Unite!

Super groups have never been a personal favorite of mine.  It’s the point when musicians begin to see music as more of a means of profit than artistic expression.  On most occasions, super groups are prolific musicians of a certain genre attempt to unite against the forces of the popular media in hopes to add some girth to their wallets, not to their musical repertoire.  It could be likened to the collusion of Noel Gallagher, Bono and Steve Vai.  Each of these three iconic musicians is indispensable to his own act, yet the combination of three acclaimed musicians creates too many ego-headed, talented musicians all looking to make their own impact on the music.  In many ways, Monsters Of Folk is the same way.  Each singular member is outstanding.  Some are already on their way to becoming some of the most respected folk artists of their era.  Yet the collaborations don’t do justice.

Monsters Of Folk is M. Ward, Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis of Bright Eyes and Jim James from My Morning Jacket.  Individually these acts are superb, but upon release of the self-titled debut, I found it to be MILDLY disappointing.  The music is still enjoyable and there are a few noteworthy tracks.  Make sure you check out each of these artists out individually and then in collaborative form in Monsters Of Folk and tell me what you think.  7/10 on the debut, still  great entertainment.

Here Are A  Few Standouts:

Baby Boomer – Vocals primarily by M. Ward

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Baby_Boomer_album_/23188322

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Dear God (Sincerely M.O.F.) – Jim James & M. Ward

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Dear_God_sincerely_M_O_F_album_/23188340

____________________________________________________________

Temazcal – Conor Oberst

http://listen.grooveshark.com/#/song/Temazcal_album_/23188326

____________________________________________________________

Hope You enjoy these recommendations!

Viva La Musica

Escuchando: http://open.spotify.com/track/0ny1ITogGonVy9IPrAKAsO

Hay gente en esta vida que danza, acompaña y ayuda a los demás, y…por mucho buen karma que cree, siguen existiendo los que van a estar siempre poniéndoles a prueba, porque la verdadera prueba nunca termina…

Son, precisamente, aquellos que más “daño” hacen a los  que ayudan a los demás, los que más les enseñan a estos, paradójico, no?… por eso es muy importante mirarse a uno mismo, no alrededor…pese a que el reflejo de nuestro interior es el exterior y podemos mirar al interior y al exterior al mismo tiempo,…

Es como el rayo de una tormenta, que al principio ilumina y luego se oye, primero lo vemos, luego lo escuchamos, si nos insultan disociamos al que insulta del insultado, sin embargo, la consciencia escucha y ve al mismo tiempo…no hay diferencia entre el uno y el otro, teniendo esto presente no re-accionaremos como autómatas listos para devolver el supuesto daño recibido, sino que nuestra respuesta automática será una sonrisa de comprensión interior, de reconocimiento profundo a través de la mirada y en calma, la paz interior reina y no hay necesidad de querer llevar razón o de tomar parte en algún juego del ego…

Mirarse a uno mismo es estar aquí presente en todo,es por lo tanto, ser la conciencia, lo que pasa en el interior y en el exterior, gritando en un concierto, haciendo presencia en una concentración sin violencia en pos del ciudadano y la sociedad, bajar a 70km/h con la bicicleta por el pantano mientras un búho nos acompaña con su vuelo nocturno…lo que sea

La mirada interior nos permite cruzar la barrera del silencio, ir más allá de nuestros prejuicios y los de los demás, saber cuándo actuar y en mi caso ,me ayuda especialmente a encontrar el valor que mata mi ego por un momento borrando la huella de mi propia imagen y el intento de permanecer en una idea…ahh que bonico! XD

Que pedazo de guitarrista …

This is also my instrumental phase. Have been listening to instrumental covers of my favorite songs, and original compositions. They’re breath taking. It just proves that sometimes words are never needed. I’m just going to put up the few I heard this morning, all by Immediate Music from their album Trailerhead, will put up other links later ’cause there are so many !! But before that, I MUST put up one of my all time favorite performances. It’s the G3 concert – with John Petrucci *swoons*, Steve Vai *applauds* and, of course, Joe Satriani *^m^* – in Tokyo and the song’s called Smoke on the Water *smiles and wishes she was there*

G3 – Live at Tokyo – Smoke on the Water *I’m wondering if I did post this earlier…not sure*

Serenata Immortale

Trial of the Archangel

Lacrimosa Dominae

Fides en Lucius Dei

]]> http://suckmyrock.com/2009/11/19/adventures-in-ims-with-alfonso-and-uncle-reg/ Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:02:12 +0000 Uncle Reg http://suckmyrock.com/2009/11/19/adventures-in-ims-with-alfonso-and-uncle-reg/

