Thomas Pridgen: Former The Mars Volta Drummer Goes In-Depth – IPMM Exclusive Interview

Image: last.fm

His accolades are well-documented. The winner of the Guitar Center Drum-Off at the age of 9, and the recipient of a full ride to Berklee College of Music at the age of 15, it has been clear for a while that Thomas Pridgen was on his way to greatness. If you ask him, he has a lot to learn, but pioneers in anything always say that. He plays with controlled chaos, employing ridiculous single-bass drum rolls and a bombastic set-up that includes 18″ Zildjian A Custom Crash cymbals, re-birthed as hi-hats. After being plucked from the drummersphere by Omar Rodriguez-Lopez of The Mars Volta, Pridgen has proven to be one of the most dynamic, and musically untethered humans alive, constantly infusing his drumming with the passion, vigor, and joy of young man who’s finding his place in the world of music. His active style has been described as blistering and intense, as he learned to methodically navigate the musings of his former band leader.

At 25, the sky is the limit for TP. With a Grammy and a few Volta albums under his belt, Thomas addresses the unquantifiable value of his mentors, Walfredo Reyes Jr. and Dennis Chambers, as well as fatherhood, and his preferred method of blowin’ smoke. With questions abound regarding his departure from The Mars Volta after a show cancellation in Raleigh, NC, earlier this year, I was glad to hear that despite some differences, the divorce has been amicable. Amidst it all, the band trecks the globe, while this former The Mars Volta drummer explores new projects. Laying down tracks for Curren$y, Mos Def, and now his own band, The Memorials Movement, Thomas Pridgen continues to thrive as his future unfolds with limitless potential.

by Evan La Ruffa

How’d you get to study under Walfredo Reyes Jr? He is a living legend….

He lives maybe 20 minutes away from me, I think I met him at Guitar Center one day. I was playin’ and he was there, and I knew him from videos and had seen him in magazines, and I just wanted to hang out…he invited me to his house to play drums, and it just started a friendship….he just basically took me under his wing. He used to sneak to Cuba all the time, so he would always show me drummers from Cuba before most people ever saw that stuff…….he’s the shit.

Name a few drummers that you’ve been a fan of. I know I’ve heard you mention Dennis Chambers before….

Yea, well, Dennis, he took me under his wing also…he just had faith in me, so I’ve got a special love for him, he’s like my uncle in a way….but I used to listen to a lot of Billy Cobham, and Narada Michael Walden, Dennis Chambers, and all the greats ya know…I’m a fan of a lot of drummers, so I would look at fools for different reasons. I was impressionable because I started so young. When I was a kid, I used to even look at the drummer from Slaughter (laughs), ya know, everybody that was somebody.

How has your definition of what being a good drummer is changed over time? Maybe when you where younger you thought it was one thing and now you think it’s another?

It’s not that it’s changed, I just think it’s a wider, broader thought pattern. Ya know, people have been willing to teach me shit, so I’ve listened to ‘em, and I just take my time to just listen to music I didn’t normally listen to, and that has introduced me to hella different styles and different people, and has led me to being able to appreciate things for different reasons. Some dude might not have crazy ridiculous chops, but the way he plays out of his heart is much bigger than some difficult paradidle you can do.

As far as your set up, I see that you’ve taken to using two 18 inch Zildjian A Custom Crash cymbals as your hi-hats! Holy shit man…

I started playing big hi-hats cuz I would look at Abe Laboriel or Steve Jordan, and those dudes used to play these crazy ass cymbal set ups, and to me it was cool. The moment that I could do it, I was like, fuck, I wanna do it. It started off, ya know, playin’ with Omar, who’s loud as shit on guitar, he’s like, you gotta have cymbals that cut over his guitars and make it sound good together, that make it sound big. You know, for me, I didn’t grow up listening to hella Led Zeppelin, I grew up listening to R&B, and Hip Hop, and church music and stuff, so for me, I try to recreate what I think of it. When I listen to the sound of Tony Williams playin’ rock, it sounds like big, open drums. So I like to have big open drums, and still make it where the drum set is comfortable for me to do what I do.

You’re also a father. Congratulations.

Yea, I’ve got a 3 year old boy.

Is he gonna show you up and win the Guitar Center Drum Off before he’s 9?

