So... I open up fb, and my nephew has slapped this vid on my wall. Now, he listens to a LOT of hip hop and stuff I really don't have time for, so I really wasn't in a big hurry to open it up. I read a bunch of PM's and got caught up on the latest happs, then finally clicked play.
I sat there with my mouth open, not believeing what I heard from these 3 young men.
They're from Sweden, and just finished recording their debut album. I know that musical tastes here at DT are all ove the map, but sometimes we encounter a level of musicianship that wows even if the style isn't everyone's cup o tea. I believe these guys fit the bill... which is why I'm dropping them on you this evening.
p.s. I think the did this cover just to show the world that a group of fantastic musicians reall can make chicken salad from a big steaming pile of chicken- er- "stuff."
Went to the last Browns game before they left for Baltimore - me, my wife, her cousin, and his friend. Coming into Cleveland, on 90, going over the river, this song came on the radio. I cried.
I'm a softie, and tears are easy to come by for me - and they came that day. I did walk out of the stadium with my dawgpound season ticket seat though.
And I'm pretty sure I wanted to cry the day after eating white castle.......
Quote: Im not sure why...but my first thought was a Pat Metheny / Steeley Dan sound...
It's because of the sophisticated harmonies. All those chord extensions and voice-leadings are the same kind of approach the Jazzers use. I think the singer has Stevie Wonder's (another fine pianist.composer/arranger) sound down very, very well. What's also quite evident is how "tight" they are... it's as if they all share the same internal clock.
This is very high-quality stuff.
Quote: Just wondering...you on you tube ?
Not yet... but I have plans to get there, someday. I have some material (covers, mostly), but need to flesh it out a bit. I've performed a cover of The Police's "Walking On The Moon." I play Sting's bassline in my left hand, Stuart's drum licks (simplified, or course) in my left by drumming on the instrument in various ways, and sing the melody all at the same time. It's OK for live performances, but sounds a little thin. I've worked out Andy's guitar chords, so now I have to find a way to either split-screen or composite the performance. I don't want to collaborate with other players on this one... I'd like to show the tune as a "conversation with myself."
I don't have time to play in bands, but there are few orch players who can jam, so I'm trying to get them together for a few tunes. I have arrangements of Stevies's "Superstition" and "Higher Ground," Flody's "Money," and a couple of tunes by Weather Report. Gotta see what players want to be part of the project, and re-arrange them for the instruments availlable.
Sounds pretty high to me. Countertenor has never thrilled me, but I will say Vince Gill has a great voice.
I'm OK with high registers, as long as they're good. Stevie Wonder, Sting, David Ruffin (Temptations) David Gates (Bread)... all were (are) great singers. And agreed: Gill can sing a lick or two.
Loved the bass as well. Gives me a nice late 70s early 80s vibe mixed in with modern music influences.
Get around to posting those Superstitious and Higher Ground covers when you can. I've heard nice covers by Marcus Miller and Stevie Ray Vaughan of both those songs. I expect your versions to outdo all of them
Sorry, I got through about 3 "babies" and had to give it up.
Bleh.
Micah 6:8; He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.
John 14:19 Jesus said: Because I live, you also will live.
If you're willing to give them another try, they have a whole host of other covers on YouTube. Grab something you think won't make you "hurl your White Castle," and give'em another try....
Where were all the background/backup vocals coming from?
That's the lead singer, pre-recorded... the file's loaded into his keyboard, so he can simply kick in the backing tracks at the appropriate time. From what I've found out, they sound exactly the same live.
The high-pitched tenor sound with all the melismatic embellishments is an acquired taste... some never take to it, which is always fine by me. I like that you can appreciate his talent level. The thing that impresses me the most about him is the fact that he can sing with all those embellishments, and still play those keys with such style, command and sophistication. Reminds me of Stevie Wonder back in his really innovative, prolific days.
Bruford is an absolute MONSTER... and I can see why you drew the comparison. Now, this kid isn't yet as adept as cross-rhythms... and I haven't heard him do multi-meter (or mixed-meter) stuff, but the ease and precision are definitely there- in spades.
If you go to their official website, they have links to a couple of Soundcloud entries. On the Brittney Spears cover, he does a sickass set of drum fills that will leave you slackjawed.
The bass player credits Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten as major influences.... and you can hear it in his approach. Rhythmic precision, slap/snap funk down tight... and he never loses the groove.
