Errors-To: et-admin at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk Reply-To: et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Sender: et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Precedence: bulk From: et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk To: et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk Subject: Elephant Talk Digest #440 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 440 Thursday, 4 December 1997 Today's Topics: Photo Expo Fripp and Fan Contact tape trade The Moment / Improv & Guitar Craft Re: USA Exiles recommended; Projekct One. Unreleased material Videos & Porcupine Tree Zappa and Crimson Boots Bootlegging What's Adrian Belew up to? Tony Geballe in NYC trivia -> satiric KC cover imitation Gig Reviews David Cross FW: A Few Quick Notes Schizoid in Buffalo k.c. collectables Belew on radio show Night Watch Ordering "The Night Watch" in the U.S., old Bill Bruford, etc. If summer had its listeners Fripp: Bennett/Gurdjieff vs. REAL PHILOSOPHY Intent, Discipline and Craft Chat with Possible Productions Monday 8th on IRC From left field....... bonus tracks; rabid egotism attn:MD/VA enthusiasts: extra ticket Seattlite ProJECkT? PROJEkCT ONE tapes Bruford And The Beat DGM Gift Certificates Fripp in Boston? REVIEW: ProjecKt One - Jazz Cafe - Monday 1st December 1997 REVIEW: An Observation of Project One REVIEW: jazz cafe gigs REVIEW: Jazz Cafe 2/12/97 ------------------ A D M I N I S T R I V I A --------------------- POSTS: Please send all posts to et at cs dot man dot ac dot uk To UNSUBSCRIBE, or to CHANGE ADDRESS: Send a message with a body of HELP to et-admin at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk, or use the DIY list machine at http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig/staff/toby/et/list/ to ASK FOR HELP about your ET subscription: Send a message to: et-help at blackcat dot demon dot co dot uk ETWEB: http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig/staff/toby/et/ (partial mirror at http://members.aol.com/etmirror/) You can read the most recent seven editions of ET at http://www.cs.man.ac.uk/aig-bin/newslet.pl IRC: Regular get-togethers at #ElephantTalk on Undernet Sundays at Noon PST / 3pm EST / 8pm GMT Mondays at 6pm PST / 9pm EST / 2am GMT THE ET TEAM: Toby Howard (Moderator), Dan Kirkdorffer (Webmeister) Mike Dickson (List Admin), and a cast of thousands. The views expressed herein are those of the individual authors. ET is produced using John Relph's Digest 3.0 package. ------------------ A I V I R T S I N I M D A --------------------- Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 18:56:17 -0800 From: pierre-emile bertona Subject: Photo Expo Just this little message to inform you that we are organising a photo exhibition in Sierre , Switzerland. The main guest photographer will be tony Levin, who will bring about 30 photos. The expo will happen between the 30th of January 98 and the 1 of march 98. As my english is not so good, thanks to rewrite this in correct language ! Best. PE ------------------------------ From: GRANTCO at webtv dot net (Grant Colburn) Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 15:05:47 -0600 Subject: Fripp and Fan Contact This is a response to Herb and to a lesser extent Sid in issue #439. My own question beyond Herb's list of why he would wish to talk to Fripp etc. is why exactly Herb thinks Fripp particularly wants to talk to HIM. It may well be that Herb is a very interesting and intelligent man that Fripp would enjoy talking to, but he must realize how many uninteresting and unintelligent fans Mr. Fripp must encounter. Can we really expect Fripp to HAVE to talk to everyone in his hopes to find that one fan that may really have something important to contribute to Fripp's thinking of his own music beyond what he already thinks? It reminds me of the e-mail that Eno sent in response to having an imput on his own unofficial website. He said often fans want to ask why don't you do more music like (insert name here)? He said most fans ideas of his music are 2 to 3 years behind where he's at now, and if he continues knowing what fans want all the time it affects him doing what is right for HIM now. So, back to Fripp, Sid's thoughts on DGM's desire to know fan's opinions I think is totally correct, but one must keep in mind that these are events planned for the purpose of possibly gathering information. There' a big difference in asking questions at a C.D. release party when one is asked for them and cornering a member of King Crimson is a grocery store or before a gig and thinking that's showing some kind of support and appreciation. If you feel the need to talk to them, go ahead and try it. But I would say don't be offended if they aren't in the mood to talk to you. ------------------------------ From: "Spear man" Subject: tape trade Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 17:25:59 PST ETers I've got these audio tapes to trade (thought they were lost forever) Robert Fripp Coast-to-Coast (Frippertronics stuff) and Robert Fripp and the league of crafties--VH1 New Visions '88. (Nope, still can't find my videotape of this.) I'd like some non-KC Fripp stuff in trade. Air Structures w/ Eno would be really great ;-) or possibly RF String Quintet from Santa Cruz or something. --spearman "Reality: what a gyp"--dogbert ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 20:40:22 -0600 From: daniel farris Organization: denial recording Subject: The Moment / Improv & Guitar Craft In ET 439, James Beard wrote: > Although some people obviously won't be able to make it to the > performances, I think recording it and boshing it out on a CD kind of takes > away from the unique experience of actually being there. Just think, 4 > nights of totally exclusive, never-heard-before Crimso music. Once the > performance is over, that's it. It just lives on in peoples' memories. I > think that's kind of cool, really. > > Isn't that the point of live gigs - *the moment*. As someone who, without a doubt, will not be able to make it to any of the upcoming ProjeKCt gigs, I agree wholeheartedly with you on this. I certainly think that unauthorized taping is in direct opposition to the enrichment that can occur 'in the moment'. As for authorized (artist initiated) live recordings, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, I think these live recordings tend to breed expectation. On the other hand, they tend to be very enjoyable and a good way to satisfy expectation with little or no artistic compromise. However, contrary to common belief, I don't think that they discourage tapers and bootleggers in the least. On a fairly unrelated note, I am unclear as to whether the upcoming projeKCt performances are intended to be improvisational or compositional or both. This has me thinking a bit about THRaKaTTaK and improv in general as they relate to Guitar Craft. I certainly welcome correction or clarification from any GC illuminati out there, but if GC is about 'moving from intention toward action', is this not somewhat incongruous with improvisation as a concept? I know the answer is 'no', but I would certainly like to know why. It is clear that THRaKaTTaK is strung together using bits of improv from the middle of Thrak from a variety of performances. I note that some of Fripp's playing is repetitive from one segment to another and wonder if the answer to my question is to be found here. In my field as a recording engineer I tend to record more improv than composition. Some of my friends and clients are very serious improv players and this type of improv seems very contradictory to their aesthetic and personal criteria of what improv should be. I remember a conversation I had with guitarist Davey Williams after a session. He indicated that he thought a lot of improv players had a few (or even many) signature licks on the menu and were lofting them out, as rehearsed, where appropriate. He said that, by his line of thinking, this was not the true nature of improvisation- that this eliminated the