Errors-To: admin at elephant-talk dot com Reply-To: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com Sender: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com Precedence: bulk From: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com To: newsletter at elephant-talk dot com Subject: Elephant Talk Digest #479 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 479 Friday, 27 March 1998 Today's Topics: NEWS: Levin/Torn Chat; ProjeKCt Two NEWS: ET Web Surveys NEWS: The Adrian Update at Adrian's Corner It's intriging, but what does it mean California gigs, celebrations, info P-2 re.: Stephen Goodman Peter Hammill - Brazilian pages classical vs romantic Re: Henry Cow/King Crimson (ET#463) Et Alia Trey/KC as Muzak (Again) Re: KC Lost for Lent (ET#472) Yes? No! Future album cover "seen" Is there a Jamie Muir clone in SF? Fun with WAV files! Fripp has soul gots to have soul, mama pt. 2 More on a discography of KC-related solo releases The new DRUG is here re: Emerson on Mellotron Re- Greenslade Various Things Sans Consequence RE: Elephant Talk Digest #478 Classicism vs. Romanticism, etc. Fripp, "The Ultimate Blues" ordering thru DGM GIG REVIEW: Three Gigs GIG REVIEW: ProjecKct 2,BLUE GIG REVIEW: Projekct 2 in Los Angeles, 3/24/98 GIG REVIEW: ProjecKt 2 in SF GIG REVIEW: P2 in SF, 21 & 22 March 1998 GIG REVIEW: House of Blues GIG REVIEW: ProjeKCt 2 at House Of Blues, Los Angeles ------------------ A D M I N I S T R I V I A --------------------- POSTS: Please send all posts to newsletter at elephant-talk dot com To UNSUBSCRIBE, or to CHANGE ADDRESS: Send a message with a body of HELP to admin at elephant-talk dot com, or use the DIY list machine at http://www.elephant-talk.com/list/ to ASK FOR HELP about your ET subscription: Send a message to: help at elephant-talk dot com ETWeb: http://www.elephant-talk.com/ You can read the most recent seven editions of ET at http://www.elephant-talk.com/cgi-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 system v3.5b (relph at sgi dot com). ------------------ A I V I R T S I N I M D A --------------------- Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 15:49:11 -0500 From: Gary Davis Subject: NEWS: Levin/Torn Chat; ProjeKCt Two Hi folks: Just a reminder that The Artist Shop and Talk City have an IRC Chat planned for this Sunday (March 29) with David Torn and Tony Levin. Stop by our IRC Page for all the details. While you're visiting, you might also want to stop by our Discipline page for info on the forthcoming ProjeKCt Two release with Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew and Trey Gunn. Gary ************************************************************** Gary Davis The Artist Shop The Other Road http://www.artist-shop.com artshop at artist-shop dot com phone: 330-929-2056 fax:330-945-4923 SUPPORT THE INDEPENDENT ARTIST!!! ************************************************************** Check out the latest Artist Shop newsletter at http://www.artist-shop.com/news.htm ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 01:14:51 EST From: DanKirkd Subject: NEWS: ET Web Surveys Survey Lovers, I have posted the first of what will be regular surveys at ET Web. The first survey asks the simple question "Which is your favorite King Crimson release?" and will run until April 15th. Once the results of the survey are tabulated I will create a permanent page to house survey results. Stop on by and submit your answer. Feel free to send me any suggestions for future surveys. I want to keep each to one or two questions. Dan ET Web ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:30:42 -0600 From: "Rob Murphree" Subject: NEWS: The Adrian Update at Adrian's Corner GreETings! I wanted to post a snippet from Adrian's latest post to Adrian's Corner n the Adrian Belew WWW Site. There's a lot more information to digest at Adrian's Corner at http://web.dbtech.net/~rhino/corner.htm so stop by nd read what else Adrian is doing. Here is what's pertinent to E.T. : > Date: March 25, 1998 > From: Adrian Belew > Subject: Spring '98 The Birth Of A Band. On November 15th Robert arrived, followed by Trey on the 18th. They came ostensibly for another King Crimson writing session. That same weekend a long-awaited parcel arrived; the new generation of electronic drums from Roland called VDrums. I had seen VDrums demonstrated last July at the NAMM show and had immediately ordered a set. To me the beauty of VDrums is their capability to sound like different things than just drums and I intended to use them in the same manner I use guitar: to invent a new palette of sounds. I had no sooner begun to create some very intriguing VDrum programs than our trio rehearsals began in my studio. On the morning of the 19th Robert, Trey, and I began rehearsing a piece we had left off with months earlier called CONSTRUkCTION. Naturally, I was playing guitar. After an hour or so we took a coffee break. "What would you like to do now", I asked. Eyeing the new drum kit in the corner Robert said, "Let's hear you're new wonder drums". I sat down and began playing. Trey and Robert joined in for what became a twenty minute improvisation. Somewhat bemused at what an interesting sound we had made, we asked Ken if he had recorded what we'd done. He had. We went in the control room, listened back, and decided to do more. (This track is now called SPACE GROOVE 1 on our first record SPACE GROOVE and if you buy the record I recommend you listen to that track first to get a true picture of where it all began). By the end of the day we had several hours of improvised music recorded, all of it with me on VDrums. Each time we would take a break I would try to create new Vdrum programs to spur us on. By the end of the second day we had decided we were in fact, making a record. Over dinner the second evening Robert was the most excited I've seen him in years. He began talking about touring and convinced Trey and me that we had a double CD's worth of material from what we had just done. The next day we mixed the double CD and called it SPACE GROOVE. And so in three days from November 19 thru the 21st PROJEkCT TWO was born and our first release created. Likely I'm the first VDrummer ever to make a record. >>>>>>>Fastforward to later in his update>>>>>>>> All through December I recieved excited calls from Robert vibing me up about SPACE GROOVE (which he and David Singleton were then editing) and the offers for ProjeKct Two tour dates which were now pouring in. While we were making the record we described it as space music and jokingly jotted down appropriate song titles such as IS THERE LIFE ON ZARG or ESCAPE FROM SAGITTARIUS A. Robert asked me to contribute liner notes, so in keeping with the spirit of the titles I wrote a Trek-like Personal Log which metaphorically describes the making of the record in tongue-in-cheek vernacular. Trey becomes Commander Gunn and Robert becomes the atypical mad scientist Mr. Fribble (named after the infamous Star Trek tribble episode) while we journey through uncharted space on some kind of musical adventure. The liner notes were written on January 10th and 12th. The record comes out April 7. ================================ For this and more related information, visit the Adrian Belew WWW Site. Thanks! -Rob Your Complete Guide to the Twang Bar Rhino King!!! Rob Murphree's Adrian Belew WWW Site http://web.dbtech.net/~rhino (c) 1998 Murple Web Creations ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 15:14:14 -0500 From: krowan at aibs dot org (Kevin Rowan) Subject: It's intriging, but what does it mean Does anyone know