Music Meridian

My latest issue of Mojo magazine came in the mail today, and the CD has been stolen AGAIN! This is two months in a row the mailman has chosen to relieve me of my free CD. I've had this subscription for years and never had a problem until now.

I'm going to the post office to file a complaint and roll a few heads.

And I still haven't recieved my Dylan covers CD that was stolen last time. Mojo said it would take 6-8 weeks(!!) for the replacement to arrive.

The plot thickens...

Wanna have someone like Dweezil Zappa or Dave Weckl play on your song? You'll be able to hire them and send your song electronically to them and they'll electronically send their tracks back to you with a site called E-Session.

It officially launches Nov. 1st, but you can see a preview of the site now.

Musicans get to set their own rates, so big name artists will obviously cost top-dollar. But this is such a cool use of technology, I might start saving some money now...to get Dweezil to play along with one of my drum tracks :)

Coolfer reports about the top albums of this week in 1990. Ouch, indeed.

The New York Times has an interesting article on "Art-Metal" online. You gotta register to read it, but it's free and worth the effort.

The owner of Hydra Head records is interviewed, as well as Mick Barr from Orthrelm(!) The Flying Luttenbachers also get a nod. Pretty big press for bands like that!





Yesterday, I went to the celebration of the 20th Anniversary of The Drum Pad at The Vic Theatre. Let me start by saying I'm still reeling from the amazing music I witnessed.

The show started late. Doors were suppose to open at noon for a 1pm start time. Sound check was apparently taking forever (probably due to setting up Terry Bozzio's monster drumkit) and we didn't get in until 2pm.

So as I alluded to, the first act was Terry Bozzio performing drum duets with Chad Wackerman. These two Zappa alumnis know how to play some amazing intricate parts. Plus Terry's drumkit was just awe inspiring to see in person. They played from a almost whispery quiet, to full on pummeling assult. I was floored. Where could this possibly go from here??

It went to the Jimmy Chamberlin Complex. Jimmy was the powerhouse drummer behind the Smashing Pumpkins, and his new group is more of a jazz fusion thing. They put out a disc earlier this year that I love, but live was a whole different experience. Sheer power. The bass player was literally smashing his bass and had this really evil fuzz sound. The guitarist was all over the place. Plus, Jimmy was visibly inspired to be there and really turned some heads. They are definately starting to lean to a more heavy-prog than the fusion on the CD. Can't wait to see where they are going.

The biggest surprise of the day came next, when Jazz great Jeff Hamilton came out to play solo. He played drum solo renditions of popular jazz tunes like "Sing, Sing, Sing", "A Night In Tunesia", and "Now's The Time". Get this...he played the melodys of the songs....on a four piece jazz set. You could totally hear the songs. It was amazing what he did. Lots of pitch bending of the heads and such. I want to buckle down and practice alot of the techniques I witnessed from him. Then Steve Smith came out and did snare drum duets with him on brushes. I've never seen such complicated and lightning quick brushwork. Woah.

What's next?? Steve Smith came out with a world-fusion band called Summit. They were good, but a little long winded on the guitar/sax solos. When it broke down to the Tabla solos (by Zakir Hussain) that's when I perked up. His fingers were an absolute blur. Plus he could play walking basslines on them! Too cool!!

This was followed up my one of my favs, Mike Mangini. His performance seemed a little abbreviated, due to the late start time. But it was still awe inspiring. He was billed as the "World's Fastest Drummer" and it's hard to argue. Amazing one-handed rolls that are way faster than I can do with two. And he would roll that way AROUND the drumset. Sheesh! I'm about ready to pass out from all the excitement...but the final act is about ready to come on....

Mike Portnoy assembled a cast of people to play "Classic" Rush. Paul Gilbert (Mr. Big), Sean Malone (Cynic) and some horrible singer from Dangerous Toys. The singing was not too good, but seemed to get better through the set...but let me tell you about the music.

First, they assembled an exact replica of Neil Peart's kit from 1982. EXACT. All the drums, all the chimes, bells, gongs etc. A work of art in itself. Now, dig the set list. Mind you, these were all FULL LENGTH versions of the songs...no medleys, no extracts or abbreviations....