possibility of the serendipitous accident. I certainly believe that if these two schools of thought are in opposition, there is room for both and neither is inherently right or wrong. Nevertheless, I would be interested in what others think about this. Daniel Farris denial recording Birmingham Alabama ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 29 Nov 1997 19:20:57 -0700 From: Eb Subject: Re: USA My local used-record shop has a still-shrinkwrapped cassette of USA for sale...anybody desperate for me to buy it for him? Eb, who has owned Earthbound since the early '80s and has played it exactly twice ------------------------------ From: "poisson at club-internet dot fr" Subject: Exiles recommended; Projekct One. Date: Thu, 27 Nov 1997 10:57:52 +0100 Hello everyone, Two things 1. I recently purchased David Cross's latest release 'Exiles', and recommend that you lend an ear to this record. For me, the instrumentals are much more focused and dynamic than the ones in 'Testing to Destruction', especially the superb final track 'Hello', and the songs are equally good. A lot of it is very reminiscent of LTIA-era Crimson, with a 1990's sound. The vocal tracks sound all different, with Hammill and Wetton doing their duties more than properly. Fripp plays on three tracks, almost throughout, with two fantastic solos and a deeply moving soundscape duet with DC. and David Cross' playing is focused, sometimes discreet, but always beautiful. On the downside, the heavy prog metal sound on most tracks is not my fave, the rhythm section (Dan Maurer, Mick Paul) is good, at times too good (too quick), and I don't like the artwork. However, after repeated listening I must confess that I like the record a lot, even though it is not as original as it could. 2. Many people are asking for an official CD release of the various Projekcts. As I understand, the music happening during these Projekcts might surface in one way or another on the next KC album, therefore I am not entirely convinced that it would be a good thing to release a Projekct box set now. Maybe in a few years ? I would love to attend one of those concerts, and I can't, but still would prefer to hear them first in the context in which they were originally planned (as R&D for new KC material). Transpose that to what happened twenty three years ago: I am happy DGM released the Concertgebouw in 1997, but I am also happy to have heard the SABB album a few years before it. So long, Thomas Poisson ------------------------------ From: btomko at glasscity dot net Subject: Unreleased material Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 09:05:27 -0500 Unreleased material seems to be such a waste. Even if not all of it is great material, it provides a good look into the process of recording, as well as showing the band in a context that most people never see. I'd like to see a compilation (perhaps in two or three volumes) of unreleased material rather than a companion disc for each remastered recording. I'd also like to see thick liner notes full of documentation- there's nothing more irritating than a great CD with a single card on the inside. Mark ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 12:56:45 -0500 (EST) From: JRHARTLEY1 at aol dot com Subject: Videos & Porcupine Tree >From JRHARTLEY at aol dot com 30/11/97 I have just skimmed through et439 (even though I never got et438!?) and in reply to someones (sorry, I forget who) question, YES, I have just seen a Discipline add in the new Q mag for the 1980's vids, so they must be available. A couple of weeks ago, I went to see Porkupine Tree at the Union Chapel at Islington and they were great. They are the sort of young band I would love to see signed to Discipline. Are Discipline looking for new young bands? I hope so. Did any one else attend this gig? Simon of the South. ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 15:58:48 -0500 (EST) From: CWA Subject: Zappa and Crimson Hi to all et'ers. The recent "more than 10 copies thread", as brief as it was (thanks so much Toby...that one could have been a nightmare) more or less confirmed something that I'd suspected for a long time: namely, King Crimson fans (or at least ET'ers) tend in a large proportion to be Frank Zappa fans as well. Some may say: "Who cares? Crimson fans are also big Genesis fans, Yes fans, 'Pet Sounds' fans, etc. as well. whats the point?" The Zappa phenomenon becomes more interesting, however, when the multiplicity of differences between Zappa and Crimson (and specificaly Robert Fripp) are examined. The two are (were) obviously phenomenal guitarists. Yet even this similarity is misleading, for to my untrained eye Zappa and Fripp have very different guitar styles / methods / etc. Their music itself sounds, at least on first listen, very different as well. Even the two artists personalities are very very different: Fripp usualy serious and reserved, while Zappa was often outrageous and diliberately offensive, and this difference in personality lends itself to creating differences in type of live performance, on-stage demeanor, packaging of music, etc. Even the musical philosiphy of the two men (without going on and on in regards to specifics) is poles apart. The list is almost endless. Yet fans of Crimson obviously appreciate Zappa? Why? This is borne out further by personal experience, for both Zappa and Crimson were introduced to me by the same individual my freshman year of college and both are ranked at the top of the list of my favorite rock artists. So the question I put to ET'ers is: why is this so? Or less broadly, what is it, in your own opinion or personal experience, that draws you to both Zappa and Crimson? I have my own theories, but I'm curious to see what others think. I know this is a KC/Fripp newsletter and not a Zappa page, but I think an exploration of this kind will shed light on many aspects of King Crimson's music. Lastly, for all you ET'ers lucky enough to be at the Jazz cafe any of the next four nights...I writhe with envy. Enjoy it!! Chris ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 20:50:30 -0800 From: Mark Chapman Subject: Boots Paul Parkinson (ET #439) wrote, > Don't encourage the bootleggers. If you see someone recording the gigs tell someone - preferably someone in the band... Paul, I don't tape, but I have traded tapes and yes, eeh gads, I have bought boots. (1) Not all tapers are for-profit bootleggers, so I question the militaristic approach of "reporting" any and all tapers you might see in an audience. (2) I would never buy a boot again if all of my favorite performers put out tons of live stuff for sale. As it is, I do not own a KC boot, and since Mr. Fripp has been busy releasing so much archival stuff, I doubt I ever will! I think his efforts are to be commended greatly. James (also #439) wrote, > Isn't that the point of live gigs - *the moment*. Your logic about how live gigs should not be taped doesn't seem to fit in with the tons of commercially released concert tapes by all kinds of pop and classical performers. Are you saying that no one who does not have the opportunity to attend a performer's live concert should ever be given the chance to hear that music? This is silly! ~ Chaps ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 30 Nov 1997 16:44:34 +0000 From: "p. little" Subject: Bootlegging Paul Parkinson wrote (amongst other) > Bootlegs will exist while people are happy to pay for them. What makes you > think these will be offered for free? Whether they're free (or not) is > irrelevant. Bootlegging is theft. Theft of copyright. Theft of income f or > RF and KC. How would you feel if someone came and took your pay cheque? > That's what bootlegging is at the end of the day. Theft. Pure and simpl e. > Don't encourage the bootleggers. If you see someone recording the gigs tell > someone - preferably someone in the band..... Yes, Paul, that is reasonably correct. Bootlegging IS a form of theft.... but theft from whom? Certain people have talked about 'music playing the musician', and 'art being