I ran into Steve Cannella last week on the RWU campus - profiled in an earlier post about the group Cutlass Three - still skateboarding and still playing. The band has a regular Thursday night gig at the Beach House in the Island Park section of scenic Portsmouth, RI where the elite meet and greet. Thursdays are now College Nights with Beer Pong and the Cutlass Three, and the action starts at 9:00 PM. If you want to hear some straight up rock that never lets you down, with echoes of rockabilly, blues and legendary English rockers The Clash, then check out the Cutlass Three Thursday nights at the Beach House. For more info on the band, go to:
www.myspace.com/thecutlassband
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Radio Daze Part II
Since Van Halen really is going on tour - at least, this week - I couldn't resist telling the tale of the dreaded "Drop Dead Legs" contest after all, which , in its own sexist, haphazard way was in fact much worse than the ill-fated Springsteen food drive. The event was cooked up at the last minute to coincide with a stop in Providence on the 1984 tour promoting the record of the same name. The same rock and roll station that I worked for was given the alleged privilege of finding women with great legs to appear in a video Van Halen would cut while in Rhode Island showcasing the tune -believe it or not - "Drop Dead Legs". WHJY's favorite club at the time - JR's Fastlane - was immediately chosen as the venue for the so-called contest, and the station rushed on the air with a hot promo as soon as possible. As Promotions Director, I was left with the dubious task of somehow structuring the contest.
Normally, most rock and roll promotions were fairly routine. You would give away the tickets or the movie passes or the merchandise to caller number whatever, or simply plug into an existing vehicle created by a record company, a multi-location retailer or a travel agent. I really had no idea why anybody would want to lend their legs to Van Halen and get squat in return except perhaps the privilege of telling their grandchildren someday " Remember videos? You know, MTV? Well, Grandma was in one once..." However, I dutifully made up some entry forms so we would have sort of a structure and headed off to the club at the appointed hour.
It was pretty much a mob scene. I waded through a crowd of women who seemed to have thighs up to their armpits and established myself at a convenient table, handing out and collecting the entries until every form had been filled out. I then beat a hasty retreat to the upstairs office to await the arrival of the so-called Van Halen "people", wondering if David Lee Roth himself was going to show up and judge the golden gams, but his "people" turned out to be a trio of scruffy, nasty LA types who demanded Jack Daniels before they would utter a word. My carefully collected entry forms were quickly relegated to the trash. " But," I appealed to the California scumbags, "what about all the women who filled these out? Mean, aren't you going to like, call them up on stage or something?" I was informed that my role was simply to keep the crowd entertained; the "people" would hand pick the lucky legs.
After waiting until the Fastlane had literally run out of enough room in which to take a deep breath, I was ordered downstairs, where a bouncer the size of a three story building plowed through the throng, clearing a path for us to get onstage. I tried to say something clever, but - fortunately - everything was drowned out by the headbanging music and the roar of the now wasted crowd. Several women whose legs apparently fit the "drop dead" criteria ( which seemed to be how much whiskey can you drink and still see the contestants) were summoned off to the side and given instructions on where and when the shoot would take place. It seemed that all of the women who had dutifully filled out my precious little forms were now too far gone to pay any attention. Back at the office, I had a few ritual shots with the gang, forcing myself to smile at their mindless anecdotes of wasted nights on the tour before managing to slip out.
Speaking of 1984, as George Orwell himself might have said, " Everyone who entered the "Drop Dead Legs" contest was equal, but some of them were more equal than others."
Normally, most rock and roll promotions were fairly routine. You would give away the tickets or the movie passes or the merchandise to caller number whatever, or simply plug into an existing vehicle created by a record company, a multi-location retailer or a travel agent. I really had no idea why anybody would want to lend their legs to Van Halen and get squat in return except perhaps the privilege of telling their grandchildren someday " Remember videos? You know, MTV? Well, Grandma was in one once..." However, I dutifully made up some entry forms so we would have sort of a structure and headed off to the club at the appointed hour.
It was pretty much a mob scene. I waded through a crowd of women who seemed to have thighs up to their armpits and established myself at a convenient table, handing out and collecting the entries until every form had been filled out. I then beat a hasty retreat to the upstairs office to await the arrival of the so-called Van Halen "people", wondering if David Lee Roth himself was going to show up and judge the golden gams, but his "people" turned out to be a trio of scruffy, nasty LA types who demanded Jack Daniels before they would utter a word. My carefully collected entry forms were quickly relegated to the trash. " But," I appealed to the California scumbags, "what about all the women who filled these out? Mean, aren't you going to like, call them up on stage or something?" I was informed that my role was simply to keep the crowd entertained; the "people" would hand pick the lucky legs.
After waiting until the Fastlane had literally run out of enough room in which to take a deep breath, I was ordered downstairs, where a bouncer the size of a three story building plowed through the throng, clearing a path for us to get onstage. I tried to say something clever, but - fortunately - everything was drowned out by the headbanging music and the roar of the now wasted crowd. Several women whose legs apparently fit the "drop dead" criteria ( which seemed to be how much whiskey can you drink and still see the contestants) were summoned off to the side and given instructions on where and when the shoot would take place. It seemed that all of the women who had dutifully filled out my precious little forms were now too far gone to pay any attention. Back at the office, I had a few ritual shots with the gang, forcing myself to smile at their mindless anecdotes of wasted nights on the tour before managing to slip out.
