jazzypaul

On jazz gigs: Hauling gear. everything else, I can deal with. If people aren't listening, it's a chance to play all the weird shit that you never get to play for attentive crowds. Always wanted to play all of the tunes off of Journey to Sandina--blah blah blah? (you know, the Alice Coltrane record with Joe and Pharaoh) Play all of that stuff when you know nobody cares! Loud drunks? A chance to turn up. Freebird requests? Play 'em, and play 'em so outside that you freak people out. (My trio actually does this. If you're willing to suggest Freebird to a Tenor/Bass/Drums duo, you have it coming...) Jobbing dates: lead singers who can't sing in tune lead singers who call awful tunes lead singers who sing awful tunes out of key dance band pianists who insist on playing on every quarter note hotels that won't let you mingle with the audience. hotels that won't let the band drink. hotels that won't let the band use the fucking bathroom. unpaid overtime Playing Celebration Playing Celebration with a horn section that tries to swing it that's just what I can think of in the first minute or so...

Completely agreed. One of the highlights of VW ownership (this is my sixth, my last, and my second to be nothing but trouble...) is that when your car is in the shop and they call enterprise, you get to drive all sorts of different cars all the time!!! Actually, that wasn't so bad once. My car got wrecked. Insurance sent me to Enterprise. All they had in the lot (it was a friday afternoon) was a Jaguar X-Type, which I got to drive for 2 months. Never has an experience with a car been so unique, and cool, even if the new Jags do look like Tauruses. Thanks, VW!!!!

Dude, Elton, back in the day was a badass. Even now, every once in a while, he can knock one out of the park. Cat Stevens, on the other hand, never did it for me. And, he did put out two albums since his conversion: one was a kids record, and the other one was just voice and percussion. So, there ya go.

the best things about gigging? Locking in with the tenor player on a figure you've never heard him play before. Hearing the bass player say, "hey, let's try playing Nardis in 7" and nailing it. Seeing people get out on the dance floor when things get funky. Seeing metalheads recognize For Whom The Bell tolls, even as we play it at 180. Seeing the metalheads stick around for the Joe Henderson tunes. Getting applause for originals. Overtime Pay. getting lost in the moment and realizing you've just played something that you couldn't nail in the practice room. Seeing old bandmates' jaws drop when the new band plays something infinitely better than the old band did. Getting paid for doing what you love at the end of the night. Hearing complete strangers say nice things to you. The list goes on and on, my friends...

I know I'm in the minority, but of the later Grant Green stuff, Alive really speaks to me. Strangely, it's not for Grant's solos, which are great throughout the record, but rather for Ronnie Foster's solos, which peel paint off the walls (especially on the re-issue, with a killin' version of It's Your Thing). On the old JCS board, Yanow and I got into it over this record, and yes Dan, this is where my hatred of him stems. Call me irrational, but this record has a very soft spot in my heart. I've yet to hear Easy, but I think it'd be worth a listen at some point. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and musically speaking, I guess I do a fair amount of garbage picking.

Stitt & Patterson Turrentine & Scott Turrentine & Smith Larry Young & Elvin Jones Jack McDuff & George Benson Ron Carter & Tony Williams Wynton & Branford (gotta give it up for Black Codes...) Larry Goldings & Bill Stewart Chris Potter & Bill Stewart John Scofield & Bill Stewart Joe Williams & Norman Simmons Jackie & Grachan okay, I'm done. All of this talk of Peanut Butter and Jelly and Milk and Cookies has made me hungry. Now, for alcoholic combinations that sound gross but really aren't... Mountain Dew and Southern Comfort Tequila and Grenadine okay, all done.

All I know is that I am drooling like a dog over a bone over the idea of the Toyota Highlander Hybrid. So far, my biggest issue with the Hybrids is that they've been too small to be practical for a drummer (this is why I love my '72 MB...even if it only gets 9 mpg). But with the idea of a Highlander Hybrid, well, suddenly it seems like a fantastic idea. Toyota build quality, SUV space and height and 50 mpg? Hell, where do I sign up? Greg, get off the "I only buy America" kick. It's people like you that allow the big 3 to keep making crappy cars. I'll gladly go American when they can make a product as well as Toyota or Honda, or make a car with as much personality as a VW. Until then, I'll loudly proclaim my love for poorly built german econoboxes and gargantuan antiques.

