Carl Palmer doesn’t really need to prove anything to anyone. The legendary drummer for Emerson, Lake & Palmer and Asia has been banging out brain-melting prog rock for over half a century. But at 75, instead of cashing in on the “elder statesman” thing, he’s launching a prog rock camp because, as he puts it, “Why not throw a bunch of nerds into a room with some sticks and a six-string bass and see what happens?”
The camp, taking over Philadelphia’s 2300 Arena this November, is about as ambitious as anything Palmer’s ever done. It’s got master classes, workshops, and some face-melting live performances, including a never-before-seen ELP concert film shot in Chile. “We’ve kept it in the vault for years,” Palmer says, as if casually dropping a bomb. “It’s raw, electric, and just the right amount of chaotic. It’s the kind of thing that makes you remember why you got into music in the first place.”
He’s recruited some heavy hitters for this nerd fantasy: Derek Sherinian from Dream Theater, Bumblefoot from Guns N’ Roses, and his own crew from Carl Palmer’s ELP Legacy, featuring Paul Bielatowicz and Simon Fitzpatrick. It’s not just about smashing through classics, though. “We’re actually teaching how to make prog rock work,” Palmer says. “There’s a difference between playing fast and playing with purpose. A lot of guys forget that.”
Of course, the whole camp is born from Palmer’s lifelong obsession with pushing the limits of what rock can do. He’s been running clinics and master classes since the 70s because apparently just dominating prog rock wasn’t enough. “Back then, drum clinics were just dick-measuring contests,” he says. “I didn’t want to be that guy. I wanted to teach people how to actually use their hands, not just wave them around.”
While Palmer’s not delusional about prog’s commercial appeal these days, he’s not ready to let it die on his watch. “Look, it’s not chart-topping anymore, but neither is jazz. Doesn’t mean it’s not relevant. There are still people out there who want to be challenged by music, and those are my people.”
Speaking of challenges, Palmer’s also shepherding a Record Store Day release of ELP’s 1972 concert at Pocono International Raceway, the biggest show since Woodstock. “We owned that music, so yeah, I had a hand in putting it out,” he says, sounding half proud, half annoyed that anyone would think otherwise. “It’s on vinyl because digital just doesn’t feel right for that era. You want to feel the mud between your toes when you listen to this thing.”
The show itself is something of a mythical beast. Two hundred thousand people packed in to see ELP at the height of their bombastic glory, and Palmer remembers it as the best kind of chaotic. “You’d think we were leading an army into battle with how loud it got,” he laughs. “You can hear it on the recording, how it’s just this wall of sound barreling through the field. We were just trying to keep the whole thing from collapsing on itself.”
Palmer’s also not afraid to admit he’s seen the genre shift and morph over the decades. “Prog rock was born in Europe, like jazz was born in America,” he muses, like a guy who’s thought about this more than a little. “It’s complexity with soul. People think it’s just complicated for complication’s sake, but it’s not. It’s about making you think and feel at the same time. These new bands trying to make it sound like math homework are missing the point.”
If you’re expecting a mellow, philosophical old-timer, you’re in the wrong place. Palmer’s still got a fire that would shame most 20-somethings. “This is about keeping prog rock alive,” he insists. “It’s about showing people that complexity can have passion. You don’t have to be a machine to play like one. I’m not done yet, and neither is prog.”
Catch Carl Palmer at the Prog Rock Camp this November and grab that Record Store Day release if you want to know what it felt like to play to 200,000 lunatics at the height of rock’s most unhinged era. As far as Palmer’s concerned, the only thing dead in prog rock is complacency.
Listen to the interview above and then check out the videos below!
