Texas native Chris Layton really started his drumming career on the right foot when began drumming in the late Stevie Ray Vaughan's band, Double Trouble, in 1978. They would collaborate all the way up until Vaughan's untimely death in 1990.
Layton was gracious enough to stop by the Reverb studio and hang out with us for a bit. In town drumming for the Experience Hendrix tour, it was fitting that he brought along the late Mitch Mitchell's Ludwig Supraphonic snare that had been gifted to him by Mitchell's widow.
Chris reminisced about his late drummer friend's jazz background and aversion to rock and roll — Mitchell described it as "vile rubbish" — despite being the drummer for the famous Jimi Hendrix Experience. Chris also played a bit of Mitchell's "favorite waltz" from Hendrix's "Manic Depression" that he gets to play every night with the Experience.
In the second video, Chris tells us about the Stevie Ray Vaughan exhibit at the Bullock Museum in Austin, Texas curated by GRAMMY at LA and walks us through how to play the Texas Shuffle. Layton also talks about the Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble live album (featuring Layton as well as Dr. John on piano), Live at Carnegie Hall, that will be reissued on vinyl for Record Store Day.
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