David Oberlé talks about Gryphon
An exclusive interview conducted by Eduardo Mota



E. M. - How did you join Gryphon?
D. O. - Up until 1970, I had been playing in a Rock band called "Juggernaut" (Heavy Progressive Rock), mainly playing at pub and college gigs. This band also included Phil Nestor who played Bass and was later to become the first Bass player with Gryphon. I had spent the two previous years at Ewell Technical college in Surrey and met Richard & Brian there at a "Juggernaut "gig one evening (we were supporting 'Egg" another fine Canterbury band). Richard & Brian had afready formed a band with Graeme Taylor called "Spellthorne" and they had decided that it needed drums/percussion to complete the line up. They approached me for the job and I accepted - although with mild trepidation as they were all formally trained musicians and I was just a "Rock drummer"!

E. M. - Since you came from a Hard Rock band how was your first contact with Gryphon music?

D. O. - At the first rehearsal it became obvious to me that a 'Rock drum kit' would be completely out of the question. Not only from the point of view of volume but also due to the style of the Music In essence, at this time, the band played Folk music using acoustic instruments. This necessitated a complete re-think on my part. Richard wanted to keep the percussion as close as possible to the type of drumming that would fit the style of music. The band was already playing Medieval and Baroque pieces and for me this meant that I had to change not only my playing style but also what I was physically playing. I used a floor Tom as a Bass drum, added bongos, an African talking drum and various other small drums, gongs and cymbals as well as a teapot & other percussive bits and pieces, and learnt to produce a ""Kit" sound from my newly bespoke kit. The results of this are best demonstrated on 'Estampie' from the first Gryphon album.

E. M. - In those early years, Gryphon members admired Yes music. Was that the reason for your first USA tour in 1974 opening for YES?

D. O. - The entire band were great fans of Yes. We admired their writing abilities and technical command of their instruments. Richard & Brian had already met Rick Wakeman at The Royal College of Music and when Rick joined Yes, he introduced us to Brian Lane, who was head of the Yes management team Brian was responsible for our first American record deal with Arista Records and it was decided by Brian and Clive Davies, M.D of Arista at the time, that we should open for Yes on their Autumn tour of 1974 to promote "Red Queen to Gryphon three". For us it was a dream come true. Not only to have a U.S. record deal but also to be supporting our favourite band - what a blast! During this tour we got to know Yes extremely well and by the end of the tour we would join them onstage to play their encore numbers with them (as we knew the songs almost as well as they did by then). On our return to the U.K, Steve Howe asked us to back him on a track for his solo album "Beginnings". We also did the support slot for them for their next U.K tour.

E. M. - "Midnight Mushrumps" and "Red Queen" moved Gryphon music to a different style - more instrumental and more progressive Rock How do you explain these changes in your music?

D. O. - Midnight Mushrumps was quite a leap from the first album, although this was not surprising really, considering that Gryphon was a hybrid. By this I mean that the musical influences, which affected us, ranged from classical, jazz & blues, through to rock, all mixed together to form what at the time became a unique sound. "Midnight Mushrumps" was really a move forward from the world of acoustic folk. Phil Nestor joined the band to add electric bass and Graeme had started to use an electric guitar as well as an acoustic. Richard had started to expand into keyboards in a big way and we had to find out how to amplify Brian' 5 Bassoon, as we now had a P.A. system and had got considerably louder!
Sir Peter Hall had used some of the material from "Midnight Mushrumps" for the Royal Shakespeare Company production of the 'Tempest'. All of a sudden, Gryphon music was receiving exposure through all forms of the media (National press, T.V and Radio) and the band became very busy, achieving some interesting firsts. For example, being the only band who have ever managed to get airplay on B.B.C radios 1,2,3 & 4 in the same week (this record still stands even today) and being the only band to ever play a concert at 'The Old Vic', giving concern to the Theatre management about the foundations!!!
"Red Queen" was really the first expedition into progressive music and was definitely influenced by the bands, which we all admired at the time i.e. Yes, Genesis etc. It was also a new venture in composition, with a symphonic structure and a theme running through the whole album. It was aimed far more at the American market (with a little pressure from the record company and management!) and was the album we toured America with.

E. M. - With "Raindance" vocals were back, any particular reason for this return?

D. O. - As the bands instrumentation increased, so did the areas of composition we fek we could move into. Shorter tracks and a far more varied feel. In keeping with previous albums we always wanted to move in a different direction and it could be said that "Raindance" was our stab at being commercial (whatever that means - a record company term I think). We wrote songs, which was the first time that this had happened and it allowed me to sing far more than had been the case before. I even went as far as having voice production lessons, which definitely helped. It was also the album, which saw the replacement of Phil on Bass with Malcolm Bennett who also played flute. Malcolm' s influence definitely affected the bands sound for this album.

E. M. - "Treason" brought more changes again. Some pieces appeared in song format and you became exclusively - the vocalist. Would you like to comment on these changes?

D. O. - "Treason" was a different animal completely. We had signed to (Harvest) EMI Records and were given the services of a producer (Mike Thorne) to steer us along a different path. I think the idea was to make us more saleable to the public at large and we even produced a single version of' Spring song'. Graeme had left the band by this time, as had Malcolm and they had been replaced by Bob Foster on Guitar and Jon Davie on Bass. By effectively changing 2/3 of the rhythm section, the sound was bound to change. In addition, we used the talents of a lyricist, Tim Sebastion, to help create the new Gryphon sound. I was suddenly called upon to sing far more than I had ever done before, which necessitated the need for someone to play Drums and so Alex Baird was bought in to fill the role. In effect, with "Treason" the entire rhythm section was new and as such the old Gryphon had already passed into history. This meant that I could concentrate on singing and playing percussion. However, a full circle had now taken place and we were a Progressive Rock band with a Rock drummer. Very different from early Gryphon and everything we had started out to be!

E. M. - As Gryphon evolved, altering so much from album to album, could you Preview how the album after "Treason" might have sounded?

D. O. - This is an impossible question to answer. In reality had the band kept going it could have gone in any musical direction but, I could not honestly predict where - (the first underwater medieval reggae band maybe!!).

E. M. - Unfortunately, after "Treason" Gryphon disbanded - why?

D. O. - It could be said that we had gone as far as we could go. I do believe however that around this time the first Punk bands were appearing on the music scene and a new style of music was sweeping across the World. It is interesting to note that our Producer on 'Treason', was in fact responsible for signing "The Sex Pistols" to EMI, so... you can make what you like of that! In reality, we could at that time go no further. Richard had started pursuing a solo career and the momentum had gone. The Gryphon' s wings were clipped and it came crashing to the ground (How poetic - yuck!).

E. M. - Considering the Gryphon discography, a live album is still missing. I wonder if we may wait for it's release. There must be tapes at the B. B.C or King Biscuit archives?

D. O. - As far as I know there are both in existence. I certainly remember recording the King Biscuit session when we were in the States in 1974. It would be good if either company did release a live recording but I feel that is more down to pressure from the public rather than the band trying to push it, so... if you would like to hear Gryphon LIVE, start hassling them guys!

E. M. - As many Gryphon enthusiasts are requesting, is there any possibility of a band reformation?

D. O. - All I can say to that is - the band members have certainly considered the idea recently so...Watch this space!!!