Mists Of Time

This posting isn't going to be about music. Well, it is, but in a very cosmic 'music is life' kind of way.

Before I get into it, I want to say that the Derek Trucks Band's "Already Free" is growing on me. I think what threw me slightly at first is that it's actually 'an album'. It has a flow to it. 'Side A' is very upbeat and groovy then 'Side B' cools things off and becomes more relaxed and soothing. I guess what I'm trying to say saying is that I'm starting to 'get it'.

And, it's Rockschool again tonight. Should be an interesting 2 hours as everyone will have had a chance to look through the course guides and listen to the accompanying CD. Methinks a few folk are going to be voicing concerns that they've set their sights too high!

I think I've mentioned before that from a musical standpoint I often feel like I was born in the wrong time and on the wrong continent. From a young age I've had an affinity for what many people would consider 'Southern' (USA) music from the 60's & 70's. I used to scour second-hand record stores to find LPs by the Allman Brothers, Skynyrd, Cowboy, Poco, even Molly Hatchet, the Outlaws and the Ozark Mountain Daredevils... Little Feat... Derek & the Dominos, early Boz Skaggs with Duane Allman guesting. You're getting the picture. The music was blues based (sometimes 'country blues') on electric guitar, turned up loud and proud. I used to select unknown artists based on their pedigree, for example by which record company they were signed to. Anything on the Capricorn label was coming home with me, no matter what the cost.

As the supply of back-catalogue LPs petered out and CDs became the norm I reluctantly allowed some more 'modern' artists into my collection. Sonny Landreth... some Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Joe Bonamassa, Dave Matthews. Nothing ever really touched the majesty of my prized 'early' recordings, but you take what you can get, eh? Of course, there were bands that touched me that were outside my core interest. Bands with something to say or a certain sensibility. Placebo would be a good example. You Am I, if you want to veer towards the grungier side of the street.

Where am I going with this? I guess I'm just in a reflective mood right now, brought on by thoughts of our upcoming pilgrimage to Mardi Gras 2009. When we announced to our stateside friends that we were headed to Nawlins we were somewhat taken-aback by how many of them responded to say that they were going to try and make it, too. Many of them made the trip to Louisiana for our wedding, right after Mardi Gras 2005. Even Tim's ex, Chris has said that he's already booked a room and is shopping for flights down from Missouri.

There's a tie-in here that I've been working towards. My first 'experience' of Mardi Gras was after Tim and I had been forced to move to the US in 2002. Tim's UK visa had expired, so if we wanted to stay together we had no choice but to leave the country. I managed to get a temporary US work visa through my company so we jumped ship and headed for Texas. Based in Houston, New Orleans was within striking distance and Tim, a seasoned Mardi Gras veteran, suggested we go. I didn't have a clue what to expect so he pulled out some old 'home movies' of him and Chris there in 1999, along with some of their friends (a couple of whom have said they're coming down this year, too). I remember watching the videos and not really getting it... all the bead tossing, the parades... the boobie showing... it all seemed very un-British to me.

The time came for us to head over to New Orleans, making the crossing from Texas to Louisiana in our shiny new silver Corvette. There I was, a boy born and raised in South London, heading due East on the I-10, cutting a path across the deep South, into unknown territory.

Wait a minute. This was me, Ken, tearing up the blacktop with Sonny Landreth's "South of I-10" slipping and sliding out of the car stereo, driving right down the I-10 itself. Suddenly pieces of the jigsaw of my life started falling into place. Wherever I felt I should have been growing up, there I was, right then and there.

Since then I've crossed the Mason-Dixie line (once or twice!). I've lived in the South, amongst Southerners. I've learned their ways and listened to them play. Some folk even say I picked up something of an accent along the way. Hell, I've even drag-raced with other redneck 'Vette owners, leaving a freakin' Allman Brothers concert.

I think in many ways I finally got comfortable with myself, during that first trip to New Orleans. I figured out what 'it' was all about and why I love the music I do... For that, for all the good times, for all the good friends, I have one person to thank, my husband, Tim.

Super Tuesday...

...is not necessarily so super.

Work. Ugh. I'm not catching a break right now. Haven't had much time for playing guitar, let alone updating this blog.

But!

I'm just gonna force myself to put something down here RIGHT NOW, even if it's a bit unfocused.

Okay, so it's Super Tuesday TODAY! Got an email from the Allman Brothers today about it. Went like this:

"Tuesday we will elect the next President of the United States. The result will have great consequences for the nation.

"This election offers a choice between two men with dramatically different visions of the future. We have strong feelings about this choice. But we feel even more strongly that all Americans, regardless of political preference, have a stake in the outcome and should vote in this critical election.

"This is likely to be a close election. Your vote matters. Please use it and make a difference."