what, if anything, the figure on the cover of Disipline is? A friend of mine saw it and loved it and is thinking of getting it as a tatoo but I asked her to wait until I found out if it meant anything demonic or some other satanistic tomfoolery. Just wondering. Thanks for indulging me. Kevin Rowan krowan at aibs dot org Washington, DC ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 13:48:05 -0800 From: Robert Cervero Subject: California gigs, celebrations, info 1. With Berkeley's spring break coinciding with ProjeKct 2's west coast tour and being the mad Crimson fan I am, I was able to take in all five shows (with a little help from United's frequent flier program). I'll leave the detailed reviews to others. Here's a few observations on some common patterns across the shows. Tight arrangements seem to characterize not only Crimson's music but how shows are organized as well. For each show, there was a 40-minute first set, followed by a 20-minute intermission, and the a closing 40-45 minute set. It all unfolded like clockwork. The first set consisted mainly of improvs that varied fairly noticeably from gig to gig. In contrast, the second sets consisted of the same three (titleless?) tunes, and were by far the stronger of the two. For me, the pure improv stuff didn't always come together. The first song of the second set showcased Trey on his Warr touch guitar, intricately weaving together bass riffs and Crimsonesque leads. Throughout the tune, Trey triggers a digitized voice by slapping notes on his Warr. What comes out is an other-worldly sound, ala Space Grooves. Adrian complements Trey with a digitized tom-tom beat alongside the Warr. After five listenings, it's a catchy tune. The second song of the second set has shades of Thrak and Lark's, with Fripp laying out some manic leads spliced between long chord strokes. The closing song of the set is, in my opinion, the evening's highlight with Fripp and Trey matching each other with high-octave/high-octane runs up the necks of their respective instruments. They seem to communicate telepathically on this one. The tune is classic Crimson and will no doubt show up on the next Crimson release. For all five shows, the band played a nice little stripped-down version of Vroom Vroom for the encore, noted for Fripp's use of an xylophone patch. Only at the Ventura show did the band play a second encore, a rather unstructured improv. 2. I much prefer ProjeKct 2 live to the newly released 2 CD set, Space Grooves. Space Grooves contains three days of mainly improvisational jamming when the threesome first got together at Adrian's studio last November. They seemed to be musically feeling each other out at the time, thus for me the music simply doesn't hang together. By the time they got to California, they were an incredibly tight band. And by the time they go to Japan and the East Coast, they will only get better. I understand that the Japanese shows will be video-taped and recorded for future release of a new ProjeKct 2 CD (keep cranking them out, DGM). The reason why shows get video-taped in Japan is because Japanese production companies produce and make the videos at no cost to DGM to show on Japanese tv; DGM then gets the master tape for free to be later released on their own label. Supposedly the video-tape of ProjeKct 2 will be combined with other footage from the past to produce a historical video of King Crimson in time for the band's 30th anniversary (and hopefully with the footage of the celebrated 69yde Park show, supposedly was shot by a French film crew). 3. All and all, I found myself enjoying ProjeKct 2 much more than the Double Trio. I share the minority view of ETers that the Double Trio's sound is too dense and full. As a musician, I find myself frustrated by not being able to follow who's doing what when the Double Trio plays. Not a problem with ProjeKct 2. Boy do I now know what Trey Gunn does. He impresses. As does Crimson's newest multi-instrumentalist, the V-drummer/guitar virtuoso, Adrian Belew. Adrian clearly enjoys himself on V-drums (which comes with 600+ digitized percussive sounds -- Adrian and V-drums seem a match made in heaven). Adrian's smiling face put an upbeat shine on all the shows. But it is Trey who makes one's jaw drop....woow! 20 4. So how did they compare? The strongest show was, no question, Santa Cruz, the second gig of the tour. (According to the band's soundboard folks, Fripp concurs.) In Santa Cruz, the band was tight, and the crowd was really into the music. It was an interesting mix of folks -- surfers, metal rockers, professionals in from the Silicon Valley. Crimson seems to peak the second time out -- from what I understand, the second night of ProjeKct 1 at the Jazz Club was also their strongest performance. Also strong was the second set of the first San Francisco show (I agree that the first set of this show suffered from poor mixing). (The soundboard guys agreed with this as well.) The second night in San Francisco was also pretty good, but didn't quite have the same energy level of the previous night. I also liked the Ventura show, partly because everything was new and the venue was not particularly crowded, though in hindsight the band was not as tight as the nights that were to follow. Least enjoyable was the Los Angeles show, paartly because the sound was simply too loud and the venue's acoustics a bit muffled (though I was probably tiring of the scene by the fifth time around). 5. In terms overall ambience and audience energy levels, the best shows were Santa Cruz and LA. This is mainly because most people stood directly in front of the stage and nteracted throughout the shows. In contrast, in San Fran and Ventura, the front seats were occupied by tables and diners, creating more of a staid atmosphere. The nicest venue, in physical terms, was the venerable Great America Music Hall, a baroque-style opera house built right after the 1906 quake (where the basement reputedly was a cathouse for the first twenty years). It's a classy setting with good acoustics where everyone has a good view of the show. The San Fran shows were also distinguished by Fripp taking to the mike for the first time in 14 years (other than the brief episode marred by the flash camera in London last December) to introduce his sister. (Fripp's been introducing his sister at San Francisco shows ever since the 69 Fillmore gig; he always seems to get up for the San Fran shows, and the audience reciprocates thanks for living in the Bay Area, Pat!) 6. ProjeKct 2 clearly delighted many in attendence (myself included) but also disappointed quite a few as well. Some folks came prepared to hear Crimson tunes from the past, with Adrian wailing on his Strat' and belting out stuff from the Discipline era. That they would be disappointed seemed inevitable given their expectations. Some apparent had no clue what the ProjeKcts are about R&D for the "greater Crim". R&D is about experimentation. As with all experiments, there are successes (there were many) and failures (there were some of these as well). Those who were disappointed simply arrived in the wrong frame of mind. For me, the excitement of pushing the boundaries and seeing what unfolds is what makes the ProjeKcts so delightful. However, I heard more than one person complain about being "Fripped off". At the House of Blues, I met a guy outside during the intermission who was livid. He complained that he just got ripped off for $25, and that the threesome on stage weren't ready for prime time. He likened what he heard as failed attempts to capture the fusion