Baby Woodrose Stumbles Into My Life

Stumbling upon Baby Woodrose was probably the best thing to happen to me today.  I was checking in on my old friend from FV Music, and she happened to like a blog post from a music critic who was singing the praises of their song Dandelion.  At first play, I thought, “Here comes the usual 1960’s crystal clear guitar, backed up by that familiar Rheem Mark VII organ sound.”  But wait, that voice, it’s strong.  The lyrics, they are clever.  The call and response between the female and male vocalist had me guessing the whole time.  There was no predicting what would be said next.  The song was simple, but catchy.  It gave a nod to the 1960’s for sure, but it stood on its own two feet. Very cool to be sure.  I had to find more, as I was hooked.

First, I had to find out why would my friend like this band?  She’s more of an MC5, Stooges, Dead Moon kind of a gal.  With one quick trip to the Baby Woodrose Myspace page, I had my answer.  Play the song titled No Mas, and you have just that kind of sound. Still, they can’t be pegged just yet.  They switch with ease between the two styles mentioned above, and then go a bit further.  Yes, Caught in a Whirl keeps you on that “Free Love – 1960’s” mindset. It has the fuzziest, fuzz guitar intro and spacey vocals.  It’s also dynamic, jumping between soft sung verses that are free of studio effects, to a screaming, screeching chorus that sounds honest and real.

Still, this band has more under the hood.  Take the song Emily, with its harmonic vocal intro, acoustic guitar work, and haunting harmonica. Put all that together and it reminds of you of the soundtrack to a spaghetti western.  The heart of the song gives more than a nod to a genre of music that found its peak over 40 years ago.

Don’t pass this band off as a band without originality.  They certainly have a style deeply rooted in the past, but you just can’t deny that they don’t have their own unique way of presenting it to the masses.  At the very least, stick around and play the song Chemical Buzz.  Be ready for the double time “Stepping Stone” style riff.  It comes out of nowhere.

This song is just two minutes long, it’s missing a solo, but still it’s got a crunchy hook. Baby Woodrose made their first album in 2001, and are still pumping out pretty damn cool music. The first album was just a solo project, but I’m glad that Lorenzo Woodrose realized that he had created something worthwhile. The band is currently playing shows in Germany and Denmark. Will they ever come to the United States?  I hope so.        

My Take On Hawkwind | Scratching the Surface of a Space Rock Band

Hawkwind, a “space rock” band that has seen over 31 regular members and six guest members come and go is still going strong. In fact, they play at Clumber Park during the “Rock the Park” festival on August 17.  Also on the bill will be Brit Floyd, Focus (a band with 15 former members,) and Carl Palmer, just to name a few.  Do the other bands on the bill give you an idea of what Hawkwind sounds like?  Do you remember the famous song Focus is known for?  It’s titled Hocus Pocus, and it’s one of those earworm songs that anyone over 35 will remember well. While that song is not very “prog,” you only need to listen to their 23 minute song titled Eruption, to know that they are certainly part of the prog-rock genre. This isn’t a post about Focus, so I’ll try to get back on track. 
Hawkwind started back in 1969 with Dave Brock, John Harrison and Mick Slattery getting together with a few others.  Their first “gig” was at All Saints Hall, and they called themselves “Group X.”  They didn’t have any formal songs, but tried their best to play a trippy rendition of Eight Miles High, set to strobe lights.
Hawkwind’s first release was their self titled album that came out in 1970.  No song from that album charted.  It was of no surprise, as that effort brought forth little more than acoustic jam-like songs to an audience that was just starting to get to know the genre.  I must note that the song Hurry On Sundown has a swing beat, sitar intro, and a country style harmonica riff that all works.  The song Mirror of Illusion has the same style as Hurry On Sundown, but the 10:43 long jam titled Seeing It as You Really Are is pure space jam.  
Their second effort titled In Search of Space hit number 18 on the UK charts.  You can hear that the band is morphing from a jam style, to a more focused effort.  Personally, I like the song You Shouldn’t Do That.  It takes nearly two minutes to build up, and it’s mostly made up of three or four notes, but the saxophone work is haunting.
In 1972, the band released Doremi – Fasol – Latido.  With the song titled “Space is Deep,” it’s pretty much a given that the band was full on space rock by album number three.  You will hear the traditional spacey keyboard sounds on that track.  Time We Left This World Today has a pretty strong “call and response” vocal line, backed up with heavy bass and the (often used) wind effect throughout the song.  I don’t know if the song would flow well without that all important wind effect.  It wasn’t until roughly 1972 when the now famous front man of Motorhead joined the band.  He was the band’s bass player up until 1975, when he ran into some trouble during their summer tour.  He was trying to cross the border into the United States, and was caught with a powdery substance that was thought to be cocaine. It was speed, but no matter. He was promptly fired from the band.
I can’t say that I dove in to much more than their first three albums.  I gave a listen to Quark, Strangeness and Charm, the first album to come after Nik Turner and Alan Powell had left the band.  Some say that Turner was playing “on top” of other members, and was ultimately kicked out. I can safely say that the song Spirit of the Age has a more commercial appeal.  It’s not the same band without Turner, but the band had to move on.  They were considered to be “too wild and ugly” for commercial appeal, but they certainly gave it a try.