Speaking of 1984, as George Orwell himself might have said, " Everyone who entered the "Drop Dead Legs" contest was equal, but some of them were more equal than others."
Friday, August 24, 2007
Radio Daze Part 1
The news that Bruce Springsteen is coming out with another album somehow inspired me to think about a really pathetic contest that I helped to run at a rocker in my dismal past that was designed solely to suck up to Bruce. It was 1985 and he would be doing two shows at the Providence Civic Center. The station was intent on somehow getting Bruce's endorsement either in the form of an exclusive interview or by participating in some manufactured event. Rather than make the listeners identify a string of Eddie Van Halen solos - which was the case when we had given away Van Halen tickets - or just being in the right place at the right time to hook up with a "ticket raid" - which meant we were dumping Ratt or Skid Row tickets or some other marginal act that was having trouble filling a club - we decided to do something socially responsible.
Springsteen was using that particular tour to encourage food donations, collecting for shelters in the different cities he was playing, so the contest would promote that humanitarian theme - the audience would bring food to designated locations where they would then be eligible to participate in a raffle for a pair of tickets. We didn't really stop to consider the fact that most of our listeners lived on fast food or cocaine and bottled water, so the idea of, like, actually buying canned goods was an alien concept. Since the salesmen immediately jockeyed their best clients into position as ideal collection points, the ill-fated promotion managed to combine the wrong demographic with the wrong businesses, as well as working in the wrong times.
Consequently, I found myself collecting cans at a foreign car garage at noon, and holding a raffle at a music store in the morning - when the majority of our core rockers were still sleeping off the night before. Half the fans showed up at these dismal gatherings with one whole can, since we didn't specify how many or exactly what they were supposed to bring. By the time I finished giving away the coveted seats, we probably had enough to maybe feed one homeless person for a few nights, provided they didn't mind eating canned peas.
Aware that we were flirting with disaster, the station came up with a final desperate measure: awarding Springsteen the key to the city, assuming that such an honor would draw him out for invaluable free publicity. The mayor was only too happy to get involved, his office quickly agreeing to hold the dubious ceremony a few hours before Bruce's first concert. I was pleased to see several local TV stations in attendance at the appointed hour, but no sign of the great one. Several seconds before the mayor was about to get seriously pissed, the record company promo guy showed up, graciously accepting the honor before pulling us aside and excoriating the station for not only being stupid enough to think we could actually get Springstreen to make an appearance but also pulling him away from dinner with the wife and kids in some Boston suburb, taking pains to imply that the record label he worked for didn't really need us - we needed them.
Fortunately, Bruce sold out both shows, actually giving the Civic Center a profit for the first time in its history, the promo guy continued to visit the station, and I was left to concentrate on more imaginative contests - that is, until the dreaded Van Halen "Drop Dead Legs" competition - but that's another story.
Favorite links:
Rhode Island International Film Festival: http://www.riiff.org/
William Topley's "Feasting With Panthers" : http://www.williamtopley.com/
Traditional music from a virtuoso practitioner": http://www.bruceburnside.com/
Scott Allen's contemporary tunes:http://www.milomusic.com/
Martha Davis and the Motels: http://www.marthadavis.com/
Read all about the "Land of Lincoln(s)" at:
http://rantsfromrockyhill.blogspot.com/
The latest Cutlass Three gigs: http://www.myspace.com/thecutlassband
Springsteen was using that particular tour to encourage food donations, collecting for shelters in the different cities he was playing, so the contest would promote that humanitarian theme - the audience would bring food to designated locations where they would then be eligible to participate in a raffle for a pair of tickets. We didn't really stop to consider the fact that most of our listeners lived on fast food or cocaine and bottled water, so the idea of, like, actually buying canned goods was an alien concept. Since the salesmen immediately jockeyed their best clients into position as ideal collection points, the ill-fated promotion managed to combine the wrong demographic with the wrong businesses, as well as working in the wrong times.
Consequently, I found myself collecting cans at a foreign car garage at noon, and holding a raffle at a music store in the morning - when the majority of our core rockers were still sleeping off the night before. Half the fans showed up at these dismal gatherings with one whole can, since we didn't specify how many or exactly what they were supposed to bring. By the time I finished giving away the coveted seats, we probably had enough to maybe feed one homeless person for a few nights, provided they didn't mind eating canned peas.
Aware that we were flirting with disaster, the station came up with a final desperate measure: awarding Springsteen the key to the city, assuming that such an honor would draw him out for invaluable free publicity. The mayor was only too happy to get involved, his office quickly agreeing to hold the dubious ceremony a few hours before Bruce's first concert. I was pleased to see several local TV stations in attendance at the appointed hour, but no sign of the great one. Several seconds before the mayor was about to get seriously pissed, the record company promo guy showed up, graciously accepting the honor before pulling us aside and excoriating the station for not only being stupid enough to think we could actually get Springstreen to make an appearance but also pulling him away from dinner with the wife and kids in some Boston suburb, taking pains to imply that the record label he worked for didn't really need us - we needed them.
