The following interview was taken from www.mikedolbear.com

How did you get into playing the shows?

In general it goes back to probably 1982. I was doing a Bucks Fizz gig then, which everyone pulls my leg about, but they did have three No 1 hits! Then it all finished and I got a phone call to ask if I wanted to do Pirates of Penzance with Pamela Stephenson, George Cole and Tim Parry and yeah OK but again I had to do an audition for this role.

However, it wasn’t a musical audition it was a visual and I had to go and meet the American MD and we just talked, not about music but about playing and everything else and the next day I got the gig so that was my first ever show.

But it’s quite a different thing coming from a pop band into Gilbert & Sullivan playing virtual orchestral kits. So I did that for about a year, which was great and then I left to do Blondell. I then didn’t do much in the way of shows for a few years until I got asked to go and dep for the show “Children of Eden ” so again it was going back in the West End.My dad was then doing a show called Matador and I basically did all the electronic programming for that show, so I was sort of a ready made dep. I covered that and then Joseph that was my first really big West End show and through that Grease came along.  Mike Dixon, the musical director, hand picked his rhythm section and gave me the job.

Grease did six and a half years and when it stopped, I depped on Mamma Mia, Frosty, which was really good fun, and then We Will Rock You came along which I had to audition for.

Tell us the story about this gig

Very interesting scenario. October 2001 got a phone call from Victor saying “would you be interested in auditioning for We Will Rock You ” so I was like yes please!

We were doing three numbers, One Vision, Who Wants To Live Forever and just a twelve bar jam so basically I went out and got every possible Queen thing I could get, the video, live at Wembley, all the albums and just started to get my head around Roger Taylor’s playing.

I sorted out all the numbers we had to play and just really got it into my head. I went along for the audition in November 2001 and when I turned up there was the bass player, guitar player and keyboard player who I’d never met before and we were thrust into the studio. “Right OK your turn now “.

They were actually auditioning 20 drummers, 20 bass players, 20 keyboard players, 20 guitar players and like weeding it out. So anyway we kicked it off with One Vision, it was great, Brian May came up and seemed to be really pleased. I got a phone call the next day saying can you come back again, Roger Taylor was there this time so I thought “Oh great “. We did the same numbers again, same thing, played it and then it was like right OK you go upstairs, another drummer came down, another bass player came down, you go upstairs, and then after about two hours it was like in and out, in and out, and then at the end of the day we got a “thank you we’ll be in touch “. I was climbing up the walls for about three days and then I got a phone call asking if I’d been contacted by the show, “well no ” well you’ve got the gig! But then the serious hard work started because that was around beginning December 2001, the show wasn’t starting until April 2002 so I had to really get my act together.

I was glad I bought all the albums and videos, totally went through the Live at Wembley 1986 concert, just really started watching it, not just so much his playing, but his sounds, his approach to it, and also the different drum sounds on all the albums. It was very different, and when I knew what the set list was going to be on the show I started to really, really work and I was doing about four hours a day.

Did you get any assistance?

The only time we got assistance was the first band call we had was 8th April 2002 when we had all got together. There was this rhythm section that I had never played with, although we had the audition together, it was a bit of a mixed band so after about two or three days Brian May and Roger turned up and it was great because they were just easy to get on with. They put me at ease certainly, it’s quite a daunting task to have to learn all this stuff and try and duplicate all their historic music.

So Roger was great because if there was anything I needed to ask Roger he was so helpful and there when you needed him. So we did about three weeks rehearsal and about two weeks of previews and we opened. The show has been running for over two years and we’ve done just over 800 performances

What’s required when playing in a West End show?

We Will Rock You is a bit different because its more of a rock concert but other shows I’ve done you’ve obviously got to have reading skills but be a little bit flexible with it because you’ve got a conductor who’s sometimes very pedantic about what he wants and you’ve got to sometimes have to compromise. I think you’ve got to obviously be able to work with the Musical Director because each one has his own approach to what they want from the rhythm section.

Some of them are very good, some of them will actually get the band playing, others will actually be quite hard on the band and be quite religious about tempo but they are the “musical director”.

Also I think it’s important to have people skills because you’re working with the same people, same players, for about six, seven shows a week, you’ve got to keep that vibe there, there can’t be any factions or issues going on between you and if there is you’ve got to sort it out because basically you’re there to make music and you’ve got to enjoy it.