a collaboration between God and the artist and the less said by the artist the better' and so forth.....does this imply that there is logically a case for the argument that music cannot be "owned" by anyone and the "composer" is merely "tuning in" to whatever structural, rhythmic, harmonic and melodic information is available at that time, and which simultaneously gels best with (the 'composer's') mind/body/spirit state at that particular time? Maybe we shouldn't be talking about 'creativity' i n music compositional context; 'receptivity' being a more apt term. Als o, when a band ventures into that risky area of collective inprovisation (not to be confused with 'jamming'), then 'ownership' of the resu lting noise becomes an almost meaningless concept, especially if the the improvisation was honest and true to the word, and each member of the ensemble sublimated their individual egos, listened to each other, and surrendered to their individual and collective muses. But to accuse (amateur) bootleggers of 'taking an artist's paycheck' doesn't bear out with the facts. The vast majority of 'bootlegs' ar e one-offs by fans who have shelled out their hard-earned cash to attend that (all too rare) concert, and who often buy merchandise too. One has to be pretty motivated to undergo the inconvenience of carting and concealing a tape-recorder, microphone(s) and cable(s) to a concert, as well as taking the risk of them being discovered, confiscated and/or smashed up by the often micro-cephalic neanderthals on the door, then being denied access and possibly being beaten up as well. Once in the hall, the recording environment for the would-be 'bootlegger' is not conducive to capturing a product of good enough sound quality to be able to sell to anyone other than die-hard fans, who are always the first to go out and buy the legitimate albums anyway; this is all painfully evident in the vast majority of bootleg tapes and cds available: the adjacent audience noise and commentary is often as loud as the band and the fidelity is usually appalling, together with the horrendous motor noise often picked up by machines which have cheap'n'nasty built-in microphones. (For a bootlegger to record an album of at least acceptable quality for sale these days entails either positioning a pair of quality (condenser) microphones high enough above the audience in the centre of the hall to get a decent stereo image...(a little blatant?); or hooking up a stereo feed from the front of house mixing-board to a DAT recorder....'hey buddy you got a spare set of XLR-to-RCAs??' is reall y not the best thing to say to the FOH engineer just as the band walks onstage). I remain most skeptical that the band or record company loses out financially as a result of bootleggers. Bootlegging could be considered free advertizing, which increases the circulation and visibilty of a band's music, rather than taking away from income generated from legitimate sales. I don't believe that it ever hurt King Crimson or anyone else I would care to mention. Perhaps it's an issue of (quality) control? Somewhere amongst all those illegitimate live recordings are some musically very dodgy moments when the band or individual players drop howlers. And for a band whose reputation lies in it's usually flawless virtuoso performances of musically challenging material, or taking the equivalent musical risk of walking a greasy tightrope over an active volcanic crater during a hurricane (spontaneous group improvisation), this is bound to happen. Musicians are only human, despite occasional evidence to the contrary(?), and prone to dropping a bollock here and there. Maybe a solution is to adopt the open and tolerant position endorsed by for example the Grateful Dead, where recordists were actively accommodated and the use of decent equipment was encouraged, rather than employing the traditional 'law-enforcement' approach. The latter didn 't work with drink yesterday, it doesn't work with drugs today, or any other current artificially generated sin where arbitrary (often bloodyminded) rules are created with the aim of either disenfranchising or penalizing 'disapproved' sections of society, or for protecting vested interests. Apologies if my rather 'liberal' suggestions offend any reader more sympathetic to the heavy manners of authoritarianism and unbending control, but I do feel that the confrontational approach is more at home in an institute of 'correction' rather than in a concert hall filled with people wishing to experience moments of art and joy. And I take it that a King Crimson concert is more aligned to the latter sensibility? Everybody? It can be argued that for a third party to record live performances for financial gain is to break copyright laws and is therefore technically a criminal act. It could also be said that it is disrespectful to the artist for an audience member to to record performances for their own personal recollection and nostalgia of that (all too rare) event. On the same grounds it could also be logically argued that for a concert goer to recall the audiovisual memory of the gig in the playback mode of their own brain (without permission) is also direspectful to the artist, and deprives the band and record company of mechanical royalties. It can also be argued that it is disrespectful to the fans (the ones who eventually furnish the artist and record company etc. with a living) to employ and sanction heavy handed bozo tactics when dealing with the occasional cassette recorder (and/or camera). The only way to avoid infringement of intellectual property rights is to remain in the closet and never be heard by the public. All artists, designers and inventors are abundantly aware of this. So having performed the foxtrot about Frank Lloyd Wright for seven paragraphs, let's give it up for the middle ground, for once? If any socially responsible business or group of artists (like King Crimson or DGM perhaps?) can be considered a microcosm of society in general, or what we would wish society to be like, then to encompass reasonable tolerance regarding the taping issue would be a logical extension of the philosophy on which these organizations are run. And without sounding sycophantic I trust, such organizations are a rare oasis of sensibility in these days of dinosaur corporate totalitarianism which characterizes the music industry (business in general), and which is rapidly taking over the running of the world by stealth. Or is that too naive, mushy and accommodating these days to cut it? I remain, (with saliva on my shoe?), Nik Green. ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 01 Dec 1997 00:43:19 +0000 From: Toby Howard Organization: University of Manchester Subject: What's Adrian Belew up to? For a surprisingly detailed and entertaining answer to the question, have a look at http://web.dbtech.net/~rhino/corner.htm. Cheers Toby ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 04:06:11 GMT From: strthry at afm dot org Subject: Tony Geballe in NYC Tony Geballe, whose album "Native of the Rain" has just been released by Discipline Global Mobile (and who is the electric guitarist in the Trey Gunn Band) has composed music and designed sound for a new production in New York City. The play is called "Christmas at the Ivanovs'" and will run from December 9 to January 4 at Classic Stage Company, 136 East 13th Street. Written in 1938 by Alexander Vvedensky, an early Russian surrealist who was murdered by Stalin in 1941, the play opens at the home of the Puzyrovs, with children aged one to 82 in a bathtub. The family anticipates a traditional Christmas, but instead are confronted with an axe murderer, singing woodcutters, a dog named Vera who recites poetry, and other subversive characters and situations. Tony has been composer and musician with Arden Party Theater Company (www.imageinc.com/ardenparty/) since 1993. The play is presented by Classic Stage Company and Arden Party. For further information or tickets, call CSC at (212) 677-4210. ------------------------------ Subject: trivia -> satiric KC cover imitation Date: Mon, 01 Dec 97 14:03:04 -0500 From: Markus Reuter dear fellows! i recently discovered a cd that struck me because of it's cover. it's a fairly old record by the austrian musical comedians 'erste allgemeine verunsicherung'. the album is called 'spitalo fatalo'. there's a painting of the face of a crazy doctor on the cover which closely resembles the cover of 'in the court of the crimson king'. i scanned the cover and dedicated a www page to it. for a good laugh and information on the album, please have a look at: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mpeters/eav.htm cheers! yours markus -- -> Markus Reuter, Dammwiese 7, 33613 Bielefeld, Germany <- -> email mreuter at post dot uni-bielefeld dot de <-> phone (521) 896248 <- -> http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/mpeters/markus.htm <- ------------------------------ Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 00:01:58 -0500 (EST) From: DanKirkd at aol dot com Subject: Gig Reviews Just to clarify: In ET #439 I asked ETers wishing to submit material for ET Web to send it to me via email to make sure it is added, rather than only posting it to ET. I make this exception: I will continue to hoist gig reviews for the Gig Review pages directly from your postings. No need to send those to me, unless they are very old and no longer worthy of a posting in your mind. I will be creating a page for the ProjeKct One gig reviews posted to ET - so be sure to send in a review for those of us who couldn't be there to read. I suspect your reviews will be of interest to the players too. Cheers, Dan ET Web ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 1 Dec 1997 18:39:37 -0500 (EST) From: Otherroad at aol dot com Subject: David Cross The Artist Shop now has graphics and two soundbites up for the new David Cross album, Exiles, at . I have to say that this is a really incredible album, definitely Cross' best yet. It brings to mind the Red era King Crimson. Definitely very heavy! This is certainly ironic as in the extensive liner notes of The Great Deceiver Fripp discusses how the band felt that Cross' violin just couldn't compete with the increasingly heavier sound of the rest of the band. Perhaps the problem at the time was technology. It certainly isn't the case here! This eight track CD is evenly split between songs and instrumentals with John Wetton and Peter Hammill handling the vocal chores on two songs each. Fripp appears on the same two tracks as Hammill and on a third track called Duo (a sequel to Trio?) which is a soundscapes/violin duet. The Cross/Hammill/Fripp tracks are positively electrifying and Hammill's vocals remind me of his performance on Fripp's Exposure album. Wetton sings on Cross' remake of the classic KC song Exiles and another track Cross co-wrote with Pete Sinfield. Exiles is a very strong track and is also featured on Cleopatra's KC tribute, Schizoid Dimension. There's an interesting thing to note about the composing credits for Exiles. On the original King Crimson album, Larks Tongue in Aspic, and on the later live album, USA, this song is credited as being a Cross/Fripp/Palmer-James composition. Then on the King Crimson box set, The Great Deceiver, the composition is twice credited to Wetton/Fripp/Palmer-James. However, on the new Cross album, Cross credits the composition to the entire band, Cross/Fripp/Wetton/Bruford/Muir/Palmer-James! Anyway, this is definitely a great album, very heavy, well worth your investigation. Gary ************************************************************** Gary Davis The Artist Shop The Other Road http://www.artist-shop.com OtherRoad at aol dot com SUPPORT THE INDEPENDENT ARTIST!!! ************************************************************** ------------------------------ From: Ted White Subject: FW: A Few Quick Notes Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 16:20:35 -0500 Things have been busy here; I've had less time than I like in which to respond to recent ET's. In #434 "rtf pjm" notes the November 4 release of the Beach Boys' PET SOUNDS boxed set. I'm here to tell fans of Brian Wilson/the Beach Boys that this is one set that was worth the wait (it was supposed to be released a year and a half earlier). I now have pages on the Hole In The Web site - www.holeintheweb.com - look for the Dr. Progresso pages - and you'll find a variety of reviews there, including the PET SOUNDS SESSIONS boxed set. We're still "under construction" at the Hole, and I'll be adding a lot more in times to come, including more and better graphics, but check us out! (No KC reviews there - yet. NIGHT WATCH will probably be the first.) "HFHIFI" advises us to "FORGET IT!!!!" when considering the CD release of EARTHBOUND. He's right about the sound being lousy (check out the version of "21st Century Schizoid Man" on the CD single of that name from the EARTHBOUND album). But I don't agree that "the performances [are] lame." I've always assumed Fripp released it to show why the ISLANDS band broke up on tour, but "lame" is not a word I'd use to describe the performances on the album - and, after living with the LP since its release (in England), I still want a copy on CD - and not a boot, with even lousier sound. In 435 Craig Stamm's post deserves, at the very least, a Thank You from yours truly. And, hey, Craig, I used Sound Guard on a lot of my LPs back in the late 70's. What sort of questions did you have about it? --TW (Dr P) ------------------------------ From: "Rex Jackson" Subject: Schizoid in Buffalo Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 22:06:54 -0500 Inspiration Jones: http://home.att.net/~rexjackson I just thought I'd pop my head up to mention what struck me as a very cool moment in Buffalo over the weekend. I flew up from Tampa to see the reunion of Billy Sheehan's old band, Talas. It was a one-time concert at Kleinhan's and it was the first time Talas had been onstage together in 12 years. The band played two sets and recorded the concert for CD release. The first set included nearly every commercially-released Talas song. The second set, however, was a flashback to the band's endless gigging as a covers band in the 70's and 80's. Around the middle of the set the band broke into 21st Century Schizoid Man. I was expecting a brief run through the verses and chorus, but instead Talas had worked out the entire piece and even added a significant improvisational section that came off really well IMO. Anyway, I just thought I'd mention that... -Rex ------------------------------ From: "Fred Rogers" Subject: k.c. collectables Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 10:40:59 -0600 greeetings e.t.s first off I'd like to say I'm only passing this information on since it is very cool allbeit very pricey stuff that I came across in the latest issiue of goldmine. first item is a bbc transcription disc from 1974 very rare! but the person selling it wants alot 650.00 u.s. you can reach hom at hippie at idir dot net aka the old hippie. I think this guy is a real peice of work, needles to say his prices are high,but I'll let you be the judge of that second one is even better.it s an auction item from steve trempe.341 lane ave.kingsford,mi 49802-4213 ph 906-774-9348 auction ends january 19th 1998 item is a riaa gold record award for in the court of the crimson king awared to robert fripp ( remember this one getting nicked mr fripp?) as I said saw these in the goldmine( a music trade paper you should know about) happy hunting from fred in wisconsin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 01:28:29 -0500 (EST) From: "Mike St. Clair" Subject: Belew on radio show Greetings. The following information is hearsay; a friend of mine was listening to a public radio program recorded locally and according to him, Adrian made the following comments. 1) Projeckt Two played together in the studio two weeks ago, for the first time (well, in a sense, you know). 