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Atavachron Digest, 6/97
The New Atavachron Digest 97/06/03
----------
From: KingsleyD@aol.com
Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 09:32:25 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: No Subject
Response to Jeff's comments...
>Now, for something completely different... in response to
>the objections over the years about the bootleg policy
>in force on Atavachron (and being quite tired of having
>people paint me as a censor and a revisionist),
Jeff, I've always been on your side of this issue, and you're neither a
censor nor a revisionist. Your policy simply shows respect for Allan's
principles. It would be nice if the bootleg fans could understand your POV on
this and simply carry on their discussions & business in a different forum.
--Kingsley
[ Moderator's note: Thanks for the support. The new forum is now
available, at http://www.addimension.com/atav/docs/boot.html .
I hope everyone will read the guidelines before posting, just
so there are no misunderstandings. --JP ]
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Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 10:56:55 -0400
From: Vince_Leonberger@mail.sel.sony.com (Vince Leonberger)
Subject: Bootlegs
Jeff,
If Allan doesn't want bootlegs to be discussed, then why the
new Web page? We have plenty of good postings without them.
Are we that fanatical? Can't we get pass this bootleg
issue? By the way, I don't think you are a revisionist or
censor Lord or whatever. Screw those that do.
Vince
[ Moderator's note: Again, thanks; the support is appreciated.
I think the forum will be good in a number of ways, seeing as
how strong feelings exist on all sides of the issue -- and
discussion is always the best first step in resolving a
conflict. --JP ]
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Date: Thu, 15 May 1997 12:48:53 -0800
From: tduggan@ttsd.k12.or.us (Tom Duggan)
Subject: Bootlegs
This message is mostly for Jeff's moral support. While all of us probably
at some time would be tempted to hear "bootleg" stuff, we all should
remember that:
1. Allan despises these.
2. The only people who make money on these recordings have taken advantage
of the law as well as Allan and his family and his fellow
musicians.
3. It's not like Allan is fabulously wealthy from his music career that we
all appreciate so much. It's a show of disrespect to honor the exploiters.
Let's show some class--I'm with you 100% Jeff. Free speech or not, one
should respect the man who makes the music.
Regards,
Tom
[ Moderator's note: I didn't intend to take up half the digest
expressing my gratitude for all the support, but sincerely,
thanks. --JP ]
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Date: Fri, 16 May 1997 18:07:18 +0000
From: aclark@zappa.u-net.com (Adrian Clark/Nicola Sainsbury)
Subject: Re: Marscrepe@aol.com
On 7 May, Steve wrote...
> Steve Hackett he wales.
I presume you mean "wails". But does Steve Hackett wail? I thought he just
kind of plinked along apologetically...
>But there is something
>inside a womans head that just doesnt get it. When I listen to these
>guitarist , I sometimes feel like a woman , because it gets me so emotional.
Oh Christ, it's Barry White - "Here's a little song I wrote for all the
laydees out there tonite...". Bleugh!
and later...
>a very good point and one which someone should research. But not I. OK?
You're absolutely right - what is it that makes mainly instrumental guitar
playing a primarily male pursuit? (I was about to make a comparison to jazz
mags and wanking, but then realised I'm a guitarist who plays ... er,
mainly instrumental music...) The only real exception is Joe Satriani,
especially with 'Surfing With the Alien', but maybe that was because that
album stood up so well as a straightahead rock album, regardless of the
instrument being played. Is this something to do with the fact that my
girlfriend likes to know how to use this very computer just for the things
which interest her, whereas I want to know all about eveything it can do?
Man as the compulsive tinkerer and gatherer of useless information; woman
as the well-rounded being with her priorities sorted out. Bloody hell,
lads, I think we're going to be extinct in a couple of years!
Love,
Adrian
-------------------------------------------------------
aclark@zappa.u-net.com
The online manifestation of
ADRIAN CLARK & NICOLA SAINSBURY
-------------------------------------------------------
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Date: Sat, 17 May 1997 12:22:44 -0400 (EDT)
From: andre
Subject: Re: niacin
hello.
all this talk of weird musical matchings reminds me of a SICk show i saw
this week in NYC - Niacin is a new trio with Billy Sheehan, John Novello &
Dennis Chambers... it SMOKES on CD... it's a B3 organ trio - with b3 duties
beautifully handled by Novello. (get it ? vitamin B3 is niacin...) and Billy
particularly surprises ! i always loved his playing, have seen him a few
times, but this will shock you..he grooves hard ! and the always mighty
Dennis is......mighty.
what's the AH connection ?? Uhhhh... i wish he'd guest on their next CD !
andre'
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Date: Tue, 20 May 1997 06:03:23
From:
Subject: posting
Bruno Bissonnette asked about the PIL CD album. I have that album and
all I can say is that I bought it because I read in Guitar Player mag
that Steve Vai plays in it, but I didn’t know all of those star musician
were also included!!! Even in a Guitar for the Practician musician
recording reviews no names were given. The liner notes don’t say anything
about anyone, neither. Tony Williams playing? There is no landmark drumming
here, neither guitar wise (perhaps the last cut can be mentioned... pure
Flexible-era Vai), bass wise or keyboard wise....
You can say is an average PIL recording. I myself prefer the 9 album
better.
I bought the CD in CDNOW 3 years ago, so maybe is still available.
My recommendations? For a Holdsworth fan, you can live without it; for
a Vai fan, it gives clues about his future musical development; for a
Nine Inch Nails fan, you must check this out to know where some things
come from
Recently I had the opportunity to hear Mr. Frisell´s quartet here in
Spain. Violin, Trombone, Trumpet and... acoustic guitar !!!! He played
some handcrafted instrument, hollowed, piezo or transducer amplified
plugged to his "toys" (time delays units and other gadgets). Even though I
was expecting to see him play his Kline, he came out with this hollowbody
that resambles a carvin acoustic/electric.
Absolutely brilliant performances. Anyone with a chance to see the
set, DO SO. You won´t regret it. It goes on to prove that Bill can swing,
bop, daze and amuse without turning up the volume. A great lesson from a
formidable player.
About John Goodsall, personally I think that his work with the fire
merchants is a bit unfocussed, that the pieces are not as round as his
other works. I rather listen to X communitation (Brand X) instead. Has
anyone listened to his participation in the genesis tribute? Comments will
be appreciated.
Peace.
Abur...
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Date: Fri, 23 May 97 09:48:18 EST
From: "Mark Jordan"
Subject: Mailing Lists
Hi All
Just a short note. I subscribe to "Hoy Hoy" which is the Little Feat
mailing list. This has about 400 subscribers and I think Jeff wrote
that Atavachron has about 800. I thought this was pretty cool.
Mark Jordan
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From: "Leslie Miller"
Subject: The things we see.....
Date: Mon, 26 May 1997 21:55:23 -0500
Hello Holdsworthians!
I tried to send another e mail to the digest, but my mail went on the
fritz. I could not receive nor send mail, Then all of my mail got lost. But
I managed to retrieve it (with the exception of a few letters that got
"eaten"). But all is ok now. I figured what went wrong.
Anyway I want to thank all who have written and are still writing after I
posted the commentary about the lack of female Allan Holdsworth fans. The
majority of the responses were from males, very few females which seem to
confirm what I have known... That there are few of us around...
But I have been enjoying writing to those who have written and are still
writing. It is interesting how a common like ties people together. And to
you Jeff. Thank you. Your site and digest has done a lot for me. It has
allowed me to make new "friends" to communicate with and you gave me a
chance of exposure with my art. All this because of a common chord... That
is our love for Allan Holdsworth... I will continue to keep in touch...
Leslie Miller
lmiller@our-town.com
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Date: Mon, 2 Jun 1997 16:09:30 +0100
From: "Bas van der Heijden"
Subject: Info new album
In a German Jazz magazine called "Jazzthing", (nummer 19.Juni-
August 97) there was a short interview with Allan. He spoke
about the upcoming album. At the time of the interview AH was
working on the compositions together with Dave Carpenter and
Gary Novak. Guest appearences of Alan Pasqua and Walt Fowler
(trumpet player!, see CWs The View) will be expected. Allan
did not have a record company yet, to release the album. Maybe
Chris Hoard has more info at this moment ?
Furthermore the European tour in October will have its empha-
sis (correct English?) in Germany, the article says.
