New York City (New York), USA – Coinciding with the new North
American tour of Dean Can Dance, multi-instrumentalist and singer Peter Ulrich
talks about his experience with the cult group. While
Peter
Ulrich has since launched a successful solo career, including his most
recent release,
Enter The Mysterium (City Canyon Records) , he still looks back
with great fondness on his days as a drummer for Dead Can Dance, who will be
appearing at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre on September 17 as the first step of
its North American tour.
‘I was in London playing in a cover band playing soul, blues and R&B for what
can only be described as pubs for serious drinkers when I met Brendan Perry and
Lisa Gerrard of Dead Can Dance. They had recently moved to London from
Melbourne, Australia.‘
Since Ulrich’s real love was not R&B but bands along the lines of Joy Division,
The Cure and The Talking Heads, he found the developing music of Dead Can Dance
to be fascinating and he jumped at the opportunity when invited to become part
of the group.
‘When they asked me to join them, I basically had to unlearn almost
everything I knew about drumming. Drums weren’t a mere rhythm section for Dead
Can Dance. Drums were the core of the songs, the basic building blocks.’
Dead Can Dance caught fire almost immediately and Ulrich went quickly from
playing to a handful of drinkers to playing to sell-out crowds of hundreds of
avid Dead Can Dance fans.
Ulrich downplays his own contributions to the group. ‘The core of Dead Can
Dance was, is and always will be Brendan with his incredible intense playing of
the guitar and his unique vocals and Lisa with that amazingly serene presence
and spectacular voice.’
Over the years, Dead Can Dance evolved ever more richly, adding exotic
instruments and different vocal approaches into lush, multi-layered
masterpieces. Ulrich stayed with the band for several years but eventually the
pull of family life and a solo career caused him to leave the exciting but
all-consuming life of the road.
When asked why Dead Can Dance broke up in 1998, Ulrich only shakes his head. ‘That
was a private decision between Lisa and Brendan. Like every Dead Can Dance fan I
was dismayed when Dead Can Dance broke up but am overjoyed that they are back
together.’
While Ulrich and Dead Can Dance are no longer together, the bond between Ulrich
and his former band mates runs deep. Perry even produced Ulrich’s first solo
venture on the Projekt label,
Pathways and Dawns (1999). Perry and Gerrard continue to support
him, as he does them. Ulrich recently launched his second release,
Enter The Mysterium under the City Canyons Records imprint and Dead
Can Dance, together again, offers their music to the world and a whole new
generation of music lovers.
Ulrich joined Dead Can Dance in 1983 and appeared on albums like Garden of
Arcane Delights,
Within the Realm of a Dying Sun and
Spiritchaser, and was a touring member of the group until 1990.
Author: admin