Journey BMO Harris Show Features Core Members of the Band

When Journey comes to the BMO Harris Bradley Center in November, it will be without Steve Perry. Perry has long since left the band, and the three remaining members have put their faith in Arnel Pineda. How many key members of a band have to remain in order for fans to respect their efforts to continue working under their original name? Which members, as in high or low profile, will still move on and hope to draw an audience?  In the case of Journey, it seems that three core members are what is needed for that band to go on.  Who remains in Journey are certainly the "core" members. Ross Valory and Neal Schon are truly the last original members still playing the hits. Jonathan Cain is also part of the current lineup, but cannot be labeled an "original" memeber, even though he was part of the band for the past 31 years. (Thanks to all those who commented on how much I messed up on the lineup, past and present.) 
It’s been done before. A very famous band loses a drummer, keyboard, or bass player. The core (or possibly the most popular members) of the band remain, so they move on with new blood. In some cases, very few fans complain, and the band manages to continue to do great things. In other cases, such as Van Halen, the fans divide into two groups. As hard as it was to see The Who reunite, could anyone fault them for the success that they achieved after picking themselves up and moving on? It is one thing to try to revive Queen without Freddie Mercury, but let’s face it, some bands will have no problems finding success after certain members are out. (This is coming from a drummer, mind you.)

Steve Perry Joins Journey

It must be noted that Journey didn’t start out with Steve Perry as their vocalist. In the early years, the band was a hard rock outfit that Greg Rolie led on vocals and keyboards. Perry was pretty much forced upon the band by their manager, but their success would not have come without him. Perry and Neal Schoen wrote the song titled Patiently during what was to be a weekend where the band could get to know their new singer. A bond was formed, and the band never looked back. Yes, the core members were very tight. Perry was an outsider. Still, it worked.
What are fans to make of the Journey lineup now? Take a moment to listen to Arnel Pineda sing one of their most famous songs. Can you tell the difference? I would say that it’s almost a mirror copy of Perry’s style. Still, it’s not the same. You just can’t replace the face, and voice of a band. For those of you who have no problem closing your eyes and pretending, the new lineup will probably just do fine for you. I’m not a Journey fan, but I have to stand behind Perry on this one. This is not Journey. When all that you have are the original guitar and bass player (and Cain on keys,) you basically what some would call a tribute band. It’s fitting that Arnel Pineda was busy fronting tribute acts when he was tapped to play the role of Steve Perry.

Open Handed Drumming | The Short List of Open Handed Drummers

Open Handed Drumming with Ride On Left

I’m an “open handed” drummer.  What does that mean?  I play a drum set that is set up for right handed people, but I play it left handed.  My arms don’t cross over when I play a standard beat.   I never knew any other way to play the drums.  I guess that you could say that I taught myself to play drums the “wrong” way.  Does it really matter how you play the drums? It probably does not.  All I know is that it took a long time for me to find a few professional open handed drummers.  Growing up in the pre-YouTube era, one could only guess as to who played open handed, unless you saw them play live.  So with that, I’m going to give you my list of worthy drummers who impress their fans by playing open handed. 

