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Not many KC drummers get to do what Pat Tomek does. One night he can be playing drums in a neighborhood bar with Howard Iceberg & the Titanics, the next week play a sold-out opera house with the Rainmakers in Norway, then come back home to produce an album for Deco Auto in his home studio. Recently inducted into the Kansas Music Hall of Fame, he's a true Kansas City star.
The Deli: Pat, tell us about your first set of drums.
Pat Tomek: It was a blue sparkle Stewart (cheap Japanese drums from the '60s). Between my junior and senior years in high school I worked a summer job at a furniture store and scraped enough money together to buy a used kit.
The Deli: Who or what inspired you to be a drummer?
Pat: A few years before that, my brother's best friend got a drum kit and they let me sit down to play it. They said, "You sound really good! You should play drums!" and I believed them. I spent a year or so playing along with songs on the radio or stereo, pounding on pillows first with pencils and then some real sticks, until I got a job and bought some drums. I was going to leave them at home when I went to college, but a friend told me I could make some money playing parties. He was right, and you could say I owe my career to him.
I never had lessons. I guess I must have had some innate talent because I played with high school stage band when I'd only had the drums a couple of months. I couldn't really read music (I still suck at it)—I just made things up and the teacher was none the wiser. I did sweat one time when he asked me, "What are you playing on bar such-and-such?" I just made something up, and then he told me what it should have been. Whew!
I should say some friends were putting a band together when I got the kit, so I started playing immediately. We did stuff by Cream, Jimi Hendrix, Otis Redding, Spirit, Creedence—a lot of what was on the radio at the time (1969).
The Deli: Before you joined the Rainmakers, you played in a variety of bands. Is there one particular band you remember most fondly?
Pat: Well, the best-known band I was in before the Rainmakers was The Secrets*, with Brent Hoad and Norm Dahlor (now with The Elders) and Steve Davis (Liverpool). The first professional recordings I was on were with them, recording for Titan Records in 1978. We eventually did an album out in LA, produced by Greg Penny and Stan Lynch (Tom Petty's drummer). I don't think Stan liked me, but I learned a huge amount just being around him. Looking back on it, I'd never had a role model before.
If I can mention another band, the 4 Sknns was loads of fun. We played '60s and early '70s covers back before anyone else (except Steve, Bob and Rich, who started about the same time). We did exactly what we wanted and more or less dared anybody to fire us. We just didn't care, and that was very liberating for me. Joe "Guido Toledo" Welsh, Richard Streeter, and Gary Charlson (another Titan Records alum). If I can put a plug in here, the Sknns are doing a reunion weekend October 12-13 at The Brooksider. Hopefully we won't suck.
The Deli: The Rainmakers evolved from a trio: Steve, Bob and Rich. Bob Walkenhorst played drums for that group. How did you come to join the Rainmakers?
Pat: Oh good, I can segue from the last question! The Sknns and Steve, Bob and Rich were playing a lot of the same clubs, like Parody Hall and Blayney's. We got to know each other, and one day I got a phone call from Bob. He said they had been signed to Mercury/PolyGram and the plan was to replace him on drums so he could move up front. I never auditioned, just started learning the songs. In fact, we had to take promo pics before we even had a chance for a rehearsal; I remember thinking, "I sure hope this works."
The Deli: You've also played with lots of area bands, including Hidden Pictures and Howard Iceberg and the Titanics. How would you describe your role within a particular band? For instance, does your approach to playing change depending on the type of band it is?
Pat: Every band is unique. One of the benefits of playing with different groups is that you can't just do the same old thing, because it won't work. You have to stay on your toes. In some bands, I have a lot of latitude. In others, like the early days of the Rainmakers or in Hidden Pictures, the songwriter is also a drummer and may have some definite ideas as to what I should do.
Of course the material has a lot to do with it—I'll be a lot busier playing Who covers than in a straight country band, for instance. In general I do try to play the fewest notes possible, because I think it sounds cleaner. If that means people don't think I'm very good, that's okay. I'd much rather they think the band is good than that the drummer is.
Occasionally, though, clutter is good. For instance, there's no point in being restrained on "Won't Get Fooled Again!"
The Deli: You've had the great fortune to tour all over the world. What would your advice be to a drummer about to embark on his or her first tour outside their hometown?
Pat: Try to sleep, and eat well. It won't happen, but do what you can. You'll last longer. Yoga has been a huge help to me, though I'm not very good at it. In every sense be as flexible as you can, because everyone around you is under a strain, too. Keep your eyes and ears open: my biggest regret from my touring days is that I didn't force myself to be more outgoing, to make contact and learn as much as I could from the amazing people I met.
The Deli: When you're not playing music, how do you like to spend your time?
Pat: I've been a freelance web designer since 1996, but haven't done as much with that since the Rainmakers started up again. I have a Pro Tools-based studio in my house; I've done most of Howard Iceberg's recording since the early '90s. I tracked the Rainmakers' 25 On album (Bob mixed), recorded The Cave Girls and Deco Auto, and I'm in the home stretch of a double-CD album with Forrest Whitlow. It looks like I might be recording The Lucky next.
In my spare time, I like to hang out with our cats. There are lots of them.
The next time you can catch the Rainmakers in Kansas City will be at the Parktoberfest at English Landing Park in Parkville on Saturday, October 6 at 3:30 pm. Pat can be seen banging the drums at the 4 Sknns reunion shows on Friday and Saturday, October 12 and 13.
--Barry Lee
| Barry Lee is the host of the long-running free-form radio show Signal To Noise, which is broadcast on Sunday nights at 8:00 pm on KKFI. |
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Pat Tomek
Photo by Chip Duden
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