HR: In his recent interview with Blackmoon Magazine, Jack Bruce told us that one of his favourite performances had been at RockPalast with Rory Gallagher. What are your own memories of sharing the stage with Rory?
Gerry McAvoy : I remember the night Jack Bruce got up and jammed with Rory at Rockpalast. Jack had done his own show before us (solo on piano). It was fantastic, just to listen to that voice was amazing. I don't know if it was pre-planned, but when we finished our performance and as we were about to go back on stage for an encore, Rory asked Jack (who was standing side stage) would he like to get up for a jam. Jack said yes, and asked me if I would mind if he used my bass rig. Here's Jack Bruce, my idol since I was a teenager asking to use my amp. I mean, what do you say? So they jammed "Politician" a Cream number, It was fantastic!
As for my own memories of sharing the stage with Rory. It was fantastic 90% of the time. Like any band you do have off nights. But they were few and far between. It was a pleasure to work with a man with so much talent.
Ted McKenna : Always on the edge. Never sure of what might happen next. Always pushing to give 150% for the whole 2hr - 2.30min show. That's the way Rory played. It was real and raw with all the rough edges. I'd call it Rock'n'Roll!
Hearing from Gerry there about Jack Bruce, it reminded me that I'd had the great pleasure of working with Jack some years ago myself. He was doing a charity show in Stirling and I was asked by a mutual friend, Ivor Johnston, who had worked with him over the years, if I'd like to play with Jack and his son Malcolm. I agreed immediately. I saw Cream in my teens at The Locarno, Glasgow and was fully aware of the incredible influence they were having on musicians besides their popular "chart" success. Considering I knew all the songs inside out from an arrangement point of view, I thought it was quite funny but understandable that Jack took me aside and explained that in "Sunshine of your Love" feel from the drums should be an on beat. Meaning that the first hit would be the first beat of the bar as opposed to the offbeat, the second. It seems some drummers had gotten it the wrong way round.... duh? I think I said "I grew up with these songs Jack, I know exactly what you mean". In any case I really enjoyed the show and working with one of my heroes.
HR: What about recording with Rory - was that as much fun?
GM : Recording was a different situation altogether. Rory was most definitely a live Musician. What he tried to create in the studio was a live atmosphere. This was because he felt that his music should be as pure as possible, with very little studio trickery. Not to forget all Rory's heroes did the same. Whether it was Muddy Waters for Chess Records or Elvis Presley for Sun Records. They recorded live, and if it was good enough for them, it was good enough for him. TM : We had a lot of fun recording I think because, on the road and in the studio, we got on well together as a band and crew. I enjoyed working with the whole team. In the studio Rory was a perfectionist. He knew what he wanted. Sometimes we'd do 5 or 10 takes of the same song and he'd go away and listen and maybe next day he'd want to do it again or it was in the can. Either way it was always good humoured. We had fun but it could be hard work sometimes. Again, that's Rock'n'Roll....
HR : Band Of Friends released an album earlier in the year - Too Much Is Not Enough - can you tell us a little bit about it?
GM : We recorded an EP CD and DVD last year (2013) The DVD was recorded in Germany, in front of a live audience. This was all Rory's songs. The CD was an experiment, to see what we could achieve as a band. My idea was to have all three of us play together, (myself, Ted, and Marcel Sherpenzeel) with no pre-conceived ideas. I think the interplay between musicians, when they have no idea of what's going on is fascinating. It will either gel or it will be a mess. I think it worked for us. Hopefully we will do it again.
TM : We wanted to put our foot in the water and see what we could come up with, song wise, as a band. I think it worked pretty well as a first try. Reviews, airplay and general reaction seems to prove that it wasn't too bad. We work well together as a unit, a team. It's so important to have, above all, a professional attitude if you want to get anything done. It sounded right from the first rehearsal. The first note Gerry and I played with Marcel. I've been doing this far too long not to know when the chemistry as well as the musicianship is right. I'm already looking forward to working on the new album.
HR: As a band, have you made any plans to mark Rory's anniversary next year?
GM : Next year is Rory's 20th Anniversary (which I find hard to grasp) We would like to play a bunch of shows, with invited guests. At the moment the different agencies around Europe are setting this up. So lets hope it all works
TM : Yes! It's hard to believe it's been nearly 20 years since Rory died. I think we'll be calling on a few friends to help celebrate Rory's legacy ...