Alan Gratzer
1971 - 1990
- Drums
- Percussion
- Backing Vocals
Alan was a founder member of REO Speedwagon. He also co-produced REO's albums from
Hi Infidelity in 1981, until he left the
band in 1990.
He now lives outside of Nevada City, California with his wife Nancy. They
are both very active in organizations which help less-fortunate members of
society. Alan is still close with the band, and has occasionally made a
guest appearance.
Picture: Bill Parsons
Background
Alan Gratzer participated in the recording of Star Fleet Project (Capitol
Records / MLP 15014), a terrific three-cut EP credited to Brian May &
Friends. Star Fleet Project was recorded over a two-day period in April of
1983, and released later that year. Brian May is, of course, the guitarist
of Queen.
Besides Brian and Alan, the group also included legendary rock
guitarist Edward Van Halen, Alice Cooper keyboard player Fred Mandel, and
Phil Chen, the bassist of Rod Stewart's band. Alan and the other
participants were invited by Brian May to a two-day jam session at a Los
Angeles recording studio. Brian intended the recording to be strictly for
fun, but was later persuaded to release the music. The title track was based
on the theme music to a British science fiction television
series. "Bluesbreaker" is an instrumental blues improvisation, and "Let Me
Out" is a blues song Brian May had written.
Brian was interviewed about the
EP in Guitar Player (January 1984) and, when asked about Alan's drumming,
Brian replied, "I've known Alan for quite a while, but I had no idea what it
would be like to play with him. When you hear people's records, you have no
idea, really, what they would be like to play with. But it was great. The
incredible thing about him is his consistency. He could go for 12 hours, and
if you picked up his tempo from the beginning, it would be the same as the
end. He's like a rock, particularly on [Bluesbreaker] where you just feel
that solidity which gives the track a sort of integrity. I really like
that." Unfortunately, this recording is out of print and commands a high
price on the used-record market.
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