I kind of despise those soul-less note machines Steve Vai and Ingwie Maalmsteen. Read all about it:

uncle reg (10:24:25 PM): fuck steve vai

uncle reg (10:24:38 PM): vai will NEVER play like that

uncle reg (10:25:19 PM): stevie dedicated that to everyone suffering

uncle reg (10:25:26 PM): i think he meant vai fans

alfonso zayas (10:29:26 PM): hahahahhahahaha

alfonso zayas (10:29:57 PM): did you say SRV was your fave?

uncle reg (10:31:37 PM): favorite guitar player, yes

alfonso zayas (10:31:53 PM): yes

uncle reg (10:32:28 PM): vai would watch the part @ 2:40 and wonder why he wasn’t playing 8,000 notes

alfonso zayas (10:32:41 PM): HAHAHAHA

uncle reg (10:32:54 PM): and then he’d go into shock when he saw SRV give the solo to the keyboard player

alfonso zayas (10:33:51 PM): HAHAHA

alfonso zayas (10:34:13 PM): i didnt even realize the keyboard player was rockin

alfonso zayas (10:34:14 PM): holy shit

alfonso zayas (10:34:15 PM): hahaha

uncle reg (10:35:20 PM): check out the look on SRV’s face at the very end

uncle reg (10:35:35 PM): when he looks up right after he finishes

alfonso zayas (10:37:57 PM): alright

alfonso zayas (10:38:12 PM): hahahahahah

uncle reg (10:38:48 PM): he knew they just KILLED it

uncle reg (10:39:52 PM): even so, i don’t wish vai and SRV had traded places on that chopper

uncle reg (10:39:58 PM): malmsteen, though…

uncle reg (10:40:20 PM): fuck that fat scandinavian bastard

alfonso zayas (10:41:01 PM): HAHAHAHAHAH

uncle reg (10:43:00 PM): 5 seconds after this was taken, he is demonstrating he can suck cock and suck at guitar at the same time

alfonso zayas (10:43:18 PM): hahahah

alfonso zayas (10:43:24 PM): oh malmsteen

alfonso zayas (10:43:29 PM): no homo

Pentru mintea omului , muzica este o calitate innascuta. Nu exista cultura pe Pamant sa nu o posede , iar creierele noastre sunt inzestrate sa o perceapa si sa fie miscate de vraja sa.
Peste toate acestea , detinem “urechea perfecta” , capacitatea de a identifica un anumit sunet muzical fara a-l auzi in raport cu altul … este o calitate extrem de rara. Acest dar ne este dat fiecarora dintre noi , urmand mai apoi sa-l ducem pe meleaguri necunoscute , dar pline de frumusete , dezvoltandu-ne urechea muzicala dupa preferinte , posibilitati si vointa.

Trebuie sa luam minte ca muzica e una dintre cele mai vechi si cele mai populare forme de arta … si arta e subiectiva. Nu ar trebui sa condamnam nici macar un gen de muzica , un stil , o interpretare , pentru ca pana la urma si aceasta trebuie sa aiba cea mai mica urma de arta pentru cel care o asculta sau pentru cel care o interpreteaza.

O doza de arta in domeniul muzicii gasim in persoana celui numit Steve Vai … considerat unul dintre cei mai mari chitaristi si muzicieni ai tuturor timpurilor. Un geniu pe toate planurile ,cel de compozitie , interpretare , improvizatie , tehnica … ca sa-mi exprim aprecierea va recomand , cred , cea mai reprezentativa piesa semnata Steve Vai – For The Love of God ( G3 DVD ) ; For The Love of God ( Amsterdam ) … si chiar e strigator la cer daca e sa consideram cata inspiratie are artistul. Tot pe tente de spiritualism , Vai ne aduce un alt tranchilizant , piesa Whispering a Prayer , prin intermediul caruia sopteste o rugaciune poate ca noi sa devenim mai perceptivi la muzica buna ; ( pe tema spiritualism – muzica puteti citi un articol scris de mine pe www.muzica-nu-ucide.ro , undeva pe maine la amiazi ).

