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Atavachron Digest 8/92
Date: Tue, 04 Aug 92 02:00:07 EDT
From: atavachron@morekypr
Subject: Atavachron Digest #15
To: Jeff Preston
Atavachron Digest - The Allan Holdsworth Discussion List
Volume 2, Number 15
Tuesday, August 4th, 1992
TODAY'S TOPICS:
==============
Atavachron posts
Re: Atavachron Digest #14
Re: Atavachron Digest #14
The birthday gift is on its way, however...
Influenced by Holdsworth
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 27 Jul 92 10:35:06 PDT
From: edju%phakt.usc.edu@usc.edu (Dr. Hannibal Lecter)
Subject: Atavachron posts
Hi Jeff, where did you find the blindfold test with John Scotfield?
Was it Guitar for the Practicing Musician? Can you tell me which issue it was?
Regarding players who were influenced by Holdsworth, the most famous
had to be Eddie Van Halen. They play totally different music, but Eddie did
steal a trick or two from Allan. Case in point: remember Allan's whammy trick
from "In the Mystery" (Metal Fatigue)? The same elephant-like sound can be
heard on 5150. I think it was the guitar solo of "Dreams." Basically they
dipped the bar while playing, could have used Steinbergers for the trick, too.
I haven't heard any commercial artists who sounded blatantly like
Allan Holdsworth, but if you look at the "hometown heroes" columns in almost
any guitar magazine, at least one out of five will cite Allan Holdswroth as a
primary influence. Since Allan's music isn't terribly popular, it does seem
logical to me that we are not exposed to imitators, although they ARE out
there.
If you guys thought John Scotfield's remarks were offensive, check out
the Megadeth interview in the August 1992 issue of Guitar World:
- - - - - - - - - --
"... But there's so much more to playing the guitar than just soloing. I saw
Allan Holdsworth play once, and when he wasn't soloing his hands were quivering
- he didn't know what to do. I think he grabbed the same empty beer bottle 15
times. I thought, "Dude, you're not Christ - nothing's going to come out of
that bottle but air." It just shows that people are brain dead when it comes
down to doing something other than soloing."
- - - - - - - - - -
I can see Mustaine's really full of it after listening to the new
Megadeth CD "Countdown to Extinction." But personal comments of mine aside,
I'd like to hear what Atavachron readers think. Do any of you think he's at
least partially right?
Eddie
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 04:54:37 CDT
From: tmadson%pnet51.orb.mn.org@harvunxw.BITNET (Todd Madson)
Subject: Re: Atavachron Digest #14
Hi there. Can someone fill me more specifically on when Holdsworth will be
touring Minneapolis, what venue and the specifics? Thanks in advance.
As far as "Gazeuse" goes, yes, "Shadows of Where" is "Velvet Darkness"
expanded. "..Darkness" was a 1976 recording also, as I recall. Melodies
from "Wish" on "..Darkness" and "Shadows of Where" were resurrected for
"..Darkness". Interestingly enough, even though "..Darkness" is somewhat
of a spotty recording, it is redeemed by Holdsworth's energetic guitar
and the ridiculously energetic drumming by Narada Michael Walden. I also
believe the CD includes the wrong take of "Floppy Hat", as I have a
recording from a friend off of an old LP and it is a different take. I
also like the tune "Gattox" as it really flies.
You may want to check out the first Holdsworth/Gordon Beck recording,
"The Things You See/Sunbird", as it contains several tunes that later
appeared on I.O.U. in their now current form. Holdsworth stated in an
interview that he re-cycled melodies from "..Darkness" because he didn't
count "..Darkness", e.g. he disowns it. I think it has several redeeming
qualities about it, plus "Good Clean Filth" has a really bombastic intro
section I quite like.
"Gazeuse" is also noteworthy for "Night Illusion", where he employs many
of his groundbreaking techniques all in one song (e.g. smoothly stacked
chords, harmony guitars to the maximum, legato technique). I still find
that song really exciting, even after what came later.
There was one comment I wanted to make about Level 42's "Guaranteed" that
might have escaped some individuals: on one track, towards the end he goes
and starts playing in a semi-authentic blues style - complete with what
sounds like whole step bends and a jaunty sort of raunch style I seldom
hear from him. He usually has this linear, legato thing down cold with
a really amazo prog-style harmony. And then he surprises me by doing the
"Clapton thing".
Perhaps Scofield's comments were biased in that he has been a jazz-style
guitar player that has dabbled in fusion, yet is more oriented to the
semi-hollow Ibanez guitars with very little distortion or effects processing.
He's not in Holdsworth's league, but then again, could Holdsworth do some
of the older, more standard Jazz stuff? I think Holdsworth could, but he
really wouldn't want to do it all the time (e.g. see the beginning of
"Mental Medication" and "Soho" from the first UK album - you hear plenty
of acoustic guitar-based jazz stuff, done very authentically with chops
ablaze - these tunes show his technique isn't dependent on "electric
guitars with light gauge strings set up in a certain way with certain
effects"). Still, could Holdsworth have done the marvelously robotic
"Techno"?
More comments as they develop!
-Todd.
UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, crash}!orbit!pnet51!tmadson
ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!tmadson@nosc.mil
INET: tmadson@pnet51.orb.mn.org
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Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 05:01:45 CDT
From: tmadson%pnet51.orb.mn.org@harvunxw.BITNET (Todd Madson)
Subject: Re: Atavachron Digest #14
One quick comment: If you like Holdsworth style stuff, perhaps one of the
individuals Scofield was talking about could be the Wayne Johnson Trio. See
his "Spirit of the Dancer" CD (if you can find it). The head to the tune "30
Minutes from Masada" sounds very Holdsworth-ish. The band is the Flim and the
BB's rhythm section (of course, having Jimmy Johnson as your bassist helps)
and Johnson holds down electric guitars and guitar-synth. I think that
Johnson's guitar solos are more Pat Metheny styled than Holdsworth, but the CD
is really worth checking out for that song alone. Oddly enough, the
musicianship displayed from the drummer is light years ahead of any of his
work on the "Flim" disques (Bill Berg, natch).
Scott Henderson definetely has a Holdsworth influence (his Tribal Tech "Dr.
Hee" CD thanks Holdsworth) although he has a rawer, bluesier edge to it. And
Gambale - he's quick, no doubt about it - but his sweep picking is completely
different than Holdsworth's legato-style even though it may sound similar.
Gambale's tune composition has some interesting bits, but lacks the open
ambiguous harmonies of Holdsworth's and maybe is a bit more mainstream (check
the authentic rhythm guitar on the live version of "The Natives are Restless"
from the Frank Gambale live CD - he could jam with any R & B band I can think
of).
Enough of my waffling. I'm sure that some of you will find Shawn Lane's
"Powers of Ten" and will comment on it, so please feel free to do so.
UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, crash}!orbit!pnet51!tmadson
ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!tmadson@nosc.mil
INET: tmadson@pnet51.orb.mn.org
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Date: Mon, 03 Aug 92 09:58:16 EDT
From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
Subject: The birthday gift is on its way, however...
A few weeks ago, I started hearing from a few people who had
good reason to believe that perhaps a case of beer would not be
the ideal present for Allan's birthday. Well, to make a long story
short, I decided against sending the beer, and instead bought a
couple of books as a gift. The determining information came to me
too late to ask you folks how you felt about the whole thing, so I
just want to say that anyone who feels any disappointment in the
gift I chose in lieu of the beer, please e-mail me at the 'preston'
account, and I will cheerfully and confidentially refund your part
of the contribution, no questions asked. I wish I would have had
more time to decide on this, but I feel that most of you would have
made the same decision on this one. I'll apologize in advance for
any disappointment this may have caused.
So... what did your $38.00 buy? Well, two books: The first is
a book by Barry Greene (with Timothy Gallwey) titled _The Inner
Game Of Music_ , which was recommended by several musician friends
and fellow networkers as being a wonderful book for gaining fresh
insight into the processes musicians grapple with internally, and
techniques for silencing the harshest critic -- our own inner voice.
Somehow, it seemed appropriate. Also, since I knew Allan to be a
Star Trek fan, I sent along a copy of the _Star Trek: The Next
Generation Technical Manual_ , which has lots of diagrams and
explanations for the functioning of the U.S.S. Enterprise and the
fictional technologies as portrayed on the show. This was written
and illustrated by David Sternback and Michael Okuda, who work as
technical consultants on the program.
The card: I received 18 signatures via either e-mail or surface
mail, and I somehow managed to squeeze all of them into a 8" x 5.5"
area on the inside of the card. I believe I sent confirmation to
everyone when I received the signatures, but if I missed anyone,
please e-mail me to check (it's been a wild week). I also did a
little WordPerfect tinkering, and listed everyone's name and
city/state (or country, in several instances) underneath its
respective signature. The text of the card read:
Here's to the next generation of appreciative
listeners, and to the man whose music truly
goes where no one has gone before --
Best wishes for your birthday, Allan!
-- the Atavachron crew
I thought this seemed appropriate, given the origin of the name
"Atavachron" and with Allan being a big Star Trek fan. The same
logic led me to do the card in a Star Trek motif, with the front of
the card sporting a scanned-in image of a Star Fleet insignia, with
a border.
The two books came to $32.95 + $1.98 Kentucky sales tax, making
the subtotal $34.93. I sent the package via USPS Express Mail, to
insure timely delivery, and that came to $15.95, making the grand
total $50.88.
