I am all over the place today.
Last night I saw one of my favorite
musicians tear it up at the local metal watering hole in downtown
Oakland.
First off, I had no idea that metal was
still a thing. Y'know, like new bands doing it.
Their songs reminded me of when Motley Crue shouted at the
devil, and Bruce Dickenson ran toward the hills. Second, it was nice to hug my
sweaty drummer friend.
I listened to our old band this morning and
it was nice to hear the ebb and flow we created sooooo many years ago.
I admit it, drummers are my favorite
people. A little crazy, they feel the need to hit objects, and keep time. Plus,
they get me. As a bass player, jamming with a good drummer is like a fine wine,
good sex, and 600 thread count Egyptian sheets.
With that being said drummers also don’t listen, act like fussy
toddlers, and speed up and slow down depending on how much coffee and/or alcohol
they have consumed.
It is complicated.
Presumably one of the best rock drummers of all time Keith Moon
was consistently the latter description and freaking amazing. But if you ask me
(a bass player) it is because John Entwistle knew how to communicate with Moon
through tones and sonic movement.
This leads me to communicating through music.
Don Joyce, of the band Negativland and “Over the Edge” radio died
last week. This was an individual whose deliberate audio strokes created unique
soundscapes filled with humor, social commentary, and general weirdness. One of
my two favorite memories of listening to OTE was driving down the I-5 on the
way to Vegas. The show was audio anarchy about a guy and his chicken ranch. If
I recall there were a lot of samples of televangelists too. We were lucky
enough to catch the show on three different public radio stations on the way down
and it went on for hours.
I realize that to enjoy Negativland and a program like “Over the
Edge,” one must have a certain kind of “musical palate,” but the art of his
noise should be celebrated, because he was a pioneer and sonic artist.
Take it back to the bridge.
I have played with many, many guitar players and I am currently
involved with one who shares much of the same musical tastes as me. I know that doesn't sound so strange, but he is younger than me and his connection to the music of my youth is from a different perspective that I find refreshing (and a bit validating).
It has been years and years since I have listened to so much of
the same music as my guitar player. I mean previous guitar players and I have
shared mutual influences, styles, and visions. This is more about what I listen
to when I am plugging away at work with a Pandora station playing in the
background, or music I choose when cleaning the house. It is refreshing. I once
played with a guitar player who thought a Led Zeppelin song was the Who. Or
vise-versa, I have blocked it out.
It has also been years since I have written music with any regard
to what the guitar player might come up with. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate
guitar players (I am married to one), they just play too loud in the practice
space and don’t listen to the rhythm section is all.
I kid. I kid. Guitar players are necessary, most of the time.
Below is a link to a nice article about Don Joyce.
http://blog.sfgate.com/loaded/2015/07/23/don-joyce-radio-maverick-and-member-of-negativland-dies-at-71/
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