Blair's blog last updated 4/28/03

Introduction

4/3/03 - I have been very fortunate for the past several months to spend more time on music (listening, arranging, practicing, recording, learning) than I have in a long while. All the activity got me thinking about posting a blog about the experiences going on in my life related to bandleading, playing, managing the California Chapter of Percussive Arts Society, and the music I've got going on tape players, CD players, in the car, on the laptop, the DVD player and the turntable.

So this weblog will be updated as time allows, regarding my experiences in and thoughts around the stuff referenced above.

What music have I just performed?

4/15/03

• Two days ago I played percussion (wood block, cowbell, shakers) behind Mad and Eddie Duran at a party in Valley of the Moon. A great pleasure to play behind them.

What music am I preparing to perform?

4/23/03

My marimba solo (in Fm7) in

• Mongo Santamaria's "Afro Blue"

4/15/03

For addition to Echo Beach's song list

• Traffic's "Vagabond Virgin"

What am I listening to as I type this?

4/30/03

• The Gemini Program - "Breakup" on garageband.com. Fine drumming/guitar work sounds very much Television's first album.
• Best Foot Forward - "Para-dice (for John-o)" on garageband.com. Like a Lee Michaels instrumental recorded in the '80s. All these garageband tracks are on my personal playlist there 'cause I like them.
• Amphibians - "Easter Song" - Entertwined acoustic guitars sound like Leo Kottke or Richard Thompson with Simon Nicol in early Fairport Convention.

4/28/03

• TLC - "Damaged" on Yahoo video
• Coldplay - "The Scientist" on Yahoo video
• INXS - "This Time" on Yahoo video
• Kenny Chesney - "Big Star" on Yahoo video
• Jill Sobule - "Bitter" on Yahoo video
• Paul Westerberg - "Runaway Wind" on Yahoo video

4/25/03

• Art Blakey (& The Jazz Messengers?) - "Polka Dots and Moonbeams" on Yahoo radio
• Destiny's Child - "Emotion" on Yahoo radio
• Bruce Springsteen - "Mary's Place" on Yahoo radio. The Rising on Yahoo radio -- good! Not on Yahoo video -- bad!
• The Animals - "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood" on Yahoo radio
• INXS - "What You Need" on Yahoo radio
• Genesis - "Pacidy" - on Yahoo radio from BBC's "Nightride" program in 1970. Genesis made some much more interesting music than this in this period.
• Ronnie Lane and Slim Chance - "Anniversary" on Yahoo radio from a live BBC program. A treat 'cause this is one of my favorite Ronnie Lane songs.
• Mark Knopfler - "A Place Where We Used to Live" on Yahoo radio. Is he attempting to impersonate Elvis Costello (songwriting, singing, piano style)?
• Fleetwood Mac - "Oh Baby" on Yahoo radio. Chicago blues from the Peter Green era.
• Echo Beach - Demo 2003 CD. Sounds good to me! But with work, the marimba player should be capable of better soloing.
• Buffalo Springfield - "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing" on Yahoo radio.
• Tom Petty - "You Don't Know How It Feels" on Yahoo radio. A great segue with the preceding song! Arrays of internet servers streaming audio 24/7 are bound to come up with a decent segue once in a while. But it's no substitute for "The Last DJ" who's now a "Refugee" after his radio bosses told him "Don't Come Around Here No More". (Props to Jim Ladd and Elliott Mintz of KLOS-FM ca. 1971 and beyond)
• The Bangles - "Manic Monday" on Yahoo radio.
See Bangles entry on 4/16/03.
• Neil Young - "The Needle and The Damage Done" on Yahoo radio.
• Enya - "Shepherd Moons" on Yahoo radio.
• Green Day - "When I Come Around" on Yahoo radio. Rave On Greens!
• Ani DiFranco - "32 Flavors" on Yahoo radio. Yahoo's servers served this to me 'cause I rated Eddi Reader highly. Ok, that's fine, I like this song. It ends with some good percussion, too.
• Sade - "Somebody Already Broke My Heart" on Yahoo radio from her live album last year.
• Sheila E. - "The Belle of St. Mark" on Yahoo radio.
• Richard Thompson - "Pitfalls" on Yahoo radio, from his album Industry. An instrumental with horns and strings.
• Stephen Stills - "Guardian Angel" on Yahoo radio, where it seems to be Buffalo Springfield Day today.
• The Monkees - "Heart and Soul" on Yahoo radio. Everything else being equal I'd rather hear "I'm A Believer" or "As We Go Along". Micky Dolenz and synthesizers mixed well on "Daily Nightly". Here it's not a good mix and that probably has nothing to do with Micky.
• Stan Getz - "Blood Count" on Yahoo radio. A ballad. I liked it.
• Nick Lowe - "Endless Sleep" on Yahoo radio. Most of Nick's music feels timeless to me. None moreso than his mid-'70s work including this song.
• Elvis Costello - "Taking My Life In Your Hands" on Yahoo radio, from The Juliet Letters his album with strings. He can sing accompanied by a calliope, it'll sound good.
• Gary Burton - "Back Home Again in Indiana" on Yahoo radio. This caps my Yahoo radio listening for today with one of my favorite musicians, in fact a lot of these artists today are among my favorites. This man is one of the treasures of American and global music.