To everyone who participated, thanks again for coming together to
make it all work... anyone want to start planning for next year? ;)
Jeff Preston
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 3 Aug 92 10:16:56 PDT
From: pvallado@sdcc13.UCSD.EDU (Paolo Valladolid )
Subject: Influenced by Holdsworth
Guitarist David Torn is one player I have heard who was influenced by
Allan Holdsworth. He was standing in line behind Allan at the trade show where
Allan tried the SynthAxe for the first time ( this is a guess ). In a 1987
interview with Electronic Musician, David began developing his unique approach
to the guitar because
1) "I saw other players with these huge racks who didn't seem to really use
them that much so I decided to try to squeeze as many kinds of sounds out of
the guitar with minimal equipment."
2) "I was tired of people telling me `YOU SOUND JUST LIKE ALLAN HOLDSWORTH' so
I had to find things to do with my hands other than to play really fast.
I have Torn's album "Cloud About Mercury" which also includes Mark Isham on
trumpet and former King Crimson rhymthm section Bill Bruford and Tony Levin.
My impression here is that he does have a Holdsworthian legato style at times.
However, other influences I hear are Frippertronics style delay loops and
Adrian Belew-influence guitar mangling. He also strums ( a Holdsworth no-no ).
In short, David Torn sort of sounds like Holdsworth but his composition style
is totally different and you won't hear the same wonderful chordal style.
"Cloud About Mercury" strikes me as a great fusion jam session. "Door X", his
latest album, approaches pop with strong vocals courtesy of Torn himself ( check
out his cover of Hendrix's "Voodoo Chile" ). Check him out...
Paolo Valladolid
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** End of Atavachron Digest ***
To have your posting distributed in the next issue of Atavachron,
send your posting to:
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Administrative requests should be addressed to:
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All comments made here are the views of the individual
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Received: by UKCC (Mailer R2.08) id 2655; Thu, 06 Aug 92 04:07:04 EDT
Date: Thu, 06 Aug 92 04:00:04 EDT
From: atavachron@morekypr
Subject: Atavachron Digest #16
To: Jeff Preston
Atavachron Digest - The Allan Holdsworth Discussion List
Volume 2, Number 16
Thursday, August 6th, 1992
TODAY'S TOPICS:
==============
Re: David Torn
Re: Atavachron posts
Ramblings on Issue#15
Mustaine is full of it
Opportunities present themselves strangely sometimes...
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 92 09:05:29 PDT
From: malcolm@wrs.com (Malcolm Humes)
Subject: Re: David Torn
pvallado@sdcc13.UCSD.EDU (Paolo Valladolid), quotes David Torn:
>2) "I was tired of people telling me `YOU SOUND JUST LIKE ALLAN HOLDSWORTH' so
>I had to find things to do with my hands other than to play really fast.
>I have Torn's album "Cloud About Mercury" which also includes Mark Isham on
>trumpet and former King Crimson rhymthm section Bill Bruford and Tony Levin.
>My impression here is that he does have a Holdsworthian legato style at times.
>However, other influences I hear are Frippertronics style delay loops and
>Adrian Belew-influence guitar mangling. He also strums ( a Holdsworth no-no ).
I've just spent much of the last week working on a discography of David Torn,
and tracking down some of his earlier releases. I too was introduced through
Bruford and Levin's guesting on Cloud About Mercury, and I saw Torn live on
the support tour for that and also with Mark Isham's Castalia tour a year
later.
Torn is currently recovering from an operation to remove a brain tumor and,
according to Bill Bruford, David is still pretty seriously ill.
I think I can say I hear shades of Holdsworth in Torn's playing but not much.
On the earliest recordings of Torn I've heard, with Jan Garabarek in 1983 and
with the Everyman Band, I don't really hear Holdsworth much at all. The
Garbarek lp "It's Ok to listen to the grey voice" has a typical ECM sort of
sound, and Torn comes off sounding a lot like Terje Rydpal to me in the style
and context of the music. The Everyamn Band lp I have is from '82 or '85 and
is closer to Ornette Coleman than anything else I can compare it to. On this
Torn comes off much more dissonant and snarling. Torn's first solo lp from
1985, "Best Laid Plans" comes off sounding a lot like Steve Tibbets to me,
partly because of the duo sound of percussion and guitar. BTW, Steve Tibbets
did a benefit concert for Torn a few months ago in Los Angeles. Anyway, Torn's
influences are pretty broad and to me he plays in a lot of styles but has a
pretty unique voice that never sounds like he's trying to copy anyone else
even if he starts sounding a little close at times.
If anyone would like a copy of the Torn discography please email me. I've
tracked down titles of at least 23 recordings he appears on, from late 70's
to Bruford's latest Earthworks release. I owe some thanks to Anil Prasad for
telling me about many of these releases.
- malcolm@wrs.com
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Date: Tue, 4 Aug 92 14:33:18 MDT
From: stortek!Steve_Monroe@csn.org (Steve Monroe)
Subject: Re: Atavachron posts
Recently, edju%phakt.usc.edu@usc.edu (Dr. Hannibal Lecter) wrote in:
>
> If you guys thought John Scotfield's remarks were offensive, check out
>the Megadeth interview in the August 1992 issue of Guitar World:
>
>- - - - - - - - - --
>
>"... But there's so much more to playing the guitar than just soloing. I saw
>Allan Holdsworth play once, and when he wasn't soloing his hands were quivering
>- he didn't know what to do. I think he grabbed the same empty beer bottle 15
>times. I thought, "Dude, you're not Christ - nothing's going to come out of
>that bottle but air." It just shows that people are brain dead when it comes
>down to doing something other than soloing."
>
>- - - - - - - - - -
>
> I can see Mustaine's really full of it after listening to the new
>Megadeth CD "Countdown to Extinction." But personal comments of mine aside,
>I'd like to hear what Atavachron readers think. Do any of you think he's at
>least partially right?
>
>
I initially hesitated when I considered responding to this. Hopefully,
this won't turn into a flame war.
First, I sincerely doubt that this happened. Allan Holdsworth has one of
the most advanced chordal vocabularies ( possibly THE most advanced ) of
any guitarist alive. It is very uncharacteristic of Allan to "quiver" in
any event, since his tunes usually keep him otherwise occupied. The only
scenario that I can come up with is that this incident may have occurred
during a drum or bass solo. Last time I saw Allan, he spent the entire
drum AND bass solo tuning his guitar, tweezing the settings on his amp,
and running scales.
Second, I think that Mustaine has said this for pure shock value. He knows
it isn't accurate, but said it anyway. He is also VERY aware of the audience
he is speaking to when interviewed by "Guitar World."
Finally, regarding the quote, "people are brain dead when it comes down to
doing something other than soloing" I would submit that Mustaine and players
of his ilk are more guilty of this than most. Speed metal doesn't distinguish
itself as a genre that is usually concerned with harmonic sophistication,
dynamics, intonation, phrasing, etc. Where does this "so much more to playing
the guitar" bit apply then? I really wonder what he is talking about here...
In the event that you take issue with my opinions, by all means, send me
some email.
sjm(v035550@stortek.com)
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Date: Tue, 4 Aug 92 14:20:04 PDT
From: pvallado@sdcc13.UCSD.EDU (Paolo Valladolid )
Subject: Ramblings on Issue#15
About grabbing the beer bottle...It struck me as very humorous when Allan
would take his right hand off his guitar and grab a beer while Steve Hunt begins
a keyboard solo. Quite a few jazz pianist/keyboardists would like the guitarist
to "shut up" while they solo so that they can use their two hands to explore
harmonic possibilities without another chording instrument getting in the way.
So Allan was merely being polite, giving Steve his space, and probably just
felt a little uncomfortable having nothing to do with his hands.
About John Scofield...John's playing style and choice of musical genre is
COMPLETELY different from Allan's. Comparing the two is like comparing apples
and oranges. Ok, so John doesn't play those beautiful cluster chords. He
doesn't use a whammy bar. He doesn't use the same saturated distortion ( but he
does
use a Boss chorus pedal ). This doesn't make him any less "great" than Allan.
In his chosen style of music, IMHO, John is every bit as brilliant an
improviser and no less soulful, and so ( I think others may agree ) he does
belong in the same league as Allan.
Cheers,
Paolo
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Date: Tue, 4 Aug 92 23:25:14 EDT
From: ouij%triples@Triples.Math.McGill.CA (Luigi Perrotta)
Subject: Mustaine is full of it
>
> If you guys thought John Scotfield's remarks were offensive, check out
> the Megadeth interview in the August 1992 issue of Guitar World:
>
> - - - - - - - - - --
>
> "... But there's so much more to playing the guitar than just soloing. I saw
> Allan Holdsworth play once, and when he wasn't soloing his hands were
quivering
> - he didn't know what to do. I think he grabbed the same empty beer bottle 15
> times. I thought, "Dude, you're not Christ - nothing's going to come out of
> that bottle but air." It just shows that people are brain dead when it comes
> down to doing something other than soloing."
>
> - - - - - - - - - -
>
> I can see Mustaine's really full of it after listening to the new
> Megadeth CD "Countdown to Extinction." But personal comments of mine aside,
> I'd like to hear what Atavachron readers think. Do any of you think he's at
> least partially right?
>
Dave Mustaine is more than full of it. Over the last 9 years of giving
interviews, humility , tempo changes not divisible by 4
and artistic craft are concepts he has yet
to grasp.