well, cable is a strange notion all the way around. We pay for commercial TV. The commercials are supposed to be what pays for them to be around, so really, we're getting ripped off already. Then we get ripped off again (I have dish TV, and their "America's top 60" package includes 15 home shopping networks. Those bastards...), for not getting what we originally bargained for. Then, we get ripped off once again if we decide that it would be nice to put something decent in our brains, such as AMC, Trio, Ovation or Bravo, and they charge extra for even more commercial TV stations. Then, we get ripped off one more time for good measure by getting charged (if we wish) $12 per channel for the movie channels. It sucks not having HBO. Well, maybe not...it's a chance to go hang at the local bar that plays the Sopranos on Sunday nights. Frankly, I'm offended that we pay for services that are filled with commercials. I really have to wonder how this works. Wouldn't these cable networks get money from cable subscriptions, thus rendering the idea of not bundling somewhat useless? Seriously...I'd be a lot happier about doling out $30/month for commercial TV if I didn't have to have 17 different cartoon and kids channels, and instead could have Bloomberg, BBC America, Trio, Ovation, BET on Jazz, FX and the like. (and say what you will about Fox, their sports programming is universally excellent) If I'm missing something in this equation, I'd love to know. Cable sucks. But Comedy Central and The World Poker Tour are too cool not to have. grrrr...

The vocalist's timing is off. Sorry, I'm a drummer, I notice these things. Damn hippies, can't go anywhere without being high.

re: Night of the Cookers... Man, I've always loved those two records, and I picked up the CD's when I found them at some point. Like a dumbass, I sold 'em, under the auspices of, "well, I just don't have the time to listen to four 20 minute tracks..." Little did I realize that I would eventually move within the city limits of Chicago, and now have at least 40 minutes on the road during my commute with which to listen to some truly fiery playing from Freddie and Lee. And they are great. Don't listen to the reviews, or the people that inexplicably don't like this session. It's a bad, bad mutha.

How about opening notes to a solo? Les McCann's first four bars on his solo for Cold Duck Time always brings a smile to my face whenever I hear it.

re; the idea of making OOP sessions available for download...I suggested this to someone at EMI at the 2002 IAJE and they said they were working on it then, after they got offended that I said that I was glad that Kazaa, Napster and the rest exist, because at least that way, if they refuse to keep their music out there, the music lovers of the world could. I'm surprised that no one's mentioned the Don Byron session yet. In my humble opinion, that's the best session that Byron's yet recorded. It's thoroughly enjoyable. If you don't have it, and they have it on sale, you owe it to yourself to pick it up.

Yeah man, I'll suffer with you. I've been trying to do the Subway/Jimmy John's thing instead of fast food, but I got freaked out last weekend. Turns out that those subway subs with only 6 grams of fat are essentially plain. Which I knew. But, I sat down and figured out how much fat all of those goodies add up to, and before I knew it, I was eating 32 grams of fat in my Italian BMT sub. GEEEEEZ!!!! So, I'm trying to be more careful. It's time for me to get back down to dating weight again, and I'm trying. Walking 3 miles a day, trying to get back down to only a pack of smokes a day, and attempting to cut out the soda and just drink water (as expensive as it is, I REALLY like the taste of Dasani, and it's way better for you, so it's a good assault on my wallet). Any other tips from those of you who have dropped some tonnage?

Wow, I guess I'm the only asshole on here that actually really enjoys fireworks. Every year includes a trip to Indiana to get a couple of mortar kits, a few gross of bottle rockets and at least a gross of firecrackers. My neighborhood was a hoot on friday (I was in St. Louis for the rest of the weekend), with everybody and their brother setting off something. There were a few guys shooting off firearms instead of fireworks, and those guys scare the crap out of me. But, other than that, a good time was had by most.

got it. sorry, my ignorance shows. I was always a Punisher, Hulk and Thor kid. Was into Spidey when I was really little, but by the time I was a dressed in black, listening to speed metal, sporting a huge fro, it was all about the Punisher.

Alright, I get how Harry is obviously going to be the next hobgoblin, and JJ's kid now has an axe to grind, but why would you think professor connors?

couw, you'd be shocked how much substance a lot of the great comic books of the 60's and 70's had. And probably more shocked then with the graphic novels that they sometimes evolved into. Batman was about the only one that was completely out of touch, and even then. Hell, I remember one of my Conan the Barbarian comics dealing quite frankly with the consequences of being promiscuous. And this is supposed to be stuff for kids...The Punisher dealt with some heavy stuff as well. That film was wasted on that piece of shit movie that could have been SOOOO good is a tragic shame.

