John McLaughlin and the 4th Dimension's "Now Here This"

It's been two years since John McLaughlin released the highly acclaimed To the One (Abstract Logix, 2010) - his first studio recording with The 4th Dimension, the veteran guitar innovator's second longest-standing group since the east-meets-west fusion of Shakti. Comments like "…listening to his improvisations…leaves no doubt that [McLaughlin] is in inspired creative form," (Ian Patterson, AllAboutJazz.com), and "…this tight 40-minute document hums with a collaborative energy." (John Fordham, The Guardian) left little doubt that McLaughlin's return to the electrified fusion he first innovated more than 40 years ago in groups led by trumpet icon Miles Davis and drum legend Tony Williams - and, of course, with his own earth-shattering Mahavishnu Orchestra - was as inimitably electrifying and exhilarating as ever. 

While Now Here This reflects a slightly (but significantly) altered 4th Dimension - specifically the recruitment of powerhouse Indian drummer Ranjit Barot, first heard on the guitarist's 2008 Abstract Logix debut, Floating Point - the markers which have defined this group as one of McLaughlin's best pedal-to-the-metal fusion outfits since Mahavishnu Orchestra remain intact, but with an even greater finesse to contrast with its unfettered power and visceral energy. Cameroon-born/Paris-resident bassist Etienne M'Bappe is back from To the One, as is keyboardist/drummer Gary Husband, The 4th Dimension's only other founding member, first heard on the guitarist's acclaimed Industrial Zen (Verve, 2006).

Despite there being no overt concept as an undercurrent to Now Here This - To the One being an homage to saxophonist John Coltrane's spiritual search, one not unlike McLaughlin's own lifetime pursuit - this set of eight new McLaughlin originals is connected by the guitarist's decades-long fascination with Indian music, his effortless virtuosity, and a relentless lyricism that remains a touchstone, even when the guitarist is shredding at near-light speed. Husband's stunning contribution to Now Here This will put to rest any suggestions that his keyboard playing is secondary to his kit work, though he continues to bring no shortage of percussive power to The 4th Dimension as well - albeit even more successfully, with Barot in the drum chair. And if M'Bappe possesses no shortage of chops, his ability to bring them to the table without sacrificing groove and, when required, the need for space make him the ideal complement to his band mates.

If To the One was "…quite simply, McLaughlin's best album in well over a decade…" (John Kelman, AllAboutJazz.com), Now Here This ups the ante even further with greater fire, finesse and freewheeling interplay. An album certain to thrill longtime McLaughlin fans, for those new to his incendiary nexus of Indo-centric rhythmic complexities, innovative harmonic devices and unparalleled improvisational élan, Now Here This is the perfect introduction - one that will surely encourage them to also dive, head-first, into this legendary guitarist's lengthy and groundbreaking discography.

Bassist, and multi-talented musician Les July first came to light back in the 1980s, following in the footsteps of his Queens, New York mentors, Marcus Miller and Lenny White. July has been described as "an extremely unique self-contained recording artist-producer who sings, writes and plays several instruments." His new project, "Dreamland" is a 'double album on one CD'. It's a unique combination of great, catchy songs, intelligent, thought provoking lyrics, world class musicianship and great production. All coming from one person who has been known to "exhibit paranormal tendencies."

An endorsement from music visionary icon, Kate Bush has brought July worldwide attention via YouTube. His recordings that feature his trumpet playing has drawn many comparisons to Miles Davis. As a producer, his knowledge of multiple genres of music and his ability to 'mash them up', has led to work with artists of many different cultures.

While in Los Angeles, July gave of his time by volunteering at Cedar-Sinai Medical Center as a Music For Healing therapist and he has worked with top artists in every vein of contemporary music from Slash to k.d. Lang to Dr. Dre to Herbie Hancock. He produced a short form documentary " On The Fly with Les July ", that chronicles his eclectic life and career in Hollywood, Ca. and features everyone from Stevie Wonder to Adam Sandler. This documentary not only showcased July's wide ranging musical talents, but his on-camera personality as well.

July recently moved back to NYC, where his first gig was opening for Todd Rundgren to a sold out crowd at B.B. King's. With recognition in all genres of contemporary music, July has managed to escape categorization as an artist, producer and musician.

On Dreamland, July is undoubtedly inspired by Rundgren's legendary solo recordings, not only sings, but plays  and mixes all of the instruments on the album; bass, guitar, drums, keyboards and the aforementioned trumpet. July's guitar solo work on the grooving "Clocked", "All This Time" and "Shipwrecked" reveals yet another hidden talent, as does the Spanish-flavored acoustic guitar on "Want To" and the Miles-inspired trumpet on "Whenever"- a gift for good, old-fashioned, songwriting; a lost art in an age of laptops, samples and software.

Fellow writer and musician Paul Myers, author of 'A Wizard A True Star : Todd Rundgren In The Studio, aptly wrote that "Les July's Dreamland is a catchy and well-played set of crafty songs that make you think, dance and feel. And in this increasingly desensitized world, the ability to still feel anything at all cannot be taken for granted…"

I have to concur; a great effort by July and I look forward to more work from this "disgustingly talented" musician.

Allan Holdsworth's "Live at Yoshi's" on DVD and CD

My all-time favorite guitarist is none other than the legendary Allan Holdsworth. I first saw him back in the late '70s, in one of the latter incarnations of the Tony Williams Lifetime; next with the British group U.K., featuring Bill Bruford, John Wetton and Eddie Jobson; and later, after seeing subsequent tours with his own incredible trio of bassist Jimmie Johnson and drummer Chad Wackerman, I knew I was witnessing pure guitar genius. There is no one who sounds like the self-taught guitar wizard, though many have tried. His unique way of phrasing and beautifully crafted chords, is an extremely rare gift. Holdsworth is indeed, one of a handful of musicians who has consistently proven himself as an innovator within the worlds of rock and jazz music.

Many of music's best-known instrumental masters cite Holdsworth as that rare and shining voice—a legendary player who continues to push the outer limits of instrumental technique and the electric guitar's range of tonal and textural possibilities. Despite the uncompromising nature of Holdsworth's predominantly genre-defying solo projects, he's no stranger to all-star jazz festival line-ups or large venue rock audiences. Recently, I revisited his 2008 performance at Yoshi’s, in Oakland on DVD. Reuniting for a fall 2006 tour to pay tribute to time spent in the mid-'70s fusion juggernaut, the New Tony Williams Lifetime, Holdsworth and keyboardist Alan Pasqua recruited Yellowjackets bassist Jimmy Haslip and in-demand drummer Chad Wackerman for an exciting cross-section of material that first saw the light of day on the aforementioned DVD, and later on an album entitled "Blues for Tony" that takes the best material from that tour and makes it available in CD form, creating an exciting 'you are there' double-disc of music that comprises a full evening of music.

Holdsworth's classic Fred, Pasqua's equally iconic Protocosmos and Lifetime bassist Tony Newman's energetic Red Alert are all there from Believe It, New Lifetime's now iconic first release, but here stretched out with plenty of space for relentless soloing from everyone in the group. The 2006/2007 tours would have a lasting affect on Pasqua, inspiring him to return to higher octane fusion for his solo recordings. On Blues for Tony, he plays with the kind of unfettered abandon and deep sophistication that so defined his work with Williams, a direction he largely deserted for more elegant acoustic outings like 1995's Dedications, from which the darkly balladic San Michele is culled, but is here reinvented as a potential fusion classic, with its Mahavishnu Orchestra-like arpeggios, Pasqua's gritty electric piano and Wackerman's thundering kit.

In addition to material from Believe It, the group revisits two of Holdsworth's own well-known classics: the change-heavy Looking Glass, from 1985's Atavachron, and funkier Pud Wud from 1990's Sand, the latter opening with an atmospheric unaccompanied solo from Holdsworth that asserts his continued dominance as one of jazz's most harmonically distinctive players, and Haslip's most impressive solo of the set - the perfect confluence of pure virtuosity and in-the-moment melodic composition. Holdsworth's velvety smooth tone is more vocal-like than it's ever been, but equally there's an edge that's reemerged in recent years but has remained undocumented - until now.
Wackerman contributes The Fifth, undisputable evidence that fusion can swing. Easily filling the late Tony Williams' shoes by honoring his spirit rather than imitating him, his playing on Blues for Tony finds the nexus point of spare economy and unabashed power. Pushing Protocosmos and the opening section of the collective composition It Must Be Jazz with visceral groove, Wackerman also demonstrates, in the latter song's second half, an equal propensity for greater freedom. He works hand-in-glove throughout with Haslip, who may have grown up as a fan of New Lifetime, but is now an unequivocal equal and perfect fit for the group's combination of technical prowess and masterful interplay.

Blues for Tony brings four masters of their instruments together for an exciting set that may have started with a tribute in mind, but quickly turned into something much more. Fusion at its best, it combines all the prerequisite energy and virtuosity with a deeper language and freer approach, as Holdsworth, Pasqua, Haslip and Wackerman deliver the goods on one of 2009's hottest jazz and fusion releases. Musician Magazine placed Holdsworth near the top of their “100 greatest guitarists of all time.” There's never been a shortage of media attention or acclaim for Holdsworth's accomplishments and originality. An inductee of Guitar Player Magazine's Hall of Fame, Holdsworth is a five-time winner in their readers' poll. Both the CD and the DVD are must haves for any Holdsworth fan and jazz rock aficionados.

Asia Comes to the Regency Ballroom

"Asia's debut album exploded onto the music scene in March 1982 with several Top 10 singles and sales exceeding 7 million copies", writes Bruce Pilato and Dave Gallant. "This "supergroup", featuring bassist/vocalist John Wetton, drummer Carl Palmer, keyboardist Geoff Downes, and guitarist Steve Howe, was the logical successor to their collective bands of the 70s - Yes, ELP, King Crimson, and The Buggles. The group came together in the spring of 1981. John Wetton’s acclaimed progressive rock band UK had collapsed a few years earlier. With the help of manager Brian Lane, he wanted to form a new group with guitarist Steve Howe, best known for his work with British Prog superstars, Yes. Drummer Carl Palmer came into the fold next, having just completed a decade of platinum releases and sold out tours with Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Keyboardist Geoff Downes, who replaced Rick Wakeman in Yes for the Drama album, had previously been half of the pop duo The Buggles. They stormed the charts in 1979 with the timeless classic “Video Killed The Radio Star”. On Wednesday, November 7th, these prog-rock superstars roll into San Francisco for the fourth show of their 30th anniversary tour.

