INTERVIEW: Don Brewer of Grand Funk Railroad on Over 50 Years of Touring
10/30 @ Rivers Casino, Schenectady
Photos by Gregg Roth
“I think what people really bought into was the fact that we're real.”
Hard rock legends Grand Funk Railroad will bring their tour to Rivers Casino in Schenectady on Thursday, October 30. I had the honor of speaking with drummer, Don Brewer, about the upcoming tour and music of one of the greatest American rock bands.
This tour’s lineup consists of founding member Mel Schacher on bass, Mark Chatfield on guitar, Tim Cashion on keyboards and Max Carl on vocals alongside Brewer. Brewer and Schacher founded Grand Funk in 1968 and have developed a strong musical relationship and rhythm section over many years.
“We know what to expect from each other all the time because we've been together for so long. And we created this music together and I love having Mel on the road with us. We’re brothers,” Brewer tells me.
Brewer not only has a long-time connection with his fellow founding member, but with his touring musicians as well. In 1977, he produced Chatfield's band, The Gods’, first album. Chatfield then went on to play with Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band after Brewer recommended him.
“He's always been one of my favorite guitar players. Ever since I produced that album for them, he was always one of my favorites.”
After Grand Funk’s first breakup in 1976, followed by a second one in 1983, Brewer joined Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band as a touring drummer.
“Bob had probably a dozen different drummers playing on all of his different albums and different songs,” Brewer says. “It was a very good learning experience for me because I had to learn how to play all these different styles of music; before that, I was just playing like Don Brewer. When I came along and played all those years with Bob, I stepped outside myself and it was a great experience. I loved all of the tours I did with the Silver Bullet Band.”
At 77, Brewer has a strict routine to keep him able to deliver the driving rhythm and vocals from behind the kit and take on national tours. Brewer walks about four miles each morning and goes to the gym every afternoon. After over 50 years of touring, Brewer still seeks to give audiences the music they love.
“I love watching the audience. When we do ‘Some Kind of Wonderful,’ I can look out and see sometimes three or four generations of people that are singing along to the song. The same thing with ‘Closer to Home’ and ‘American Band’ and ‘Locomotion.’ All of these people know these songs, and that's my favorite part.”
Grand Funk are pioneers of hard rock, keeping the defiant spirit of rock alive when the rock scene was shifting towards more ‘easy listening’ styles. They are seen by some as proto-punk and proto-metal.
“When we came up, we were just playing honest rock and roll. We were playing what we felt and we weren't really trying to mimic anybody. And I think it came across that way. I think what people really bought into was the fact that we're real,” Brewer says, reflecting on the early albums played on underground radio that built an audience big enough to sell out Shea Stadium in 1971 in less than 72 hours.
“The very first albums that we did — On Time and Grand Funk and Closer to Home — there wasn't a lot of time spent in the studio. As we got into the ‘80s, these bands were spending years in the studio making albums. All of the albums we did were done in a few days. So it was, again, just honest rock and roll. We put it down on tape and released it, mistakes and all. Not everything was fixed. And I think that people really just got that.”
That honesty is still reflected in their performances today and continues to draw an audience looking for truth in music. “I still think that the way we project ourselves and the way we put a live show together, trying to get people involved and having a good time — it seems to work for us. It's kind of very uplifting music, and we give them a very uplifting presentation. And I think that's why we're still around after all these years. It's just honest rock and roll.”
Brewer encourages today’s artists to follow in those footsteps and find uniqueness in authenticity and to follow their hearts.
“Don't necessarily try to mimic anybody and do what they're doing. As we got into the ‘80s and the ‘90s, it seemed like music became very homogenized. And I don't see a lot of new acts come along that make me go, ‘Wow, I haven't seen that before.’ Everything that you see now, you've seen it all before. I don't hear a lot of [artists] stepping outside the box and being really different. And that's what I miss. So that would be my advice: do something that hasn't been done.
“We've come to live in a very homogenized world. I suppose maybe it's because the audience just doesn't want to hear anything new. I mean, maybe that's what it is. But I sure do miss that creativity, especially in the '70s. It was all about creativity and FM Underground radio would play anything. They would play Frank Zappa… and then they'd follow it with Frank Sinatra. There wasn't this thing where everything had to be a certain kind of music and it had to be a certain style; it was just all over the place. And I miss all that. I really do.”
Grand Funk’s powerful live hard-rock performances changed the landscape of live music and kept the heavy edge in rock music alive despite the push to conform in the industry. As rock shifted around 1972 from underground FM to hit radio, the band had to create some shorter songs like the aforementioned “American Band,” “Locomotion,” and “Some Kind of Wonderful” to succeed.
“[These songs] were a direct result of radio making us change. We had to go along with it, but luckily, we could play other stuff live,” Brewer says.
Despite the shifts in rock over the decades, Grand Funk Railroad’s influence endures.
“It's just what I've always done, and I'm 77 years old and I'm still doing it, and I feel blessed. I love what I do, and I want to continue to do it as long as I can.”
Don’t miss the legendary Grand Funk Railroad at Rivers Casino in Schenectady on Thursday, October 30. For tickets and more information, visit www.riverscasino.com/schenectady