One of the first drummers that I noticed playing open handed was Kenny Aronoff, but it’s been said that he only does it from time to time.  I noticed that he played open handed when John Mellencamp played live on Second City TV.  Since that time, I have only seen him play cross over style. Dom Famularo plays open handed, but with a twist.  He switches up his rack toms.  Traditional tom set ups are from smallest to largest.  He will put a 13” tom first, followed by a 12”. He may not do that all the time, but he pointed out the strange setup to the audience at one of the Cascio drum clinics that I attended. He’s more of a mixed handed drummer.  He will play both ways.

John Blackwell is one of the few who plays open grip.  He makes it look easy.  At times you can see that he will be playing a ride cymbal with his right hand and keeping time on the hi hat with his left, hitting the snare with his left, when the song calls for it. Certainly one of the more famous drummers to play this way is Carter Beauford. Mr. Beauford is one of the best when it comes to utilizing the open drumming technique. If you follow him closely, you find that he will make the most efficient moves behind the drums.  Open handed drumming can certainly do that for you.  There is no need to “uncross” your arms before making a move.  You can reach out in either direction at any time. 

I must say that over the years, it has been a bit of a pain to play this style if you are going to be playing a “house” drum kit that is set up for right handed drummers.  Most times, you will find that the ride cymbal is on the right hand side of the standard kit.  For best results, it’s best to move the ride cymbals to the left, just over the top of the hi hat.  That way, you don’t have to cross your arms for any reason.  If you are truly ambidextrous drummer, it really doesn’t matter where you put the cymbals, but I have yet to meet someone with that kind of talent.  Everyone has a strong or dominant hand.    

World's Largest Music Festival Is No Place to See a Show

I wasn’t forced to pay $162 for a pair of obstructed view tickets that were sixty-six rows from the Marcus Amphitheater stage. I did that voluntarily. No, the tickets were not officially labeled “obstructed view.” That fact came to light when I sat down and noticed that a large iron beam cut my view of the stage down by half.  On top of that, the usher standing next to the beam took out another 20% of our view.  At times, she was joined by a second usher who managed to block the entire stage.  The band that I paid $162 to see walked on the stage and the show started. It was still light out, and 1/3 of the seats were still empty. I was at the “world’s largest music festival,” and not having fun.  It was hot, the bleachers were hard, people were talking over the music, the band looked like dots, and then it hit me. Was anyone really having fun?
Is anyone making a connection with the artists? How can they?  You can’t make a connection when what you are looking at is so far away that you cannot see facial expressions.  I’m not surrounded by people that are part of a loving collective.  They are texting, talking, eating, drinking, dancing, bumping knees to backs, sweating, and pretty much feeling what I feel. Is this it? Are we having a good time? This can’t happen from 150 yards away.  There is no connection.
When the singer of the band says something about “Milwaukee,” the crowd cheers wildly. It’s to be expected.  When the singer says something like “This is off of our new album,” the crowd starts to head for the bathrooms and beer stands. The headline act gets the best sound, lights, etc.  The opening band has to struggle even harder to get your attention. It’s an uphill battle.  Some people try to time their arrival to coincide with the opening notes to the headline band’s first song. Who was the opening act?  They might not even know.
I can’t help it.  I see too much of all that is not important at a live show, at a venue that holds 18,000 people.
For a time, I wondered if there was something wrong with me.  Why didn’t I enjoy the evening? It sure looked like everyone else did.  Well, at least it seemed like the majority of the people at this event were having fun.  After a time, I realized that I just don’t feel anything when I’m at shows of this size.  There is no intimate connection, and I shouldn’t expect one.  I would rather spend my money at a small club or theater show.  At least I would have a chance to get something out of it.  All I can say is that I was there.  No more.