4/16/03

• The Bangles Doll Revolution - Vocals, overdubs, production, musicianship sound as good as the standard set by previous Bangles records. These are giving, meticulous musicians at work and they definitely have a high level of performing unity from their years together -- they are very adept at delivering a band sound that blends their vocal and instrumental skills. Lots of gorgeous sound to enjoy and the lyrics are rewarding too. Continuously an adventurous band, I would hope that the completion of this album would embolden them to make another soon. If I were their manager I would try to get some of these songs placed on movie soundtracks asap, and I'd figure out a way to make a really creative longform video of The Bangles at work and play along with their friends -- Put Dave Grohl in that pilot outfit and fake mustache again. Just kidding. Ask the Foo Fighters to take The Bangles on tour with them. Not kidding. If I could ask The Bangles to record an album of cover songs I'd ask them to pick their favorite English bands and songwriters (Fairport Convention, E. Costello, etc.) and do half the songs as acoustic / half as hard-rocking electric arrangements -- their choice. Back to Doll Revolution: I'd like to hear more guitar solos as in "Single By Choice" -- that song's a favorite along with "Stealing Rosemary", "Something That You Said", and "Grateful". There's another good guitar solo on "Song for a Good Son". I'll be playing this album a lot.

4/11/03

• The Bangles Doll Revolution - First listen. Comments later. I see that (world famous) Dave Grohl and Peter Holsapple (of the obscure dBs) are on here.

4/9/03

• White Stripes's new single/video "Seven Nation Army". Hearing this tune for the first time I'd say that "it bears repeating". These siblings sure know how to write and arrange a song!
• ZZ Top's video for "Stages".

4/8/03

Paul Simon - "She Moves On" from Rhythm of the Saints (CD). John and I are talking about adding this to Echo Beach's repertoire.

4/6/03

Dire Straits - "Industrial Disease" from Love Over Gold (CD).

4/4/03

• The Marketts - Surfer's Stomp! album on CD (burned from vinyl by Mark Walworth, thanks Mark!). My dad, my stepbrother Mark and I like guitar music including a shared enjoyment of some surf music, this album included. Other examples of guitar music we like: Chet Atkins (Dad going way back), Sleater-Kinney (Mark going way back), Steve Khan (me going way back).
• The Concord Blue Devils Percussion Line - The Line. Highly diverse CD which showcases pure drumming along with the drum line playing with the Blue Devils' horn and mallet keyboard sections. This amazing group (ten time Drum Corps International world champs) will perform in Oakland on May 3rd at the Oakland Day of Percussion. This CD highlights the dynamics inherent in the drum line artform.

4/3/03

• Anton Fig (of the Letterman show) - Figments. This is a pop album not a drummer showcase, although Anton plays great on it. He's got guests including Richie Havens, Chris Spedding, Sebastian Bach, Blondie Chaplin, Ace Frehley, Al Kooper, the other Late Night dudes, Duck Dunn, Brian Wilson, Ivan Neville -- all playing in support of the songs. This is one of my favorite albums of the past year. Anton's website sells the CD. Fast shipping. I'm playing it in my Dell laptop.

What else have I listened to today?

4/28/03

• The Who - The Who By Numbers, vinyl, Side One. So many good things to say about this album I'll just state that Side One is great: composition, arrangement, lyrics, performance.

