DRUM! 

August/September 1997


After six years on the road and in the studio providing the
viscous backbeat for '80s rockers like David & David, Steve Stevens and
Billy Idol, drummer Greg Ellis was ready to take his rhythms in a
different direction. 

His catalyst was Mickey Hart's book Drumming At The Edge Of
Magic, which inspired him to pick up a djembe, then the dumbek, and on
to udus, tablas, frame drums and beyond. Infusing his own style with
traditional rhythms from Africa, India and the Middle East as well as the
West, Ellis' vision culminated in Vas, a duo that was born in 1995
when he met Persian singer and hammered dulcimer player
Azam Ali. Their debut album Sunyata came to life as soon as
they started working together and was recorded simply by
Ellis at his home studio with one AKG C414 mike and two
ADATs. Writing as they went along, layering vocal and
percussion tracks, they wove a rich tapestry of what Ellis calls
"alternative world music."

With plans of taking the show on the road this summer,
Vas found it necessary to reconfigure their setup. A cellist
will harmonize with Azam's voice, and Ellis collaborated with a
friend to design a custom percussion kit using a Tama rack system.
Welding wrought iron planter rings to the frame to accommodate the
various instruments and adding an old 1930s marching bass drum to the
mix to cover the shaman drum parts, Ellis can now incorporate everything
and employ all his limbs to recreate the layered pulses of Vas.
"I've always wanted to blend percussion with the kit," says Ellis.
"This creation and the music of Vas is the fruition of my vision."

--Karen Stackpole