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Date: Tue, 03 Jun 1997 02:48:05 -0700
From: Francisco Espinoza Estrada
Subject: Herring Sexism Lydon Henderson
Beloved spiderbeings,
> Date: Wed, 7 May 1997 10:59:48 -0400 (EDT)
> From: Scott Miller
> Subject: Re: your mail
>
> And if I may to all of those looking for some new music, if you haven't
> checked out Jimmy Herring and Aquarium Rescue Unit your missing out.
What does Mr. Herring sound like ? Is he an original ? Does he know how
to build a good solo ? What's his tone like ? Is he a passionate
guitarist ? Musically, where does he come from ? Where is he going ? Is
there life in outer space ?
> From: Marscrepe@aol.com
> Date: Wed, 7 May 1997 11:38:24 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: No Subject
>
> Hey all.It was funny that you should mention that Leslie about female
> listeners.
> I went to see King Crimson about a year ago down here in southern Florida and
> believe it or not the place was half filled. But my wife pointed out to me
> that the place was mostly men. Which doesnt surprise me. I really dont know
> why it dosent surprise me but it doesnt. I think it is because it is a little
> heavy .
This affirmation is quite sexist. Does this mean that women, because of
their condition, can't dig heavy or complex music ? I don't think so ! I
think that the reason why only very few women listen to Allan is because
few women play the guitar. The only important exposure Allan gets is by
his appearances in guitar magazines. Let's face it, Holdsworth music,
thanks to poor promotion outside of the guitar player's world, is viewed
as music for guitar people only ! And because only few women belong to
this world, let alone the prog-jazz world, the result is that the
majority of Spider fans have a weenie ! This is sad, because my ultimate
ero-affective fantasy is meeting the love of my life at a Holdsworth
gig, and making love to the rhythm of 'Water on the Brain'....
> Like Allan , he wales. Robert Fripp , he wales. Adrian Belew he
> wales. Steve Hackett he wales. Steve Howe he wales.
Humpback, they Whales ! (Sorry, couldn't resist....)
> But there is something
> inside a womans head that just doesnt get it. When I listen to these
> guitarist , I sometimes feel like a woman , because it gets me so emotional.
A woman is no more emotional than a man. The difference is that men
learn to be, as Allan would say, endomorph...
> From: R.J.Heath@lboro.ac.uk (Richard Heath)
> Subject: AVTAVDIG
> Date: Wed, 7 May 1997 19:21:19 +0100
>
> A couple of issues ago I wrote asking for opinions on whether Allan was a
> "Canterbury guitarist" and as an afterthought, slipped in a mention about
> PIL and the possible presence of Tony Williams. The response on the latter
> has been overwhelming and the former (considerably more relevant to
> AVTAVDIG) there has been sweet Fanny Adams ("zero").
I would say Allan is a San Diego guitarist.
> Date: Thu, 08 May 97 13:54:50 EST
> From: "Mark Jordan"
> Subject: The Digest
>
> Bruno Bissonnette asked if anyone had heard the PIL album Album (or CD
> The worst aspect of this album is Mr Rotten himself. Otherwise
> it's great.
Mr Lydon is English, an complete original, and enjoys beer. That puts
him up there with Holdsworth !
> Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 09:00:07 +0000
> From: alejandro martin
> Subject: ...no subject...
>
> I've noticed 'special thanks' to Allan on the liner notes of both the 'Dr.
> Hee' and 'Reality Check' albums from Tribal Tech. Is there an interesting
> story behind this?
I read somewhere that Allan used to give equipment advice to Henderson.
I can hear him saying, 'Hey Scotty, your tone really sucked tonight....
You know, I think I have something that might help you.... it's called
'The Harness', and it's quite affordable......'
By the way, has anybody here heard Henderson's new CD ? I want reviews
!!
AU REVOIR
Francisco Espinoza
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End of Atavachron Digest
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The New Atavachron Digest 97/06/07
----------
From: Steve_Vaughan@ilink.demon.co.uk
Date: Wed, 04 Jun 97 09:49:17 GMT
Subject: Scott Henderson
> By the way, has anybody here heard Henderson's new CD ? I want
> reviews!!
> Francisco Espinoza
New Scott Henderson CD? When? What's it called? Who's on it? Info
anyone, please!!!
[ Moderator's note: It's called _Tore Down House_, and is on
Mesa/Bluemoon, distributed by net-abusers Atlantic Records. It's
also been in my car CD player for over a week -- fantastic CD.
--JP ]
Incidentally, for the poor suckers out there who have DESPERATELY been
trying to get hold of Tribal Tech's "Dr. Hee", CDNow have some import
copies available. HURRAH!
Steve Vaughan
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Date: Wed, 04 Jun 1997 08:40:30 -0400
From: Mark Brown
Subject: ? -Reply
Most Bootlegs don't interest me anyway. I think it's kinda like a maturity
thing. How can anyone get a vib from sorry recordings that have more
distortion or super poor eq than something I would record myself on a
cassette deck at home? I mean unless you get a copy straight from the
board it's going to suck(And the board mix usually isn't a very good
recording source since it is set for a live mix) even with the semi new
dat hand helds the quality is bad. I for one prefer this forum to refrain
from having bootleg lists and understand Allan's POV. If I heard my music
being represented in such a way, I would be pissed too!
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From: Jphoc@aol.com
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 11:47:11 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: No Subject
Enough of all this PIL *#@%
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Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 09:19:49 -0800
From: tduggan@ttsd.k12.or.us (Tom Duggan)
Subject: Jim Matheos/Random ramblings
It's always nice to read about music in the ATAVADIG that fellow spider
fans might enjoy. So, I'm going to plug a band that features a guy who is
not like Holdsworth, but who also commands great musicianship and skill.
Jim Matheos (his band is called Fates Warning).
He has released one solo album called "First Impressions" that is an
excellent acoustic new-agey collection with a variety of stringed
instruments to complement his sound. While he doesn't wale (just kidding)
on this CD, the songs are nonetheless pretty damn good listening,
especially if you need to relax.
Fates Warning may not excite the typical Holdsworth fan, but in my opinion
the songwriting, lyrics, guitar, and vocals together absolutely rule. If
you happen to think Rush and Queensryche are good bands (I hope this
transgression into metal is not anathema), you will like Fates. Man, now
this does "wail." I suggest the No Exit, Perfect Symmetry, Parallels, and
Inside Out albums. You can probably pick them up cheap at used CD stores
as most people think it's too heavy. They also have a new album "A
Pleasant Shade of Gray" that I am slowly easing myself into--it consists of
one 50 minute song. So far, it's different, but I like it.
Check it out if you can--have fun. TD
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From: Calvan Yuen
Subject: Allan the salesman?? and Strange Advance
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 13:21:00 -0400
>Date: Tue, 03 Jun 1997 02:48:05 -0700
>=46rom: Francisco Espinoza Estrada
>Subject: Herring Sexism Lydon Henderson
>I read somewhere that Allan used to give equipment advice to Henderson.
>I can hear him saying, 'Hey Scotty, your tone really sucked tonight....
>You know, I think I have something that might help you.... it's called
>'The Harness', and it's quite affordable......'
Somehow I don't envision Allan as the salesman type...It wouldn't
surprise me if the conversation happened the other way around...
Well, enough of that character analysis...
BTW, I picked up a cassette of SA's 'The Distance Between' from the
cutout bin recently, which Allan 'guests' on two cuts (pushed back in
the mix and swamped in reverb). The question is ..how he got involved
in this project as the music (power synth pop) seems to be totally out
of his idiom.
Regards,
Cal Yuen (cyuen@rci.rogers.com)
Vancouver BC Canada
p.s. - To Jeff - I can supply track info & personnel from this album if
you like since I didn't see it on the website...but mind you, not much
of a contribution...sounds like a 'drop-in overdub' performance for
Allan on this one...
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Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 15:07:36 -0400
From: Vince_Leonberger@mail.sel.sony.com (Vince Leonberger)
Subject: Ladies
Anyone
It is no surprise why most woman don't really like
progressive instrumental music. The fact is that men are
the ones that mainly play this type of music. The question
should be, Why don't an equal amount of women have the same
taste of playing this type of music? How many incredible
saxophone players are woman? How about drummers? Pick an
instrument and make a list of woman who play them in a
progressive rock/jazz venue. No disrespect intended at all.
