New York News
A retrospective look at our time in New York from 6 perspectives
Five days in
NYC. You'd think it would be enough time to take in the city in all its glory,
but the more I explore... the bigger she gets.
I actually
didn't get in ‘till 2:30 Monday morning as the omega moos played CT on Sunday,
so I had less time to work with then some of the other guys. Moog Fest
was a very different way to start the run, but a welcome change. The room was
very spacious and inviting, especially at the end of our set when James Guitar
Shields brought us home with his one-of-a-kind Moog thrashings. Before the
show, I had dinner with my oldest friend Jason just before at Frankie and
Johnny's ( I think its 37th and 6th)....highly recommended if you have
$250 to drop on wine and red meat.
We played the next three nights at the Gramercy ... it was great for the
team to set up shop and have a home in the city, especially the crew. Actually,
it was Crew year's eve. On Wednesday I had a few hours to myself and walked
through Central Park. Here’s a pic of the Dakota building. (I shouldn't have to
remind some of you, but that's where John Lennon lived.) Before the show,
Kevin blessed me with a ticket to see one of America's greatest heroes, Steven
Colbert. Other than a Notre Dame victory, there's no better way to get pumped
up for a rock show.
Thursday, I was lucky enough to get a tourist day and get to the top of
the Empire State building with my buddy Dave. After the show Jake, Dave
and I closed the night off with some quality Jameson inspired acoustic
singing along backstage. Hopefully KB has a clip for you. Musically speaking, I
feel like each show got progressively better, but last night was easily the
best of all three. (maybe that's just cause Al Di Meola was hangin’ out
and watching.) Thanks again, NYC.....you're always so good to us.
Brendan
After reflecting on my week in New York City, despite big city crowds, crazy
cab rides, and an endless amount of Starbucks and Duane Reade stores to
raid, I found it to be a surprisingly relaxing week in the Big Apple.
Luckily the weather was warm and partly sunny most of the week, making
it much easier to get around. The first show on the schedule, which
was the Moog Festival, commemorating the legacy of the Moog
synthesizer, turned out to bring a cast of players I never thought I’d
meet. One of which stands out to me is famous keyboardist and
bandleader of the David Letterman show, Paul Shaffer! Paul is a
television icon to some degree, and to meet him in person is quite
surreal. He is truly a professional in every aspect…. so patient and
attentive to everyone….and dressed like a smooth criminal mind you! I
also met Bernie Worrell, past keyboardist and collaborator with Parliament
Funkadelic, who seemed to be in good spirits. Later that evening, my
artist relations manager Marco Soccoli showed up with a little gift for
me. He designed a pair of size 2B sticks with LED lights
constructed in the tips of the stick. The stick is set to 6 different
solid colors, 1 setting for changing colors, and 1 setting for strobe like
colors. It was a nice surprise for sure!
Another highlight of the trip was my lesson with Medeski, Martin & Wood’s
Billy Martin. I have always admired his playing both live and on
recordings, and was looking for a little inspiration from the lesson.
After taking a train and a bus to his home in Englewood, NJ, I found myself at
his doorstep ready to play. We walked around his backyard a bit, catching
up and talking about our touring schedules and experiences. Billy has
these 2 shed like wooden houses in his backyard; one for his drumming studio
and the other, a traditional Japanese Tea House! He also has a bamboo
garden, filled with huge stems of bamboo, which can be a wild spreading and
ever growing tree…or is it a plant? I recommend anyone who is near a huge
bamboo plantation to stand in the middle of bamboo when the wind blows.
It is quite a soothing sound! Anyways, Billy spoke with me primarily
about improvising. He reminds me to explore myself through focusing on
sound, and to creatively explore through and within yourself; to completely
leave your preconceived notions of the solo with technical rudiments or
patterns; to just be in the moment. In starting this, like starting any
storyline, one should start with just a feeling; as if the curtains open on
a play, and the landscapes are set to the senses. Billy reiterates the
question, “What’s the flow?” Once the flow is established, one
should ponder the sounds of that flow, and how it’s creating that flow.
There is also the thought to create a second part of the solo, of which would
be a drastic contrast from the previous idea, which comes well after the 1st part is established.
Two main contrasting subjects makes for a strong basis of the whole
solo/improvisation, or a story for that matter. One thing that he really
reminded me of was the use of SPACE! No, not the cosmic infinite darkness
in the sky at night...he is referring to the thing that most musicians tend to
not think about when they’re burnin’ the house down with all their “hot
licks”. It is the space between the notes or phrases that are
played. Leaving some space between each phrase helps the player and the
listener get the weightiest ideas of the solo, if that makes sense. Keep
in mind that one should still be continuing to strive for a limitless amount of
knowledge and technique about their instrument, and its role with music
history and styles. With this particular subject of improvising, you can
start with nothing from nowhere, but you have to something to leave behind to
do that, if that makes sense. I believe it was Miles Davis who also
said, “If you wanna play out, then you gotta know how to play in first”.