Fortunately, Bruce sold out both shows, actually giving the Civic Center a profit for the first time in its history, the promo guy continued to visit the station, and I was left to concentrate on more imaginative contests - that is, until the dreaded Van Halen "Drop Dead Legs" competition - but that's another story.
Favorite links:
Rhode Island International Film Festival: http://www.riiff.org/
William Topley's "Feasting With Panthers" : http://www.williamtopley.com/
Traditional music from a virtuoso practitioner": http://www.bruceburnside.com/
Scott Allen's contemporary tunes:http://www.milomusic.com/
Martha Davis and the Motels: http://www.marthadavis.com/
Read all about the "Land of Lincoln(s)" at:
http://rantsfromrockyhill.blogspot.com/
The latest Cutlass Three gigs: http://www.myspace.com/thecutlassband
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Judgemental
I did something a little out of the ordinary last week- I served as a judge for best musical "score" as part of the 11th Annual Rhode Island International Flm Festival - a total of over 275 films from 70 countries over six days, according to the official RIIFF poster. I keep thinking that there should be a variation of the Groucho Marx joke about "...any festival that has me as a judge is not a festival I want to be part of..." or something along those lines, but the fact is that it was a privilege to be involved in such a high quality event.
I watched five different films. Based on BSRR's avowed musical orientation, the one that most closely fit the type of tunes typically profiled here was "The Front Runner", an animated story of a Southwestern showdown, a 2007 festival world premiere film directed by John Macdowell. The Ennio Morricone themed soundtrack (You remember those Sergio Leone/ Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns - where Clint, Lee Van Cleef and others would stand, hands poised over their pistols as those stirring, echoey guitar chords thundered through the theater speakers!) documents the revenge of a young motorhead after his idol dies in an abortive drag race, played out in comic strip frames with a desolate desert background. The prelude of tentative strumming eventually devolves into the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" underscoring the fact that the only woman in the film - the one who waves the checkered flag - is, in fact, a blond in a black dress.
"Salim Baba" , 2007, directed by Tim Sternberg, is a documentary about an Indian vendor who drives a "cinema cart" through the streets of North Kolkata, showing scraps of film strung together and powered by a projector hooked up to bicycle pedals. Although the score does feature some mindless, high energy Bollywood pop, it is secondary to Salim's commentary. The same could be said of "Quincy and Althea" , 2006, directed by Doug Lenox, the story of a feisty African American couple basically bitching each other out , stuck in the remnants of Katrina ravaged New Orleans. You are privy to some good old fashioned Dixieland, but it seems needlessly discordant and irrelevant.
"Secondhand Pepe", 2006 world premiere, directed by Hannah Shell and Vanessa Bertozzi, is an innovative portrait of the underside of the global economy, answering the question of exactly what happens to the clothes Americans routinely discard. Using Haitian talk radio as a thread of commentary mixed with excerpts from the diary of an early Twentieth Century Jewish immigrant, the film expertly parallels the evolution of "secondhand pepe" (term for clothes in Haitian patois) from the castoffs plucked from the streets of the lower East Side in Manhattan to the modern day equivalent in the sidewalk markets of Haiti. The music cleverly mixes the frenetic violins and tempo of Eastern European dance tunes with the "junkanoo" percussion of the Caribbean basin, making a musical bridge between the two disparate worlds.
But the winner (The envelope, please!) hands down for best score - in my exceedingly humble opinion - was an animated 2007 world premiere film called "Voodoo Bayou", directed by Javier Gutierrez. This lushly but funky detailed short is told entirely without dialogue, the story of a swamp mosquito struck by lightening in a ghostly bayou. The bug wanders into the eerie shack of a voodoo "shaman" , its' electrified bite bringing a doll to life whose antics lead to a fiery confrontation with the cigar-smoking witch doctor. The music combines the classic Hollywood horror elements of guttering violins and heart pounding percussion with the essence of voodoo incantations and hair-raising chants to create a unique ambiance, the dark side of Walt Disney.
Congratulations to RIIFF Executive Director George T. Marshall and his hardworking team for making the Ocean State the ninth wave for the best in independent films, and don't forget to start making your plans for next year's event - you won't be disappointed.
I watched five different films. Based on BSRR's avowed musical orientation, the one that most closely fit the type of tunes typically profiled here was "The Front Runner", an animated story of a Southwestern showdown, a 2007 festival world premiere film directed by John Macdowell. The Ennio Morricone themed soundtrack (You remember those Sergio Leone/ Clint Eastwood spaghetti westerns - where Clint, Lee Van Cleef and others would stand, hands poised over their pistols as those stirring, echoey guitar chords thundered through the theater speakers!) documents the revenge of a young motorhead after his idol dies in an abortive drag race, played out in comic strip frames with a desolate desert background. The prelude of tentative strumming eventually devolves into the Hollies' "Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress" underscoring the fact that the only woman in the film - the one who waves the checkered flag - is, in fact, a blond in a black dress.
