Larrie Londin

[Art Vandelay]

There have been countless threads discussing Steve Smith, Deen, Aynsley and even a few unceremonious mentions of Mike Baird....but I've never come across anything here on Larrie Londin. He was a fantastic studio musician who played with world-class acts (touring with Elvis!), and eventually worked on the Street Talk and ROR studio sessions (replacing Smith on the latter). Sadly, he passed away in 1992 at he young age of 49. All I could find on him was this one poor quality video. It's swing music, which also may not be your cup of tea. But it's worth a watch to see the man responsible for playing drums on some of the most memorable Journey tracks that did not include Steve Smith.

I also have the Modern Drummer issue that was dedicated to him after his death buried up in my attic somewhere. Quite a few quotes from Steve Perry are included, if I recall correctly. Will try to find it and post some of the comments.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fuiDc7dFGzI

[Art Vandelay]

Here's a link to the article that ran in the Journey Force newsletter, which was written by Steve Perry himself. I still think he may have commented on Larrie in the Modern Drummer article as well, but this is the article that I definitely remember reading back in the day. I specifically remember the '57 Chevy quote.

http://steveperryonline.net/interview/article10.html

[Don]

Here's a link to the article that ran in the Journey Force newsletter, which was written by Steve Perry himself. I still think he may have commented on Larrie in the Modern Drummer article as well, but this is the article that I definitely remember reading back in the day. I specifically remember the '57 Chevy quote.

http://steveperryonline.net/interview/article10.html

That was a great find, thanks a lot. Yeah, sometimes we forget the other faces that make up the wonderful music we get to listen to.

[Red13JoePa]

Londin was fantastic on ROR. Shame he couldn't tour but great power drumming which the material called for and perry knew what he wanted as producer.
Currently I see Castronovo as a hybrid of the Smith and Londin Journey styles...he can replicate the jazzy Smitty subtleties on the classic material but can also deal the heat as he's been doing since Remember Me.
I feel a difference if he's playing say the Londin parts of BGTYS (or even Dunbar's hard-bashing on the Infinity material, which I never thought Smitty QUITE got down on Captured) or the Smitty classic parts on like a DSB, OA or SW. BTW, NOT knocking Smitty as I love him; the solos on Captured and the Houston DVD and cd are nothing short of epic perfection.

[Ftloperry]

Great article.

[Art Vandelay]

Londin was fantastic on ROR. Shame he couldn't tour but great power drumming which the material called for and perry knew what he wanted as producer.
Currently I see Castronovo as a hybrid of the Smith and Londin Journey styles...he can replicate the jazzy Smitty subtleties on the classic material but can also deal the heat as he's been doing since Remember Me.
I feel a difference if he's playing say the Londin parts of BGTYS (or even Dunbar's hard-bashing on the Infinity material, which I never thought Smitty QUITE got down on Captured) or the Smitty classic parts on like a DSB, OA or SW. BTW, NOT knocking Smitty as I love him; the solos on Captured and the Houston DVD and cd are nothing short of epic perfection.

Well said. I'm with you 100%. Also you bring up something interesting. If you think about the three drummers that they had playing in the studio during their heyday (Dunbar, Smith, Londin), you're covering a lot of ground there. A lot of different styles. It really makes one appreciate Deen's playing, knowing that he has to bring to the table what all three of these drum monsters have created, keeping it traditional while at the same time making it all his own. WOW!

[Babyblue]

Great article.

I agree it was and thanks.