Author: Steve

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Fusion/The Bays/Flat Tires – all in one weekend!

So from blog-time on Friday, I picked up my car (it was indeed £205…), and headed off to Kent for a jam with guitarist Mano Ventura and drummer Keith Le Blanc. Word of advice – check if you’re going to be playing in an attic accessible only by step ladder before turning up with your entire rig!

Managed to get most of my gear up stairs (left one cab downstairs), and had a play through some of Mano’s tunes – woah! lots of 7/8 stuff, polyrhythmic happenings and general trickiness – it’s a lot of years since I last experimented with odd time stuff, so it took me a while to get any handle on the groove at all, but it was a lot of fun, and it’s nice to be stretched once in a while. Keith is, indeed, a monster drummer, and both Mano and Keith are top blokes, so the whole thing was a lot of fun.

Saturday – lots of teaching. All good. A quick trip to the Gallery in the afternoon to meet up with Wulf and MKS was a welcome break, then more teaching.

The evening started with Grace – alt.worship thingie in Ealing. Hadn’t been able to go for ages, due to gig commitments and general laziness, so ’twas very nice to catch up with everyone. They too were doing Stations Of The Cross, like Up a couple of weeks ago (and St Luke’s this week, I think…) – seems to be the year for stations…

Well, after Grace, Jez and I had arranged to meet up and head off to the 606 Club in Chelsea – a very fine jazz club that Dave O’Higgins was playign at. So Jez arrives, we get almost out of Ealing and discover that he has a flat tyre! Change the tyre in about two minutes, but find that the spare has no air in it… grrr. roll the car round to the airline, which doesn’t work. Walk back to my car, buy a foot pump at a nearby garage (the garage we were in didn’t sell them), drive back, pump up the tire, by this time it’s midnight, and drive home. No jazz, but a fun time with Jez…

Sunday – get up too late for church. In the evening, Jez and I reprise our gig intentions and go to see The Bays – no offense at all to Dave O’Higgins (very fine sax player) but I’m SOOOO glad we went to this instead. The lineup is bass, drums, keys and samples/fx. All live, no triggering loops, or programming. All improv – no rehearsing, no written tunes. Just mind-bendingly brilliant drum ‘n’ bass/trance/IDM/Warp-type stuff, Daft Punk-esque grooves, and completely original sounding sound-clash stuff that mixes elements of everything that’s happened in dance music from the last 20 years. Utterly compelling and inspiring. The drummer, Andy Gangadeen, was breath-taking. Chris Taylor on bass had some of the coolest bass sounds I’ve heard in ages, and played live D ‘n’ B as well as anyone I’ve ever heard. You HAVE to see them if they play near you.

Talking of Things you MUST SEE – The Madness OF George Dubya has transfered to the west-end! This is a play, written by my friend Justin Butcher, based on Dr Stranglove (loosely), but set in the context of an impending nuclear attack on the middle east. It’s being rewritten on a DAILY basis to keep it topical, and is just brilliant. You really ought to see it. Go on, click on the link and get them there tickets!

Soundtrack – spent a lot of time in the last three days mixing the tracks that Theo and I recorded, so done a lot of listening to those. Also been listening to The Best Of Alison Moyet, Kristen Hersch – ‘Strange Angels’, The Minutemen – ‘Double Nickels On The Dime’, Ron Miles – ‘Heaven’, and the MP3 of Michael Manring and I playing in Anaheim in January (can be found on the MP3 page). In the car, I’m still listening to Paul Simon’s greatest hits – I can sense a Paul Simon CD-buying sesh coming on soon, seeing as how I’ve never heard a bad track by him, I’ll have to fill in the gaps in the back catalogue. Right now, I’m listening to Lucy Kaplansky – ‘Ten Year Night’, yet another awesome american singer/songwriter, in a similar camp to Pierce Pettis, John Gorka, Patti Larkin, Bill Malonee etc. etc…

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car trouble….

