It's Paul Martin and Ray the Roadie for the Rock and Roll Chicago podcast. Welcome back everybody. It's part two of the Greg Potter interview.

I haven't shut up for the last week. Yeah, I bet you haven't. I've been talking it up, man.

Did I tell you about the Road to Rock radio every Monday? I think you did. Okay, I thought I might have. I wasn't sure though.

Well, so part two, we talked with Greg and part one was kind of his early years, his years leading up to playing with Buddy Rich. And now this part one was that. Part two is him talking about his days with the Buddy Rich Band.

Which are ongoing right now. So let's go and listen to part two. Let's do it.

I met Kathy and I've known her like much longer than it became a thing, you know what I mean? But Kathy knows every drummer in the world. I really think every, like when they're, like a drummer is born, they go, well, because you, every drummer in the world, you have to at some point, you run across Buddy Rich. You have to meet Kathy.

But you have to meet Kathy because that's the only, because any drummer too, because I mean, I've been with her now nine years. And I mean, I have met, I think I've met every drummer in the world. Try to get a text every time one's born.

Exactly. One in Baltimore just got born. And show him a Buddy Rich video because he'll have to.

But I'm saying like, I mean, I've been with like Bill Ward from Black Sabbath. I mean, I wasn't, of course, I, you know, Jason Bonham, but I didn't meet John, but I'm saying. But so like Bill Ward from Black Sabbath or Ian Pace from Deep Purple.

I mean, I'm with them. I'm sitting in rooms with them talking. And well, Ian Pace actually played with us just last May in London at Ronnie Scott's.

But getting back to the influence Buddy Rich has had, has because he has it today on drummers because it's like, even if you weren't a jazz guy, like say you say like a name like Miles Davis. Yeah. You know, a legendary.

Sure. But not everyone that picks up a trumpet. Yeah.

I want to play like Miles Davis. Right. Or if they hear Miles Davis, they don't go.

The guy is brilliant, which he is when you listen to him and you're a musician or just give me any other. But for some reason, when it comes to drums, at some point, every drummer goes, yeah, but drums, drums, drum. There's this guy, Buddy Rich.

I don't get it. All right. It's blah, blah, blah.

So like I was talking to Bill Ward from or he's talking to us, whatever, because he was Bill Ward was him and Bonham were buddies. You know what I mean? Like grew up, grew up together. You know what I mean? So he said, you know, but he's sitting and telling us that when a Buddy Rich record would come out, Bonham and I would, you know, be at a studio.

We put the album on and we both put a snare drum on each side because back then you didn't have a video for one. You would have to listen to a record. And how is he doing this? Nowadays, you've got right.

You got video. You got video of how is he breaking down this? But he but he's saying, no, Bonham in slow motion or just like, you know, it's like another guy explaining when you see Buddy's stick is coming up. And at that point, it arches and comes back.

So he's hitting with one hand. He's doing it with one hand. That's what whatever.

So he's saying that he, Bill Ward, you know, from Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, these two men are sitting in a room figuring out what Buddy's doing. And now, you know, wouldn't you think like John Bonham was just probably talking to Jimmy Page. No, they were like Buddy fans.

You know, you said like the new album would come out. You'd get it. We, you know, whichever one got it first.

We'd go, let's go to this back. What a studio or whatever he said. But put this record on, listen to it, figure out what Buddy's doing.

So I'm saying that I was a guitar player. And I still, I still listen to Buddy Rich. See, see what I mean? Where you don't necessarily get that with many things, like maybe like Michael Jordan kind of had that.

Whereas even if you weren't a basketball fan, you were like, yeah, damn, that Jordan is a force of nature or something. You'd watch the best athlete ever. Exactly.

Or Tiger Woods with golf. All of a sudden, everyone played golf because one and I'm just saying not that everyone picked up drumsticks, but I'm saying throughout, if you are a drummer, yeah, he comes into your sight. Now, as a young, as a young guy, you know, playing drums and stuff.