I think that it is just the way this type of music evolved.
Does it really matter though? I mean nobody is stopping
woman from playing any type of music.
Vince
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From: Marscrepe@aol.com
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 16:00:45 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: No Subject
Wales or wails ! Either way they sure can play. And like i was saying, so do
Robert Fripp, Steve Hackett , Steve Howe, Eddie Van Halen. I think i read
some where that Steve Howe was one of Steve Hacketts favorite guitarist. Also
i have a different reason for listening to AH. And it is not cause i play the
guitar cause i dont. It is the emotion and the feeling i get from hearing
it. Also it is unbelievable the sounds he gets from his guitar. All of the
above get some outrageous sounds from their strings. A lot of the time you
wonder if it is a guitar. Like for instance new King Crimson Cd Thrak .
Adrian Belew plays a guitar that sounds like a symphony. Awesome. Not to do
with AH . But new Bowie CD is awesome and so is the new Depeche Mode. Take
care all you Walers listeners.
C-ya Steve
----------
From: WDCKdarin@aol.com
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 17:46:10 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Niacin/Mcglaughlin
>>Niacin is a new trio with Billy Sheehan, John Novello &
Dennis Chambers... it SMOKES on CD..<<
...Sorry, I'd have to strongly disagree with that. With that big 3 musician
power, it is a real letdown. It never gets smokin'...never goes anywhere. Go
back to Jimmy McGriff for the real thing.
On another note, in the June issue of Pulse! magazine (put out by Tower
Records), John Mcglaughlin is quoted as saying that he would like to get with
AH to play and record. John is currently touring with a quintet that includes
Dennis Chambers on drums.
Subject: Niacin/Mcglaughlin
>>Niacin is a new trio with Billy Sheehan, John Novello &
Dennis Chambers... it SMOKES on CD..<<
...Sorry, I'd have to strongly disagree with that. With that big 3 musician
power, it is a real letdown. It never gets smokin'...never goes anywhere. Go
back to Jimmy McGriff for the real thing.
On another note, in the June issue of Pulse! magazine (put out by Tower
Records), John Mcglaughlin is quoted as saying that he would like to get with
AH to play and record. John is currently touring with a quintet that includes
Dennis Chambers on drums.
----------
From: Snsound@aol.com
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 22:02:33 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: No Subject
HOWDY,
Just a small review of Hendersons' cd. It's cool, kind of McLaughlin meets
Stevie Ray Vaughn. Thelma Houston is great with a couple of sarcastic lyrics
that Scott's famous for. I missed Gary Willis' playing. Dave Carpenter plays
very well, it's just wierd Gary and Scott not playing together. Worth the
money, just not a Tribal Tech recording.
We Love You In Houston Alan,
mike morrison/guitarist, engineer, producer, hack of all trades.
----------
From: Glorylane@aol.com
Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 22:23:44 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: No Subject
Nice to "hear" some fun commentary from Holdsworth fans (I just received my
1st Atavachron mail). Just wanted to state that I think that some of Allan
Holdsworth's most loaded leads come from his work w/ JL Ponty. I'm not a
huge fan of Ponty, just his place in progrock. Ponty's always produced well
with good musicians. I just want to recommend a song to all, from JLP's
Enigmatic Ocean, called Nostalgic Lady (JLP is so cheesy in it). AH, though,
has what I believe is his most tasteful solo ever....that you can listen to
it a hundred times, each time with a new discovery. Later all...see you at
Club Benet....
----------
Date: Thu, 05 Jun 1997 15:09:29 -0500
From: Tony Hubert
Subject: Long time, no post
I'm guilty of major lurking lately; but you know how it is--I am myself a
musician and web monkey wrapped up in my own gigs.
I listened to Enigmatic Ocean just the other day for kicks and couldn't help
but marvel at how fluid and inventive Allan's lines are, and how they
contrast dramatically with the lead lines of Darryl Stuermer(sp?). Darryl's
leads sound really labored and McLaughlinesque (fast ascending triplets,
however harken back to DiMeola); Holdsworth, however lays back and plays
around the pentatonic instead of in it, touching on the tri-tone and a
generally "modal" sound.
One tune fades out just as Holdworth is beginning to take off--a real
pisser! I remember listening to his playing when the album was first
released and not really noticing the full extent of his soloing--he made it
sound so easy you almost assumed it was a synthesizer. A friend of mine was
convinced (pre-synthaxe) that A.H. was synthed until we saw him in IOU a few
years later. Jaws remained dropped pretty much for that whole concert!
On the bootleg thing: I know that Holdsworth's playing live is incredible
and yields all kinds of little surprises you don't always hear on the
"official" recordings; it's tempting to want to capture these epiphanies;
however I respect his feelings on bootlegging and agree it does a disservice
to the musicians involved. Many people in this forum have suggested he put
out a live recording, and I too would like nothing better, but I won't rip
one off for my own indulgence.
Till next time, atavachronies...
----------
From: MrBERWELL@aol.com
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 19:06:59 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Jonathan Kreisberg Trio
I wanted to thank Darin (WDCKdarin) for mentioning the Jonathan Kreisberg
Trio a few digests ago. I have since seen these guys four times, and they
kick some serious gludious max. The Holdsworth influence is very evident in
Jonathan's playing, but his stylings are much more varied than AH's... he is
a very well rounded player. On a hollow body he proves that he can hold his
own with ANY straight ahead player. The rest of the band is equally as
smoking, and I HIGHLY recommend them! They have one cd out, and you can get
it at their gigs, and I think you can order it from their web page:
http://www.gate.net/~vvbatboy/
mrberwell@aol.com
----------
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 97 23:55:46 UT
From: "Timothy Messer"
Subject: Tribal Tech
Greetings
> Date: Tue, 13 May 1997 09:00:07 +0000
> From: alejandro martin
> Subject: ...no subject...
>=20
> I've noticed 'special thanks' to Allan on the liner notes of both the 'Dr.
> Hee' and 'Reality Check' albums from Tribal Tech. Is there an interesting
> story behind this?
On the subject of Tribal Tech, for those in the antipodes who have not heard
the news, the band is touring Australia in June/July. The Melbourne dates are
4, 5 & 6 July at the Continental. Virgil Donati is playing drums on the tour.
Regards
Tim Messer
Messer_in_Law@msn.com
----------
From: Paolo Valladolid
Subject: Holdsworth Guitar
Date: Thu, 5 Jun 1997 18:11:33 -0700 (PDT)
I finally had the opportunity to try out the Holdsworth Guitar at
my local Carvin showroom. My experience was pretty much on par with
comments posted here as well as the Guitar Player review; except the
guitar still sounded good when I strummed it hard and it didn't go out of
tune (at least to my ears) when I tried bending notes. In summary,
great 335-like tone due to the chambered semi-hollow design, comfortably
light body, comfortable neck with enough mass for good sustain.
I asked about fitting a Roland pickup with a tremelo-equipped model and
was told Holdsworth does use a tremelo-equipped guitar that has a Roland
pickup installed for driving a VG8. It's a tight fit, but yes, the pickup
can be insalled without having to move anything on the guitar.
Paolo Valladolid
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|for Music Technology and Stringed Instruments | \
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Date: Sat, 07 Jun 1997 17:30:16 -0700
From: Francisco Espinoza Estrada
Subject: WHY PLINKING WOMEN ARE SCARCE
Dear eight-legged-boot-leggers,
> Date: Fri, 16 May 1997 18:07:18 +0000
> =46rom: aclark@zappa.u-net.com (Adrian Clark/Nicola Sainsbury)
> Subject: Re: Marscrepe@aol.com
>
> > Steve Hackett he wales.
>
> I presume you mean "wails". But does Steve Hackett wail? I thought he just
> kind of plinked along apologetically...
LOL ! This is the best definition of Hackett's style I've ever
seen !
And it applies to Howe too, although not very apologetical...
> and later...
> >a very good point and one which someone should research. But not I. OK?
>
> You're absolutely right - what is it that makes mainly instrumental guitar
> playing a primarily male pursuit?
Primarily two things:
A) If Tommy gets a guitar for X-Mas, Sally will most probably get a nice
dress and a cute doll. Santa is the leader of a conspiracy against girl
guitarists.