Despre Steve Vai pot sa va scriu foarte multe dar acum intervin cu cateva date fixe si anume ca acesta s-a nascut pe 6 Iunie 1960 , si-a inceput cariera muzicala prin anii 1970 luand lectii de la un alt virtuos al chitarii , Joe Satriani. El a fost remarcat si promovat foarte mult de Frank Zappa. Si-a lansat primul album solo in 1984 , de cand nu s-a oprit din a ne uimi si incanta cu simtul artistic si cu ideile geniale. Artistul a colaborat cu foarte multi muzicieni cunoscuti , a cantat in trupe de rock care au avut de spus un cuvant in scena muzicii contemporane , trupe precum Whitesnake.

In afara de piesele linistitoare prezentate mai sus , Steve Vai are si acea parte de heavy metal prin celebra piesa Bad Horsie de pe albumul Alien Love Secrets , album care contine piesa mea preferata : Tender Surrender , o piesa care din punctul meu de vedere este culmea realizarilor lui Steve Vai , o piesa pe care nu o pot descire in cuvinte , apropiat fiind doar “mesmerizing”. Tot pe partea putin mai heavy m-au impresionat foarte mult piesele The Attitute song si Building the Church pe langa multimea de creatii geniale pe care acesta le detine.

Cu toate ca am inceput sa scriu un intreg roman despre acest minunat chitarist , am renuntat din mai multe motive dar cred ca am cuprins tot ceea ce cred eu ca este important despre artist . Va las ca si recomandare TOATE piese acestuia dar pentru ca tot este necesara o selectie va recomand Lotus Feet din concertul cu orchestra din Amsterdam , piesa Babushka cantata si compusa pentru Romania in turneul acestuia.

Pentru chitaristul invatacel din mine , Steve Vai este mai mult decat o inspiratie , muzica acestuia ma determina de multe ori sa pun mana pe chitara cu totul ca poate nu sunt intr-o dispozitie buna. Ca sa il citez pe profesorul meu de chitara , Andrei Rosulescu , “Daca l-ai intalni pe Dumnezeul chitarii , ce l-ai intreba ” … cred ca daca ar adresa cineva aceasta intrebare lui Steve Vai acesta va raspunde ca tocmai a stat la bere cu el. Pur si simplu nu imi pot da seama de unde are atat de multa inspiratie … pe langa faptul ca poate canta cel putin 10 ore zilnic. Cred ca e o intrebare fara raspuns.

Eu va doresc auditie placuta si sper ca sa va placa si sa-l admirati pe cat il admira chitaristii din lumea intreaga.

Vai Official

Vai Myspace

Rock God Cred Report:

Click here to check Steve Vai cover the Wizard of Oz classic “Somewhere Over The Rainbow”

Madonna has Seymour Duncan pickups on her Gibson Les Paul Classic

When Steve Vai premiered his live DVD, ‘Where the Wild Things Are,’ at Grauman’s Egyptian Theater in Los Angeles last month, the famed guitarist donated all the box office earnings to his favorite charity, Hollywood Arts. After the premiere, a silent auction was held featuring signed memorabilia from Madonna to Pee Wee Herman.

Vai says he was impressed with the profitable turnout. “From Madonna, we got a pickup from her guitar that she signed,” Vai tells Spinner. “Slash gave us a top hat. [Iron Maiden drummer] Nicko McBrain gave us a drum set. Tom Waits gave us an original piece of artwork that he’d signed, which I bought for $1,300 and gave to David Lee Roth because Dave donated an acoustic guitar and hand-painted this incredible cool mural, which is like a devil with horns, which went for $1,000. He turned me onto Tom Waits, who is my favorite artist so I gave the original Waits piece to Dave as a thank-you. They all signed it and we raised close to $50,000.”

source

Some of my favorite guitar solos by some of the best.