Yes, I was a Buddy fan. But in real life, I thought I was going to be in KISS or something. Yeah, yeah.

You know what I mean? It's that I love Buddy and I played it. But would you more associate yourself with rock and roll? Well, yes. At the time.

But realistically, if you did, but if you did see me play back even at Gordon Tech High Potters, there's something else going on in the guy plays. Yeah. So I'm saying I always had that in me and I did study throughout.

I was in the school band. You were very intimated to. But I mean, like I even say today, if you close your eyes and just listen, like he really knows that he's doing it.

You just shut his mouth. Don't you know, don't find the camera and look at if he just shut up and play. Potter would be.

Did I give you a microphone on stage? That happens to the next interview when you get Kathy and you said, but yeah, I mean, we we get to what we do with the Buddy Rich thing is it's not that I'm taking anybody's place. It's not that I we think Potter's buddy. Know what it is and what Buddy Rich asked his daughter to do, because unfortunately, when Buddy passed, he had an illness that it took a bit of time.

So, I mean, you're with your family and you're talking as opposed to my dad went to sleep and he was gone. You got a car wreck or a plane wreck. Like, you know, I don't know who talked to Buddy Holly before he passed away and was able to whatever.

But I mean, Buddy sitting with his daughter and only one daughter, only Kathy's the only Kathy and her mom. That's it. I mean, I'm talking to be with Buddy.

And he said, would you please keep my music alive, man? Because he loved playing for that's why he played high schools and colleges. He loved playing for young people. And if you notice, his band was made up of kids.

He didn't play like, you know, like he was in his 50s. His band was college seniors or just out of college, 20 year old guys, 50 something year old man for. I'm just saying that's a jump.

You know, I mean, but I'm saying he loved this, like the spirit of young people, the creativity because you see how it goes. The older you get, you're kind of like, this is how I play. If you don't do it right when you're young, you.

So I'm saying Buddy was hip to that and he totally dug that. So he said, Kathy, keep my music out there. Keep keep it going like I'm doing.

Right. That's kind of a you know, she says it. First of all, that's my it's her dad.

It's not like like you're working for. Yeah, you were a combo. Josh Morris.

Yeah, you're working. Yeah, you're working for Pepsi. And the president of the company is like, make sure people are always drinking soda when you know, I mean, it's your dad.

So she's like, you know, part and part of it. She's looking at her dad, who at that time is not very 69. That's friggin young.

Yeah. You know, but he had a terrible medical thing. So he's saying, like, would you just keep keep my music and keep the band going? She says at that time, I don't I don't I don't really take it because it's my dad.

And I, first of all, don't want him to. I don't want him and I don't think he's going to die. But he's I'm going to.

So unfortunately, he does pass on. And Kathy says, I'm now I'm left with just what my dad wanted me to do was keep the band going, keep my music alive. Just don't forget me.

But when you think about it, I feel bad because, you know, I'm really I see her when she tells the story. She's talking about her dad. We talk about it like or not we.

But like when you talk about sometimes she refers to him as like, buddy, buddy. And I say, why do you not say dad? Because he's like when when I tell him it's buddy, it's almost like I'm not thinking about woman lost her kid, lost her dad, her parent that the mom's still here. So we can talk to her.

But what she originally did was did the Buddy Rich Memorial Concerts. You might be familiar with those. Basically, you have the Buddy Rich Band.

And basically, she got together the for each concert, maybe six to eight of the world's greatest drummers. Oh, OK. Vinnie Caluta, Steve Smith, Terry Bozio, Dave Weckl.

And at that time, Louis Bellson was still alive. Ed Shaughnessy from Tonight Show. I'm saying you got the Peter Erskine, you know, the biggest names in the drumming business in the drumming world from because Buddy passed away in 87.

Her first show was 89. So whoever the biggest drummers were. Right.

That would that's how she her first. And like keeping her dad's name alive with like Carnegie Hall, they did one. They've done them at the Wiltern Theater and in L.A. You did these big concerts with drummers.

