From: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org (fegmaniax-digest) To: fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Subject: fegmaniax-digest V8 #223 Reply-To: fegmaniax@smoe.org Sender: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-fegmaniax-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk fegmaniax-digest Tuesday, June 29 1999 Volume 08 : Number 223 Today's Subjects: ----------------- Chicago venue query [John Jenks ] Bob [Tallulah Bankhead ] Re: SH in Chicago [michelle wiener ] Re: Wow! [Michael Wolfe ] Re: Wow! [Tom Clark ] Re: Bob [Eb ] Re: [four episode lesbian ] Re: randi's old group [Capitalism Blows ] Re: live bangles ["Russ Reynolds" ] Re: twirly twirly twirly ["Russ Reynolds" ] Re: Chicago venue query [ultraconformist@mail.weboffices.com] Re: Wow! [Ethyl Ketone ] filling the pre-JFS void [Eb ] Re: filling the pre-JFS void [Eb ] Robyn in Chicago, truncated top 10's, and other oddities [Natalie Jacobs ] I am trying so hard to maintain my thin veneer of composure. [Vivien Lyon] Bangles Info [Griffith Davies ] pre-JFS? [Tom Clark ] Re: Wow! [Michael Wolfe ] Re: Wow! [Mark_Gloster@3com.com] Re: storefront in chicago [DDerosa5@aol.com] "I wanna hear 'Caravan' with a drum sola!!" ["Chaney, Dolph L" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 09:17:23 -0400 (EDT) From: John Jenks Subject: Chicago venue query > > More dates for the "The 1999 International Music Against > Brain Degeneration Revue" have been posted at the Flaming Lips website. > This summer tour, organized by The Flaming Lips, will feature Robyn, > Sebadoh, EAR (aka Sonic Boom), and Cornelius. > > 17/18 July -- Metro -- Chicago, IL Lurker query: Can any Chicago fegs post some information on the Metro? (location, size, etc.) I'm seriously considering making the trip from Cleveland. Columbus and Cincinnati are closer, but the shows are on weeknights... This is assuming that tickets are still available, of course. tnx johnj ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 14:44:40 -0700 (PDT) From: Tallulah Bankhead Subject: Bob Has anyone ever noticed that Bob Dylan albums never list the year? - -Julie ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 20:57:37 -0400 From: michelle wiener Subject: Re: SH in Chicago i live for roadtrips. > It'll run from > > July 30-August 5, 4x per day Saturday and Sunday, 2x > > per day the rest of the > > week! So, in line with what I promised Charles, the > > booker, we have to really > > turn out some fegs to this sucker... > > Okay. This is the perfect occassion for a Mid-west > feg-fest. No excuses. Get yer asses over here, up > here, down here, whatever- just bring your ass and a > pillow. Dave and I have combined floorspace for, oh, > dozens of fegs. > > Vivien count me in! doubt that i would need the floorspace--i've got a friend or two in chi-town that i might be able to drag along to the show as well. i'd also be willing to carpool with anyone from the ohio area. anything to relieve the I-65 doldrums. and i'm an excellent driver. i believe that week is completely open for me, so just name the date, time and meeting place and i will be there. also, this from John Jenks: "Lurker query: Can any Chicago fegs post some information on the Metro? (location, size, etc.) I'm seriously considering making the trip from Cleveland. Columbus and Cincinnati are closer, but the shows are on weeknights... This is assuming that tickets are still available, of course." i remember the metro as a nice place for shows. that was when i was 21. it's fairly large, it's got a balcony, i think it's on Clark St. and i remember it being easily accessible from the el. obviously i don't live in chicago anymore so don't take my word for this. besides, i live near cincinnati and i still have no one to go to the show with. hint. i'm pretty sure i could put you up for the night. take the next day off. prioritize, dammit! AND: susanna hoffs is part of the austin powers-linked band, ming tea. she's got a song, "the look of love," on the first movie soundtrack. for whatever that's worth. cheers, michelle ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 00:22:58 +0000 (GMT) From: Michael Wolfe Subject: Re: Wow! >Robyn, the Flaming Lips, Sebadoh, and Cornelius IQU (??!) IQU are formerly known as ICU (Cornelius is a different band), on Calvin Johnson's K label in Olympia. They changed their name because some east coast band with less talent had a name that reduced to the acronym