Steve Vai

Michael Hampton

Buddy Guy

Unknown or if you know who this is please let me know

Gran éxito ayer del concierto presentación de la nueva etapa de Satur Rodríguez defendiendo su Proyecto Biterman sobre el escenario del Arena Rock de Zaragoza.
Primero de todo, hay que reconocer el riesgo de la propuesta: música instrumental centrada en la guitarra (eléctrica y acústica) apoyada por excelentes intérpretes.
En el concierto, además, estuvieron varios de los colaboradores del disco. Se siguió, prácticamente, el orden del listado de cortes -mejor que track list- con alguna que otra excepción.
Empezó sonando la última canción del disco a modo de introducción atmosférica que se vio rota por mi breve speech en el que hablé, brevemente, de lo que significaba para mi lo que estaba a punto de suceder: una experimentación de un afamado guitarrista flirteando con diversos géneros estilísticos. A continuación, el mayor de los hermanos Sanchez del grupo X-Day subió al escenario para acompañar a la banda en el tema que abre el disco “1978”. Siguió lo que no podía faltar en un concierto de un experto de las seis cuerdas: el blues. Un “Crazy Blues” que contó con la participación del saxofonista del disco: Merce Marco, compañero de aventuras comerciales en la tienda Taha. Permanecieron sobre el escenario José Carlos Ondiviela como segundo guitarra, el oscense Sergio Rodrigo en el bajo Fender Jazz Bass y Nacho Flores aporreando con maestría la batería.
El siguiente en incorporarse a la fiesta fue el gran genio flamenco Alejandro Montserrat que vino expresamente al evento pese a recorrer un gran número de kilómetros. Lástima que un pequeño problema técnico no nos permitió escucharle con claridad, algo que si pudimos hacer en los bises ya con la anomalía solucionada.
El concierto se desarrolló con total naturalidad y con explicaciones habladas previas a cada una de las piezas que configuran el disco. Por ejemplo, “Next Life” que nació en honor al genial músico Ricardo Marín, habitual acompañante de figuras como Manolo García, Raimundo Amador o Ariel Roth, que pasó por una grave enfermedad de la que salió adelante -de ahí la referencia a esa próxima vida- o , el momento más tierno de la velada, “Reina Inesperada”, composición dirigida a Itziar, la persona que “hizo que las cosas tuvieran sentido en mi vida”, según sus propias palabras.
Satur estuvo a la altura de las expectativas. Aunque estuvo algo nervioso en el inicio, normal porque no sólo tuvo a muchos amigos pendientes sino que también contó con el apoyo mayoritario de toda su familia. Hay veces que tocando ante desconocidos te pones menos nervioso porque crees que la mayoría de personas no te van a abordar por la calle para comentarte un determinado error al día siguiente del concierto, por lo que, hasta cierto punto, se entienden algunos momentos de tensión en los primeros acordes. La cosa se suavizó a partir de la tercera canción y todo sonó a pedir de boca.
Mención especial también para las ilustraciones y proyecciones que acompañaron todo el concierto y que también se pueden encontrar en el libreto del cedé: muy poéticas, sensibles y apropiadas.
Y, además de todas estas excelencias, uno tuvo la oportunidad de compartir los minutos previos y posteriores al evento con lo que, de una forma engañosa quizás, uno se sumerge más en una experiencia que espero repetir dentro de poco.
La fecha de ayer, sesi de diciembre de 2009, pasa a ser un punto de inflexión. Ahora sabemos que en Aragón hay un genio que nada tiene que envidiar a su tan admirado Steve Vai, y sólo es su debut discográfico … vendrá lo mejor, será cuestión de tiempo y suerte.
Satur & Co., SUERTE y GRACIAS!!

MYSPACE DE SATUR RODRIGUEZ

This will work!

1)Ry Cooder: Vigilant man

2) Aerosmith:Toys in the attic

3)Bob Dylan:Like a rolling stone

4)Outlaws:Green grass and high tides

5)Mr. Big: Daddy,brother, lover,little boy(The electric drill song)

6)The Allman Brothers Band:Jessica

7)Janis Joplin:Summertime

8)Bermuda Acoustic Trio:Riders in the sky-Sultan of swing

9)Aerosmith:Walk this way(live)

10)Jeff Buckley:Halleluja

11)Lynyrd Skynyrd:Free bird

12)Guns n’ Roses:Estranged

13)Iggy Pop:Louie Louie

14)Led Zeppelin:Bring it on home

15)Janis Joplin:Piece of my heart

16)Ozzy Osburnes:Goodbay to romance

17)Stevie Ray Vaughan:Voodoo chile(slight return)

18)Van Halen:Jump(live)

19)Motorhead:R.A.M.O.N.E.S.(live)

20)Steve  Vai:Bad horsie

21)Guns n’ Roses:Back off bitch

22)Gun n’ Roses:Welcome to the jungle

23)Aerosmith:Dream on

24)Aerosmith:Love in elevator

25)Aerosmith:I don’t want to miss a thing

26)Guns n’ Roses:Don’t cry.

La mia playlist di queste lunghe settimane.

Credo che ci sia una canzone per ogni momento della giornata, da quelli felici a quelli un pò più cupi e tristi.

Buon ascolto.