Thank you. This makes much more sense now. Isn't it great to be on a board with tons of musicians around?

Alright, so I'm in the middle of arranging A Taste of Honey for my quintet. One of the chords on the original sheet music is a Dm#7. Wouldn't that just be a D minor chord with an octave replacing the 7? But when I try voicing it, no matter how I try to voice it, it just sounds odd as hell...any piano players have any suggestions? I'm at a loss here...

Had to add this one to the bunch. Okay, so I had the organ trio that played P-Funk tunes and brought lots of people in the door, and we all had a great time. The band dissolves as the bass player goes to jail, and then moves to Northern Wisconsin. Ummm, okay, I guess. No worries, I still have my quintet, which is getting ready to record next month, and I am currently in the middle of fighting to get a couple of standards on the CD, as these guys want to do nothing but our tunes. So, that's cool. But my baby has always been my little trio...The Extra Large Duo. We play every Tuesday night at this little jazz club just down the street from work, and we get the door. Amazingly enough, this little knock-off of the DKV Trio is making some decent coin doing this, making a bunch of money for the club, and slowly, but surely, we're starting to get offers from other places looking for work. Suddenly, this little band that we never thought was going to do anything besides these Tuesday night sessions needs to record a demo! AWESOME!!! Until... Arrrggghhh...got the call this morning that the club in question went dark as of last night. And it's really sad, because they were making money six nights a week, and considering that they were only paying out of pocket for two of those nights, and dinners average about $20 a plate, they had to have been making hand over fist. This kills our momentum, not to mention, being able to grow every week in front of a steady crowd. We're looking for another opportunity like this (and it shouldn't be hard), but damn does it suck right now... sigh...

Strangely, I never really got into weed. Would smoke it if it was around, would buy it occasionally, if the time was right, but never really made a habit of it. Psychedelics, on the other hand, were a completely different story. My girlfriend in high school was known as the acid queen of DuPage County, and I was her guinea pig of sorts when new shipments would come in. After 2 years of that, my brain kind of melted after a bad trip, and I went into a serious depression for about a year. So, no more of that. Or so I said. When the Three Blind Mice were playing often, there was one guy that would always come to our shows and give us shrooms after our sets. One of those nights, we ended up at a casino, and somehow, I won $275 at a blackjack table while tripping balls. That's a night that will not be soon forgotten. As for other stuff, I was an alcoholic through most of my early 20's. Went to AA, and realized that the thought of having to be around these sad sacks all the time was enough to keep me sober. And it has been. Now I can drink socially and keep a lid on it. Of course, I do have a weakness for Patron that gets me into trouble quite often, but we won't talk about that.

Just made my way to the CD release party for this one over the weekend, got the CD and, well, damn is it good. Her take on I'll Be Around brought tears to my eyes, and her versions of A Taste of Honey and Annie Lennox's (!?!?!?!) Pavement Cracks were daaaaaaaaaammmmmmmnnnnn good. The rest of the album is a beast too, even if it's a little down tempo for my usual tastes. Anyone else hip to Jackie's talents?

This probably makes me a prick (and prone to more bad karma), but man, I love driving fast. It's a rush of sorts, and not the "woo, I'm doing something illegal!" kind either. If there's nobody else on the road, or in the case of being on the Dan Ryan, simply keeping up with traffic, I'll jam it to the metal, and once again be happy that I have a car that can do 145 mph. Now, if I could chip it and put a better turbo on...hee hee hee hee hee....

Vibes...I'm largely in your shoes. I'm 29, about 60 lbs. overweight. The shitty part is that I overcame alcoholism, turned my shit around and used to work out constantly, was finally in damn good shape. Then, in the course of one year, I broke a foot, seriously sprained my back, got pneumonia, an ulser and then pluricy. All of that time spent on the couch got me smoking again, too. Not a good formula for staying in shape. Now add heartbreak and a life that seems to be pulling way too much from Paul Thomas Anderson's movies, and it makes for a mess. sigh...

the super dark, ultra morbid guy in me wants to say Curtis Mayfield's (Don't Worry) If there's a Hell Below, We're All Gonna Go. But really, what I'd want is enough time to be able to listen to Speak No Evil, The Sorcerer, White Light/White Heat (singing along to Sister Ray would be a helluva way to go out), The Smiths' debut album and the first disc of DKV's Trigonometry. That I could live with. Or, in the case of this thread, maybe not so much...