Both Vince and myself posted earlier this week about the tragic untimely death last weekend of phenomenal drummer Gerhardt “Jerry” Fuchs…………words can’t express the staggering loss of this uber-kind & humble talent, but hopefully the below track will help paint a picture of the metronomic, humanly mechanical force that was Jerry behind the drum kit (one more firecracker here). From the propulsive rock-solid twos and fours to the stop-start staccato pocket grooves, all the way to the heady orgasmic maelstrom of fiery filles…..this guy was just unreal.

It breaks my heart to have to say this, but rest in peace my friend, and a million thanks for everything…..you will be severely missed by so many around the world.

I implore everyone to take inspiration from Jerry’s legacy in striving to share the amazing gifts we each have. No excuses!!

TURING MACHINE — “Swiss Grid”, from A New Machine for Living (2000)

…..and once more for good measure, the one-armed magical fille madness of Jerry Fuchs:

-KW

I’m still shocked about the unbelievably terrible tragedy that occurred this past weekend — Georgia-born Brooklyn fixture, masterful metronomic drummer Jerry Fuchs (Maserati, Turing Machine, !!!, The Juan Mclean, and more) fell down an elevator shaft late Saturday night and died shortly thereafter.

My interactions with Jerry were minimal, but every time we spoke I felt an overwhelming sense of kindness that informed me right away how good a person I was talking to. Even the first time we briefly met, I found Jerry to be so affable that we ended up deeply laughing at something or another like we had been friends since the 2nd grade. These are the types of people that we should always hope to surround ourselves with, and obviously the incredible news of his untimely death seems just plain wrong.

Before I ever met the man, I was a HUGE fan from afar — the first time I ever saw the fiery robo-prog band Turing Machine, there was no question from the beginning moments of the first song that the drummer up there was something extra-special. He played with such intensity and restraint, and witnessing Jerry’s talents behind the kit often reminded me how strong a musician can be simply with extreme precision, power, and spirit. For anyone who has ever seen him play live, you know how quickly he could get a crowd dancing and furthermore, how hypnotic the most straightforward basic rock beat always became in his hands.

Not to mention his crispy technique — those one-handed filles were deliciously ridiculous.

I can’t help but feel like the world has been robbed of a magnificent talent that was sure to have grown and grown to neo-Bonham-like status. But I also feel honored to have heard the music and met the man for a few fleeting conversations — whether it was down at SXSW or running into him at the music store up here in Brooklyn, every single conversation and live set I was ever fortunate enough to experience left me feeling a little better.

It seems friends and fans will be gathering this Thursday night at Enid’s in Greenpoint, Brooklyn at 7pm for an impromptu gathering to memorialize this legendary talent.

Links and videos after the jump.

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Athens, GA/Brooklyn, NY instrumental psych-dance-post-rock-metal-whatever band Maserati are one of those bands that are extremely difficult to pigeonhole beyond simply saying “awesome.” Three separate people told me that I had to see this band at this past year’s SXSW, and on the festival’s final day I had an opportunity in a packed backyard patio at twilight. Shit totally blew my mind! The sound completely surrounded me, the sun was going down, it was 80 degrees with a light breeze, everyone was feelin’ it… it was just one of those great moments. Guitarists’ Coley Dennis and Matt Cherry’s delay-infused leads snake their way into and around each other, creating the perfect psychedelic soundscape for metronomic, finesse drummer Jerry Fuchs’ (also of Turing Machine and !!!) and groove-heavy bassist Steve Scarborough.

Maserati have something like 10 different releases under their belts, many of them limited edition split vinyls that have long since been out of print, so before the band releases their next proper full-length in 2010 they’ve decided to issue Passages, a collection of many of these out-of-print tracks (and two unreleased numbers) that will now be on CD for the first time. I’m listening to Passages right now, and I’m seriously considering sparking up a bowl before I’m done. The record came out on September 8th, so it’s available everywhere now including at the website of the band’s label, Temporary Residence.

Here’s a free download/stream of the track “Monoliths” from Passages; it’s one of my favoritest songs on the record.

Maserati – “Monoliths”

The band goes on a long tour this week supporting Mono. I’ll be at the Brooklyn show rockin’ out. Full list of tour dates after the jump.

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