Today I happened on the video of Jeff on the video channel. He is explaining his shuffle, how he incorporated the work of others, etc....
As some of you know, I have explained that my brother was on the way up, and I was his tech. Watching that video today shook loose some the aforementioned crust. He was "that drummer", the one all the local bands wanted, the guy who could play most grooves, shuffles, straight backbeat, lay it down tight, looser then Mickey Hart....and everyone asked him to sit in with them. He had even been invited to tour with Mickey in the early years of Planet Drum, before it ever became close to what it is today.
He could play Bonham better than any drummer I have EVER seen or heard, and Steely Dan was easy...Throw in some Buddy Rich, or Cozy Powell? No Prob! A little JR...
The point is, it put me in a mood of retrospection. He passed on Dec. 27, 1999, in the early morning hours, alone in a car crash in a very quiet area, not much traffic at 3 am. He was found by another motorist, she slammed into his overturned vehicle, sitting resolutely upside down in the middle of the road, 2 miles from Willie Nelson's Golf Course....at least he was close to music when he died.
Anyway, if any of you knew him, today is good day to hoist a cold one in his honor, Dan Meyer.
He was everywhere, traveled all over, playing from 1976 until his untimely death.
His best band, in my opinion, was MuddShark, and second would be Tork...both heavily favored bands in the Tucson and Phoenix scenes.