"Salim Baba" , 2007, directed by Tim Sternberg, is a documentary about an Indian vendor who drives a "cinema cart" through the streets of North Kolkata, showing scraps of film strung together and powered by a projector hooked up to bicycle pedals. Although the score does feature some mindless, high energy Bollywood pop, it is secondary to Salim's commentary. The same could be said of "Quincy and Althea" , 2006, directed by Doug Lenox, the story of a feisty African American couple basically bitching each other out , stuck in the remnants of Katrina ravaged New Orleans. You are privy to some good old fashioned Dixieland, but it seems needlessly discordant and irrelevant.
"Secondhand Pepe", 2006 world premiere, directed by Hannah Shell and Vanessa Bertozzi, is an innovative portrait of the underside of the global economy, answering the question of exactly what happens to the clothes Americans routinely discard. Using Haitian talk radio as a thread of commentary mixed with excerpts from the diary of an early Twentieth Century Jewish immigrant, the film expertly parallels the evolution of "secondhand pepe" (term for clothes in Haitian patois) from the castoffs plucked from the streets of the lower East Side in Manhattan to the modern day equivalent in the sidewalk markets of Haiti. The music cleverly mixes the frenetic violins and tempo of Eastern European dance tunes with the "junkanoo" percussion of the Caribbean basin, making a musical bridge between the two disparate worlds.
But the winner (The envelope, please!) hands down for best score - in my exceedingly humble opinion - was an animated 2007 world premiere film called "Voodoo Bayou", directed by Javier Gutierrez. This lushly but funky detailed short is told entirely without dialogue, the story of a swamp mosquito struck by lightening in a ghostly bayou. The bug wanders into the eerie shack of a voodoo "shaman" , its' electrified bite bringing a doll to life whose antics lead to a fiery confrontation with the cigar-smoking witch doctor. The music combines the classic Hollywood horror elements of guttering violins and heart pounding percussion with the essence of voodoo incantations and hair-raising chants to create a unique ambiance, the dark side of Walt Disney.
Congratulations to RIIFF Executive Director George T. Marshall and his hardworking team for making the Ocean State the ninth wave for the best in independent films, and don't forget to start making your plans for next year's event - you won't be disappointed.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Feasting On William Topley
(BSRR would like to acknowledge Louis Santos, Comm 210.01, RWU, without whose help - specifically, three WilliamTopley CDS - this column would not have been possible).
The first and most obvious thing you notice about Englishman William Topley is his voice - the accent that sounds vaguely Jamaican, or maybe Deep South, or possibly Motown Soul - the way he stretches and bends a syllable to fit it flawlessly to the lyric, just as he modulates it from a drawl to a howl on the 12 standout tracks that make up "Feasting With Panthers". He actually has six solo CDs to his credit as well as three more under the name of his original band, The Blessing.
The second thing is the lyrics, like his musical trip to Cuba, "La Habana":
"Saw you stand in the street beneath a poster of Che
Watching young couples kiss in the Malacon...
All the girls in the Tropicana, they roll their own cigars
I stand there in the dressing room, just drinking it in...
Down at Papa's Marina the old man drinks alone
Writing notes to his son a thousand miles away..." (c) 2001 Trinifold Music/BMG Music Pub. Ltd.
The third and most confusing aspect of Topley's music is the fact that it simply can't be characterized. Besides " La Habana", there is the Spanish-flavored "Los Largos" with its soaring promises of love as well as a more mundane chorus:
"What you gotta do to get ahead these days it seems
You gotta rock Manhattan and Staten, Long Island, Jamaica and Queens..." (c) 2001 BMG Music Pub. Ltd.
"Excuses" is a funky, reggae-flavored "dancehall" tune, a lecture to a former lover who wants him back:
"And I've lost sweet time loving you
I said I've been heartbroken, angry
But now I've found somebody, too
So don't you give me excuses...(c) BMG Music Pub. Ltd./Dalmatian Songs (PRS)
"Drake's Drum" features a combination of blistering slide guitar, quavering tremolo and a little bit of Jimi Hendrix wah-wah style thrown in. That's just a taste of William Topley, hailed by the likes of Barry Beckett (Who's produced both Aretha Franklin and Paul Simon) who said: " He's the best singer I've ever heard."
As far as Topley himself is concerned: "...But often the most moving moments have happened to me in Belfast or Hamburg or on the lonely highways of the Midwest. I've ridden shotgun on the private jet and washed my hair on a cold street in Chicago...When you're Feasting with Panthers, you witness the extremes of the feast. But you don't get to eat." If you've got an appetite for exceptionally tight instrumentation, intelligent lyrics and a voice that simply transcends the genre, then feast on William Topley - you won't go away hungry.
Go to http://www.williamtopley.com/
Don't forget - the 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival starts this Tuesday with 230 screenings around the state - world premieres, vintage Harold Lloyd, standout documentaries, even Elvis in the rough! Get the scoop at http://www.riiff.com/.