Holdsworth would be one of the last people on the planet, one would
of accuse of over soloing. 'Pop' music spewers such as Dave Mustaine
do not understand the concept of stretching one's music talent to
try different things (after all they need popularity to sustain
a living). In order to have a good solo, one needs the proper
groove and chordal structure. Holdsworth tries many different
things. if he lacked song writing talent, all of his albums
would sound the same since he would only know a few patterns.
Also if a talentless hack with a mustaine sized ego could
only solo, then the guitar would be shoved way to the forefront
and featured promenently and take as much of the musical
spot lite as possible. all of Allan's music are ensemble pieces
with all instruments used.
Mustaine should just said that he does not want or can grasp the
nature of avante garde music.
The people responsible for pop sounds are not exactly those
most likely to encourage 'good music'.
For example, During the prime of Def Leppard with their
Pyromania album, db asked their prime guitarist to do their
blind fold test. One of the songs was 'Cruise Control' by
the dregs. After 30 seconds, the guitarist asked them to
stop playing it because he noticed that nobody was singing
and therefore it could not be a song.
2000 years from now, who's name will be remembered, taught and revered
for pushing music to new extremes. Those who took chances or
those who followed the crowd.
QED.
Ouij
--
ouij@math.mcgill.ca
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Date: Wed, 05 Aug 92 07:26:52 EDT
From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
Subject: Opportunities present themselves strangely sometimes...
After reading Eddie's post concerning this Dave Mustaine thing,
I of course went out and found a copy of this magazine. I think I've
been away from guitar magazines too long. ;) This mag seemed to
me to be barely above the level of those teen idol magazine --
the kind which, when I was young, had pictures of Donnie Osmond
and Shawn Cassidy on them. Of course, this one is aimed at teenaged
males, so instead of adverts for cosmetics and fashion articles,
this one has glossy full-pagers full of amps and guitars, and
the obligatory tablature items. My apologies to anyone having a
lifetime subscription... I don't mean to insult you if that's the
case, but let's just say I found the editorial style of Guitar World
to be a bit manic, and somewhat one-dimensional.
Reading the quote, I was fairly amused... amused enough that I
considered writing a letter (there he goes writing letters again!)
to the editor of the magazine which started out like this:
The world has undoubtedly been waiting for the unparalleled
perceptiveness of Dave Mustaine to uncover what most of us have
managed to overlook for nearly 20 years: Allan Holdsworth has
a nervous habit of fidgeting with a beer bottle whenever he lays
out. Well Dave, in some circles, slinging your hair around while
you bash out 32 bars of Emin might be considered a nervous habit...
... you get the idea.
But then it struck me that I should use the opportunity to make a
constructive effort to refute Mustaine's ignorance, without sounding
like a conscending jerk. ;) So, below is the letter I sent to the
editors of Guitar World magazine. I hope someone else here will write
a similar letter expressing their feelings on the matter, since I
notice now that GW seems to have around a 100-word attention span in
their Letters to the Editor section (who can blame them??), and if
this appears, it'll probably be heavily edited. For those interested
in sending in their thoughts, the address is:
Brad Tolinski
c/o The Sounding Board
Guitar World
1115 Broadway
New York, NY 10010
Also, to answer Eddie's previous post -- the Scofield comments were
made in the May 1988 issue of Down Beat magazine, in the "Blindfold Test"
column. I didn't find them offensive, but it seemed he was trying to
be a little overly-clever in his assessment of Holdsworth's playing.
It was a case of giving a compliment, then trying to immediately take
half of it back. A very odd way to operate, but jazz egos are often as
bad as any prima donna-rocker egos have ever been... ;)
Jeff Preston
-=O=-
July 31, 1992
To the editor:
While it would be all too easy to ridicule Dave Mustaine's comments
concerning Allan Holdsworth's playing (August 1992 issue), I felt it
would be more constructive to invite his fans (and any other metal
listeners and practitioners out there who have heard endless mention of
Holdsworth's name) to buy one of Allan's releases, and make up their own
minds. I'm sure without the visual distraction of bottle-fidgeting, most
people will have no trouble *hearing* what Allan does when he's not
soloing: serving up thick, lush chordal webs which will ensnare and
entrance anyone who will listen without preconceptions of what music
"should" be. Any speed-guitar enthusiast will be more than merely
gratified at the flowing cascades of notes at Allan's fingertips; many
will be left speechless after a solo such as the one in "In The Mystery"
(from _Metal Fatigue_) or the solo in the title cut from Atavachron.
To Mustaine's credit, he was assumedly making an effort to understand
Holdsworth's music that night (however superficially) by being in the
audience. It is my sincere hope that your readers would make a similar,
personal effort by listening for themselves. Having been inspired and
moved by the products of Allan Holdsworth's gift, I can attest to the
fact that it is a unique and enduring reward to many listeners, and one
that is unmatched by any other.
Sincerely,
(signed)
Jeff Preston
Moderator of the Allan Holdsworth discussion forum -- a no-cost
service provided to users of the Internet, Bitnet and other non-
commercial and commercial computer networks since October, 1991
atavachron@morekypr.morehead-st.edu
-=O=-
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** End of Atavachron Digest ***
To have your posting distributed in the next issue of Atavachron,
send your posting to:
atavachron@morekypr.morehead-st.edu
Administrative requests should be addressed to:
preston@morekypr.morehead-st.edu
All comments made here are the views of the individual
contributors.
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Received: by UKCC (Mailer R2.08) id 4569; Mon, 10 Aug 92 23:42:42 EDT
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 92 23:30:03 EDT
From: atavachron@morekypr
Subject: Atavachron Digest #17
To: Jeff Preston
Atavachron Digest - The Allan Holdsworth Discussion List
Volume 2, Number 17
Monday, August 10th, 1992
TODAY'S TOPICS:
==============
Dave Mustaine - ethics of journalism
1976 / Holdsworthesque?
The "beer bottle" controversy
Down Beat Blindfold Test with Bireli Lagrene
Re: Atavachron Digest #15
Re: Atavachron Digest #16
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 6 Aug 1992 10:35 GMT
From: "OUT, OUT - YOU'LL NOT FEEL THE FALL-OUT..."
Subject: Dave Mustaine - ethics of journalism
Hi all,
it's Marco here and this is my very first message to atavachron.
Even without considering that the offense moved by Dave Mustaine touches
Holdsworth, I consider that such a statement reflects an extremely nasty
attitude of the music press - not only in the States but worldwide.
I mean, music journalists should write about music, not surely
insert very personal remarks aimed to let the doubt that a player is an
alcoholist creep in the mind of the reader.
There are (at least) two categories of musicians: those who *play*
and those who want their pictures on newspapers. Holdsworth falls in the
first group, and I wouldn't be on this list otherwise. It is far too easy
to trample down on some honest artists doing their best to deliver something
great to their audiences, and it is far too offensive that some very clever
writers are allowed to speak theis minds that way - and I'm not talking
about a possible censorship (godhelpus) but merely about a bit of dignity.
Holdsworth is not the only one whom the press deliberately ignore
or put down at times. If the review had been: "sorry guys, he has chops and
licks but the gig was horrible that night" this would have been much better
and more acceptable even for die-hard fans. What do we have instead: oh,
nothing - a great performer sucking air from a bottle.
Living in Italy I don't think I'm in the position to write anything,
and even if I did my letter would probably go unpublished - but all you
friends overseas, please do: no offense, of course, and keep tolerance up;
but this is something we should do for the sake of music - not only for the
specific Holdsworth case.
Ciao, Marco
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Date: Thu, 06 Aug 92 23:42:04 EDT
From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
Subject: 1976 / Holdsworthesque?
>Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 04:54:37 CDT
>From: tmadson%pnet51.orb.mn.org@harvunxw.BITNET (Todd Madson)
>Subject: Re: Atavachron Digest #14
>Hi there. Can someone fill me more specifically on when Holdsworth will be
>touring Minneapolis, what venue and the specifics? Thanks in advance.
I've left a message on Akira Yada's answering machine asking for
the tour dates, but have yet to receive a reply. I'll be posting them
here as soon as I get them, but right now this is starting to sound
like Merlin II... :-/
> As far as "Gazeuse" goes, yes, "Shadows of Where" is "Velvet Darkness"
>expanded. "..Darkness" was a 1976 recording also, as I recall. Melodies
>from "Wish" on "..Darkness" and "Shadows of Where" were resurrected for
Oddly enough, on my CD copy of _Gazeuse!_, this tune is listed as
simply "Shadows Of". Then again, it lists "Percolations I" and "II"
as separate tracks, yet the internal CD label has them merged (makes
for interesting track programming). :)
>"..Darkness". Interestingly enough, even though "..Darkness" is somewhat
>of a spotty recording, it is redeemed by Holdsworth's energetic guitar
>and the ridiculously energetic drumming by Narada Michael Walden. I also
>believe the CD includes the wrong take of "Floppy Hat", as I have a
>recording from a friend off of an old LP and it is a different take. I
>also like the tune "Gattox" as it really flies.
This is old news to the long-time Atavachron readers, but Allan
has been quoted as basically saying that he was unaware of the fact
that these sessions were going to be used as the final product for
the album. Essentially, he believed he, Walden and Johnson were there
to rehearse and "polish" the tunes, while on the other side of the
glass, the red light was lit... at least this is what he has said in
the past.
> You may want to check out the first Holdsworth/Gordon Beck recording,
>"The Things You See/Sunbird", as it contains several tunes that later
>appeared on I.O.U. in their now current form.