2) Projeckt Two has a band name (friend couldn't remember it), and a "sound", which Adrian called "space groove" music or something like that. Adrian plays drums for Projeckt Two (duh). 3) Projeckt Two has recorded an album (!) already (during that week's session), and this album will likely be released in the spring (!!!). 4) Adrian is going to go play some acoustic dates with fellow "The Bears" bandmate Rob Fetters in December. Anyhow, I assume that if somebody here heard this firsthand that a more accurate posting will be made; I assume that the secondhand nature of my information will result in some inaccuracies. DONT BLAME ME if this information is downright *wrong*. Anyhow, some background. The interview was on WNKU (Northern Kentucky University, near Cincinnati), as part of a "live in the studio" feature with "The Denems", the Beatles cover band Adrian played in back in high school. The Denems played a live show last week, and a couple of days before The Bears were inducted into some sort of Cincinnati "rock hall of fame" sort of thing (and played live at the induction). I had the flu and missed both even though I was planning on attending. I will *likely* be making the trek to Nashville in Feb for Projeckt Two and Robert's Soundscapes; if any Crimheads are interested in sharing accomodations in Nashville (or maybe even transportation from the Cincinnati area, though I might just be passing through Tennessee on another agenda), drop me a line and we can put together a tentative plan. ***Mike St. Clair***mstclair at iglou dot com***irc:SaintMick*** ------------------------------ From: "Jari Schroderus" Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 09:36:23 +0200 Subject: Night Watch Oh, hell yes! This is the one I've been dreaming of for years. Well, at least since I taped USA from a frien of mine. I went to a local musicstore here in Finland, and before the message that I were actually looking at the Night Watch CD got to my brain, I were already standing at the counter with the money in my hand. The price was supprisingly low less than the price of two mid-priced CD's. I went to my friends place 'cause at last I had a chanse to thank him for all the KC material I've taped from him over the years. He taped it right away. And I like to add that I've been bying CD copies of the records that I have on tape, so no one should be offended by my actions (or so I hope). And now to the music. What can I say? SaBB one of my favourite albums since the day I realy got in to it. I allways wondered how such music could be created in a studio. And now I know it wasn't. Great to hear the original form of these brilliant pieces, though there is not full certainity (sorry if I'm miss-spellign words, have no chanse to check the correct spelling out) of the original order of the song. And I would've liked to hear the CD start with LTiA pt. 1. But that's allways the case with these sort of things, leaves you wanting more. One thing that suprised me was that the tittle song misses the beautiful guitar melody between the verces. This isn't the same version that got to the final album is it? Or maybe it is, the stuff were overdubbed anyway. I don't have the CD at hand right now. No need to answer, I'll check it out my self. Summa summarum, this CD is incredible, and for us, who lack the money to buy The Great Deciever, I gues that buyng the Night Watch is a great way to to fill (at least partly) the void that missing TGD has left. Thou I'm planning on getting it some day. The only thing that realy irritated me was that the PC-files on the 2nd disc can't be accessed without Windows95. The world wide conspiracy against peolple who don't want to get a new PC or W95 continues. And this was the last place on earth that I expected to bump into this problem. Would someone please take care of Bill Gates.. for good! And finaly: For those who have not listened to David Sylvian's "Gone to Earth" album, I highly recomend it. Fripp's playing is.. well, I've never heared anything as Fripp as this.. Just go and find the record if you can. "You'll love it, it's a way of life." (A Zappa quote.) I hope no one got pissed off because my poor english writing.. __________________________________________________ "What's the odds of one and one making two?" Jari Schroderus ------------------------------ From: Erwin Bush Subject: Ordering "The Night Watch" in the U.S., old Bill Bruford, etc. Date: Wed, 3 Dec 1997 23:45:58 -0800 Many people in the U.S. have written to ET wanting to know how to get a copy of "The Night Watch" before it's scheduled U.S. release in January. Well, I already have my copy, ordered online from Music Boulevard (http://www.musicblvd.com). They're selling it as an import at $27.99, and they only charge $1.00 shipping and handling per order! (+ sales tax) I've placed several orders from them so far and have been pleased with their selection, prices and service. (I've also bought the PFM CDs "Per Un Amico" and "Storia Di Un Minuto" as imports from them at $13.99 each.) I was also told by someone at Possible Productions that "The Great Deceiver" was being re-released in the middle of 1998... can anyone confirm this? Finally, I recently re-discovered a clipping from the April 23rd, 1974 issue of "The Daily Planet" [a Philadelphia Area weekly newspaper]. It is an interview by Jim Bungo with Bill Buford, conducted after a King Crimson show at the Spectrum in Philadelphia (they played between Frampton's Camel and the Kinks) which is fascinating, especially looking back at it after nearly a quarter-century. A few quotes: "Obviously, my first question was directed towards finding out why he left YES after their "Close to the Edge" album; just when things were beginning to look great for the group. His initial remark was a joking, "Why did I leave YES when I was about to become a millionaire?" "BILL BRUFORD: Well, I left YES factually, because I was offered a gig with King Crimson. Robert came to me and said, "I think it's about time you played with King Crimson now." And I said, 'Yes, I agree, absolutely.' And we took it from there..." And another one: "...we're not really a rock group... We're a kind of snotty-nosed, intellectual, middleclass, white London suburbs kind of band that has got nothing to do with rock and roll at all." I'd love to scan the entire interview and post it to ET, but I'm sure there are copyright problems in doing that. I'll try to submit other bits of the interview over time. Now if I can only find that half-remembered interview with Peter Gabriel (made during the GENESIS Foxtrot era) it which he identified ITCOTCK as the reason for the radical change in GENESIS between "From Genesis to Revelations" and "Trespass", and called the album a logical evolution from "Sgt. Pepper..." Cheers, -- Erwin Bush P.S. In the 2+ years I've been silently lurking in the background here I don't remember anyone mentioning Ian McDonald's involvement in producing and playing on Fireballet's "Night on Bald Mountain" album. Is anyone else familiar with them? ------------------------------ From: j dot jania at verw dot uni-koeln dot de Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 08:20:48 +0100 Subject: If summer had its listeners Hi There! Someone was wondering why there was so little talk about the "if summer had its ghosts"-album by BB. I recently listened to it and were amazed to find something like jazz-standards. Well, it wasn't that bad, but .... I think I was looking forward for a more "individual" kind of music (though I must confess that I didn't like this Earthworks-thing, but maybe I just don't know enough about it.... but I do like "Bruford" - especially with Allan Holdsworth aside). This may be the reason, why ET'ers are not so much talking about it. But I may be wrong....?? I'm sad that there is no chance for me to watch projecKt one these days, but I surely won't die if there will never be an occasion to listen to there music again. In fact, I didn't like THRaKaTTaKK, I don't like Thrak (the "song", not the album) at all .... it seems a little uninspired to me and ..... well, I miss the more lyrically side of KC in this ...... but these are the nineties, things are no longer what they used to be ;-)) Does anybody know when "The Night Watch" will be released in Germany? What's about the KC-Tribute (Schizoid Dimensions)? I recently found it at my local record store, but I didn't know most of the bands on it ..... can somebody tell me if it is worth its money? ("Why don't you just go to the store, grap some headphones and listen to it??"