For Bruce Burnside's music: http://www.bruceburnside.com/.
For Scott Allen's "The Evidence" : http://www.milomusic.com/
For yet another twisted commentary: http://rantsfromrockyhill.blogspot.com/
The first and most obvious thing you notice about Englishman William Topley is his voice - the accent that sounds vaguely Jamaican, or maybe Deep South, or possibly Motown Soul - the way he stretches and bends a syllable to fit it flawlessly to the lyric, just as he modulates it from a drawl to a howl on the 12 standout tracks that make up "Feasting With Panthers". He actually has six solo CDs to his credit as well as three more under the name of his original band, The Blessing.
The second thing is the lyrics, like his musical trip to Cuba, "La Habana":
"Saw you stand in the street beneath a poster of Che
Watching young couples kiss in the Malacon...
All the girls in the Tropicana, they roll their own cigars
I stand there in the dressing room, just drinking it in...
Down at Papa's Marina the old man drinks alone
Writing notes to his son a thousand miles away..." (c) 2001 Trinifold Music/BMG Music Pub. Ltd.
The third and most confusing aspect of Topley's music is the fact that it simply can't be characterized. Besides " La Habana", there is the Spanish-flavored "Los Largos" with its soaring promises of love as well as a more mundane chorus:
"What you gotta do to get ahead these days it seems
You gotta rock Manhattan and Staten, Long Island, Jamaica and Queens..." (c) 2001 BMG Music Pub. Ltd.
"Excuses" is a funky, reggae-flavored "dancehall" tune, a lecture to a former lover who wants him back:
"And I've lost sweet time loving you
I said I've been heartbroken, angry
But now I've found somebody, too
So don't you give me excuses...(c) BMG Music Pub. Ltd./Dalmatian Songs (PRS)
"Drake's Drum" features a combination of blistering slide guitar, quavering tremolo and a little bit of Jimi Hendrix wah-wah style thrown in. That's just a taste of William Topley, hailed by the likes of Barry Beckett (Who's produced both Aretha Franklin and Paul Simon) who said: " He's the best singer I've ever heard."
As far as Topley himself is concerned: "...But often the most moving moments have happened to me in Belfast or Hamburg or on the lonely highways of the Midwest. I've ridden shotgun on the private jet and washed my hair on a cold street in Chicago...When you're Feasting with Panthers, you witness the extremes of the feast. But you don't get to eat." If you've got an appetite for exceptionally tight instrumentation, intelligent lyrics and a voice that simply transcends the genre, then feast on William Topley - you won't go away hungry.
Go to http://www.williamtopley.com/
Don't forget - the 2007 Rhode Island International Film Festival starts this Tuesday with 230 screenings around the state - world premieres, vintage Harold Lloyd, standout documentaries, even Elvis in the rough! Get the scoop at http://www.riiff.com/.
For Bruce Burnside's music: http://www.bruceburnside.com/.
For Scott Allen's "The Evidence" : http://www.milomusic.com/
For yet another twisted commentary: http://rantsfromrockyhill.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Big D's Top Forty - The Beat Goes On ?
The Gambler - Kenny Rogers
Could be it's the world weary, ragged tone of Kenny's voice, or maybe my memories of riding trains at night, when you look out the window into the darkness and see your pale, lonely face staring back. Somehow, the lyrics, the imagery, the tone capture the right mood, the sense of resignation that pervades us when we hit a low point and we find we need someone to talk to. Life is a gamble after all, a calculated bet that we'll get through another day and survive long enough to enjoy the ride before we all "break even."
Don't You Feel Like Crying - Solomon Burke
Burke is truly one of the unsung heroes of soul, still playing and still preaching. This is the song that states the case for companionship, the vocal soaring above the depths of despair, reminding us that loneliness is "such a waste of time." It's epitomized for future generations in "Dirty Dancing", when Patrick and Jennifer slow dance, a long prelude to their first sexual encounter.
Shake Your Moneymaker - Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Could be it's the world weary, ragged tone of Kenny's voice, or maybe my memories of riding trains at night, when you look out the window into the darkness and see your pale, lonely face staring back. Somehow, the lyrics, the imagery, the tone capture the right mood, the sense of resignation that pervades us when we hit a low point and we find we need someone to talk to. Life is a gamble after all, a calculated bet that we'll get through another day and survive long enough to enjoy the ride before we all "break even."
James Dean - The Eagles
A tongue-in-cheek rocker that characterizes the band's energy when it burst onto the scene, paying homage to the original rebel himself, appearing in just three movies (Of course, you know what they are - right?) but speaking for every frustrated Fifties teen who felt compelled to look beyond Levittown. After all, thanks to Hollywood, we've all thought at one time or another, that: "I know my life/Would look alright/If I could see it on the silver screen."Got My Mojo Working - Muddy Waters
Probably the closest thing to a Top 40 blues tune I've ever heard, Muddy's rough but commanding voice giving the song authority, the harmonica meshing perfectly with the driving lead guitar. Often imitated but definitely never equalled.Don't You Feel Like Crying - Solomon Burke
Burke is truly one of the unsung heroes of soul, still playing and still preaching. This is the song that states the case for companionship, the vocal soaring above the depths of despair, reminding us that loneliness is "such a waste of time." It's epitomized for future generations in "Dirty Dancing", when Patrick and Jennifer slow dance, a long prelude to their first sexual encounter.