B) The aforementioned fact supresses potential female musicians and
contributes to the lack of examples for women to follow. (Apparently,
they need examples to change the Status Quo) Hence, for each million
male players, we only have Leni Stern and Emily Remler. To make things
worse, Emily sadly passed away....
Seriously, our patriarchal society doesn't encourage women to
take up guitars. It's still a macho affair. Same with listening choices,
which are not really choices, because they are being made for teenagers.
A 15 year old girl will have to listen to 'Take That', to be socially
accepted. A 15 year old boy would instead, use a 'Take That' photo as
toilet paper and listen to Bush, which is the same corporate crap, BUT,
with distorted guitar. This is the case of my younger sister and me. In
the eighties I'd listen to Hard Rock while my sister enjoyed the New
Kids. Hard Rock made me wanna play guitar and eventually took me to
Holdsworth, Scofield and Frisell. The New Kids took my sister nowhere.
(Just took her money)
> Date: Sat, 17 May 1997 12:22:44 -0400 (EDT)
> =46rom: andre
> Subject: Re: niacin
>
> all this talk of weird musical matchings reminds me of a SICk show i saw
> this week in NYC - Niacin is a new trio with Billy Sheehan, John Novello &
> Dennis Chambers... it SMOKES on CD
I disagree here. I was really dissapointed with this one. The
songs are boring, merely soloing vehicles. I only liked one of them and
it was a cover, an arrangement of a Stravinsky theme. And I definitely
didn't like John Novello's playing, very stiff pentatonic solos, but not
bluesy. Very predictable and un-funky. And you can't afford to be
un-funky if you have Dennis on the drumkit.For much better Hammond trios
, go get Jonas Hellborg's 'Group e'(with the Johansson bros., smokin' !)
or Medeski, Martin and Wood's 'Shack Man'. Satisfaction Guaranteed !
> and Billy particularly surprises ! i always loved his playing, have
> seen him a few times, but this will shock you..he grooves hard !
Billy is a great groover. Dave Lee Roth's first two albums and
specially Greg Howe's eponymous debut are the biggest proof of this.
> Date: Mon, 2 Jun 1997 16:09:30 +0100
> =46rom: "Bas van der Heijden"
> Subject: Info new album
>
> In a German Jazz magazine called "Jazzthing", (nummer 19.Juni-
> August 97) there was a short interview with Allan. He spoke
> about the upcoming album. At the time of the interview AH was
> working on the compositions together with Dave Carpenter and
> Gary Novak. Guest appearences of Alan Pasqua and Walt Fowler
> (trumpet player!, see CWs The View) will be expected.
Wonderful news, Walt Fowler rules ! Check out his Hubbard
influenced solos in Frank Zappa's 1988 Tour CD's, specially 'Make a
Jazz Noise Here'.
And , FINALLY, talkin' about female guitarists, has anybody here
heard Susan Weinert ? What's she like ? (her music, I mean !)
Tziao Ling,
Francisco Espinoza
----------
End of Atavachron Digest
Send postings to: atavachron@webster.com
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The New Atavachron Digest 97/06/15
----------
Date: 08 Jun 97 10:02:18 EDT
From: Douglas Kent <73567.1414@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Message from Internet
"Wales or wails ! Either way they sure can play. And like i was saying, so do
Robert Fripp, Steve Hackett , Steve Howe, Eddie Van Halen. I think i read
some where that Steve Howe was one of Steve Hacketts favorite guitarist. Also"
Thought I'd point out hat Howe and Hackett play together on that GTR album
from the early 80's (with Max Bacon on vocals).
----------
From: KayRaoki@aol.com
Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 10:24:36 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Scott Henderson
<<[ Moderator's note: It's called _Tore Down House_, and is on
Mesa/Bluemoon, distributed by net-abusers Atlantic Records. It's
also been in my car CD player for over a week -- fantastic CD.
--JP ]>>
To clarify, this album is a follow up to "Dog Party" and is not "Tribal Tech"
style. It is primarily vocal oriented blues and is definately worth getting
if you also dig that CD.
<>
Yeah, but MuzikQuest@aol.com has copies of the US pressing of this CD for
less, and they also have US copies of Spears and Nomad too. If you Email them
with your mailing address, they'll send you a free catalog!!! Check 'em out.
They got lots of good fusion stuff thats hard to find!
Kay
----------
From: "Blum, Marc"
Subject: AW:
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 09:15:48 +0200
Francisco Wrote
> ----------
> From: Francisco Espinoza Estrada
> Subject: WHY PLINKING WOMEN ARE SCARCE
>
> And , FINALLY, talkin' about female guitarists, has anybody
> here
> heard Susan Weinert ? What's she like ? (her music, I mean !)
>
> Tziao Ling,
>
> Francisco Espinoza
>
>
As being one of the few german atavachronians, i'm really aware of Mrs.
Weinert's playing. In only a few years she grew to one of europe's
top-fusion-guitarists and -composers. She has three cds out:
"Mysterious Stories": here you can hear the great influence, that
scofield's "Blue Matter" had on a whole generation of
fusion-funk-jazz-players. Very, very tight.
"The Bottom Line": The actual cd. with Rachel Z. on keys. Their jazziest
release to date. The BIG THUMB remained at home.
"Crunch Time": more in the Tribal Tech - vain. Much more interplay.
Drummer Hardy Fischštter is one of europe finest hard-funk, fusion and
jazz drummers. When the drummer of my fusionband heard him the first
time, he switched from "Dennis is god." to "Hardy is god." . Mr.
Fischštter is also member of the UNBELIEVABLE "Franck-Band", which
combines Hard-funk, jazz, punk and all other music to an incredible
amalgan. Highly recommended! SIX stars! A MUST!
Check out: www.cologne-media.de/musik/franckband/
Greetings
Marc Blum
----------
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 09:17:03 +0100
From: Ian Sterling
Subject: Bootlegs, Hackett and Howe
Dear Atavachronites,
This is my first posting so I'd like to take the opportunity to thank
Jeff for providing a valuable service and all those who have made
postings. I'm always interested in what people have to say and
especially in what other music they are lstening to. More please.
On the subject of bootlegs I think that Frank Zappa had an enlightened
attitude. He was happy for genuine fans to *swap* tapes but was totally
opposed to people making money from it. He even went so far as to
bootleg the bootleggers and issued several such live CDs under the title
of "Beat the Boots". I consider my Holdsworth music collection
priceless and so I think it's right to respect the wishes of the source
of this great art.
Finally, I'd like to defend Steve Hackett and Steve Howe. Sure, the GTR
thing was awful but check out Howe on Yessongs and Yesshows - he is
brilliant live and changes his solos at every show. Check out Hackett
on Genesis Live from 1973 and you'll be amazed at how heavy he/they were
then. Also, Spectral Mornings (the album) is one of the most complete,
atmospheric and beautiful recordings I've ever heard.
Cheers,
Ian Sterling
----------
Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 13:10:23 +0000
From: aclark@zappa.u-net.com (Adrian Clark/Nicola Sainsbury)
Subject: Re:
Francisco Espinoza Estrada wrote...
>> You're absolutely right - what is it that makes mainly instrumental guitar
>> playing a primarily male pursuit?
>
> Primarily two things:
>
>A) If Tommy gets a guitar for X-Mas, Sally will most probably get a nice
>dress and a cute doll. Santa is the leader of a conspiracy against girl
>guitarists.
I never trusted the fat, bearded git either.
>B) The aforementioned fact supresses potential female musicians and
>contributes to the lack of examples for women to follow. (Apparently,
>they need examples to change the Status Quo)
Do you mean "status quo" or "Status Quo"? We should definitely change the
status quo, but Status Quo should just be taken into a field and shot for
disservices to music ;-)
(Do people in Chile know who Status Quo are?)
>Hence, for each million
>male players, we only have Leni Stern and Emily Remler. To make things
>worse, Emily sadly passed away....
There's Jennifer Batten too. And I reckon that if she had just been a very
competent rock/metal player, she would have got NOWHERE (I mean where are
Vixen these days?) To be recognised in the male guitar world she had to
have a thorough grounding in bebop and the most terrifying eight-fingered
tapping chops - the kind of stuff that most male guitarists can only dream
about.
