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 #620 E L E P H A N T T A L K The Internet newsletter for Robert Fripp and King Crimson enthusiasts Number 620 Sunday, 24 October 1999 Today's Topics: ProjeKct Box serious problems with DGM orders videos, videos, videos Deja VROOOM!! Re: Deja Vrooom 5.1 soundtracks some loose ends: Re; Crimson on DVD End of ProjeKCt 2 CD; Fall 1971 bootleg; Arf, he said RE: Wetton on Genesis revisted P4 - Mastelotto speaks RE: 71' Crimso BB with Genesis - on video correction on my earlier ramble about AB, etc. recording of a new album Arcana (and BB's influences) Re: "Near Mint" T-Shirts 1. Belewguitar; 2. P-Box; 3. P2 Flashing "Court" remaster... copyright Robert Fripp? equipment again... Spun by a Parrot's Tail (P1) IRC Chat with Ian McDonald Unbelievable I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Fripp in 1984 ------------------ 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 ET Web: http://www.elephant-talk.com/ Read the ET FAQ before you post a question at http://www.elephant-talk.com/faq.htm Current TOUR DATES info can always be found at http://www.elephant-talk.com/gigs/tourdates.htm You can read the most recent seven editions of ET at http://www.elephant-talk.com/newsletter.htm THE ET TEAM: Toby Howard (Moderator), Dan Kirkdorffer (Webmaster) 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: Wed, 20 Oct 1999 23:19:20 -0700 From: "Ken Payne" Subject: ProjeKct Box Do the liner notes with the P4 disc tell you at which shows it was recorded? My Brother and I saw them in Vancouver. I just got the San Francisco KC Club release a couple of days ago and it brought back great memories. Ken Payne http://members.tripod.com/~Ken_Payne/home.html ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 11:42:24 +0200 From: "Alexander Off" Subject: serious problems with DGM orders Like some ET-postings reported before I encountered (and still do) the problems with the ordering from DGM in th UK. Some time in June or July (!) I tried to join the KCCollector's Club twice. There was absolutely NO reaction from DGM. No email, no reaction to my bank account, no nothing... Then I tried to join again on September 25th via the secured line and then received the automated confirmation email. Two days later (obviously by coincidence) I received P4 in SF (KCCC Vol. # 7 ) without any order ! I sent an email to DGM what's happening but nobody reacted so far. Neither to my attempt to join the Club nor any reaction to to my emails. Even my bank account is "untouched". What's up DGM??? Regards Alexander visit something different: www.pacaworld.de ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 08:42:40 -0400 (EDT) From: Michael St Clair Subject: videos, videos, videos The following laserdiscs are available at www.laserexchange.com: King Crimson: 3 of a Perfect Pair (live 1984) King Crimson: Live In Japan 1995 Steve Hackett & Friends I have ordered movies from Laser Exchange in the past and have had good service. 'Sylvian and Fripp: Live in Japan' *may* be available from www.laserdiscdivision.com for an ungodly price ($107.18). I'd call them before ordering, because once I went to order from them and the item I wanted was out of stock despite what the website said. I have not bought anything from them to my recollection. Based on comments that Sylvian has made about his Fripp collaboration common belief is that this live concert, along with the 'Damage' CD, will not be reissued any time soon IF EVER. I highly recommend all of these laserdiscs, along with the Fripp documentary/music disc that may still be available out there somewhere. The 'Deja Vrooom' DVD, despite popular belief, DOES contain a 5.1 channel Dolby Digital soundtrack, not 2.0 channels as initially planned. I believe this may have been mislabled on the disc packaging during the first printing. I think the DTS track sounds better. ***Mike St. Clair***mickster at one dot net***irc:Mickster*** ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 08:44:51 -0400 (EDT) From: Joe Hartley Subject: Deja VROOOM!! My wife bought me the Deja VROOOM! DVD for our anniversary, and it arrived yesterday. OH MY GAWD! What a wonderful piece of work this is - and I haven't even gotten to side A yet! The concert's wonderful, and the extras are a lot of fun. I've played about half of Tony's road movies, and mixed a couple of different versions of 21CSM. Great fun!! I'll be bringing it into work today to extract the PDF documents included. > One additional comment about DVD: There is much on the Deja Vroom DVD that > is only available to those with a DTS decoder. Can I have some more information on this? I don't have a DTS encoder, so perhaps I can't tell what I'm missing, but I don't recall seeing anything about this. ====================================================================== Joe Hartley - UNIX/network Consultant - jh at brainiac dot com 12 Emma G Lane, Narragansett, RI 02882 - vox 401.782.9042 Without deviation from the