http://www.musictoday.com/news/artist/def.asp

2.10.03
Def Leppard's Rick Allen: Rock 'n' Roll Survivor Making A Difference

by Paul Rosner

Rock stars have long been held on a level that approaches idolatry, often giving
them a sense of invincibility and insulating them from the rest of society. This
insulation is perhaps necessary because of the adulation and exaltation of
overzealous fans, who cease to realize that their heroes also have personal
lives. Even so, some of these same rock "gods" buy into their star status so
completely that they forget they belong to the same species. Ultimately, the
fault rests with both the stars themselves and their eager worshippers, who are
all too willing to forgive almost anything if the hits keep coming.

Though the so-called "god complex" can have long-lasting negative effects on
those it engulfs, the true measure of a human being is found in that person's
response to trying circumstances (and having fans throw money, praise, and their
bodies at you could certainly be considered trying from a moral perspective).
When 15-year-old Sheffield drummer Rick Allen was tapped in 1978 by English
rockers Def Leppard to join their ranks, his own test would come quickly. Less
than one year after joining, Allen and the band were opening dates for the
Australian giant AC/DC, who was just entering the biggest, most popular stage of
their career. In 1981, Def Leppard released High 'N' Dry, which soared on the
wings of the MTV favorite "Bringin' On The Heartbreak." But that was just a
warm-up for what was to follow in the next few years, beginning with the 1983
release of Pyromania. That international smash record featured three top 40
hits, highlighted by the '80s rock standard "Photograph," and sent Def Leppard's
stock into the stratosphere. After nearly a year of solid touring in support of
the album, Def Leppard was one of the biggest bands in the world. Hopes were
understandably high for the group's fourth record.

For Rick Allen, who was riding a wave of energy from adoring fans around the
globe, life was about to change in a way that no one could have predicted. On
New Year's Eve in 1984, Allen was driving well over the speed limit when his car
overturned, throwing him from the vehicle and severing his left arm. While many
of us would surely have dropped into deep depression following such a loss,
Allen renewed his faltering love affair with the drums and became determined to
overcome any obstacle in his path. The results speak for themselves: after Allen
taught himself to play one-armed with the aid of an adapted electronic kit, Def
Leppard produced the phenomenally successful Hysteria. That 1987 effort featured
an astounding six top twenty hits, including a No. 3 ("Armageddon It"), a No. 2
("Pour Some Sugar On Me"), and a No. 1 ("Animal").

More importantly, Allen realized the importance of taking nothing for granted.
As he readily admits, the accident made him a different and better person - it
spiritually transformed him. More than a decade removed from the dizzying
heights of Hysteria, Allen and Def Leppard are still at it, recently releasing
their tenth album, the aptly titled X. Perhaps even more impressive is Allen's
2001 creation with massage therapist/healer Lauren Monroe, the Raven Drum
Foundation. This not-for-profit organization was established to "provide free
educational programs in the arts and opportunities for personal growth during
times of adversity" - the same personal growth Allen himself experienced during
his own difficult and trying time.

Musictoday recently spoke with Allen by phone from his home in Southern
California. We talked about the highs and lows of rock stardom, how long Def
Leppard can go on, and Allen's passion for making a difference in the lives of
other people. We came away impressed by the drummer's honesty, conviction, and
absolute lack of a "god complex." We also spoke with co-founder Lauren Monroe
about the Raven Drum Foundation. With the creativity, energy, and desire Allen
and Monroe bring to the table, big things are certainly on the horizon for their
organization. Did Rick Allen pass the many tests laid before him? Judge for
yourself...we certainly think so.


Musictoday: What led you to the drums of all instruments?

Rick Allen: A friend of mine, John Richardson, he told me that he'd been given a
guitar. And then when he got this guitar and started playing it, I felt a little
left out. So, I went home and asked my folks if it was okay if I got a drum kit,
and of course, their answer was no, because we came from not very much money.
You know, both my parents worked. But, my mum was great. She said, "Okay, we'll
start putting money into a fund." Actually, that's what we did - we put a drum
kit on lay-away and kept going down there and giving my little bit of spending
money every week and my mum kept putting money in and they were really smart, my
parents. They were really smart, because [they said], "Instead of you getting a
drum kit right off the bat, why don't you start going to lessons and seeing if
its something for you. We don't want you to lose interest after a couple of
weeks" - you know what kids are like, short of attention and everything. So I
started going for lessons, and I went to this guy who played with Joe Cocker -
who was also from my hometown of Sheffield - and he showed me how to read and
all the basic rudiments of playing, and that was all I needed. I just needed
someone to show me the basics and I was away. I really developed a passion for
playing. So, really, it was humble beginnings of my friend getting the guitar
... and then when I finally did get the drum kit, then the two of us formed that
first group called Glad.