Well, that was once a year, maybe every three years. Yeah. And Kathy, you know, organized everything.

Yeah. And she but she's saying that's not really what my because what it becomes is a big thing. Drum festival with a band playing.

She's like, you know, my dad kind of asked me because that as time has gone on, now we're talking, you sit and you think, well, that's what my dad meant. Yeah. You know, he met a band.

Get the band. Get the band back together. Basically a Blues Brothers reference because we're talking about the museum.

But when she does these big shows, these big Buddy Rich Memorial concerts, the guys that always if you're a drummer. Yes. Coming to see Dave Weckl or Rod Morgenstein or or these drum virtuosos.

Yes. If you're a drummer, that would be your ultimate, ultimate thing is to watch someone overplayed. Great.

To you and I, it's called overplaying or not. To me, it's called excellent. But to a guitar player, any other human, I don't want this guy in my band, but he's great.

The most popular show, the biggest thing she ever had was getting Neil Peart to come play. Oh, really? Now, that's a big, that's the biggest thing. The biggest rock drummer, Terry Bozio, Chad Smith from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Matt Sorum at the time playing with Guns N' Roses. People wanted to see. The audience would get bigger when she had these rock guys.

I'm not saying they were playing the music authentically or right. It was their name. It was their name.

That was it was their name. But it was also like I think you mentioned it. Maybe the animation of a rock drummer.

There's more. There's it adds to it. I'm just saying Kathy sees that.

Good to recognize her. So I'm so I'm saying. Was it technically right? Did it rub the jazz community the wrong way? Would Buddy have accepted it? This is Buddy's daughter.

So when Buddy passed away in 1987, his next album at that point was going to be produced and help written by Phil Collins. And when you look into Buddy Rich and you see what he was about, as much as he loved jazz and he was always looked ahead. He did the Muppet Show.

Jazz aficionados wanted you to fool around on the Johnny Carson show. Pouring water on Don Rickles head. I mean, Buddy was.

Yeah, just he would have if Buddy were my age or I believe he would be where. Like like I said, we'll talk about what we're going to be doing and stuff, but I'm saying Buddy was I want to say ahead of his time, but he skewed young. I'm saying Buddy was not about nostalgia.

There's a there's a Johnny Carson show that we watch where Buddy where Johnny Carson picks up a picture of Buddy as a kid playing the drums and Buddy looks at it like and puts it away. And Kathy's like, oh, yeah, he never like when you went to see Buddy, he didn't go back. Don't like to go back and forth.

He's a visionary. Yeah, I'm saying, but he always wanted to move ahead as opposed to he didn't go see him. And then he played old Harry James tunes or he didn't.

He always skewed young. So getting back to this, how it happens that Potter is now sitting playing this music. So through these memorial concerts that she did for 15 years.

But again, it wasn't her dad said, would you get the band out? Well, first of all, how are you going to get Steve Smith to tour with the Buddy Rich Band when he's plays in this band called Journey? First of all, you got to give all your money to Steve Smith. Right. And then by the end of the night, it becomes a drum clinic.

Yeah, yeah. So we've we've now whereas Buddy, like you said, I'm a guitar player, but I'd love to watch that guy or I I'm interested. His music was still big band music, horns, but he played Beatles charts.

He put back when the Beatles were still Beatles and there's Gino Vanelli chart to Jesus Christ Superstar. I mean, the guy was always thinking, skewing young. So after years of these memorial shows, Kathy and I like I've always known her and I've always teased her that, you know, you should or not always.

But I mean, I would say, like, I'd like to do one of those shows. You're not in Guns N' Roses. I need the big guys.

Yeah, yeah. The guys in Rush. Guys in, you know, I mean, whatever, whatever.

But so Kathy and I got together 2011, more so than I mean, her and I always talk and stuff. But personally, we get together. Yeah.

And oh, so you had to do that to get the gig. That was that's not how it that because the relationship realistically, too, isn't based on her dad and drumming. It happens at Potter.

