02010-07-03 | Photos
The band rocked Friday night! Jon’s bass was fixed and he sounded great, really inventive and creative. We had some very fine moments and I believe Jaron captured it all. This is the strong suit of the trio, improvisation and creative exploration of the material.
Here are some photos from Thursday evening, when Jon and Matt discovered that the replacement potentiometer Lakland had sent for Jon’s bass, was different and the nut for the broken pot didn’t fit the new pot.
Tools of the trade:
The new t-shirt for men.
Michael suggested using a piece of a laminate to create a temporary nut that would hold the volume knob in place. It worked and actually looked pretty cool. Jon couldn’t use the knob that evening – he likes to use it instead of the foot pedal for swells – but it all held together.
I must wonder about Yoshi’s. I love playing there, but they had a DJ night in the other room, the sounds of which apparently spilled into the theater at times. I am told we got the DJ to turn down, but still, we had two sold out shows – why did they also do a DJ night, unless they really need the money? Here is hoping that Yoshi’s will be around for a long time!
02009-05-05 | Uncategorized
I took these photos at Rockwell Hall in Buffalo on Saturday:
Rusty Knorr’s Setup. Djembe, Udu etc. Go to the Flickr page to see notes.
Michael Chavez’ kit. Go to Flickr page for a few notes on his setup.
Jon Gagan’s feet and pedals.
02009-02-10 | Music
Remembering Buena Vista Social Club’s Orlando Cachaito Lopez | Music | guardian.co.uk
People marvelled at why Orlando Cachaito Lopez, the legendary bassist of Cuba’s Buena Vista Social Club, who died yesterday, carried on touring when his body had obviously become frail. But to me it was obvious. While he needed to be led on stage, as soon as his hands were clasped round his bass his musical memory would shift straight into gear, his hands moving fluently. The fact was he had spent more time performing than doing anything else in his life, maybe even sleeping. And as he told me in 2000 when I was helping him prepare his biography for his first solo album: “Your fingers stiffen if you stop.”
I bought his album Cachaito (mp3 version) in 2002 and it is still one of my favorite albums of all time. Vibrant, modern with traditional roots, experience combined with youthfulness. A great album.
The article ends with this wonderful quote:
When I saw him last year on a UK tour (playing one gig every night for a month, naturally) he hugged me and said: “I’m still having the time of my life.”