Continuing with Pilato and Gallant's bio of the group, Asia was "labelled a “supergroup” by critics and the media from the onset, it was a tag they had never asked for. Asia’s music (and rockíníroll charisma) developed organically and effortlessly.  Though all four men had seen chart-topping success in their previous bands, Asia had a special chemistry that fans and music industry insiders were quick to recognize.

“The band sort of came together naturally,” says Carl Palmer. ” It wasn’t something which was forced.  We all wanted to play together.  We had a great time doing it.” The band was signed in the summer of 1981 by Geffen Records A&R whiz John Kalodner, fresh out of a long affiliation at Atlantic Records.

The first Asia album went into production in June of 1981 with producer Mike Stone at Marcus Studios and Virgin Townhouse in London. Stone, who had worked on hits for Journey and Queen, also knew the band had an amazing musical ability. The band spent five months writing, arranging, and recording nine songs for its debut that included such classics as ” Heat Of The Moment”, “Only Time Will Tell”, and “Sole Survivor.”

“I think that we all knew as soon as we recorded the first few songs that it was going somewhere special,” says Wetton.  “I don’t think we knew, however, until we recorded ‘Heat Of The Moment’ that we had a monster on our hands.  I think that once we had done that, everyone knew that it was going to be successful.”

As soon as the album was completed, Geffen knew it had a winner on its hands.  The upstart label immediately began turning the wheels of its enormous promotional machine weeks before the LP’s release, to help propel the album to the top of the charts.  Asia had only weeks to rehearse for a 30 city US tour that commenced on April 22 in Potsdam, NY, of all places!  By the time the band reached the 12th stop on tour (Rochester, NY) on May 5th, the debut album had already hit #1 on the Billboard charts.

Fortunately for the band, a new music media outlet called MTV premiered on cable channels in 1981 throughout the US and in over 50 million households.  (Downes’ hit song with The Buggles “Video Killed The Radio Star” was the first song ever played on the exciting new channel).  Asia, aware the network’s impact on the industry, began shooting videos as soon as the album was finished. The result was a rock’n'roll marriage made in heaven.

Asia became one of the most played acts on MTV in 1982. Since most people were intrigued with the new concept, viewership often reached several hours a day. “You’re looking at a parallel success here,” says Wetton. “MTV and Asia were successful at the same time… of course, MTV was instrumental in Asia’s success, but then, Asia was also instrumental in MTV’s success.”

Throughout most of ’82, Asia ruled the radio airwaves and MTV; sold out every date on its tour; and the LP, Asia, crushed all the competition at record stores around the world.   The music industry had been in a major slump that year, and less than 15% of releases in 1982 made a profit. Asia was one of the year’s big exceptions. By the time the band released its second album, the debut album had sold over 6 million copies worldwide and was the best seller of 1982. It had stayed at the #1 spot for an incredible 9 weeks!

The band toured non-stop and continued to see the huge success they had initiated grow even larger.  They won almost every BEST NEW ACT award the industry had to offer in 1982.

The success, however, was too much, too soon. By the time they assembled to begin their second album in the winter of 1983, cracks had already begun to appear in the foundation. Creative tensions and egos – not to mention the pressure of having to top the best selling album of the previous year – made the second album’s recording sessions far less enjoyable than the first. Recording the album outside of their native England (in Morin Heights, Quebec) added to the difficulties.

The second album, Alpha, did ship platinum and contained the hits “Don’t Cry” and  “The Smile Has Left Your Eyes”, but Geffen’s hands-on pressure to score undeniable radio pop hits was starting to show.  “We had a precious success,” remembers Wetton. “We came in at the top, but it was an illusion to think we’d stay there. The band was still finding its feet as a musical entity.”

Personal conflicts on the Alpha tour began pulling the band apart. In October, an announcement was made of a huge MTV and Westwood One Radio Network simulcast of the band’s sold out December show at Tokyo’s Budokan arena. Instead of a sense of euphoria within the band, John Wetton departed Asia in a move that stunned the rock world. He was replaced at the last moment for the Asia In Asia broadcast and Japanese dates by Palmer’s ex-ELP band mate, Greg Lake. Lake’s time with the band, however, would be short.

The band was re-constructed in 1984, with Wetton back on board. After a brief period of time working on the next album, Steve Howe departed to form GTR with former Genesis guitarist Steve Hackett. Mandy Meyer of Krokus replaced Howe, and in 1985 the group released its third album, Astra.  The album had a hit with “Voice Of America,” but compared to the massive success of the first two albums, the members viewed Astra as a disappointment.

They never toured for Astra, and soon after Asia fell apart. Although no formal break-up announcement was made, within months the members were all off doing different projects. “We broke up too soon,” remembered Carl Palmer during an interview in 1990. We were unique then, and we still are: English rock with a technical side; sophisticated rock mixed in with melodies and singles. It was taboo in those days, and you very rarely hear that today either.”

Palmer regrouped in 1987 with Keith Emerson and unknown bassist named Robert Berry to form 3. Wetton started a musical project with his Roxy Music band mate, Phil Manzanera, and Downes did a myriad of projects including working with both Mike Oldfield and Greg Lake, as well as producing Steve Howe’s new band, GTR.  He also released an experimental instrumental solo album called The Light Programme under the moniker, “The New Dance Orchestra”.

By 1990, Wetton, Palmer and Downes were ready to give it another go. They regrouped with American guitarist Pat Thrall (known for his work with Pat Travers and Glenn Hughes) and recorded new material. The new songs eventually surfaced as extra tracks in a best-of collection on Geffen, called Then & Now. “We were so musically compatible.” said Wetton, at the time. “We had tried other things and had been frustrated by them. (1990) seemed to be the right time for Asia again.”
They were placed on a summer tour of Europe with the unlikely headliners, The Beach Boys, where they played to 25,000 seat open arenas. Needless to say, the band was nervous about the audience reaction. However, they need not have worried as Asia received overwhelming positive response on every show of the tour.

“Each of us had been doing mainly studio work just prior to that tour,” says Downes. “When it gets right down to it, we all missed playing together and the feeling of a band, the excitement of playing live and getting on a big stage again.”

The reunion lasted nearly two years, including a memorable show that was filmed in Moscow’s Red Square. “What I remember about that show,” jokes Palmer, today, “is that we had Gorbachev’s limo and we had to wait two hours for lunch from McDonald’s!”

Shortly after the show in Russia, the band took another break. Palmer had the chance to reform Emerson, Lake & Palmer and did so in late 1991 with the Black Moon album. Wetton launched his long-awaited solo career, recording the critically acclaimed Battle Lines. Geoff Downes decided to carry on with Asia, reforming the band around him. In 1992, he enlisted newcomer John Payne on bass and vocals and recorded the Aqua album. The two men would record together for several years, working with various other musicians.

Palmer had a successful run again with ELP until the fall of 1998, when that band, too, went on hiatus. With John Wetton in-between solo projects and Downes willing to entertain offers for a reunion, suddenly all three men were available again to regroup as Asia. Due to his commitments with the re-formed Yes, Steve Howe was unavailable. However, the three other members all exchanged phone calls, and by Christmas of 1998, a reunion was looking possible.

The band announced plans for a world tour to begin on June 11th, 1999. After the tour, they had hoped to record a new album, with Downes and Wetton already writing songs again. Unfortunately, it was never to be. Almost as quickly as the whole project had begun, it dissolved. The event which so many had hoped for would have to wait for another day…

Shortly thereafter, Carl Palmer and John Wetton reunited in a new band called Qango. Featuring guitarist David Kilminster and keyboard player John Young, the group played a series of showcase dates in the UK in February 2000 which featured classic ELP, ASIA, and King Crimson material, along with some new material.

The shows were packed and well received, prompting the band to do several encores each night.  “It was a wonderful feeling to be back on stage playing this material with our new band,” said Palmer. Wetton added, “The shows went down very well and have made us excited about continuing with more tours and the recording of new material.” Once again, however, this lineup was short-lived and, after the triumphant UK tour, Qango went their separate ways.

For the next few years, the original members remained busy with their individual projects. John Wetton returned to his solo career; Carl Palmer assembled his own outfit, “The Carl Palmer Band”. Steve Howe toured extensively with Yes, and Geoff Downes continued on with his own Asia lineup.

Fate intervened in 2005 when Wetton and Downes found time to work together on new material that would eventually become the ICON album. The duo toured on the heels of the release, revisiting the glory years of Asia with standing ovations every night for the classic tunes.

But as the old saying goes, patience is a virtue… Like a bolt from the blue, the stars aligned once again in early 2006. In April, all four original members of Asia confirmed that they would be reuniting for a world tour to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the band’s creation and debut album.

“This is the REAL ASIA,” says guitarist Steve Howe. “There have been other versions of the band, but this original line-up is the one that the public truly embraced. Since we only toured for a couple of years, it will be nice, finally, to play for audiences all over the world, many of whom never had a chance to see the group in concert.”

An American tour was confirmed beginning in August, followed by dates in the UK, Japan, and Latin America. The sold-out Japanese tour yielded a live release, Fantasia: Live in Japan. The setlist for the tour featured the entire debut album, heritage tracks from each band member’s pre-Asia bands as well as a few choice tracks from Alpha. As a special nod to fans who had stuck with the band over the years, an acoustic version of “Ride Easy”, a b-side from the debut, was played live for the first time.