ICU, and kept threatening legal trouble. They're a sort of electronic/ambient band with a pretty broad palette of tone colors -- for instance, they use a stand up acoustic bass. They're pretty poppy and jazzy, too -- the bass really lends their music a sultry, dark atmosphere. Occasionally, the "dj" straps on a guitar, and just wails away on the thing (as on the track "Aluet") -- this left me quite surprised in concert, I thought I had them pegged. They're quite finicky sushi eaters. And they're DEFINITELY worth showing up early for. >I discovered yet another E6 band yesterday, the Minders. Good >god, those guys are Beatlesque. But I liked 'em. Now, I know that we just had a brief discussion about people being peeved about everything getting compared to the Beatles, but I'd just like to back up Natalie on this. Capitol records could sneak their song "Pauline" onto Revolver, and no one would be the wiser. One line from "Pass it Around" is: "The joking smokers clubs on the rise." I wonder how long it'll be before Martyn Leaper declares himself to be "The Orca". But for me, there's no "but" anywhere -- I love these guys, no apologies. And they're ours! Martyn and Rebecca are Portlanders. (contented sight) Got my hands on an advance copy of JfS, and wow! Is there an unspoken agreement to hold off discussion of until everyone's had a chance to hear it, or is anyone interested in my impressions? I'll hold off 'til later if saying too much would spoil it for anyone. It'll take some time to align the neurons, at any rate. But, wow! Shameless personal plug: I was a 6'5" 185 lb. fly on the wall at the feg gathering in Palo Alto yesterday, and it was wonderful. Fine folks, every one. It was an unqualified pleasure to meet all of you -- Nick (thanks so much for lending your house and grounds), Carrie (she of the trusty watch), Chris (no need to be afraid of me!), lj (she of the nomadic watch), Quail (I had this weird pre-conceived, ill founded, Brian Blessed-esque image of you. Good to be set straight.), Glen (mmm. beer.), and of course my lovely hosts Mark and Donne. Thanks so much to all of you for making me feel so welcome! - -Michael ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 01:24:59 +0000 (GMT) From: Tom Clark Subject: Re: Wow! On 6/28/99 5:22 PM, Michael Wolfe wrote: >Shameless personal plug: I was a 6'5" 185 lb. fly on the wall at >the feg gathering in Palo Alto yesterday, and it was wonderful. >Fine folks, every one. It was an unqualified pleasure to meet >all of you -- Nick (thanks so much for lending your house and >grounds), Carrie (she of the trusty watch), Chris (no need to be >afraid of me!), lj (she of the nomadic watch), Quail (I had this >weird pre-conceived, ill founded, Brian Blessed-esque image of >you. Good to be set straight.), Glen (mmm. beer.), and of >course my lovely hosts Mark and Donne. Thanks so much to all of >you for making me feel so welcome! um, ahem, um... - -tc ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 18:53:41 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: Bob Tallulah: >Has anyone ever noticed that Bob Dylan albums never list the year? Well, I'm not sure which era of Bawb albums prompted you to ask this, but I think albums released before the mid '70s or so are much less likely in general to list their years. I know that I've come up against this frequently, when I buy old '60s vinyl. I often have to do a bit of research, to discover the album's release date. Speaking of Tallulah, I'm seeing a Go-Betweens reunion show on the 1st. Not sure what to expect. Hope it's good. Eb PS And yes, NONE of the Claudine Longet albums list years on them. ;) ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 22:00:15 -0400 From: four episode lesbian Subject: Re: MC 900 Ft Sedgwick, Gary rapped: >This may seem a strange question, but I was wondering if anyone on this >list ever saw the Bangles play live? nope...but i have this tape of them playing on one of them music channels from way back when that a friend keeps telling me to watch since he believes it to be one of the best live performances ever recorded. i just may have to do that now... woj p.s. to doug, the above would be don ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 19:09:13 PDT From: Capitalism Blows Subject: Re: randi's old group i thought videopolis was more over by frontierland. my memory's hazy on this. got the beef box (thanks michael). through disc one is pretty good. disc two is great. that's as far as i've listened. the liner notes are lovely and informative (as is the box itself -- well, just lovely, not informative really), though riddled with typos and spelling/grammatical errors, which is rather annoying. i've seen two or three reviews all claiming this is the flaming lips' best album ever. branscombe, let's have some damned setlists, already! _______________________________________________________________ Get Free Email and Do More On The Web. Visit http://www.msn.