RE: Goose Creek Symphony
Kip says: Oh, I'd rather not incriminate myself in public, Roy. St. Louis is a small town g. Well, I think I get out to clubs pretty frequently and I've yet to observe the tie-died masses playing all manner of fiddles and mandolins. I think you're overstating it when you say "it's all the rage" here. It's not, and, to be honest, I'm not sure it'd be a bad thing if it were. It's about time something killed warmed-over alternative rock, and it probably won't be this long haired folkie's long songs about long rivers. Roy Kasten [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Re: Goose Creek Symphony
Bob Soron wrote: I'd rather have a 5-minute guitar solo than a 20-second drum solo. Oooh, I dunno about that. A short, tasteful drum solo (no, that is not an oxymoron!) in the hands of the right guy is thing of beauty. I guess I'm thinking mostly about jazz and big band drummers, rather than rock guys. I had the pleasure of watching Ed Shaughnessy (sp?) from the Tonight Show band play at my college, and my god, he was amazing. Ditto with Buddy Rich solos. Or Louie Belson. Now, that ham-fisted shit that John Bonham did in Song Remains the Same...yeah, that's awful. Set the reputation of drummers back 20 years. And I will confess to digging Neil Peart's solos simply from a technical standpoint -- the guy is friggin' amazing. Plus, it's fun to watch 10,000 16-year-old boys drool at the same time. Some of my best friends are hippies (and not the kids-of-Boomers- driving-BMWs type either)... Dave *** Dave Purcell, [EMAIL PROTECTED] Northern Ky Roots Music: http://w3.one.net/~newport Twangfest: http://www.twangfest.com
RE: Goose Creek Symphony
On Sun, 25 Apr 1999, Roy Kasten wrote: Kip writes: It's becoming all da rage here in St. Louis, too: half-proficient tie-dyed youth playing fiddles, mandolins, banjos and Martin guitars. Who do you have in mind here, Kip? Oh, I'd rather not incriminate myself in public, Roy. St. Louis is a small town g. Next time I see you out, we'll talk. But consult the schedule at Cicero's for an idea of what's brewing here. The booker there, Chad Jacobs, figures the relocated club needs a niche and is aiming his sights at "the hippy kids, 'cause they drink a lot of beer". Kip
RE: Goose Creek Symphony
And I will confess to digging Neil Peart's solos simply from a technical standpoint -- the guy is friggin' amazing. Plus, it's fun to watch 10,000 16-year-old boys drool at the same time. [Matt Benz] Hell of a lyric writer, too. Deep. Very Deep.
Re: Goose Creek Symphony
On Sun, 25 Apr 1999, Terry A. Smith wrote: Yeah, it's a hoot to make fun of defenseless hippies, but lots more fun if a couple of 'em come roaring up beside your pickup truck, and flip you off when you make an off-hand comment about their hair. Doh! Seriously, though, it's not nice to stereotype folks, or assume consensus on this notion than any guitar solo over 30 seconds is self-indulgent. As a former Deadhead, who now wonders what I ever saw in them, I'm not ready just yet to join in the ridicule. Unless I was completely clueless as a teen (OK, stop laughing!), there must have been something going with the Dead and Quicksilver and Canned Heat and the other 60s jam bands that too many lousy bands are emulating (along with a few good ones) these days. Oh, I agree, actually. In fact, I still enjoy pulling out the Dead's "Workingman's Dead" and "American Beauty" from time to time, and I think Quicksilver had something to 'em, as well. Although long, meandering jams are of course what the Grateful Dead are (in)famous for, I'd argue that there are some good *songs* there, too--ones no longer than 4 minutes, to boot. I'd also have to say that it was groups like the Dead and the Band and even the Buffalo Springfield who first opened my ears to country music sounds. No, I honestly bear no grudges against hippies, per se g. Truth is, I find their booming interest in bluegrass and acoustic music to be kind of interesting in a anthropological way. I assume the gateway from "Dark Star" to "Rank Strangers" is all those Jerry Garcia Acoustic Band albums?... Kip
Re: Solos (was: Goose Creek Symphony)
A short, tasteful drum solo (no, that is not an oxymoron!) in the hands of the right guy is thing of beauty. I guess I'm thinking mostly about jazz and big band drummers, rather than rock guys. I had the pleasure of watching Ed Shaughnessy (sp?) from the Tonight Show band play at my college, and my god, he was amazing. Ditto with Buddy Rich solos. Or Louie Belson. Louie Bellson could play with wooden spoons and hockey pucks and he would sound like he invented drums. Same goes for Elvin Jones. Buddy Rich, on the other hand, I would disagree with (to an extent). Rich may have played solos like they were going out of style, but like Gene Krupa, he had an awful tendency of walking all over his bandmates toes. Both guys were phenomenal soloists, but so what? As far as I'm concerned, if you play an instrument with a band, and you're unable to integrate your musical expression with the rest of the band (i.e. you are masturbating/showing off) then I could care less how much training you had at Berklee. To switch from drums back to guitars, I think Lucinda's show at the HOB on Friday is instructive. Both of her guitar players--Ken Vaughan (sp?) and John Jackson--could probably strip the paint off a '69 Camaro with their git-playing. Instead, they used their playing to flesh out Lucinda's wonderful songs with appropriate amounts of gut-wrenching slide work (Jackson) or the aforementioned paint-strippage (some Jackson but usually Vaughan). I think "Joy" has become their workout song, where Lucinda lets both guys show us what they can really do, and it was about right. Too much soloing says to me, "We're not very good songwriters, but hey, watch what I can play!" And didn't Westerberg already cover the too-many-notes part g?? Don't even get me started on jam bands. Phish: The Beatles without a John Lennon or any sense that Chuck Berry might have existed. Dave Matthews Band: Little Feat without any sense that Lowell George might have existed. Widespread Panic: Wanking off without any sense that good taste has ever existed. Lance . . . PS: OK, I think G Love the SS qualifies as a "jam band," but they drop science like Galileo dropped the orange. I'll keep them.