-Well, they don't allow it in there) What's about the new Robert Wyatt - Shleep - ?? Oh sorry, this is not the mailing list for Soft Machine-related topics! :-)) (Is there any...?) Finally, are there any German or Dutch or Belgian KC-Fanatics, who are not fanatic enough to go to GB to visit P (however spelled) 1 or RF or whatsoever gigs? If we are enough, there will be maybe a chance to make "them" come to the Bruxelles-Eindhoven-Cologne-Triangle? And now, just to fool Toby, the MORE THAN 10 ALBUMS-LIST ("OOOOOHHHHHHH NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOO!"): ......... ;-b Keep Thrakking, whatever THAT means! JAJ ------------------------------ From: "Matt George" Subject: Fripp: Bennett/Gurdjieff vs. REAL PHILOSOPHY Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 00:28:16 -0800 tim w wrote: :Lastly, as a relative newbie to this list, I :have been mildly surprised to :see so little discussion of the body of :Gurdjieffian work which has so :clearly influenced Mr Fripp, presumably :since his days at Sherborne. I'm glad it was mentioned too. Both Bennett and Gurdjieff are examples of hybrid pseudo-mystics who have (wittingly or unwittingly) drawn from several sources to propagate their charlatanism. I'm NOT surprised that Fripp DOESN"T acknowledge his debt to both of them and Ouspensky these days. (Ouspensky had the most redeeming qualities of all three, being a trained mathematician) However, I am surprised that he does NOT go around quoting Pythagoras, Plato, Plotinus or Kant more often, in his liner notes and whatnot....these figures ALL preceded Gurdjieff by a long shot and influenced G. (and Fripp) in a myriad number of ways.....to the degree that his "system" of "The Work" is entirely incoherent and unqualified, but not "unqualifiable". I'm sure Fripp must know this; he has read Plato extensively. This is why he acts as though the cord has been severed.....Sherborne was a LONG TIME AGO. The conclusions by which Gurdjieff bases his activities on are not new nor are they particularly innovative. Western academic philosophers were synthesizing these concepts centuries before. Now, one may argue that Gurdjieff/Bennett/Fripp inherited such concepts and practices from the ancient Eastern mystics of Tibet or the Caucasus, which is well and fine, as long as you identify your sources AND work to make them cohere intelligibly or at least develop something original (or even derivative!) from them, instead of simply stirring them up and spitting them out again. It seems that recently Fripp has thrown out the baby, but kept the bathwater, the latter of which I've found to be very problematic philosophically. Gurdjieff commits numerous errors which "professional philosophers" such as myself and other collegues of mine find to be horrendous----Bennett just adds insult to injury. If one really wants something of Eastern substance, one would do better to read Confucius or Lao-Tze or the Eightfold Path, something of that nature. I'll give Fripp the benefit of the doubt by saying that I would rather have had him sit around all day all those years learning how to play his instruments through his hands, head, and heart than to mire himself in Western philosophy. It has done all of us just a slight bit of good. Matt George bmgeorge at pacbell dot net ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 09:13:49 -0500 From: "Richard G. Bunker, Jr." Subject: Intent, Discipline and Craft All, I have heard reference to these themes (Intent, Discipline and Craft) as integral to guitar craft, and they seem intriguing and perhaps of more catholic applicability. Can anyone point me to more information about this? Thanks, Rick. -- Rick Bunker rick at bunker dot com http://www.bunker.com/~rbunker PGP keyID = B6CB9C4D Original keyserver (most keys are on it) is at : http://www-swiss.ai.mit.edu/~bal/pks-toplev.html ------------------------------ From: "Dan Kirkdorffer" Organization: SRDS Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 08:55:53 CST Subject: Chat with Possible Productions Monday 8th on IRC Its confirmed. Amy and Jeff from Possible Productions will be joining us at the #ElephantTalk IRC channel on Undernet at 9pm EST / 2am GMT. If you are not familiar with IRC, we have a new page at ET Web that should help you get started. Hope to see you there! Dan ET Web -- Daniel Kirkdorffer Sr. Technical Consultant, Zeal, Inc. dank at zealinc dot com http://www.zealinc.com/ -Visual Cafe Tips: http://members.aol.com/dankirkd/vcafe.htm - ------ "Your Technology Partner" - Northbrook, Illinois ------ - Client/Server/Internet: C++, Java, VB, CGI/HTML, Databases - ------------------------------ From: ganderso at notes dot cc dot bellcore dot com Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 11:10:40 -0500 Subject: From left field....... I often find that some of the people who shout the loudest don't listen very well. Daniel is no exception here: Third, your message reads a bit like a threat: i.e. "give us free (or cheap) copies of the recordings or we'll just bootleg them." The egotism of rabid fans is a mystery to me. Forgive my saying so, but I think you overestimate the value of your opinion as a fan. A dose of reality: those of us who do not make it to see the ProjeKCt shows will probably never get to hear it. Why is that such a tragedy? One thing that i think has become more or less clear is that we probably can not stop bootlegging. Unfortunately, Daniel seems to picture bootleggers as only members of the audience who sneak in taperecorders. A lot of bootlegging is done by the in-house sound guys or others with high-access. Let us assume, then, that the probability of stopping a determined bootlegger is very low. In other words, let's accept it as a fact of life. What then? The next obvious solution is to remove the economic incentives for bootlegging. That idea combined with the fact that it would be cool to get to hear the ProjeKts yields a fairly obvious request (even if there would be good reasons for denying it ultimately). I'd like to note also that I have never purchased a KC bootleg (and only own one, by (of?) Daniel Lanois, which i purchased in ignorance). As for overestimating my position as a fan, I would like to point out that Thrakattak was itself in part a response to requests made here. Fripp seems to listen at times. Let us also remember that although at a distance the chatter here at ET may seem like noise, there are actually a large number of sensible individuals who just may have some valuable comments. As for my personal opinion "as a fan", while I do not believe it has much (any?) weight in terms of any KC processes, I certainly do not "overestimate it". As someone from a family of pro musicians in NYC, I've had the chance to hear types of music on a regular basis that i bet few others get a chance to hear (I mean, how may time have YOU seen the opera Wozzeck performed?) Make no mistake: I value my own opinion when it comes to music and sound. And if we take seriously Fripp's statements about the audience being an important part of live music (at least), perhaps it is not entirely out of context to place value on my contributions here at ET, or others for that matter. Frankly, in the few times i have read your posts recently I have had the distinct impression of propaganda of some sort. You seem to be on a one-man crusade against something or other, but unfortunately see enemies lurking everywhere. If you took the time to read what i was saying more carefully, you would see that half of what you resond to just isn't there. Quit having such a shitfit every time someone