Now in Oakland where I have use of an acoustic guitar. Already got a riff to play with that continues in the vein of recent songs I’ve been writing. A choppy 2-chord riff with offbeat 6ths or 7ths or 11ths (or whatever they are?) which opens out into verses, and closes down between verse and chorus forming a musical hook. No words, no chorus. But this is something to work on, which is what I like, and need, on holiday.
Rock-Til-You-Drop moment 1: At the American Legion Social Club in Newport Beach watching a covers band which comprises: a keyboard player/singer, tall, thin and muscular with greying Coverdale-style hair and tight T-shirt, who is covering lead and bass lines, Manzarek style; an upstanding drummer/percussionist; and a saxophone player. They are doing covers of the Eagles, the Cars and other MOR US standards to entertain right-wing ex-military types who are drinking, dancing and flipping burgers; Its dirty gig, but someone’s gotta play it.
The North Will Rise Again by John Robb is a great read. Musicians, DJs, promoters and scenesters reminiscing about the Manchester music scene since the Pistols came to play there in the summer of 1976 and inspired so many bands to form, including The Buzzcocks, The Fall, and Joy Division. One of the most interesting aspects for me is reading about the part my hairdresser Andrew Berry played in the early-80s scene there, as a DJ and hairdresser at the Hacienda and other clubs. His friend Johnny Marr described him as an exotic character and incredibly important. Every 6-8 weeks when he cuts my hair at Viva in Soho, Andy and I talk about music especially punk and Roxy Music and Bowie, and although I was aware of his friendships with Johnny Marr, Bernard Sumner, and Jon Savage and so on, he is modest about his importance to the whole scene back in the 80s. He was even issued a Factory number (FACT 98) for his role as Hacienda DJ and hairdresser, and promoted the first Smiths gig among other cool things.
Rock-Til-You-Drop moment 2: Meeting a nice guy in Sausalito called Sanjeev Brar, a musician working for a small business run by a relative of my father-in-law. His band is called The Worship of Silence. I showed him the RTYD sites and we chatted for a while about some of the problems we shared getting good, and regular, gigs. The venues that his band plays sound much like many of those in London, in that bands get paid if they bring enough people through the door. They too suffer from dwindling peer group support and the best gigs they play, he says, are to University students.
Rock-Til-You-Drop moment 1: At the American Legion Social Club in Newport Beach watching a covers band which comprises: a keyboard player/singer, tall, thin and muscular with greying Coverdale-style hair and tight T-shirt, who is covering lead and bass lines, Manzarek style; an upstanding drummer/percussionist; and a saxophone player. They are doing covers of the Eagles, the Cars and other MOR US standards to entertain right-wing ex-military types who are drinking, dancing and flipping burgers; Its dirty gig, but someone’s gotta play it.
The North Will Rise Again by John Robb is a great read. Musicians, DJs, promoters and scenesters reminiscing about the Manchester music scene since the Pistols came to play there in the summer of 1976 and inspired so many bands to form, including The Buzzcocks, The Fall, and Joy Division. One of the most interesting aspects for me is reading about the part my hairdresser Andrew Berry played in the early-80s scene there, as a DJ and hairdresser at the Hacienda and other clubs. His friend Johnny Marr described him as an exotic character and incredibly important. Every 6-8 weeks when he cuts my hair at Viva in Soho, Andy and I talk about music especially punk and Roxy Music and Bowie, and although I was aware of his friendships with Johnny Marr, Bernard Sumner, and Jon Savage and so on, he is modest about his importance to the whole scene back in the 80s. He was even issued a Factory number (FACT 98) for his role as Hacienda DJ and hairdresser, and promoted the first Smiths gig among other cool things.
Rock-Til-You-Drop moment 2: Meeting a nice guy in Sausalito called Sanjeev Brar, a musician working for a small business run by a relative of my father-in-law. His band is called The Worship of Silence. I showed him the RTYD sites and we chatted for a while about some of the problems we shared getting good, and regular, gigs. The venues that his band plays sound much like many of those in London, in that bands get paid if they bring enough people through the door. They too suffer from dwindling peer group support and the best gigs they play, he says, are to University students.
1 comment:
Allrigghhtt...
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