James Gerard Roll wrote:
>
> I disagree with you here. I am not a fan of showboating . . . but a
> certain amount of TV/Pop music is 'the show' and entertaining people is
> part of the bag.
snip
yeah, what he said. Hell, if I had the money I'd buy all them guitars
and play them on TV too, and I bet most of you guitar players out there
would too. The problem with just standing there on TV and not moving or
anything is that it conveys unhappiness and boredom rather than cool.
It's like learning how to act. Bob Wills demanded that the guys in his
bands learn how to smile while they played because they looked so somber
otherwise, and he was entertaining depression-era audiences who wanted
to forget their too-real troubles. I don't begrudge Paul his antics
either; obviously Letterman wants that and its part of the act, or he'd
make him stop. I saw GE on the Dylan tour and I thought he was a model
citizen. In fact, it took me awhile to realize that was him because he
had dropped the TV demeanor and was much more subdued. His playing
strikes me as controlled and inventive and tailored to the act, which
is, after all, what a sideman's fucking job is...
I know guitar players who grimace a lot while they play, and some who
don't. I hardly think it is fair to condemn a guy for grimacing unless
you happen to know him well enough to know if its an act or real. I
daresay its real, since the ones I know who do it aren't even aware of
it. I know Dave Grissom pretty well and he does that and when John
Conquest dissed him for it I thought it was just fucking stupid since
Dave is anything but a poser, but then Conquest specializes in talking
about people he knows nothing about.
--
Joe Gracey
President-For-Life, Jackalope Records
http://www.kimmierhodes.com