I would *love* to check this out, but haven't run into it yet. I
believe I recall someone here saying that he did some acoustic playing
on that one, and that was one of my favorite aspects to _Velvet
Darkness_ . I know right now it's (overly-) popular in the pop/rock
arena to do the acoustic thing, but that's one of the areas I'd like
to see Holdsworth go back into... that, and the violin. It'd be nice
to hear what the years have brought Allan in the way of acoustic
ideas... any comments?
> There was one comment I wanted to make about Level 42's "Guaranteed" that
>might have escaped some individuals: on one track, towards the end he goes
>and starts playing in a semi-authentic blues style - complete with what
>sounds like whole step bends and a jaunty sort of raunch style I seldom
>hear from him. He usually has this linear, legato thing down cold with
>a really amazo prog-style harmony. And then he surprises me by doing the
>"Clapton thing".
I admit I haven't listened to this CD in a while, but I don't
remember *that*! Is this one of those "crank-it-up-to-11-while-
wearing-headphones" parts? :) If you could, would you mind telling
us which track this one's on...?
>Date: Tue, 28 Jul 92 05:01:45 CDT
>From: tmadson%pnet51.orb.mn.org@harvunxw.BITNET (Todd Madson)
>Subject: Re: Atavachron Digest #14
> Scott Henderson definetely has a Holdsworth influence (his Tribal Tech "Dr.
>Hee" CD thanks Holdsworth) although he has a rawer, bluesier edge to it. And
>Gambale - he's quick, no doubt about it - but his sweep picking is completely
>different than Holdsworth's legato-style even though it may sound similar.
Absolutely. I would definitely not call these guys Holdsworth
clones -- not by any stretch of the imagination. But little edges
of Holdsworth's approach occasionally peek out.
Another couple of players have come to mind: Bill Connors, who
plays a solo on Stanley Clarke's _If This Bass Could Only Talk_ which
until I listened closely, I was convinced was Holdsworth playing;
and Olly Halsell (sp.?) of Tempest, althought I'm told the quality
of his playing was inconsistent. Can anyone recommend solo works by
either one?
Another which had a *hint* of Holdsworth tossed in his style is
the guitarist (whose name I don't have handy, sorry) for Col. Bruce
Hampton & The Aquarium Rescue Unit. Their self-titled debut (?) has
one tune titled "Planet Earth" which contains about four measures-worth
of a familiar legato style, before launching into a hard blues-rock
screamer of a solo.
You can't imagine my surprise at Jason's observations concerning
Mike Stern's playing on the Marcelli CD... to me, Stern is about as
diametrically opposed to Holdsworth stylistically as I can imagine
(well, with the possible exception of Dave Mustaine, heh). However,
as I told Jason via e-mail, I really need to hear that CD before
being in total disbelief. ;)
Actually, the most Holdsworthian guitarist I've ever heard is
someone whose name you would probably recognize, but whose music
you've probably never heard... stay tuned.
Jeff Preston
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 7 Aug 92 13:08:49 PDT
From: edju%aludra.usc.edu@usc.edu (Dr. Hannibal Lecter)
Subject: The "beer bottle" controversy
I can see that nobody is showing any sympathy for Dave Mustaine, but
to set the record straight:
1) When I saw Allan play, he DID grab that empty bottle quite a few times, much
more than adjusting the settings of his amp or tuning his guitar. This
happened both during a non-guitar solo AND band ensemble when there's no
guitar solos. Allan plays beautiful chords, but his parts usually lack
rhythmic complexity (his chords lack rhythm, really, for that matter. And
I think that was what Dave Mustaine was referring to when he said "there was
so much more to guitar playing.")
2) A lot of readers who responded behaved like snobs who disrespect any kind of
music that "lacks sophiscation" in songwriting and composition. For your
information, not all speed metal soloists are those whammy-jerking Slayer-
types. Testament's Alex Skolnick and Marty Friedman from Megadeth have
recorded some of the best solos ever committed on tape (my recommendations
are "Rust in Peace" and "Practice What You Preach.") Metallica used to
build layers of harmonized guitars (alas, not anymore) and a lot of ten-
minute epics they wrote were full of dynamics. Well enough of my preaching.
3) Guitar World may have been geared toward a younger audience, unfortunately
there are no better alternatives out there: Guitar School is a sister
publication of Guitar World. The only difference being one is interview-
oriented and the other transcription-oriented. Guitar for the Practicing
Musician has long been a magazine geared towards top-40 bands playing the
club circuit. Guitar Player, as I remember, used to feature Allan very
frequently on their covers back in the better days... the last one was when
"Secrets" was coming out. Unfortunately, GP has gone down the drain ever
since, their focus has shifted to talentless young punks who don't know
more than 3 chords. The latest issue has THE CURE on cover... maybe it's
time we start a guitar magazine... "Metal Fatigue"?!
Eddie
PS "Difference is good!" Isn't that why we listen to Allan in the first place?
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 08 Aug 92 15:46:08 EDT
From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
Subject: Down Beat Blindfold Test with Bireli Lagrene
Well... now that we have that ugliness with Dave Mustaine behind us
(heh heh), and since we certainly don't want to malign the imminently
respectable (if somewhat ambiguous) Mr. Scofield, then I submit to you
that we move onward to some unabashed hero worship, in the interests
of providing equal time to candidates of all parties concerned. :)
This comes from the May 1991 issue of Down Beat, once again from the
"Blindfold Test" column...
-=O=-
(musical selection: "City Nights" by Allan Holdsworth, from the album
_Secrets_)
Bireli Lagrene responds:
"Allan Holdsworth. He's my main man. I love this guy. He sounds like
his music doesn't have anything to do with the guitar, it could be a
saxophone. He gives such a wide range to the guitar. Nobody was playing
like that before him, really. You know, people like Django Reinhardt
and Charlie Christian, they brought something new to the music. And
god knows that it's hard today in the '80s and '90s... there's so much
music going on, it's really hard to bring something which is personal
to the music. But Holdsworth... no problem for him. He amazes me. I
remember the first time I heard him was with the I.O.U. band with Jeff
Berlin. It blew me away. To tell you the truth, I didn't know if it was
guitar or something else. The notes were so fluid. The phrasing he has
is really unbelievable. I don't know how he does it. Five stars, easy."
-=O=-
Nothing ambiguous about that, is there? ;) In fact, he sounds like
he's on the payroll. One thing that's notable about Lagrene's comments
are the key words "saxophone," "fluid" and "phrasing." These are three
words which are seemingly repeated by almost everyone trying to describe
Holdsworth's playing, and true to custom, Lagrene was no exception here.
I know very little about Bireli Lagrene (basically only what the
blurb at the beginning of this article had to say about him). Is anyone
here familiar with his work?
Jeff Preston
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 92 05:22:30 CDT
From: tmadson%pnet51.orb.mn.org@harvunxw.BITNET (Todd Madson)
Subject: Re: Atavachron Digest #15
Let's see: Where was I? I also read that ridiculous assertion by Dave
Mustaine from Megadeth about Holdsworth. I laughed. Obviously, he hasn't
seen his 1984 Japanese tour video or heard I.O.U., both groundbreaking
statements in the art of chordal/rhythm guitar. In fact, my guess is
that Holdsworth might have had a keyboardist backing him up, so I'm
not sure why Mustaine was so critical. I've heard a track from them
and don't see what the big deal is? It's a joke.
UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, crash}!orbit!pnet51!tmadson
ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!tmadson@nosc.mil
INET: tmadson@pnet51.orb.mn.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 92 05:29:53 CDT
From: tmadson%pnet51.orb.mn.org@harvunxw.BITNET (Todd Madson)
Subject: Re: Atavachron Digest #16
Jeff: I'm curious: did Allan have anything to say regarding the gift? I'm
real curious.
Sorry I've not been around here too much of late. I'm in the middle of a job
search, putting together a new band (finally), programming FX presets for my
stage rig and have been dealing with getting over an upper respiratory
infection. I finally feel nearly normal, though.
I think what Jeff said regarding the Mustaine comment in the letter to Guitar
was great - right on the mark. Read Holdsworths' last interview in Guitar
Player or Guitar World - they are much more receptive to him there.
UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, crash}!orbit!pnet51!tmadson
ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!tmadson@nosc.mil
INET: tmadson@pnet51.orb.mn.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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Received: by UKCC (Mailer R2.08) id 9219; Wed, 12 Aug 92 15:33:09 EDT
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 15:30:09 EDT
From: atavachron@morekypr
Subject: Atavachron Digest #18
To: Jeff Preston
Atavachron Digest - The Allan Holdsworth Discussion List
Volume 2, Number 18
Wednesday August 12th, 1992
TODAY'S TOPICS:
==============
RE: BILL CONNORS SOLO WORK
RE: BIRELI LAGRENE
Gordon Beck
Bireli Lagrene
Re: Ollie Halsall R.I.P.
Birelli Lagrene
A final comment
RE: Atavachron digest 17
A Clarification
Discount on Carl Verheyen CD from Chase Music Group
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 92 01:20:16 -0400
From: rardin%bad.dnet@auriga
Subject: RE: BILL CONNORS SOLO WORK
In a discussion of guitarists influenced by Holdsworth, Jeff Preston says:
> Another couple of players have come to mind: Bill Connors, who
>plays a solo on Stanley Clarke's _If This Bass Could Only Talk_ which
>until I listened closely, I was convinced was Holdsworth playing;
>and Olly Halsell (sp.?) of Tempest, althought I'm told the quality
>of his playing was inconsistent. Can anyone recommend solo works by
>either one?
