tom
• 14-in. Ludwig Vintage 1967 Floor Tom
• 22-in. Yamaha Club Custom Kick
• 14-in. x 5 ½-in Yamaha Recording
Custom Brass Snare
Paiste Cymbals
• 15-in. Masters Series Dark Hats
• 19-in. Formula 602 Modern Essentials
Crash
• 21-in. Masters Series Ride
Yamaha Hardware
Evans Drumheads
HeadHunters Drumsticks