The tour continued well into 2007 with shows in North America and Europe and the band entered the studio for what would be yet another dream-come-true for fans; the first full studio album from the four original members of Asia since 1983′s Alpha, entitled Phoenix.

Geoff described the enthusiasm within the band for the new project: “It’s great finally to give some new music to those Asia fans who have remained with us patiently all these years.” Steve emphasised the band’s ability to focus and called the new album “an enormous test, a challenge worthy of our intent. All the distractions usually evident vapourised, as we focused on collaborating to select and arrange these new songs, all in the style of Asia.” Carl pointed to the dynamics within Asia that resulted in Phoenix, indicating the “chemistry and energy that comes out when the four of us are working together and the new material reflects this.” For his part, John marvelled at how far the band had come from their tumultuous early years in the 1980s: “Each one of us is comfortable as a human being, and the sound on the CD Phoenix finally reflects the collective maturity of these four people who are not only eager to explore, but also relaxed enough to luxuriate in the strength of the material.”

Fans and critics world-wide welcomed the new release enthusiastically, and the band hit the road once again through 2008 and 2009 touring in the UK, North America, Japan and Europe. Touring for Phoenix culminated in the summer of 2009 with a number of European festivals and a tour with Yes, featuring Steve Howe performing onstage with both bands. A live video from those shows, Spirit of the Night, was later released in 2010.

With the touring cycle for Phoenix behind them, Asia returned once again to the recording studio for a follow-up album, Omega, this time joined in the studio by producer Mike Paxman (Status Quo, Uriah Heep). Immediately upon its release they launched their 2010-2011 Omega world tour beginning with dates in Europe and Russia, before heading off to Japan, North America, Central America and South America, along with a second tour leg of Europe, closing off the Omega tour on June 18, 2011 in Malanga, Spain. A third official live release, Resonance, would be recorded in Switzerland for release in the autumn of 2012.

With six years of touring and two new studio albums under their collective belts, the four members of Asia decided to take a much-deserved break at the end of the Omega tour, with each returning to their own solo and other non-Asia band projects.

30 years after the Drama album, Geoff Downes accepted an invitation to return to Yes for a tour and the recording of a new album, Fly From Here. Steve Howe, in addition to his duties in Yes, recorded a new solo album, Time. Carl Palmer toured Europe and North America with his solo band, while also releasing the third volume in his Working Live series. John Wetton released and toured in support of his own new solo album, Raised in Captivity, and began to lay the groundwork for a reunion with his former UK bandmates, Eddie Jobson and Terry Bozzio.

Early 2012 brough the band back together in the studio, once again with Mike Paxman, to record their third post-reunion studio album, XXX, commemorating the 30th anniversary of the band. Once again, fan and critical reaction was exemplary, with many hailing the release as their best since the 1980s. An extensive world tour is scheduled for late 2012 and planning is already actively underway for 2013 and beyond.

The heat goes on, indeed!"

Asia
All Four Original Members   
The Regency Ballroom
Wed, Nov 7, 2012 - 8:00PM
Tickets: $42.50-$65.00

Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun Returns

If you didn't get a chance to see the Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Kirchen at the last Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, fear not. Kirchen returns for several shows this weekend at the Throckmorton in Mill Valley tonight, and the Freight and Salvage in Berkeley this Sunday. Kirchen's website states that he "is one of the fortunate few who can step onto any stage, play those trademark licks that drove his seminal Commander Cody classic Hot Rod Lincoln into the Top Ten, and elicit instant recognition for a career that has spanned over 40 years and includes guitar work with Nick Lowe, Emmylou Harris, Doug Sahm, Elvis Costello and many more. Named “A Titan of the Telecaster” by Guitar Player Magazine, he celebrates an American musical tradition where rock 'n' roll and country music draws upon its origins in blues and bluegrass, Western swing from Texas and California honky-tonk. His current CD Word To The Wise on Proper American features duets with many of these artists he's worked with, including Elvis, Nick, Maria Muldaur and Dan Hicks."

You wouldn’t be wrong to refer to Word to the Wise, the latest outing from songwriter, singer and Titan of the Telecaster Bill Kirchen, as a “duets” album. The record—Kirchen’s second for Proper American, hitting May 25—is crammed to the brim with memorable appearances from a revolving cast of characters including Norton Buffalo, Paul Carrack, Commander Cody, Elvis Costello, Blackie Farrell, Dan Hicks, Nick Lowe, Maria Muldaur and Asleep at the Wheel alumna Chris O’Connell.

But there’s a lot more going on here than the standard blending of two voices. Each of these all-star pals of the veteran artist puts his or her own distinctive stamp on the proceedings, from Hicks’ sublime scat singing with himself on the title tune to Costello’s “bulging-veined” (as Kirchen puts it) assault on “Man in the Bottom of the Well,” an original the gracious host pulled out of his thick songbook guessing it would be a good fit—and it’s viscerally apparent that Bill was on the money with his selection. “Elvis is not just messing around, as we all know,” Kirchen points out. “He’s a soulful man.”

Merle Haggard’s “Shelly’s Winter Love” is a more conventional duet, but Kirchen opts to get out of the way as Lowe and Carrack blend their burnished voices on it in the classic Everly Brothers manner. “The last thing I’m gonna do is get up and sing with Paul Carrack and Nick Lowe,” Kirchen says with a laugh. “It’s not gonna happen. That song just marched up to second position on the album…The way those two guys go toe-to-toe is just sublime.” In all three of these instances, and others as well, Kirchen chooses to hide in plain sight, doing what he does best—subtly and masterfully playing the role of lead guitarist, every ringing note brilliantly serving both the singer and the song.

The album, produced and recorded by Proper’s Paul Riley, was tracked at London’s Specific Sound, with additional recording done all over the map, from Austin to Vancouver to Bill’s home setup in Maryland. “We sent the tapes of ‘Man in the Bottom of the Well’ to Vancouver for Elvis to put his vocals on, but the rest of the time, we traveled around the country and collected those people,” Kirchen explains. In each case, the guests recorded their parts on top of basic tracks laid out by the core band of Bill, drummer/singer Jack O’Dell, bass player Johnny Castle and keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Austin de Lone, the former leader of seminal pub-rock band Eggs Over Easy.

On his first Proper album, Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods, Kirchen saw his challenge as “trying to write some songs that were more from the heart and closer to the bone. I wanted to let go of my stance of writing attitude-laden truck-driver songs—I’ve done enough of those to last a lifetime. But, as with any of my albums, I love so many kinds of music that I haven’t figured out a way to focus down and just do one specific thing.” To which we happily say, vive le difference.

The new album opens with the rockabilly rave-up “Bump Wood,” which Kirchen describes as a “glad to be alive song,” but it also ventures into finger-snappin’ boho jazz with the title tune, and deep country with “Arkansas Diamond,” co-written with Bill’s Austin friend Sarah Brown and his wife Louise, the same crew responsible for the contemplative, wide-open-spaces ballad “Time Will Tell the Story.” But Kirchen also happily snags the Roger Miller standard “Husbands and Wives” for a bona fide guy/gal duet with Chris O’Connell, and together they turn in one of the album’s most moving performances.

Moving with the momentum and stylistic diversity of the T.A.M.I. Show and Mad Dogs & Englishmen (come to think of it, there are several members of both constituencies on this platter), Word to the Wise serves up heaping portions of rock ’n’ roll, country, boogie-woogie and Western swing. It’s loaded with verbal and musical witticisms, as well as moments of deep poignancy, all of it set against a vital backdrop of Telecaster twang, tremolo and reverb, as Bill does his thing, riffing like Chuck Berry on “I Don’t Work That Cheap,” whipping up thunder and lightning Richard Thompson-style on “Time Will Tell the Story” and spinning out quicksilver runs that recall Mark Knopfler’s work in front of Dire Straits on Blackie Farrell’s “Open Range.”

“I was surprised at how much guitar ended up on this record,” says Kirchen. “On some of the tracks, where we hadn’t figured out where the vocal was gonna be yet, I’d do the guitars sitting at home, and I’d just lather it on. I was assuming that Paul would have a more ruthless editing knife, but on a lot of the songs, like ‘Open Range,’ there’s just an ass-load of guitar. It’s funny, I didn’t set out to make as much guitar noise as I did, but then again, I can’t deny I played all that stuff. Part of it was being self-indulgent, just sitting at home with an amp in the basement and a cord running down the heat duct and having at it. It came out a little more rock ’n’ roll that way, which I really enjoyed. I tend to be a really clean country-based picker, and it was fun taking the Deluxe reverb and cranking it up. I hope it’s OK.” No worries, Bill—it’s more than OK; it’s downright godhead.

Each song has a rambling back story, providing insight into Kirchen’s omnivorous creative process while also demonstrating his vast knowledge of musical history. None of these roving narratives is more fascinating than the one he tells about the instant classic “I Don’t Work That Cheap.”

“I’ve always been a Bo Diddley fan,” he begins, “so when he died, I was thinking about his song ‘Who Do You Love’ and thinking, ‘Is there a better song than this one?’ We were imagining talking to Bo Diddley about it, going, 'You used what for a necktie? Mr. Diddley?’ A cobra snake? Goodness!' I was kiddin’ around with Nick about that, and he goes, ‘You walked 44 miles of barbed wire? I can usually only manage eight or nine myself… ’ Anyway, that’s how we got goin’ on it.

“So my buddy Blackie Farrell and I decided to write a ‘brag’ song in that spirit, and I got that line from the great fiddle player Johnny Gimble: ‘Don't try to pay me what I’m worth—I don’t work that cheap.’ It resonated with me, but I decided not to think about it too much or I’d get confused. So we tried to write a brag song from that stance of a guy who would say something like that. When we were writing it, Blackie said, ‘This is a comic book, Bill,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, exactly.’ I grew up reading ‘Pogo,’ and I picture this guy as an Albert Alligator type. There’s this great picture of Albert getting all dressed up for a date; he’s pulling on a catcher’s mitt, he’s got a frying pan on his head and he says, ‘Funny how a good-lookin’ guy looks good no matter what he throws on.’”