Bill was a member of Return to Forever before Al Di Meola took over the guitar
chair. He appears on HYMN OF THE SEVENTH GALAXY. I have 4 of Bill's solo
ventures on CD:
Artist Title Year Label (Catalog #)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connors, Bill ASSEMBLER 87 Pathfinder (PTF8909-CD)
Connors, Bill DOUBLE UP 86 Pathfinder (PTF8620-CD)
Connors, Bill STEP IT 84 Pathfinder/Core (COCD 9.00818 0)
Connors, Bill THEME TO THE GAURDIAN 74 ECM (ECM 1057 829 387-2)
THEME features Bill in a solo acoustic setting. Although it's not a bad
recording, I find his more recent electric outings to be much more
exciting. STEP IT, with Tom Kennedy on bass and Dave Weckl on drums is great
and I'm almost sure any Holdsworth fan would consider it a treat. The other
two Pathfinder CDs, which feature Kennedy (b) and Kim Plainfield (d) are also
good recordings, but lack a bit of the excitement of STEP IT, IMHO.
-Lynn
< R. Lynn Rardin (rardin@auriga.rose.brandeis.edu) >
< Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254-9110 >
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 92 01:37:29 -0400
From: rardin%bad.dnet@auriga
Subject: RE: BIRELI LAGRENE
In a discussion of Bireli LaGrene's appearance in Downbeat's Blindfold test,
Jeff Preston writes:
> I know very little about Bireli Lagrene (basically only what the
>blurb at the beginning of this article had to say about him). Is anyone
>here familiar with his work?
I don't know what they said about LaGrene in the Blindfold Test lead-in, but
he has been considered as the "second coming" of Django Reinhardt in some
peoples' minds. Although much of his work is heavily influenced by Reinhardt
(and some of his recorded work reflects that), there are other aspects to his
playing, including an electric side. Besides performing some fusionistic
pieces on his Blue Note recordings, he also appears on STUTTGART ARIA (on
JazzPoint), a live recording with Jaco Pastorius. I caught LaGrene live in
Boston a few years ago with Larry Coryell and Al Di Meola. _That_ was a show!!
Actually, they recorded that show for eventual release on Pioneer LaserDisc,
but I don't think it's appeared in stores yet. It seems that I read
something about it still being in the works within the last six months...
-Lynn
< R. Lynn Rardin (rardin@auriga.rose.brandeis.edu) >
< Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 02254-9110 >
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 10 Aug 92 22:54:28 PDT
From: edju%aludra.usc.edu@usc.edu (Dr. Hannibal Lecter)
Subject: Gordon Beck
Seems like Allan collaborated with Gordon Beck on several albums, the
only one I could find, however, was "With a Song in my Heart." What are the
other releases (other than "The Things You See")? Are they out of print, or
only available as imports?
Eddie
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 1992 12:30:39 -0700
From: bbs.cement@tsoft.sf-bay.org (Christopher Clement)
Subject: Bireli Lagrene
Please bear with me since this is my first post to Atavachron...
Well, I'll tell you what I know about Bireli Lagrene. He came on to the
music scene several years ago. His first album was released when he was
only 14(!). Bireli's style used to be a carbon copy of Django Reinhardt,
gypsy swing and the like. His first album is called "Bireli Lagrene:
Routes to Django". If you're found of Django then you'll probably like
the album.
The last thing I heard about Bireli was in a Guitar Player mag(Mar.'86)
saying that he had droped the Django thing and was moving on in his
career. No longer strictly an acoustic player, he moved on to Les Pauls
and Boogies.
Today, I have no idea what he is doing.
Christopher Clement
--
Christopher Clement (bbs.cement@tsoft.sf-bay.org)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 92 16:11:04 PDT
From: malcolm@wrs.com (Malcolm Humes)
Subject: Re: Ollie Halsall R.I.P.
>I was convinced was Holdsworth playing;
>and Olly Halsell (sp.?) of Tempest, althought I'm told the quality
>of his playing was inconsistent. Can anyone recommend solo works by
>either one?
Sadly, Ollie died of a heart attack recently. I have an obituary taken
from a post someone made if anyone wants to see it - email me for a copy.
Ollie did a lot of work with Kevin Ayers, and he was all over a lot of other
stuff. I've heard relatively little of his work considering how much he
recorded. here's some people he played with:
Kevin Ayers Confession of Dr. Dream 1974
Odd Ditties 1976
Sweet Deceiver 1975
Yes We have no Mananas 1976
Rainbow Takaway 1978
and probably a few others Ayers releases.
Boxer Below The Belt 1975 (w/Mike Patto)
Bloodletting 1979/76 (w/Mike Patto)
Michael D'Albuquerque -We May Be Cattle But We've all Got Names 1974
Grimms (w/Neil Innes) - Rcocking Duck 1973
Neil Innes - How Sweet to Be An Idiot 1973
David Kubinec - Some Things Never Change 1978 (w/John Cale, Chris Spedding)
John Otway - Where Did I go Right? 1979
Patto - Patto 1970
Hold Your Fire 1971
Roll Em Smoke Em 1972
Andy Roberts & The Gerat Stampede 1973
The Rutles 1978
Scaffold - Fresh Liver 1973 (w/Neil Innes)
Sold Out 1975 (w/Lol Creme)
Terry Stamp - Eaststicks 1975
Tempest - Living In Fear 1973
Timebox - The Original Moose On The Loose 1977 (w/Halsey & Patto)
Steve York's Camelo Pardalis - Manor Live 1973 (with lots of ex-Crimson folks)
- Malcolm
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 92 20:14:40 PDT
From: pvallado@sdcc13.UCSD.EDU (Paolo Valladolid )
Subject: Birelli Lagrene
I don't claim to be an expert on Birelli, but here's my $0.02. 8-) He's a
guitarist of Gypsy descent based in France who apparently started recording and
performing professionally at a very, very young age ( you'll know what I mean if
you come across any of his early recordings with his photo on the cover. He
recorded a live CD with Jaco Pastorious ( I forget the title, but this album is
under the names "Birelli Lagrene & Jaco Pastorious" ). He also replaced one of
the members of the famous McLaughlin/Di Meola/De Lucia acoustic guitar trio on
that trio's last tour to date. The one album I have of Birelli is "Acoustic
Moments" which is, except for the track "Metal Earthquake", a jazz album
featuring acoustic guitar. Birelli also plays Jaco-influenced fretless bass on
this
album. He sounds a little more like Al di Meola than Allan Holdsworth to me,
but maybe this is because his style leans more towards flamenco and reflects his
Gypsy roots. All in all, its a great album; Birelli plays beautifully on both
guitar and bass.
I read the issue where Birelli's quote was cited. It should be pointed out that
he gave five stars to practically every artist he listened to. Nice guy!
Good taste, too! 8-)
I just wanted to add that Scofield truly praised Allan without reservations.
You see, a Bill Frisell also plays a "light, easy to play action guitar with
effects". Bill is a good friend of his and has received countless praise from
him. So that comment should not be looked on as a putdown.
Cheers,
Paolo
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 09:18:51 MDT
From: stortek!Steve_Monroe@csn.org (Steve Monroe)
Subject: A final comment
In our last thrilling episode, edju%aludra.usc.edu@usc.edu (Dr. Hannibal Lecter)
wrote:
>2) A lot of readers who responded behaved like snobs who disrespect any kind of
> music that "lacks sophiscation" in songwriting and composition. For your
> information, not all speed metal soloists are those whammy-jerking Slayer-
> types. Testament's Alex Skolnick and Marty Friedman from Megadeth have
> recorded some of the best solos ever committed on tape (my recommendations
> are "Rust in Peace" and "Practice What You Preach.") Metallica used to
> build layers of harmonized guitars (alas, not anymore) and a lot of ten-
> minute epics they wrote were full of dynamics. Well enough of my preaching.
>
This is sophistry. Look, just because I choose not to listen to Megadeth, or
Testament or bands of that ilk doesn't mean that i "disrespect any kind of music
that 'lacks sophistication' in songwriting or composition." I think it is
positively WONDERFUL that bands like this exist. There are consumers of music,
such as yourself, that really enjoy it, and for you, it works. It has nothing
to do with snobbery. Just preference.
A while back 'Guitar Player' ran a cover story on Metallica. Kirk Hammett was
asked if Metallica could do what they do without the 5th or 6th strings on their
guitars. His response was something along the lines of "no, I don't think so,
we would have a pretty tough time..." This isn't an exact quote, but it
represents
the spirit of what he was saying. Now then, if this isn't indicative of some
one dimentional music, I don't know what is. BUT, before you get all anxious
about
that last statement, one dimentional isn't necessarily bad. It is just a
descriptor
(Btw, "dynamics" doesn't mean music from "130 db ear splitting loud all the way
down to merely loud").
Finally, I sure hope this is the last bit on this topic. Let's move on okay?
sjm(v035550@stortek.com)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Tue, 11 Aug 92 20:42 EST
From: David.Motes@emc2-tao.fisc.com
Subject: RE: Atavachron digest 17
Heres my 2[ worth......