Shake Your Moneymaker - Paul Butterfield Blues Band
Incredible slide guitar from Mike Bloomfield, tight backing from the original lineup with drummer Sam Lay combine with Butterfield's hoarse shout to make this one of the stand-out cuts from the band's first album. Talk about energy - this is the kind of music that makes yours truly want to get back into it (but then there's the question of, you know, talent).
Voodoo Child - Jimi Hendrix
Also heard in the background of an Xterra commercial about a year ago. Nobody but nobody can get those sounds out of a guitar like the very late but very great Jimi. Saw him once in Cleveland - there was a bomb threat during the concert but nobody left. So much for the Sixties. Great tune when you're doing 75 in the left lane.
Drake's Drum - William Topley
Without a doubt the most galvanizing, spine straightening electric guitar yours truly has run across in a long time, coupled with his incredible voice. Sounds a little like Mystery Train. Next week, BSRR will take an in depth look at Topley's CD "Feasting With Panthers" (Thanks to Louis Santos, Intro To Speech Communications 210.01, RWU Summer School.
- Here's those links:
- What? The RI International Film Festival is coming up August 7-12, 2007 and you don't have your tickets? Well, what's wrong with you? Go to http://www.riff.org/
- For some of the best traditional music in America today, check out Bruce Burnside's CDs and philosophy at http://www.bruceburnside.com/
- For Scott Allen's insightful music and commentary: http://www.milomusic.com/
- For the Cutlass Three: www.myspace.com/thecutlassband
- For Martha Davis and the Motels: http://www.marthadavis.com/
- For a new twisted commentary on the Bush Legacy: http://rantsfromrockyhill.blogspot.com/
- Later on, yawl - better go to the beach because time is running out!!!
Saturday, July 14, 2007
Bruce Burnside's Musical Genius
Look closely and you'll see that America is fast disappearing; the sense of place, of regional identity that has created the rich mosaic of our culture is rapidly being swallowed up by the relentless quest for consumerism - the bleak but ubiquitous landscape of asphalt and corporate logos. Music is no exception. The days when musicologists like Alan Lomax and John Hammond and others penetrated the Appalachian hollows, the vast Western plains and Native American reservations, the prisons, the Delta cotton fields, and the other nooks and crannies of our shared musical experience are long gone.
Fortunately for future generations, a modest, unassuming and extremely talented musician/author/musicologist/educator named Bruce Burnside is hard at work keeping this aspect of our culture alive. Bruce has dedicated his entire life to playing, recording and respecting these important traditions. Recently, BSRR caught up with Bruce to ask a few questions about his work and all important goal of preserving our musical culture.
Bruce Burnside:
Traditional music for any culture is a reflection of the different social levels within that culture. For America, the diversity of the land and living experiences along with the expanse of years created songs. These songs, with their origins in distant lands, were created to tell the American experience. It's important for us to keep the wisdom in these songs alive to teach us about our lives today. The daily interpretation of old melodies and stories gives us, as a culture, free will and creativity to put music in our hearts. That experience gives traditional music life for each generation and provides a national idiom of social communication.
BSRR:
What got you interested in traditional music to begin with?
Burnside:
I got interested through learning to play guitar. The techniques of playing took me from Chicago blues to Delta blues, from Johnny Cash to Jimmie Rodgers , from what a guitar's role was in a string band, bluegrass band, jug band, blues band, jazz band, and rock band to the folk revival of the Sixties when traditional music resurfaced. I didn't learn everything but at least became aware of all of it.
BSRR:
How many instruments do you play? Which one do you prefer and why?
Burnside:
I'm still learning to play the instruments I play, which includes the banjo family, the mandolin family, electric and acoustic guitar and assorted others. The banjo family includes the five string instruments of banjeaurine, piccolo banjo, banjo, cello banjo, mandolin banjo, and ukulele banjo; different banjos are set up to play different styles, such as claw hammer or "frailing", bluegrass and classic, using nylon or gut strings as do the first four I mentioned. Mandolin, mandola and mando-cello are the mandolin family instruments I play. In addition, if I need a dobro, auto harp or dulcimer part for a recording, and I can't find anyone who plays, then I'll try to locate the instrument and practice enough to record the part. Actually, I don't really feel accomplished on any instrument. I just play and most of the time it sounds good; I have learned my limits and what not to attempt.
Different instruments inspire me in different ways. I write melodies for the banjo that are "banjoesque"; in other words the sound and physical placement of the notes contribute to the melody that gets written. Learning from the classic banjo compositions of the period from 1850-1910 along with the techniques found in the fiddle/banjo music of the Southeast, has helped give me a foundation to work from. The same idea applies to mandolin and guitar. Certain instruments have certain sounds that bring out different responses from my heart to the instrument. I write with my heart, by the way. It's something I've learned to trust and I let it take the lead in guiding me from the beginning to the end of a melody. My entire inner body projects the rhythm. Rather than prefer one instrument, I let them all have their place.