writes something you think you disagree with. Let's face it. It really ain't all that important, after all! -Emory ------------------------------ From: Curt Salada Subject: bonus tracks; rabid egotism Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 09:22:08 -0500 > From: Scaarge at aol dot com > Subject: New KC Remasters - Bonus or Not? > > they are not simply > collections of songs, but organic wholes, where each bit contrasts and > compares to another bit. Including bonus material upsets the balance. > > I personally disklike having to re-buy an album to get a single bonus > track; > > First post. Hope I didn't put too many of you to sleep. > Not at all. I'm still giggling over the "Bonus Apostles" image you conjured up. A personal pet peeve is artists releasing "Greatest Hits" albums with new material included. Not only is the concept nonsense, but the practice is a slap in the face to the artists' loyal supporters. I believe adding "bonus tracks", or any other content, to products which are otherwise nearly identical with earlier releases is a similar disservice. In the case of the artful King Crimson catalog, the "organic whole" argument is entirely valid as well. As for the Genesis cover art similarity, I agree. > From: vividindex at earthlink dot net (daniel farris) > Subject: projeKCt bootlegs > > First, I do not get the impression that DGM and Fripp are interesed in > feedback or advice from the fan base. > On the contrary, I'm unaware of any record company that operates more thoughtfully. Aren't the playbacks, The Nightwatch, and Thrakattak evidence? > The egotism of rabid fans is a mystery to me. Forgive my saying so, > but I > think you overestimate the value of your opinion as a fan. A dose of > reality: those of us who do not make it to see the ProjeKCt shows will > probably never get to hear it. Why is that such a tragedy? > Amen, and amen. One more issue: I have heard only one track from Thrakattak, the one included on the DGM sampler. I have heard little but praise for the material on Thrakattak on this list. Just wondering if (1) the rest of the album is comparable to the sample, and (2) anyone else would describe the music as unlistenable? Curt Salada ------------------------------ From: "Abma, Joyce C." Subject: attn:MD/VA enthusiasts: extra ticket Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 11:50:00 -0500 I have an extra ticket for the Solo Soundscapes show at the Birchmere in Virginia. The show is at 7:30p.m. Glad to work out logistics of ticket transferral with an interested party. Please respond to me at jcabma at erols dot com. (it's a brand new acct, so if that bounces back, try the jza2 at cdc dot gov) Happy Holidays Joyce ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 10:12:07 -0800 (PST) From: Alex Van Wey Subject: Seattlite ProJECkT? Project one is in London, near (in American Standards) Fripp's home. Project two is in Tennesee (Belew's Home) Another project is in New York? (Tony's home) Is there going to be one in Seattle, Trey Gunn's place of residence? BTW IMHO: Tony Levin's Website is the best, and most up to date artist website I have visited. Mr. Gunn need's to update his road diary. Tony's Website is: http://www.papabear.com = Alex J "Soleil Fou" Van Wey Master Basstry Chef Apprentice Bottom Boy _________________________________________________________ DO YOU YAHOO!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 10:18:57 -0800 From: W M Heinrichs Subject: PROJEkCT ONE tapes >Well, I thought the whole idea of the Project One, Two, Three etc., is >improvisation, taking risks and exploring new areas to incorporate into KC >proper. Now these are mature musicians we're talking about -- but I still >believe if Robert, Bill, Trey and Tony know a recording is being made (with >possible CD release plans) it will inhibit the real gambles and real risk >taking. Maybe an analogy is trying to smile naturally when you know >someone is taking your picture. I was under the impression that most professional bands record all of their concerts and jam sessions. The digital equipment is inexpensive (well, some of it is anyway), and generating a DAT recording from the soundboard takes little or no time away from the soundboard engineer. I would think that all KC performers are quite used to being recorded whenever they play. However, I do think we are being a bit hasty by saying we want the PROJEkCT ONE tapes. Why not have a compilation of all the different PROJEkCTs? This would follow the pattern of the VROOOM release preceding Thrak and a tour. What was it Robert said: "A love letter preceding the hot date." _Bill ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 10:16:17 -0800 From: "Michael A. Adashefski" Organization: self Subject: Bruford And The Beat After reading some of the comments on the Bruford video in the most recent E.T. I wanted to offer the following comment.I must agree that the video is a bit too short to fully showcase all of the aspects of Bill's remarkable drumming abilities, so perhaps a Volume 2 should be considered. I'm a drummer myself and would love to see a more in depth presentation covering more of Bill's polyrhythmic approach to drums, his ability to combine such complex time signatures to what might be a simple song form and his reasons or inspirations for why he plays this way. Also since he is also a fine composer in his own right, I'd like to know about his approach to composition since drums by themselves are not a melodic instrument unless enhanced or modified.Bruford's career has spanned almost 30 years now and a more comprehensive look at his many incarnations would really be enlightening to both non-musicians and to all of us drummers who've wracked our brains trying to figure out how to play some of his contributions to the music. Happy Holidays to all! Mikey ------------------------------ From: "Douglas Robillard" Subject: DGM Gift Certificates Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 12:37:14 PST Dear ET, With the fall semester coming to a rapid close, I don't have much time to write. But I would like to second Bayard Brewin's proposal of DGM Gift Certificates for those "hard to shop for" Crimheads. Yes, Dad will be delighted to receive a new tie and a pair of socks for Christmas, but think of how his eyes will light up when he discovers a gift certificate for "The Night Watch" in his stocking on Christmas morn. At least that would be the case in our household; not that I couldn't use the tie and socks! Regards, Doug ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 16:35:25 -0800 From: Douglas Wright Subject: Fripp in Boston? When are we going to find out if the Boston soundscapes date is confirmed or not? It's getting pretty late. Does anyone know? Thanks, *Douglas Wright* ------------------------------ From: Rick Payman Subject: REVIEW: ProjecKt One - Jazz Cafe - Monday 1st December 1997 Date: Tue, 2 Dec 1997 22:30:01 -0000 Boring, tedious, predictable, totally unmusical ... but enough of my journey into London, onto the Evening ... I arrived at the Jazz Cafe around 7.30pm. Paid on door so didn't get a souvenier ticket. A looping Soundscape provided instant welcome - presumably Fripp programmed it earlier in the evening (details anyone?) DGM were 'conveniently' situated beside the downstairs toilets [well, they asked for that] and were offering some newly released merchandise, which I was unable to purchase due to lack of cash - check their Web site. Pillar reads: STFU during performance. Thanx 8.25pm: Robert takes the stage and continues the still looping Soundscape; the atmosphere was electric; total attention from the audience ... 