Guitar Hero

The 60's & 70's in music were a fascinating time in rock music for obvious reasons. One of the by-products then was the elevation of the (lead) guitar player. First popularized by the 60's phrase, "Clapton is God," names like Beck, Page and Hendrix soon became very well known.

In the late 60's something happened; certain jazz musicians were listening and incorporating rock elements and turning out what would be called "jazz fusion," or simply, fusion. Miles was among the first with his Bitches Brew, and the great Tony Williams (and Miles alum) would shortly follow suit with his "Lifetime" band.

Yet another Miles alum,Chick Corea, jumped on the bandwagon. By now (early 70's) fusion was primed and pumped for a "superstar" group, and Chick seized the moment with his band, "Return to Forever." (rtf)

First, what a dumbass Trekkie name. Let's be honest; it's fruity. I remember looking at the album back and if memory serves correctly, it had a quote by L. Ron Hubbard, who was really into "space opera" as scientologists have told me. Yes, Chick had become one...

Second, rtf had a young - I believe he was only 19 - axeman; Al Di Meola. He became fusion's guitar shredman posterboy.

Personally, I never liked his playing or his pretensions; just go down the list of his solo album titles. You think Chick's head is full of "space" grab a fork and get a load of Al's bullshit; "Land of the Midnight Sun," "Soaring Through a Dream," "The Infinite Desire" ... yeah, these folks are serious. Either that or they say, "Get a load of this crap I'm gonna make 50 g's on..."

Once I saw him in a later incarnation with John McLaughlin and Paco de Lucia doing their faux flamenco thing, all three seated on stage. Eh, not my cup of tea, but I went to catch up to see what McLaughlin was up to. Anyway, the most hilarious thing was that Al would start his patented shred runs, and at the climax - invariably on a high note - he'd literally lift up out of his seat, as if the run was goosing him up the ass. When I pointed it out to my friends, we'd crack up every time it'd come to Al's turn to solo.

Following is one of the most hilarious vids I've seen in a while. I owe these guys because I was feeling kinda shitty and then found this; These guys literally had me in tears.

from "lootheessence":
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_pWWspVjv8

Timeless

As a wishful musician in my mis-spent youth, I was lucky to come up in an era radically different than what Renee is currently in. The 70's was a breeding ground for so many groundbreaking movements, where even jazz was undergoing a major overhaul what with the "children of Miles" - the fusionists - cranking their amps to 11.

So it was that in 1975 I stumbled across an artifact now known as an album that called my name: "The Tony Bennett and Bill Evans Album."

I've always been a fan of stripped down music, exemplified in rock by the traditional guitar, bass and drums configuration. It's simple and yet, because of technology, can fill an arena. But this album is different and almost wholly unique in that it showcases two supreme artists performing standards - voice and piano.

I was aware of Tony Bennett but til then never a fan; Evans, one of Miles' kids, I knew of through musician friends and Miles, the most obvious being "Kind of Blue." (The album I had playing when Renee was born. Cliche', I know, but it was interesting when one day I was playing "Freddie Freeloader" when she was only about 6 and she stopped in her tracks and said, "Hey Daddy, I know this song.")

From the very first notes of "Young and Foolish" I was hooked. This album brings it, folks, and goes to that realm where there is no "classic" or "modern" category. It transcends.

Another of Miles' kids, the late great Tony Williams, was one of the greatest artists I was lucky enough to see perform - several times! I can remember reading an interview with him at that time, and they asked him what was grabbing his attention, and he mentioned the Bennett and Evans album. I can remember him saying something like, "It's extremely musical."

I was lucky enough to see Bennett last year, and like with Etta James, his voice has lost it's range, he's very old now. But the richness, the timbre are still there. It's still a great instrument, the one ole' Blue Eyes himself said was the best in the business.

Bennett's at the height of his powers here, rich, powerful, perfect phrasing, total control... he lays it all out. When you think about all these jerkoffs on "American Idol" that amounts to nothing more than karaoke with marketing, it's really hilarious. If you know nothing about technique, try this sometime; listen to those kids, whether they're singing or spittin'rap, and listen to their intake, when they inhale. I pointed it out to Renee once by saying that he (I think it was one of the generic so-called gangsta rappers) sounded like a wounded seal.

By contrast, you can barely hear Bennett inhale and most of the time it's silent.

This is the perfect album to have a romantic meal by. (Well, the truth is there are some melancholy songs like "Some Other Time" and "We'll be Together Again," but just put it on low enough so that s/he can't clearly discern the lyrics.)

If you want music unadorned by flash bulbs and red carpets but infused with that certain something that lets you know that indeed, there is beauty in life, then look no further. It's sublime.



ps: Carmen McRae has an extremely rare album of just her singing accompanying herself on piano that's bad too.

Eagle Rock Music Festival

This past weekend was the 9th Annual Eagle Rock Music Festival, and I can say unequivocally that this was the most fun I've had in the longest time and all in all, it was SUPER entertaining.

But that's not even the punch line. Here it is: IT'S FREE, peoples!!!

Now, before I get into more, let me give big ups to the LA denizens. There must have been 100K swarming the fest, in every nook and cranny. Colorado is on a slope, so that when you're at the eastern most portion of it, you can look back down, and it was a teeming swarm of humanity. It looked like a mini Woodstock west!!!

Okay, with that outta da way...

FACTS, HIGHLIGHTS, ETC:

1. It's advertised at 40 bands
2. It covered at least 5 or 6 blocks long
3. There must have been at least 10 stages/music venues. It was unbelievable...
4. Some of the acts JP saw:
a. Dengue Fever
b. Black Shakespeare
c. The Mama Suki
d. Hecuba
e. The Sirens
f. The Curs
g. "Special Guests"

Bummer: I missed Jessica Fichot, but think I might've lost patience with her in the end.

I thought the punk stage was the most entertaining and clearly was my link back to the halcyon LA of the 80's. The Sirens - an all gal Latina band - was kicking it pretty good, and the Curs were the most musically inclined, had the best sense of humor and displayed the most intelligence of the night. Surprisingly (pleasantly so) they were young kids blending punk and rockabilly in a power trio with an upright bass, quasi surf dos and matching blue leotards. But the most fun was watching the mosh pit - the look of glee on their mugs...

There was one lowlight; Dengue Fever is one of those hybridized, LA fusion bands that hipsters fall all out over. I hate "Morning Becomes Eclectic" but imagine they're a big hit there.

They're alright - long on gimmick, short on ... well, you get it. I mean, they're entertaining for about 15 minutes but you definitely get their schtick within seconds, at which point it becomes how much you can tolerate. Hey, I'm Asian, and I can only take so much of tinny, whiny, nasally vocals. I must say though that the contrast between lead singer Chhom Nimol and bass player Senon Williams is a riot - he's about 2 feet taller.

They were one of the headliners on the main stage and were churning ahead, when out of the corner of my eye I saw them: CRAZY WHITE LIBERALS!!!

As DF were in the middle of one of their patented Farfisa-led jams, these stupid broads sashayed across our proscenium, doing this goofy faux belly dancing, mimicking Chhom Nimol's hand movements and the like. Yeah, I called them stupid broads but trust me, I want more.

On a side note, the LA Weekly, that ode to everything "me" that is SO my city, was running on the very same night their own fest in downtown. It looked very mersh, as The Minutemen used to say. (SHOUT OUT: Mike Watt, now with The Stooges!!!) With this one event Eagle Rock, their Center for the Arts and the City of LA supports a lot of indie bands, the local merchants have a field day and the community has a great event.

So, minus the dose of Orientalism, let me say that if you love indie music y'all need to mark your calendars for next year.