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This week’s posts Scott interviews NRBQ’s Original Drummer Tom Staley. This was originally posted May 27th, 2023.
SKF NOTE: On October 11, 2021 I bought the digital format of NRBQ’s first album. I owned a vinyl copy of the album when it was first released in 1969.
For the last 52 years, in life moments when I’d sing out loud some song snippet, the snippets were often from NRBQ’s first album recording of “Rocket #9” or “C’mon If You’re Comin’”.
Truth to be told, until 2021 I didn’t know Tom Staley was the drummer on NRBQ’s first album. My affection for NRBQ’s first album was for NRBQ as a many-sided band. It was/is a band of imaginative players sounding as if they were pulled from jazz, traditional country, rockabilly, and country blues bands.
Staley played on NRBQ’s first four albums: NRBQ, Boppin’ the Blues (with Carl Perkins), Scraps, and Workshop.
After leaving NRBQ, Staley played drums in other bands, mostly in southern states. He also has a handful of albums under his own name. Twitchin’ ‘N the Kitchen, Thenceforward, and We’re Gonna Be OK.
I caught up with Staley by phone, at his home in Georgia, on May 18, 2023. He was gracious enough to say yes to this interview. We discuss Staley’s work prior to, with, and after NRBQ.
He can be reached, he said, through his Facebook page or by email.
Original article: HERE
ABOUT SCOTT:
Scott K. Fish was part of the original team that created Modern Drummer, he started as a freelance writer in 1976 and was the Managing Editor of Modern Drummer magazine from 1980-1983. By the time he left in October 1983, he had written almost half of Modern Drummer‘s feature articles. His interviews and articles were enjoyed by readers and artists alike, his questions were not run of the mill, as Bill Bruford put it, your questions are about “life beyond the cymbals.”
Scott K Fish is a public relation, writing, marketing, and communications expert across all media, with a 25-plus year track record in high profile positions.
Scott is an extremely active blogger and he often posts the original interviews with the artists that he used as reference for his article. We encourage you to follow Scott’s blog at www.ScottkFish.com, we will continue to post one of his posts weekly.
Please consider contributing to support Scott’s ongoing writing. We need to support writers like Scott who continue to educate us, the readers, about important drummers, their contributions, and how their work has been so impactful. You can support him at the link: HERE