Generally just keeping a very open approach, playing a show every night as if it’s the first time you’ve played it, keep it fresh and don’t get too clever. You’ve got other people in the rhythm section relying on you, you’ve got cast relying on you, you’ve got stage cues, lighting cues. If you start sticking your six pennyworth of coal in then it’s going to throw it all out so you’ve got to be consistent but not be boring.

How much involvement does Roger Taylor and Brian May actually have in the show or are they just bystanders?

Oh no they’re not bystanders, they’re musical supervisors, naturally its their music and they obviously want to make sure its played and reproduced every night to the best possible ability. Roger turns up quite a bit but Brian is there probably twice a week.

You said also that Brian May would give you suggestions, talk about fills.

Yeah, with certain things which is good, because Brian is actually a perfectionist. He’ll always strive to get the best. If you listen to their music, the production on it, they never seem to repeat themselves, any of their numbers never seem to repeat.

Some bands you know it’s the band because they’ve got a signature but I think with Queen every album was a different venture, they just kept exploring the territories, like production, sound, feel, and ideas obviously they’re progressive talent and I think they’re still evolving so he’ll sometimes come in and we have a six month clean up which is just to check everything is still alright, any new ideas he might want to put in.

This is in a rehearsal situation, he’s hearing things that you don’t hear, but also he’s got an amazing ear, which is great because it keeps it fresh.

Did Roger Taylor have a say in the size of the kit and the cymbals you use?

Yes he did actually. When it was getting nearer to starting I managed to get to speak to him and asked what size drums to play. He just said the biggest size kits you can get and the biggest size cymbals. Basically 24 “, 10 “, 12 “, 13 “, 16 “, 18 “, deep snare and the biggest crash cymbals you can get so yeah he was quite influential in what sizes I picked.

Do you get much chance to get out and do other work?

With the nature of the beast I’m only really allowed to have two covers who obviously I had to train them up, it’s quite specialised, its not just about reading the music its about playing with emotion and listening to the approach, whether you want to sit back a number or kick a number or what.

So really the two guys I had to trust and I knew two people Chris Maitland and Gareth Roberts and sometimes it’s a bit difficult to get off because we have a sort of ruling that if Neil Murray, the bass players off, I can’t really be off, so we have to be a bit flexible so a lot of the work I did do I would have to say no. I’ve done a few TV things, quite a few sessions, which luckily is in the daytime so I can do that and go and do the show in the evening but because I’m very proud to do it I want to be there a lot of the time.

How do you find the industry has changed over the last twenty years?

I think it’s changed quite a lot. I’m 48 now but I feel a young 48 and obviously I feel like when I started playing professionally in the mid 70′s, I guess I’m still very old school, you have to know your rudiments, how to read or get your arse kicked and I had it kicked so many times when I was young, it was part of the business. There were no videos then, no music schools, basically if you wanted to do it, you had to sit down every night with your Jim Chaplin Independence Book and try and go to as many live gigs as possible and buy the latest record from America that influenced you.

So I guess hence saying old school certainly in 20 years the advent of drum machines, sequences, all the electronic stuff, its fantastic, I’ve bought it all and used it all and found it useful. It’s a bit of a difficult question because obviously the age I’m at I see younger players and some are absolutely frightening, absolutely phenomenal and you think Oh I need to go back and start learning again. Then you realise they have the facility to learn from DVD, Videos and great teaching situations so I think for young drummers out there everything’s out there to grab at.

What advice would you give somebody who wants to get into this line of work?

I would say be very polite and pick the show you would like to go and see. I have a lot of letters turn up at the stage door. I had a guy saying I’ve done this, this and this I want to come dep on the show. I sometimes feel it’s the wrong approach, I sometimes think you should actually find out who the drummer or percussionist is on the show and try and turn up and try and meet them and introduce yourself and just take it from there and don’t be too pushy. I think egos and being very pushy is a very quick way out of the business.

I know loads of egos that have been severely deflated. I would say just be polite and have your goals and go along and if you get a chance, even if its an out of town show, take it on, get the experience and basically just network, prove to people you can play, prove you’re reliable and then word will get around.

Style wise you’ve got to be a “jack of all trades ” and try and master them all. Just be open to all kinds of musical situations, its not all about being on Top of the Pops and going on tours and free drum kits and free adverts in magazines. If you want to do it for a living, you’re looking at a life, thirty, forty years and you’ve got to try and master the styles, especially now. So if you’re going to come into this side of the business you’ve got to forget that side and just try and focus on what you want.