Mt: Who were your early heroes on the drums?

RA: Actually, Stewart Copeland [Police]. I used to listen to a lot of big band
stuff like Kenny Clarke. I started listening to Billy Cobham. So my influences
were really varied. Actually, just recently I got to meet Billy Cobham for the
first time, having seen him and listened to him on records for years, and he's
the sweetest guy - really nice. But it was a whole variety. And then when I met
Steve Clark with Def Leppard, he kind of introduced to me to listening to Led
Zeppelin more and more, and John Bonham really became a sort of a guiding light,
as it were. So, it wasn't necessarily one drummer, it was many different styles.
I was fishing in those days for what felt good to me, and it was really a good
thing for me to depict many different types of drummers ... and also marching
bands. Fortunately, where I lived, there was always a marching band. Every
couple of weeks, every Sunday, they'd go out there on the streets playing, and
that was also something that really interested me.

Mt: Did you ever get into any of that marching band music yourself?

RA: Not necessarily, but I played around with it at home, imitating my version
of bass drum booming and snare drum rudiments - only really at home, I never
really did that as a profession, per se.

Mt: Who out there right now really catches your ear?

RA: I've been listening to Coldplay. They're an English band, and I've really
been listening to them. I've really been more about a song's drummer, as opposed
to a drummer's drummer, if you know what I mean. I love the idea of being able
to listen to a song and read what's good for the song, not necessarily what's
good for me. As I get older, the idea of self-indulgence really doesn't interest
me; it's more what's good for the whole. What sounds good for the whole song.
And then I've been listening to U2 and those guys for years. But there's some
good players out there, some really good players.

Mt: Describe the early days on the road with Def Leppard - your initial club
dates, the first excursion that you made around the U.K - what were those days
like for you?

RA: Really humble beginnings, playing local bars, local clubs, and trying to
make a stir. From 1978 onwards, and then sometime around '79, early '80, we were
really fortunate that we got a record deal, which is pretty unheard of these
days, to only have been going for a short time. But we thought that the songs
that we were writing were good. We were influenced by some of the greats, but we
thought that a lot of the music around that time was very self-indulgent. What
we got out of the whole punk scene was really the short, to-the-point pop song,
instead of these giant epics by Emerson, Lake, & Palmer and Deep Purple -
although we really liked those guys. We were more into that whole short pop
song. The beginnings of Def Leppard ... it was good because we involved all our
friends. My brother was doing the sound at the time. It was really fun; it was
like school kids. And it was positive, because it kept us off the street
corners. And when we finally made a trip overseas, one of the first shows that
we ever played was right here at Santa Monica Civic Center, and that was opening
up for Pat Travis. It got a little crazy after that, because we started to
experience some of the excesses of rock 'n' roll. Some [of those] people were
professionals at doing that.

Mt: And you were, what, seventeen at the time?

RA: Yeah.

Mt: When you first hit big, how did life change for you?

RA: For a start, I woke up one day and realized I had a bank account. It was
like, "Wow, this is unheard of; this is really odd." Fighting with growing up
and being in this situation of endless possibilities, and it was difficult at
times, but really, really fun at others - polar opposites, if you know what I
mean. It was being a young man and grappling with growing up, becoming a man,
and all the temptations that go with being in that situation.

Mt: By the time Hysteria comes along in 1987, you're a 24-year old
multi-millionaire, a huge rock star. How do you keep your head?

RA: Well, I think the fact that we remained friends with the band; we all
support each other to this day. Three of us live over here [in the States]. I am
really fortunate, because we did start out as friends and we remained friends.
It's sad when bands go the opposite way, and I don't think it would have been
very much fun had we not been friends - it kept us all enthusiastic and wanting
to make music. I think if we were on the road and didn't like each other, it
would be a really, really painful experience. Everybody has their own
idiosyncrasies - you know when to avoid them - but at the same time, we always
knew that we had somebody within the band that we could go and ask for help. You
know, "I need to talk about this with you," and it was a good experience. I
wouldn't change anything, not even the accident. Even that was a part of coming
into manhood and taking responsibility for the things that I had done, the
things that I've experienced. I think it was all leading up to what I am doing
now with the Foundation.