> Seriously, our patriarchal society doesn't encourage women to
>take up guitars. It's still a macho affair. Same with listening choices,
>which are not really choices, because they are being made for teenagers.
>A 15 year old girl will have to listen to 'Take That', to be socially
>accepted. A 15 year old boy would instead, use a 'Take That' photo as
>toilet paper and listen to Bush, which is the same corporate crap, BUT,
>with distorted guitar.
Yeah, I agree pretty much with what you're saying, but just to add a hint
of another aspect to the discussion...
I teach guitar, and the majority of my victims... er, I mean students...
tend to be teenage boys. However, the handful of teenage girls I've taught
have been interesting to watch (oops, sounds a bit pervy there!) For a
start, they're very into what they do, and pick things up a hell of a lot
faster than the boys. Also, in my experience, they've tended to have the
same musical interests as the boys - used to be Nirvana, then the Beatles
and now Radiohead/Manic Street Preachers. Not many girls of 15 would want
to be caught listening to Take That (well, no-one does anymore, but it's
exactly the same now with the Spice Girls). I don't know, maybe it's the
area I live in (S. London).
What's also interesting is that while a small percentage of the boys do
inevitably get interested in technique and more demanding types of music
(like us AH fans probably did at some point) the girls never do that. They
always seem to be more interested in using the guitar purely as a tool to
express themselves through songs, and only learn enough to do so. Again,
that's only my narrow experience of a few teenagers in a particular area of
London, but there you go. Maybe it also has a lot to do with the fact that
teenagers are only exposed to certain types of music. As a 16-year-old
Zappa fan, I was pretty weird!
More food for thought, folks
Adrian
-------------------------------------------------------
aclark@zappa.u-net.com
The online manifestation of
ADRIAN CLARK & NICOLA SAINSBURY
-------------------------------------------------------
----------
Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 07:30:00 -0800
From: paul mason
Subject: Re: AH & Strange Advance
Hi,
In response to Cal Yuen's remarks on AH on this Vancouver band's
mid-80's release, as I understand it they simply called him up and asked
him if he was interested in doing the tracks. He stopped by a local
studio one afternoon while on tour here and did the sessions. Easy if
you know how, I guess....
Paul Mason
----------
Date: Mon, 09 Jun 1997 21:55:25 -0700
From: Francisco Espinoza Estrada
Subject: HOLDSWORTH GOES A-HEADBANGIN'
Estimados aranofilos,
> From: Steve_Vaughan@ilink.demon.co.uk
> Date: Wed, 04 Jun 97 09:49:17 GMT
> Subject: Scott Henderson
>
> New Scott Henderson CD? When? What's it called? Who's on it? Info
> anyone, please!!!
Vaughan digs Henderson ?? If you listen to 'Dog Party' you might think
it's the other way around... ;o)
> From: Jphoc@aol.com
> Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 11:47:11 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: No Subject
>
> Enough of all this PIL *#@%
Jphoc = Johnny Plays Horseshit On Cocaine
> Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 09:19:49 -0800
> From: tduggan@ttsd.k12.or.us (Tom Duggan)
> Subject: Jim Matheos/Random ramblings
>
> Fates Warning may not excite the typical Holdsworth fan, but in my opinion
> the songwriting, lyrics, guitar, and vocals together absolutely rule. If
> you happen to think Rush and Queensryche are good bands (I hope this
> transgression into metal is not anathema), you will like Fates.
Not necessarily, IMO. I used to listen to FW back in the eighties, and
they definitely don't show the pop background Rush display at their
best. FW is sort of a second generation Iron Maiden with a little thrash
influence. The only 'prog' thing about them is what nearly killed prog
at the end of the seventies: CLICHES; very long songs, with many tempo
shifts, odd tempos (if, after all these years, 7/8 still sounds odd to
you), corny acoustic guitar interludes, lots of boring guitar solos, a
squealing vocalist (think Jon Anderson goes Heavy Metal), and lyrics
that have nothing to do with rock 'n roll. Everything, very well played
though... I know there is an audience for this kind of music somewhere
(Japan comes to mind), but to me this band misses the point because IT
AIN'T ROCKIN'. Queensryche are equally pretentious, but can rock IMO...
> You can probably pick them up cheap at used CD stores
> as most people think it's too heavy.
I don't think that's the reason why you can find them cheap. FW are not
a heavy band. They don't 'deliver the goods' as Judas Priest would put
it. Slayer and Pantera are examples of true heavy, headbangeable bands.
(This is getting very un-Allan.... Wait, I forgot that he once played
with one of the most illustrious cheese-metal bands of the eighties, the
swiss blitz, KROKUS !! And Krokus made a very good AC/DC-Priest
hybrid...)
> From: Calvan Yuen
> Subject: Allan the salesman?? and Strange Advance
> Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 13:21:00 -0400
>
> >I read somewhere that Allan used to give equipment advice to Henderson.
> >I can hear him saying, 'Hey Scotty, your tone really sucked tonight....
> >You know, I think I have something that might help you.... it's called
> >'The Harness', and it's quite affordable......'
>
> Somehow I don't envision Allan as the salesman type...It wouldn't
> surprise me if the conversation happened the other way around...
Oh ! I forgot to put the smiley face at the end of this fictitious
fusion summit ! Well, now we know Henderson is the salesman type !
> BTW, I picked up a cassette of SA's 'The Distance Between' from the
> cutout bin recently, which Allan 'guests' on two cuts (pushed back in
> the mix and swamped in reverb). The question is ..how he got involved
> in this project as the music (power synth pop) seems to be totally out
> of his idiom.
LOL ! I lost all my astonishment capability after he 'Played that Funky
Music' with none other than Jeff Watson of Night Ranger, a band up there
with Krokus in the cheese department. :O)
> Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 15:07:36 -0400
> From: Vince_Leonberger@mail.sel.sony.com (Vince Leonberger)
> Subject: Ladies
>
> Pick an
> instrument and make a list of woman who play them in a
> progressive rock/jazz venue. No disrespect intended at all.
> I think that it is just the way this type of music evolved.
> Does it really matter though? I mean nobody is stopping
> woman from playing any type of music.
Are you sure of this ? When somebody decides to pick up an instrument I
think it's the result of his/her inner expressive tendencies fueled by
the environment. The same environment that leads men to get up and do
it, atrophies these tendencies in women. This is specially true when it
comes to intelligent, thoughtful music, because it's an extension of
what happens with women in society. The big majority of women aren't
allowed to be intelligent. Plus, as patriarchal society supresses their
intellect, it does so with men's emotionality, leading more men to seek
the ultimate emotional relief, playin' that geetar !!
> From: WDCKdarin@aol.com
> Date: Wed, 4 Jun 1997 17:46:10 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Niacin/Mcglaughlin
>
> >>Niacin is a new trio with Billy Sheehan, John Novello &
> Dennis Chambers... it SMOKES on CD..<<
>
> ...Sorry, I'd have to strongly disagree with that. With that big 3 musician
> power, it is a real letdown. It never gets smokin'...never goes anywhere. Go
> back to Jimmy McGriff for the real thing.
Yeah ! And Jimmy Smith and Larry Young too...
> On another note, in the June issue of Pulse! magazine (put out by Tower
> Records), John Mcglaughlin is quoted as saying that he would like to get with
> AH to play and record.
Johnny insists in jammin' with better musicians than himself. :o) Did
you hear him with Beck ?
Finally, thanks a lot to Mike Morrison, engineer, producer and hack of
all trades, for the info on 'Tore Down House'. And to Jody 'ARU FREAK'
McAllister for shedding great light on Jimmy Herring's antics. And to
Piotr Nowicki for the Susan Weinert information ! Gracias Amigos !
Nos Bemoles
Francisco 'feminist metalfreak' Espinoza
----------
From: ROCKYCJ@aol.com
Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 00:40:13 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: This extreme AH business
Y'know, we have a CD of Rennaisance playing in the player right NOW.... Annie
Haslam can actually sing! Very refreshing to hear. And Allan can Actually
make His instrument make real music....as we all know he has imitators to the
max, who mostly have to re-examine their instrument to come up with the junk
AH can come to the board prepared with. So it's like a lot of these
"Henderson" type folks with a long list of etc's, can only beging to explore
it as a strange part of guitarism at a later date, and AH once again proves
he is incredible.