BSRR:
Speaking of writing with your heart, there are two songs in particular on your CD " Three Stag To An Oak" ((c) Bruce Burnside, 2004, Tortoise Humor Recordings) that touched my heart, "Oh My Little One" and "A Path Towards Erin". What inspired you to write these songs?
Burnside:
"Oh My Little One" is a lullaby to us all. It is about life's journey and was inspired by being a child, an adult and a parent. "A Path Towards Erin" is in the classic banjo tradition of the 1880-1890 period of five string banjo. I wrote it with an Irish sound, hence the title.
BSRR:
How did you devise the name Tortoise Humor Recordings?
Burnside:
The name Tortoise Humor was a phrase that one of the members of the band I've been in for 27 years used to describe my sense of humor. I studied herpetology as a young person and kept hundreds of turtles, tortoises, snakes,horned toads, etc. The phrase fit - the motto is "A winning way at a slower pace". It also means that it is my studio. I work on projects that I choose. It is not commercially available. I designed it to do multiple acoustic tracks. The hand time is set for an acoustic sound. I don't have to do something I don't like or a poor job because it's rushed.
BSRR:
What is the purpose of Forgotten Wisdom? How does it fit in with your mission of preserving the past?
Burnside:
Forgotten Wisdom is a 501 (c) 3 (IRS designation for nonprofit - Editor's Note) which allows me to write and receive grant money and donations. The mission statement includes preserving fretted string instrument techniques that are lost or endangered.
BSRR:
What musicians have you played with that impressed you the most?
Burnside:
The most impressive musician I've worked with is Vassar Clements. His playing always had great power, vitality and surprise. ...A person I got to know a little, initially through Vassar, was Jethro Burns who was the greatest player I ever heard. No matter who he was on stage with, Jethro could raise the intensity effortlessly...There is a very long list of other musicians I have stood next to that have impressed me - Johnny Cash for his focus and simplicity, Willie Nelson for his ability to pull in an audience, Steve Goodman for his showmanship and musical versatility. Remember, I play, listen and compose with my heart. All the sounds that touch me make a deep impression - Sonny Boy Williamson, The Band, Eva Cassidy... the entire New Grass crew of Sam Bush, Bela Fleck , Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas and the next generation like Chris Thile and Bryan Sutton.
BSRR:
What projects are you currently working on? What projects are you planning for the future?
Burnside:
Currently I'm writing, recording and composing for a radio documentary about the area of Wisconsin I live in. It's a small, remote valley settled by the mixed blood descendants of French Canadians and Ojibwa Indians in 1884 after the final treaty was signed. The original families are still the residents. I have collected information for over twenty years. Last year, I wrote a presentation on the area and recorded the elders, funded by the Wisconsin Humanities Council.
In the future, I hope to complete a musical history of westward expansion through the Midwest. Some songs have been written and some research done. I'm also near the end of an instrumental CD. I have at least two more CDs worth of material written. I'd like to write something for children in hospitals and am considering researching and writing a play for kids to perform about health, nutrition and weight.
I do what I do because it makes people happier, helps kids learn and develop, and it makes me happy as well.
*************************************************************************************
There is absolutely no question in my mind that long after the latest "manufactured" pop star self destructs in some trailer park tragedy, the work and the music of Bruce Burnside will help define and enrich our culture for generations to come. But don't just take my word for it. For complete information on the Tortoise Humor catalog, performance schedules and general information, go to http://www.bruceburnside.com/ . You'll discover the work and the philosophy of a true musical genius.
Fortunately for future generations, a modest, unassuming and extremely talented musician/author/musicologist/educator named Bruce Burnside is hard at work keeping this aspect of our culture alive. Bruce has dedicated his entire life to playing, recording and respecting these important traditions. Recently, BSRR caught up with Bruce to ask a few questions about his work and all important goal of preserving our musical culture.
*************************************************************************************
BSRR:
Why is preserving traditional music so important? What is that our culture gains by making sure that the music remains intact for future generations?Bruce Burnside:
Traditional music for any culture is a reflection of the different social levels within that culture. For America, the diversity of the land and living experiences along with the expanse of years created songs. These songs, with their origins in distant lands, were created to tell the American experience. It's important for us to keep the wisdom in these songs alive to teach us about our lives today. The daily interpretation of old melodies and stories gives us, as a culture, free will and creativity to put music in our hearts. That experience gives traditional music life for each generation and provides a national idiom of social communication.
BSRR:
What got you interested in traditional music to begin with?
Burnside:
I got interested through learning to play guitar. The techniques of playing took me from Chicago blues to Delta blues, from Johnny Cash to Jimmie Rodgers , from what a guitar's role was in a string band, bluegrass band, jug band, blues band, jazz band, and rock band to the folk revival of the Sixties when traditional music resurfaced. I didn't learn everything but at least became aware of all of it.