sound of Fast, Eno, and others of a good two decades ago. This guy had attended the 69 Crimson show at the Whiskey A-Go-Go, and most Crimson tours since then. He was a musician and graphic artist who claims to have done work for DGM. In fact, he was skipping the second set altogether so that he could phone DGM's offices in England to demand that they pay him back $25. I tried to explain the idea of experimental music to him and encouraged him to hang around for the second (and much stronger) set. All to no avail. Last I saw he stormed off to a telephone booth. If the ProjeKcts are a harbinger of what's in store for Crimson's next CD (1999?), I suspect that it will please some (those with more free-form leanings) and turn off others (notably those attracted to the more mainstream sounds of the 80s line-up).20 7. A few tidbits of what DGM has in store for the next year. There will be a playback/ex-band get-together for the release of Absent Lovers (the 1984 Montreal show) at a record store in Boston this coming June 27. The 1984 band will be there to sign autographs and partake in the festivities. This will be followed in July with a second playback event in Montreal. As I've retired from chronicling these playbacks, I hope someone takes on the role of the ET correspondents for these events, providing the rest of us with photo essays; afterall, these are the only venues where Fripp allows photographs to be taken, so capturing these gatherings on film, for posterity sake, is essential! 8. At the risk of being a bit premature, I'll pass on the current inside scoop of what appears to be in the works for Crimson's 30th anniversary bash. All this is still preliminary and the level of commitment seems to waiver all the time. However there is evidently serious talk about drum roll, please a live concert as a tribute to 30 years of King Crimson, by King Crimsoners, past and present. The idea would be to invite and bring together together as many ex-Crimsoners who would choose to participate. One thought being kicked around is the formation of fractals across Crimson eras -- i.e., different members from different eras would play one or two tunes from still a different era. And best yet, the odds-on favorite for where the show will be performed is my own back yard San Francisco. No more transcontinental flights to take in Crimson past....yeah! Hell, I might even come out of retirement to review this one. (I extended an offer to DGM to use my fully restored M400 mellotron for the occasion....what a treat that would be.) All this is still embryonic and things no doubt will change, but what's clear is that some kind of big bash is in store for Wednesday, January 13, 1999. Might this be the perfect occasion for the mother of all get-togethers of ETers and Crimson fans (mini-conference) as a prelude or after-lude to the 30th anniversary celebration? 9. For the record......ET#476: Robert Cambra asked the location of the Fillmore where the 69 Crimson line-up played. From my aging hippy sources, the gigs at that time were held at the Market and Van Ness location, not on Fillmore itself (where the present venue is located). ET#477: Tomoo Homma asks when Dr. D. was first played. The first live performance and known recording of Dr. D was on 13 October 1972 at the Zoom Club in Frankfurt (a show also known for the first airing of the antecedent to Fallen Angel and for the best live recording of Jaime Muir's percussive antics). Dr. D was not played live again till the 16 March 1973 show at the Greens Playhouse Threatre in Glasgow. From then till the fall of 1973, Dr. D became the band's standard opening tune. 10. My $0.02.....(a) Fripp and Soul: What makes Fripp so masterful and unique as a guitarist is his uncanny ability to weave intricate patterns together without bending and re-working his strings over several notes (i.e., without lapsing into blues riffs). Fripp's playing has always been about speed, finesse, and complexity. I agree with the view expressed by others that Fripp's music works more on the brain than the gut (which might have something to do with why so many academics, software programmers, and other left-hemisphere types are drawn to his music). (b) Crimson and FNM. I wholeheartedly agree with Guido that there are strong parallels in the music of Faith No More and Crimson (particularly from the 72-74 era). While I'm far from a metal fan, I find the rawness of FNM's music, matched by the band's use of melodic interludes,, in the same class of Crimson's cerebral sounds. Listen to Angel Dust and you'll find many similarities to the Red album. Now only if Crimson's vocals were as strong as FNM's..... 11. Thanks to Stephane for Elephant Walk. Well done! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 17:04:27 -0500 (EST) From: ststephen at mindless dot com Subject: P-2 House of Blues show last night was awesome. Many disillusioned left after the 1st set, perhaps not having acquired the taste. Sound was good, vibes were good. I wonder how other shows compare. Any other d-a-t-ers out there? Steve Sandiego StStephen at Mindless dot com ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 17:25:22 -0500 From: "Bill Knispel" Subject: re.: Stephen Goodman Stephen Goodman has said, in words far more eloquent than I, in my frustration, could...specifically this... >3. None of us know what the hell is really going on >anyway, so perhaps we should just sit back and wait to >assess the entire body of work when they're finished, and >enjoy the effort-in-progress. Amen to that. Bill Knispel 'cat's foot iron claw neurosurgeons scream for more at paranoia's poison door' Postscript: if we're all getting into such a tizzy over ProjeKct 2's direction, what will we do if the new Crimson double trio album moves off into a similar direction? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 21:47:00 -0300 From: Luiz Esteves Subject: Peter Hammill - Brazilian pages Hi, We've got the first site in Portuguese language about Peter Hammill. And I added a link to your homegage. Cheers, Luiz http://www.geocities.com/SunsetStrip/Amphitheatre/4737/ ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 19:52:46 -0600 From: Carl F Rudorf Subject: classical vs romantic Michael Flaherty's reference to Mr Tamm's book is interesting. However I believe Mr Tamm's categorization of "prog rock" as being either classical or romantic is arbitrary and absurd. The categorization, if one must exist at all, is "prog rock". It was, I believe, foisted on this type of music decades ago by an unwitting musical press. And, for better or worse it groups combos as diverse as Crimso and Yes with the likes of Roxy Music, Genesis, Gentle Giant, Greenslade(!), Caravan, Soft Machine, Henry Cow, Strawbs, and so on. [You, gentle reader may add your own personal faves as they come to mind.] What in my view is "progressive" in "progressive rock" is an effective use of the LP (long playing) format. As for personal preference . . . ho hum . . . You say tomato, I say to-MAH-to . . . ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 01:35:38 -0500 From: Bayard Brewin Subject: Re: Henry Cow/King Crimson (ET#463) Et Alia In ET#463, "Sasha Wolf" wrote: >>p.s. Anyone every dream of a double trio - Henry Cow/KC ? In the early 80's, I corresponded occasionally with Chris Cutler, the Henry Cow et al drummer (I was doing some concert, record, and radio work at the time). One of my correspondences included an inquiry into his/their interest in performing with Fripp and/or Eno. His two-word response was ABSOLUTELY NOT (his capitalization). More's the pity, I thought (still do). B.L.U.E.'s appearance at the Knitting Factory in April will be a foray into a frequent Loisaida Noo Yawk haunting ground of former Henry Cow members and associates. (Expect the Factory to webcast the concert at http://www.knittingfactory.com/Live/Welcome.html.) This guilt-by-association seems as close a Henry Cow/King Crimson connection as you're likely to see (though, thanks to the whole Canterbury scene [http://www.alpes-net.fr/~bigbang/calyx.html], a Six Degrees of King Crimson game should yield multiple Henry Cow/King Crimson matches in no more than two degrees). BTW -- Sasha clearly has been down this road, but ... anyone else who's been fortunate enough to cross the Henry Cow musical portal should consider checking out other Rock in Opposition members and closely related bands from the 70's/80's, including Univers Zero, Art Zoyd, Samlas Mammas Manna (spelled with S's or Z's, your choice), Albert Marcoeur, Aksak Maboul, Etron Fou Leloublan, This Heat, ZNR, Julverne, and Present. Cutler's Recommended Records (http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/town/estate/jf23/index.htm) is still turning out interesting related material, and you can still find much of this important and sadly unlistened-to music at Wayside, Cuneiform (http://members.aol.com/Cuneiform2/cuneiform.html), and East Side Digital (http://www.noside.com/esd/). If you still have the energy and budget, launch yourself onto Magma (check out the fansite at http://www.sanderso.org/magma.html) and its numerous spin-offs. Expect to spend a remarkable year or three in the process. :-) And a final non-KC plug: those interested in KC's darker sides should seriously consider venturing out to venues on Present's North American tour, now in swing. Dates listed at http://members.aol.com/Cuneiform2/tour.html include numerous cities East and West. Most highly recommended! Bayard Brewin ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 02:17:51 -0500 From: Bayard Brewin Subject: Trey/KC as Muzak (Again) Hadn't seen this odd little nugget o' trivia yet, so for the record: NBC Sports' coverage of the Ironman triathalon in Hawaii prominently and frequently featured selections from The Third Star, plus the middle section of "The Sheltering Sky." All these appearances by KC and related material in the guise of TV and radio muzak makes you wonder: why do the same scions of mass culture who established the apparent axiom that prog rock is unpalatable for mass consumption, then use so much of it in the background of that culture? ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 02:35:04 -0500 From: Bayard Brewin Subject: Re: KC Lost for Lent (ET#472) In ET#472, wrote: > My wife suggested to me today in all seriousness that I > should try to give up Robert Fripp for Lent. > > how can one reply to that? That you're honored by her recognition of how meaty this material really is. :-) Bayard Brewin ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 20 Mar 1998 06:07:28 -0800 From: Lewis Southers Subject: Yes? No! >Precisely. For the sake of discussion, let's line up KC, >Yes, and the Spice Girls. Two of the three groups attempt >(or have recently attempted) to create interesting music, >ideas which thrive outside the boundaries which cripple >most musical efforts. The third group looks much better in >short skirts than the other two. > >Fellow ETer's, why the anti-Yes bias ? I just see Yes as a >different face on the same die. My own personal anti-Yes bias started in the 80's when i realised that they were no longer a band, just a commercial venture. Their music really suffered because of this and I thought it was such a waste, because they had so much talent, but traded it in for the all mighty dollar. I've even heard Bruford make remarks in regards to this in interviews and it doesn't seem that he much respects them any more, either, though he doesn't mind the payday. They have the right to make money for what they do, but I think that they could have remained true to their art (whatever that means) and still been very succesful. - Lewis This is not a Fugazi T-Shirt ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 11:47:52 -0500 From: Jim Bailey Subject: Future album cover "seen" Greetings all, Haven't posted for some time (nothing really to say), but had to let you in on this one. It's happened to me again! While waking up from an evening nap a couple of days ago, I was fortunate to "see" the back cover of a CD either by ProjeKct 2 or a Belew solo. The picture was a very grainy enlargment of a photo apparently taken in a motel room and is a detail showing the lower part of Belew's right arm with his index finger pointing towards a small (portable?) radio on a bedside table as if he is about to turn it off (or on). He is wearing a dark coloured jacket or sweater over a white shirt. I don't know how I knew it was him, but hey, I was less than half awake. Most interesting, however, was a quote printed at the top: "The music on this CD is Elizabethine*. Although Belew has no sense of melody, this is no impediment to great music" - Robert Fripp The above is entirely the work of my subconscious, for which I hold no responsibility. *I have no idea what this is supposed to mean. If I ever do see a cover like this I'll probably soil my armour. Anyway, it was just a bit of fun. Hope you all enjoyed it. Jim Bailey ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 10:21:43 PST From: "Alex Yeung" Subject: Is there a Jamie Muir clone in SF? I have a band that is influenced by KC. We are not so much musically like KC, but perhaps in spirit and attitude. We are seeking a Jamie Muir. Someone to help with tape loops, percussions, weird sounds, perhaps an addtional instrument, and visuals. Anyone out there interested? email: opiate3 at hotmail dot com thanks ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 12:49:14 -0600 From: BRZZF at CCMAIL dot CECO dot COM (REX W. FERMIER) Subject: Fun with WAV files! As the proud owner of a new home computer I was interested in replacing some of the sounds (.WAV files) that are provided by Microsoft. I soon figured out how to not only play a music CD via the computer, but to also use the computer to make WAV files, using the standard programs included in the operating system. The results are quite fun! For instance, when Windows95 starts I play Robert saying "Good evening hippies! It's rumored that there's life out there" from disk one of the Great Deceiver. When Windows95 shuts down I play the last few flaming seconds of "Dinosaur." I am picking other bits off of my collection of King Crimson and Fripp CDs for other WAV files. Has anyone else been doing this? I'm curious as to what other people are doing. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 11:36:55 -0800 From: ICX Corporate Subject: Fripp has soul Dear ET, When Fripp chooses to play with "soul" he has it in abundance, as well as the blues. You need look no further than Peter Gabriel's first solo album. The song is "Waiting for the Big One," and Fripp's wailing, soulful barrage near the end is one of my all-time favorite blues solos. Matthias Miller m2 at icxcom dot com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 12:30:53 -0700 From: Eb Subject: gots to have soul, mama pt. 2 >From: Derek Bergeron > >It seems to me that one indication of the degree of "soul" >an individal puts into a hobby/job/vocation/whatever is >simply this: time. That is, the amount of time one dedicates >to something tends to be directly proportional to this >abstract construct we call "soul". Of course, this is not an >absolute. One argument against this is that more time can be >indicative of less skill. Boy, I couldn't agree less with this theory. Kenny G. has devoted his life to his instrument. All those empty-headed, Guitar-Institute heavy metallists have devoted their lives to their instruments. Etc. etc. etc. And would this mean that the older you are, the more "soulful" you are? (I'll skip jokes about the demographic of this list....) Time committed, a prime criterion? No way. Eb ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 16:26:17 -0500 (EST) From: "Henry H. Andrews" Subject: More on a discography of KC-related solo releases Well, back in issue 469, I proposed a discography of releases by or significantly involving KC-allumni, focusing on the more obscure stuff (we all probably know about ELP, Yes, etc) Since then, I've gotten several positive responses to that post, and no negative ones, so I'm now officially asking for contributions to the project to be sent to me at "hha1 at cornell dot edu" (or, should that bounce, you can try "handrews at concentric dot net"). A few things to note: Since my original post, John Smallwood posted about collecting info on Ian Wallace's carreer. Since he knows IW personally, he's clearly the person to handle this, so if the release you have in mind features IW, he's the one to talk to, but if any other KC alumn is invloved, please send discography/review information to me as well! (John- would you be interested in coordinating the format of the info to make it all fit together? I haven't decided on a format yet). Also, as stated, I don't really want reviews of ELP or Yes albums, but anything that you even think might not be well-known, I'm interested in. I'd like to put in references to well-known stuff eventually, but it's the obscure stuff that I really want to see. So what am I asking for? Basically, I'd like to know all of the discography info that the folks who did the KC/RF discography used, so take a look there for guidelines. Also, I'd like to hear reviews and opinions of the albums. All of this will, at least for now, end up on my (currently mostly empty) web site at http://www.concentric.net/~handrews/ Hopefully this will encourage me to get this thing rebuilt (old site died completely), and I'll try to get an area up to track contributions to this project by this weekend. So to all of you folks out there who've been posting about Greenslade, PFM, Giles/Muir/Cunningham, Keith Tippet, and other less-known releases, please send me the info so everone on ET can look up these albums whenever they get curious! Thanks, Henry Andrews hha1 at cornell dot edu http://www.concentric.net/~handrews/ ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 00:21:33 +0100 From: Massimo Bracco Subject: The new DRUG is here Hi to all Eters Now, the new 21st century drug is here ! It's a 90 minutes trip It has no collateral effects except loss of interest in any other music It only requires your surrender to the groove and believe me, it's very very very ADDICTIVE SPACE GROOVE (KC goes trance-funk-hop) Elephant Talk will be a Doomlike warcamp after its release ThrakGrooveByes MAX from Italy ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 18:13:11 -0600 (CST) From: Brian Andrew Marek Subject: re: Emerson on Mellotron Somebody on ET said that Keith Emerson has never (to his knowledge) used Mellotron on record or stage; he's almost right. I have only uncovered one solitary example: The Nice's "Diamond Hard Blue Apples of the Moon", which I believe may have originally been the b-side of a single, and has since appeared on several cheesy Nice comps, including Buddah's "Autumn to Spring". BaM ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 19:07:24 -0800 From: laserand at webtv dot net Subject: Re- Greenslade This Greenslade talk is refreshing. I'm one of the few that doesn't mind his voice. Ever heard David Surkamp/Pavlov's Dog lead vox, 'nuff said. I have Spyglass Guest on cd and the other 3 on cassette-via-lp. I think they are progressive in the sense that they had 4 members: drummer,bass, 2 keyboard players and no guitarist. That was very unique for the time. I agree with the last poster, the 1st one is my fav as well, esp. the song What Are You Doing To Me? What makes this average shuffle-rocker shine is a strange bridge played way slow and majestic without vocals and seems to be an awesome MELLOTRON ORGASM of HUGE CHORDS which I still can't figure out, I think lots of KC fans would enjoy it. They also cover Jack Bruce's Theme For An Imaginary Western on SG and I think the rest are originals. Dave Greenslade put out a terrific lp that deserves to go to cd. The wonderful Cactus Choir with Simon Phillips on drums. Warner Bros. had them at one time. Just a correction: Roger Dean only did the first 2 covers, Greenslade,Bedside Manners Are Extra. All 4 were available several years ago in Japan but I'm not sure about today. N.P. Bela Fleck & The Flecktones-Live Art(disc 1) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 21:32:42 -0600 From: Stephen Drake Subject: Various Things Sans Consequence > From: Stephen Drake > Subject: The Night Watch - Une Reve sans Consequence > Speciale > > Well, I finally got out the old bootleg, and spun it, and > was immediately intriqued, because it's different music at > the start. Specifically: the start of side one, The > Mincer, of the bootleg, is a different performance than > the corresponding cut on the cd, the Fright Watch. Really? I know that the album calls the first track 'The Mincer' but it's clearly the same track as 'The Fright Watch'. As far as I can remember, 'The Mincer' (as it appears on 'Starless And Bible Black') was an improv - later overdubbed - recorded in Zurich. Nope. Give them each a listen - the feel is similar, but vastly different notes are being played by all parties involved. Not just > differences in the mix, these are obviously different performances. Anyway, someone was kind enough to point out the different dates these 2 were recorded on. I had heard that "The Night Watch" was put out as a sort of official version of this bootleg, but it turns out to be a different concert entirely. Horray for us! ___________________________________________________________ Stephen Drake dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot dot Sduck at Bellsouth dot net Cellist, Music Copyist..................................... Homepage.........http://members.aol.com/sddrake/s-drake.htm ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 98 23:35:31 From: drj_saro Subject: RE: Elephant Talk Digest #478 > >Date: Tue, 24 Mar 1998 14:03:41 -0400 >From: ab4798 at wayne dot edu >Subject: Eric Clapton's Pilgrim > >I recently bought Eric Clapton's Pilgrim. It is thoroughly >wonderful and it begs comparison to the best of Robert >Fripp's works--including the bombastic deconstructed realism >of his soundscapes. Though Eric's guitar playing isn't >showcased on this album, this doesn't undermine my point. >What do others think? > i think that i'd like to have some of whatever you're _on_, man! my wife has the CD, and while it's a very nice nice _pop_ album, POP is all that it is to _my_ ears. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 03:28:56 CST From: "Brown, Neal Patrick" Subject: Classicism vs. Romanticism, etc. In comparing these bands to art music periods, I'd have to say that ELP represents the classicists, Yes the romanticists, and Crimson the modernists. ELP = Mozart, Yes = Chopin or Debussy, and Crimson = Bartok or Stravinsky. (And the THRaKaTTaK stuff a bit like Varese ;) ). Seriously, stuff like Song of the Gulls notwithstanding, Crimson has much more in common with 20th century composers than any of the others. Check out Providence....the first half is completely atonal, collective improv, which suddenly becomes a heavy, funky pentatonic jam. Even the 80s stuff is more Modern than Classical....yeah, I'd say Matte Kudasai and Two Hands, etc., are fairly traditional/non-experimental, but Requiem, Indiscipline, and the improvs on the second half of Three of A Perfect Pair are wonderfully experimental. ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 09:54:45 -0600 From: wviland at thin-film dot com Subject: Fripp, "The Ultimate Blues" Hi All, ("Musix Fanatix/Critix") What's all this about Fripp not having soul? Or this 'Anti Blues' stuff.... I've been listening to the blues for many years and believe the art is a product of the 'Heart' and 'Soul' of the musician. As a listener, when a connection is made, and I am understanding all that the musician is saying, the experience is unmatched by any other form of communication. Ironic that its called the 'Blues', because it usually fills me with uninhibited happiness, making me bounce around with an uncontrolled grin on my face. This type of experience I've never had while listening to 'POP', although I enjoy it for other reasons. Robert Fripp possesses an unmatched talent for connecting with his listeners, captivating them, leaving them searching desperately for every word. When I say searching I mean turning off every noise source even though the music is quite loud. I mean the anguish we feel when the furnace kicks in, or the wife speaks. Searching is what sends us to the music store to buy every recording he's done. Searching is what brings us here. As you all know, the Blues have been around along time, and I know Fripp loves them as much as I do. He made that clear in sessions such as "Swastika Girls". He made me realize this is the Blues without the bouncing. Its the Blues taken to the next level. Please excuse spelling........ "Honor Necessity" ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 27 Mar 1998 10:58:19 -0500 From: Darren Franck Subject: ordering thru DGM How long does it take to get a Crimson CD or VHS by ordering thru the DGM website from the U.S.? >Brandon C Wu asked: >In any case, on a safer note, how the heck >do you pronounce "Belew"? Is it bay-lew? Or beh-lew? Or >just "blue", given the title of his latest release >Belewprints? At the end of "Yo Mama" off of Zappa's "Sheik Yerbouti", FZ states all of his band members' names, and pronounces Belew as "Buh-lew". I'm specifically sympathetic with your plight since before getting that album, I always thought it was "Bel-low". I'm sure the moderator's appreciate the examination of such a vital topic. Until recently, I was under the impression that "Islands" was actually enjoyed by most ETer's. Apparently, I was wrong....I don't see why. The album is risky and quite varied. Chocked full of thrilling moments (a KC staple). And if you don't like the songs, you have to concede that Fripp and Co. had a lot of balls to make it. Definitely a headphone kind of album...can't hear most of the sounds when playing it on the stereo. And since I'm on the subject of supporting hated KC compositions, I have to say that "Providence" is one of the all-time thrilling pieces I've ever heard. Word to the wise...don't play it on dates. ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 16:59:37 -0800 From: Brian Arnold Subject: GIG REVIEW: Three Gigs Here is a review I have of the three shows I saw: Palookaville, and both of the the Great American Music Hall shows. As far as dissenting reviews go, and I speak freely here, they are valid in their view, and valid in my view, and they are also wrong in my view. The quality of music is fleeting, does not yield to expectation, and is rarer than a King Crimson concert. Despite this, I think I heard King Crimson for a few brief moments at one of the shows. Follow this. If you come to a show, and in particular if you have 30 years of experience seeing and hearing King Crimson, you may bring those expectations to a show, even one marked "R&D". If you're not careful, your experience will create an expectation rather than an awareness of that experience, and you are very likely to be disappointed. Even if you are careful, you may still not experience the quality of music, for whatever reasons. That's a risk of concert-going. On to Palookaville. Having read the road diaries, having thought I heard Space Groove at Trey's show, and having read the Nashville show review, I had some idea of what to expect, but with my mere 15 years of experience hearing and seeing King Crimson, I was pretty disappointed with the performance. Adrian's drums were too loud, and I couldn't get an idea of what he was doing. Most of the show sounded like aimless noodling, but I did generally like the idea (and sounds) of the semi-improvised Space Grooves, at least when I attempted to tune them out. Playing the CDs the next day gave me an altogether different experience, much more mellow than the show, and much more enjoyable. The Great American Music Hall was an entirely different treat. Having lowered my expectations from the previous night, me and my buddies wandered in to some incredible music, about 20 minutes into the show. Our ears had no time for preparation. The music that Saturday night was "on." There was a piece in the middle of the second set that I'd liken to call "Thrak In Space", and it sounded just like that. It rocked. Sunday had a similar format, but the music seemed to have an altogether different personality. During the second half of the show, right around "Thrak in Space" it seemed as if, for a few brief moments, King Crimson had entered the hall, and played through the band. This is what I paid money to have the chance to hear. I still could care less if Fripp (Patricia or otherwise) signs anything of mine, autographs are a weak substitute for music and getting on with life. - Brian ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 23:18:31 EST From: Hocow Subject: GIG REVIEW: ProjecKct 2,BLUE Greetings Red Heads, I flew to San Francisco To catch the first P2 show and enjoyed it very much. It's an excellent opportunity to catch Bobby front and center for a change. Trey also shines whereas most of the time when I hear the 2XTrio I can't figure out what he could possibly be doing since this line is TL that one AB and this one is RF. Keep your expectations at a minimum. It is, bottom line, three guys jamming. It has more toe tappability than Thrakattak and is far less sophisticated than anything labeled King Crimson (with the possible exception of Earthbound). Adrian, while often very creative, is still a great guitarist thrashing about on electronic drums. The good news is he does things no regular drummer would think of. The bad news is he does things no regular drummer would think of. Enjoy P2 for what it is, some of your favorite musicians noodling around and having fun. It will be interesting to see what if anything can be brought to the full band. The organ and vibraphone and speaking Warr guitar sounds come to mind. The high point for me was an intentionally anemic version of Vroom. It was a wonderful self parody. I also got the P2 cd. Once again its fun, theres dazzling solos, but it is not King Crimson. Enjoy it for what it is and you won't be disappointed. For those who don't already know, the amazing B.L.U.E cd is available immediately