Okay, so it wasn't directly to me, but it was a mailshot from the band. I thought it was kind of cool that they pulled the ol' 'vote for who you want, but make sure you vote' line. I think I know who they're planning on voting for given they just played a benefit concert in support of one of the candidates.

You know, I just hope that this time around there's a clear winner so that the world doesn't have to go through the whole waiting game that we did last time and the time before. Times are stressful enough as it is. Truth be told, I've deliberately stuck my head in the ground (politically) over the last few weeks so as to avoid the inevitable last minute nonsense.

Onto more musical things...

I have to pull my finger out TONIGHT and do my half-term Rockschool homework. I've done some of it, but not all. It's basically in three parts.

1) List 5 songs that use 4 or less chords (so that we can analyse their structure later). I think I've chosen:

"Mr Tambourine Man" by Bob Dylan
"Taylor" by Jack Johnson
"Wild Thing" by the Troggs
"Land of Canaan" by the Indigo Girls
"Strange Brew" by Cream

Pretty random choice, I know.

2) Write a song in a major key using the tools we've been taught. The song should consist of a verse, chorus and bridge, with rhythm (to be demonstrated) and melody (to be tabbed). During class we'll partner up, teach/learn each other's song and then perform together. I have my chords and some melody, but I've not written any of it down in a meaningful format.

3) Revise previous materials for a fun spot test. Yeah, right... we'll see how that one goes on the fly, I guess. I'm going to have my hands full with 2) tonight.

Rockschool's not until Thursday, but tomorrow night looks like a busy one already.

What else? Jammed a bit on electric at the weekend, inbetween trips into the office and catching up on sleep. Started to try and groove "One Way Out" Allmans-stylee for a laugh. The Band (who I've not heard from in a few days...!) aren't likely to buy into doing the song, but I've always liked the intro riff and it's good string-skipping, pulling off and double-note practice. Hey, it's also a three chord song! Hey, maybe I should swap out one of my 5 above...

Hey ho... on Friday I plan on going along to our lead singer's 'other band' gig (she's on guitar/backing vox). Here's the flyer!



The only shag is that I have to be up really early on Saturday, so alcoholic imbibulation will be at a minimum.

Layla... Won't You Bring Home Some Jam?

First things first... a joke!

Q: How many guitarists does it take to change a lightbulb?
A: Five. One to screw it in and four more to argue about how Eric Clapton would have done it better.

I can't believe it's taken me [cough] 18 years to buy "The Layla Sessions: 20th Anniversary Edition" CD box set. Okay, so ignorance was the real reason I never picked it up. I've had the CD version of "Layla & Other Assorted Love Songs" for many, many years and I just assumed that the 20th anniversary edition would be a minor remix with digital remastering etc. Now, I'm not usually a fan of remastering as I like to hear music as it was originally intended and released, so I never even looked twice at this reissue.

That was until Col of Magic Ship/Axevictim told me about the non-album goodies that are included.

Disk 1 is pretty much the same as what's been previously released, though, as I understand it, the bass guitar has been mixed to the middle and a few more tweaks have been made to make it sound more contemporary. I've not listened to the remastered album yet, so I don't know whether it's an improvement over the original, which I love, love, love, just the way it is.

Derek & The Dominos only studio recording was, to me, a snapshot of musical perfection. It was the perfect storm. A freak recording, born from accident and circumstance. I'm certain the album would have been good with just the original musicians, but my feeling is that its greatness comes from the interplay between Eric and Duane Allman. The music isn't perfect. It's not polished. It's raw and earnest, and that's what makes it great. These guys could play.

The two non-album disks are where the meat of the box set is... that's where you'll find the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. One contains alternate cuts from the released versions (great) but it's the final disk, containing 76+ minutes of jams which not only shines musically, but which transports you back to 1970 so you can sit in a room with these two guitar greats as they traded lick for lick, cutting heads, jamming for jamming's sake, just letting the music flow. It's also here where you can most easily distinguish Clapton and Allman's playing. On the record, discerning who's who can, at times, be problematic. Neither guitarist chose a distinctive guitar tone to go with, making differentiation tricky.

With the jams you hear what might be considered 'signature licks' from both players and moreover you gain an insight into their improvisational approaches. The first three of the five jams are Clapton by himself with the band. On these tracks you often hear him rhythmically wailing on a single (root) note or phrase, adding tones here or there until the fuse lights and BANG. HE'S OFF. Once the motor's running it's pure shining brilliance. Where Mr C ends up backing up Duane on rhythm you get to hear his other side. The boy can hold down a groove, veering from funk to (almost) country and back again.

Allman's approach on the other two tracks is more intuitive. Favouring the slide, he doesn't sit around waiting for the spark to catch. His powder's already dry and he's ready to blow the roof off with fully formed licks. There are shades of the jams from "Live At Fillmore East" in there, but also something else... something he's pulling out just for Mr Clapton.