4/24/03

• Foo Fighters - "Times Like These" video on Yahoo Video. Rave On Foos!

4/23/03

• Frank Zappa - You Can't Do That Onstage Anymore Vol. 2 The Helsinki Concert - CD (Tracks 1 - 8). Recorded 9/22/74. Do you need to mop the floor? Wash the dishes? Stir the compost heap? This is the ultimate housecleaning album .. really! The band is incredibly tight and loose at the same time, these are some of Zappa's best tunes and lyrics ("Inca Roads" for example). The energy of the group will keep your arms a movin', your feet a groovin' and your eyes on the prowl for dust bunnies. Also a fave of mine because it was recorded in one of my favorite cities, and because Ruth Underwood plays percussion like a total monster here. It's a real showcase for her, and for Frank, George Duke, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Tom Fowler and Chester Thompson (the Genesis drummer not the Santana keyboardist). Six people make a beautiful noise and play the tango too.
• Frank Zappa - Sheik Yerbouti (Tracks 10 to 18) - 24 hour party people go under the microscope and don't look good. Adrian Belew's guitar imitates wild animals. Terry Bozzio drums like a monster.

4/17/03

• David Bowie - Pinups - vinyl album, Side Two. Has Bowie made a more entertaining album? And the playing of Mick Ronson and Aynsley Dunbar -- wow!!!!!
• Nick Drake - Five Leaves Left - vinyl album, Side Two. The "bright size life" of Nick Drake's music. It would be hard to choose a favorite side of Drake songs but if I had to this might be it.

4/12/03

• Animal Logic - "Rose Colored Glasses" - Stewart Copeland, Stanley Clarke, Deborah Holland on Yahoo video. This is a funny one cause it has Van Halen-style choreography for Copeland and Clarke, visual puns, and the audio and video are totally out of sync! The vocals and musicianship are great and full of potential. I think "Spy in the House of Love" is my favorite track by them. I think Copeland should re-form this band since his stint in The Doors appears to be done and The Police are playing together only every 18 years or so. This could be Animal Logic's moment!

4/11/03

• Fleetwood Mac - "The Sun Is Shining" (live version) on Yahoo radio. From their Chicago Blues period which I always like hearing. Peter Green and Danny Kirwan laying it down I believe. Their live In Chicago album on Sire was a hot one.
• Eddie and Mad Duran - "Girl From Ipanema" (sound clip from their website).
• Bruce Springsteen - "She's The One" on Yahoo radio. I looked for videos from The Rising on Yahoo videos today .. there aren't any any more. They used to play "Lonesome Day". They also used to play U2's "Electrical Storm". Two great 2002 songs. Yahoo's getting to be like MTV! But it's probably the bands' managements who request short-term runs for these headlining musicians. Just long enough to promote new tours or albums.
  
  
• Neil Young - "Loose Change" on Yahoo radio.

4/10/03

• Lindsey Buckingham - "Holiday Road" (vinyl single)
• Mamas and Papas - "Once Was A Time I Thought" from A Gathering of Flowers (vinyl album)

4/4/03

• Aussie Mix CD from Maryanne in Australia via Mark Walworth. Artists include Antenna, Monique Brumby, The Blackeyed Susans, Nick Cave and Kylie Minogue, Crowded House, Deadstar, Four Hours Sleep, Girl Monstar, Hoodoo Gurus, Paul Kelly, Ben Lee, Magic Dirt, Otis, Rebecca's Empire, and You Am I. I'm just getting into this and enjoying hearing a lot of good music I haven't heard before.

4/3/03

• Tom Verlaine - Tom Verlaine - vinyl album, Side One (even though Side Two is my favorite)
• Hall and Oates - "Some Things Are Better Left Unsaid" - vinyl single
• Yahoo videos - my favorites in the rotation today were Rush's "Roll the Bones", Natalie Merchant's "Carnival", TLC's "Hands Up" (their "Girls Talk" and "Waterfalls" and "No Scrubs" are classic videos and songs IMO), Eddi Reader's "Patience of Angels", INXS's "This Time" (I have this one rated so high I see it several times a week), and Van Halen's "Panama". Another of my frequent views is Lindsey Buckingham's "Countdown" -- parts of this video are super corny (the dancing), parts are strong (the drumming), but it's one my favorite tunes by him so I usually listen to the music with the video hidden on my screen.