2112
Cygnus X-1
Cygnus X-1 Book II: Hemispheres
YYZ (with early 80's version of The Rhythm Method drum solo)

Holy crap!!! Are you kidding me?!?! It took them over an hour to get through those 4 songs. Mindblowing to say the least! Faith in Mike Portnoy after the Octavarium debacle restored. I gotta lie down....too much excitement!

Went to Guitar Center in Arlington Heights tonight. They had Neil Peart's drumkit on display this afternoon. Neil's drum-tech was also there fielding questions. Pretty cool getting some inside scoop on how his drums are setup etc. I guess it takes over 3 hours to put it together!!

They also had a raffle giving away a bunch of stuff, including a cymbal signed by Mr. Peart, but alas I didn't win.

Enjoy these pictures I snapped of the set! (Click on the photos to enlarge)

Many who know me realize I'm always looking for crazy heavy prog music. You want to know what I think is the best prog/grind/freak album I've heard in a long time?

Psyopus? Nah.

Into The Moat? Sorry. No dice. Although they are touring with Cephalic Carnage this month....

Origin? They're awesome, but Longstreth isn't with them anymore and it shows.

So what is it? The new Ion Dissonance album "Solace". It came out this week, and it freakin' RULES. If you wanna hear some absolutely crazy music...look no further. Totally over-the-top and enjoyable!

For those of you not so into the "Brutal" end of prog...might I direct your attention to an album by Absolute Zero called "Crashing Icons". It's quite stellar. The drummer is amazing. It's 4 songs, each a total epic. They have a massive Zuehl/Heavy fusion vibe going on and I love it. Absolute highest recommendation.

Stay tuned for more ranting on bands you never heard of....

My brother won free tickets to see Jimmy Buffett at Wrigley Field yesterday, and he invited me to go. I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a giant party and see the first concert ever at Wrigley Field.

I wasn't disappointed. Our seats were amazing, in left field, really close to the stage. That was half the experience....walking around the infield, standing in the bullpen, peeking into the dugout, looking back at the entire stadium filled to capacity etc.

And Buffett delivered as well. A really good set by a performer at the top of his game. The SunTimes has a really good account of the show. One of the highlights for me was watching him perform "City Of New Orleans" from the bleachers. Pretty great stuff.

Surprisingly the crowds seemed really well behaved, and I had no problems geting drinks or going to the bathrooms. It was ORGANIZED. We stayed until the crowd thinned out, so we were one of the last to leave the field...and it was surprisingly clean as well. I feared the ballpark would be trashed, but it didn't seem to be the case.

Hopefully this will open up the doors to more concerts in the Friendly Confines in the future.

An album by Russian surf-rock weirdos Messer Chups called "Crazy Price" is slated to be re-released by Ipecac on October 18th. For some reason, Reckless Records already had a copy of it in their used bin today. So I picked it up! Quite a find! I wonder why Ipecac is holding on the release date for so long since it's obviously manufactured and ready to go (it's not a promo copy from what I can tell, and it is the Ipecac version and not the orignial version on Solnze).

Hmmm.

Coolfer has a great entry today with links to lots of articles regarding the musical impact of Hurricane Katrina. It's pretty staggering.





Just got back from seeing the Minutemen documentary "We Jam Econo" at the Siskel. It was awesome. Anyone who's even remotely interested in the Minutemen / fIREHOSE / Mike Watt etc should see this movie.

First off, there's tons of live footage. Probably something like 50(!!) songs from various eras. You want to see The Minutemen play live? You got it!

You can truly appreciate how powerful they were as a live act. and George Hurley is a powerhouse drummer. Watching it was pretty inspiring.

You also get tons of people talking about the band and offering insight. Everyone from Thurston Moore to Flea to Richard Hell.

And to top it off, you get to see Mike Watt scootin' around Pedro in his van showing off pieces of Minutemen history. Where they played their first show, the apartment they practiced in, and the location of the music store where he bought his first bass (It's a PetCo now! How sad!)

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

http://www.theminutemen.com