In his wonderfully engaging and informative liner notes, Bill manages to transform his description of the origin of “Valley of the Moon” into a moving elegy for his dear friends Norton Buffalo and Chris Gaffney. “Louise met [Norton] and brought him to the band’s attention when we lived in Valley of the Moon, Sonoma County, CA,” he writes. “We subsequently took him to Europe for what turned out to be the last hurrah Commander Cody album, We’ve Got a Live One Here. He was in my original Moonlighters band along with Blackie Farrell. For decades, Norton played on dang near everybody’s record or movie soundtrack. A triple-threat harp player, songwriter and singer, Norton sadly succumbed to cancer shortly after cutting the track for this record. He is greatly missed. Norton solos on ‘Valley of the Moon,’ which I wrote for Louise after a trip to Glen Ellen, CA, where we had lived and married 35 years before. We were on our way to attend a wake for our friend Chris Gaffney, and the song took on special poignancy after Norton’s death.”

Justly famous for his indelible Telecaster sound on “Hot Rod Lincoln,” his 1972 Top 10 hit with Commander Cody, Kirchen has been everywhere since he first plugged in during the mid-’60s: he was a founding member of the legendary Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen, he’s released eight critically acclaimed solo albums, he’s toured internationally with Nick Lowe and has performed with the likes of Doug Sahm, Gene Vincent, Elvis Costello, Dan Hicks, Emmylou Harris and Link Wray. Each step of the way, he’s made a deep impression with his singular six-string virtuosity. As the Washington Post’s Mike Joyce put it, “The folks who make Fender Telecasters ought to stop what they’re doing and cut Bill Kirchen a fat check.”

On the title song of Hammer of the Honky Tonk Gods, Kirchen wrote of his trusty Tele that it was “born at the junction of form and function,” but he could’ve just as accurately been referring to himself—if he wasn’t so damn humble, that is. “I’m really thrilled with the album, man, because for Proper to have that much interest in me to put this out, I mean, honestly, at this point in my life it’s not something I can take for granted,” Kirchen reflects. “It’s been 40 years since I’ve been fulltime at this, and I’m still not sure if I have a career, but I know I have a job.”

• Friday, October 26 8:00 pm
• Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun with Special Guests Heidi Claire and Austin de Lone
• 142 Throckmorton Theatre: 142 Throckmorton, Mill Valley, CA 
• (415) 383-9600

• Sunday, October 28 8:00 pm
• Bill Kirchen & Too Much Fun plus Special Guests, Hardin Burns opens
• Freight & Salvage: 2020 Addison St., Berkeley, CA 
• (510) 548-1761
• $26.50 Advance / $28.50 Door

Remembering David S. Ware, 1949-2012

I once had the privilege of working with the great saxophonist David S. Ware back in 2000, when he came to Virginia's State Theater for a jazz festival, and touring to support his latest album on Columbia Records, "Surrendered". With his brightly colored clothes flowing about him, Ware launched into a sonic performance that I will never forget. Last night, at the age of 62 . Ware, a leading free jazz player during the last 20 years, passed away. A statement from Patricia Parker, wife of Ware’s long-time collaborator bassist William Parker, was shared on the  jazzcorner.com’s bulletin board: "Tonight, a giant has fallen. David S. Ware, the great saxophonist, died tonight, October 18, 2012. What an incredible loss! What a great musician and spirit! His tremendous sound, his spirit, his music, is irreplaceable… Music holds Us… when there is more information we will let you know... -Patricia"

The Ottawa Citizen's Peter Hum wrote, "Ware was 62. When he was 60, after nearly a decade of dialysis treatment, Ware underwent a kidney transplant. Ware’s Wikipedia entry states that the operation took place after a kidney was donated in response to an email message sent out to nearly 1,000 of his fans. Aum Fidelity recently sent out this update on Ware’s health, stating that he was”physically not doing well at all, though his spirit is in a very positive place.” The update solicited cards and emails of support from Ware’s fans to be shared with him…."

"In the 1990s, Ware formed a celebrated quartet that included pianist Matthew Shipp and Parker, as well as drummers such as Susie Ibarra…. At one point Ware was signed to Columbia Records, thanks to the advocacy of Branford Marsalis. Ware released more than 25 records under his own name, most of which were on small labels such as DIW and Thirsty Ear. Earlier, as a sideman, he recorded with pianist Cecil Taylor and drummer Andrew Cyrille.

Ware was also the subject of several short films. A 1994 Dutch documentary called In Motion concentrated on the fact Ware drove a cab for many years in New York. “The film makes the influence of the speeding traffic on Ware’s music tangible,” states one synopsis. More recently the David Lynch Foundation released the film David S. Ware: A World of Sound." You can watch the 14 minute documentary here… Here too, is recent concert footage of Ware and his quartet, live in Vilnius.



We will miss you my man...

Sylvia Cuenca Comes to Yoshi's

Sylvia Cuenca is an active young drummer on the New York jazz scene who is contributing outstanding performances in a variety of situations. Recently, she has been performing extensively with trumpet legend Clark Terry as part of his quintet. This group performs annually at the Village Vanguard and the Blue Note in New York City, on the Royal Caribbean and the S.S. Norway jazz cruises as well as many clubs, concerts and jazz festivals.

In addition to working with Clark Terry, Ms. Cuenca has performed with artists such as trombonist Al Grey, saxophonists Red Halloway, Jimmy Heath and Frank Wess, to name a few. Next Tuesday night, Ms. Cuena brings her Organ Trio to Yoshi's in San Francisco, featuring Paul Bollenback on guitar and Jared Gold on organ. This trio exudes a strong personal sound rich with interplay and hard driving swing: soulful guitar, bluesy organ and funky drum grooves.


Originally from San Jose, California, Cuenca attended San Jose City College where she performed and recorded with the City College Big Band. Over the years, she has studied with Victor Lewis, Keith Copeland, Adam Nussbaum, and Portinho. She currently resides in New York City.

Other achievements include several tours of Europe and the United States with saxophonist Joe Henderson. Since 1987, this quartet performed at the Taxi International Jazz Festival in Milano, Italy, the Brecon Jazz Festival in Wales, the Viersen Jazz Festival and the Burghausen Jazz Festival in Germany, as well as many concerts in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, Belgium, England, Switzerland and France. In a trio setting, she performed with Joe Henderson and Charlie Haden in 1989 and also with Joe Henderson and George Mraz in 1994.

As a sideman, Ms. Cuenca has also performed and toured with such jazz luminaries as Eddie Henderson, Gary Bartz, George Cables, Marian McPartland, Jon Faddis, Kenny Barron, Michael Brecker, Emily Remler, Mulgrew Miller, Lew Tabackin, Etta Jones, Dianne Reeves, Joshua Redman, as well as her recordings as a leader, The Crossing and Exit 13.

Most recently, she was a clinician for the Sisters in Jazz Program at the 2001 IAJE (International Association of Jazz Educators) in New York and the Jazz for Teens Program at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center. She has taught and performed with the Clark Terry Quintet and the Eddie Henderson Quartet at various colleges and universities in the United States and Europe. She has been a staff member at the Stanford Jazz Workshop in Stanford, California since 1985. She was also Artist-In Residence at the Clark Terry Institute of Jazz at Westmar University in Iowa. In 2005, Guest Director for Sisters in Jazz Program at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.

In 1988 and 1991, Ms. Cuenca received jazz performance grants from the National Endowment of the Arts, and in 1992, she was a semi-finalist in the Thelonious Monk International Jazz Drum Competition.

Trumpeter Clark Terry once said of Cuenca's first CD, "Sylvia Cuenca is affectionately referred to by those of us in our quintet as ‘Cuenc's. She is an extraordinarily talented percussionist, who doesn't like to be thought of as "a girl drummer." I think of her as an alert, supportive, versatile and swinging drummer. This is ‘Cuenc's first CD under her own name, and I'm happy about it. She has chosen some fantastic players, and the group is really swinging. I'll give it six stars!!! Save a space in your CD rack - you're going to want to keep this one. Go, go, go, ‘Cuenc's - keep on keepin' on!!!"   

The Sylvia Cuenca Organ Trio
featuring Paul Bollenback on guitar and Jared Gold on organ
Yoshi's San Francisco
Tuesday, October 23 @ 8pm $12

10 Memorable Reasons to Keep Those Mitts Off PBS

If a certain presidential candidate had his way, Big Bird would be fired from one of the most educational programs for children in the history of television. Sesame Street is an institution, and anyone that threatens its existence, and the rest of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, (aka PBS), is in for a fight. The very thought of wiping out PBS got me thinking about the decades of television we have all but taken for granted. Growing up in DC, I happily dined on a steady diet of great programming on WETA, Howard University's WHUR and WMPT, Maryland's Public Television out of Annapolis. I've got a personal, top ten list of some of the programs that inspired my generation, and my hope that many more like them will continue to positively influence generations to come.

10. The 1972 World Chess Championship Match
We were riveted when chess masters Shelby Lyman and Jimmy Sherwin brought us those live updates of the Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky World Chess Championship match in Iceland. Chess had never been seen or heard on that kind of scale before, and the drama and hope for an American champion is now the stuff of legend. Nowadays, you can follow it all on the internet, with Grandmaster commentary from around the world; but back then it was new, exciting, and history was being made right before your very eyes.

9. Sesame Street, the Electric Company and Reading Rainbow
Can anyone doubt the significance of these groundbreaking programs for children? Literacy improved under the watchful eyes of Big Bird, Ernie, Bert, Grover, Oscar the Grouch and the Cookie Monster. For the older kids, the Electric Company and Reading Rainbow, featuring a young Levar Burton, brought a plethora of wonderful stories into our living rooms and dens. My brothers and sisters loved them as much as my parents did.