norm, "progress" is not possible. - FZappa ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 15:07:07 +0100 From: Warren Melnick Subject: Re: Deja Vrooom 5.1 soundtracks Warren wrote: >One additional comment about DVD: There is much on the Deja Vroom DVD that >is only available to those with a DTS decoder. Dolby Digital is the >standard, and due to the price of licensing and implementing DTS, is >likely to stay the standard so PLEASE consider making the multiple >soundtracks and the 5.1 sound available on Dolby Digital. Not true - although the packaging does not indicate it there is full DD 5.1 sound on this disc, including the multiple sound angles portion. Apologies if this has already been pointed out. Patrick ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 12:23:32 -0400 From: "Dan B." Subject: some loose ends: It's quite obvious to most everybody that Frank Zappa "discovered" Adrian Belew, and brought him to a higher public recognition level. Adrian is clearly immensely talented, but I do not hear much of a Zappa influence in his solo writing (much more Beatles)--and only slightly more of a FZ influence in his guitar playing. (Adrian has stated that Zappa helped him to understand phrasing on the guitar in odd meters, like a note left off a phrase in 4/4 (8/8) to create 7/8, and an extra note added at the end of the phrase, to make 9/8, etc. His talent, skill and musical understanding has obviously helped him broaden his playing within Crimson and the solo stuff, etc. IMO, Belew's playing is more 'freewheeling' than Zappa's--(not negative, a good thing)--and can be heard to expert effect on the Talking Heads album Remain In Light and the OOP, never-on-CD live album Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads (just a non Crimson example I picked to correct an earlier E-T post). Adrian does not play on the Talking Heads' Life In Wartime, which is on the Fear Of Music album, but R. Fripp plays guitar on I Zimbra from the same record. In my opinion, Adrian occupies a 'middle ground' between the guitar playing of Zappa (soulful & on the '1') on one side, and Fripp (a more 'clipped' style with less emphasis on 'groove': European soul) on the other--which i think is a pretty cool thing! Some more Seconds Out stuff: Cinema Show is mostly all Bill Bruford on drums except for the ending instrumental 'jam' section where he is joined by Phil Collins (makes sense when you think about it). In my opinion, Chester Thompson played this material much better than Bill, with his more English 'clipped' type 3/4 drum style as well. (Chester also kicked ass with Zappa which is where Phil heard him and thought: hmm, this guy would make a good road drummer.) Genesis certainly needed to have their tracks groove more to loosen them up a bit and give them more power, syncopation & heft which Chester certainly provided. (But Genesis always had great drumming back then, from Phil to Bill to Chester. Wow!) -- "I don't want to spend my life explaining myself. Either you get it or you don't." -- Frank Zappa ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 13:07:41 -0400 From: Neal Fitzpatrick Subject: Re; Crimson on DVD In ET #619, Warren Melnick said; >Now I need some help if anyone can assist me: >At some point both of the Live in Japan videos were apparently released on LaserDisc, >possibly as import from Japan. I am trying to locate these. This is not a plug. Warren, I found the 95 Japan concert on DVD at cdnow. Go to cdnow.com, search on King Crimsom, click on videos, click on Live in Japan 95. Regards, Neal Fitzpatrick Toronto, Canada ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 10:50:31 -0700 From: "Scott Steele" Subject: End of ProjeKCt 2 CD; Fall 1971 bootleg; Arf, he said >Just got the box in the mail today and I must say it's wonderful ... I don't know if this has been talked about on ET yet but I discovered the secret track on the ProjeKct 2 cd. I found it hilarious, and since I was not at this show, I found the audience to be pretty annoying ... more so than the fact that someone caused Fripp to leave the stage =) especially the girl who kept yelling, but I am sure I would be pissed off if I paid to see my heroes and some idiot ruined it by taking a picture. I am glad to hear a sonic representation of this event after seeing so much text on the issue. >I have just acquired a show from Toronto (Fall 1971) that sounds so good it makes Earthbound pale in comparison! I am glad for you that you are able to hear this show. I will be gladder still when *I* can hear this show. I will be *ecstatic* when the artists can earn money for granting us all the privilege of hearing this show. >I'm sure that if enough of us ask for this then something will appear. Speak up! Arf! - S. scottst at ohsu dot edu ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 14:05:07 -0400 From: John Ott Subject: RE: Wetton on Genesis revisted >> >> > A sort-of third would be Steve Hacketts recent (and excellent) >> homage to >> > his Genesis years where he rerecorded a clutch of his faves with a >> bunch >> > of prog-rockers of proven pedigree. 