LeadSister.com Forums

Just wondered if anyone else thinks it's sweet how whenever Karen's singing & not allowed to be on drums she can't resist doing some air-drumming?Like on the "Merv Griffin Show" when she copies some of Cubbie's stuff while she's singing "Want You Back In My Life Again" It makes me smile but also a little sad cos she always looked happiest when she was drumming.
I love those drum solo's!

Love it! I always thought it was cute waaay back when she's singing superstar how she taps her foot right up until she comes in. She sneaks a few hits in during the Kind of Hush video too...I really just wish they would have let her play all the time!

Hi Rachel

Off topic but where did you get your little avatar - I'd love to see the original picture that it came from. I remember that shot was used once on the cover of a Carpenters album, possibly a bootleg of Karen's solo stuff??

Stephen

Yes I have seen that air drumming too.

Isn't there a excerpt from the Ray Coleman book (I can't remember where or if it's this book) but wasn't there a part where Karen was talking with Phil Ramone and Karen was in the studio sitting at the drums and said something like I'll never be able to be here where I use to love to be. Something like that, help me out guys, where did I hear this, it was some conversation about how Karen missed playing the drums.

Chris-An Ordinary Fool, on Mar 5 2005, 04:59 PM, said:

Chris

It wasn't the Coleman book, and I don't remember what her exact words were chronicled as, but her comment was something along the lines of what you said, that she might as well kiss goodbye to 'Karen the Drummer'. I think she was commenting that she had come out from behind the drums on the order of others, when really all she wanted to do was just that - drum.

I think it also reveals that she felt like others were in control, 'I say - you jump' kind of thing? Such a small comment, yet it speaks volumes about how she really felt about that part of her career. And it was enough for Phil Ramone to take notice of and remember all these years later.

Maybe it came partly from the realisation that, here she was, alone in New York making a solo album - when all the time I think a large part of her was happiest behind a kit, and doing things like their 9 minute drum extravaganza on stage.

Stephen

I've noticed this too especially on the "Make Your Own Kind Of Music" video where she is sitting on the big stage letter U and she does a cool air drum thing as the music's pace picks up on "We've... Begun". She was real cool.

Dave, that one is my absolute favourite 'air-drumming' too... lol. And of course, she doesn't miss a beat...


Linda

I've been meaning to mention this also and I notice she's doing it in almost any clip where she's not at drums. She just had it in her to want to "drum" even when they weren't there, I wish they would've kept her on them more, the sheer enjoyment in her facial expressions everytime she was on was priceless!

Chris-An Ordinary Fool, on Mar 5 2005, 11:59 AM, said:

I can shed a little more light on this no it was not from the Coleman book as Stephen said. The story goes something like this Karen and Phil Ramone were in the studio I believe Karen was in there first because Phil said he saw Karen looking at the drum kit in the studio. I think Phil had asked her to sit behind the drums for old times sake but Karen did say to Phil "you'll never see me in that chair again" to which Phil said "you never know Karen why do you say that?" to which Karen replied something like it made her rear fat.

The only thing that was controlling Karen at this point was her disease and the psycological things that went with it. Karen was in control of all aspects of her solo record and she was in New York away from Richard and her family and I do not think A&M was even that involved in the making of Karens solo record so there was very little actually controlling Karen at this point. I think she was just deep in the grip of her disease and other personal demons.

Stephen I agree that Karen was most at home behind the drums she was clearly happy when she was playing them even in the 1980 MMM special she was grinning ear to ear during her drum solo and this was after her statements to Phil Ramone. I has been said that Karen was getting a desire to get behind the drums again around the time MIA was made and a good possibility Karen would drum on the followup had she lived. Apparently Karen was seriously considering doing this and spoke about her desire to drum again on a number of occasions. There is no doubt in my mind that had Karen recovered completely she would have drummed again she seemed to miss doing it alot.

Just some thoughts/info

BTW I noticed and like the way Karen air drummed. As a young lady Karen would drum with whatever she could get her hands on before her parents bought her her first drum kit. It seems the drummer never fully left Karen.

Thanks for sharing, enigma.

Around Karen played the drum solo, she said:
I love to play. I really do. And I love to sing, but I woudn't want to give either one of them up.

Sakura

I always thought these two pictures summed it up the best:

Gosh,you're right,those pictures show just how much Karen loved the drums!I hope all those famous singers up there have let her be their drummer & that she "air-drums" every time one of us fans plays a Carpenters tune!

I haven't noticed any "air-drumming" from Karen yet. I did see during "Bless the Beasts", while on the "U", her right hand was tapping a rythm and so was her foot. Is that it? Karen sure did cute things! I sure hope there is a way she can "drum" in heaven! She looked SO happy while drumming.

Seems like her foot was always tapping, her hand was always tapping, she was just full of rhythym and she did so joyfully!! Imagine what it would be like sitting next to her at a concert or broadway show or something like that.
She'd never really be "sitting still".

Cheryl

downeydrummer, on Mar 7 2005, 03:23 AM, said:

A little clip from what we mean, you may have to maximize a bit, they used such far away shots

http://s12.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=1L07EMH...E73QBS7NFWTO6PX