Can't help to mention this: they were all trained through the Classical tradition, at Music Conservatories. (Yea, music skoolz!) This is the level of ability that's being pumped out nowadays. Something like this was unheard of when I entered school. There was Berkeley (in Boston)... and nothing else. Nowadays, every college, conservatory and school of music has a Jazz department, and even the venerable Interlochen School For the Arts (the last bastion of pre-college training grounds for the next generation of Classical Artists) has just announced that they will be adding "Singer/Songwriter" faculty and courses to their curriculum.
("Oh, the times, they are a chaaaaangin"....")
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For my money, I LOVE that these guys have chosen to take from the best that Jazz has to offer, and apply it to pop tunes. If they take off, they just might be the ones who get commercial music out of its "pre-processed, pre-digested, stamped&packaged puke-pile" phase that has dominated for the last 10-15 years.
There was a time when Pop music had really fine musicians working their asses off to give the public someting of value for their discretionary buck. It's nice to see these kids doing it 'on the for-real tip'... instead of sampling something from the 70's, carving out the soul of the music, and shooting it to the lowest common consumer. That's why I like them. They're fresh, unique, and incredibly talented. I've been in The Biz for more than 30 years, and I'm no pushover. These kids are the Real Deal.
p.s. I love this board. From such different people, I've recently seen references to Pat Metheney, Steely Dan, Stanley Clarke, Jaco Pastorius, Bill Bruford, Les Claypoole, Pieces of a Dream... all HUGE favorites of mine. When posters talk about their Country & Western favorites (not a genre I frequent), they go right to the top names in that field- both past and present, as well. I've been sent PM's from posters leading me to Rap and HipHop artists who are making extremely deep and thought-provoking contributions that expand my pallette and knowlege base. It really is impressive. We are certainly a diverse and sophisticated bunch... and we should all take a moment to give ourselves a collective 'pat on the back.' This is very, very cool, Dawgs... and I thank you for your contributions.
Lovin' this..... 'cause I 'dare to share,' Clemdawg
Quote: I've performed a cover of The Police's "Walking On The Moon." I play Sting's bassline in my left hand, Stuart's drum licks (simplified, or course) in my left by drumming on the instrument in various ways, and sing the melody all at the same time. It's OK for live performances, but sounds a little thin. I've worked out Andy's guitar chords, so now I have to find a way to either split-screen or composite the performance. I don't want to collaborate with other players on this one... I'd like to show the tune as a "conversation with myself."
Please attempt that.
Even if you don't hit it out of the park, I'm guessing it would be impressive.
My favorite bass player is a young man I had the pleasure of being around some years back. " Gerald Veasley " .. He use to record with the old Heads Up label , along with folks like Joe McBride , Kenny Blake out of Pittsburgh ..
I met him when he use to open for Grover Jr.. He played my club a couple times years ago when he was just starting to roll.. Super nice young man and an obvious talent..
Not to thread-jack.. But I figured this would be as good a place as any to post a couple clips of my band, and some other talented friends of ours without starting a whole new thread (not too much of a horn-tooter.)..
Here's a recent recording of my band playing an old Albert King standard. Obviously quite of a bit different style than the band above. But I'm pretty proud of our guys' blues soloing on this track especially. All of us are classically trained as well, although not exactly on the instruments/genre we're playing. Our singer/guitarist did his undergrad in mus ed and his grad work in theory, and I (the bassist) did most of my undergrad and grad work in Vocal Performance/Opera... although as I mentioned a while back, Clem, your old orchestra-mate Carl Van Valkenburg started me on bass in grade school! Apologies for the bad acoustics/mic placement. It was in a college gym open-house type event. We've got more links on our YouTube page, some with B.B. King's daughter, Shirley King, who sings with us occasionally (and no, I have not gotten to meet her father yet!)
Our friend Atom Lax lives and performs around Dover/New Philadelphia, and has a very interesting playing style.. lots of tapping/harmonics etc.. I love watching him play this original of his:
And finally, (and again, a different style) my friend Dustin's band was recently signed by Epic Records. He's originally from the Salem/Youngstown area, and the band has been based out of Columbus/Athens. One of their songs was just heavily featured on the WWE Slammy Awards broadcast, and they just released their first music video today!