'Genesis Revisited' has BB >> playing on >> > 'Firth of Fifth' and 'Watch of the Skies'. 'Watcher' also has >> John Wetton >> > singing and Tony Levin on bass (JW also sings on 'Firth'). > JW also plays bass on "Firth." I have the video and CDs of both the live and studio versions of Genesis Revisted and highly recommend all three. The live version of "Watcher" has Ian McDonald playing the bass parts on keyboard. You can get them online at www.stevehackett.com. I have used the web page for ordering and their service is very good. later John DC-ET ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 19:40:19 +0100 From: "Sid Smith" Subject: P4 - Mastelotto speaks Hi Toby, Mike and Dan I thought ET readers might be interested in the following bits and pieces. Please note I'm currently working on a fuller version for the new year. More details as I get them. best wishes Sid There's been much favourable commentary on ET and in the guest book about the work of P4's West Coast Live from the ProjeKcts Box Set. I was lucky enough to see P4 in action on all their dates as the large chunky chap with the bad back who was selling the merchandise. Throughout the tour, I was struck by the way the music was taken to a different level largely by Pat Mastelotto's innovative and dynamic approach to the V drums and percussion in general. My Road Diary of the tour has this comment after the Seattle show - "As a sweat drenched Mastelotto packs up his V drums, I hobble round and tell him my thoughts on the evening. I think Pat enjoyed himself. Not only has he the live drumming to worry about but there's the introduction of pre-programmed beats, their real time manipulation, monitoring their volume levels and the no mean task of listening to what the rest of band are doing. For him it seems the live performance is a constant process of exploration, articulation, and connection. It's clear that he's taking the V-drums and their crucial role in the development of music in the ProjeKcts into new areas. " I got to hear the album at John Kimber's house in leafy Highgate after Robert F's recent in-store appearance at Borders Books, London in early October. Intrigued at the way some of the tracks on the new Pbox were at odds with my memory of them, I asked Pat if he'd be willing to provide and insiders guide to where the component parts came from. His answers reveal much about the process of the sifting and searching which goes into the making of an album. He started by giving the way the tracks were recorded and apportioned over the desk "We used 2 Adats with tracks 1-8 being drums and audience mic's and 9-16 being Tony (on three tracks), Robert and trey in stereo plus my shaker mic." So now we know the dark secrets of John Sinks' gaffa tape on the desk. However, there was more to come once Mastelotto got back to Texas. "I added another adat (tracks 17-24) at home. I synched it up in the garage and then I would go through the whole lot, re-triggering sounds to fix mis-triggers and reinforce and add to what seemed limp. I mostly used an old analogue Simmons SDSV or the original V-drum sound with a better level and then I went through and processed rhythmic effects in stereo with a Fireworks or Vortex." I wonder what the neighbours made of all that ? It also seems like a lot of hard work on Pat's part. Why all that knob twiddling Mastoman ? "So when we go to mix, we spend less time on that stuff. We just set up the `verbs and go. So some noises never were on the show dats, like the metal 'chalice' that rattles on the thrush foot. It only got to tape once and some of the sounds were routed wrong and never made it to the desk. If I played as well as Bill or Ade it wouldn't have needed tweaking" So, after all that techfest, sit back for a track by track guide to P4's West Coast Live GHOST Part One - Track 1 - is from SF day one set one first thing. At about 9:09 it starts to cross fade into Portland set one. GHOST Part One - Track 2- Portland at about 18 min into that show. At about 1.20 the drums change. "This is because adat number one aborted and we had to patch the missing moments from the shaker mic. Lots of pad noise and monitor leakage on adat two" explains Pat. GHOST Part One - Track 3 This comes from Boulder, day two, set two about 2 minutes into that set with Pat playing the wonderfully named, kissing fish shaker. "I love these bass riffs with Tony scraping the upright and Trey soloing low" declares an understandably excited Mastelotto. GHOST Part One - Track 4 is a particularly interesting construction with guitars from Seattle set one, towards the end, over the drumming from SF day two's set one starter. Pat recalls that R Chris Murphy had loved these sustain drones and had mixed them without drums. However, once the piece had been Ton Probed, the drones could be heard with drumming from SF which Pat declares as being "A smart