Fast Eddie Hoh

The stereotype image of a session drummer as a bland individual who keeps a beat listening to a click track and totally ignores the actual music hardly fits the career of Eddie Hoh, quite commonly credited as Fast Eddie Hoh. He was indeed mostly known as a session drummer, and did most of his touring behind groups that utilized such players exclusively to make their studio albums, most notably the Mamas and Papas. But Hoh came out of the exceedingly creative environment of the early '60s California rock scene. The ever-expanding oldies radio audience is pretty much not aware that the same fellow plays on many favorite sides from this period. Hoh also has associations with artists and bands considered to be among the most inspired and unique from this era of music as well, including Tim Buckley, Donovan and the Flying Burritto Brothers. Factor in the Monkees as well as the aforementioned California dreamers whose least favorite day of the week was "Monday, Monday" and you have a drummer taking over a good deal of airwave territory. "Daydream Believer" is one his most famous apperances on record, but when it comes to the work with Donovan, the outrageous track entitled "The Trip" is a great example of Hoh really cutting loose. Unlike some of the studio players from this period, who came up with jazz and vocal music and came over to rock for paychecks, Hoh's early years were spent toiling in folk rock combos and blinking at the strobe lights in early psychedelic and garage groups. He was one of the drummers in an early '60s outfit that played the Whisky A Go Go under the name of The Strangers and The Invaders, then became a member of the intriguing, if completely forgotten, Modern Folk Quartet. This band was quite influential on the Los Angeles scene, recording one of...