A mediados de los 80, en pleno apogeo del Hard Rocky y del Heavy Metal surgió toda una legión de guitarristas dotados de una técnica asombrosa, directamente influidos por el por aquel entonces Dios de la guitarra Yngwie Malmsteen , y en menor medida por Van Halen Michael Schenker y Randy Rhoads. Se publicaron una serie de discos instrumentales, casi todos ellos publicados por el sello Shrapnel Records, el por aquel entonces hogar de casi todos los héroes de la guitarra de aquella época , gente como Vinnie Moore, Tony Macalpine , Jason Becker, Marty Friedman , Joey Tafolla…todos ellos increibles guitarristas que parieron una serie de discos acojonantes repletos de guitarras asesinas y  solos increibles llenos de tecnica y melodía sin dejar de lado unas composiciones exquisitas.De aquella hornada surgieron también Joe Satriani y Steve Vai que lograron el éxito masivo con sus discos primero y uniéndose a otras bandas después . Vai estuvo con David Lee Roth y Whitsnake previo paso por los Alcatrazz de Grahamm Bonnet y Satriani giró con Mick Jagger y pasaría por Deep Purple. Todos ellos nos dejaron un legado de discos asombrosos y fueron la pesadilla de los críticos más snobs que flipaban con Mark Knoplfer

VINNIE MOORE

TONY MACALPINE

JASON BECKER

MARTY FRIEDMAN

Satu lagi merchandise dari si seniman flamboyan Steve Vai. Kali ini Steve mengusung tema Music As Art dengan membuat limited edition high quality print dari goresan tangan sang maestro sendiri untuk not guitar dan sitar lagu yang melegenda dikalangan gitaris “For The Love of God”. Tiap “lukisan” ditandatangani dan diberi nomor sendiri oleh Steve Vai. Bagi anda para VAIcaholic atau penikmat seni, goresan tangan Steve yang dibingkai dengan frame yg elegan ini bisa dibeli cukup dengan merogoh kocek $ 200 USD atau sekitar Rp 1.900.000,- sudah termasuk ongkos kirim.

sumber: vai.com

Saya ngecek fesbuk jam 10.15PM, dan mendapati link postingan dari mbak Ira, judul lagu yang sangat familiar buat saya: Crying in The Rain. Tapi setelah meluncur kesana, ternyata postingannya bukan lagu yang kupikirkan, tapi lagu lain dengan judul yang sama. Yahhhh…

Pendek kata, daripada nanti komen saya jadi ngawur sendiri karena terlanjur memikirkan lagu yang berbeda, saya posting saja Crying in The Rain versi yang kuinginkan.

Crying in The Rain yang akrab di memori saya dinyanyikan oleh Whitesnake, supergrup rock legendaris dari Inggris. Pertama kali dirilis pada album Saints & Sinners (1982), tapi kemudian diaransemen ulang dan dirilis kembali di album Whitesnake (1987). Tak ada klip resmi tuk lagu ini, jadi saya ambilkan saja (dari Youtube) dua penampilan konser Whitesnake saat membawakan lagu ini. Enjoy

Dari konser Live in Rio, Brazil, 1985. Formasi: David Coverdale (vocal); John Sykes (gitar); Neil Murray (bass); Richard Bailey (kibor); Cozy Powell (drum).

Dari festival Monster of Rock, Inggris, 1990. Formasi: David Coverdale (vocal); Adrian Vandenberg (gitar) Steve Vai (gitar) Rudy Sarzo (bass) Tommy Aldridge (drum).

Lirik:

A black cat moans
When he’s burning with the fever
A stray dog howls
When he’s lonely in the night
A woman goes crazy
With the thought of retribution
But, a man starts weeping
When he’s sick and tired of life

I keep on dreaming dreams of tomorrow
Feel I’m wasting my time
Lighting candles in the wind
Always taking my chances
On the promise of the future
But, a heart full of sorrow
Paints a lonely tapestry

The sun is shining
But, it’s raining in my heart

No one understands the heartache
No one feels the pain
Cos no one ever sees the tears
When you’re crying in the rain
When you’re crying in the rain
Crying in the rain

I can never deny
All the sweet things I have tasted
Tho’ I’ve been mistreated
I keep coming back for more
I know where I’m going
There’s no hope of absolution
I can’t seem to separate
The good times from the bad

The sun is shining
But, it’s raining in my heart

No one understands the heartache
No one feels the pain
Cos no one ever sees the tears
When you’re crying in the rain

When you’re crying in the rain

What years of listening to Rush records in your mother's basement can do to your complexion.