Re: Grisman (was Goose Creek Symphony)
Jon Weisberger wrote: ... but Grisman's also about as good a Monroe-style mandolin player as you can find. For straight-ahead bluegrass, check out his, er, tribute double album, Home Is Where The Heart Is (Rounder) or Early Dawg (Sugar Hill) or what I think was his first album for Rounder - the one with "I Ain't Broke (But I'm Badly Bent)" on it. Uh, Jon, are you forgetting something? I don't see a mention of "Here Today" (Rounder) on your list of recommendations. You know, the one with Grisman, Herb Pedersen, Jim Buchanan, etc., oh and some guy named Gill doing the lead singing and playing guitar. I'm kind of surprised. Jim N.
RE: Grisman (was Goose Creek Symphony)
Jim Nelson says: Uh, Jon, are you forgetting something? I don't see a mention of "Here Today" (Rounder) on your list of recommendations. You know, the one with Grisman, Herb Pedersen, Jim Buchanan, etc., oh and some guy named Gill doing the lead singing and playing guitar. I'm kind of surprised. Me too. Of course, I just assumed that everyone already has a copy of that one, since I've been touting it here for so long g. Jon Weisberger, Kenton County, KY [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://home.fuse.net/jonweisberger
Re: Goose Creek Symphony
On Mon, 26 Apr 1999, Bob Soron wrote: I'd rather have a 5-minute guitar solo than a 20-second drum solo. Hey! What's wrong with "Wipeout"!? :-) --Hiroshi
Re: Goose Creek
Coming home on the Bainbridge Ferry from a gig @ the Tractor in Seattle, Me and Dan parked right in front of one of the fiddlers from Goose Creek. (Small world.) I ain't seen Dan so star struck since John Hartford came to a show. Ditto that "not aged well" sad to say. Dan tells me they were really something when he saw them open for Ralph Stanley @ the old Armadillo way back when. ___ Mark Rubin POB 49227, Austin TX 78765 http://markrubin.com
Re: Goose Creek
Mark Rubin writes Coming home on the Bainbridge Ferry from a gig @ the Tractor in Seattle, Me and Dan parked right in front of one of the fiddlers from Goose Creek. (Small world.) OK, well, I guess I'll share my small world Goose Creek story, too. I had never heard of them until 2 or 3 weeks ago when a friend of a friend sent me a tape of some recordings of theirs from the 70's --she said the fiddling reminded her of me (I'm not sure why, because I have a different style and I'm not that competent anyway). But anyway, the very next day my fiddle teacher was talking about an Ernest Tubb sighting that he had had on a particular trip to Nashville back in the 70's when he played fiddle in this band called Goose Creek Symphony. He is not part of the current group, though. Still, this early stuff that I heard isn't quite my cup of tea, although they seem to have had a strong influence on some people back then (this friend in particular). Anyway...my teacher, Jim Tolles (apparently formerly known as Cactus Jim) has a new CD out with his Magic Truck String Band, called Voyage of the Magic Truck, which I like a lot--it is mostly old-time contra influenced original songs with a couple of traditional tunes. If anyone is interested in following the evolution of former Goose Creek members, you could get this CD. If you want to buy it, I think you can reach him at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or you can write to me and I'll put you in touch with him. No, he didn't pay me to say this. Dina
Goose Creek Symphony
Any of you people familiar with these guys? I saw them last night. I knew nothing about them, but went on the recommendation of a friend. The first sign of trouble was the proliferation of aging deadheads and 20-something-"I wasn't even alive in the 60s, but all that free love and dope seems cool, so I'll borrow my parents Lexus SUV to drive over to the mall, buy a $75 designer tied-dye shirt and $120 pair of Calvin Klein *weathered* cut-offs, and relive the summer of love while I'm on spring break"-hippie-wannabes. I'm not sure how to describe them. Parts bluegrass, parts country, parts that Dead/Phish thing. Lots of noodling, bongos, noodling, long solos, more noodling, noodling, noodling. We stayed for about 30 - 45 minutes - just long enough for the first song. g The band has an enthusiastic and rabid following. Maybe I'm just missing something here. They did have great harmonies. And they seemed like talented players. The songs were just so long and, I don't know, boring, What have I learned from this? Well, when a friend with dormant hippie tendencies recommends a band, carefully consider whether the band appeals to their cool, country/roots rock tendencies or those aforementioned hippie tendencies. g I tried to be open-minded about it. But, hippies and me - we're like oil and water. We just don't mix. I blame the Sex Pistols. marie