(Laughs) My son is weird, cuz he plays left handed, and he looks at me and admires me, and it’s weird for me to have a kid who admires me man. But yea, I wanna teach him, and I don’t wanna be on his neck or nothin’ like that, but I just love that he loves the drums, and it’s not a chore, where I’m like “Sit here!” (Laughs) Since he was a little baby, I’ve always sat him on my lap (when I play), so he loves his toys, but he really LOVES his drums!

So you’re not in The Mars Volta anymore, what the f*** happened with all that?

I’ll say, I’m a friendly person. I just wanted to have a family vibe around me, and everyone in the Volta is still family to me. For me, it’s just like, I’m 25, I won a Grammy, fuckin’ shit is weird….I wanna do multiple things, and I don’t wanna get burnt out on one thing, plus, I’m younger than everybody, so I take a different approach to life than them….I love everybody in the band, and it’s just like, everybody has growing pains and shit.

It definitely seemed as though your presence gave the band new life on some level….

I’m like their little brother! I’m like their little fucked-up crazy brother who smokes weed and does whatever the fuck he wants…..Sometimes it’s hard for them to watch me be crazy…..For me, I go out, and I fuckin’ go as hard as possible, cuz it’s the shit that I have to do. And everybody’s not always ready for it, and everybody’s not always down to have their little brother around fuckin’ with shit and being crazy. And I ask ‘em, what were you doin’ when you were 25? And they’re like, oh alright, they remember….Ya know, you have growing pains dude, and me and Omar talked not even two hours ago, and it’s always family between me and him, and everybody in the band, it’s just weird times…..

Your first album with The Mars Volta was “The Bedlam In Goliath,” your drumming on that album was an absolute assault. How was it to play those songs live?

It was the shit to play live, when I recorded it I was going through it, cuz at that point I figured out what band I was in. Ya know, I learned all the songs so fast, and everything was going so fast, and I didn’t have the time to really gather myself, and it was just hella pressure. And Omar would fuck with me, he’d be like, play that shit over and over again, and I’d play some shit that I thought was the tape 15 times to the point where I was angry at him. He knows how to poke at people to a point where they play whatever the fuck he wants them to play…..he made me play the shit out of the drums, I will say….(Laughs)

On a more serious note, bongs or blunts. I had to ask.

Actually I’ve been smokin’ a lot of papers, I dunno man, I’m at a crossroads (Laughs)….cuz people say it takes a lot of life off you, so I’ve been smokin’ zig zags lately, but most people probably wouldn’t believe that shit. But that’s only been going on for two weeks though….I gotta take blunts man, cuz I’m ’bout to go home tomorrow and I will tell you that I’ma smoke a blunt when I get home (Laughs).

What’s your favorite Bay Area grub spot?

Well I’m from the East Bay, so….Everett and Jones, that’s my BBQ joint, and I used to go to the Muslim bakery but it closed down. Nation’s (Giant) Hamburgers too, write that down dude, I want an endorsement deal with them (Laughs).

Berklee man, everyone who went there talks about it being instrumental in their musical development, how would you describe your time there?

Berklee was instrumental in my life development. I mean, that’s college, and it’s where I first grinded. I mean, I grinded before, but I really grinded there. I used to practice, practice, practice, all day. I would get up, go to class, practice, another class, practice. I just took advantage and didn’t bullshit my time there, and I played with everybody, and I met as many people as possible. That’s what you should do.

When can we expect a project spearheaded by Thomas Pridgen?

I’ve got some shit in the works (The Memorials Movement), I’m definitely gonna do my own thing. But I’ve just been waiting dude, I’ve been enjoying playing in a band, so it’s hard to do it all. I’ve only been where I’m at for a short period of time, so…..there’s definitely time for all that. And that’s what my drum teacher told me, ya know, he said, you’ve accomplished a lot of shit before you even got any age on you, so you’ve got time to do all the shit you want to do. Ya know, all the people I looked up to died early, so I wanna be a living legend.

I appreciate it Thomas, it’s been a privilege man.

Oh for sure dude, this is the shit….thank you so much.

NOTE: Since late November, The Mars Volta has been touring Europe with drummer Dave Elitch. Thomas Pridgen has been involved in a few recording projects since his departure from TMV, and is currently recording material for his own project called The Memorials Movement, and features up-and-comers, Viveca Hawkins and Nick Brewer.