Whattaya all think? Am I fece breathed or do you think this is probable?
Answer at your own risk....
Die har AH Fan...
----------
Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 11:30:13 -0700 (PDT)
From: Roger Billerey
Subject: Random thoughts
Hello everyone here
Just a few things. I've been reading reviews of Niacin's album in various
US guitar magazines and to my surprise all of them (as most people on this
list) panned the CD as a one-dimensional rehash of old B3 masters,
contending that it never "takes off" to the heights that could be expected
from such players. Well, I have to disagree. It's a very well-produced,
monster-groovin' melodic album, it rocks without the obnoxious
time-signature shifts that are so annoying in "prog-rock", and it sure
doesn't take off--from my CD player. Been playing it constantly for a
while and it's not nearly tired (nor am I).
Back to Holdsworth. How about "pressuring" the guy into recording with
Greg Howe? To some of you who may not have heard his playing, the guy is a
monster player (and I mean a monster) with super melodic playing,
unbelievable technique (on a par with Shawn Lane, for instance, and well
beyond Gambale's lick-based speed playing) and a great fusion sensibility.
Such an album would rule. Rule my world, at least, but it's better than
nothing, isn't it? ;)
Lastly I got a chance to give a spin to an album by English
blues-rock-jazz guitar player Ron E. Carter (no relation to the bass
great), which is quite enjoyable. The guy sometimes gets lost in fast
passages he cannot really afford technically speaking, but his tone is
sweet. Reminds one of Robben Ford at times.
That's it for now. Too long, as always. This Digest is just too inspiring.
So let's just keep "waling" ;) (or burning, ripping, and so forth)
Rog the Frog
----------
From: Calvan Yuen
Subject: Strange Advance album info
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 13:13:00 -0400
Here's information on 'The Distance Between' by Strange Advance:
Tracks:
Till The Stars Fall (Arnott, Kromm)
Love Becomes Electric (Kromm)
Who Lives Next Door (*)(Arnott, Hyde)
Love Is Strange (Arnott, Kromm)
This Island Earth (Kromm)
Hold You (Arnott)
Crying In The Ocean (Arnott)
Wild Blue (Arnott, Kromm)
Rock And Whirl (Kromm)
Ultimate Angels (Arnott, Tait-Arnott)
Alien Time (*)(Arnott, Kromm)
Produced by Drew Arnott, Howard Ayee & Joe Primeau
Recorded at Phase 1 Studios, Toronto. Additional recording in
Vancouver, Toronto & Pickering
Personnel:
Strange Advance -
Darryl Kromm - Vocals & guitars
Drew Arnott - Vocals & keyboards
Additional musicians:
Drums - Greg Critchley, Owen Tennyson
Guitars - Jim Hubay, Ian Cameron, Simon Brierley, Allan Holdsworth (*
tracks), Ed Shaw, Randy Bachman
Bass - Howard Ayee, Mathew Gerrard, Steve Webster
Violin - Ian Cameron
Pedal Steel - Kenny Greer
Backing vox - Peter Fredette, Storm, Howard Ayee, Joe Primeau, Dawnlea
Arnott
All titles published Brand New Sound Music 1987
(c) 1988 Current Entertainment/Capitol Records EMI
----------
From: "Leslie Miller"
Subject: honest female?
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 1997 21:56:25 -0500
Hello Fellow Holdswothians!
Writing in just to keep in touch and to comment on a couple of things in
the last few issues. First I want to applaud Jeff for sticking with his
guns on the issue of bootlegs. Jeff has spent a lot of time and hard work
to make sure this digest and the site is of a high quality one. He has
worked hard to make sure it is a place that is honest. To promote bootlegs
would be less than honest and would betray a trust with Allan himself...Now
that would not be a cool thing to do would it? It would be a disrespectful
thing to do. Especially since Allan has made his feelings painfully clear
about the subject matter. For those who insist on buying bootlegs, go
somwhere else and do not ask someone (Namely Jeff) who has a earned trust
with someone (namely Allan in this case) to break that trust.... It could
lead to this digest and site not being supported by the very person (Allan)
we are here for!
Also I would like to comment on all of the comments about female AH fans. I
have gotten the feeling that some are under the opine that this is all
strictly a musician thing... You have to be a musician to be into Allan or
that as a female your taste are"conditioned" by society,etc...I am female
and not a musician and I had no one twisting my arm as to what musical
taste I like ....and I am defiantly an Allan Holdswoth fan.Not just
because of his musical technical wizardry, (That goes without saying) but
because he is an artist who speaks across any bounderies..Yes even the
boundaries of just other musicians. So just listen...His music speaks to
all .... Females, males. musicians and non- musicians a like.
(Gee.. gripe ,gripe gripe heh?) Thanks for letting me have my definite two
cents in!That is what makes it fun! Will keep in touch!
Leslie
----------
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 00:07:16 -0700
From: Francisco Espinoza
Subject: NEW MARCELLI/HOLDSWORTH THANG
Dear Allan Holdsworth people,
There's an Andrea Marcelli page out there in cyberspace, and it's
mantained by Andrea himself. Check it out:
http://home.earthlink.net/~marcelli/
You can write to Andrea.... I did, and he told me about an upcoming
recording with Allan:
Marcelli wrote:
> Allan and myself are still working on the New project
> and we do not have many information yet.
> I can tell you that the music is original.
> Please check Allan's and my web page as we will write any update soon.
This is great news, 'cause the (only) two tunes with Allan in 'Oneness'
left me hungry for more...
C U
Francisco 'hungry' Espinoza
----------
Date: Sat, 14 Jun 1997 00:48:10 -0700
From: Francisco Espinoza
Subject: LANE + STERN + KAISER = ATONAL A.O.R.
Dear Holdsworthy fellas,
I found this very entertaining information in an update to Jens
'alternative-college-dude' Johansson's page. Since he doesn't post, I'll
do it... it's too good news !!
Jens 'synth bass deity' Johansson wrote:
" Anyway, at this date (5/11) lots of projects are half-finished and in
the works. The "Hemidemisemiquaver" record is something like 90% done, I
have lots of overdubs for it -- maybe even enough stuff to mix it
sometime soon. It's sort-of hardcore tech-prog. Maybe a bit
electronic-aggressive as well, haven't decided yet. If these labels mean
little, that's because I just made them up. It could turn out to be doom
polka music as well. Actually, progressive hip-hop might be cool. (Death
jazz? Atonal AOR? Biker Ska?) Anyway, Shawn Lane (of legendary fame) and
Mike Stern (of legendary Miles Davis fame, and legendary own fame as
well) each have played a bunch of solos. There's a possibility that Andy
West (of Dixie Dregs fame) will play some bass on it as well. But he's
extremely busy nowadays doing software consulting so we'll see how that
goes! Otherwise I'll just use the "emergency synth bass" that I (of
legendary in my own mind fame) already have recorded. Andy transfered
the overdub tapes at his friend Henry Kaiser's place. Henry apparently
was maybe interested in playing something on it as well! Now there's
four guitarists you'd probably never see in a room together!! ;)
Amazing. who knows what will happen!? "
IS THIS COOL OR WHAT ??
I can't wait for this, and Berlin's, and Allan's, and NeverWas', and
Marcelli's, and Steve Hunt's.... By the way, when is Hunt's CD coming
out ????
Francisco Espinoza (on behalf of Jens' wallet)
----------
End of Atavachron Digest
Send postings to: atavachron@webster.com
Send administrative requests to: atavachron-request@addimension.com
Web page: http://www.addimension.com/holdsworth/
Sponsored in part by Alchemy Records
http://www.musicpro.com/alchemy/
The New Atavachron Digest 97/06/25
----------
From: "Blum, Marc"
Subject: The Niacin recording
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 09:08:05 +0200
hi all you holdsworthians,
here's my contribution to the "Niacin - does it suck or does it rule?" -
discussion.
I LIKE IT!!
Having and loving nearly all recording by billy sheehan (check out greg
howe's first and tony macalpine's first ) I was hopefully waiting for
his interplay with THE GREAT D.C. . I was a bit astonished, that the
hammond is that featured. Dennis is great as ever and billy remains a
bit in the background: surprisingly there are no guitar-like
dideli-dudeli-I'mthefastestguninthewest-solos but to be honest, billy is
no jazz-head and shouldn't even try to.