I play the drums. That's how I met the woman. But realistically, she's more interested in my 1980s, 70s, 80s, bad horror film collection and my collectibles.

You know what I mean? Like Creature from the Black Lagoon hand, you know, I mean, but so I'm saying, but our interest wasn't like, God, so did your dad then play with his left hand and he didn't practice? Yeah. I'm saying, yes, I'm interested in that. And it helped in that as you being a musician, if you have a relationship with someone who doesn't like music or doesn't like you being in a band or working, honey, I'm going to practice if the wife is really interested.

I'm saying so, yes, that kind of it. Kathy really does know the business. You know what I mean? Like, so we meet on many other levels other than that.

But while we were doing that and I'm gigging, I mean, so she came and she moved here and she sees what I'm doing. You know, I was gigging at a rock band. I don't know, whatever.

But I'm playing and we conceptualized what would happen if I played with the Buddy Rich band because, like you said, we're kind of animated, but I really know how to play, too. If I don't open my mouth or don't ruin it by the clothes, the hair. But I mean, if I just play, I really and it was OK.

So we came up with the concept in March of our came up with the concept, probably like July of 2011. My first gig was the London Palladium, April. Twenty twelve.

We played the London Palladium. We did a Buddy Rich 25th Memorial concert. It was me, Dave Weckl, Ian Pace, John Blackwell, who's playing with Prince at the time.

Gavin Harrison, Porcupine Tree. So it was one of those big drum festivals, all the drummers. But Kathy and I, we snuck Potter in there.

OK, so I'm saying floating the concept. And now, again, we use buddies like alumni players. These men would have been in their 20s when they played with Buddy, but now they're in their 50s early, which is still young.

Yeah, so it's still playing. But they're still right. These men now have, you know, Grammy Awards and they've gone on to many of them have gone on to like like the L.A. guys.

They do every film soundtrack you've ever. If they're not playing here, they're doing a soundtrack for the new Star Trek movie. And all the New York guys play on Broadway.

Yeah, you know, I mean, they're all like they've done the Lion King for. Yeah, you know, but I'm saying these are working real pros or they're one of the guys is playing horn. One of the horn players plays with Joe Bonamassa now.

I'm saying they're either like real touring guys or yeah, I mean, Chuck Finley, the one trumpet player that played with us was in Buddy's original band. That man is trumpets on every earthland and fire song you've ever heard. Steely, I mean, he's one of the wrecking crew.

You ever see that film? I mean, this so I'm talking any trumpet you hear on The Carpenters. Yeah, like so I mean, these men all went on to a lot of these alumni players have gone to some amazing careers. So we have those, you know, these guys, it's kind of like going back to like a college reunion.

We get all these guys. But so we floated it in 2012. So from 2012 until 2019, in those seven years, for seven years, I've been doing the Buddy Rich band and we've taken it from playing basically venues that like, well, I played the London Palladium.

So how did you go over that first time? Oh, so first time. Well, you could read some of the things on like YouTube. Some of them aren't really that nice.

But as you find an art or you find because you guys are musicians and you're on it, you find your niche. Well, not only find your niche, but remember, you're doing it for you. You're not doing it for.

Yes, you do it for people to enjoy. But I'm saying when you do find out like people write mean things. My my litmus test was, first of all, Kathy, because that's her dad.

Yeah. And she knows she knew the alumni players who really played with Buddy and then Kathy's family, cousins, her mom. First of all, if you're carrying on like a legacy of something that large, I never like I said, I never went at this.

You see, they found a new buddy. There's you go on YouTube, you can find a 12 year old kid in Indonesia that plays the better than a better Buddy Rich. Nobody's better than Buddy Rich.

But I'm saying, you know, I mean, if we're going for better, faster. Remember when you buy that twenty nineteen Mercedes Benz, they come up with a twenty twenty years as old. It's not as good as a gold Rolex watch.

They put diamonds on it and there's always bitter, bitter. So that was we never took it that way. So I'm saying we always and that, like I said, when we did the band and we went out and played after the London Palladium, we went out and started playing gigs.