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 20:25:15 -0700 From: "Russ Reynolds" Subject: Re: live bangles >This may seem a strange question, but I was wondering if anyone on this >list ever saw the Bangles play live? I did. IIRC the Three O'Clock was on the same bill...forget who opened for who. Old Waldorf, SF, 1980-something. Well before "Walk Like An Egyptian". All's I remember is they did "I'm In Line"--their "Taxman" ripoff from their first EP--and introduced it by saying "apologies to Paul McCartney", thereby causing me to lose all respect for them, as of course George Harrison wrote "Taxman." Susannah Hoffs wasn't nearly the babe she appeared to by by the time "Egyptians" hit MTV. >Also, does anyone know what >they're up to now? Yes. Not me though. Hoffs had a solo album out last year. Garbage. >And does anyone know how they ended up covering one >of Kimberley's songs (were they Soft Boys fans???)? Again, not me, but I'd like to know the story. I always found it interesting that Robyn was in a band called the Egyptians, then the Bangles released "Walk Like An Egyptian" and recorded a Rew tune, and Robyn wrote "Balloon Man" with the Bangles in mind (or at least that's how he introduced the song on at least one occasion) but the Bangles never recorded Balloon man. I can tell you that the Bangles, along with bands like the Three O'Clock and Rain Parade, were all part of the so called "Paisley Underground" scene and I recall reading that one of the common influences among these bands was the Soft Boys. Also, I share a birthday with one of the Bangles, but I forget which one. - -rUss PS...come to think of it, I think somebody on this list once mentioed a live version of Balloon Man by the Bangles on some bootleg. If this is true I'm sure somebody will chime in. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 28 Jun 1999 20:43:02 -0700 From: "Russ Reynolds" Subject: Re: twirly twirly twirly >i notice that russ spells it "fillmore", while woj spells it "filmore". >which is correct, lads? Well, Zappa (this is the dog talkin', now) spelled the eastern one with two L's so I've always assumed--without checking--that the SF one was spelled the same way since Bill Graham ran them both. I'd look it up but it's late and you have access to the same search engines. Hope to see TGQ and LJ tomorrow at Mission Ale house. I was there briefly today and found out they don't serve anything smaller than a pint. Ya gotta respect that. - -rUss Anderson Valley ESB rules on a hot day. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 01:24:00 -0600 From: ultraconformist@mail.weboffices.com Subject: Re: Chicago venue query >Lurker query: >Can any Chicago fegs post some information on the Metro? (location, size, >etc.) I'm seriously considering making the trip from Cleveland. Columbus First off, tix are still available AFAIK. The Metro is a medium-sized venue. Wot I mean is, it's not an arena, but it's bigger than what you normally would call a "club". Offhand I'd say it fits about 1000-1200 people. The sound is usually pretty decent, but it can get pretty hot and sweaty down by the stage, and there really isn't a whole lot of seating, so if you know you're gonna want to sit down at any point, get there early and hold that seat. Another warning- the security people can sometimes be a bit overzealous, so don't bring a backpack or anything like that with you, you may find it ripped in half as they search for illegal penknives. It's very easy to get to via public trans, just call the folks at RTA and they'll give you directions (IIRC the nearest el stop is maybe about a block away). If you drive, expect that it will take you quite awhile to find somewhere to park, as there are a lot of popular bars and restaurants in the area and it's damn near impossible to find parking you don't have to pay for. Love on ya, Susan . ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 00:06:19 -0700 From: Ethyl Ketone Subject: Re: Wow! >At 6.24 PM -0700 6/28/99, Tom Clark wrote: >>um, ahem, um... >> Hey now, I have PROOF that Mr. Clark was indeed part of the feggy festivities yesterday - I have a drawing of Tom and half a drawing of sharkboy. So that proves it, right? Thanks again Nick for making your abode so pleasant to all of us, including the yummies from the barby and the beer, yes, the beer. Proving once again that fegs have excellent taste... Looking forward to meeting all the east coast fegs once I relocate to that vicinity in September. Be Seeing You, - - c "Questions are a burden for others. Answers are a prison for oneself." **************************************************************************** M.E.Ketone/C.Galbraith meketone@ix.netcom.com carrieg@blueplanetsoftware.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 02:42:24 -0800 From: Eb Subject: filling the pre-JFS void This may be the most unintentionally hilarious post I've ever read in the prog-rock newsgroup. Text follows. Eb (can you *imagine* sitting through nine drum solos in one day?) - ---- while i haven't caught up on rmp yet after getting back from NEARfest, i'm guessing that when i get a few hundred posts further i'll see a lot of NEARfest reviews and comments, so i thought i'd cover a less significant aspect of the fest that may have been glossed over- the drum solos. over the two days, every band except IQ and Crucible featured a drum solo, and you could make a case that Mastermind had 2. as such, a brief set of comments. Alaska Al is a good drummer, somewhat Nick Mason-ish, and he certainly is sufficiently skilled for most of this band's material, but his drum solo was by possibly the least interesting of all of the ones i saw this weekend. what i like to see in a drum solo is something along the lines of a percussion composition or jam, rather than just random wankery. this wasn't random, but basically all it was was a string of drum technical exercises without a linking beat to make them moderately interesting. they were done well, but didn't really accomplish much besides giving John a brief break. Rating: C- The Hand Farm I have to say that Vic Stevens is a phenomenal percussionist. This was by far the most technical of the drum solos performed, and had a reasonably consistent beat, too. Not a lot of substance, but a hell of a lot of chops, and at under 4 minutes, brief enough not to bore. a pleasure to watch and listen to, and it wasn't dragged out too long. not too much groove though. Rating: A- Larry Fast although he didn't in fact play anything himself, or bring a drummer, he did play a clip of Phil Collins repeating the same rhythm for about a minute (and apparently there was another 15 minutes of it that he spared us), so i'm going to count that. an interesting recording effect, but little substance. Rating: D Mastermind Rich Berends was perhaps the most frenzied drummer there. he had a brief spotlight early on in the show that lasted about a minute, and a proper solo later in the set that i think was around 5 minutes. lots of chops, and lots of groove. definitely one of the better solos, and quite enjoyable for me. Rating: A IQ, as stated, didn't have a drum solo. Cookie played great the whole time, though. woo! Nathan Mahl Alain Bergeron played a highly technical solo, but it kept a fairly steady beat and had a decent amount of groove. i wasn't blown away, but it wasn't a waste of time. Rating: B Ice Age Hal Aponte's solo was a bit longer than it needed to be (i think around 6 minutes, maybe a little shorter than that). the first half wasn't too interesting, but after a few min he started a nice groove with a lot of woodblock and tuned tom patterns, and i liked that a lot. so, partly interesting, partly not. Rating: C+ for the first part, B+ for the second Crucible one of the few mercies of this bands set was that they didn't have a drum solo. Tony Kappelina was adequately skilled, like all of the members, and didn't really do anything interesting, like all the members. Solaris Laszlo Gomor's solo was built in much the same way as most of Solaris's material- evolving patterns of repetitions with a strong beat under it. I found it very interesting, actually, and it was one of the better solos, without excessive wanking. Rating: A Spock's Beard Nick's solo in the middle of "The Light" was brief and tasteful. He was one of the most energetic and frenzied drummers of the fest, and his enthusiasm made his solo more interesting than it could've been. A strong groove and powerful chops made for good listening. Rating: A ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 02:54:14 -0800 From: Eb Subject: Re: filling the pre-JFS void >Eb (can you *imagine* sitting through nine drum solos in one day?) Oh, wait a minute. I guess the "fest" was spread over two days. Not that I can imagine sitting through nine drum solos in two days, either. Eb PS Hoo-eee, check the anticipation building in the Kubrick newsgroup. Talk about a pressure cooker, waiting to explode. Whew. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 08:46:42 -0400 (EDT) From: Natalie Jacobs Subject: Robyn in Chicago, truncated top 10's, and other oddities >Actually, I was going to inquire about a Chi-Feg-meet, because I'm coming >up >from Atlanta to Chicago to see the Saturday night show of "Brain >Degeneration." Who's going? I am!! Wow, so I get to see Robyn for the first time, *and* hang out with multiple cool fegs! I am definitely excited. It almost makes up for being unemployed. Almost. Um, anyway... I dunno if I'm going to be able to make it down to Chicago again for Storefront Hitchcock. Depends on whether or not I have a job by that time. I would certainly like to go, but I can't make promises. Joel beat me to the punch in talking about the new Flaming Lips... I reviewed it for the station and gave it four out of five stars. Those guys just keep reinventing themselves... I really admire that, even if they don't always succeed. "Buggin'" is my favorite track. Oh, and since you guys like top 10 lists soooo much, here's my top 6 for the first half of the year, because I can't think of 10. 1. Captain Beefheart, "Grow Fins" sampler (I know, this doesn't really count, but I don't care) 2. XTC, "Apple Venus Vol. 1" 3. Olivia Tremor Control, "Black Foliage" 4. Beulah, "When Your Heartstrings Break" 5. Flaming Lips, "The Soft Bulletin" 6. Cibo Matto, "Stereo Type A" Honorable mention: Apples in Stereo, "Her Wallpaper Reverie" (they *are* the Dukes of Stratosphear of the 90's... and they're playing here with Beulah at the end of the month!) Biggest disappointment: Tom Waits, "Mule Variations" - the sound of a brilliant artist spinning his wheels. Discoveries: "Astral Weeks," John Martyn, Steve Reich, the Incredible String Band, the greatness of Dagmar Krause I should shut up now before Eb kicks my ass. n. ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 07:52:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Vivien Lyon Subject: I am trying so hard to maintain my thin veneer of composure. Okay, c'est officiale. I am interviewing Robyn Hitchcock for Lumpen Magazine via the telephone on July 8. (Silence, Eb.) I have a slew of (mostly innappropriate) questions already, but am not an experienced interviewer. Anyone have anything they'd like to ask? I'm open to anything that isn't along the lines of "Would you like to hear my most detailed dream about you and the Egyptians?" (Lord knows I have enough questions of that type)(Which I promise I will not ask)(however great the temptation)... Vivien _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 08:19:46 -0700 (PDT) From: Griffith Davies Subject: Bangles Info Someone asked about the Bangles. Here's some info: They played last Friday night at the Hollywood Bowl. It was a night of music by the Beatles that was conducted by Sir George Martin. "She's Leaving Home" featured vocals by Adam Duritz (Counting Crows) with Bangles as backup. The Bangles performed "Across the Universe" and "Blackbird." I read that on some website.... griffith _________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 08:46:27 -0700 From: Tom Clark Subject: pre-JFS? I miraculously discovered a tape of JFS in my cassette deck a few days ago and have been listening to it pretty much non-stop since. I will echo Michael Wolfe's comment when I say "Wow!", but I will also up the ante with a "Whee!". The only complaint I have is with the inclusion of "...Guildford". I don't like the rolling percussion behind it and I really don't think the version on Storefront could be topped. Other than that it's a great mix, with hints of Soft Boys, EoL and Respect. - -tc oh, and they don't have the best computers in SeaTac. Hell, they don't even make them! ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 15:45:20 +0000 (GMT) From: Michael Wolfe Subject: Re: Wow! Tom Clark cleared his throat thusly: >um, ahem, um... *shock!* *horror!