This may be referring more to chord changes, and playing in or out of the
changes, but I also take it as someone who wants to play way out of their
comfort zone, and reach out; but you need a basis to reach out from, so to
speak. With this improv concept, I’m hoping to take the listener on a
voyage a little further out into the stratosphere instead of just down the
block. I thank Billy Martin for his drum wisdom, and hope to continue to
work with him in the future. I also thank the fans of this New York run
who managed to see us during their work week. Y’all never cease to amaze
me!
Kris
Sun:
Watched the Bears lose in a horribly managed game in the end by the
coaching staff. Spent the rest of my night in the hotel.
Mon: Headed
down to Moogfest . Had dinner at Chipotle with Joel, Bob, and Mike Adams
president of Moog. Played Moog fest.
Tues: Had
lunch at one of the many glorious delis in the city. Headed down to Blender for
sound check. Played Blender.
Wed: Went to
the gym and got buff. Had lunch at one of the many glorious delis in the
city. Went to dinner at a place called NYC Burger Co. Not bad, not great.
Played blender.
Thurs: Had
lunch at on the many glorious delis in the city. Had dinner at an Irish pub
called Molly's right by the Blender. Awesome Burger! Way better than NYC Burger
Co. Played Blender. Slithered into my bunk for a long nap.
Andy
Our final
show at the Blender Theatre in New York City was my personal favorite of the
NYC foursome. The composed Jimmy Stewart section we played during Wappy
Sprayberry was hashed out backstage minutes before the beginning of the 1st
set. We created an A section that featured some nice chords and voicings
based on an idea from Jake, then constructed a B section with a little more
space for some contrast. The B section chords were related to the A
section but played with more of a rigid staccato feel. The C section of
this part of the night was more improvisatory in that the only guideline we had
was that we were starting with an F# major 7 chord. After developing all
three of these sections and exploring some varied dynamics across the forms, we
returned to the vocal section of Wappy Sprayberry. Another highlight for
me was our return to All In Time on Thursday night after starting it on
Wednesday. As curfew approached the previous evening, we realized that we
had too many songs started that we had left unfinished. Following
Prowler, which ends on a sustained E major chord (the same key as All In Time),
we launched back into the 2nd verse of All In Time and finished the tune.
It was a lot of fun to see the surprised look on the audience's faces as
Brendan started singing the 2nd verse. To close things out, we played Al
Dimeola's arrangement of Chick Corea's "Senor Mouse." While
we've done this before, we've never performed it with Al Dimeola hanging out
next to Bob at our monitor console. To say it was an honor to have Al
there taking in the show with us would be an extreme understatement.
Thanks NYC for another great run of shows that won't soon be forgotten.
Joel
NYC...CITY
THAT DOESN'T SLEEP
DAILY
GRIND:
Mon:
(Everyday tends to feel like Friday to me in NYC)
We
played Moogfest with Umphrey's and I was part of an all improv set with Prison
Shank with Joe Russo on drums, Aaron Magner and Jamie Shields on keys and
Jake on his Moog guitar. It was our first gig and it went rather
well. It is always great to get out and play with some of your best
friends and fellow musicians whenever possible.
Tues:
(Friday part 2)
We set
up shop at the Blender Theatre for the next three days. I’m sure everyone
else has written enough about how great it is to play one place for three
nights and not have to worry about moving gear or loading a truck. It
ROCKS!!!
Wed:
(Friday part 3)
It was
a beautiful fall day in NYC and I took a stroll across the Brooklyn
Bridge.
Thurs:
(Friday part 4)
Al Di Meola came out and we played Senor Mouse for him. Overall a great run in
NYC, good energy from the crowd, a rippin' light show, slow and patient
improvs, and some sick Hall n Oates' dance parties to end the late night.
Friday:
(really)
Left
NYC....tear drop
Pone Loc
All systems go…NYC has this expectation for no slouch, no
nonsense finicky listeners. York has always been a hard city to convince.
Walking into a three night residency at the Blender seemed like a great way for
us to get comfortable in a quite uncomfortable spot, there wasn’t any rush or
reason for leaving. We really
wanted to stretch out and take our time developing strong improvs, patient
ideas, and a relaxed, open thought process. When our whole production world can sit in one place for 3
nights our work days are shorter, so more time can be focused on the show, not
fixing things. Tone, gear, new
effects, new songs, practice, setlists, chord progressions etc… all benefit from
multiple night runs. Thus resulting in a better overall performance for our
beloved NYC fan base.
Jake