Prog has always claimed that it was ‘music for musicians’. It’s a pretty attractive label, and much better than the alternative ‘music for geeks who aren’t getting laid’. Regardless of the tag-line, the point is that even if you don’t actively listen to progressive rock, chances are that the bands you DO listen to count progressive rock artists among their influences. When young bands (that don’t suck) are talking to the press and the reporter asks them who their influences are, if they’re brave enough to mention people outside their own genre 90% of the time the drummer will include Neil Peart and/or Mike Portnoy, bass players will mention Geddy Lee, Tony Levin, and/or Chris Squire, and keyboard…well…ok, if they have a keyboard player, chances are he isn’t being given any face time unless he’s also the front man and super duper pretty (guitarists gets more genre dependent, but I see Steve Vai’s, David Gilmour’s, Frank Zappa’s, and Steve Howe’s names thrown out a lot).

So what happened to all these progressive-rock-influenced artists? How come none of them ended up making progressive rock? The answer is that you are simply being a naive fool. Progressive rock has worked long and hard to covertly work its way into more mainstream genres, and the fruits of decades of labor are now beginning to ripen. Below you will find examples of some genres where artists are now becoming popular who show significant signs that they’ve been infected with the prog.

METAL

What, no corpsepaint for the baby?

Metal was one of the earliest and easiest genres for prog to branch into. For one, a lot of metal musicians are extremely talented. I realize that, to people who aren’t fans of metal, a lot of the music just sounds like loud noise and unintelligible lyrics, but under the growling and the corpsepaint you’ll find some of the most technically skilled musicians around. Good metal guitarists can play diminished augmented pentatonic chords using alternate sweep picking just as fast as the proggy-ist prog douche bag guitar player, they just chose not to so because it’s not brutal enough (note: metal people judge all things on a scale of 1-brutal). Metal drummers and prog drummers are in an eternal pissing contest over who can play double bass faster, and just like how metal singers and prog singers are always trying to see how high they can sing without causing a sonic boom. Also, they put equal emphasis on physical activity and hygiene in their personal lives. So prog and metal have been pushing each other’s buttons for a very very long time, and the results have been enjoyable for both fan bases:

Examples of prog/metal marriages:

Dream Theater – Basically the flag bearer for progressive rock. Train of Thought is their most metal album, but every album has significant metal overtones through out. Scenes from a Memory is widely considered to be one of the best prog album of the 1990’s if not of all time. (Dream Theater Example – “Painc Attack”)

Opeth – If Dream Theater is a prog band with metal overtones, Opeth is a death metal band with prog overtones. The band drifts between melodic haunting passages and crushing metal destruction almost too freely. If you can’t handle cookie monster-style vocals you’d best start with Damnation which is their ‘mellow’ album, but then quickly get Deliverance and give that a spin as well. (Opeth Example – Death Whispered a Lulaby, and then The Drapery Falls)

Other prog/metal bands (and their albums that you should check out):

Symphony X -  V (Example: “Inferno”)

Fates Warning – Inside Out (Example: “One“)

Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime (Example: “Spreading the Disease”)

Tool – Lateralus (Example: “Sober”)

Between the Buried and Me - Colors (Example: “White Walls”)

Scale the Summit - Carving Desert Canyons (Example: “Dunes”)

Pain of Salvation - One Hour by the Concrete Lake (Example: Inside)

Coheed and Cambria (Example: “Welcome Home”)

Jazz

Above him, Led Zeppelin was stealing his music

The other genre that prog was able to easily seduce was jazz. Jazz has been the most popular kid in school basically forever. Everyone wants to claim that they’re influenced by jazz, or that they have jazz tendencies, or that they once slept with jazz at a party but jazz wouldn’t remember it because jazz was really drunk that night. No matter how much jazz wants to deny it, jazz and prog did in fact hook up a few times in the 60s and 70s, resulting in the genre fusion. If you know jazz, think of Kind of Blue. Fusion is the exact opposite of that. It’s fast, complicated, crazy shit that most of the time sounds like a bad jam session made up of really good musicians (note: I love fusion). If someone tried to dance to fusion they’d be mistaken for a seizure victim and taken to a hospital. The people who play fusion are of course ridiculously talented to the point where they could probably have a full conversation with each other using only their instruments. One problem fusion inherited from jazz  is that any band that considers itself to have drawn from jazz and some other genre automatically considers itself to be ‘fusion’. What can I say, jazz was a whore:

Examples of prog/jazz marriages:

Mahavishnu Orchestra – If there was ever a band that sounded like an acid trip, I’d pick Mahavishnu Orchestra. Drawing from Indian, European, jazz, and classical music, as well as John McLaughlin’s own eccentricity, the music they produced was frantic, intensely complex, and mind blowing once you manage to wrap your brain around it. Birds of Fire and Apocalypse may be the best characterizations of the band’s sound, but if you don’t enjoy either album that’s fine, you’re probably still too sane. (Mahavishnu Orchestra Example: “Trilogy”)

Frank Zapppa – I’m not even going to try to explain Frank Zappa in three lines. I don’t even know if I can call the majority of what he did ‘fusion’ but he’s fucking important and he fits best here. Go listen to Hot Rats, Roxy and Elsewhere and Apostrophe, and if you don’t like those don’t worry about it, there’s about five billion other albums that sound totally different that you can get into. (Frank Zappa Example: “Waka/Jawaka”)

Other prog/jazz bands (and their albums that that you should check out):

The Mars Volta – Francis the Mute (Example: “Wax Simulacra”)

The Dixie Dregs – Night of the Living Dregs (Example: “Assembly Line”)

Liquid Tension Experiment - Liquid Tension Experiment 2 (Example: “Biaxadent“)

Jam Bands

There wasn't actually any mud. Hippies are just this dirty.

Unlike jazz and metal, prog hasn’t shared a lot of common ground with the jam scene. The Grateful Dead were thoroughly un-complicated and yet they became extremely popular by touring their asses off and playing a lot of simple country and blues covers in cool new ways  (making them…….progressive? MY BRAIN CAN’T HANDLE THAT). For a long time hippies were content bopping along to country and blues music, and probably would have been fine like this forever, until Phish came along and expanded the genre by writing songs that made as little sense as possible. Moving from the relatively comfortable confines of country and blues to the total nonsense that Phish produced (note: I love Phish) blew hippie’s minds. So hippie musicians, being totally incapable of rejecting any art form, started incorporating every possible genre of music into the covers they played, into their huge and totally awesome music festivals, and eventually into their own music. Alternative and bluegrass were some of the first genres to gain popularity with hippies, then some electronica and punk weaved its way in, and now metal and prog are starting to poke their heads in as well:

Examples of prog/jam band marriages:

Umphrey’s Mcgee – UM is the cream of the crop as far as blending technical skill and musicality. It’s really an amazing balancing act that they pull off, and they do it flawlessly. I also find their live improv stuff to be far less meandering and self indulgent than a lot of other jam bands. Anchor Drops is the place you start for their studio efforts, but after that I suggest downloading their eight billion podcasts, as a lot of their best songs haven’t ever been recorded in the studio. Honestly I’m not even going to bother discussing other prog/jam band marriages in depth, Umphrey’s is really the top of the line and an experience like no other. (Umphreys Mcgee Example: “Bridgeless”)

Other prog/jam bands (and their albums that you should check out):

The Disco Biscuits - Uncivilized Area (Example – “I-man”)

Keller Williams - Laugh (Example – “Freeker by the Speeker“)

moe. – Wormwood (Example – “Crab Eyes”)

Oysterhead - The Grand Pecking Order (Example – “Mr. Oysterhead”)

Bluegrass

A tradional bluegrass band. Guitar, upright bass, banjo, mandolin, and no black people.

I’m going to be upfront about this. I hate country music more than any other genre of music on the planet. Most of the performers are talentless and I think the stereotypes it generates are more damaging to rednecks than gangster rap is to urban youth. That being said, I also think the slide guitar/dobro, mandolin, and banjo are some of the coolest instruments ever. So I compromise and enjoy bluegrass. Bluegrass to me, is what happened to all the talented southern musicians. They sing about all the same topics the crappy country artists do, but their songs are ten million times more interesting and their lyrics are ten million times more creative. To be honest I don’t know if bluegrass is actually even aware of progressive rock, but both genres are fast, technical, and full of energy, so if they haven’t met maybe I can help.