* How could I have forgotten?!? The wisest and most ancient feg of them all! He for whom the very roots of mountains tremble! Counsel to kings and insurance executives! Possessor of the keenest license plate in the 7 galaxies! Ladies and gentleman, Mr. Tom Clark! Thank you, also for making me feel welcome. And for not calling down a hail of thumbtacks on my head for my egregious gaffe. - -Michael Wolfe ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 09:44:40 -0700 From: Mark_Gloster@3com.com Subject: Re: Wow! Michael, his hands trembling like a small child who had stolen and eaten all of the chocolate covered espresso beans and washed them down with a 64 ounce Jolt Cola clickety-clacked: >Tom Clark cleared his throat thusly: >>um, ahem, um... >*shock!* >*horror!* >How could I have forgotten?!? The wisest and most ancient feg of >them all! He for whom the very roots of mountains tremble! >Counsel to kings and insurance executives! Possessor of the >keenest license plate in the 7 galaxies! Ladies and gentleman, >Mr. Tom Clark! Well, some of us fegs are "ancienter" than he, but perhaps none wiser. Plus, his license plate really does kick ass. >Thank you, also for making me feel welcome. And for not calling >down a hail of thumbtacks on my head for my egregious gaffe. You may be getting ahead of yourself. While I might never seem to know where my car is parked, the location of my keys, or quite remember if I put my pants on before leaving my house, Tom has a brilliant memory and he can strike when you least expect it. It could be seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years, or centuries, but he will make sure you are punished. You'll be begging for thumbtacks. I had a great time with all da fegs. Donne revealed that when she saw TGQ that she thought he looked like Steven Spielberg. So much that she really considered kicking his ass for making such sappy movies. She might have done it on general principles, but it was a party and she didn't want to be a heavy. She actually liked everyone there very much. I should reiterate that while I am the opposite of a "kid person," Nick's kids are delightful and extremely well- behaved. They seem to be doing a good job with raising up their parents, too. All the best. Great to see y'all. Happies, - -Markg ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 14:12:07 EDT From: DDerosa5@aol.com Subject: Re: storefront in chicago i don't know if this place you mentioned is a theatre or what. i can't wait to show up though with two of my closest friends. can you give me more details as you get them? thanks a bunch. --shane >> sorry if this was unclear in my message. Yes, Facets has a nice theatre, I wuld guess maybe 120 seats, with a relatively large screen. It is also a video store and a very cool sort of "club", which imports obscure foreign films and hosts festivals, but the theatre is open to the public and in fact they are very much looking forward to meeting all the fegs I promised them. Being feggy types, some of them might even be interested in joining if they haven't been there before, but that's sort of out of the quesiton for you if you're that far out of the city. In any case, I am amazed that they gave the film a week (they are the sort of theatre that often books films for a day or a weekend, and that's what I expected for SH), so I want to make it worth their while--I'll probably see it 2 or 3 times and buy a lot of popcorn... (yes, full refreshment stand..., this isn't some hipster screening room with a broken water fountain for refreshments...) dave ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 13:33:44 -0400 From: "Chaney, Dolph L" Subject: "I wanna hear 'Caravan' with a drum sola!!" As one of Fegdom's recalcitrant proggies, I feel compelled to respond to Eb's post about drum solos. (Mainly, of course, I've just been waiting ages to use that subject line -- an ice cream sandwich to the first to spot the reference!) In person, I've seen one drum solo (Neil Peart, Rush, '90) and one drum duet (Alan White & Bill Bruford, Yes, '91) in my vast arena-rock history, and I figure that's about all I need. Peart was OK, certainly impressive to 16-year-old me from a woohoo-look-ma-he-hits-things-really-fast-and-his-drumset-turns!