direct from Papa Bear even though the release date is mid April. Sorry if I went on too long but I've been lurking for 250 issues. Chow Baby, Brad Wilmot ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 25 Mar 1998 21:12:08 -0800 From: Tom Ace Subject: GIG REVIEW: Projekct 2 in Los Angeles, 3/24/98 I enjoyed the 3/24/95 ProjeKCt 2 show more than I've enjoyed any concert with Fripp in it since I saw the League of Gentlemen in 1980. The music had a genuine power to it that I've found lacking in '80s and '90s Crimson. It was intricate without being sterile. It didn't have that aimless, uninspired quality that characterizes most Thrak-era KC music (to my ear). I'm sure part of the appeal was being able to watch from up close, but I can't help but get the impression that the music itself was fresh. Fripp sat stage right, fixing his gaze mainly on his equipment or on Trey Gunn. I contrast this to LoG shows I saw in 1980, where Fripp looked out at the audience intently a good part of the time while playing. I can only speculate about how much this is due to Fripp's moods, and how much it reflects the demands of ensemble playing when the music is more improvised. Speaking of improvisation, it seemed that some pieces followed a preconceived structure more than others--and the more evident that was, the more I liked the music. I don't know if that's a coincidence. Belew was in the center, very much absorbed in his playing, often with a grin on his face. He looked like he was having a great time. His performance was not dazzling, and seemed at times a little repetitious from song to song--but effective nonetheless. Trey Gunn stood stage left, and appeared a bit more animated than RF (which isn't too hard to do). I found his intricately melodic phrases and abrasive chords a lot more engaging than the bass glissandos that he favored at other times. The guitar-cum-voice-synthesizer routine did nothing for me. They all wore black clothes--a timeless style, and a reminder that this is serious music. :) (Actually, the presentation did not strike me as pretentious.) I found some of the slower material boring. I'm not keen on soundscapes and the like. But that's okay, the rest of the show was striking. Unlike the two dates in San Francisco, this show was not sold out! Promotion? Prevailing musical sensibilities in SF and LA? The audience was reasonably well-behaved. I noted no flash photography, and minimal distracting noise during songs. I found that refreshing. Tom Ace crux at best dot com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 10:15:58 PST From: opiate3 at hotmail dot com Subject: GIG REVIEW: ProjecKt 2 in SF Rockin. that's it. I loved the show. Saw both nites and there have already been posts of the nite's event from other crimso fans in town so I won't bother to go through the set. I have to say it was the most playing I have seen Fripp do yet. It was very choice. And Trey was great. He has really come a long way since i saw him with Silvian/Fripp. Adrian was fun but it seemed like he was there just to hold it together. also I thought he played too much. He didn't slow down or leave some silence during the majority of the songs. Anyway it goes it was still an incredible night of music. The other thing that surprised me was that Fripp used piano sounds and played some jazzy comps on top of what Trey was doing. Man that was cool. Kinda old school a la "In The Wake Of Poseidon". Fripp went one step further when he did a bass solo. If you are a Crimso fan check out projeKt 2. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 14:01:35 -0500 From: Robert dot Cambra at harpercollins dot com (Robert Cambra) Subject: GIG REVIEW: P2 in SF, 21 & 22 March 1998 Gig Reviews: ProjeKCt Two The Great American Music Hall Saturday & Sunday 21 & 22 March 1998 On Saturday my girlfriend, Cheryl, and I stroll down the hill, making a stop at The Edinburgh Castle for fish & chips and a couple pints before settling into the line outside The Great American Music Hall. Immediately Patricia Fripp, in her bright In the Court t-shirt gets in line behind us with a group of her friends and we start talking about her public speaking business and the other Fripp and KC shows weve attended in the last few years. Particularly memorable was a soundscapes/California Guitar Trio show three years ago last February at Slims where, in honor of her birthday, the four of them came out and, surrounding her table played a wonderful little acoustic hoedown number for her, grinning like happy idiots. (She prefers these small venues.) Before long she offers each of us a Frippy button which Cheryl and I accept and wear proudly into the show. This purple badge reads: Ive been Fripp-notized. We find seats on the main floor on the left/middle of the room with our view slightly obscured by a pillar. When the band starts up Im stunned. No one told me Adrian would be laying down solid roiling techno jungle jazz beats with these Roland electronic drums, and thats the kind of cross-genre music they are making. Theyre cooking from the get-go. Robert and Trey playing off each other, sometimes Trey laying a bass part while Robert solos. Its very exciting stuff. One piece is spread out and spacey without a solid beat but the rest are driven by Adrian. Trey is amazing. How many ways are there to get sound out of a Warr Guitar? Cheryl is very impressed by everyone but particularly by Trey, whose band Id taken her to see in January. My favorite Cheryl quotes of the evening: I love Trey, and those other two guys are talented, too. Trey has just replaced Eric Clapton as my favorite musician. I want to touch his stick. (Someone told told her he was playing a Chapman Stick.) The music is very sensuous, very sexy, especially what Treys doing. I love the way he moves his hands all over that thing. Not to mention all her whooping and screaming. It is a great audience and the band members are all obviously enjoying themselves. Ive been seeing Adrian on stage for twenty years and never seen him not have a shamelessly great time. He cracked up Robert more than one, sometimes by not being able to resist making that I-just-got-these-electronic drums-and- look-I-can-make-flatulence-with-my-bass-peddle sound. The second set is even more intense. They do two long pieces. The first one has a Darshan feel --long driving, building, slicing, dicingTrey and Robert simultaneously delivering twisted, jazzy riffs. When it finally ends the band brings the house down and they look tremendously satisfied, they know they have really pulled something off! The next piece is just as thrilling. At one point in it Robert gives Trey the sign and they break into these long, slow descending patterns. Very Crimson. To prove this is a special evening Robert steps forward after the end of the second set. In his inimitable precise and humorous manner he announces that this is only the second time in the last fourteen years that he has spoken to the audience in a Crimson context. The first time was the first time in thirteen and a half years, last December at the jazz cafe in London when he was interrupted by flash photography and, no longer being willing to absorb the desires of others, he returned to his guitar playing position. What he was going to say at that time was his congratulations to Bill on his thirtieth anniversary of being a professional musician. (Now we know!) He then pointed out his sister Patricia in the audience, as he usually does when performing in small San Francisco venues, and added that while he is shy and retiring and doesnt much like