The Rushing / Dragging Thread

[RedLeg]

I once had a russian dragon problem

[Paul Warburton]

Mark. I spent some great time on the road with Emily and Herb. Even went to some substance-abuse meetings with them. I've talked a bunch here on the board about my substance abuse/recovery. The difference I'd like to point out to you, is that I'm here and able to offer feed-back and address any observations about this stuff in a direct one-on-one conversation. They are not.
I'd rather remember these people by the beautiful music we made together, rather than be reminded by someone, in a verbal sense, of their struggles to survive their addictions. As you intimated, it's ALL right there in their recorded work anyway, so why bother?
I hardly think it's incumbent on you to enlighten the population here.

As Ed would say...."We cool?"

[Mark Perna]

I'll shut up now.

[Treyzer]

This is a great thread. It has taken numerous twists and turns and touched on so many sub-topics, some funny, some insightful and some just tragic. There is no other place like TBDB. This was cool..way cool

T

[barbarbass]

This may not be much help, because maybe it's too vague of an idea; and others have probably said it better. Basically, even if you're the bassist, and are playing no part of the melody (or "head", or "top part", or whatever), you need to have a firm idea of that melody, and all of its nuances, in your mind, as you play. As you long as you know what everyone else should be doing, you will never be lost.

The importance of this has been driven home with even greater emphasis in the wake of my (limited, and fairly recent) orchestral experiences.

The other side of it, though, is listening -- if the conductor (or singer, or saxophonist) has a completely different notion of the melody (whether it be phrasing or tempo) then you have to be able to accomodate that as well. But that ability to accomodate, I think, originates with familiarity with the melody. If you know it, then you know it when it's altered, as well.

I don't know if any of that made sense -- Zappa once said, "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture."

[chicagodoubler]

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture."

So true.

Attempting to describe or discuss the nuances of time and feel on the internet is such a slippery slope.


I had a moment recently playing with IMHO one of the best drummers alive, and was just blown away by the microscopic variations in feel he was able to pull out of his hat. Also, the perplexing mystery of why certain guys push in some parts of the beat and pull in others. There is absolutely no way to quantify these things.

Certainly some of this is part of our musical culture, and some of it is just the personality of the guys playing. In the instance of the drummer above, he's also a sweetheart, has huge ears, and absolutely no shred of ego. In my book, the perfect combination for a swinging mofo!

FWIW alot of the big headed guys here and elsewhere are losing their gigs as the pickings become slim and the proposition of a prick on the bandstand becomes more imposing. Who cares how good a cat is if he vibes you all night?

[jhelsley]

Originally Posted by barbarbass

"Writing about music is like dancing about architecture."

...is actually unattributable...(as far as anyone knows)


argue about THAT for a while!

[ZonGuy]

Great thread.

If nothing else, I am grateful to hear some word on Michael Moore, who just blows me away with his bow work. And a helluva a nice guy.