-neato! standpoint. The White-Bruford duet was honestly good, (1) because they actually worked together to play something interesting and musical, rather than just show off technique, and (2) because it was the only time all night that Bruford (one of my very fave drummers and the main reason I went, not envisioning the Crimson reunion) seemed engaged in the music, or even awake. Impressive as these things can be, what I like better is when a whole band swaps instruments, such as (Robyn tourmates) Sebadoh or (Soft Boys fans) Yo La Tengo or, say, The Egyptians! I defy the sort of chops-merchant-bands listed by Eb to suddenly swap instruments and come up with anything even CLOSE to "Tell Me About Your Drugs" in potency. Actually, the mental image of spritely Jon Anderson behind a huge FreedomRock(tm) drumkit gives me enough giggles to justify the whole thought. [Could he even reach the cymbals? Oh, well -- regardless, I'm sure he'd find a way to collaborate with Vangelis on a 3-CD set of chants about the experience...] ...only two and a half weeks til I bring the briefly-delurked Rebecca* to see Mr. Robyn for the first time -- and to meet various Feggies -- in Chitown! yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay! Dolph np: Chris Whitley, DIRT FLOOR (on which the only percussion is foot stomps!) http://www.mp3.com/dolphchaney *not to be confused with "the lurkingly-debriefed Rebecca" ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 12:58:14 -0700 (PDT) From: g Subject: Tell Me About Your Drums On Tue, 29 Jun 1999, Chaney, Dolph L wrote: >In person, I've seen one drum solo (Neil Peart, Rush, '90) and one drum duet >(Alan White & Bill Bruford, Yes, '91) in my vast arena-rock history, and I >figure that's about all I need. I've probably seen my share of drum solos. Most of them have been wankingly self-indulgent and pointless. However, isn't rock-n-roll, for the most part, self-indulgent and pointless? Probably the most impressed I've been with a drum solo is Future Man from Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. In case you haven't seen him, he plays a "Synth Drumitar" -- it's essentially a guitar synthesizer that has a different drum patch assigned to each string and each fret (roughly 6x24 tones). In addition, he plays a synth bass drum pedal with his foot. The incorporation of drums into a guitar enables him to achieve harmonicized percussion as well as a wide variety of tones and timbres. Future Man's brother Victor plays bass in the Flecktones and is nothing short of a maniac. He's about 5' 2" and plays 5,6,8 and 12-string basses which are nearly as large as he is. Some of his basses are even fitted with whammy bars in order to achieve Van Halen-esque wailage. Quite amazing stuff. Don't miss the chance to see the Flecktones if they are playing near you. As for drum duets, I saw the Grateful Dead 9 times during high school and college. 'Nuff said. Other memorable drum solos I've seen: Edgar Winter/Leon Russell at the Omni in Oakland (must've been '88 or '89: during "Frankenstein" with Edgar Winter on timbales and Chuck Ruff on drums. (And Russell on guitar). Adrian Belew at Slim's in San Francisco -- 1991 or '92 ("Young Lions tour, I think): Adrian played drums and soloed on "The Mommur". Prince at the Oakland Coliseum -- the "Lovesexy" tour: Shiela E. and Prince. Wow! One of the better recorded drum solos is Tower of Power's David Garibaldi on the live version of "Knock Yourself Out". Of course, all of the Crimson drum solos are pretty impressive. Then again, they are much more musical than the "Mountain Jam" and "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida" yawnfests. >Impressive as these things can be, what I like better is when a whole band >swaps instruments, such as (Robyn tourmates) Sebadoh or (Soft Boys fans) Yo >La Tengo or, say, The Egyptians! I defy the sort of chops-merchant-bands >listed by Eb to suddenly swap instruments and come up with anything even >CLOSE to "Tell Me About Your Drugs" in potency. The best band I know of at swapping instruments is early-period (1966-1975) Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. I think all of those guys could play practically any instrument you handed them. In addition, they could play just about any style of music well. Those factors made for some interesting, unique albums. If anyone's into rootsy, organic music, a la Dylan, the Band (another group infamous for swapping axes), "American Beauty"-period Dead, et al, Glen sez check out some of the early NGDB albums. np. Robyn Hitchcock - JfS Cheers! - -Glen- Glen Uber | uberg@sonic.net | http://www.sonic.net/~uberg ------------------------------ End of fegmaniax-digest V8 #223 *******************************