After hearing the cd three times I couldn't stop hearing it again and
again, so I won't say it sucks. I just love the interplay and the sort
of jam-character of the music.
...and now for something completely different:
the franck-band-homepage is written in german language, so if there are
any questions about them...gimme a mail
bye
marc
----------
From: "Glenn Astarita"
Date: Mon, 16 Jun 1997 20:57:41 -0500
from the AH digest...
Hello everyone here
Just a few things. I've been reading reviews of Niacin's album in various
US guitar magazines and to my surprise all of them (as most people on this
list) panned the CD as a one-dimensional rehash of old B3 masters,
contending that it never "takes off" to the heights that could be expected
from such players. Well, I have to disagree. It's a very well-produced,
monster-groovin' melodic album, it rocks without the obnoxious
time-signature shifts that are so annoying in "prog-rock", and it sure
doesn't take off--from my CD player. Been playing it constantly for a
while and it's not nearly tired (nor am I).
I agree. I find it to be refreshing and compelling. It revives the B3
trio concept fairly well. Fusion critic Bill Milkowski panned it in Tower
records Pulse magazine around the same time i reviewed it for an Internet
site. Perhaps some folks would expect an all out chop-saki session ? It
grooves......and yes things heat up. In the liner notes John Novello cites
all his influences on the B3. I think his potpourri of tasteful licks
coupled with a monstrous bottom line rhythm section creates the desired
effects. Sure it could have been a free for all with the time signature
thing,,,,but who cares ? We can get that stuff anytime....
Glenn
----------
Date: Tue, 17 Jun 1997 02:01:54 -0700
From: Francisco Espinoza
Subject: Come On, Frenchie ! SNAP IT !!
Queridos aracnidos:
> =46rom: KayRaoki@aol.com
> Date: Sun, 8 Jun 1997 10:24:36 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Scott Henderson
>
> Yeah, but MuzikQuest@aol.com has copies of the US pressing of this CD for
> less, and they also have US copies of Spears and Nomad too. If you Email > them with your mailing address, they'll send you a free catalog!!! Check >'em out. They got lots of good fusion stuff thats hard to find!
Yeah ! And the European versions feature a different bassist, one Gerry
Willis. Who knows if he's good as Gary ! :o)
> =46rom: "Blum, Marc"
> Subject: AW:=20
> Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 09:15:48 +0200
>
> > And , FINALLY, talkin' about female guitarists, has anybody here
> > heard Susan Weinert ? What's she like ? (her music, I mean !)
>
> As being one of the few german atavachronians, i'm really aware of Mrs.
> Weinert's playing. In only a few years she grew to one of europe's
> top-fusion-guitarists and -composers. She has three cds out:
>
> "Mysterious Stories": here you can hear the great influence, that
> scofield's "Blue Matter" had on a whole generation of
> fusion-funk-jazz-players. Very, very tight.
Great ! 'Blue Matter' still rules !
> "The Bottom Line": The actual cd. with Rachel Z. on keys. Their jazziest
> release to date. The BIG THUMB remained at home.
Sorry, I don't understand this metalanguage... :o)
> "Crunch Time": more in the Tribal Tech - vain. Much more interplay.
The title says it all ! I want that Weinert crunch !
Thanks for the info, Mark ! I'm gonna order them, and Franck Band's
too.It seems that there's a lot of good fusion being made in Europe. I
just came back from a live concert of the 'Antoine Illouz Quintet', a
very, very fine French electric jazz combo. I was so positively
impressed that I spent my last $15 on their CD. Illouz is a competent
Hubbard/Baker influenced trumpeter. The standouts, however, were Benoit
Paillard, a very lyrical and emotional Bill Evans descendent, who got my
eyes wet two times; Luis Augusto, a great groover on the drumkit, and
Olivier Louvel on guitar. Louvel struck me as a very spicy player. His
chord work is coming from Holdsworth and Wayne Krantz. He sounds
blatantly Krantz at times. His lines were Krantz-y, but a lot more
legato. The best about his playing was that he definitely tried to build
good solos. And he suceeded most of the time. The crowd loved him,
specially when he played these David Torn-y whammy bar scoops. Great
bluesy playing too. His lead tone reminded me of Larry Carlton. If
anyone digs Krantz and the Miles Davis band circa 'Decoy', I strongly
recommend these guys. Their musicianship is top quality ! Their new live
CD is called '10 Stances' (Gamlan Records). I'm listening to it right
now, and it's really great !
> Date: Mon, 9 Jun 1997 13:10:23 +0000
> =46rom: aclark@zappa.u-net.com (Adrian Clark/Nicola Sainsbury)
> Subject: Re:=20
>
> >A) If Tommy gets a guitar for X-Mas, Sally will most probably get a nice
> >dress and a cute doll. Santa is the leader of a conspiracy against girl
> >guitarists.
>
> I never trusted the fat, bearded git either.
LOL ! I'm sure Lennon was more popular than Jeez, but he never beat
that laughing git !
> >B) The aforementioned fact supresses potential female musicians and
> >contributes to the lack of examples for women to follow. (Apparently,
> >they need examples to change the Status Quo)
>
> Do you mean "status quo" or "Status Quo"? We should definitely change the
> status quo, but Status Quo should just be taken into a field and shot for
> disservices to music ;-) (Do people in Chile know who Status Quo are?)
LOL again !! First, my Caps Lock key is to blame. Second, Are you
kidding ?? Rick Parfitt is one of our founding fathers here. And
'Rockin' All Over The World' is our national anthem !! ;o)
> Not many girls of 15 would want
> to be caught listening to Take That (well, no-one does anymore, but it's
> exactly the same now with the Spice Girls).
The Spice Girls is where jazz is heading !
> What's also interesting is that while a small percentage of the boys do
> inevitably get interested in technique and more demanding types of music
> (like us AH fans probably did at some point) the girls never do that.
I think that's because what motivates a lot of people to play
technically demanding stuff, is not a result of their musical
conception, but just showing off. And showing off is a very macho thing.
Remember the eighties rock mainstream... Few guitarists play fast
because it's their way of communicating. I think you can count the
really deep fast players with the fingers in one hand...
> They
> always seem to be more interested in using the guitar purely as a tool to
> express themselves through songs, and only learn enough to do so.
Yeah, that's true. But it's just a result of education. A shredding
girl wouldn't be seen with good eyes by men. But we need more of them !!
> Maybe it also has a lot to do with the fact that
> teenagers are only exposed to certain types of music. As a 16-year-old
> Zappa fan, I was pretty weird!
That's a pretty important factor ! Your typical teenager's musical
world is MTV. How many fusion guitarists have you seen on MTV ? :o)
Zappa was on MTV once though, and I think he played the whole 'You Are
What You Is' record live. That must have been the weirdest thing to be
played in MTV ever !!
> =46rom: ROCKYCJ@aol.com
> Date: Tue, 10 Jun 1997 00:40:13 -0400 (EDT)
> Subject: Re: This extreme AH business
>
> as we all know he has imitators to the
> max, who mostly have to re-examine their instrument to come up with the
> junk AH can come to the board prepared with. So it's like a lot of these
> "Henderson" type folks with a long list of etc's, can only beging to
> explore it as a strange part of guitarism at a later date, and AH once
> again proves he is incredible.
I don't understand this ! What does this mean ? HEELP !! :o(
> Date: Wed, 11 Jun 1997 11:30:13 -0700 (PDT)
> From: Roger Billerey
> Subject: Random thoughts
>
> Back to Holdsworth. How about "pressuring" the guy into recording with
> Greg Howe?
I understand Allan doesn't enjoy jamming with other guitarists very
much...
> To some of you who may not have heard his playing, the guy is a
> monster player (and I mean a monster) with super melodic playing,
> unbelievable technique (on a par with Shawn Lane, for instance, and well
> beyond Gambale's lick-based speed playing) and a great fusion sensibility.
I've got everything Greg ever recorded. His main asset is being the
only Shrapnel dude who's taking advantage of the wonderful musical
heritage of soul and funk. His got a great style. Very good, funky
tunes. He's got his own linear intervallic thang. Very fluid, and his
blues influenced playing is outstanding. He also shows a Holdsworthian
influence, but he doesn't sound like Allan at all. Greg is awesome BUT I
think that he's not ready to record with Allan. Well, maybe they could
jam on one tune, like Allan did in Watson's CD, but I don't imagine a
whole album of them both. I think their styles,approaches and musical
goals differ too much...Plus, I think Greg needs some more time to
mature....In this respect, I think Gambale is a much more mature
musician. He knows when to restrain, and that is very valuable.
