John Walker Drums To A Different Beat

John Walker is an award-winning Canadian documentary filmmaker who made his mark in 1982 with Chambers: Tracks and Gestures, a film about London, Ontario artist and filmmaker Jack Chambers. When I spoke with Walker about his latest project, A Drummer’s Dream, which follows seven of the world’s best drummers as they gather for a week-long camp in Northern Ontario, I found he’s just as interesting as the subjects he documents are. Read my Q&A with Walker below.

BM: How did you learn about the drumming camp?

JW: It was my nephew who told me about his other uncle [Nasyr Al-Khabyyr] who had this camp cooking. [Nasyr] is a drummer and a teacher who has toured with Dizzy Gillespie and my first reaction when I heard the line-up of drummers he had coming was, “I’ve got to go to this camp…with my camera crew.”

What did you think about the space they had for the camp?

It’s a 300-acre former farm that had been taken over as a YMCA camp. Nasyr’s family bought it in the early ’70s and it was just an amazing location. I heard they were going to have all these drums in the woods and on the islands and I could immediately visualize the place.

Did you have a large crew with you?

Sound is critical with a film like this, particularly drums which are very complicated. We had a recording engineer, a drum technician for miking, two location recordists for the documentary side, and then we had a consultant for the shoot.

How did you go about recording the sound so perfectly?

We brought in a 24-track location recording system and every drum was separately miked. And it worked out that the acoustics in the barn where they did the main performances was perfect for drums. When Giovanni Hidalgo first played in there he ran up to me and gave me a big hug it was so good. We also mixed the music from the drummer’s perspective. Normally you mix from the stage perspective. When you hear it in surround sound your whole body shakes.

Did you find anything different about shooting a music documentary?

My approach with all my documentaries is that it’s all about the respect the filmmaker has for the subject. I had great admiration for these masters and I have a lot of respect for them as artists and they were aware of this.

Do you play any musical instruments?

When I was 16 my Montreal band was invited to open for Frank Zappa in Haight-Ashbury — the centre of the universe as far as I was concerned. The same week I was offered a job in a film studio in Montreal. I carried a camera around my neck since I was eight and was in the camera club in high school [so it was a tough decision]. My very wise band leader who was 22 at the time said we’d throw the I Ching. We threw the coins and he read it out and said, “You are faced with a choice. You have two roads and whatever road you choose is for life.” After three sleepless nights I gave away my drums and never touched a pair of sticks again. Now I’ve reconnected with this community. Giovanni Hidalgo gave me a set of his signature bongos and I’m negotiating with my partner where we’re going to put a drum set in our apartment.

Do you think ‘A Drummer’s Dream’ will motivate viewers to get into drumming?

If your child sees this film they are going to be begging you for a drum set. Not only that but I’ve talked to a lot of people who had played the drums [in their teens] and are now playing with their kids after seeing it.

Any moments that stood out during the production?

I was at Woodstock in 1969 and that was a mind-blowing musical experience. This week [during the camp] matched that in terms of music and spirit. These guys have such big hearts and are so warm and compassionate that it was incredible. At one point when I was watching Dennis Chambers play his solo I literally thought my brain was going to explode right out of the top of my head. I almost wanted him to stop because it was too much.

What are you working on next?

I want to do more music films because they’re so fun. I’m pursuing some angles but can’t really talk about them. My last film before this, Passage, was a film about the Arctic so I’m researching another film to do there as well.

A Drummer’s Dream screens at Hot Docs 2010 on May 7 and May 9. More information can be found at adrummersdream.com.

brian.mckechnie@citynews.rogers.com

Top image: John Walker playing the drums during a scene from A Drummer’s Dream. Courtesy the National Film Board of Canada.