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:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: :: :: :: - WHAT'S RATTLIN' ? - :: :: The Weekly Digest for Canterbury Music Addicts :: :: Issue # 9 :: :: Monday, July 1st, 1996 :: :: :: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "David G. Shaw" <dshaw@tiac.net> Subject: Hell's Bells Date: Sat, 22 Jun 96 18:52:09 -0000 In WR #8 Aymeric wrote: >As for "Hell's Bells", I asked Dave Stewart once in a letter, but that>was the one question he didn't answer... Maybe someone knows ? The opening riff of Hell's Bells makes its first appearance in Egg's"Long Piece #3" on "The Polite Force," I think it's in section 1 or 2. Ihad found a copy of the Egg a while after I had played the Bruford todeath, and it was quite a shock to hear that theme with different instrumentation. [I listened to "Long Piece #3" again, but haven't been able to recognizethe theme you're referring to. Is it too "hidden" for my ears, or was your reference wrong ? - A.L.] Stewart also nicked a bit of "The Bryden Two-Step" and used it in "q.e.d." on Bruford's "Gradually Going Tornado." [There is also a theme on Egg's "Civil Surface" album which is taken from"Lobster in Cleavage Probe" on the first Hatfield album... So at least one Egg piece was actually composed by Dave Stewart ! - A.L.] ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: "Lisa Shannon" <lisanico@access.digex.net> Subject: (various) Date: Sat, 22 Jun 1996 20:28:49 -0400 (EDT) > > Also looking through my collection found two Henry Cow albums, but I don't> > recall ever listening to them (must have had them for a good 20 years). I > > guess I'd better give them a listen. >> Oh, do!! I listened to "Concerts" the other night for the first time in a> few years-- always amazed by how current & innovative it still sounds. > > [All FOUR sides of it ? - A.L.] Of course! But you must understand that one of my favorite new(non-Canterbury) bands is Gastr del Sol-- I have lots of patience for endless droning & tweaking.... OK, and here's an irrelevant and possibly annoying subthread-- are thereany other women on this list out there? I've gotten a couple of emailsfrom people (hi, guys) going basically "WOW! A woman into Canterbury?" Iguess I never thought it was that strange... but anyway, I'm curious. And more slightly irrelevant comments -- sorry, everybody, I promise tobehave next time -- are you [> From: duplanet@global2000.net (DavidGreenberger)] the *real* David Greenberger, who does Duplex Planet?(It seems so from your address!) If so, I love your work! [Sorry for being non-American, but what is Duplex Planet ? - A.L.] > The Muffins have no "real" connections to the Canterbury scene,> but Manna/Mirage is obviously musically an Americanization of that sound. That does it, I'm going to play "Manna/Mirage" right now. I love thatrecord. But you're right-- the reason I like this "Canterbury" musicisn't that I'm obsessed with charting and recording the movements of acertain group of people, it's because I like the _sound_-- and if anotherband has a similar (or similarly effective) sound, I'd love to hear itdiscussed. In fact, that's why I subscribe to lists & ng's like this-- to learn about new bands that I might like. Bye all - Lisa Oh, p.s. - if any of you are ever in Shepherdstown, West Virginia, USA,there's a little record store on the main street that's run by a Gong fan.It's a great store & he's a cool guy -- I was just in there today, boughta copy of this Daevid Allen & New York Gong 1980 single Jungle Windo(w)...!I guess I'll play that now, actually, and then the Muffins after. Bye really / L ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: cmeloche@julian.uwo.ca (Chris Meloche) Subject: Peel Sessions "live"? Date: Sat, 22 Jun 1996 21:19:46 -0400 (EDT) Just a note regarding Peel/BBC sessions and comments about the Gong listings... neato mentioned:>It's unfortunate that the discographical mistakes made regarding Gong's>"First Peel Session" are actually showing up on actual Gong releases...the>"Peel Sessions" CD obviously gets its information from Garner's book, but >some is incorrect... It is true that some of the info is incorrect. Garner states that themonumental task of compiling the information was based on the PAB (playlistas broadcast) sheets and copies of the contracts for the correspondingsessions. Some songs changed titles by the time they reached vinyl etc...and sometimes the names on the contracts were not the people who actually showed for the sessions. >...it implies a live one day (Nov 9 '71) recording session...this>also does not appear to be true...aside from the fact that sound quality>varies greatly on all the tracks, there is also a overdubbed Allen vocal>at the end of "Magick Brother" which would have been impossible "live"...