What's going on with Echo Beach?

Echo Beach is the jazz / pop band I formed in 1991. Rob Harris was the first to join, and he's still with me in the band (thanks for all these great years Rob!). You're probably looking at this blog from a link from the band's website echobeachband.com.

4/28/03

I've been distributing demo CDs to friends and family. This week, I start shipping demo packages (pictures, CD, marketing material) to promoters and festivals.

Yesterday the band played its first gig with this lineup, at a party in Valley of the Moon. Our set was

• Jamaican Sun
• Delicate Creature
• Afro Blue
• Merengue
• Place to Be
• Girl From Ipanema (with Mad Duran on sax)
• Wave (with Mad Duran on sax)
• Cal's Pals

4/23/03

Our CD is ready today at Disc Makers! Tomorrow I drive there to get 1,013 copies of Echo Beach Demo 2003, with hopes of it taking us to some interesting and fun places in the next year or so, starting with gigs!

4/15/03

The artwork is going to press for our demo CD. Here it is:

4/11/03

Rob and I rehearsed last night for our upcoming gig. For a while in the early days of the band it was just Rob and me getting the rhythms together and this rehearsal reminded me of that. Today I approved the artwork for our demo CD and yesterday I mailed a new master CD to the Disc Makers plant in Fremont. Now we should have the CDs in about two weeks if nothing else goes wrong.

4/8/03

Zeroes and Ones go awry - I got a call yesterday from Disc Makers informing me that the master CD at their factory for our demo, is defective. I'll need to get a new master burned at Trakworx. Third time's the charm. Justin Weis made me one master on 3/7. After living with the songs for a while I decided to remove "Afro Blue" from the CD. Justin made a second master on 3/17 and that's the one that Disc Makers reports as defective. So third time's the charm.

4/3/03

Today I walked to the North Beach post office to mail materials to Disc Makers which will be used to make Echo Beach's demo CD. Some of the details on this project are on our website. The recording process was a pleasure .. although somewhat rushed due to Steve Pompeo's impending trip to Europe to stage-manage Harry Belafonte's European tour. In fact Steve got on the plane to New York a few hours after our final recording session for the CD, in order to work with the band to prepare for the tour.

My Yahoo Radio Station

Click here to listen if you wish. Aerosmith to Metheny to Zappa and many stops between

Music on TV

4/29/03

Eubie Blake plays piano and Gregory Hines sings on Eubie's "Lowdown Blues" on Saturday Night Live on Comedy Central.

4/23/03

Randy Newman Live At The Odeon recorded on a VHS VCR in 1985 when it ran on Cinemax, now available on DVD. This seems to be my month of "LA rock stars" I don't know why. I even watched a tape of the Monkees' prime-time "new episode" aired February '97. Anyway ...... Randy plays hits including "Mama Told Me Not To Come" (Ry Cooder on slide guitar) and "I Love LA" and non-hits such as "Let's Burn Down The Cornfield" and "Rednecks". Linda Ronstadt sings ballads, Ry Cooder plays sonic breezes alongside Randy's piano. The crowd sings along with "Short People" and is totally silent in the right places. I can't imagine getting tired of this concert.

4/4/03

Zappa rates #36 in VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock", airing today. I'm waiting for the "100 Greatest Rock Bands Which Include Outstanding Percussionists Such As Ruth Underwood" and "100 Greatest Orchestral Composers / Synclavier Players of the 20th Century" shows on VH1 to also recognize Zappa but there's little point in holding my breath for these to be produced. Thin Lizzy, Cheap Trick and Def Leppard made the cut too good on 'em.

4/3/03

I caught the last few minutes of PBS's "American Masters - Joni Mitchell" after rehearsal last night, and heard Joni say that one time she was interviewed following a multi-Grammy win and she was asked something like "You're this person from the '60s music scene -- what do you think of today's music?". Understandably, Joni was frustrated by this question since she had just won Grammys for her current music. In a similar vein Frank Zappa once was quoted "I did an interview with a guy from a paper and he said 'What do you think of today's music?' I said, 'We are today's music. We are it, like it or lump it. What do you mean? Do you think that what I'm doing is something imaginary? We're out there today. We're doing it. It's alive.'"

I love that quote.

Return to the Echo Beach Band website .. right this way .. echobeachband.com.