> >"..Darkness". Interestingly enough, even though "..Darkness" is somewhat
> >of a spotty recording, it is redeemed by Holdsworth's energetic guitar
> >and the ridiculously energetic drumming by Narada Michael Walden. I also
I dont know about how Velvet Darkness came about but I would like
to say that I really love it. The guitar work really has an edge to
it, the drums are wild, the whole work really has an interesting sound
with the electric piano. The CD contains the alternate takes as well
as the takes from the album and is well worth getting IMHO.
> > There was one comment I wanted to make about Level 42's "Guaranteed" that
> >might have escaped some individuals: on one track, towards the end he goes
> >and starts playing in a semi-authentic blues style - complete with what
>
> I admit I haven't listened to this CD in a while, but I don't
> remember *that*! Is this one of those "crank-it-up-to-11-while-
I almost made the mistake of dismissing this release after one
listen. But it has really grown on me. There are a lot of things
going on that takes several listens to catch. I dont believe the
lyrics are as teeny-bopperish as someone mentioned. Just listen
to "She Cant Help It". AH does some great work on the songs he
plays on. Plus at almost 60 minutes you get your moneys worth.
>
> > Scott Henderson definetely has a Holdsworth influence (his Tribal Tech "Dr
> >Hee" CD thanks Holdsworth) although he has a rawer, bluesier edge to it. A
> >Gambale - he's quick, no doubt about it - but his sweep picking is complete
> >different than Holdsworth's legato-style even though it may sound similar.
>
> Absolutely. I would definitely not call these guys Holdsworth
> clones -- not by any stretch of the imagination. But little edges
> of Holdsworth's approach occasionally peek out.
> and Olly Halsell (sp.?) of Tempest, althought I'm told the quality
> of his playing was inconsistent. Can anyone recommend solo works by
> either one?
> You can't imagine my surprise at Jason's observations concerning
> Mike Stern's playing on the Marcelli CD... to me, Stern is about as
> diametrically opposed to Holdsworth stylistically as I can imagine
Scott Henderson - definite AH influences
Frank Gamabale - I dont know. I have 4 CDs that feature him on
guitar and I have been disapointed with all
of them.
Mike Stern - Huh????
Olly Halsall - If the AH controversy over the second Tempest album
has been settled and it is Olly on all tracks then
yes definite AH influence.
The only other works that I know him to be on
are the 2 PATTO albums.
Heres another - Kazumi Watanabe - On the Spice of Life CD which
has Bill Bruford and Jeff Berlin he throws in
some AH influenced work...
I agree that none of these guys are AH clones, maybe it would
be to blatant to play totally like him or maybe no one can ;)
> guitar solos. Allan plays beautiful chords, but his parts usually lack
> rhythmic complexity (his chords lack rhythm, really, for that matter. An
> I think that was what Dave Mustaine was referring to when he said "there
> so much more to guitar playing.")
I think AH goes more for sound and texture than rhythm. He leaves that
to the rest of the band.
>
> 2) A lot of readers who responded behaved like snobs who disrespect any kind
> music that "lacks sophiscation" in songwriting and composition. For your
I think the reponses were to the obnoxious remarks not the type
of music played by the person making the remarks. I think Mustaine
was going for the "I dont care if they are talking good about me
or bad about me as long as they are talking about me" and we
obliged him....
>
> I know very little about Bireli Lagrene (basically only what the
> blurb at the beginning of this article had to say about him). Is anyone
> here familiar with his work?
>
I have two Bireli Lagrene releases Inferno and Foreign Affairs.
According to the notes on one he was supposed to be the next
Django Reinhardt until he got an electric guitar.
THe releases have quite a bit of acoustic as well as electric work.
His electric guitar sound kind of reminds me of Mike Stern. To me
he is a better guitarist than Mike Stern. THe acoustic work is
amazing.
But the release to get is the Jaco Pastorius "Live in Italy" CD.
It is a professional live recording featuring Birelli, Jaco in
his prime, and an Italian drummer who is no slouch either. It is
really hot.
The usual disclaimers.......
David Motes
david@emc2-tao.fisc.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 09:55 EST
From: David.Motes@emc2-tao.fisc.com
Subject: A Clarification
In a previous post I mentioned several releases by Birelli
Lagrene. I realize I should have gone into a little more
detail ( after 10 hours of work its hard to be lucid).
Birelli's main man might be Allan Holdsworth but he plays
more like say George Benson. His releases have more of a
"classic" jazz guitar sound. On the Foreign Affairs release
his guitar sounds kind of like Mike Stern but picture George
Benson using Mike Sterns equipment and you get the idea.
On the Inferno release he has that "clean" hollow body sound.
These two releases are NOT 100 note per second fusion blow-outs.
If you like George Bensons CTI releases, old Pat Metheny you
will probably like these. If you are looking for blazing
guitar work you probably wont.
There is also another release with Jaco Pastorius and Birelli
called Stutgard(sp) Aria. It is a studio recording
featuring Jaco, Birelli and other musicians. It is
inhibited by some cheesy synth work, but it is not bad.
The "Live In Italy" release is the one to get.
Hope this helps to clarify the previous post.
David Motes
david@emc2-tao.fisc.com
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 12 Aug 92 15:07:20 EDT
From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
Subject: Discount on Carl Verheyen CD from Chase Music Group
I got an interesting call last week from a fellow named Bill
Stilfield. He works for Chase Music Group, who distributes the CD
by Carl Verheyen Group, _No Borders_ , and was calling in reponse to
a letter I had written asking for information on finding a source
for the CD, since no one here had reported a mail order source for
it. Well, Mr. Stilfield made us a very nice offer. He said anyone
wishing a copy of _No Borders_ could order it from Chase Music Group
directly, and if they mention my name or verify that they are on the
Atavachron list (by furnishing the Internet address for the list --
atavachron@morekypr.morehead-st.edu), they would receive a $3.00
discount on the CD. So, the normal price of $15.00 is now, for any
Atavachron subscriber, $12.00. Shipping and handling inside the
United States is an additional $2.00; outside the U.S., shipping is
$5.00, and checks/money orders must be payable in U.S. funds and
made out to Chase Music Group. California residents must add 8.25%
sales tax ($0.99).
So, to recap:
U.S. orders = $14.00 total Outside the U.S. = $17.00 total
*** In California = $14.99 total ***
The order number is CM 8012 , and don't forget to mention the list
for the discount!
Mr. Stilfield also metions in his followup letter that they will
also send catalogs and order forms which will allow additional discounts
on future orders from Chase Music Group to anyone requesting them, so
you might want to ask about this as well when you order.
So far, I've found the CD quite nice -- I can see the comparisons
between Verheyen and Steve Morse that Todd Madson had mentioned, but
I also hear some subtle Holdsworth influences, and maybe even Eric
Johnson. This is a "rockier" fusion album overall than any of the
latest Holdsworth material, and of course the barn-burning country
picker's tune on here, "Let's Ride" will cause you to immediately
think of Steve Morse. Allan plays SynthAxe on just one cut (as was
mentioned by Todd and Lynn Rardin, both), "Gretchen's Theme," but
it's a really nice composition. I know this will be doing a lot of
time in my CD player for the next few weeks, so a more comprehensive
review may be forthcoming. :)
Jeff Preston
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** End of Atavachron Digest ***
To have your posting distributed in the next issue of Atavachron,
send your posting to:
atavachron@morekypr.morehead-st.edu
Administrative requests should be addressed to:
preston@morekypr.morehead-st.edu
All comments made here are the views of the individual
contributors.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Received: by UKCC (Mailer R2.08) id 2076; Mon, 17 Aug 92 02:34:09 EDT
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92 02:30:02 EDT
From: atavachron@morekypr
Subject: Atavachron Digest #19
To: Jeff Preston
Atavachron Digest - The Allan Holdsworth Discussion List
Volume 2, Number 19
Monday August 17th, 1992
TODAY'S TOPICS:
==============
Re: Down Beat Blindfold Test with Bireli Lagrene
Metallica
Reaching for the Uncommon Chord
Re: Atavachron Digest #17
Before this gets totally out of hand...
*** Tour dates -- here they are! ***
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 92 13:48:12 -0400
From: barrett@scooby.cs.umass.edu (Daniel Barrett)
Subject: Re: Down Beat Blindfold Test with Bireli Lagrene
>Date: Sat, 08 Aug 92 15:46:08 EDT
>From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
> I know very little about Bireli Lagrene (basically only what the
>blurb at the beginning of this article had to say about him). Is anyone
>here familiar with his work?
They call him "The Gypsy Guitarist" I think. I have a CD
where he plays with Jaco Pastorius called STUTTGART ARIA. It's a
German import. The music is only fair, IMHO -- kind of pop.
Dan
//////////////////////////////////////\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\
| Dan Barrett -- Dept of Computer Science, Lederle Graduate Research Center |
| University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003 -- barrett@cs.umass.edu |
\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\/////////////////////////////////////
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Date: Thu, 13 Aug 92 12:12:47 PDT
From: edju%aludra.usc.edu@usc.edu (Dr. Hannibal Lecter)
Subject: Metallica
Steve Monroe commented on last issue about me being a "consumer of
music" - please do not label people before you looked at the big picture. For
your information, I am a guitarist/bassist, not your stereotypical elevator-
music consumer.
Regarding the quote from Metallica, what their response was far from
your interpretation. They meant that a guitar without the sixth (low E) string
would be an incomplete guitar, and they were not interested in copying
Keith Richard anyway. This view of "one-dimensional music" is indeed a one-
dimensional way of thinking. Musicians choose the style they prefer to speciale
and experiment in; or in your terms, musicians get one-dimensional when they
choose what kind of music they want to explore. A good example to refute your
accusation of speed metal being "one-dimensional" is the last Megadeth album.