8. Nova and Secrets of the Dead
Einstein, Hawking, Madame Curie, nebulas, dwarfs, black holes, you name it, Nova had it. The wonders of science, technology, exploration, history and archeology, Nova took you places you never knew existed, asked and answered questions about life, the universe and everything. Nova is still going strong today, and its companion program Secrets of the Dead, takes you into the forensic worlds of our past. Narrated by the amazing Liev Schreiber, tt too remains one the most compelling shows on PBS.

7. Soundstage and the Austin City Limits
For some strange reason, I got a huge dose of music from around the world on PBS; Jazz, Rock, Folk, Blues, Reggae and World. In those pre-MTV and VH1 days, all we had were Don Kirschner's Rock Concerts and Wolfman Jack's Midnight Specials. PBS would bring you concerts like Miles Davis and his proteges; Chick Corea, Billy Cobham, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter and many, many others. Fela Kuti, Bob Marley, Peter Tosh, Y'oussou N'dour, Yanni, you name it. No shortage on folk acts like Pete Seeger, Peter Paul and Mary, Carole King, James Taylor and anyone else the thoughtful programmers could bring you, PBS had them.

6. Ken Burns
Say what you will about Burns; his documentaries were amazing. The Civil War series set the bar mighty high, launching even more series, on Baseball, Jazz, World War II and others. Burns' narrator was the great David McCullough, and the guest stars he employed were a who's who of Hollywood's greatest actors and actresses.

5. WGBH and the British Invasion
WGBH in Boston really led the way, and its got to be acknowledged that Rebecca Eaton had a lot to do with it. With the late Alastair Cooke as host, Masterpiece Theater and Mystery have become Sunday night staples. The Duchess of Duke Street, Upstairs Downstairs, Agatha Christie's Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot; Conan Doyles' Sherlock Holmes are among the very best. Shows like EastEnders weren't part of the Masterpiece family, however series like: As Time Goes By with Dame Judy Densch, Monarch of the Glen and many others would show a wonderful, contemporary side of British life. All of which brings me to a few of my top favorites…

4. Doctor Who, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Mr. Bean and Blackadder
It was the sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison who helped educate the American public to the world of Doctor Who, following the cult successes of Star Trek and the subsequent runaway hit known as Star Wars. Doctor Who actually premiered, rather ominously on November 23, 1963 in England, the day President Kennedy was assassinated. Nevertheless, England would soon be introduced to the evil Daleks and a gentleman who traveled throughout time and space in a British Police Box, fighting evil across the galaxy. When the Doctor first appeared in the US in the mid '70s, it starred actor Tom Baker, (the fourth of eleven Doctor Who's), where it became a hit on PBS stations across America and Canada. It continues today on BBC America and is the longest running show in British TV history.

The genius of the Monty Python gang featuring Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, John Clesee, Eric Idle, Michael Palin, and Terry Jones has been well documented, so I won't go into much detail here, but suffice it to say, Python was another PBS comedy staple, (so was Benny Hill, but "that's not for here"). From 1969 to 1974, these iconic comedians paved the way for Saturday Night Live, Little Britain and so many, many others. "No one expects the Spanish Inquisition!!"

Rowan Atkinson is one of the funniest, physical comedians you will ever see, and his character Bean still stands the test of time. Two major films and an animated series later, Bean lives on and continues to crack me up no matter how many times I've seen him. Blackadder is also a comedy gem, as Atkinson with Tony Robinson, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Miranda Richardson and Tim McInnery, traverse through five different eras and series, including the Middles ages, the Elizabethan, WWI and modern day England, showcasing the hilariously evil Atkinson as Blackadder and his idiotic sidekick Baldrick, (Robinson), as they "cunningly plan", scheme, connive and swindle their way throughout history.

3. Sharpe and The New Adventures of Horatio Hornblower
Sean Bean stars as Colonel, Richard Sharpe, a rifleman during the Napoleonic wars. The music is wonderful, the stories and political intrigue are second to none. Bean would go onto to star in sixteen episodes from 1993 to 2006, alongside Daragh O'Malley as Sergeant Harper. From Spain and France to India, and based on the novels by Bernard Cornwell, Sharpe was a gritty, glimpse into the struggle between Napoleon and Wellington and the conflict that led up to Waterloo. One of my all time favorites and one of the best war series ever to appear on Masterpiece Theater.

Hornblower with Ioan Gruffyd was another fabulous series that takes place in the years before the Hornblower film of 1957 with Gregory Peck begins. If you like Sharpe, you will love Hornblower. Gruffyd later would go on to star in the film Amazing Grace, the story of the famed song that signaled the end of the British slave trade.

2. Downton Abbey, Lark Rise to Candleford and Cranford
Eaton, BBC and Masterpiece outdid themselves on this one, and I haven't enjoyed anything like this since the The Duchess of Duke Street with Gemma Jones. With an all star cast that features Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey has all the ingredients of a real Masterpiece drama; love, jealousy, betrayal, humor, and war. Many of these series tend to feature a lot of the same actors; Julian Fellows, the creator of Downton, was one of the co-stars of the aforementioned Monarch of the Glen; (Brendan Coyle is in Downton and Lark Rise, and Julia Sawalha in Lark Rise and Cranford); Both Larkrise and Cranford are coming of age, romantic dramas with all the classic plot twists and ultimately, happy, and at times, bittersweet endings.

1. Inspector Morse and Prime Suspect
What can I say about these two fine, British detectives that hasn't already been said? The late John Thaw was fantastic as that "bastard, but a straight bastard", Morse. Morse loved his Oxford (but not its people), his beer, his crossword puzzles, his opera, his vintage black and burgundy, 1960s Jaguar Mk II, and if they weren't guilty or an accomplice to a murder, his women. After over thirty episodes and Thaw's death, the series sadly came to an end; a spin-off with Morse's partner Inspector Lewis, (played by Kevin Whatley) will conclude its final season this year. With the fantastic morse-code-like end theme music by composer Barrington Pheloung, and an array of British guest stars and complex plots, Morse was one of the finest shows ever to come to PBS.

Dame Hellen Mirren was equally fabulous as Superintendent Chief Inspector Jane Tennyson in the series Prime Suspect, from 1991 to 2006, Tennyson fought male cronyism and prejudice from within the police force, her alcoholism and solved murders like no woman detective on television had ever done before. Prime Suspect had Tennyson in London, then Manchester and by series end, back to London. Bosnia death squads, serial killers, drug dealers, you name it, "Guv" had 'em. Recently, there was an ill-fated attempt to turn Prime Suspect into an American version; they don't work. They tried the same thing with the critically acclaimed Life on Mars and once again with the new version of Sherlock. The PBS version is amazing and I don't have any hope the new CBS version will succeed.

The list of quality BBC/PBS series is virtually endless, and nothing on HBO, Showtime, FX, Starz, AMC or USA will ever be anything like them. Don't get me wrong, a lot of shows on those networks are great, but they aren't PBS and they never will be. We need to keep someone's "mitts" off of our beloved PBS programming. If we don't, next thing you know, we could end up with an American version of Downton Abbey and no Sesame Street.

Next time on Nova...

Judge Dredd Returns in 3D

Judge Dredd is a fictional character whose comic strip in the British science fiction anthology 2000 AD is the magazine's longest running, having been featured there since its second issue in 1977. Dredd is an American law enforcement officer in a violent city of the future where uniformed Judges combine the powers of police, judge, jury and executioner. Dredd and his fellow Judges are empowered to arrest, sentence, and even execute criminals on the spot. The character was created by writer John Wagner and artist Carlos Ezquerra, and Pat Mills. Dredd returns Friday in an all new reboot in 3D.

Dredd is amongst the UK's best known home-grown comic characters. So great is the character's name recognition that his name is sometimes invoked over similar issues to those explored by the comic series, such as the police state, authoritarianism, and the rule of law. Dredd was named the Seventh Greatest Comic Character by the British magazine Empire. In 2011, IGN ranked him 35th in the Top 100 Comic Book Heroes.

For those unfamiliar with the plot, characters and casting of Dredd: "DREDD takes us to the wild streets of Mega City One, the lone oasis of quasi-civilization on Cursed Earth. Judge Dredd (Karl Urban) is the most feared of elite Street Judges, with the power to enforce the law, sentence offenders and execute them on the spot – if necessary. Dredd’s latest challenge is Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), the matriarch of a gang that sells a reality-altering drug known as SLO-MO to the residents of Mega City One. With the help of a young trainee (Olivia Thirlby), Dredd must venture into some of the city’s worst places to dispense his ruthless brand of justice.

Screenrant's Kofi Outlaw interviewed Dredd's creator John Wagner on his views of the new Dredd film as well as the 1996 version with Sylvester Stallone.

"The Judge Dredd reboot film Dredd has had a few question marks hanging over it. With news of behind-the-scenes troubles, a modest budget, and a cast of actors who are hardly household names (though their star meters are rising), this film is far from being a guaranteed hit – let alone a worthwhile attempt to correct the mistakes of the 1995 Judge Dredd film starring Sylvester Stallone.

Adding to the concern over Dredd is the fact that we haven’t seen any sort of footage yet - even though the film has been in post-production for months now. The few things we have seen include storyboards and a few set pics - but honestly, they don’t do much to tell us about the tone, style, or overall quality of Dredd. Considering what the intentions are with this film, being able to get a sense of how it compares to its predecessor – or how it relates to the source material – is really everything.

Judge Dredd creator John Wagner stepped out for a rare interview with Hero Complex recently, and had a few points of praise for the reboot, as well as some reserved criticism of the Stallone film, and how this new version differs from the ’90s version.

Starting with how Wagner views the original film:

JW: My views haven’t changed, though apart from my initial viewing I haven’t seen the film since it came out. They told the wrong story — it didn’t have that much to do with Dredd the character as we know him. I don’t think Stallone was a bad Dredd, though it would have been better and lent him more cred if he hadn’t revealed his face. He was just Dredd in the wrong story. I envy their budget, though. Some of the CGI was very good, and the re-creations of the Angel Gang and the robot. The robot actually came from a Pat Mills story and didn’t belong in Dredd, but it looked good. If the plot had revolved around characters like them the film would have been more successful.