Mt: What has it been like living your life in the public eye with all your dirty
laundry hung out for people to see?

RA: At a certain point, I've just got to let go. Hey, everybody has dirty
laundry, no matter who you are. It's just that mine happens to be aired in
public. But I think that's part of my strength, that I'm not afraid to admit it
these days. We could literally sit here and talk about absolutely anything down
to the finest detail, and there are no secrets. And it's unusual for somebody to
be in a life where they can actually walk the walk, if you know what I mean.
I've been forced to air those sides of myself that I am not very proud of, but
on the other hand, it's very cathartic. It's a way to break through the layers
of your self as a person.

Mt: I would think it would either make you a hermit or very introspective ... 

RA: Absolutely, absolutely. Like I said, I didn't have a choice, and that not
having a choice led me to a place where I'm comfortable with it. I'm okay. And
other people in my life are okay with it, and at least they know what they're
getting when they get into any kind of relationship with me. There's no secrets.
Hopefully, I learned as much as I can. It's good when you can learn through
experience, as opposed to "don't do that ... I tried that once." You just don't
pay any attention to that. We're all experiential beings. We need the direct
experience - the direct relationship - with whatever it is before we go, "Ah!
Now I know what they were saying."

Mt: It's the essential part of growing up and becoming an adult, I guess ... 

RA: Yes, yes.

Mt: You guys are getting ready to head out for a brief U.K. outing?

RA: That's right, I actually leave on Wednesday. I fly to London and then fly
over to Dublin, and then we've got press and TV, and then I think our first show
is on the 10th - I haven't actually looked at the itinerary - in Dublin. Then we
drive up to Belfast, and then from Belfast - Belfast being in northern Ireland -
from Belfast, we go over to England, and go through to the 27th. And then, I'll
be back here on the 28th. The first show in America is going to be on the 24th
of March.

Mt: How has the response to the new album been back at home?

RA: Actually, really good. People compare it to the classic sound of Hysteria or
Pyromania with somewhat of a contemporary sound mixed in with it, which is kind
of what we were looking for. We wanted something that had mass appeal, but with
some sort of edge. I think working with different producers really helped us
produce that sound.

Mt: What about response over here in the States?

RA: Again, the response in the States has been good. The song "Now" has been on
the radio for a while and is doing really well. What we're hoping for is a
release of another song called "Long Long Way To Go" that hopefully should be
coming out in February.

Mt: After all these years as a musician, you're still a young man. Do you have
plans beyond Def Leppard?

RA: The Raven Drum Foundation takes up a lot of my time these days. It's a great
way for to me to give back to the community, because the community's been giving
to me for years and years and years. The hospital system in England gave to me
in a great time of need and I've since become a patron of one of the hospitals
connected to the one where I was when I lost my arm in '84. It's a teen cancer
ward, and we did a drum show down there ... gave people the experience of a
small drum circle. It really inspired people; it gave them a reason to smile; it
made them forget about their own problems for a while. We did some simple
breathing exercises, simple visualizations. It was really good. Just two days
ago, I got a phone call from Neil, one of the patients who was in there and was
just about to go through chemo, and now he's in total remission. Whether we had
anything to do with that or not, we helped him some way or another. It was so
good to hear from this guy, because he went through a really bad patch and it
was really good to hear that everything was okay and that he was at home, loving
life, really loving life. We were just so happy for him.

Mt: Sounds amazing.

RA: It kinda makes it all worthwhile, you know. We've been doing a lot of work
over here in California, especially with an organization called LA's Best. They
set up after school programs for kids who are in really, really terrible home
situations. We did a presentation for all their teachers and that was really
successful, as well. Again, breathing, visualizations, some interesting
exercises that involve getting in touch with your intuition, and then ultimately
going into a drum circle, and they loved it. They thought it was great. We've
been asked to do a presentation at the Eisenhower Hospital in Palm Springs.
We've been working with LA Goal. Do you remember the movie I Am Sam? Well, LA
Goal inspired part of the concept for the movie, and they work with Down's
Syndrome kids and autistic kids. That's a really powerful experience going into
that situation. I threw out everything I ever knew about playing drums, and we
just approached the drum in a completely different way. We'd start just using
our fingers, rubbing our fingers on the drum to make almost a wind sound; we'd
talk about what that sounded like, how that made the kids feel, and they were
like, "Wow, it sounds like the wind, or a storm, or it sounds like the ocean" -
all these different ways of kind of getting them out of their shells and getting
them involved. I taught how to facilitate a drum circle by just using hand
movements: down for less volume, up for more volume, shake your fingers around
for thunder, and they get into it so much. They love it, they really love it.
I've been working with lots of other people that are joining with Raven Drum
Foundation. We like to call it the Arts Collective. It comprises of artists,
musicians, healers, indigenous folks from all over the globe. As the collection
gets bigger, we can call on more people to go out there and work in their
communities. The reach of Raven Drum gets greater and greater and greater as we
get more and more people involved. That keeps me really busy.