BSRR:
How many instruments do you play? Which one do you prefer and why?
Burnside:
I'm still learning to play the instruments I play, which includes the banjo family, the mandolin family, electric and acoustic guitar and assorted others. The banjo family includes the five string instruments of banjeaurine, piccolo banjo, banjo, cello banjo, mandolin banjo, and ukulele banjo; different banjos are set up to play different styles, such as claw hammer or "frailing", bluegrass and classic, using nylon or gut strings as do the first four I mentioned. Mandolin, mandola and mando-cello are the mandolin family instruments I play. In addition, if I need a dobro, auto harp or dulcimer part for a recording, and I can't find anyone who plays, then I'll try to locate the instrument and practice enough to record the part. Actually, I don't really feel accomplished on any instrument. I just play and most of the time it sounds good; I have learned my limits and what not to attempt.
Different instruments inspire me in different ways. I write melodies for the banjo that are "banjoesque"; in other words the sound and physical placement of the notes contribute to the melody that gets written. Learning from the classic banjo compositions of the period from 1850-1910 along with the techniques found in the fiddle/banjo music of the Southeast, has helped give me a foundation to work from. The same idea applies to mandolin and guitar. Certain instruments have certain sounds that bring out different responses from my heart to the instrument. I write with my heart, by the way. It's something I've learned to trust and I let it take the lead in guiding me from the beginning to the end of a melody. My entire inner body projects the rhythm. Rather than prefer one instrument, I let them all have their place.
BSRR:
Speaking of writing with your heart, there are two songs in particular on your CD " Three Stag To An Oak" ((c) Bruce Burnside, 2004, Tortoise Humor Recordings) that touched my heart, "Oh My Little One" and "A Path Towards Erin". What inspired you to write these songs?
Burnside:
"Oh My Little One" is a lullaby to us all. It is about life's journey and was inspired by being a child, an adult and a parent. "A Path Towards Erin" is in the classic banjo tradition of the 1880-1890 period of five string banjo. I wrote it with an Irish sound, hence the title.
BSRR:
How did you devise the name Tortoise Humor Recordings?
Burnside:
The name Tortoise Humor was a phrase that one of the members of the band I've been in for 27 years used to describe my sense of humor. I studied herpetology as a young person and kept hundreds of turtles, tortoises, snakes,horned toads, etc. The phrase fit - the motto is "A winning way at a slower pace". It also means that it is my studio. I work on projects that I choose. It is not commercially available. I designed it to do multiple acoustic tracks. The hand time is set for an acoustic sound. I don't have to do something I don't like or a poor job because it's rushed.
BSRR:
What is the purpose of Forgotten Wisdom? How does it fit in with your mission of preserving the past?
Burnside:
Forgotten Wisdom is a 501 (c) 3 (IRS designation for nonprofit - Editor's Note) which allows me to write and receive grant money and donations. The mission statement includes preserving fretted string instrument techniques that are lost or endangered.
BSRR:
What musicians have you played with that impressed you the most?
Burnside:
The most impressive musician I've worked with is Vassar Clements. His playing always had great power, vitality and surprise. ...A person I got to know a little, initially through Vassar, was Jethro Burns who was the greatest player I ever heard. No matter who he was on stage with, Jethro could raise the intensity effortlessly...There is a very long list of other musicians I have stood next to that have impressed me - Johnny Cash for his focus and simplicity, Willie Nelson for his ability to pull in an audience, Steve Goodman for his showmanship and musical versatility. Remember, I play, listen and compose with my heart. All the sounds that touch me make a deep impression - Sonny Boy Williamson, The Band, Eva Cassidy... the entire New Grass crew of Sam Bush, Bela Fleck , Edgar Meyer, Jerry Douglas and the next generation like Chris Thile and Bryan Sutton.
BSRR:
What projects are you currently working on? What projects are you planning for the future?
Burnside:
Currently I'm writing, recording and composing for a radio documentary about the area of Wisconsin I live in. It's a small, remote valley settled by the mixed blood descendants of French Canadians and Ojibwa Indians in 1884 after the final treaty was signed. The original families are still the residents. I have collected information for over twenty years. Last year, I wrote a presentation on the area and recorded the elders, funded by the Wisconsin Humanities Council.
In the future, I hope to complete a musical history of westward expansion through the Midwest. Some songs have been written and some research done. I'm also near the end of an instrumental CD. I have at least two more CDs worth of material written. I'd like to write something for children in hospitals and am considering researching and writing a play for kids to perform about health, nutrition and weight.
I do what I do because it makes people happier, helps kids learn and develop, and it makes me happy as well.
*************************************************************************************
There is absolutely no question in my mind that long after the latest "manufactured" pop star self destructs in some trailer park tragedy, the work and the music of Bruce Burnside will help define and enrich our culture for generations to come. But don't just take my word for it. For complete information on the Tortoise Humor catalog, performance schedules and general information, go to http://www.bruceburnside.com/ . You'll discover the work and the philosophy of a true musical genius.
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