Does everyone else have as much car trouble as me? I’m beginning to think not? Front shocks have gone, noticed a few days ago that the car was feeling a little strange, checked the front driver’s side tyre last night and the tell-tale irregular wear was there. Took it into Kwik Fit this morning,

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Can't Blog Won't Blog

…or at least, I couldn’t for most of today – bleedin’ software wasn’t working, so couldn’t access here to write anything… not that you were bothered, but still…

Sunday night’s gig at the Barbican was a lorra lorra fun – the band ended up being me, Orphy Robinson on percussion and steel pans, Mano Ventura on guitar (with a midi pickup) and filomena campus on vocals. The whole set was improv’d, and veered from some pretty ‘out’ weirdness through to more groove-based stuff. The biggest fun for me was that I was using a mixing desk for my stuff, so could a) run my own bass stuff in stereo (great for the delay effects etc.) and could also get a feed from the PA of all the percussion mics, which allowed me to loop Orphy’s percussion as well, which worked REALLY well. Some great layered percussion things ensued, and backwards steel pans sounds very fine indeed.

Monday was The Small Person’s birthday, so we went out for the day, and watched a coupla vids in the evening – no music all day, which made a nice change. then today was back to teaching, although due to a diary balls-up, I managed to double book myself, and had to cancel one of them… durrrr…

This evening, I spent an hour or so editing down the recording of my duets with Antoine Fafard from our joint radio broadcast on LCR, a month or so ago. The duets sound great, and as soon as I get them converted to MP3, I’ll try to get at least one of them online, though they are very long… perhaps I’ll find somewhere else to post them other than on my own webspace, which is a bit too full already…

I also found time to record a new tune… watch this space for more on that.

Soundtrack – in the car, it’s been more of Paul Simon’s Greatest Hits, whilst in here Norah Jones album, ‘Come Away With Me’ is on about its fifth play today, after I was doing one of the tracks with a student today. Also listened to Peter Gabriel ‘Us’, which is brilliant, and Pierce Pettis – ‘Making Light Of It’ – Pierce is amazing, and your CD collection isn’t complete without at least one of his albums…

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Stations Of The Cross

Last night’s ‘gig’ went really well… The event was called ‘UpLate’ and is a sort of alternative worship service at a lovely old church in Thame, Oxfordshire. Once a month they take a theme and set up a whole load of different artistic/musical/poetic ‘stations’ for people to wander round and look at/listen to/read/meditation on, etc. All very inspiring stuff – it’s a great building, and the quality of the art is top notch – it’s kind of like a themed multimedia art-gallery, with good coffee, and a glass or two of wine… ;o)

Anyway, last night, with it being their easter edition, Evil Harv, Jez and I were asked to come up with 14 improvs based on the stations of the cross to soundtrack the whole evening, we were set a time, and given 14 works of art to help inspire us – well, scans of them anyway… The list of station titles is –

(1) Jesus’ agony in the garden
(2) Jesus is betrayed by Judas and is arrested
(3) Jesus is condemned by the Sanhedrin
(4) Jesus is denied by Peter
(5) Jesus is condemned by Pontius Pilate
(6) Jesus is scourged and crowned with thorns
(7) Jesus is made to carry the cross
(8) Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus with His cross
(9) Jesus meets with the women of Jerusalem
(10) Jesus is crucified
(11) Jesus promises paradise to the repentant thief
(12) Jesus speaks to John and Mary on the cross
(13) Jesus dies on the cross
(14) Jesus is buried in the tomb.

So for each of those we did an improv. As you can tell from the subject matter, it wasn’t going to be a happy-jazz sesh, and some of what we played got really dark and atonal – trying to express in music the image of Jesus being whipped and having a crown of thorns rammed onto his head is always going to be a pretty brutal sonic experience! But it’s amazing the way having a concrete theme like this can focus the music way beyond just noodling. Often Jez and I when we’re doing duo stuff will latch onto a particular mood and work with that, in a more abstract, but still just as compelling (for us) way. This time, it was obvious to all three of us what the theme was before we started, and the beginnings of some of the improvs were particularly interesting while we settled into how we were going to tackle that particular image – was the music going to be mournful, confrontational, pain-wracked, hopeful. etc… the tension worked really well at dealing with the many many mixed emotions that the easter story brings up…

The good news is we’ve got some of it on minidisc. The band news is that the batteries ran out after about half an hour, so we didn’t get enough… We played for about two hours (only overran by about 45 minutes! :o) – and it would’ve been great to have it all, as there were some really special moments, so hopefully we’ll be able to do it again next year in a different setting…

Soundtrack – last night and this morning, I’ve been listening to some new recordings by a fabulous bass playing singer/songwriter called John Lester. John’s a californian, who until recently was living in Paris, but is now in London, and will hopefully be gigging all over the place pretty soon. He’s great, check him out. And before that yesterday, was listening to Michael Jackson’s ‘Thiller’ – another tune that was being done in a lesson (PYT), and then staying on the turntable (ahhhh, vinyl) for a few hours… It really is a very good album indeed.