to encourage musical fetishism by signing autographs, Patricia, who is not shy and retiring, would be very happy to sign anything we wish to bring her after the show! Then for their only encore they did a delightful lounge-exotica, Martin Dennyesque version of VROOOM. Could this indicate a whole new direction for the Greater Crim? Cool. And since we were invited to be fetishists, we indulge. Cheryl brings up her concert t-shirt to be signed by Patricia and I my P2 CD. When everyone gets their stuff signed Robert pulls her and and her party backstage. Totally jazzed, we retreat to the Edinburgh Castle for more beer, darts and pool. For the Sunday performance Cheryl coordinates her clothes around her purple ProjeKCt Two t-shirt and button. Were ready for more! Soon after we line up outside the venue the always charming and amusing Patricia Fripp shows up again and really starts working the line this time, making sure anyone who wants one will have a Frippy button to display for Roberts appreciation. She asks me if Im wearing the button I got yesterday. When I pull my coat aside to show that I am indeed wearing my button she gives my chest a great thwack of approval. We get much better seats this time, right in front of Fripp, about twenty-five feet from the stage with a clear view of everything. (Were right at eye level with Fripps shoes and very sharp-looking, nice ones they are, too.) Again, Its a great crowd. We meet a lot of friendly, enthusiastic people and recognize many from the previous night and Treys recent performance. (Its a bit weird, though. All of us ETers are e-mailing each other all the time but when we gather in a room together we dont necessarily know who the people we know are. I just found out today that one of the ETers with whom Ive been corresponding was the very prog-savvy woman Id been talking to at my table!) This evening Fripp comes out a half hour early briefly to set up a soundscape for us (and before leaving the stage after the first set he sets us up with another soundscape). They play essentially the same set as the previous night but all the soloing is different andis it just because I have better seats and I know the music better?the music is even more exciting. The solos are less jazzy and more Larks Tongues. Fripp sprays burning guitar. My favorite Cheryl quotes of the evening: Are they married? I want to meet them. Will Patricia introduce us? Im gonna go find out. The drummer is having such a good time! Robert steps up again to speak to the audience for the third time in a Crimson context in fourteen years . . . (There is a slight flash from the side of the stage, everyone freezes but, Its alright, Ken, Fripp says. Its for the Web site.) He thanks Patricia for being such a great booster of his career, noting all the buttons shes got the audience wearing. His announcement that he has a special merchandising opportunity tonight for us at the table in the back of ten Fripp mugs was greeted with roars of mock you-marketing-weasel guffaws. Then from the back in someones clear and best Mike Myers voice we hear Were not worthy. Fripp agrees that one such as he is is not fit to put his lips to a mug with his name on it. Yeah, were having a good time. Two fine evenings of music. If only they could come here all the time. Robert P.S. No bitting bagel boys in sight. Scrolling across Treys rack display now is the enigmatic: There is no ernst in space. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 11:03:35 -0800 From: Bonny Garcia Subject: GIG REVIEW: House of Blues Projekct 2 just got a rave review in the Hollywood Reporter (3/26/98). Here are my favorite quotes from John Lappen's review (limited in scope to comply with the fair use exception in copyright law, Toby): "The threesome made as much glorious noise as anyone on the planet as their improvised 90-minute set was a shattering reminder of just how great music from left field can be." "This music was beyond loud: It was a visceral attack on the senses, a full-on body rush of sound that took no prisoners. They churned out death disco for the new millennium; Studio 54 was never like this." "Just when the crowd seemed to recover from the first bludgeoning, the evil Mr. Fripp came back to twist everyone's head around again with an even more intense second set, if that were possible." "If there are paying gigs on Mars, Fripp would be booked solid." Mr. Lappen should write advertising copy for DGM. I enjoyed the concert, though it seemed to me that the inspiration level was a bit below last week's gig in Ventura, the first of this mini-tour. Maybe it was me, or the venue (let's face it, HOB is cramped and unpleasant). Still wonderful, in any event. --Rajeev Talwani ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 26 Mar 1998 14:56:49 -0800 (PST) From: Paolo Valladolid Subject: GIG REVIEW: ProjeKCt 2 at House Of Blues, Los Angeles Hi all, Just thought I'd add a bit to the comments already made by Stephen Goodman in his excellent review: Adrian appeared to be signalling visual cues to Trey and Robert at various points. This strongly implies that much of the music had some sort of structure to it, though how tightly or loosely defined that structure might be was something I could not determine. The selling point of the Roland virtual drums is supposed to be the realism of the physical models both in sound and in playability/response. Like the Korg Wavedrum, each Roland virtual drum is actually a real drum with physical modelling applied to the drum sound to mold it into some desired tone. Yet it seems that much of Adrian's tonal selection was deliberately electronic-sounding (such as the virtual cymbals sounding more like laser guns than cymbals). At times I was reminded of Bruford's electronic drumming in David Torn's _Cloud About Mercury_ or FutureMan's Drumitar playing with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. This is not a criticism, btw, just an observation. Since ProjeKCt 2 was deliberately going for a space-music kind of sound, the electronic-sounding percussion fit right in. 8-string tapping instruments seem to suit Trey's style more than the split-side scheme developed by Emmett Chapman for The Stick and used on the 12-string Warr Guitars. Was anybody able to pick out what was being said in the vocal sample being triggered by Trey? I cracked up at the rendition of "Vroom" using a vibraphone sound. I half expected to hear them perform "Red" with that sound as well. Nice little tribute to Sun Ra in the ProjeKCt 2 CD liner notes. Actually, a one phrase tribute: "Space Is The Place!" Overall, the whole vibe of the show was very much like the live recordings of Miles Davis in the early 70s with guitarist Pete Cosey. My friends who attended the Ventura show say that the group was much tighter at this show; there was the aforementioned sense of structure and everybody seemed to be more settled on what kind of sounds to use for each piece (Fripp reportedly switched to many different sounds at the Ventura gig, seemingly in search for the right sounds). Cheers, Paolo Valladolid --------------------------------------------------------------- |Moderator of Digital Guitar Digest, an Internet mailing list |\ |for Music Technology and Stringed Instruments | \ ---------------------------------------------------------------- | \ finger pvallado at waynesworld dot ucsd dot edu for more info \ | \ http://waynesworld.ucsd.edu/DigitalGuitar/home.html \| ----------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ End of Elephant-Talk Digest #479 ********************************