Kathy said, that's more of what my dad, my dad wanted more of like a like a band because real that's the other magic. And you probably played more often than once every three years or something. There you go.

And so I'm saying and again, so then Kathy's got her father's legacy out and it's and but I'm saying it that's what you do things for. Yeah, she's doing it for her dad. She's doing and I'm not saying we're shunning the public, but I'm saying, yes, it's been pretty harsh because no one Michael Jordan's daughter said, here, take the bulls over and start playing.

Yeah. You don't think someone's going to go, what you know, not and you're not Michael Jordan's kid because Kathy's not like Jason Bonham. When you see Jason Bonham do that Led Zeppelin thing, it's it's pretty good.

That kid plays. That's his dad. Now, Kathy's not a drummer.

She's got the musical dangerous. He's got perfect pitch. She knows she can hear a tune and go, that's this.

She could hear the second trumpets out of tune. Could you bring she's got that she doesn't have the rhythmic like doesn't sit down and play the drums like ready. But I'm saying when you see Jason Bonham play, that's the bottom line.

That's his that's the direct lineage of bottom to that kid and a man plays wonderful. Yeah, great. So I'm saying with this me coming in, I'm not a blood.

Right. I'm not Buddy Rich's lineage, but that's. But it's a fit for you.

It's a yes, it's worked. Now, in a life show, if you don't mind me interrupting, Kathy sings. Yes.

And she she comes out and talks. She introduces the band or whatever. Yeah, or talks.

Well, yeah, Kathy did. You know, she toured with her dad from when she was a little kid. Yes.

You could see she was 11. She did The Beat Goes On, the Sonny and Cher tune with Buddy on a television show. She got signed to a record label.

Now we have to wait for her to call, but call me back. But I'm saying, yeah, she had like the youngest record deal like on that. I mean, so, yes, she was in the business as like a as a, you know, singing with her dad and touring with her dad.

Yeah. So from five years old or so on, you know, when she got to be a teenager, Buddy got her on stage and she sang. So, yes, with the band, that's the and that is the that's kind of what she is the real thing, you know, when she just when she does talk about Buddy in the music or the Buddy in the band, that really is her.

So, yes, she she comes up and sings the tunes that she actually sang. Could we play all Buddy's real charts? Right. I mean, it's not like I mean, it's, I guess, not a tribute band because it's really alumni players.

So it's basically you're just you're fitting Potter in there. And like I said, I don't mean I'm. Of course, it's a tribute to him, but that's not what I'm doing.

I don't dress like Buddy and and do every buddy. You know, I mean, like when you see like a Beatles tribute band, Kiss tribute band, they put the makeup on and they become Gene Simmons. I'm not spitting blood.

No, my tongue's not that long. No, but OK. Now you talk about charts.

Yeah. Read charts. I read them enough to.

Well, luckily, there's no Buddy charts. But yes, I can. I can read.

You know, I can read music. And you do most of it by year. Oh, gosh.

Yes. The nuance of Buddy and what you're doing with that. It can't be written on a chart.

Right. You can. I mean, you could.

But that's that's not because that's another thing that you do fine with. When people read music, read a chart, Mr. Analogy, as you call it. But I don't know if you guys are familiar with acting.

I did that. But you've got a script in front of you and you read this person's words. When you're doing a play or you're in a movie or something, they tell you to go off book.

What they mean is at that point, you better have memorized this stuff and started to become that character, because we're going to tell if you're going to be or not to be. To be or not to be. I memorized it.

OK, well, put that down. To be or not to be. Whatever.

So how's that going to sound with this audio? But I'm saying so, yeah, with the Buddy Rich thing. Yeah, these men, because we do, Kathy and I show up in London with a case of music, a Buddy Rich drum set, me and her. Yeah.

And you can these guys music. They play it. They play it.

Yeah. But for a drummer. But I mean, yeah, that's what I meant.

Not for a drummer. You can't chart with his feel, his feel, his heart is. Right.