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Coming Up – a weekend of delicious improv!

I’m really looking forward to my gigs this weekend – I’ve got two, tomorrow night I’m playing at an alternative worship service called ‘Up’ at an anglican church in Thame (St Mary’s maybe?), where Jez, Evil Harv and I will be improvising 14 pieces based on the stations of the cross – for each one, we’ve got a painting or image to represent it and hopefully trigger some ideas. It should be really good, and probably quite emotionally involving, as the stations take us from Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemene through to his burial…

Then on Sunday, I’m playing at the Barbican ‘ere in London – on the free stage from 6-7, with Orphy Robinson, who is best known for his vibes playing, but on this one will be playing Marimba, Steel Pans and misc. percussion, with us both looping and processing our sounds (and I’ll be looping orphy’s loops too!) – we had a bit of a play this morning just to see what was possible, and it sounded great, so I’m really looking forward to this one too. We were going to be joined by top pedal steel player, BJ Cole but he’s got a gig he can’t get out of… I’m sure we’ll get to try the trio version soon. Instead we’ve got a singer coming to sit in one a few numbers, which should be a lot of fun too… Please come down if you’re in London, it’s a great way to spend a sunday evening in London…

Before that, I’ve got a full day’s teaching on Saturday, and am playing in church on Sunday morning, so it’s going to be a pretty full weekend playing-wise! And I must remember to change the batteries in my bass, as they’ve just run out…!

soundtrack – right now, Donny Hathaway Live. Earlier on, Bill Frisell with Elvin Jones and Dave Holland and while teaching today I was using Joni Mitchell – ‘Hejira’, Pat Metheny – ‘Bright Sized Life’ and Anita Baker ‘Rapture’… Also had a listen to ‘Beauty And The Beast’ earlier – the improv piece that Jez and I uploaded to my site as a Christmas pressie a few months back. If you’ve not heard it, head over to the MP3s page and have a listen…

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In the news…

Just been sent a scan of a nice piccie of michael manring and I in the news pages of bass player magazine’s april issue – I’ll have to go buy a copy as soon as I can find one, but for now… thanks to Steve Barr for the scan

Soundtrack – right now, is the version of Highway 1 with Patrick Wood that is up on the MP3s page, if you want to join me…

And if you’re in London, do check out the new gig date added for this Sunday!

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Two steps from greatness…

Have you ever checked out cdbaby.com ? It’s a very cool indie music sales site, based in Oregon, with a great website, cool search functions and a lot of support for artists… Anyway, they have a system where CDs are linked from different pages, and one of them is the ‘Other CDs you will love’ section – Ron Miles is a very fine trumpeter extraordinaire, and dueter with the mighty Bill Frisell on his new CD… which is for sale at CDbaby… and who’s album should be in the ‘Other CDs you’ll love’ section, but me and Jez – Conversations! So there you go, just two steps from Frisell… don’t believe me, see for yourself…

Soooo, what else has been going on here? Currently working on the artwork for a CD by a Danish girl band called Desta – Jez is producing it, and last night I went over to see him and take some piccies of the band, and today I’m putting it together. It’s looking rather good, though I say so myself. It’s amazing what you can do with a fairly crappy digi camera and a bit of experience in photoshop…

Other than that? Been sorting out some upcoming gigs (see the gigs page), and also getting some dates arranged for Rick Walker when he comes over to Europe – Rick is a fine percussionist from Santa Cruz, with whom I’ve toured a couple of times, and whose friendship and musicianship I’ve enjoyed ever since my first solo gig in the US, which he organised back in Jan 2000… I’ll post more details about his Euro-dates here at some point…

Soundtrack – did lots of driving yesterday and listened to more of the Disposable Heros album, which still sounds amazingly fresh and inspiring 11 years after it was released. Then I had Paul Simon’s greatest hits on – I do love greatest hits albums, they are sort of a summary of where people have got to, it’s like recapping for those who missed the first half of a conversation, and Paul Simon’s GH is one of the most consistently outstanding bodies of work in the pop world. He’s amazing, and still making brilliant music, as You’re The One bore witness to. At home I’ve been listening to Ned Evett – ‘Circus Liquor’, Bill Frisell Live, Matt Garrison, and various projects featuring me!