Dude.... so sorry I didn't get back to this thread before now. I didn't even know you'd posted here. My bad... bigtime! Glad I dropped back in, you know?
Work that nasty blues, brad! If it helps to know, I had the "Steely Dan Head Nod" going on during that joint. Dawg.... and I stay pretty motionless unless a tune's hitting me just right. A question, however: why ain't YOU singin'? Your homey has some decent pipes, but I HAVE to believe that you could 'represent' as well....
And yeah- Carl is a treasure. Good guy, and a mellow dude. Glad he was able to spark your interest in string music. Do you play an upright as well?
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atom Lax: My Sis-In-Law and nephew live in the Dover/New Phil area.... I'm gonna tell them both to look this dude up. I think they'd both really like what he's doing. He has a nice shound on that box, and I like the transverse, "across the lap" approach. Good to see folks breaking the conventions and making good sounds.
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I can see why this band was signed to a major label. They have it all... photogenic front man, tight package... evrything's in place. I'm sure they had to work hard to get noticed, but if I'm an A&R man, I'd sign them in a hurry.
They'll have to work even harder to break through on the bigtime, as there are lots of bands out there who do this sound already... but there ain't a slouch among them. Good players, all.
Thanks for adding to the thread... I hope others will crop their gems, now that it's been bumped back up.
Quote: Dude.... so sorry I didn't get back to this thread before now. I didn't even know you'd posted here. ... A question, however: why ain't YOU singin'? Your homey has some decent pipes, but I HAVE to believe that you could 'represent' as well....Do you play an upright as well?
Haha thanks! I guess we're both missing these. It's been exactly a week and I'm just seeing yours!
As far as my singing goes.. there are a couple songs that I sing lead on, for mainly two reasons. A: At the time we started, I was still in school and singing operas, recitals, competitions etc.. the band had some regular weekly gigs too, and if word got out that I was literally "singing the blues" 'til 2AM, I would've been in hot water.. possibly lost my assistantship. And B: It's REALLY hard for me to play and sing at the same time. I consider myself a solid bass player, and a very good singer.. but I invariably lose focus on one as I concentrate on the other, and it all goes out the window. ESPECIALLY if there is syncopation or any polyrhythmic stuff between the two!
I started on upright, but don't currently play one, only because I don't own one. Mom and Dad were generous enough to spring for a few different sized violins, trombone, and two bass guitars as I was growing up. But everywhere I played from elementary, jr and high school, even my stints in Heidelberg's orchestra and then at OU, there was always a stable of school basses to chose from. My favorite two bass guitars of mine are fretless, and the acoustic one has a very nice, almost upright tone.. but my next instrument purchase will definitely be an upright. If not at least a more travel-friendly electric upright.
Since I didn't include it in the earlier note, here is a link to one of my (opera) singing performances. It's just a small OU opera scenes workshop, so no orchestra, major costuming or sets in this one, but I think it's the best youtube clip of my singing so far..(Still trying to get the recording of the entire Vaughan Williams "Songs of Travel" I did w/ the OU Symphony uploaded).
The Pearl Fishers Duet: (Oh, I'm the baritone)
Quote: They'll have to work even harder to break through on the bigtime, as there are lots of bands out there who do this sound already... but there ain't a slouch among them. Good players, all.
Well, since I posted the original, I found out that they've already gotten a taste of how hard it can be in the music biz. LA Reid recently became the chairman/CEO of Epic, and he decided to take the company in a more Hip Hop focused direction. So Downplay was dropped. However, Warner Bro's is very interested, and they've got a showcase for WB at the Newport in Columbus on July 4th. Wishin' them luck.
I have sung barbershop tunes more than a few times, especially w/ the 8 man a cappella group I was in during my undergrad. And I do enjoy it. But I've never been in a group that was 100% barbershop, like SPEBSQSA or anything.
My fiancee's all female a cappella group missed being on NBC's The Sing Off this past season by the thinnest of hairs. They were right down to the very last cut-off before making it on the air. I had to help her go over her forms and contract there towards the end where she was basically signing her life away to NBC for a year or two. They're working hard this year to give it another go. Although our wedding may throw a wrench in her ability to be a part of the audition this summer. At least she's picking me over 15 minutes of fame!
Countertenor has never thrilled me, but I will say Vince Gill has a great voice.![[Linked Image]](http://www.dawgtalkers.net/uploads/small-gator-chomp.gif)