Granted, I personally didn't like it that much, but Dave Mustaine must be given
his fair share of credit in attempting to find new directions within the
frameworks of "thrash" - one of his attemps being to move away from the
"riffing in the low E string." The same principles applied to Allan's
case, can you say that he's being "one-dimensional" just because he's been
doing these "empty-chords" and "legato solos" for years without venturing into
different styles such as blues, new age, or (God forbid) RAP?!
Eddie
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sat, 15 Aug 92 12:31:12 PDT
From: edju%aludra.usc.edu@usc.edu (Dr. Hannibal Lecter)
Subject: Reaching for the Uncommon Chord
For those of you who are desperately seeking the "Reaching for the
Uncommon Chord" book, fret no more (no pun intended! :) ) The book is
listed in the 1992 summer catalog of Music Dispatch, and you can order it from
them for $12.95 (plus S&H) by calling 1-800-637-2852 (M-F 9AM-8AM, Sat 9AM-2PM
C.S.T.) or write to Music Dispatch, P.O.Box 13920, Milwaukee, WI 53213. A
free catalog can be obtained by calling the 1-800 number, too. Unfortunately
I didn't see the Allan Holdsworth instruction video in the catalog. :(
Eddie
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 92 04:50:51 CDT
From: tmadson%pnet51.orb.mn.org@harvunxw.BITNET (Todd Madson)
Subject: Re: Atavachron Digest #17
Quick comment: Holdsworth WAS on Stanley Clarke's "If this Bass Could Only
Talk", on the tune "Stories to Tell". Oddly enough, they made a big deal
out of the fact that it was a live performance with Stuart Copeland and
Stanley, both using their big stage rigs, but every bit of press about this
song ignores Holdsworth's presence on the track, as well as mispelling his
first name in the CD liner notes. The liner notes even ignore it. Yet, the
solo was quite good, succinct, and toneful as usual.
Background: Bireli Lagrene is a french guitarist - a gypsy. His claim to
fame is that he was playing Django Reinhardt covers when he was very young, a
child really. Now he's in his twenties - and his chops are pretty
frightening. This is the kind of guy who walks into a music store, plays some
jazz stuff on the store "doghouse" guitar and destroys everyone else in the
store. He's more into fusion now, but back a few years ago he was really
expected to toe the "company line" and play straight jazz standards. And he
can do that, easily.
With regards to Mr. Mustaine - I suppose I was a bit harsh. Yes, they
certainly can trod out the crashing, blasting strum of flatted fifths with
metrically shifting 4/4, but it's not my thing. Marty Friedman, of course, is
the Ulrich Roth influenced guitarist now doing the majority of the guitar
stuff on their albums and while he certainly has some musical knowledge (and a
mouth nearly to match Mr. Mustaine), it's not my thing, really.
Re: "The Things You See" - yes, there is acoustic guitar on the album. I
also like his underrated jazzy acoustic explorations (see also U.K./U.K.,
Velvet Darkness, Gong's Gazeuse, etc.). However, Holdsworth has been quoted
as saying that his technique on the acoustic is all but gone (he attempted an
acoustic solo for "Secrets", but road noise from traffic nearby and his "poor
technique" caused him to abandon the idea). And his use of violin, in his
words, was nothing more than "a hobby". Give me a break. If I could play a
violin solo as good as the one on "Temporary Fault" from I.O.U., I'd be pretty
happy.
More as the situation develops....
UUCP: {amdahl!bungia, crash}!orbit!pnet51!tmadson
ARPA: crash!orbit!pnet51!tmadson@nosc.mil
INET: tmadson@pnet51.orb.mn.org
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 16 Aug 92 22:25:52 EDT
From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
Subject: Before this gets totally out of hand...
... let me just throw in my two cents on this metal vs. non-metal
debate.
To begin with, although I personally do not find much in the metal
genre to attract me from the listening standpoint, I think anyone who
has looked closely at the music press (reputable and disreputable, both)
will have to agree that the metal listeners seem much more open to what
Allan Holdsworth does than do the hardcore jazz listeners. They may not
hear it in quite the same way that a jazz listener does, but to be
honest, he's selling at least as many records to the metal camp as he is
to the jazz camp, so let us please be careful about sweeping generalizations
and accusations of "consumerism." No amount of browbeating is going to win
anyone fans, and in all honesty, there's a lot of unfounded bias on both
sides of the fence. Jazz fans should not take the support Allan gets from
metal listeners for granted, as it *is* very significant.
Secondly, I agree with David Motes's assessment of the "snobbery"
situation as being aimed primarily at the ridiculously shallow comments
made by Mustaine. Anyone coming out of a Holdsworth show with only *that*
to say about it in an interview... well, it would be like me going into
an Extreme concert and only noticing the hair-slinging. That makes the
serious (sorry, can't find a better word) music listener pause and say,
"gee, is what you do between solos more important to metal guitarists
than the overall feel and quality of the tunes themselves?" because
the *music* was not mentioned at all. So, comments like this come off
as "attitude" and not "knowledge," which will make anyone interested
in the music itself not take the person making that kind of comment
very seriously.
Lastly, this is not the forum for deciding the relative merits
of genres of music, and I didn't particularly enjoy having to explain
my views on this subject and waste further bandwidth. In my friendly, yet
firm ;) voice, I say now that I will gladly point parties interested
in this line of discussion to an appropriate newsgroup/list/forum upon
request, as this really has gone beyond the scope of Allan Holdsworth,
and I have no wish to play host to an intolerance party on this list.
It's not that I feel this topic to be unworthy of discussion -- just that
Atavachron is not the place for it.
Comments related to this post should be directed to me personally.
Thank you,
Jeff Preston
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92 01:44:32 EDT
From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
Subject: *** Tour dates -- here they are! ***
It brings me great pleasure to share with you the tour dates for
Allan Holdsworth. Akira Yada faxed these to my office Wednesday (8/12),
but I have been on vacation and did not receive the fax until now.
Mr. Yada warns that some of the dates are as yet unconfirmed, so
my recommendation would be to call the venue where possible, and ask
if the date has been confirmed. The ticket outlets in your area may
also be of help, of course.
-=O=-
Date City Venue
======================================================================
Sun 9/13/92 Chicago, IL China Club
Mon 9/14/92 Milwaukee, WI Shank Hall
Tue 9/15/92 Kalamazoo, MI Club Soda
Wed 9/16/92 Ann Arbor, MI The Ark
Thu 9/17/92 Cleveland, OH Peabody's Down Under
Fri 9/18/92 Columbus, OH Stache's
Sat 9/19/92 Dayton, OH Gilly's
Sun 9/20/92 Cincinatti, OH Bogarts
Mon 9/21/92 Pittsburgh, PA Graffitti
Wed 9/23/92 Northampton, MA Iron Horse
Thu 9/24/92 Cambridge, MA Nightstage
Fri 9/25/92 New York, NY Bottomline
Sat 9/26/92 New York, NY Bottomline
Sun 9/27/92 Pawling, NY Town Crier
Mon 9/28/92 Rochester, NY Red Creek
Tue 9/29/92 Buffalo, NY Impaxx
Wed 9/30/92 Albany, NY Metropolitan
Thu 10/01/92 New Haven, CT Toads Place
Fri 10/02/92 Huntington, NY InterMedia Arts Center
Sat 10/03/92 South Amboy, NJ Club Bene
Mon 10/05/92 Baltimore, MD Max's on Broadway
Tue 10/06/92 Philadelphia, PA Chestnut Cabaret
Wed 10/07/92 Birchmere (?) To be announced
Thu 10/08/92 Raleigh, NC To be announced
Fri 10/09/92 Charlotte, NC To be announced
Sat 10/10/92 Knoxville, TN To be announced
Sun 10/11/92 Atlanta, GA Variety Theatre
Mon 10/12/92 To be announced
Tue 10/13/92 St. Petersburg, FL To be announced
Wed 10/14/92 Tampa, FL To be announced
Thu 10/15/92 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Musician's Exchange
Fri 10/16/92 Ft. Lauderdale, FL Musician's Exchange
Sat 10/17/92 Orlando, FL Beachum's Blue Note
-=O=-
Hope to see you at one (or more) of the Ohio shows!
Jeff
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** End of Atavachron Digest ***
To have your posting distributed in the next issue of Atavachron,
send your posting to:
atavachron@morekypr.morehead-st.edu
Administrative requests should be addressed to:
preston@morekypr.morehead-st.edu
All comments made here are the views of the individual
contributors.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Received: by UKCC (Mailer R2.08) id 7191; Wed, 26 Aug 92 10:35:41 EDT
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 10:30:02 EDT
From: atavachron@morekypr
Subject: Atavachron Digest #20
To: Jeff Preston
Atavachron Digest - The Allan Holdsworth Discussion List
Volume 2, Number 20
Wednesday August 26th, 1992
TODAY'S TOPICS:
==============
Re: Atavachron Digest #19
Reaching for the Uncommon Chord
The tour
The entirely optional Atavachron Reader's Survey
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 1992 02:39:17 -0400
From: wcsanil@ccs.carleton.ca (Anil Prasad)
Subject: Re: Atavachron Digest #19
I don't suppose anyone out there happens to be driving to ROchester
from Ottawa for the Holdsworth gig?
