Rami
Jaffee, is best known as the keyboardist of Foo Fighters
and The Wallflowers as well as featured in the work
for several bands and artists, including Pete Yorn,
Soul Asylum, Pearl Jam, Stone Sour, Joseph Arthur
and Coheed and Cambria. Rami has also played on recordings
by acts as diverse as Fall Out Boy, LeAnn Rimes,
Melissa Etheridge, Keith Urban, and Ziggy Marley
among many others, lending his distinct signature
keyboard sound along the way.
He began making a name for himself
in and around Los Angeles as he developed his unique
sound while playing with a number of local bands.
His big break in session work was mainly from Benmont
Tench of The Heartbreakers passing his number along
to the biggest producers around. Being a player after
Benmont's style, being a Grammy winner, and selling
millions of albums didn't’t hurt either. Soon
Rami was in very high demand for studio work.
At a very young age Rami decided to
spend all his time playing in bands. He had a feeling
if he didn't’t succeed in the business side of
music, he would at least have a ball trying. In his
heart it seems he knew that’s the attitude that
usually gets you a filled schedule and a load of cash
in the end.
When I asked, "What are you and your band doing
currently?"
A quick reply was, “Well, which band?” Currently,
Rami has been deeply immersed touring with Foo Fighters
all over the planet tearing up arenas and having a great
time. The record went #1 in almost every country they
pop in to visit. This current tour is around the 6th year
he has been rocking around with these guys and it just
seems to gets better and better. |
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His other
band The Wallflowers, which has been on hiatus for half
a decade, is in talks about getting together to make another
record in 2012. Rami agrees that he would love to see that
happen. He confides “So
much inspiration came from that band and so much more great
stuff can happen with them.”
Rami’s songwriting is really more all over
the place as all the artists he play with. Most recently,
his current side project ‘Pink Jaffee’ (with
my Fonogenic studios’ partner, Ran Pink) is readily
becoming his favorite sound. It’s parts Paris Texas
soundtrack and Leonard Cohen. They have just released a
song on the new David Lynch Foundation music compilation
that has Rami really excited about.
In the future, you can expect more of the same. Whether
you hear him on a Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson, Macy
Gray or Foo Fighters CD, he will always be playing with
those who inspire him. Clearly this is because when that
goes away, Rami feels so will he.
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Trampoline days
Currently listening to way too
many songs on his Ipod, and all he does is hit
shuffle. so he can go from Tom Waits to Arcade Fire
within 5 minutes. It’s
all good and keeps his ears and mind fresh at all
times.
One of Rami’s only real regrets is his private label
record company ‘Trampoline
Records’, the creation of Pete Yorn, Marc Dauer, and Rami. He believes
that he could have really made a better go with this record label. He summarizes
the mission of Trampoline by saying, saying that he and his partners organized
Trampoline to "take matters into our own hands and get that music out there
to people who wouldn't normally get a hold of it. It was a great idea but I was
in a horrible divorce and could barely keep my head up so it faded away as things
do when you don’t give 110%. (the label and the marriage!)."
Through the years Rami has been fortunate enough
and lucky to share the stage or studio with some
of his all time faves (Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen,
Tom Petty, Jimmy Page, Johnny Cash, Kris Kristofferson,
and so on) He goes on to say ”but hey, maybe
someday I can play with the Bad Seeds and Nick
Cave still to come? “
Instead of concentrating on the future, Rami just
keeps on doing what he does. “In
my older age I don’t really give a shit about
a career. I guess all I can just hope for is to
keep having fun and doing what I want.” |
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Confidence
as an artist is key
Rami has
a true love for what he does which is very easy to
hear when you listen to what he brings to his heartfelt
playing. He has. played on hundreds of records with
sales into the hundred millions mark. Some great
records and some average but always making his stamp
in his contributions and still continuing with that
contributing as we speak. Rami shares " I love that
some people dig what I do and as a music fan, myself,
I know that that’s
everything,. not only in work but just in everyday
life." After all is said and done he would like
his fans to feel that, maybe that he's
carved out a nice piece of work for himself which
is something he always remains grateful of each day.
But at the same time, it can sometimes become machinelike,
and to a creative musician like Rami, that’s
lame. "It gets harder to change shit up in my old
age!"
When asked to think about where he sees the
business side of music going, he gives his view on
things, "I'm not really sure where the music business
is moving to, but unfortunately, it’s
a business and with any business, you’ll
have idiot shoe salesmen who know nothing about music
but know about business. that’s just a sad
truth in the arts since before time! But with those
schmucks, there are always some great A&R men that
brought us some stuff we should be soooo thankful
of!! I would like to see record companies
sign cooler acts. They’re out there but Execs
are pussies sometimes, always have been. The Internet
has definitely has changed the way things are done
for ever but Rami believes however that it’s
a positive. "As a listener and observer of music
and artists, you really get to make up your own mind.
which he feels was not the situation years
ago when you only really got what was given to you."
On the downside, he continues to say "Sometimes
people need to be spoon fed their pop. Confidence
as an artist is key but confidence as a fan is keyer. (ha
yeah, i said it.)" |
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