Regarding some of the more promising things Wagner sees in the reboot:

JW: The plot is about Dredd and his world. It’s impossible to cover every aspect of the character and his city – perhaps that was one of the failings of the first film; they tried to do too much and ended up with not a lot. “Dredd” homes in on the essential job of judging – instant justice in a violent future city. I like the actors, they’re well cast and they handled their parts well. Olivia Thirlby is perfect as Anderson, the young psi judge. She gives the character a touching vulnerability. Karl Urban will not remove his helmet and will not kiss his costar.

It’s encouraging to hear the creator of the character praising this new approach to putting Judge Dredd on the big screen. However, I think it’s safe to say that most of us won’t be swayed until we see some actual footage that proves director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) has captured the dark and gritty tone of the early 2000 A.D. comics – that Karl Urban is convincingly badass as Dredd – and that the approach of having a protagonist whose face we never see, and who has no love interest to speak of, is one that works as well in a movie as it has on the page…"

Dredd will be in theaters on September 21, 2012.

The Jeffrey Chin Trio and Margo LeDuc Comes to the Cadillac

This Friday's "Concerts at the Cadillac" series sees the return of pianist Jeffrey Chin and his trio, with bassist Myron Dove and drummer Billy Johnson. Joining Chin and his trio is the renown vocalist Margo LeDuc. This concert also marks the passing of the Cadillac's founder Leroy Looper a year ago, and where Chin gave one of his most memorable performances.

Chin has been playing piano since the age of six, when he began his formal musical training in classical piano under the tutlelage of Julia McCaslin and Samuel Rodetsky. During that time, he won numerous scholarships and awards, performing regularly in many open competitions and recitals. After eight years of private lessons, his interests began to blossom; he branched out and taught himself to play many other styles and types of music, including what would eventually turn out to be his passion...jazz. Chin currently owns and runs his own recording studio, production company, music publishing company and independent record label.

LeDuc has been performing for over 20 years, supporting artists such as Michael McDonald, Deniece Williams, Jeffrey Osborne, Brenda Russell and The Gap Band. Le Duc also performs session work for artists such as international performer Sharon Cuneta and hip-hop performer Baby Bash. She has also opened for Jay Leno in Las Vegas.

"Outside of the barrage of nightclub gigs and casuals that most cats do while they're coming up," writes Chin, "My first real gig came the summer after I graduated from high school. We played four consecutive sold-out shows at Madison Square Garden with Luther Vandross, Chic and Larry Graham. Since the opening moment of that first show, there has really never been any doubt as to what I wanted to do with the rest of my life..."

The Jeffrey Chin Trio with Margo LeDuc
Cadillac Hotel 380 Eddy Street
Friday, September 14, at 12:30 p.m.
Admission is free.

Jack DeJohnette's Trio Comes to Yoshi's

If you haven't had a chance to catch drummer Jack DeJohnette's incredible trio, featuring virtuoso pianist Chick Corea and bassist Stanley Clarke, you'll have to settle for the 10:00 pm shows Friday and Saturday night at Yoshi's on Fillmore. All of the 8:00 pm shows have been sold out, and rightly so. Born in Chicago in 1942, DeJohnette is widely regarded as one of jazz music's greatest drummers. Part of a four night "birthday celebration", the 70 year old DeJohnette has been delighting audiences on this tour and has shown no signs of slowing down.

Jack DeJohnette has collaborated with most major figures in jazz history.  Some of the great talents he has worked with are John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Sonny Rollins, Sun Ra, Jackie McLean, Thelonious Monk, Bill Evans, Stan Getz, Keith Jarrett, Chet Baker, George Benson, Stanley Turrentine, Ron Carter, Lee Morgan, Charles Lloyd, Herbie Hancock, Dave Holland, Joe Henderson, Freddie Hubbard, Abbey Lincoln, Betty Carter and Eddie Harris.

DeJohnette's drumming, though originally influenced by masters including Max Roach, Art Blakey, Roy Haynes, Elvin Jones, Philly Joe Jones, Art Taylor, Rashied Ali, Paul Motian, Tony Williams, and Andrew Cyrelle, has long drawn from sources beyond “jazz.”  More than thirty years ago, he was already describing his work as “multi-directional music.”

“As a child I listened to all kinds of music and I never put them into categories. I had formal lessons on piano and listened to opera, country and western music, rhythm and blues, jazz, swing, whatever.  To me, it was all music and great.  I've kept that integrated feeling about music, all types of music, and just carried it with me.  I've maintained that belief and feeling in spite of the ongoing trend to try and compartmentalize people and music.”

Jack’s wide-ranging style, capable of playing in any idiom while still maintaining a well-defined voice keeps him in constant demand as a drummer, bandleader, and as a sideman. 

On January 10, 2012 Jack was honored as a recipient of a 2012 NEA Jazz Master Award for his lifetime achievement.  He has been recognized for his extraordinary contribution to advancing the jazz art form and for serving as a mentor for a new generation of young aspiring jazz musicians.

THE JACK DEJOHNETTE TRIO feat. Chick Corea and Stanley Clarke
Yoshi's San Francisco on Fillmore
Sep 05-Sep 8, 2012
FRI. 8pm $50 SOLD OUT /
10pm $50 (limited tickets remain)
SAT. 8pm $60 SOLD OUT /
10pm $60 (limited tickets remain)

Nicolas Bearde Comes to the Cadillac Hotel

Nicolas Bearde performs for the "Concerts at the Cadillac", series this Friday, August 24th, at the Cadillac Hotel, 380 Eddy Street, SF, between 12:30 and 1:30 PM.  Even Bobby McFarrin says Nicolas Bearde has "a deeply soulful voice", and is "a uniquely versatile entertainer".  Mr. Bearde will be accompanied by the fabulous Tammy Hall on piano and Tony Saunders on bass.

Internationally acclaimed jazz recording artist, songwriter and educator, Nicolas Bearde , blends genres of jazz, soul and blues as he takes you on a musical journey. An original and current member of Bobby McFerrin's renowned vocal ensemble, "Voicestra" for over two decades, Nicolas has also carved out a remarkable solo career, and made a notable contribution to the music world with his soulful style of jazz, known as the "Nicolas Bearde Jazz Experience".

A seasoned and highly respected showman on stage, Bearde's personality and sense of humor, manifest themselves in his expressive ballads and up-tempo tunes, with an engaging rapport that captures and draws the audience into his performance. His artistry transcends his vocal performances.

With classic stylings and cool interpretations of jazz standards and blues - a sound that one reviewer described as "smooth and buttery", Nicolas is the definitive jazz romantic. Wherever he performs, audiences are drawn in as he lands energetic vocals and stuns with masterful simplicity. He’ll steam you up with an original soulful song like Love Me, pull you into the nuanced emotion of Bill Wither’s Can We Pretend, or captivate you with a stirring rendition of Naima, a John Coltraine ballad. Combining his original music with songs from the Great American songbook and hit tunes by an eclectic group of writers such as Burt Bacharach, Rogers and Hart, Duke Ellington and Jon Lucien, Nicolas brings a tenderness and delicacy to classic ballads, like no other.

Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, now living in the San Francisco/Bay area, Nicolas has made the world his musical home.  After his service in the military, where he spent 2 years in Japan, and several years in Los Angeles, working the R & B circuit he decided that it was time to start expanding his musical palette. He began developing his jazz chops, and devising a more intimate approach to performing. when he became a regular vocalist at Pasand's famed nightclub on Union Street in San Francisco in the early 80's.

His life took another creative direction in 1985 when he became part of "Jukebox", a radio play starring Danny Glover. At Glover's recommendation, Bearde began studying with renowned acting teacher, Jean Shelton, and a year later, he went out for his first audition and was cast in the Athol Fugard play Master Harold…and the boys. His portrayal was so convincing, that his South African cast mate, during the auditions, asked what part of Africa he was from. He went on to do 4 plays that first year, and knew he was on a new path. Even as Bearde concentrated on acting – primarily theatre-though he later expanded into film and television,  he continued to sing. In 1984, he hooked up with singer Molly Holm and her vocal group “Jazzmouth”, a group known for scatting over changes and innovative, close harmony jazz pieces.Through that relationship with Molly, he got connected with Bobby McFerrin, and in 1986 became part of this ground-breaking a cappella group. "During that first year, McFerrin and the singers worked around the Bay Area without a name for the group, playing concerts for a couple of hours at a time, with the audience surrounding us," Bearde recounts. "It had such a positive impact on Bobby, he decided to commit to making it a real project".


A brief hiatus was followed by an arduous series of auditions and performances before the group jelled in 1989, with Bearde on board. Today that entity is known around the world as the renowned vocal ensemble,  "Voicestra" with which Nicolas continues to tour yearly at major concerts throughout the world, depending on McFerrin's schedule.

When Bobby decided to take a break from the group in the mid-90's, Bearde and other members of Voicestra branched off into a smaller unit called SoVoSò. "We followed in the improvisational tradition of Voicestra, but added more gospel, Latin and R & B elements," he says.

SoVoSò went on to win numerous awards and honors, among them 1st-place at the renowned a cappella summit CASA awards, and nominations for "Best Group", "Best Album" and Nicolas as "Best lead vocalist". Throughout the 1990's, while developing his acting skills and sideline, and participating in the a cappella adventures of Voicestra and SoVoSò, Bearde continued to do his solo thing.

Nicolas started Right Groove Records in 1997 in order to launch his solo projects, starting with "Crossing the Line". The album was a superb showcase for Nicolas' songwriting skills as well as his masterful singing, and it landed in the Top 10 on British Soul charts, garnering glowing reviews on both sides of the Atlantic.

It would be a few more years before Bearde produced the follow-up, "All About Love", with a more unabashedly romantic repertoire, which was added to, both smooth jazz radio formats nationally, and Beach Music play lists in the Carolinas. His original tune "Summer Sunday" hit #1 on the Beach Music charts for 8 weeks running in the summer of 2005.