If you are, can you give me a lift? :)
(Actually, I'm serious!)
*NO* Canadian dates!?!?
BAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:-(
'
'
'
'
'
*sigh*
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Anil Prasad | "You all look like happy campers to me.
---------------------------| Happy campers you are, happy campers you
wcsanil@ccs.carleton.ca | have been, and, as far as I am concerned,
wcsanil@alfred.carleton.ca | happy campers you will always be."
---------------------------| -- J. Danforth Quayle in an address to
---------------------------| American Native Indians, 04/25/89
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Mon, 17 Aug 92 13:52:38 PDT
From: freedman@mprgate.mpr.ca (Elliot Freedman)
Subject: Reaching for the Uncommon Chord
I've had the book for some years now... it is excellent and the charts
provide quite a good starting point for some of the IOU years tunes.
If you read the title page (or its reverse), it makes mention of the fact
that the chords underneath the solo are available from the publisher.
Unfortunately, when I wrote them in '88, I received word (in mid-'89) that
this was no longer available. (Actually, mention of this is in the preface
to the charts.)
Did anyone else write 20th Century Music for the chords? Did you get a
reply? Did you get charts? Were they ever in a position to offer charts?
I would be really into asking Mr. Yada to ask Allan about this and the
possibility of releasing some newer charts. (Chords to Non Brewed, Chords
to Spokes, to Sundays, to Secrets...)
PS. What no West Coast dates!? Aaarrrgh. No Seattle dates.
PPS. I have an idea. The G'n'R / Metallica / Faith No More show
was recently cancelled here in Vancouver as stemming from the
neanderathals (groups or fans or promoters - your choice) trashing
the Montreal concert site... This means that BC Place is open
... all we'd need are 70 000 VAncouver-based Allan Holdsworth
fans to make this commercially viable. Wait - logic flaw. ACK!
Regards,
Elliot Freedman
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Sun, 23 Aug 92 05:46:08 EDT
From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
Subject: The tour
To quote a piece of private e-mail:
"Q: How do you make people stop posting to Atavachron?
"A: Post something that his management has told you!"
:)
The question I want to pose today is -- "who's going?" and more
specifically, will anyone be attending the Dayton, Cincinnati or
Knoxville shows? If so, please let me know... I'd like a chance to
meet some of you people.
Anyone not able to confirm a show, I'd also be appreciative of
any information you might get from the venue, ticket agent, etc.
One possible answer about a very questionable listing on the
itinerary comes to us from Geoff Poole:
>From: poole1@husc.harvard.edu (unknown)
>Subject: Allan Holdsworth Tour
> Just to let you know, the date which you have listed as being
> in Birchmere(?) in the list of dates for Allan Holdsworth tour (I assume)
> is at The Birchmere, a club in Alexandria, VA. The Birchmere usually
> does folk type acts, but people like NRBQ have also played there. This is
> speculation on my part. I haven't heard anything, but the venue is about
> the right size and the location is right given that he's playing
> in Baltimore and Philadelphia around the same time. Alexandria is right
> across the river from Washington DC. Feel free to either update the
> tour listing or pass this along to the Allan Holdsworth alias as you see
> fit.
> Geoff Poole
> poole1@husc.harvard.edu
I wrote back to Geoff letting him know this sounds probable. Allan
played this venue last fall, and his itinerary looks much the same this
year (except for the missing Canadian dates).
Jeff Preston
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Wed, 26 Aug 92 10:10:16 EDT
From: PRESTON@morekypr.bitnet
Subject: The entirely optional Atavachron Reader's Survey
Since it's been a little slow lately, I thought now would be a good
time to bring up the idea of an informal survey. After all, some of us
have not even been introduced. :) Maybe this will help fill in some
of the question marks that exist.
Below are a few questions that I thought might be appropriate. If
you wish to submit answers, please try to follow the instructions as
closely as possible. It will make the results easier for me to compile.
Feel free to leave any questions unanswered that you don't feel
comfortable with, or any questions you feel are unimportant. All answers
will be treated as confidential, but I'd rather you leave a few blanks
than to not send back the survey at all.
===============================================================================
* * * S U R V E Y I N S T R U C T I O N S * * *
===============================================================================
* Extract the next 155 lines into your favorite text editor/word
processor/whatever. If this is not possible, send e-mail to me.
* To the left of the album titles, in either the 1st or 2nd column:
* Put a "1" next to the album(s) on which you first remember
hearing Allan Holdsworth. If you heard more than one album
featuring him that day, put a "1" beside all which apply.
* Put a "Z" next to the album which you'd most *like* to have,
but have been unable to locate so far.
* (Definitely optional) Put an "A" beside any albums which you
have acquired after hearing it discussed on Atavachron.
* To the right of the album titles (at tab 50 and 60), are blanks
(gee!). :) If you own a copy of that particular album/tape/CD,
please put an "X" in the first blank space. In the second blank,
for the albums which you have heard, please rate it on a scale of
1 to 10, with 1 meaning "utter disappointment", 5 or 6 meaning
"average" and 10 equalling "Wow! Buy two copies in case the first
wears out!!" :) Please try to take into account the entire album,
and NOT just Holdsworth's playing, specifically.
* At the end are a few questions. Again, leave 'em blank if you don't
feel like answering them. E-mail it back to the 'preston' address
when you're done.
* Have fun, and in a few weeks, maybe we'll see why the bean counters
have such a hard time figuring us out!! ;)
===============================================================================
A t a v a c h r o n R e a d e r s S u r v e y # 1
===============================================================================
Solo releases:
I own rating
Velvet Darkness ___ ___
I.O.U. ___ ___
Road Games (EP) ___ ___
Metal Fatigue ___ ___
Atavachron ___ ___
Sand ___ ___
Secrets ___ ___
Collaborations:
With A Heart In My Song (G.Beck) ___ ___
The Things You See/Sunbird (G.Beck) ___ ___
MVP: Truth In Shredding (F.Gambale) ___ ___
As a guest performer:
A Question of Time (J.Bruce) ___ ___
Feels Good To Me (B.Bruford) ___ ___
One of a Kind (B.Bruford) ___ ___
Master Strokes (B.Bruford) ___ ___
Belladonna (I.Carr) ___ ___
If This Bass Could Only Talk (S.Clarke) ___ ___
Gazeuse! (Gong) ___ ___
Expresso II (Gong) ___ ___
Time Is The Key (Gong) ___ ___
Radio Free Albemuth (S.Hamm) ___ ___
Igginbottom's Wrench (Igginbottom) ___ ___
Guaranteed (Level 42) ___ ___
Silent Will (A.Marcelli) ___ ___
Attack of the Neon Shark (A.Masi) ___ ___
Enigmatic Ocean (J.Ponty) ___ ___
Individual Choice (J.Ponty) ___ ___
Fast Impressions (J.St.James) ___ ___
Bundles (Soft Machine) ___ ___
Soma (Soma) ___ ___
Touching On (J.Stevens) ___ ___
Conversation Piece (J.Stevens) ___ ___
Retouch (J.Stevens) ___ ___
The Distance Between (Strange Advance) ___ ___
Tempest (Tempest) ___ ___
U.K. (U.K.) ___ ___
Guitar's Practicing Musicians (various) ___ ___
Believe It (T.Williams) ___ ___
Million Dollar Legs (T.Williams) ___ ___
No Borders (C.Verheyen) ___ ___
Forty Reasons (C.Wackerman) ___ ___
Lone Ranger (J.Watson) ___ ___
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Have you ever seen Allan Holdsworth in a live setting? If so, what
group or artist was he with (or was he leading)? Feel free to list
dates/shows.
What is the last live musical performance you attended?
Do you often see concerts/performances at a nearby university?
Please estimate what percentages of the following catagories of music
make up your collection (tab 30):
Alternative/College Radio ___
Blues ___
Classical/Orchestral ___
Classic Rock ('50s -'70s) ___
Country/Western ___
Dance/Rap/Hip Hop ___
Ethnic/World Beat ___
Folk ___
Heavy Metal ___
Industrial ___
Jazz ___
New Age ___
Popular/Top 40 ___
Progressive Rock/Art Rock ___
Reggae/Ska ___
Religious/Inspirational ___
Soul ___
Soundtracks ___
Other ___
In what format do you usually buy your music?
Cassette ___
Compact disc ___
Vinyl ___
What is the average price of this medium in your area?
What is the last album/tape/CD you've bought?
What is the *newest* (latest copyright date) album you've bought?
As far as music news (concert and new release information) is concerned,
where do you get most of your information (rank, with 1 being highest,
2 being next highest, etc.)?
Flyers ___
Local Newspaper ___
Magazines ___
MTV/VH-1/MuchMusic ___
Network Newsgroups/Lists ___
Radio ___
Word-of-mouth ___
Other ___
Do you play a musical instrument? If so, what instrument, and how
long? Also if so, would you count Holdsworth as an influence?
What one musician would you most like to see collaborate with Allan
Holdsworth?
What changes would you like to see happen to Atavachron in the future?
(I always welcome your comments!)
Completed surveys: e-mail to preston@morekypr.morehead-st.edu . Thanks!
===============================================================================
That's all for now...
Jeff Preston
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*** End of Atavachron Digest ***
To have your posting distributed in the next issue of Atavachron,
send your posting to:
atavachron@morekypr.morehead-st.edu
Administrative requests should be addressed to:
preston@morekypr.morehead-st.edu
All comments made here are the views of the individual
contributors.