>more likely the show aired tapes recorded at different times. Contrary to popular belief, BBC sessions were in fact recorded onmulti-track so overdubbing was possible (although it was often kept to aminimum). The bands were booked for a certain length of time in the studioto do recording and mixing. The book specifies when a so-called "BBCsession" was actually provided by the band as a "private tape". This isthe case, for example, with both Tangerine Dream sessions listed. Cheers, Chris ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: cmeloche@julian.uwo.ca (Chris Meloche) Subject: National Health BBC Sessions Date: Sat, 22 Jun 1996 21:29:54 -0400 (EDT) By popular request... National Health: BBC Radio Sessions (listings and info as detailed in the book "In Session Tonight" by Ken Garner) March 1/76 (Peel)Paracelsus / Agrippa / Excerpt from Lethargy Shuffle and Mind-Your-Backs TangoPhil Miller (g), Dave Stewart (k), Mont Campbell (b, frh), Alan Gowen (k), Bill Bruford (d, perc), Steve Hillage (g) Rec'd Feb. 17/76 ["Paracelsus" includes "Bouree", a solo French horn introduction by Mont Campbell - A.L.] Oct. 12/76 (Peel) Clocks and Clouds / Brujo+ Amanda Parsons (v), Neil Murray (b) r. Campbell; Hillage out Rec'd Sept 21/76 [Has anyone heard this version of "Brujo" with "Bruford" on drums ? By theway, this seems to answer a previous question : yes, some Gowen stuff wasrecorded during one BBC session, but as it was eventually released in anew version on the band's debut, it won't be appearing on the MissingPieces CD, which is meant to be all unreleased compositions - A.L.] Nov. 16/77 (Peel) A Legend in His Own Lunchtime / The Collapso+ Richard Sinclair (lv - 1 only), Pip Pyle (d) r. Bruford; Parsons, Gowen out Rec'd Nov. 9/77 [Note : "A Legend In His Own Lunchtime" was the early title for "Binoculars"; it's exactly the same song - A.L.] All info listed taken from from broadcast playlists and session contracts. Cheers, Chris ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: Rob Hilton <robert@csa.com> Subject: Henry Cow Date: Mon, 24 Jun 1996 11:45:48 -0400 >I listened to "Concerts" the other night for the first time in a>few years-- always amazed by how current & innovative it still sounds. > >[All FOUR sides of it ? - A.L.] Yes, ALL FOUR SIDES of it! I was there; in fact, I think I asked that sheplay it! I had never heard it before, and I liked it. I plan to listen to it again... Rob Rob Hilton robert@csa.com Washington, D.C. suburbs (USA) "You can best serve civilization by being against what usually passes for it." - Wendell Berry ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: LoLoRec@aol.com Subject: Two new LoLo Records releases available soon Date: Tue, 25 Jun 1996 17:38:55 -0400 [I took the liberty of adding this post to the digest - it was originally sent to the rec.music.progressive newsgroup - A.L.] The second solo record "To The Bone" from Bon Lozaga ( GONGZILLA, GONG )will be hitting the streets on July 30. It is a much harder edged albumthan the first with guests David Torn, Caryn Lin (violin), and Geno White(guitar). Look for a Sept. tour to support the new release. Also Geno White "Standing In Stereo" will be availble Aug. 6. It is aballs out instrumental rock album featuring South Jerseys' tone king GenoWhite on guitar with special guests Harvey Mandel, Hansford Rowe (bass)and Bon Lozaga (guitar). Geno recently hit the stage opening for Brand Xand Bon. He plays a vintage Strat thru vintage Marshalls for some badasstones and very original guitar playing. His band will also be doing some shows with BON this fall. GONGZILLA will be hitting the studio in Aug.to record "Thrive". This onewill feature Gary Husband on drums along with Benoit Moerlen, Hansford,Bon, and some VERY special guests. "Thrive" should be available in Sept. Expect a new PROJECT LO later on this year with guests Happy Rhodes, David Torn, Mick Karn and Percy Jones. For more info e-mail LoLoRec@aol.com or write: LoLo Records P.O. Box 122 Riverton, N.J.08077 ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: bigbang@alpes-net.fr Subject: Canterbury-influenced/similar bands Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 13:07:54 +0000 Hi all, I'm back at work again on the CALYX website, and plan to make a few additions on various pages.Could you all help me to compile a comprehensive list of all knownCanterbury-influenced or (very) similar bands. I listed a few that I know of, but this is VERY far from being complete.Ideally, I would need band names, discographies, descriptions, etc. but for a start just the names will do. Another question : does anyone know if the Short Wave Live CD is actually available for sale ?!? I haven't seen it anywhere ! ------------------------------------------------------------------------- From: bigbang@alpes-net.fr (A. Leroy) Subject: Benoit Moerlen interview Date: Mon, 1 Jul 1996 13:11:02 +0000 This interview was conducted by mail for a retrospective article on PierreMoerlen's Gong which was published in "Big Bang" (issue #13), last August.Most of it remained unused because of the focus on Pierre rather than hisbrother. Here is the first transcription/translation to appear anywhere. ************************************************************************** Beginnings... ?I was born in Colmar on February 6th, 1956. I started in music by learningthe piano with my parents, then I did a bit of guitar, and eventually Isettled on percussion at about 16, following several years of hearing Pierrepracticing every day at our house. Very soon I was particularly attracted to"keyboard" percussion, such as vibraphone, marimba, etc. Though I was neverpart of Les Percussions De Strasbourg, I did study with Jean Batigne, their leader at the time, between 1972 and 1975. Your first recorded performance was on [Alsacian progressive band] Wapassou's debut album, in 1973. How did that come about ?I got in contact with them through Guenole Biger, Ange's drummer at the timenow playing with [famous