At 06:45 PM 11/25/00 -0700, Steve Catanzaro wrote:
>
> Seems like we're kind of in a holding pattern. The "retro" movement embodied
> by MMW, Galactic, Greyboy, etc., seems well dead, but what's to come in its
> place? Machines machines machines? Will flesh and blood jazz musicians have
> to scorch the sky like they did in the Matrix? Other than Truffaz and the
> better hip-hoppers, who's keeping it real out there?
I've had experience in both live bands and electronic production. Though
playing with live bodies is undeniably fun (at best), there's an incredible
amount of frustration that comes with it: attitudes, people who don't show up,
excuses, people who don't play well enough, egos, people who ask too much
money, etc.
My last acid jazz band (a 7-8 piece, depending on who's available) broke up
because I wasn't feeling it and it was a pain in the ass to keep together. The
core members of the band went in the recording studio and we never even
finished the sessions due to production arguments between the drummer and I. At
the same time, I was putting out my first serious drum n bass tracks which
didn't take long from the concept stage to recording to letting other people
listen to it.
I know people will throw eggs and various garden vegetables at me for saying
this, but in my experience, most people doing the studio production thing are
doing it for the love of it, the art of it (hey, it's all underground anyway)
and those playing in live bands are primarily in it for the money. Sampling,
digital audio workstations, etc have enabled people to listen to things never
before imaginable, that's the beauty of it. The whole point of it all is making
*music* and not dealing with personal bullshit, or flakes or attitudes or lame
excuses that noremally keep the music from being made, that's where the
machines rule. Yes, I do and can and will collaborate with human beings in
making music, but in no way do I need to *rely* on them.
Remember the SF acid jazz band Slide Five? They've broken up and are doing the
electronic thing now. Dave Warrin is doing deep house, John Warrin is doing
drum n bass. MJ Cole used to study classical piano and composition. Ceri Evans
used to be a sideman for the Brand New Heavies, now he has a 2-step project
called Sunship.
If you're into the retro stuff, you're more than welcome to listen to your own
vinyl records or CDs. Most people who dislike the new stuff tend to believe
music from a certain period in the past was "the best music ever made" so they
need not be concerned with anything new coming out anyway and can be happy in
their own world.
Making music with technology isn't soulless and cold by default -- that depends
on the *human being* compiling the samples and sequences and whatnot. You can
make it cold and soulless like trance or the newer tech step drum n bass or
still make it funky like deep house or 2-step, etc.
Welcome to the 21st Century.
- 30 -
: . elson trinidad, los angeles, california, usa
: . elson@westworld.com : www.westworld.com/~elson
: . groove to the futurethnic beats of e:trinity at www.e-trinity.org and
www.mp3.com.etrinity
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