Peter Rivera - featured drummer / Rare Earth
Notes from an old drummer ———-this is from my December / 1970 Nashville experience.
Much of my year of 1970 was working in West Palm Beach. I migrated around, ended up playing at a club called Cock And Bull for several months. It was a quasi house gig. The band leader was Ron Hobbs. He was part of Tommy Cashwell’s band for several editions. Gigs eventually dried up with the group. October 1970, I got a call from Don Garrett. Don was the bass played in my Mississippi group Sons Of Tyme. Don was back in his hometown Little Rock.
[Don’s group needed a drummer and I needed a gig]
The band was called Merging Traffic. Like similar regional groups they had some success as recording artist. This group was all new members with exception of one. The group drove from Little Rock in their band van. They loaded [me and my gear] into a U-Haul and headed back to Little Rock.
It was crazy being back on the road again, going to a new city.
Merging Traffic was an interesting excursion from my lounge lizard life. They were more of a concert event group. We did a club gig in Little Rock, but the group’s goal was another record and better paying events. It was a very good sounding, original band.
There was a standard 4-piece rhythm section with 2 up front woodwind/vocalist. In 1970-it was a different sound. The group played swampy music with rock and blues. Delaney and Bonnie, Joe Cocker and those styles of bands were on our radar.
The group had a producer/manager, Tony Moon in Franklin, Tennessee.
The 3 months I was in this group (Oct-Nov-Dec 1970) was a crazy period. The bottom line is that it all failed. We played at Vanderbilt University at some frat party. Before going back to Little Rock the group had a night off. The band went to a concert in Nashville to hear Sha Na Na, Rare Earth and James Gang. I remember walking by the Ryman Auditorium on our way to the concert. I don’t know what the concert venue was. Our seats were on the floor close to the stage. It wasn’t a proper music venue, more of an open event hall.
Sha Na Na did the thing I’d seen from The Woodstock Film. They were very good. I appreciated what they did.
Rare Earth played second. They were very good. Every lounge lizard band was playing Get Ready. Peter Rivera played drums. He’s also the lead vocalist. He’s an excellent drummer and singer. The band really cooked and played their record tracks.
What they did was what I’d been doing for several years, the lounge lizard type bands. As good as they were, it wasn’t what really “turned me on” so to speak.
Looking back 50 years, I say, ok, now I get it. I appreciate what they did and accomplished. Sly and The Family Stone, Joe Cocker, Delany and Bonnie, Traffic etc. were the kinds of groups with the RnB Blues Rock style I followed. Maybe it was the visual impression. They were clean and polished from hundreds of steady nightclub gigs.
Music, fashion and styles during that time period, late 60s early 70s was always moving faster that you could keep up with. Sound was fashion, always changing.
When I saw him play the gig in 1970, he had a double bass drum kit. Being a fan of Ginger Baker and Keith Moon, I didn’t see why he had 2 bass drums. His playing grip has always been traditional opposed to the Ringo style, matched grip.
His playing is old school, Non-Linear drumming. Other non- linear drummer’s are Ringo, John Bonham, Ginger and more.
Linear drumming style icons are David Garibaldi, Ziggy Modeliste, Harvey Mason, Mike Clark etc.
The sound and signature of the Rare Earth sound included conga drums percussion. Peter Rivera’s production, arrangements and his drumset style included conversational performance with the conga drummer. Many of his tunes have a certain compositional template based on the rhythmic grooves between the drumset, congas and his vocals.
Writing this feature on Peter Rivera and Rare Earth has been a little different from my previous articles. Because I took a week to do it, I had more time to review various Youtube videos. What I discovered was how active Peter Rivera has been since the 60s. Maybe not as visible as Bob Dylan, but he has always had a music gig through each decade. In 2022 he’s still playing gigs and singing like he always has. Maybe it’s the Detroit water.
I have high respect to Peter Rivera for his skills of drumming and fronting a band. Motown dug them enough to sign them to their label. He really created a craft to play drums, sing and make a living in the music business. Many failed, he succeeded, Congratulations / Right On / God Bless - Peter Rivera.