Nicolas completed his third album, "Live at Yoshi's - a Salute to Lou" in October 2007 - an outgrowth of a "Tribute to Lou Rawls" live show that he had been presenting. It was recorded live at YOSHI'S, Oakland, California's famed jazz club and has been picked up by radio in the UK, Poland, Macedonia, Switzerland, South Africa and Russia. His live shows garner a wide audience who appreciate his musical vision and savor his exceptional skills.

Besides maintaining this busy sideline as an actor and voice-over artist, he continues to write music and perform concerts at clubs and Jazz festivals around the country. Bearde has compiled an impressive list of credits that includes film roles in True Crimes with Clint Eastwood, Final Analysis with Richard Gere and Kim Basinger, roles on the television series Nash Bridges and Monk, plus television and radio commercials for GMC, E-Loan and Traveler’s Insurance.

Drawing from his vast repertoire of jazz, blues, R&B and big band sounds, Bearde's solo releases have earned accolades and a large international fan base, from Tokyo to New York, and from Belarus, Croatia, and Germany to Russia where he recently took Moscow by storm when he performed at the "Classics and Jazz" music festival on the palace grounds of Catherine the Great.

Nicolas' unmistakable voice will soon be heard on his upcoming 4th album, which will showcase his timeless and diverse song stylings, and be supported by TV appearances and radio promotion.

Guitarist Jimmy Herring's "Subject to Change Without Notice"

Subject To Change Without Notice is the second solo album from American guitar hero Jimmy Herring which features mostly all original tunes as well as highlights such as amazing covers of the Mahavishnu Orchestra's Hope, George Harrison's Within You Without You and Jimmy McGriff's Miss Poopie. Joining Jimmy on lead guitar are such top notch musicians as Neal Fountain and Etienne Mbappe on the bass, Jeff Sipe and Tyler Greenwell on drums, Matt Slocum on piano and keyboards. Making special guest appearances on the album are Bela Fleck on banjo, Bill Evans on saxophones, and Nicky Sanders on the violin and Carter Herring on the cello.

Herring's website rightly notes that he is "a peerless musician, possessing formidable technical resources, ample imagination, and improvisational grace, Jimmy Herring has thrived alongside some of the most demanding and iconic figures in contemporary music. From his ongoing role as lead guitarist in Widespread Panic to his stints with the Allman Brothers, the Dead, Phil Lesh and Friends, Colonel Bruce Hampton and the Aquarium Rescue Unit, and his co-lead trio Project Z, Herring has consistently elevated any number of musical environments with his fearless, fluid, and responsive guitar work.

When working on his own music, he continues to challenge himself. For his second solo album, Subject to Change Without Notice —available via Abstract Logix on August 21, 2012—Herring set out to make an instrumental album inspired by the first-person soulfulness of the human voice. “Nothing will ever be the human voice,” he reflects. “But I want to get as close as I can to that sound with a guitar. That’s the most wonderful instrument of all.” The result is eclectic and wide-ranging, but tied together with an uncommon melodicism and uncluttered compositional clarity rare in instrumental music.

Rather than hiding behind dense harmonies and unrelentingly complex rhythmic figures, Herring lets his music draw breath, with an immediacy and warmth stoked by his love of plainspoken Americana, country, and folk forms. “If it were all jazz harmony and lots of notes,” he explains from his home in Atlanta, Georgia, “it would only express one piece of what I love about music. I want my music to make you feel something. From all my experiences and all that I’ve taken in, that’s what I’m hanging on to as I get older. You can impress people with technical things, but it doesn’t make them feel anything. Technique is a tool. No one cares if you can play 64th notes if you have nothing to say.”

Drawing from his deep love of great singers and direct songwriting, Herring has put his masterful chops in service of pure melody. While Subject to Change Without Notice investigates a number of different styles, it is given coherence by Herring’s unerring melodic sensibility and expressive guitar tone. He boldly resists the urge to needlessly complicate his music. “I’ve always loved simple songs,” he says. “Some people don’t expect that when you do an instrumental record, but big, open-hearted melodies are just as important as anything else. Man, a simple song with basic chords, that’s just a beautiful place to be.”

Producer John Keane was an ideal ally in this fruitful endeavor. Not readily associated with instrumental music, Keane (who is also a remarkable pedal steel player and recording engineer) is best known for his production and engineering work with such song-driven outfits as REM, the Indigo Girls, and Cowboy Junkies, to name but a few. His touch was essential to realizing Herring’s vision of an instrumental album possessing genuine emotional depth.

“Keane is absolutely brilliant,” Herring says, enthusiastically. “Through learning Widespread’s material, I had the studio records that they made with him. They just blew me away. Then when I made the Dirty Side Down record with him and Panic, I was in awe of his ideas and his engineering. He’s every bit as good an engineer as any musician is on his or her instrument. And I love his steel playing. It’s not a virtuoso sound: It’s a texture within the music that brings this hymnal, angelic quality. It’s ethereal, and I wanted that element in the music I recorded.”

Keane appears on two of Subject to Change Without Notice’s 10 tracks. Throughout the entire album, Herring is supported by a core cast of musicians that mixes familiar faces with intriguing new voices. Longtime co-conspirator Jeff Sipe (who Herring played with in Project Z and the Aquarium Rescue Unit) contributes most of the drumming. “There’s only one Jeff Sipe,” Herring says. “He understands the music on a whole other level. He’s turned me on to so much. He’s not gonna just stop. He’s going to be evolving when he’s 80.”

Sharing bass duties are Jimmy Herring Band member Neal Fountain and Etienne Mbappe, who Herring met when doing a few shows opening for John McLaughlin’s current ensemble. “It’s amazing to me that Etienne, who is one of the most in-demand bass players in Europe, expressed interest in playing on this album even before I asked him,” Herring remarks. “I mean, he got on a plane from Poland and flew to Atlanta to play with us. I suppose I’m attracted to music from other cultures and I find it intriguing that maybe he, being from Africa and living in Paris, is equally curious about our redneck take on fusion.”

Fountain proves equally adept on his cuts. “I’ve known Neal for 20 years,” Herring says. “There are some tracks here, like our cover of Jimmy McGriff’s ‘Miss Poopie,’ that we’ve played live for a while now. Neal’s pocket on that is so amazing.” Fountain also appears on “Curfew,” a country stomp whose rollicking rhythm masks a devilishly difficult chord progression and features a dazzling Béla Fleck solo. Longtime Herring associate Matt Slocum contributes an array of keyboards—from frothy Hammond B3 to evocative acoustic piano, and Tyler Greenwell, of the Codetalkers and the Tedeschi Trucks band, contributes drums to two tracks, Ike Stubblefield on the B3 organ on “Aberdeen” and “Miss Poopie” and Jimmy’s son Carter Herring plays cello on “Within You Without You” and “Hope”.

More than any one instrumental voice, it is the eloquence of Herring’s compositions that form the forefront of Subject to Change Without Notice. While the album storms out of the gate with a brisk, gypsy-jazz-inflected swinger called “Red Wing Special” (with guest fiddle from Nicky Sanders of the Steep Canyon Rangers), it then relaxes into an evocative headspace courtesy of the evocative textures and powerful melodies of the widescreen “Kaleidoscope Carousel” and the gospel-tinged “Aberdeen.” The album also cycles through elegant acoustic moments (“Emerald Garden”) and churning gutbucket funk (“Bilgewater Blues”).

The covers assayed on Subject to Change Without Notice represent three key pillars of Herring’s musical sensibility. George Harrison’s “Within You, Without You” pays homage to both Herring’s love of melodic pop and of traditional Indian music and an expertly executed reading of the melody followed by a blistering modal solo played over a drone. Herring’s articulation throughout Subject to Change Without Notice—sometimes achieved with the use of the Stratocaster’s whammy bar (a device Herring has only recently begun experimenting with)—is consistently impressive, displaying a previously unheard, movingly vocal quality. “Miss Poopie,” learned from a Jimmy McGriff recording, acknowledges Herring’s debt to classic jazz, but is rendered with both authority and imagination. “A good cover,” says Herring, “is faithful to the original melody, but hopefully casts it in a new light and brings something unique to it.”

Herring pays tribute to the immense compositional and technical influence of John McLaughlin with a rendition of the Mahavishnu Orchestra’s “Hope,” with a searing solo statement from guest saxophonist Bill Evans. “The original recording is a mantra of sorts, it’s only 2 minutes long it didn’t have any solos on it,” says Herring with a smile. “I knew I one day wanted to record one of McLaughlin’s songs, but then I say to myself ‘Why bother? John McLaughlin already did the best possible solo on his version.’ But John didn’t play a solo on this one!”

From first note to last, Subject to Change Without Notice is marked by a careful balance of improvisational fervor and song-like delicacy. “Every one of my collaborators on this record surprised me,” says Herring. “They all took the time to compose their own parts. I needed people to not just hack away to playing away at a chart, but to come up with cohesive parts that fit into the music like the pieces of a clock. They all rose to the occasion.

“These are not necessarily complicated songs,” Herring continues, getting at the core of what makes Subject to Change Without Notice so refreshing. “When I started playing with Bruce Hampton in ’89, his band was all about simplicity. One of the biggest lessons I learned was the simpler the music was, the easier it is to be yourself. It’s easier to stretch it, to bend it, and to inject your personality into it. The more complicated it is, the easier it is to be a prisoner to it. With simple music, you can improvise around and within the melodies.”

“The album jumps genres, but that’s not really intentional,” Herring concludes. “I was just trying to express the other parts of music that I love that I’m not necessarily known for, things I haven’t done before. But it’s ironic: I play instrumental music and all I want to do is be a singer. I’m 50 now, and the older I get the more I want to be the singer. I want to play melodies that have substance.”

