Behind the Kit

Well, not really, but it did have a lot of people on edge back in Christmas of ‘77. Including Bowie, who at the last minute said, “I hate this song. Isn’t there something else we can do?”

And the producers said, “Uhh…OK. Hold on.” And the three songwriters/arrangers/producers running the show scurried off into the back room, dug deep and whipped up the counterpoint version of “Peace on Earth” for Bowie. In 75 minutes.

Did somebody say ‘Under Pressure’? What pressure? Yikes.

Then end result is something timeless.

Beautiful for its arrangement, flawless in its performance and classy in its inter-generational coming-togetherness, which was pretty stand out in those testy times. [click to continue…]

Little Green Footballs is a blog I’ve been reading for a few years now. I find it a great resource in reporting the lunacy of the Islamic Jihad movement, which is without question one of the biggest –if not the biggest problem we sane humans face today.

The website’s author is a gent named Charles Johnson and his no-nonsense commentary I always appreciated. And I also felt a special kinship with him since he is a fellow musician and a fairly accomplished one at that as he has played and recorded with some pretty heavyweight jazz artists.

Recently he wrote a post called, “Why I parted ways with the Right” giving ten reasons why he has ‘parted ways’ with the Right side of the political spectrum. It’s really a bit unclear what he actually means by first, ‘parting ways’ and second, what his definition of the ‘Right’ is as he seems to lump in fringe Fascist European organizations with people like James Dobson. But what really took me by surprise was the logic –or the lack of it  –in his ten reasons why he has ‘parted ways’. [click to continue…]

It’s amazing the stories so-called ‘everyday people’ may have up their sleeves. Especially the old folks, who in our youth obsessed culture we so quickly and easily dismiss.

The other day I had to go to an older couple’s house for some business dealings. I had been dealing with the lady on the phone but when I got there I met the husband. I’ll call him Ed.

Ed was a bit gruff and had this, “Who the hell are you” look on his face when I introduced myself. Once I explained, he lightened up a bit but I could tell at the core he was a bit gruff. With maybe a dash of meanness -but mostly just kind of gruff. [click to continue…]

When I was a kid growing up in New England (which wasn’t that long ago), Thanksgiving was a pretty big deal. Not just because of the family get togethers, football and Macy’s parade, but because it was a celebration of what was considered the ‘First Thanksgiving Meal’ between the Pilgrims and the American Indians. I vaguely remember a first grade assignment in which we were to draw the story of Thanksgiving complete with the Mayflower, Pilgrims and Indians all culminating in the first Thanksgiving feast. [click to continue…]

Recently I was reading some material on the controversial yet highly influential experimental composer John Cage –most widely known for his ‘piece’ 4’33” which if you are not familiar with, is 4’33” of silence. A bold statement indeed.

Now, don’t get me wrong- I respect John Cage. In fact I respect most anyone who is willing to explore and push the boundaries of any convention- musical, artistic, philosophical or otherwise. I may think they are wrong; I may think they are foolish or perhaps even dangerous, but I still can find something to respect in their willingness to reach for or beyond something where most are not willing to reach. From these pioneers of exploration we can usually find something of value in their endeavors even if the mission turns up nothing or ends in complete failure and disaster. There is usually some insight to be gained from another’s missteps -however well intentioned they may have been. [click to continue…]

Oh Lord I love the interweb.  This is hilarious and awesome at the same time. Especially if you have any personal history with Queensryche. Of which I do.

You must watch this. But let me tell you my story first.

In the age of ‘Metal’ true young rockers like myself who longed for the days of our forefathers (e.g. Zeppelin, Floyd, Hendrix) and had yet to see the breakthrough of anti-metal rock (Nirvana et al.) and the subsequent smashing of the hair bands, were forced to accept what bands our rocker peers were listening to. Queensryche was one of them. [click to continue…]

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, life turns up a hidden gem. Hidden to me at least.

A new reader of mine remarked that one of my posts reminded him of a short New Yorker article called ‘Bach and Belief’. Curious,  I took a look and it led me into the world of  György Kurtág, one of the last surviving composers of the original Avant Garde movement.

Here is the knockout quote from ‘Bach and Belief’ where Kurtag is asked the question, “Are you a believer?”

Kurtág: I do not know. I toy with the idea. Consciously, I am certainly an atheist, but I do not say it out loud, because if I look at Bach, I cannot be an atheist. Then I have to accept the way he believed. His music never stops praying. And how can I get closer if I look at him from the outside? I do not believe in the Gospels in a literal fashion, but a Bach fugue has the Crucifixion in it—as the nails are being driven in. In music, I am always looking for the hammering of the nails…. That is a dual vision. My brain rejects it all. But my brain isn’t worth much.

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A couple of weeks ago my wife got an unexpected invitation to a reception at the Czech Embassy in Washington D.C. The reception was going to be a celebration of the twenty years since the Czech Republic’s ‘Velvet Revolution’ where communism was defeated. The highlight of the event would be the visit of Czech President Vaclav Klaus.

Obviously this was exciting for Tanja as she is a Czech native, born and raised in Prague, but this was exciting for me as well because a) I had never been to a reception of this type before and b) Klaus is an interesting guy being a bit of a hell-raiser in the European community. And Lord knows the EU can always use a bit ‘o hell raisin’. [click to continue…]

Recently my band did one of the weirdest and lamest gigs I have ever done. We attempted to play a ‘stripped down’ type set at an art show. Seemed like a cool idea until we found out it was at the City Hall. During a city council meeting.

Why this all happened at the same time I’ll never understand.

Needless to say, ‘The Man’ (complete with suit and tie, thinning hair, and governmental I’m-totally-more-important-than-you attitude) came and pulled the whole, “Turn it down guys” dance in the first 30 seconds of the first song.

Whatever. We played four songs –very quietly –and then packed up. The Artist girl was a friend and we did it as a favor and she was happy. The seven people who were there were happy. We weren’t happy. But what musician is ever happy? It’s all part of the angst-art thing I guess…

So a week later our guitarist gives us envelopes from our artist friend. So I open up my envelope and see a gift certificate of some type. A nice thank you gesture indeed.  It’s a 20.00 gift certificate from a local record store. And you know what my very first thought was?

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