French pop band] Les Negresses Vertes I think. I only did the session, then that was it ! In 1974, you took part in the sessions of "You", but you weren't a member of Gong until 1976. Why was that ?I was still studying at the Conservatoire in Strasbourg when Pierre asked meto join them in Oxford where they were recording "You". My first encounter ofGong was quite a shock, I must say, and I wasn't really tempted to join them.I didn't feel at all concerned by the music, nor by their cosmico-deliriouspseudo-philosophy or the way of living that resulted from it. Yet Iimmediately felt some sort of common musical spirit with Didier Malherbe andSteve Hillage... I didn't join until "Gazeuse !", which was a fantastic timefor me, but ended too quickly unfortunately. I stayed in Gong, later PierreMoerlen's Gong, until 1979, shortly after Pierre and I did that tour with Mike Oldfield. Why ?I was feeling like we were in some sort of musical dead-end. I felt the needto do something else, something new, which was impossible for me in Gong. So Ileft London to go to Paris, where my daughter was born in 1980. Oldfieldcalled me again for a second tour, I said yes immediately of course. I reallylike Mike, both as a man and an artist. He has very clear ideas of what hewants to do, and he has that rare ability to hear both the details and thegeneral feeling of a piece of music. It was only for "legal" reasons,problems with the Musicians' Union, and financial limitations, that I wasn't on the subsequent tours. So what did you do during the eighties ?I worked mostly for theatre, sort of improvised stuff. With the ScarfaceEnsemble, I did "Antoine et Cleopatre", with which we toured France. I playedwith them again in 1990-91 for two shows, "Rivage A L'Abandon" and "Un EnnemiDu Peuple". Then "Vaterland" in 1983-84 and "Memoires D'Un Visage Pale" in1985-86 with Les Federes. "Memoires..." was an adaptation of "Little Big Man"for theatre. Then I did "La Sentence Des Pourceaux", again with Les Federes,in 1987 [I saw that - weird ! - A.L.]. In 1985, with L'Attroupement II, I wasinvolved in a show named "Le Printemps", which was about the Renaissanceperiod, with music written by Jean-Claude Guignard. And in 1986, I foundmyself involved in a "rock circus" show at the Cirque d'Hiver in Paris, "LaFontaine Circus". Apart from that, I followed a course in "musical data processing" in 1988... What about bands ?Oh, I played in quite a few as well. I was in Bekummernis, Urban Sax, AbusDangereux where I met the great Bobby Rangell (sax), ONKRR ("prehistoricalmusic of the future"... very funny, very nice to play on enormous rudimentarypercussion instruments ! Some very interesting musicians were involved, likeHenri Agniel. Apart from that I was always a drummer rather than percussionnist. In the late 80's, you worked with Pierre again in a new PMG line-up for an album and a couple of European tours...Yeah. Hansford specifically asked that I be involved. I wrote a piece for thealbum, "Second Wind", called "Say No More", and after the album's release wedid a short tour, but everyone's motivations had changed... I was feeling likewearing shoes my feet didn't fit in anymore... Too much water under the bridge, I guess. Then I played on Mike Oldfield's "Islands" album. I also took part in another band project by Hansford Rowe and Jon Catler, an extraordinary guitar player. He has this fascinating concept of playing, called the "Just Intonation", which has attracted the interest of composers like LaMonte Young and David Hykes and the Harmonic Choir. The band was called Steel Blue, a rock/blues band which did a memorable performance at the Mulhouse Jazz Festival in 1989, with Francois Causse on drums. I was playing on a totally retuned vibraphone !!! Unfortunately, I couldn't do the American tour or the album which came out some months ago. That's a four-year gap until Gongzilla...I settled in the Vosges region in the late 80's. I mostly do some teaching, abit too much, I play a bit, I quietly write a few pieces. I formed a band in1991, that was a very good experience while it lasted, but it was too heavy to keep going, seven people involved...So, Gongzilla... It was going to be Gong, but two days before the sessionwere due to start, Pierre called and said he couldn't do it. Only he knowswhy... I'd brought five pieces, two and a half were used, the others wereconsidered too jazz-oriented or whatever. We rehearsed with Lionel Cordew onthe drums. For schedule reasons Lionel wasn't able to play on the whole albumso we called Perowski and Stevens. Allan Holdsworth was there for three days,we were all happy to see each other again, for the first time since 1977...He has very good memories of his time with Gong... and so do we !!! (c) 1995 Calyx - The Canterbury Website ------------------------------------------------------------------------- END OF ISSUE #9 _________________________________________________________________________WHAT'S RATTLIN' ? - WHAT'S RATTLIN' ? - WHAT'S RATTLIN' ?_________________________________________________________________________ CALYX - The Canterbury Website http://www.alpes-net.fr/~bigbang/calyx.html THE ULTIMATE ONLINE CANTERBURY DISCOGRAPHY http://www.alpes-net.fr/~bigbang/cantdisco.html Send all correspondence regarding 'CALYX' and 'WHAT'S RATTLIN' ?' to : bigbang@alpes-net.fr _________________________________________________________________________