Tom had been talking to me for months about how he wanted to change up Mother Said. Then one day in practice, he delivered those words to the band.
‘I’ve been thinking, we should bring the drums in later. Much later. Let the song build before that ferocious ending.’
‘Yeah man….’ Zaki threw his backing behind the idea in a way that only Zaki could. His new found wisdom meant that he delivered words with a lot more gusto these days. Sarb looked unconvinced. ‘Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it.’ Zaki and Tom suggested we just feel it out. Sarb was not a fan of the lack of detail provided in this bit of guidance.
Zaki kept talking. I turned on the tremolo and started playing. My intention was to shut him up. It didn’t work, more wisdom was to be imparted… Zaki waltzed over to me and said ‘Na man. You know what Butch Vig said to Kurt when recording Something in the Way? Play it so slowly, it hurts.’
And I did. Then much later, the drums came.