8.26pm: Some 'person', for want of a more appropriate word (I'm sure someone can help me out here), took a Flash photograph of Robert, half blinding both the performer and the audience. Robert glared towards the offender in disbelief, removed his guitar, killed the Soundscape, and returned from whence he came... Some 30 mins. later, ProjecKt One take the stage for an evening of pure instrumental Improv, starting with a quiet moody piece, and then ... The second number starts with some amazingly fast bass soloing: Is it Levin? No... Is it Gunn: "No, not me..." [shakes head] Yes, it's Fripp! [ At last, the new GR-30 synthesizer actually manages to follow most (but not all) of Fripp's lead playing, and this evening must have contained some of the fastest and sustained improvisation to be heard from Fripp in a long while, all (ok, mostly) faithfully tracked by the synthesizer ... ] Meanwhile, over Fripp's bass, Levin takes the rhythm section [on Stick] and Gunn solo's [also on Stick +synthesizer?]. Then, Fripp switches to a Vibraphone patch, [again demonstrating the amazing tracking abilities of the synth], and normal Roles are resumed [sigh of relief]. And so the evening continued... Hard (for me) to describe the music, but some was reminiscent of Islands, some of Cat Food/Groon (Ah memories ... I wish I had some ...) Some of the Improvs seemed hard to get going; Fripp nodding to Gunn, sometimes with little response; Fripp's attempt to tempt Brufford into a duet with a Rhythm/Drum Kit patch being almost totally ignored; even Bufford's attempt at a subtle time-sig change occasionally (although extremely rarely) passing apparently un-noticed by the other three ... The group left the stage with 'Thank You, Goodnight', the audience remained applausing for what seemed liked a good 10 minutes, after which time piped music was started, and at which point I left ... All in all, a wonderful evening (although I personally prefer a good tune anyday). ------------------------------ From: Dave Goldsmith Subject: REVIEW: An Observation of Project One Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 00:50:55 -0000 Managed to get along to the 1st Dec. gig and was nice to see fellow ETers from far and wide, and very nice to watch the 'guys' in close proximity. What can you say about the Jazz Club "A Fridge" that is two words that come to mind, so when RF comes on stage 30mins early in what I thought was give the place so ambience he was less than pleased to be greeted by a flash gun in the chops and promptly put (dropped) guitar back down and left, so a big thanks to the dork with the camera. Any way to an older persons observations, an indifferent start so when first impromptu number finished it was greeted with a stunned silence (a bit like the part in Bobs Country Bunker in the Blues Brothers) with band members looking at each other, so thought put hands together or might not get anymore tonight. Seems to have done the trick as the music was much more enjoyable from then on (even the not quite so enjoyable bits :-)). If they found the heating switch you would have missed so great entertainment from TL, but then he might have worn a jumper!!. Tony I hope you will post those pictures to ET as I would love to look stage out for a change. TG look a bit bemused by the whole affair but seemed to be enjoying himself in the second half. RF well apart from the start he was being a bit on the no comment side, but I'm sure I nearly saw a chuckle or was it just a wry smile, nice sounds as usual. BB well it took nearly 20mins for a smile then it was firing on all cylinders from then on, what can you say about BB lovely sounds a real pleasure to listen to. So hopefully avoiding Toby's scissors I look forward to hearing about the 2,3 and 4th nights comments. Regards Dave. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 04 Dec 1997 00:52:43 -0500 From: bru bilford Organization: i was naked Subject: REVIEW: jazz cafe gigs i hope this gets posted before the Thursday gig. i just, and i do mean just walked through my front door in New York after seeing the first two shows with my friends in London. There are plenty of tickets left, and i was surprised at how few people there actually were in the audience Monday and Tuesday. both shows were outstanding, and all shows were being recorded and filmed (with a tiny,teeny video camera). i must say that the obvious star and main musical direction maker was without a doubt Bill. he started the majority of the pieces, and was generally the one who steered them in a different direction when a change was called for. his head was just full of musical ideas, and he played brilliantly the entire two evenings, including plenty of xylophone and glockenspiel. he also was the only one who spoke, giving the intermission and closing raps. for those questioning my apparent bias, let me only state that i am a guitarist of 25 years, and a drummer of 2. everybody played very well, including Trey, who at times i have considered superfluous to the band, which may have something to do with his still generally being buried in the mix. my estimate of the crowd was 150 tops both nights, including the people dining upstairs, as i was on Tuesday ( two feet directly above Tony!). Call me elitist, but the crowd would have been much bigger if this event had been held in New York City; however i really enjoyed my stay in London (you must see Warwick Castle). Fripp was generally understated, preferring to to play mostly bell and piano timbres, although he did let loose with the patented sustain tone now and then. the first night was understated generally, and the second was more aggresive. Tony seemed tentative a great deal of the time,although he and Bill teamed up for some amazing interplay. all in all, more than worth the trip. more when my jet lag clears up. ------------------------------ From: mnolan at pdd dot pioneer dot co dot uk (Matthew Nolan) Date: Thu, 4 Dec 1997 12:03:01 +0000 Subject: REVIEW: Jazz Cafe 2/12/97 A curse on Great Western trains! With the last train back from Paddington at 11:35pm I had to leave the Jazz Cafe for the tube at 11, while Projekct One were still playing - hopefully their last piece. Otherwise a thoroughly enjoyable evening. Bill Bruford had his kit set out in a rather flat and symmetrical manner complete with xylophone and glockenspiel. Some very nice 10 inch hats too and a chain on the ride cymbal for sizzle. At various points he would place cymbals and small gong/gamelan things (sorry, I don't know the proper term) over the tom skins and play those too. Tony Levin had his usual threesome of Stick, 5-string and upright plus a Clavia NordLead ('virtual analogue' synth) and the infamous digital camera. Trey Gunn stuck with Warr Guitar and Robert Fripp with his guitar / synth rack from which we had all sorts from cool jazz vibes to Hammond organ via fretless bass (used to duel with Mr Levin). Some great grooves were produced, quite 'rocking' with a marching flavour creeping in more than a couple of times. There was one that went much more swinging jazz with an almost walking bass line. Most pieces were started with a drum idea, most of the rest were started by Tony on one of his four instruments. Monster dynamics too and I overheard someone else in the audience saying that last night (Monday's perfromance) had been a lot less heavy and more ethereal. Quite difficult to describe exactly what it sounded like but if you could take some of the more coherent moments from Thrakattak, move them forwards a little, add the feel of some of the improvs from The Great Deceiver transposed into the 21st Century (no Schiziod reference intended) and you might be somewhere close. I think the smaller group helps a lot for mass free-form improv and the small intimate venue too (a lot more eye contact and facial expression exchange between players possible). Musicians and audience all seemed to be having a great time although there was an interesting pair of 'suits' at the bar, one of whom was extolling the magnificent synergy and invention while the other was saying "it's all just unrelated noise; the drums are making some noise, there's some noise coming out of the bass... ..that's all it is, noise" Each to their own I suppose. It will be interesting to hear what other reviewers have to say. Regards, Matt Nolan. ------------------------------ End of Elephant-Talk Digest #440 ********************************