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6/22/03
Today Echo Beach performed at Borders Books San Mateo. The setlist was very similar to 6/20. One exception is that today I played a solo marimba piece for the first time using a looping pedal (Akai Headrush pedal) to accompany me, playing a loop I recorded at the start of the piece (microphone to pedal to amp). For a first performance the piece went well but I learned a lot about what I want to change in the future in the way I control the electronics (turning off the mic and turning up the amp playing the loop) and what tempo and feeling I play to record the loop. Today the musicians were John, Rob, me, Justin and Mark. Thanks to the audience and those who bought our CD!
6/20/03
Last night's Echo Beach setlist from Borders Books SF (Stonestown) was
Sharkbeat / St. Thomas / Jamaican Sun / Delicate Creature / Afro Blue / John's acoustic choice / Morning/Midday with Yamaha QY20 sequencer / Girl From Ipanema / Vagabond Virgin / Wave / Place To Be / Footprints / Merengue / Key West Intermezzo / Viva Tirado / Cal's Pals / Blue Bossa
Thanks to the great listeners at Borders and to everyone who bought our CD!
6/6/03
Two days ago Echo Beach played at a business and technology networking event in Novato. Our first gig with Brian and Justin and it's great to have them in the band. John and I felt the gig was somewhat like being the house band on a talk show. We played between announcements from the stage, which was cool. The setlist was longer than this but what we actually wound up playing was
6/26/03
In last night's rehearsal John and I rearranged (and wrote down!) "St. Thomas" (Sonny Rollins) for future gigs.
6/22/03
I don't like the titles from 6/6. Starting over.6/6/03
First work today on composing two new songs which have the working titles "Riverside Reflection" ("RR" for short) and "Backup and Restore" ("BR" for short)(as you see the titles came ahead of the music). In brief, the first one's a ballad and the second one's uptempo.
6/4/03
Gig today at 6 PM -- marimba practice of the songs in the set
6/6/03
Anton Fig - Figments
6/4/03
The above songs (except Creedence) heard courtesy of Harry Shearer's "Le Show" on cassette from November '88.
6/29/03 - Village Music in Mill Valley never ceases to amaze in its vinyl treasures. Today I picked up unopened copies of Law and Order by Lindsey Buckingham and Ladies Invited by The J. Geils Band for $6.00 each. Also a near-mint copy of The Bangles All Over The Place. Some Elvis Costello music I'd never heard was playing in the store. Maybe Elvis dropped it there himself 'cause I know he shops there. Bonus: also took home some fine fine black-and-white pictures of Connie Kay and Cal Tjader.
6/27/03 - 8 P.M. show at Yoshi's by Los Hombres Calientes -- Bill Summers (percussion), Irvin Mayfield (trumpet) and band. Bill plays in Herbie Hancock's Headhunters. Here with Irvin he has a hot not-so-little band (sax, trumpet, trombone, bass, piano, drumset). The horn section is young guys from New Orleans who blow up a storm. Bill and the traps drummer (Ricky Sebastian) played as one four-armed force. Great arrangements, and you could lose count of the number of South American, Afro-Cuban and mid-latitude rhythms (including Second Line) these guys burned through in the set. Summers the percussion master leads an amazing pack here. No wonder Los Hombres Calientes were nominated for a Grammy.
6/26/03
Drummer Chico Hamilton is a bold jazz explorer (now in his ninth decade of life) and I think it's so cool that he covers Paul Weller's "Bull-Rush" on his latest album Thoughts Of. The music of Chico (and of Art Blakey among many others) to me are prime examples of how jazz can incorporate structures and feelings from so many other forms, such as the way Blakey adapted Gershwin (on his Tough album) and Wayne Shorter adapted Sibelius (on his Footprints Live album).
6/22/03
Friday (two days ago) listened three consecutive times to Aimee Mann's Lost In Space. It sounded great the first time I heard it several weeks ago. Each subsequent play reveals the craft of her lyric writing and the intriguing sonic landscape she paints with the other players here. My favorite tunes are "Invisible Ink", "The Moth" and "Humpty Dumpty" and this is one of those records where I'd expect other tunes to be standouts at various times. If I had to draw a comparison to a much more famous recording artist, this album reminds me of one of Neil Young's best albums (say, Tonight's the Night, After the Gold Rush, Rust Never Sleeps or Harvest Moon). Two other CDs continuing to play here often are Anton Fig's Figments and The Bangles' Doll Revolution.
6/22/03
Graham Parker and The Rumour - Howling Wind Side One on vinyl.
Peter Gabriel - Plays Live Side B on vinyl. "D.I.Y.", "The Family and The Fishing Net", "Intruder" and "I Go Swimming" -- IMO one of the best sides of music ever recorded. Tony Levin on bass, Larry Fast on keyboards, Jerry Marotta on drums, David Rhodes on guitar.
6/9/03
6/8/03
Cheap Trick - "My Obsession" from their forthcoming album Special One due out on July 22nd. This song's available on their website.
6/7/03
Berlin Symphony Orchestra (Herbert Von Karajan conducting) - Symphony No. 4 in A minor, Op. 63 by Jean Sibelius, Side One on vinyl.
6/6/03
The Blue Man Group is coming to town with their "Rock Concert". It's almost certainly got to be great judging by their Vegas show.
6/1/03 Fillmore show
Arthur Lee, strings, horns and band on the Forever Changes tour. Felt like a miracle that this music was being played live in 2003. Not only a lot of music from FC the artistically triumphant album by the group Love but also "7 And 7 Is", "Orange Skies", "My Little Red Book", and more. A great audience. Everyone on stage gave a great performance. Band guitarist Mike Randle titled his blog entry about this show "Bill Graham Might Have Liked This Show Too". Yes.
6/20/03
For me personally it is totally cool to be playing in a band with such great, capable, versatile musicians. Every edition of Echo Beach has had key strengths. This particular lineup has a sonic depth and breadth that I have a great time experiencing from the inside and I will do everything possible to capture that experience on a full album as soon as possible. In the meantime we're going to perform as often as possible. And next month we'll have new photos taken.
Click here to listen if you wish. Aerosmith to Metheny to 10cc to Zappa and many stops between. Hasn't been working the past few days (as of 6/20/03). Yahoo error screens claim they're having "technical difficulties".
6/20/03
The Police - (videos) Every Breath You Take on DVD. Released a few weeks ago, has all the well known great Godley and Creme-directed Police videos from "Every Breath You Take" to "Synchronicity II" along with the ha-ha low budget early videos (my favorites being "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" and "So Lonely" (this one shot in Tokyo and first appeared in the VHS video "Police Around the World"). Another Police video which has aged very well IMO is the "Synchronicity Concert" shot at the Omni in Atlanta also directed by Godley and Creme. Not only do the band and backup singers sound great (Sting's strained voice and all) but the camera work puts you in the audience at key moments -- brilliant.
6/4/03
What subliminal content is embedded in the This Is Spinal Tap DVD? What happens when you play it backwards? I can't stop watching it. Not only loaded with extra goodies, but the film's Commentary track by Nigel Tufnel, Derek Smalls and David St. Hubbins is nearly as hilarious as the film. Marty DiBergi and Ian Faith get constantly ripped to shreds by the trio. And I never noticed previously just how paranoid Mr. Tufnel really is. There are so many one-liners clobbering one another in the dialog (check out the Fran Drescher / Patrick Macnee party scene for example). Harry Shearer and Michael McKean have been entertaining me since 1966 .. thank you! "Making a big thing of it would have been a good idea".
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