Re: Goose Creek Symphony
Heh heh...Marie comments on the alarmingly growing ranks of faux bluegrass and hippy acoustic bands. It's becoming all da rage here in St. Louis, too: half-proficient tie-dyed youth playing fiddles, mandolins, banjos and Martin guitars. Whatever, but the music is just as deadly dull played acoustic as it was with Stratocasters. Still, it's had the positive if unintentional side affect of giving a core group of stone bluegrass and old-timey musicians some of their best paying gigs in years. Kip
Re: Goose Creek Symphony
Kip wrote: Heh heh...Marie comments on the alarmingly growing ranks of faux bluegrass and hippy acoustic bands. It's becoming all da rage here in St. Louis, too: half-proficient tie-dyed youth playing fiddles, mandolins, banjos and Martin guitars. Whatever, but the music is just as deadly dull played acoustic as it was with Stratocasters. It **is** dull, but give the little hackeysackers credit for at least being openminded enough to accept a little twang without recoiling in revulsion. Naked Omaha opened up for a hippydippyjammywhammyphishywishy band from W Va called The Recipe a while back. I figured it'd be a horror show, but their fans actually seemed to appreciate the twang in our music. It was a pleasant surprise. Steve Kirsch [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com/getjuno.html or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
RE: Goose Creek Symphony
Kip writes: It's becoming all da rage here in St. Louis, too: half-proficient tie-dyed youth playing fiddles, mandolins, banjos and Martin guitars. Who do you have in mind here, Kip? Roy
Re: Goose Creek Symphony
marie arsenault wrote: noodling, noodling. We stayed for about 30 - 45 minutes - just long enough for the first song. g I'm sure if we had stayed any longer we would've started smelling that "I'm a deadhead and I've been so stoned I forgot to take a bath" body odor. g They did have great harmonies. And they seemed like talented players. The songs were just so long and, I don't know, boring, There were so many players they didn't fit on the stage. I betcha that looney waitress at the Sutler dug 'em though. Today when at a record store I saw one of their cds. I made a mental note to buy a copy of it for your birthday, Marie. Ronni
Re: Goose Creek Symphony
Ronni: I'm sure if we had stayed any longer we would've started smelling that "I'm a deadhead and I've been so stoned I forgot to take a bath" body odor. g or patchouli! Today when at a record store I saw one of their cds. I made a mental note to buy a copy of it for your birthday, Marie. I have such thoughtful friends. I would much prefer a Goose Creek cd than, say, a Haggard box set. Gotta run. I'm feeling the urge to spin my Dave Matthews and Beefheart cds. g Right after I gouge my eyes out with a spoon. marie
Re: Goose Creek Symphony
Terry Smith: assume consensus on this notion that any guitar solo over 30 seconds is self-indulgent. 30 seconds, no. Over 5 minutes, perhaps. Terry: But personally I'd rather see folks stick with critiquing the music, than taking on such god-awfully easy targets. Now that's a very hippie-ish thing to say. g But, your point is taken. You're right. Hippies are god-awful easy targets. Now folk-singers Hey, I may not have dated a hippie, but some of my best friends certainly *look* like hippies. marie (disclaimer: no hippies or hippie-wannabes were harmed in the making of this post)
Re: Goose Creek Symphony
At 12:20 AM -0500 on 4/26/99, marie arsenault wrote: Terry Smith: assume consensus on this notion that any guitar solo over 30 seconds is self-indulgent. 30 seconds, no. Over 5 minutes, perhaps. I'd rather have a 5-minute guitar solo than a 20-second drum solo. Bob