Mt: How did you meet Lauren Monroe [Raven Drum Foundation co-founder]?

RA: I met her in Boulder, through a mutual friend of ours. She was working for
the Boulder College of Massage at the time. She worked on me and then, really,
she was my spiritual counselor. We'd stay on the phone and just talk about
things. I'd talk about some of the experiences that I went through when I lost
my arm, some of the inexplicable experiences that she helped give me a language
for. It just really helped, and a couple of years ago, we started talking about
how we could give back to the community. She had a lot of ideas of her own and,
between the two of us, the most natural way to go was through music. And that
just grew into other things. She's been a tremendous help in many ways,
personally, professionally, everything.

Mt: Lauren, I was looking at the Web site, and of the current programs, the
Warrior Drum program just seems amazing. Talk a bit about the rewards of
enabling physically challenged individuals to pursue their muse.

Lauren Monroe: At the moment, the warrior drum circles are still in development,
because we're working on some of the technologies so we can go in and be able to
facilitate in a way that the participants can be fully empowered through the
instruments. We are not working with the physically disabled as of yet, but we
are planning within the next year to work with LA's Best - Los Angeles County
school system's enrichment programs - working with physically challenged kids.
Previous to that, we've been doing lots of other circles.

Mt: What are you most proud that the Raven Drum Foundation (buy gear) has been
able to accomplish so far?

LM: I'm personally the most proud of the Arts Collective. We have put together a
collective of people that come from so many different backgrounds - spiritually,
religiously, artistically - as well as closing the boundaries of science and
spirituality. We have doctors that are interested in meeting with tribal people
and bringing patients with cancer and HIV into situations of ceremony of
healing. I am most proud of the collective that we are gathering and the work
that we are doing through the arts to help people.

Mt: What's on the horizon for the Foundation?

LM: Lots more circles and outreach. We're going to be doing a monthly program at
the Eisenhower Hospital in Palm Springs, and we started a monthly program at Los
Angeles Children's Hospital. We're going to continue educating teachers and
working with kids; they have 3,000 children they want us to work with. And
there's a safe house for women that we're going to be doing monthly work with,
as well. Everything we're doing is all through volunteers and people who want to
be here. There is a lot of fundraising to get community support.

Mt: What does Rick bring to the table with the Foundation?

LM: Rick is a beacon. He's the light for all of us. His path has been one of
incredible inspiration for all of us. Everyone who comes into contact with him
receives that from him. He has a lot of wisdom that he brings from his
experience losing his arm and coming back in the music world. He leads us in a
lot of ways, just by his experience. I don't think he realizes how important he
is to so many people.

Mt: Thank you Lauren.

Mt: Rick, how much longer do you think Def Leppard will go on?

RA: I think as long as we feel we're making a valid contribution and that we can
go out there and make people happy and entertain folks; that's really what we've
discussed among us. Like, "It's 25 years later guys. We've had a good run; we're
doing really well." There's really only the Rolling Stones and Aerosmith and a
handful of other bands that have really gone past the point where you're like,
"Wow, these guys are going to be around forever." We'd really like to keep doing
this as long as we make records that people go out and buy and enjoy listening
to.

Mt: Do you have any advice for people who feel the calling to enter the music
business?

RA: I think to surround yourself with people that give you positive
encouragement - whether that be musicians or your family. Find people with a
common interest, a genuine interest in what you're doing, and draw from that.
Try and develop a passion for the instrument, not for the business. I think it's
important to do that. I went though many different stages in my career: before I
had my accident, I was starting to lose interest in playing drums. I think, in a
way, it was important that I went through the accident, because the first thing
I could think about when I came around in the hospital, was "Wow, I really want
to play drums again." I think developing that passion for the instrument, for
music in general, is really the most important thing.