move as the original drumming was poop". Deception Of The Thrush In an uncharacteristic lapse of recall, Pat admits that the Thrush on this occasion has indeed deceived him. "I think it is Vancouver or Portland or SF, day two" offers a hapless Pat. My own notes from the tour tell me that the Thrush in Seattle was particularly impressive. Sadly this is of no help to Mastelotto's memory. "it may be two shows pasted together because I know Chris and I mixed several." he suggests Hindu Fizz From SF day two, set two at 18 min. ProjeKction - Also from SF day two where it originally appeared as the closing number of the first set. GHOST Part 2 - Track 8-from Seattle, set two. The Fenix in Seattle situated right next to the city fire department was all decked out in Halloween style, skulls and tombstones all around the place. "Remember the quiet bit ?" asks Pat referring to a point in the show where Robert and Tony traded bass licks "All the tension turned to laughter" said Pat "I wish the CD was longer and you could hear how we arrived there and how we stomped out" My own road diaries recall the very incident "There's a jokey exchange between TL and RF which makes the crowd laugh. Fripp has turned his guitar into a bass and is trading licks (or should that be scrapes) with Levin who is clearly amused. It's the first time they've had such overt humour on stage. It works really well and seems to refresh all the players onstage and perhaps the crowd as well." GHOST Part 2 - Track 9 - takes us back to SF on day two, set one and picks up where track 4 ended GHOST Part 2 - Track 10 - more SF, day two continued from set one at about 15 minutes. GHOST Part 2 - Track 11 again from SF, day two, set one from about 18 minutes. GHOST Part 2 - Track 12 - more of the same from about 21 minutes into that set. In my mind the San Francisco shows were very special indeed. Pat agreed commenting "you can see tracks 4 (drums only) 9,10, 11, 12 are almost in order with some nipping and tucking of P2 riffs " thus confirming that the San Francisco performances were indeed highly rated by the team. >From my position on the merch table, it seemed that all of the ideas generated throughout the tour were honed to perfection on those two nights. My only complaint about the Box set was that the earth shaking version Seizure (or Dubbadubba as it will be forever known to me) from the second night at Boulder didn't make it onto disc. Of this omission, Mastelotto comments "Well, we never came close to really nailing that one. Even after P3 it was elusive. Like a bar of Lush soap(TLev's favourite) in the shower got it - Oops, lost it ! We tried to mix almost all of them but they could not proudly pump their chest when they stand". Well, maybe that's one for the new album eh ? Speaking of which, I'd like to extend a big thanks to Pat for taking the time to answer a few pesky questions as he was packing for the 18 hour drive to Nashville and the recording of a new King Crimson album. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 12:23:28 -0700 (PDT) From: Edgar Kausel Subject: RE: 71' Crimso On last ET Keith Burns said: > The 72 > "post-split contractual obligation jam band" is well > enough represented on Earthbound > and recent releases, and it would > be fascinating to hear > what they sounded like when they > were all still "on-message". Well, there's another big difference between the '71 line-up and the '72 one: Peter Sinfield as a band member. Maybe he somehow had an influence in their live appearences. > This remains the only Crimson period not to be > represented by a live > release, It would be nice an official release from Crimso's first semester 73 tour, too, before they rehearsed "Fracture", "Night Watch" and "Lament" on August, 1973 (when i was born). > I'm sure that if enough of us ask for this then > something will appear. > Speak up! Keep it going! Edgar ===== __________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Bid and sell for free at http://auctions.yahoo.com ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 12:37:24 -0700 From: Jim Bricker Subject: BB with Genesis - on video One thing I haven't seen mentioned on this topic is the video that was once (and still is??) available which featured about and hours worth of material from the '76 tour. The set list featured.... I Know What I Like Broadway Melody of '74 Carpet Crawlers Entangled (no BB) Supper's Ready (last two sections) Los Endos ... and maybe a few others. Billy slams - his delicacy and finese was a perfect compliment to Phil at that time. It's fun stuff... but I unfortunately have no capacity to copy to video or audio. I'm sure Genesis lists out there would now how to still buy, or duplicate, a copy. regards.... Jim Bricker, San Jose CA. ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 19:37:51 -0400 From: "Dan B." Subject: correction on my earlier ramble about AB, etc. Stupid me, I repeated the wrong title that another poster wrote: the Talking Heads song is Life During Wartime, not Life In Wartime (shows how long it's been since I've played any T. Heads material). (Also can't recall whether Adrian is on the live version of this song that was on The Name Of This Band is... album.) Now back to the important stuff... -- "Nothing is more real than nothing." -- Democritus ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 20:46:36 CLST From: "Matias Vergara" Subject: recording of a new album I'd like to know if is true that "Crimso" are planning to record a new album at the end of this year? Thanks in advance. Matias Vergara (from Chile) ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 21 Oct 1999 20:25:36 -0500 From: Jordan Subject: Arcana (and BB's influences) I think this is a cd that most people here would really dig. The band is Arcana, the album is Arc of the Testimony. It's one of Bill Laswell's bands, with him on fretless bass, Nicky Skopelitis on guitar, and most importantly the legendary Tony Williams on drums. The main soloists are Buckethead and Pharaoh Sanders (interesting pair). The music is fantastic, ranging from atmospheric to very intense at times. It's pretty 'free', but never lacks pulse or direction. It's the most aggressive playing I've heard Tony do in years, which is cool since this was one of his last record performances. This relates to the post in ET #619 about Bruford's influences...to my knowledge, they were mainly the jazz legends like Elvin Jones and especially Tony Williams. In the issue of Modern Drummer that was a tribute to TW after he died, Bill speaks of him very highly and very touchingly. Jordan Cohen ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 13:35:05 +0100 From: Russell Whitworth Subject: Re: "Near Mint" T-Shirts In message , Ted White writes >"dave at studio seventeen" tells us, > >"I am reluctantly parting with my near mint condition extra >large RF soundscapes T-shirt on ebay." > >As it happens, I saw that offer on eBay, where it was >described this way: "this mint condition Fripp T-shirt has >only been worn once or twice." > >Note the change from "mint" to "near mint." Having at one >time worked for a high-end t-shirt manufacturer (Logotel), I >can tell you that t-shirts cease to be "mint" the very first >time they are washed [snip] He didn't say he'd washed it - only that he had worn it once or twice :-) ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 11:19:20 -0400 From: "Gordon Emory Anderson" Subject: 1. Belewguitar; 2. P-Box; 3. P2 Flashing Josh Chasin wrote.... I think if Belew were in any other band, he'd probably be described as "the greatest electric guitar player in the world". What Belew does on the guitar has already influenced a generation or two of musicians, and if you listen to, say, "Absent Lovers" you get an idea why (check out the solo on Lark's Tongue). As for Fripp being cold and cerebral, I can see why some might think that. Fripp only cuts loose in certain circumstances, but when he does its really amazing, and emotional kind of an ecstatic sense. Listen to Damage, and you'll hear what I mean. Oh yeah, my 2 cents on the projekcts box. Well, I'll probably change my mind, but this is the best King Crimson 'album' ever. First of all, I haven't seen anyone comment on the packaging: pretty much no holds barred. Pat Crook's cover (and side and top) art is somehow resonant: holding the box and looking at it, it seems to cut a tiny swathe through spacetime. And the recordings themselves....well this is almost a tribute to the divine part of bootlegging. What we have here is not so much a polished 'product', but an (almost real-time) window into an important process. Yes, there's a decent amount of noodling here, but you can clearly hear stoked musicians playing excellent music. Remember complaining that the double trio had not lived up to its capabilities? (I do) Well, I don't think anyone's going to have that complaint here. As for Bruford/Levin not being in the next KC, you can kind of hear why. In particular, Pat and Trey seem to cut loose only when Levin & Bruford are not around. And that should not be a suprise. Imagine being in a band with older, veteran, world-class musicians. Now imagine Pat: he's a drummer, in the same band as Bill Bruford! As for Trey, he is clearly not the kind of personality who is going to muscle his sound up to the front of the band ("Get outta my way, Levin. Time for the retirement home. Check THIS out..."). Given what we hear on P2, P3, and P4, I think there will be no dissapointments with the DD. Finally, the near-riot at the end of P2....I find this just a little disturbing. At the ripe ole' age of 36 I've seen a lot of concerts in my day. At the vast majority of them there was no photographer's flash. When there was, the artist might ignore it, or perhaps show some outward sign of dissapproval. But in the end, the flash did not become the central focus of the event. A devil's advocate argument: could it be that, with respect to the flash issue, Robert