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The World We're In

…is the title of a book by Will Hutton, one of the finest politcal writers in recent times (it’s the follow up to The State We’re In, which is great…)

Anyway, there’s a great article by him in yesterday’s Observer, about just what a mess Blair has got himself into, and a very constructive critique of American Conservatism. Have a read, it’s very good… And there are links to a few other articles by him about the current situ. at the bottom of that page…

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Back to the Troubadour

Last night was the gig at the Troubadour, with Modeste Hughes. Which was great fun! As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, the Troubadour has changed a fair bit since I recorded my first album there three ‘n’ a bit years ago, all for the better – the venue is really cool, the food’s good, the stage is nice. Was suffering a bit from an earth hum on my amp – couldn’t work out if it was the amp, the lighting, the system or what… a little bit annoying, but not gig-destroying… Was really nice to see lots of familiar faces there (though it’s a mixed blessing to play to an audience where lots of them have already got all your albums, as they don’t buy stuff! LOL) Still, the gig went well, and seemed to be rather well received.

Modeste Hugues was also very good – quartet of him on guitar and voice, with bass, percussion and his son on shaker. Great party music, smiling music, and some fabulous musicianship. Well worth checking out if you get the chance.

Lots of very nice feedback from the venue – the soundman and the venue manager both said they want me to go and play there again, so hopefully there’ll be some more me@thetroubadour stuff before too long… hopefully some interesting duets, and one of those increasingly rare me/jez gigs… finger’s crossed…

On a different note, church was very interesting on Sunday morning – the prayers bit of the service was arranged around a map of iraq on the floor in the middle of the church, and people were offered the opportunity to pray for peace, and light a candle, which could then be put on the map – a lovely symbolic gesture, handled without any political discussion, in deference to the messiness of the current situation and what we should do now it seems like the ‘coalition’ is, as Bono once sang, ‘Stuck in a moment, and you can’t get out of it’… Anyway, the symbolism of lighting candles is always such a simple yet effective focus for thoughts and prayers, and placing it directly onto a map of iraq, considering the lives of the iraqi civilians and soldiers, the UK/US military personel, the brave/foolhardy journalists, and those affected elsewhere, was a thought-provoking and moving moment.

Soundtrack – been repeatedly listening to Matt Garrison’s self titled solo debut album, which is marvellous. Also been listening to Best of EW&F, Naked City (the first album), The Pixies – Doolittle, and in the car an early Jonas Hellborg album (that someone taped for me when I was at college), and ‘Hipocrisy Is The Greatest Luxury’ by the Disposable Heros Of Hiphoprisy – there’s a track on the CD called ‘Winter Of The Long Hot Summer’, all about the first Gulf War, and it’s really really frightening how much of it could apply to what’s happening now… Also took a couple of CDs along to the gig last night to top ‘n’ tail my set – David Sylvian’s ‘Secrets Of The Beehive’ before I went on, and ‘Angel Song’ by Kenny Wheeler, Lee Konitz, Bill Frisell and Dave Holland to finish – ideal!

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Right my saaaan, you're nicked!!!!

My what an eventful last 48 hours I’ve had.

Wednesday evening, after spending a lot of the day on Wednesday practicing, I went off into central London to meet up with Evil Harv, as he was in town for a Greenbelt festival planning meeting. Got there, meeting was overrunning, so I sat in (strange feeling, as I was on the plannin group for the last three years…). When it had ended it was too late to go to a gig as we’d planned, but instead went off for a coffee, with Jude as well… So far so uneventful.

Heading back to the car, Jude and I see two of her majesty’s constabulary officers standing next to my car writing stuff… mmm, I was certainly legally parked, so initially assumed they were just making routine notes, what with the heightened threat of terrorism or whatever… sadly, I was wrong. I was in fact FIVE MONTHS OUT OF DATE on my car tax – steve, dear boy, you’ve taken absent-mindedness to a whole new level. How can I have not seen that for 5 months?? Anyway, was obviously very polite to the lovely officers doing their job – I was clearly in the wrong, so just chatted nicely with them while they took all the details, confirmed my address, date of birth, height (??), and all that jazz, had a bit of a laugh with them, and they then said they were letting me off the ticket they could have issued!! How nice is that?? ..I would however, still face a

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