Tommy Kennedy

[KJung]

I had the pleasure of hearing Tommy with the Dave Weckl band yesterday in Chicago. While Dave's music is not my favorite thing, the sheer technical virtuosity of that band is just stunning. Tommy's relatively new TK signature Fodera sounded wonderful.... extremely punchy and articulate. I had the pleasure of playing his bass in St. Louis (long story ) and it really is amazing... swamp ash, Ebony board, custom pickups and that unique neck pickup placement. That bass is as light as a Sadowsky NYC and still has all of that Fodera punch.

Anyway... Tommy just sounded amazing.... totally smoking chops, amazing sense of time, and you could hear every note he played.

I would highly recommend seeing this group if you have the chance. Their live performance comes off with much more passion and musicality than their studio recordings.

 

[Dr. Cheese]

You're the second Tb'er to post her about the Chicago show. I think I saw the Tom Kennedy Fodera model on Ebay once. Doesn't it have closely spaced humbuckers like a Warwick $$?

 

[jerry]

Man!...do I envy you!!! One of my favorites!!!

 

[JAUQO III-X]

I was at the same show you describe.the band was flawless and Tom had killer tone thru out the entire show.

 

[Christian Houmann]

I also heard him with Dave Weckl and is plays great and Fodera sounds amazing. He know his Jaco thing

From Fodera's website:

Tom's Emperor II specs out like this

35" Scale
24" Fret
Top: 5A Flame Maple
Body: Ash
Ebony Fingerboard
Dual -Coil Custom Shop
Fodera/Duncan Pick Ups with Coil Tap Switch
Fodera/Pope 18 Volt Custom 3BAN Circuit
Custom Fodera Bridge
Inlaid Strap Locks
Fodera Tuners!

-Christian

 

[VinceLovesF]

Yes, Tom kennedy is a killer, I love hos playing!
I would love to see the DWB in concert a day, I really hope to...

 

[KJung]

I was at the same show you describe.the band was flawless and Tom had killer tone thru out the entire show.

Wish I could have met you and said hello at the show!

 

[KJung]

You're the second Tb'er to post her about the Chicago show. I think I saw the Tom Kennedy Fodera model on Ebay once. Doesn't it have closely spaced humbuckers like a Warwick $$?

Yes... the key to Tommy's model is that it is extremely light.... my guess is around 8 pounds, and has the neck pickup moved right up against the bridge pickup. Tommy goes for an extremely midrange, punch articulate tone, given his massive fingerstyle chops, and that bass really does deliver. That pickup placement does make the bass a little more limited (you wouldn't want to slap on it IMO), but if you are going for that mid-burp sound, man will you get it! I still can't get over how light that bass is. We A/B'd his bass with a 'weighs a ton' walnut Fodera Emperor' and found very little difference in the low end and the punch of the bass. Very cool... almost makes me want to get back in the Fodera family (almost )

 

[JAUQO III-X]

Wish I could have met you and said hello at the show!

Thank You.

 

[c-ba55]

I saw the Dave Weckl Band in NY Friday. Impressive, but overall unmoving. Dave Weckl is a very creative player, and the whole band had a very strong sense of time, but they managed to not groove. There was no space, ever. Very uptight music, and I couldn't sing one "melody" back to you 10 seconds after the song was over. The band looked like nerds, too. 3 little white goofballs, and Weckl just seemed pissed off. I liked TK's basslines & tone. But between appreciating Weckl's drumming, and his bass-playing, I still didn't feel like they came together to make a good rhythm section. Then it came time for TK to solo, and this was a huge disaster. He played very very very fast, but his desire to do that overwhelmed any emotional statement he might have wanted to make. If you play at top speed continuously, it loses its power. As far as a melodic idea, or anything like that, there was none. The sax player was good, but the keyboard player was a joke. All his sounds seemed very "small." Like, even though they were going through the PA, they sounded like they were coming out of laptop speakers or something.

The sax player's name is Mr. Meek. Just thought I'd include that in the review. I actually liked his playing, but his on-stage personality just made me roll my eyes. He would do something like just barely get his horn in his mouth in time to play a hit, then look at the other band members and chortle heartily.

Dave Weckl's drum solos were awesome. As soon as the G.D. band stopped making all that racket, his drum-playing made sense. He is playing like an entire orchestra by himself, and there's no place for anybody else. It is the Dave Weckl band. I have an album where he's in Chick Corea's Band, and it's great. A very together band.

It is NOT that I don't like complex music. I definitely do. But not at the sacrifice of groove or melody.

 

[KJung]

I saw the Dave Weckl Band in NY Friday. Impressive, but overall unmoving. Dave Weckl is a very creative player, and the whole band had a very strong sense of time, but they managed to not groove. There was no space, ever. Very uptight music, and I couldn't sing one "melody" back to you 10 seconds after the song was over. The band looked like nerds, too. 3 little white goofballs, and Weckl just seemed pissed off. I liked TK's basslines & tone. But between appreciating Weckl's drumming, and his bass-playing, I still didn't feel like they came together to make a good rhythm section. Then it came time for TK to solo, and this was a huge disaster. He played very very very fast, but his desire to do that overwhelmed any emotional statement he might have wanted to make. If you play at top speed continuously, it loses its power. As far as a melodic idea, or anything like that, there was none. The sax player was good, but the keyboard player was a joke. All his sounds seemed very "small." Like, even though they were going through the PA, they sounded like they were coming out of laptop speakers or something.

The sax player's name is Mr. Meek. Just thought I'd include that in the review. I actually liked his playing, but his on-stage personality just made me roll my eyes. He would do something like just barely get his horn in his mouth in time to play a hit, then look at the other band members and chortle heartily.

Dave Weckl's drum solos were awesome. As soon as the G.D. band stopped making all that racket, his drum-playing made sense. He is playing like an entire orchestra by himself, and there's no place for anybody else. It is the Dave Weckl band. I have an album where he's in Chick Corea's Band, and it's great. A very together band.

It is NOT that I don't like complex music. I definitely do. But not at the sacrifice of groove or melody.

It's hard to argue with your comments. I find the Weckl band amazing, but in small doses and primarily for the amazing chops. I too prefer more space in a section's playing, and definitely more joy.... one thing Dave does not exude a lot of is joy!

Interestingly, I heard the band a couple of years ago with a sub bass player (he was from LA). He was a totaly groove player and while the band wasn't as awe inspiring in a technical sense as it is with Tommy, the groove and space allowed Weckl's playing to shine through in its complexity, versus the mega chops-fest when Tommy plays.

All that being said, it is something to see. The sense of time those guys have is just scary!