So I'm just saying, yes, what I'll do is that there are certain parts of a tune because some Buddy stuff is sometimes quite intricate. You know, so yes. But yes, I read through a certain section and see where it's at, see where it fits.

But I'm saying we don't I don't get up there and I just turn the page. See, I'm keeping time. I'm keeping time, which is what, you know, a lot of times ends up with someone who plays.

So so what what have you learned from playing Buddy Rich music or learn from playing jazz as opposed to rock or whatever? Well, like I said, I respect I respect both of them. None of the stuff that I'm doing, like I'm just some people would say, well, Potter's just, you know, stomping all over jazz. Well, there were people that felt that Buddy was noise.

True jazz. I don't feel Buddy's too much. Right.

You know, they like drummers like Max Roach or these men that they feel. And I think that's great. I'm not knocking any of that.

But what I've learned is, first of all, respect everybody, rock musicians, jazz musicians. But I'm telling you, it's it's a different animal. Vice versa.

I don't mean just rock to jazz, but let me let me see you take a jazz guy and go play. Go play a Zeppelin tune. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, you're right. Oh, it's easier. Yeah.

OK, there might be a few less notes. But so and vice versa. OK, so from from banging.

Play your ride cymbal quiet enough that we can hear us. So I'm saying respect is what I've learned. And then just just how great the guy was or is, you know, I mean, like how great to to emulate something with any I mean, anytime you look at anything, I do that Bonzo bash every year in L.A. It's it's basically a Buddy Rich Memorial concert.

But for Led Zeppelin, for John Bonham and same deal, you kind of hear like a Zeppelin song on the radio and you just go, he's playing heavy. Yeah. You sit down and play that stuff.

You're like, right. Yeah, Zeppelin. I mean, they were deep, you know.

Yeah. Either the odd odd times, you know. Yeah.

Stuff in five or whatever odd time things or just the feel of that, because that's the other thing I've learned. A musician's feel. That's something that can't be taught.

No, that's something that can't. That's why I said you can't chart with Buddy play. Yes.

Or you can't chart feelings on the script. It would say, you know, or, you know, you feel like play. Yeah.

But how do you get to in that? So just the respect and then feel and. Just but for the things I do, it does enter into like a dream come true. I mean, I do things that it just comes out as like, oh, so then Potter just sat and bragged to you for two hours or something.

But I'm talking about I get to do and sit. I mean, realistically, think about it. Yeah.

From a guy that, like I said, high school gym. Yeah. You get plucked out and I'm sitting in a dressing room of the London Palladium and they had the real sign that on the brass plate that they had on the door for Buddy Rich when he played the because at the London Palladium was where they did the command performance for the queen.

So Buddy did that in like 1977. Kathy has the plaque. You know what I mean? When you play the podium, the Beatles play.

I mean, it wasn't like nowadays you go to a gig, they write it with a marker. And you're sitting there. Back in the day, like when you're playing for the Queen of England, they had a plaque.

It's like, you know, it just said Buddy Rich. But I'm saying so here's this guy like me just sitting there going, oh, that's. Did you ever think this is happening? Yeah.

Yeah. Is this happening? I was just at dinner last week with Ian Gillan. Yeah.

From Deep Purple. And he came to see us and Ronnie Scott's in London. Yeah.

I mean, think about it. You know how many times I played a Deep Purple song in my as a kid? Yeah. And now he's telling and Ian Gillan is telling you how.

Yeah. Because remember, too, these rock guys, you can kind of do what they do. They can't do that.

Yeah, right. I mean, because I was just with Ian Pace. He lets me sit right on the stage.

Did you see those pictures? I'm not sure. Like Ian Pace, he let me the Deep Purple just played here in Chicago last week. He let me sit right on the stage with him, like right next to his drums.

I mean, really? Oh, yeah. So but I'm just sitting right next to his drum behind the amps. I'm right behind Roger Glover's bass.

Yeah. Bass stack. But I'm sitting.

He's like, I mean, I want to watch you play today. You know, I got to. He just put a drum throne next to his.