Fripp may be his own worst enemy? By raising the importance of it (even if negatively), this may actually make doing it much more desirable on some level for certain individuals, perhaps something of a thrill or challenge. Kind of a stalker mentality in miniature: the stalker on some level feels validated by being 'involved' with the stalkee, even if the publicity is 'bad'. But as long as the flasher is made a 'star', even for a moment, there's going to be a motivation to flash. -Emory ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 13:00:18 -0400 From: Chad Ossman Subject: "Court" remaster... copyright Robert Fripp? Regarding the In The Court of the Crimson King 30th Anniverary Edition: Others have already posted about the lovely packaging and superb sound, but I found another big surprise in this tiny credit: "P & c 1969 Robert Fripp, Exclusively liscenced to Virgin Records Ltd." I had no idea RF controlled the copyright to this recording! Does he have the same control over all the others (Poseidon, Lizard, etc)? I recall Fripp writing in his diaries that he could not offer King Crimson studio outtakes to the Collector's Club because Virgin owned all the studio recordings. I think he also said this new series of remasters was at the request of Virgin. So how and when did he recapture copyright control? Was it a result of the EG settlement? I'm just curious, because Fripp has been so open about his case with EG, and I don't recall ever reading that he assumed control of the KC albums. That's excellent for him and the other Crimson members (read: royalty recipients) - it must make all those years battling EG feel worthwhile. best, Chad ____________________________ Chad Ossman | Fringe Digital v | 212.865.9001 f | 425.984.9950 e | clo at fringedigital dot com w | http://fringedigital.com ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 21:50:10 +0200 From: "Daniel" Subject: equipment again... I'm pretty new to this list, but while I've been on it I haven't seen any posts on it, so here goes: Fripps guitar rigg in the early n' mid 70's? Looks like he's using a Gibson custom git, and I've seen pics of a hiwatt top and speaker. Anyone knows of any pedals he was using? Just curious. Daniel ------------------------------ Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 20:53:51 EDT From: Clhume at aol dot com Subject: Spun by a Parrot's Tail (P1) Spun by a Parrot's Tail or How Fowl the ProjeKct One If you attempt a survey of symbols in the fine arts, you will notice that "the parrot" is used repeatedly as an icon representing the repetition of others and of its own utterances. In fact, you need not venture to your art history and art theory books to confirm this--it is no doubt an obvious symbol, present throughout modern subculture. In fact, since this is what, parrots do; it even stretches the concept of "parrot as symbol" to the very brink of symbolism into the territory of literal meaning. When you see a parrot in a painting, your first thought is of the "parroting" for which these creatures are known. If you take this musing further, you no doubt also experience queries such as, "Is this parrot a self-criticism of my painting/piece?" "Is it saying something about the context in which it sits?" "Are the other subjects of the painting/piece behaving as imitators or as repetitious bores?" With this frame of concept in mind, I have a difficult time looking at the inside art piece to the Project One: Live At The Jazz Cafe jewel case without considering the parrot in the piece and what the parrot means in relation to the music. Consider these aspects of the art piece: 1) There are five subjects in the piece; however, it is the one in the center who carries the burden of the parrot. 2) The parrots tail clearly touches the red-dot-one that is placed at the center point of where the CD rests. 3) The parrot, indigenous to tropical climes, is sitting with five people who are dressed formally--possibly indicating that they are not, themselves, presently in a tropical region. 4) The parrot is hunched over toward the ear of its carrier, positioned in a way to whisper secrets into its bearer's right ear. 5) The man with the parrot is looking eagerly toward his companion on the left; however, the object of his attention is preoccupied with the woman in front of him. To the right of the parrot man is another couple who are ignoring him. In fact, parrot man appears to be the third (or fifth) wheel in the group. He appears to be ready to share something with the man to his left, and he seems amused by what he has to say. But a bit of weariness and impatience is also evident in his expression, indicating that he perhaps feels frustration with being left out of the conversation. The five people in the art piece could be argued to represent Crimson--either as a "fractal" or as an entity in full. However, because the piece has five subjects and ProjeKct One has four, the numbers don't quite add up. If you include the parrot