Creating a Modern Electronic Drum Kit

Back in 1987, I was blown away by Bill Bruford's first Earthworks group, Kazumi Watanabe's trio with Jeff Berlin and of course, David Torn's "Cloud about Mercury" band with Mark Isham and Tony Levin, featuring Bruford's post Patrick Moraz/King Crimson era Simmons SDS7 electronic drum kit. I was so enamored of this new technology and music, that I soon embarked on creating my own version. Thanks to a basic 5 piece, Simmons SDS 9 kit given to me by my good friend Stephen Bray, I was off and running. The addition of 5 more Simmons pads, (courtesy of my chums at Guitar Center), Roland's newest MIDI drum brain, the PM-16, the Roland TR-505 drum module, and a Yamaha TX-7 synth, I was able to duplicate many of the sounds and patterns played by Bruford on his Yamaha DX21, Simmons SDS 7 and MTM modules.

The advent of the more affordable Roland, Yamaha, Akai and Alesis drum brains, soon led to the demise of the overpriced and unreliable Simmons. When Bruford debuted the new $10,000 SDX in 1990, it was already too late, despite its computer and sampling capabilities. The SDX would infamously fail Bruford at a Yes show at Madison Square Garden. Bruford was done, never to play electronic drums again and Simmons would never recover.

Bruford went on to form an all acoustic version of Earthworks in 1999, however I had stayed true to the world of electronic percussion, creating the Drummstick and following the path of Futureman of Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. "The Beast", as Bruford once called the Simmons kit, would now sit idly by, as the more mobile Drummstick rig became my instruments of choice.

Ultimately, like Bruford, I too returned to the world of acoustic percussion. With a home studio and the space to practice, the beloved Gretsch returned with a vengeance. That being said, as an audio engineer and a musician playing both the Drummstick and later the Zendrum, I had been spoiled by the awesome sounds they generated, the reverb and delay at my fingertips, not unlike the days of the Simmons kits. This wasn't always possible at many of the venues I played at, and my desire for the best aural experience I could create gnawed at me whenever I encountered those challenging gigs.

Bruford retired from live performances in 2009; I had the pleasure of seeing him and speaking to him before his show with Michael Borstlap in Bath in 2007, not knowing it would be one of his last. I loved his symmetrical drum set-up, his last unique drum configuration. Once again, I used an old chess adage, and that is to "understand a grandmaster, play his games and repertoire to get inside his head". And so it was with Bruford. No drummer has influenced me more. From the Roto-tom kit 1980s, the Simmons of the 1990s, to the symmetrical set-up of the 2000s.

Following my most recent creation,  the "Indian Subsonic Bass Drum Sound" kit based on the amazing sounds and kits of Trilok Gurtu, I found that once again, the desire to control the audio became paramount, next to performing naturally. It soon became clear that to achieve that consistent sub-sonic sound would require the very best mixing, not always possible or practical at most of the venues or musical situations I find myself in. What to do? Well, it was time to revisit the world of electronics and "V-Drums". After some research, my path was clear: Convert the kit to a V-Drum kit...

In 1997, Roland's new "V-Drums" revolutionized the world of electronic drums, wiping out the rubberized world of Roland, Alesis, Simmons, Yamaha, Dauz, and others. Newer trigger technology, coupled with the advent of "mesh drum heads", did away with the "practce pad" feel and response of electronic drums. The Roland V-Drums, like all new technology, wasn't cheap either ($7000!), so drummers and drum companies started to convert regular acoustic drums into V-Drums. Companies like Hart Dynamics, Ddrum and Pintech jumped on board, offering even hybrid kits. The jury may be out, but in my experience with using triggers on acoustic drum heads, they just didn't seem to track as well as on mesh heads. The other issue for drummers using hybrid kits is there is no way to control the acoustic volume, especially in settings where volume is an issue; apartments and clubs where you have to smack the heads to trigger them properly. With that in mind, I went for Hart Magnum Mesh heads and Ddrum triggers for the "Trilok Kit" and mated them to my newly minted Alesis Trigger I/O. The result was 90% successful...

 Every drum triggered extremely well, except for the kick drum. No matter how I adjusted it, the Ddrum Red Shot didn't seem to like the DW5000 bass drum pedal. One of the things I noted during my research was that many of the DIY drum trigger folks would mount the trigger inside the shell with the piezo placed on  a bar, mounted on two L-Brackets, and a piece of foam covering the pick-up. Using an adjustable drum muffler from an old snare drum, one of my Pintech triggers and an L-Bracket, I drilled several holes to both mount the muffler, the L-Bracket and the 1/4" jack for the piezo. This allowed me to adjust the sensitivity of the Pintech, (attached by velcro to the muffler). I used some zip-ties to secure the 1/4" jack to the L-Bracket and positioned it so would mount flush to the shell of the bass drum. I also used one of the tom leg holders to attach the "Trick Floor Tom - Bass Drum Converter.

The LP Claw system that came with it, also never felt right, so this was a real improvement moving the holder to the bottom of the drum. Not only did it work, it was even better than the Ddrum Red Shots. Nothing like having a piezo right under the fingertips/sticks, just like the Drummstick and Futureman's new "Drumitar". This got me thinking... Could I create a symmetrical "V-Drum" kit, made up of smaller acoustic drums with Pintech triggers, mesh heads and adjustable drum mufflers? The answer is yes of course! Ironically, I had most of the tools and the ingredients already. There was no way I was going to use the Gretsch kit; it's way too beautiful and sounds totally amazing as is.

The Ddrum D2 14" x 16" floor tom had already been converted via the aforementioned method. I also had the snare drum as well, a 5" x 10" PDP "popcorn", however this time I removed the Red Shot trigger and added the Pintech. Once again, I drilled the holes and after a few adjustments, it worked as well as the Red Shot, with the added feature of plugging the 1/4" jack directly into the shell.

 All I needed now were more mufflers,  L-Brackets and 4 more toms. It also dawned on me that I could duplicate the actual sizes of Gretsch toms and the symmetrical look and feel. Turns out that Ddrum makes an "Add-on Pack" for the D2 kit, featuring a 7" x 8" tom and a 12" x 14" floor tom. I got a great deal from "2kool4skool" on ebay and got a used 5 piece D2 from Guitar Center.

The Ddrum add-on pack also comes with double tom stands, so serendipitously, my Ultimate Support cymbal arms will fit nicely with them, solving the cymbal placement issue for me. A trip to Sam Adato's Drum shop and I got all the lugs, clamps, and claws I needed. 4 more mesh heads and I would be good to go!

The Ddrums soon arrived and the mesh heads from Guitar Center showed up around the same time. I decided however, to use the Ddrum Red Shot triggers on the Ddrums instead of the Pintechs. Less holes to drill, plus the Red Shots seemed to work great. In another experiment, I hooked up my Roland TD-7 to the triggers, but they didn't work anywhere near as well as the Alesis Trigger I/O, (with the exception of the "Reverb" kit).

The Ddrum bass drum was huge, so I opted for the converted D2 floor tom/bass drum. Using the Roland FD-7 Hi-Hat trigger pedal, a Pintech "Dingbat" trigger bar and my Hosa snake, I was actually able to re-create a trigger set-up that would mirror the Zendrum.  I now had an electronic-acoustic hybrid kit, virtually identical to the Gretsch kit; silent mesh heads that could be unleashed with my audio set-ups. The Alesis Trigger I/O was programmed use the "Dingbat" as my sample trigger device, and I selected the MIDI note numbers to correspond to each and every drum and "Triggerlicious" was born.

The conversion has been a success; I even used it in a session the following weekend and it performed like a champion. You can indeed, convert an acoustic drum kit to a "V-Drum" electronic kit with all the features you can imagine and more. All it takes is a great MIDI interface, mesh heads, great triggers, an inexpensive drum kit and the desire to be just a little creative...:)

Garrin Benfield Heads to NYC

After extensively touring the country, one of the Bay Area's best musical talents is off to NYC at the end of August. I once had the pleasure of having Garrin join bassist Edo Castro and me for a truly fun-filled performance at Duboce Park several years ago. About his final Bay Area shows, Garrin writes, "I've got a few more gigs in San Francisco before I once again relocate to New York City. My next show in San Francisco will be at Dolores Park Cafe on Friday, August 10! What can I say about this homey venue that has hosted so many memorable nights over the years? Please come out and say see you later before Jason and I take off!" If you haven't seen Garrin before, tonight is your chance. One fine example of Benfield's work, is a video shown below, "Walking Time Blues" and is among my favorites.

Garrin's website sums up his latest efforts: “The Wave Organ Song is Benfield’s fifth full length CD of original songs. He gained notice in 2000 with his stark tribute to Matthew Shepard, “What You’re Hiding”, which was used in a production of the Laramie Project. In 2002, after recording his second CD, “Nowhere is Brighter” with Bonnie Raitt’s rhythm section and guest Boz Scaggs, Benfield took up a relentless touring schedule, both as a solo artist and with his band. Some of these increasingly improvisation-heavy sets were documented on the 2003 release “August Live”. 2004 saw the release of “Where Joy Kills Sorrow”, and Benfield’s first foray into live improvisational looping, which enabled him to tour solo but with added layers of beats, bass lines and the searing lead guitar Benfield’s hardcore fans have come to expect. Playing eclectic sets at hundreds of shows every year, Benfield has become an underground favorite at festivals, rock clubs, coffeehouses and house concerts.

Benfield's sound has been described as Freestyle Acoustic Rock. His music is a blend of moody, guitar driven rock and polyrhythmic groove all run through the filter of a very serious Singer/Songwriter. His talent shines through as a solo artist when he flat-picks his way through complicated and lightning-fast arrangements and also while he uses a Loop Station to create mesmerizing soundscapes upon which he lays blistering rock, blues and jazz licks, darkened by his extensive use of effect pedals. As a bandleader, Garrin can command the attention of seasoned players and improvise with the dexterity and ingenuity of players many years his senior. Improvisation is at the center of a Garrin Benfield concert experience. Whether at a solo show or at a full band event, Garrin twists and turns the tunes each night in an ever-evolving attempt to keep searching for new musical challenges..."

Safe journeys my man...

GARRIN BENFIELD at The Dolores Park Café
San Francisco, CA
Friday August 10, 7:30p