Yeah. And Kathy said Buddy would do that like for kids like if people wanted it. You know, but I also, you know, I played some Rotten Nightclub and Naperville like thing, too.

I mean, I go out. I mean, I still am a working musician. The Buddy Rich thing is kind of like when you pulled in, you see the Ferrari dealer there.

I guarantee you the salesman at that dealer only has to sell one of those cars compared to the guy down the street at the Ford dealer. He's got to probably or the Chevy dealer. He's got to sell a bunch of Ford Escorts or, you know, a real estate person selling.

You can sell the one big house in Barrington Hills or so I'm saying the Buddy Rich thing is kind of. Yeah. The gigs are not as often, not as often.

But when you do them, they're just they're they're quite like it's a it's it's a it's a big ticket item. Yeah. You know, it's it's as opposed.

How many shows a year do you do? Well, like last year we did 22, maybe 30. So, I mean, it would play out to. Yeah, we don't tour like well, like the old days, like Buddy was, I said, I think 320 dates out of 365.

That man was either on a bus playing one nighters. But then he would play back in the early days. Yeah, you would have like a stint somewhere where he was.

Kathy will talk about like, you know, like, well, that's why, like when she lived in Vegas when she was a little kid, he played with the Harry James Orchestra. Right. Because he didn't want to tour.

But so you'd play every night back when Vegas was. I mean, but so you have like those kind of. But for the most part, Buddy was on that bus or in a plane one nighters.

Yeah. Playing school about playing club. But then, you know, you went to Riverside Brookfield.

Yes. I saw Buddy Rich there at Riverside Brookfield. Yes, I came there the year after.

But yes, he well, you were living on the South Side or living on the South Side. Yeah. He played Buddy and Marty.

Marty is exactly he's a buddy guy, buddy guy. Yeah, he's a buddy. But yes, he played 1973, 72, 73.

We moved to Riverside in. I went. Yeah, we moved.

I didn't. I was still in grade school, but I'm saying I wasn't there when I came to high school. We had Maynard Ferguson and Peter Erskine was playing drums with Maynard Ferguson, who came to Japan with us in 2015.

So I got to tell him, Peter, I saw you when I was a child. It's like, how old are you, man? I look a little younger than you thought. I'm like, well, I saw you with Maynard Ferguson.

You know, dude, I was just out of college. Yeah. And so I was just in high school.

Yeah. But yeah. So, yeah, Buddy Rich played there.

And yeah, I remember going there and see him. Oh, yeah. I mean, you were able to see that, man.

That's why Kathy said, like, how many times did you see my dad? I only really saw Buddy four times. Oh, OK. That was my next question.

Yeah, I saw him four times. Oakbrook Mall, which is right here. Mr. Kelly's is a kid.

Remember Mr. Kelly's down on Rush Street. My dad took me into a nightclub back when I was 10. Then I saw him at high school, Downers Grove North.

And then I saw him at Morton West High School. So three high schools because I was a kid and one nightclub. And she's like, my dad was in Chicago because he loved Chicago.

Yeah. So she said whenever he was crisscrossing the, you know, she goes, he always, well, Mr. Kelly's would always have him. Mr. Kelly's.

Or just there were schools and there were more places to play. M&R Rush. Mr. Kelly's, there's a heavy medium, a couple of places.

Yeah. But she said he was, he loved Chicago. So you could have seen my dad like every month.

And I'm like, yeah, you would always see it in the paper or something. And yeah, I see him next time. Yeah, yeah.

Yeah, I'll see him next time. What was that place on the south side? Condesa Del Mar. Which I played with The Groove and M&R Rush.

Yeah. We played Condesa Del Mar. Oh, yeah.

I remember. I got the set list somewhere. All right.

This actually did turn into a marathon. So tell us how people can find you and find out where you're playing and when you're playing. I'm going to New York next week.

When is this thing airing? I'm going to New York next week. You're doing it. Yeah, I'm playing at a, we're playing at a place called The Cutting Room with the band.