as a member, then the six-piece could be said to represent the double-trio formation of Crimson (which still existed as a working concept during ProjeKct One's existence). If the figures in the art piece are representative of the 6-piece King Crimson (and for the sake of argument, let's say that it is), then who is the parrot? Robert Fripp is the most obvious answer; and it may well be the "correct" one. Mr. Fripp often plays the role of the "watcher," of the group. So, too, are parrots known as watchers (for they must watch before they parrot). But he is also the speaker. He whispers ideas to his bearers, manipulating them in subtle ways. He schemes; he guides. He listens; he repeats. Since Mr. Fripp "stepped forward" to coordinate the workings of Crimson, his connection with the parrot makes sense. And in the sense that he is a parrot, he is the direct link to the past incarnations of the group. As Mr. Fripp has expressed on occasion, the earlier incarnations were, indeed, "King Crimson." And so are the most recent and present versions. There is something intrinsic to all variations of King Crimson--a common essence. So, even though Crimson changes and adapts, exploring new musical realms, each version is also a repetition of the original version. And Fripp (the parrot) is the original member who most directly channels that repetition. Also, the parrot's tail is what touches the red dot--or the center of the music disc. This is also consistent with Mr. Fripp's role (esp. that of record executive and official group "spin doctor"). Who is carrying the parrot on his shoulder? I think the question is somewhat incidental, because we can easily imagine the parrot on the other shoulders in the piece. It can be assumed that the parrot will behave (at least superficially) the same way on each shoulder: hunching forward, whispering in an unthought but familiar language, manipulating its bearer with a silver tongue. (And leaving little white droppings in approximate 10-minute intervals.) But for the sake of this train of thought, I would say that the bearer could represent the good Mr. Bruford--the sole element of this ProjeKct that makes it different than the others. What does the parrot tell Mr. Bruford? (I'll entertain a bit of conjecture here) Perhaps he is telling Mr. Bruford that the drummer no longer fits in with the ensemble? That he is the rogue member, unwanted by the others. Invited to stay--of course--but at odds with the others. And the parrot man tries to speak to the others, but they ignore him. Electronica is where they are headed, while he is stuck behind the antiquity of acoustic drums. (Bruford left the fold before Levin, so I'll assume that any commentary evident in this piece is addressing a pre-Levin-departure scenario.) And who are the two women in the painting? What does it mean to be a "woman" in King Crimson? If you are a female member of King Crimson, does that mean that the female audients connect with you more closely than others in the group? Or does being female mean something specific about their (musical/artistic) relations with the other (male) members of the group? I will leave these questions for those who would like to explore them. -C.L.Hume ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 21:13:42 -0400 From: Gary Davis Subject: IRC Chat with Ian McDonald Hi, folks: The latest Artist Shop newsletter is out and you'll find it in its entirety at . But here are some excerpts Crimson fans will appreciate. We have a new IRC Chat planned! Composer and multi-instrumentalist Ian McDonald, a founding member of both King Crimson and Foreigner, will join us for a chat on Wednesday, October 27 at 9pm eastern/6pm pacific. Ian will be taking your questions and discussing such topics as his debut solo album, Drivers Eyes, and its impending US release, his recent work with Steve Hackett, and the 30th anniversary edition of the album, In the Court of the Crimson King, for which he was the main composer. Details on joining the chat can be found at . Forthcoming on our Discipline page is King Crimson/The ProjeKcts - A 4-CD Box Set of entirely new King Crimson material. In November 1997 King Crimson began touring in a series of sub-groups or ProjeKcts of its 6 members: Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, Tony Levin and Pat Mastelotto. These 4 CD's, one for each of the 4 different ProjeKcts, document the radically new material developed in this period - a must for all KC fans. CD1 ProjeKct One - Live at the Jazz Cafe CD2 ProjeKct Two - Live Groove CD3 ProjeKct Three - Masque CD4 ProjeKct Four - West Coast Live King Crimson/The ProjeKcts-The Deception Of The Thrush - The first new King Crimson album since 1996. This CD is a single volume compilation documenting the best of the radically new material developed by the 4 King Crimson ProjeKcts or sub-groups. These ProjeKcts featuring Adrian Belew, Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp, Trey Gunn, Tony Levin and Pat Mastellotto