One of the jams (number 4, I think) is pretty much the Allman Brothers Band plus Eric and Bobby Whitlock on organ, with some lead guitar work supplied by Dickey Betts.

Even if you're not a jam-band fan, I think it's an interesting snapshot of history, giving some insight into what happens when great players at their peak get together and let their musical hair down.

Allmans, Allmans Everywhere...

My love of all things "Allman" (as in, related to the Allman Brothers Band) leads me to binge on them from time to time. I metaphorically drag out all my old recordings (they're on my iPod, so there's not much actual dragging required) and I immerse myself in published literature, fan webpages and so on.

I'm currently re-reading Randy Poe's Duane Allman biography, "Skydog". It's something like the third or fourth time I've been through it, searching for clues as to who Duane really was and what it was like to be in his presence. For those who've not read it, it's a surprisingly well written book which really does give some insight. It also attempts to make some sense of the chronology of Duane's musical career, from delinquent adolescent obsessed with blues guitar, through failed early album releases and record company traumas, to the height of the Allman Brothers' popularity. If you know anything about the history of the band, the you pretty much know how the story ends.

[...though the road goes on forever!]

Each time I read the book I follow track and album descriptions by listening to the songs as they're analysed, rekindling my passion for their unique style of music.

For those fan-boys (and girls) out there, I'd recommend "Skydog" over the other Allman Brothers biography, "Midnight Riders", by Scott Freeman. That's not to say that the latter isn't a good read. However, it tends to dwell on the conflicts within the band and Gregg's drug issues rather than being a celebration of Duane's life. Further, "Midnight Riders" purportedly contains 'facts' that are disputed by some of the real-life characters. When penning "Skydog" Randy Poe took the decision to publish the various different accounts of critical events to give a more rounded picture.

Heck, read "Midnight Riders", too, for all I care! One biography focusses on the positive impact that Duane's life had. The other focusses on the negative impact of his untimely death.

Hey, the latest gem I gleaned from the book was that Duane's daughter, Galadriel, was born in the exact same month and year as me. Fascinating fact #342!

"Please Call Home" The Movie

Okay, this one came in under my radar. Apparently a documentary has been made about The Big House, which is where the Allman Brothers Band and their families called home during the years they were starting to build up their following and working on 'the sound' that Duane Allman had been searching for all his life.

The movie's supposed to be less a band biopic and more a snapshot of what it was like living as part of the extended Allman Brothers family, down in Macon, Georgia.

I say it came in under the radar as, being an Allman Brothers Band fan I tend to hear about this kind of stuff pretty quickly. I only got to hear about the documentary, though, when I was sent an email saying that this Friday's premiere in NYC has been postponed.

For those interested, there's a trailer on the movie website. Check it out. It looks like it's based around band photos and monologues, but hey, for a fan it should be interesting. For those interested in The Big House itself, which is now a museum, their website is kind of neat, with lots of stories, pictures and virtual tours.

Get Well, Gregg...

I don't normally post band/industry news that much on The Project, but I just heard that the Allman Brothers have cancelled their annual NYC Beacon Run this year. It seems that Gregg Allman is undergoing treatment for Hepatitis C. Not nice! Get well soon, G!

Looking on the bright side (!!!!) the band have announced that they're going to pull out all the stops to celebrate their 40th anniversary at the Beacon early in 2009. Time to start saving the pennies.

Does EasyJet do NY?

Not Even "Almost Famous"

I watched Cameron Crowe's "Almost Famous" for the first time last night since seeing it in the movie theatre. On the big screen I thought it was a really cool movie, mainly because of my fascination with 70's blues/rock bands opon which the movie is based.

I still enjoyed the movie on the small screen, but I didn't feel the immediate connection with it that I did, oh, 8 years ago. My issue wasn't with the movie per se, but my perceived displacement of the characters.

Allow me to explain...

"Almost Famous" is an amalgamation of writer/director Crowe's experiences as a young staff writer for Rolling Stone. As I understand it, the storyline is based on the time he spent touring with the Allman Brothers in the 70's. There are many, many references to the Allmans in terms of characterisation, background props (such as a prominent re-created posters based on the Fillmore East live album) and even the brief inclusion of a character called Red Dog, perhaps the most famous of the Brothers' roadies.

The mixing of characters and events is actually what's unsettling to me. While the band is based on the Allmans (and possibly Led Zep with a dash of Lynyrd Skynyrd), the lead guitarist, Russel, is predominantly Glenn Frey (Eagles) but the actor (Billy Crudup) also bears more than a passing resemblence to Dickey Betts (Allmans)...

Aaargh..!

I think the problem is that between seeing the movie at the cinema and watching it again I've read too many music biographies, including: Midnight Riders: The Story Of The Allman Brothers Band (Scott Freeman) and Skydog - The Duane Allman Story (Randy Poe).

And it didn't help that the lead singer blokie was played by the guy from "My Name Is Earl"...