I think Howe should record a laid back, bluesy album with a good
Hammond trio. He would be great in that context...IMHO
Au Revoir
Francisco
----------
From: Marscrepe@aol.com
Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 20:17:43 -0400 (EDT)
Subject: Re: no subject
Hello Fellow Holdsworthians,
To all my whaler friends,
This note is mainly directed towards my friends from England.
Figuring that since you love AH you'd had heard of a guitarist by the name of
Tony McPhee
(T.S. McPhee) he played in a great rock band called "The Groundhogs". And put
out a couple of solos that I know of. Is he still around. They were a band I
worshipped in my teens. They were really unknown here in the states. And
speaking of wailing
man he could. And I'm hoping still does. It was like the early Genesis band.
So great but not very big in the states.
As for AH , Does this sound wild. AH playing for KING
CRIMSON? Its not a rumor or anything. But when I used to listen to Bowie ,
Crimson, Roxy music
etc... and wished they could do things together . It happened. Pretty neat
huh?
Well what do you guys think of this band? Till next time . Take care all.
C-ya Steve (marscrepe@aol.com)
----------
Date: 19 Jun 97 01:08:22 EDT
From: Steve Klein <71162.1656@CompuServe.COM>
Subject: Re: Female Guitarists
Two individuals overlooked (I think) in the quest for female guitarists are
Joanna Connor, who used to gig regularly across the South & Midwest as a Miller
Genuine Draft artist (you know, Johnny Reno, Tailgators, etc.), and Bonnie
Raitt.
Bonnie deserves a great deal of respect. While the genre she plays in may not
be exactly in keeping with that of this forum, she does have a very good command
of the instrument, and plays a superbly wicked slide. Girls wearing Strats put
me in the mood, if you know what I'm talking about and I think you do.
Later.
----------
Date: Thu, 19 Jun 1997 09:56:13 -0500
From: Tony Hubert
Subject: "Musician's Music"
I don't know about the gender thing in reference to prog rock, but whenever
I play Mahavishnu or Holdsworth my girlfriend refers to it as "musician's
music," that is, music that is created by and for musicians, in her view.
For her, the most abstract music gets is The Dave Mathews band (although
I've got her turned on to ORB now). The excessive soloing involved, speed
and complexity of alot of progressive music seems to leave many
non-musicians cold. After all, it's difficult to go around humming one of
Holdsworth's labyrinthine solos! (Although I remember years ago repeating
Allan's solo from "Devil take the Hindmost" over and over in my head).
I think, too, that many people aren't capable of hearing "too many notes."
I personally hear elaborate cadenzas in my head all the time, but that must
seem like a curse to someone who can barely grok Smoke on the Water. I
mean, listening to Strunz and Farah shred away is one of the joys of
existence for me--but I've heard other folks say the constant stream of flat
picked scales drives them nuts. To each his/her own....
I do think that people who get "more into" music, or wish to be musicians
themselves tend to be more sympathetic to progressive or abstract music.
----------
Date: Fri, 20 Jun 1997 10:48:18 -0400
From: Paul Richardson
Subject: Metal Fatigue
Just joined the list! Is Metal Fatigue available on cd in a major chain
store such as Best Buy or the likes. Can I order it through mail order??
Thanks, Paul
----------
From: R.J.Heath@lboro.ac.uk (Richard Heath)
Subject: Re: Niacin: they are bloody good and some more.
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 1997 09:50:38 +0100
Since reporting Niacin's album in these pages back last January, it has
remained my favourite fusion album of 1997 - mind you it hasn't been a great
year and nothing released in that genre has been really that memorable so
far. Therefore I feel the few of us who have heard the band (live or on
record), have split into two separate camps: love or dislike 'em. I love
John Novello's Hammond B3 playing since I think it is great distillation of
earlier Hammondist styles and has a certain aggression necessary for the
sort tunes played. If you had the chance to read the UK press release which
accompanied the album promo, you would have seen Novello saying that his
heroes include Jimmy Smith , McCriff, Brian Auger, Larry Young etc. And
perhaps with the exception of Larry Young you can hear these other guys.
Billy Sheehan's bass playing is excellent and his short solo on track 2
appears to be to my tin ear, a tribute to Colin Hodgkinson (whom also Jonas
Hellborg sites as being the man, in at least one interview). Two faults on
the CD: perhaps too many tracks, i.e somebody hasn't bother to pull the
worse. Second, Dennis Chamber's drumming, (who seems to be guesting
everywhere nowadays), is over-hyperactive, and often insensitive to
composition and the musical feel of the piece being played. I wish I had a
switch to push him further back into the mix. Over here in the UK, a few
jazz dance/acid jazz jocks tell me they enjoy the album and are finding
tracks to play in the clubs but are otherwise inhibited by the frentic
fusion drumming (a la Cobham, White or Mouzon?) from Chambers. Another
Stretch release that has subsequently come my way is Robben Ford's 'Tiger
Walk', and worth a brief mention as one of the better jazz/RnB/fusion
releases for this year.
For those who like more jazz oriented and experimental Hammond organ, Dan
Wall is to be found on three albums since Christmas, ie. the John
Abercrombie Trio "Live" (ECM), his own "Off The Wall" (Enja) and Karl
Ratzer's "Saturn Rising" (again Enja): all to a high standard although I
prefer Abercrombie to the Austrian Ratzer (Chaka Khan guitarist, I recently
read?), who is found on both the Enja releases.
Who spotted Allan's photo in MOJO last month, attached to an excellent
article on early Soft Machine - ironically the text of the article didn't
mention Allan and hardly discussed Soft Machine activities past 1971? Also
see this month's MOJO for a letter expressing surprise at finding Allan's
photo and the hope that the editors may produce many more column inches on
Mr Holdsworth sometime in the future. In passing has Allan played at
Ronnie Scott's in London?
I urge readers to turn to the AVTAVDIG back pages 'cos again I've suggested
some time ago that readers should go listen to Susan Weinert's last album on
VeraBra. SW must throw the argument slightly that there are "no women in
fusion" (perhaps we should state "very few women". Don't forget Barbara
Thompson: did she ever play with Holdsworth in the very early days, e.g. in
UK's National Youth Orchestra - were either of them in it???). Again I ask
for comments to my statement that Weinert often tries to sound like Allan.
While talking favourite albums, I am afraid the albums getting most play on
my deck this year are the new Swedish post-progressive rock bands such as
Anekdoten (to quote: "in yer face Crimson") and Anglagard (early Genesis
tripping over middle period Crimson) - their music is fresh. I'm glad prog
rock (of sorts) is again getting recorded and released somewhere in the
world - the critics, pundits, radio djs (at least over here) have had too
much say in banishing this music - (very similar to the radio intolerance
for new jazz, fusion or whatever you want to call the music we write about
here). Alright, ELP and Yes went well over the top and got exceedingly
boring. But I can now freely admit I've gone back to It Bites, a heavily
pop-diluted version of UK (i.e. the first line-up).
Finally, can somebody help me get in contact with the author of "Rocking The
Classics", an Edward Macan who is working/playing at the College of The
Redwoods at Eureka, CA. I would like to start some discussion forum with him
about prog rock including AH's input.
Finally while talking Scandanavia, does anybody know of the availability of
Johanssen, Johanssen & Holdworth recording in the UK, which won't break me
financially?
Regards,
Dick Heath
----------
From: Jeff Preston
Subject: Another new twist
Date: Wed, 25 Jun 1997 22:04:59 -0600
Just a short note to let everyone know that I've set up
a new mailbox on the server to accept recommended
*non-Holdsworth* listening. We seem to be getting a lot
of this type of posting submitted to the digest, and I
know we're all interested in knowing what *else*
everyone is listening to besides A.H. The address is:
tunes@addimension.com
If you can, please try to say a few words about *why*
you recommend the releases, eh? I'll put them on the
Web site shortly (and hopefully, a form to make the
submissions a bit easier).
Jeff
----------
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