have toured extensively in the US and Europe. Tracks include: Sus-tayn-Z, Masque, Ghost, The Deception Of The Thrush, ProjeKction, Heavy ConstruKction, Live Groove, 4 i 1, 21st Century Schizoid Man Steve Hancoff/Duke Ellington for Solo Guitar - Stunning solo guitar renditions of 16 Duke Ellington classics. "Steve Hancoff proves there is no limit to what can be done with an acoustic guitar in the hands of a master" Jersey Jazz. Released as part of the Duke Ellington centenary, this beautifully recorded CD comes complete with an information packed 24 page booklet, with detailed history of all the pieces. "Exceptional technique and arrangements" Washington Post Available Now!!! King Crimson/In the Court of the Crimson King - Special limited 30th anniversary edition of the legendary English prog rock group's phenomenal 1969 debut album in deluxe packaging. Digitally remastered using 24 bit technology, it comes in a unique, limited edition, cardboard stock gatefold sleeve just as the original vinyl LP was release in 1969 with the original artwork & sleeve notes intact, plus some previously unpublished archive photos. Five tracks, including '21st Century Schizoid Man' and 'In The Court Of The Crimson King'. (This newly remastered version will revert to a standard jewel case packaging in February 2000.) Now out from David Sylvian is David Sylvian/Approaching Silence - Music the former Japan leader recorded with King Crimson's Robert Fripp in 1994 in Tokyo. Contains 'Redemption - Approaching Silence', plus two cuts previously released as a limited edition in 1991 as part of the 'Ember Glance' special box package. Peter Hammill is coming to North America for a brief tour. You'll find the following dates on our Fie! page at . October 26 Salle Octave-Cremazie Grand Theatre de Quebec 269 boul Rene-Levesque est. Quebec, QUE G1R 2B3 Canada $24.00 October 27 Cafe du Palais 182 Wellington North Sherbrooke, QUE J1H 5C5 Canada 819-566-8977 $15.00 October 28 Cafe Campus 57 Prince-Arthur East Montreal, QUE H2X 1B4 Canada 514-844-3442 $20.13 October 29 Zaphod Beeblebrox 2 363 Bank Street Ottawa, ONT K2P 1Y2 Canada 613-594-3355 $16.50 October 30 Le Maquisart 323 rue des Forges Trois-Rivieres, QUE G9A 2G9 Canada 819-374-9789 November 1st The House of Blues Cambridge, MA 617-491-2100 tix will be $12 November 2 Theatre of Living Arts 334 South Street Philadelphia, PA 19147 215-922-0666 $16.50 advance / $17.50 day of show November 4 The Bottom Line 15 West 4th Sreet New York, NY 10012 212-228-6300 $20.00 November 6 Phantasmagoria 11319 Elkin Street Wheaton, MD 20902 301-949-8886 $17.00 November 7 Recher Theatre 512 York Road Towson, MD 21204 410-547-7598 $17.00 Now let's talk about imports, starting with forthcoming releases to be found at : KING CRIMSON-BACK ON CATALOG: BEAT DISCIPLINE IN THE COURT OF THE CRIMSON KING IN THE WAKE OF POSEIDON ISLANDS LARKS' TONGUE IN ASPIC LIZARD RED STARLESS AND BIBLE BLACK THREE OF A PERFECT PAIR Back on schedule as gold discs, these are 24 bit digitally remastered Japanese reissues of the legendary British prog group's original albums. Each comes in a miniaturized LP sleeve limited to the initial pressing only. But then Robert Fripp is also remastering the entire catalog above. Will the rest of his remasterings also be packaged in miniaturized LP sleeves as was his remastering of 'Court?' I certainly hope so, but it would be nice to get confirmation on this from Fripp/DGM before these Japanese remasters come out so KC consumers can make an informed decision. 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: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 20:12:10 EDT From: UGotVision at aol dot com Subject: Unbelievable I just read a RF reply to a letter penned by a dusgruntled fan who was justifiably dissappointed at not being able to see Robert on stage because of his unwillingness to allow stage lights to pass over him. In regard to the reply from Fripp which is also posted I have but one thing to say: My suspicions are correct. Robert Fripp is hopelessly infected by an immense and unjust illusion of self worth. An ego like his is rare. http://stok.jth ome.com/-chive/digests/Digest.128 ------------------------------ Date: Sat, 23 Oct 1999 20:03:41 -0500 From: Barry Ely Subject: I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Fripp in 1984 I had the pleasure of meeting Mr. Fripp in 1984 after a concert at the Blossom Music Centre in Akron, Ohio, USA. The band was on tour for Three of a Perfect Pair. Ever the gentleman Robert put up with my inquiry and signed my shirt! 15 years later the shirt continues to give me the great pleasure of a special moment in my youth. The band rocked, however Robert was quite consumed with a young lady in the audience that evening. His playing was exceptional as was Levin's. Years later I have yet to see a more interesting performance. Ciao! Sincerely, Barry Ely ------------------------------ End of Elephant-Talk Digest #620 ********************************