Oh, with the band. On November 3rd. Okay.

Sunday. And then Monday, I'm at The Collective, The Drummer's Collective in New York. Okay.

I do a clinic. Kathy is with me, so she'll answer all the real questions. Yeah.

Me, it's just like, oh, I did right, right, left, left, right, right, left, left, right. And then Kathy gets the, did your dad practice? He played 320 dates a year. The man didn't, when he came home.

I want to watch the, and Buddy's probably still crying over the Yankees right now. Total Yankee fans. Kathy, Kathy and Buddy were, or are.

But yeah, so you could find me at thebuddyrichband.com and gregpotter.com. Okay. So I mean, internet wise, and then of course, like Facebook. Right.

But if you're going to write something rotten. Yeah. Like I said, what have I learned? Just shut up.

I don't think anybody has anything rotten to say about you. Oh, they don't say nothing bad about Buddy Rich. They're talking about me.

They say mean things about me, but I'm saying that's another thing I learned. Just, just shut up and play your drums. Just let it roll off.

Yeah. And just, and just be happy. Like I said, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm happy.

Like say like tomorrow, it like stopped. Yeah. I won't feel like.

Well, you felt like you were Captain Shelton. Right. Yeah.

Well, being a musician. You got asked to be on our podcast. I mean, that has to be one of your pinnacles of your career.

That's what I, and the whole time I was able to thank the M&R Rush guys because I'm telling you from the high school to come and I knew you're the second tune. So you opened up with something. And then when you're the only woman was your second tune.

Yes. I'm saying, yeah. So I'm talking whatever Buddy Rich music's in my head.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

You, you can remember that from. From 1979, 80. Yeah.

Cause they've been 80 and that was a Candessa Del Mar. Okay. First club we played.

Was it with you? Was it MR? You remember a club called Night Moves? Yeah. When in Oakland? Was that where I don't even, I was so young. I don't even remember where it was.

South side silver. Quicksilver wasn't on Southwest highway. And then I think it was called Night Moves.

I think that was M&R Rush. Dreamer. And, and, and the groove.

Wow. It could have been. Potter knows, he remembers a lot of stuff.

Yeah. But it was Night Moves. That would be the first, I mean, cause even when we played with Teenage Radiation, we were so young.

Like when we played the Park West, Skender and I had to stay downstairs in that dressing room by the kitchen. They didn't let us into the, like the venue part. But we walked around the side and got on the stage because we were still, I mean, Roman was older than both of us.

So, I mean, I think he was 21, but Skender and I were really teenage. I think when Roman, he might've been 19 or whatever, but Skender and I were so young. I know we stayed down, like we couldn't even get, so come in the clubs.

It was like Night Moves. I would have been 16, 17. They probably thought it was like a little kid sitting up there.

Oh, okay. All right. Well, thank you very much.

Thanks, Greg. I appreciate it. Hey, Ray, did you put a quarter in Greg or what? I unfortunately gave him my credit card.

Oh boy. I think I got maximum amount of credits. The guy doesn't stop, does he? But that's what keeps him going, I think, is playing music and talking about it.

Exactly. Having fun, man. You gotta keep having fun.

Once it's not fun anymore, forget about it. Yep. He's having a lot of fun and he's got some great stories.

He doesn't forget anything. Yeah, he's got some things in the works too that we really can't talk about, but he told us on the side that he's got some things happening that it'll be announced shortly. Yes, they will.

So follow him at- GregPotter.com. GregPotter.com or BuddyRichBand.com and find out. Just stay tuned and he's got some things happening in the near future. Definitely.

And don't forget to listen to us every Monday at six o'clock on the Road to Rock Radio.net. What was it? What was the name of the show? It's the Road to Rock Radio.net at six o'clock every Monday. They feature one of our podcasts, but don't just listen on Monday. Listen every day.

They feature all Illinois-based music. Yes, they do. Yes, they do.

And it's a great station. So thanks for listening, everybody. And we'll talk to you soon.

Talk soon. Rock and roll.