Examples of prog/bluegrass marriages:

Bela Fleck and the Flecktones – This band probably only gets lumped in with bluegrass because it features a banjo. It’s also probably one of the few, if not only bluegrass band to include sax and electronic drums (note: electronic drums that are actually awesome, unlike most electronic kits which sound horrible). All of that being said, Bela Fleck might be the most well known and universally respected banjo player ever (even more than Steve Martin!), and Victor Wooten is part of the pantheon of modern bass gods. Kind of bluegrass, kind of fusion, whatever, it’s extremely creative and fun to listen to. Little Worlds is a 3-disc set that’s probably less bluegrass-y than their past efforts, but it’s a great introduction to their sound. (Bela Fleck and the Flecktones Example: “Next”)

Yonder Mountain String Band – The shining symbol of ‘new grass‘, YMSB is talented and technically proficient and blah blah blah, but that’s probably the least attended to part of their music. What makes them such an incredible band is how they’ve taken bluegrass out of the realm of genres like polka (i.e. dance music that’s a joke to most people) and made it emotional and joyful. I’ve never seen so many universally happy people in my entire life as I’ve seen at YMSB shows. The crowd just emits rainbows and sunshine and good emotions. They make 80 year old men act like 10 year olds on their birthday, and the coolest hipster turns into a Appalachian mountain dweller before their onslaught of elation. Mountain Tracks: Volume 5 is a great selection of live tracks to check out, and their new album The Show is pretty solid. (Yonder Mountain String Band Example: Sideshow Blues)

Other prog/bluegrass bands (and their albums that you should check out)

Railroad Earth – Amen Corner (Example: “Seven Story Mountain”)

Hopefully this has given you a decent idea of how prog isn’t actually as alien a genre as one might think. There’s a lot of common ground between prog and genres that are far more popular, and there has been and will continue to be bleeding between groups as new bands find their own unique sounds.

P.S. – I do want to mention one band that I left out, that being Muse. Muse has a totally absurd amount of popularity for a band that prog fans consider to be ‘one of us’. It’s not super duper technical, but it at least creates the illusion of being super duper technical, and sometimes that’s good enough. It is high energy and features a guy who sings high enough to make the guy from The Darkness jealous so I guess the leap in prog-faith isn’t too absurd.  I can’t really explain why the rest of the world loves them, not that I’m complaining either. So I guess if a band like Muse can be touring with U2 and performing on the VMAs then I can still hope that prog will take over all of music one day. A man can dream can’t he…a man can dream…

I’ve always been a big Steve Vai fan, in my eyes (should that be ears?) he’s the greatest guitarist in the world. Seeing him live on stage with Whitesnake at Donnington Monsters of Rock in 1990 was one of the musical highlights of my life. Vai’s latest album, Where the Wild Things Are is also available on DVD and Blu-ray.

Vai on Blu-ray

I’m now left with the decision of what format, or formats, I should buy? My immediate instinct is to go with the CD and nothing else, but as I have a Blu-ray player (PS3) and a full surround audio set-up at home, am I missing out on a fantastic audio/visual experience by ignoring the Blu-ray? What most people probably either don’t know, or forget, is that Blu-ray not only offers a better quality high picture but also a far better sound. For a budding (wanabee?) guitarist and Steve Vai fan I’d no doubt enjoy watching the master at work, but with my son only being 18 months old, am I ever going to get an opportunity to get the most out of this Blu-ray – the volume would surely have to be set at 11?

Has anyone out in there experienced a concert on Blu-ray, was it worth it?

Well shes walking through the clouds
With a circus mind that’s running round
Butterflies and zebras and moonbeams and fairy tales
That’s all she ever thinks about
Riding with the wind.

When Im sad, she comes to me
With a thousand smiles, she gives to me free
Its alright she says its alright
Take anything you want from me, anything
Anything.

Fly on little wing,
Yeah yeah, yeah, little wing

A multitude of bits and pieces this evening.

• I’m not sure if this is a phenomenon, but I found myself checking out someone else’s iPod on the Metro the other day. You know, just to see what they were listening to. Call it “iPod snooping.” I got the song, “Contact,” but not the artist. Was it Phish? Was it the Police? I’ll never know. On a related note, I got my first good look at a Kindle this evening. The guy was reading the Washington Post on it.

• Hodgson has an interview up with Steve Vai. On improvisation:

Improvising, most of it is listening – responding to what’s coming into your ears and letting your fingers move in an unobstructed way. And there are all these little flashes that are just comfortable visuals, like you’re hearing something and you know that there’s a particular scale or note or atmosphere or chord that’s going to work.

• Metro shuffle: XTC, “The Ballad of Peter Pumpkinhead,” followed by “My Bird Performs.” Those tunes just bring me back to the 90s.

• FT’s Techblog on Shazam, a “mobile phone music discovery” service that apparently is attracting venture money. Can’t say I’m familiar at all with the company. Maybe I’ll check out their iPhone app. Don’t cost nuthin’.

• Bldgblog links to a blogger who captures “the internal sounds of WWII bunkers,” including some freaky pigeon noises.