Biography
A band that reinvent themselves constantly
Posten on: 2006-10-26 21:34:42
Originally called Seymour, Blur are a british rock band. They were formed in Colchester in 1989 at the Goldsmiths College from the ashes of a band called Circus by vocalist/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/backing vocalist Graham Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree, with bassist Alex James joining the lineup.Blur were one of the English bands who appeared as a response to the Stone Roses's groundbreaking album, combining psychedelic pop rock with very loud guitars. Following an image change in the mid-'90s, the group emerged as one of the most popular bands in the UK, establishing themselves as heir to the English pop tradition of the Kinks, the Small Faces, the Who, the Jam, Madness, and the Smiths. In the process, the group broke open the doors for a new generation of bands who became labelled as Britpop. Blur were one of the leaders of the Britpop movement, but they quickly became bound to it; since they were one of its biggest bands, they nearly fell apart when the movement itself subdued. Through some reinvention, Blur reclaimed their position as an art pop rock band in the late 1990s by incorporating pseudo-indie-rock and lo-fi influences of the American bands in the style of Pavement and R.E.M., which finally gave them their elusive American success in 1997.In 2002, founding member and main creative force Graham Coxon left the band, during recording sessions for their latest album Think Tank. The band soldiered on and saw the project through in 2003 and also toured hiring guitarist Simon Tong of The Verve. Since the end of the tour in 2003 the band is mostly inactive as Albarn and his bandmates are working more on solo projects than recording as a band. Coxon also had shown little to no interest to work with Blur and has devoted his energy to his solo career.After "She's So High", the group's first single, made it into the Top 50 - Morrissey producer Stephen Street contacted the band and proposed to them to produce their album. The band agreed, and this would be considered a very wise move, considering the band's later success. The partnership between Blur and Street would be incredibly successful and would last for the next half-decade. Street's exceptional production help, which aided the band immensely on their way to stardom, often lead to him being dubbed the band's fifth member by fans and press.The follow-up to "She's So High", "There's No Other Way", went Top Ten. Both singles were included on their debut album, Leisure. Although it received good reviews, the album managed to fit into both the dying Madchester pop scene and the Baggy scene, causing some journalists and music critics to dismiss the band as manufactured teen idols. During a tour of America, documented in the film Starshaped, the group became increasingly unhappy, often venting frustrations on each other, leading to several violent confrontations. For a couple of years, Blur struggled to abandon this title and prove the critics wrong. Their next single was called 'Bang',which was a massive underground hit.The band (and especially Damon Albarn) began to formulate the idea of an album directed against American culture, originally titled Blur vs America, which they began work on on their return to the UK. XTC's Andy Partridge was originally slated to produce the follow-up of Leisure - which later became Modern Life Is Rubbish. However the relationship between him and the band soon deteriorated, so Street was again brought in to produce the record. After spending nearly a year in the studio, the band delivered the album to Food records.The song "Popscene" ? branded as the herald of the Britop boom ? was recorded and to be featured on Moddern Life. It was released on March 30, 1992 as a stand alone single, charting at #32 in the UK Singles Chart. It was dropped from the album and the record company rejected the album, declaring that it needed a hit single. The song It was later reinstated for the American version and the Japanese re-issue of the album. The band went back into the studio and recorded "For Tomorrow", which turned out to be a British hit. Food were ready to release the record, but their U.S. record company, SBK, said there was no American hit single on the record and asked them to return to the studio. They angrily complied and recorded "Chemical World" which pleased SBK for a short while; the song would become a minor alternative hit in the U.S. and charted at number 28 in the UK Modern Life was set for release in the spring of 1993, when SBK asked Blur to re-record the album with producer Butch Vig (Nirvana and Sonic Youth). Understandably angry and irritated by the suggestion the band refused. The record was released in May in Britain; it appeared in the United States that Autumn. Often cited as the first Britpop album, Modern Life Is Rubbish received good reviews in Britain, peaking at number 15 on the charts, yet it failed to make much of an impression in the U.S.Modern Life... turned out to be a dry run for Blur's breakthrough album - Parklife, whose East End stylings were inspired by Martin Amis' London Fields. The follow-up entered the charts at number one and catapulted the band to stardom in Britain. The new wave dance-pop single "Girls & Boys" entered the charts at number five; the single managed to spend 15 weeks on the U.S. charts, peaking at number 52, but the album never cracked the charts. It was a completely different story in Britain, as Blur had a string of hit singles, including the ballad "To the End" and the mod anthem "Parklife", which featured narration by Phil Daniels, the star of the film version of the Who's Quadrophenia.With the success of Parklife, Blur opened the door for many British bands who dominated the British pop culture in the mid-'90s and which were labelled as Britpop. Elastica, Pulp, the Boo Radleys, Supergrass, Gene, The Verve, Echobelly, Menswe@r, Mansun, Radiohead and numerous other bands all benefited from the band's success. By the beginning of 1995, Parklife went triple platinum and the band became superstars. The group spent the first half of 1995 recording their fourth album and playing various one-off concerts, including a sold-out stadium show. February of that year saw Blur receive a yet unbeaten 4 awards at the Brit awards, for best album (Parklife), best video (Parklife), best single (Parklife) and best British group.Blur released "Country House", the first single from their new album, in August amidst much media attention, as Albarn had requested the single's release moved up a week to compete with the release of "Roll With It", a new single from Blur's chief rivals, Oasis - sparking the much hyped "Battle of Britpop". The strategy however backfired, as even though the band won the battle, with "Country House" beating "Roll With It" to become the group's first number one single, they ultimately lost the war, as Oasis became Britain's biggest band at the time with their second album, (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, overshadowing Blur's fourth The Great Escape. While The Great Escape entered the UK charts at number one and earned overwhelmingly positive reviews, it sold in smaller numbers, and by the beginning of 1996, Blur were seen as has-beens, especially since they once again failed to make impression on the American market, where Oasis had been successful.In the face of negative press and weak public support, Blur nearly broke up in February 1996, following a drug-fuelled scuffle between chief artists Coxon and Albarn. The band decided to take a rest between the end of touring in March and the beginning of recording their fifth album in summer. Blur started recording the follow-up to The Great Escape in summer and finished in late autumn. Meanwhile, relations in the band significantly improved and in December, the album was swiftly mixed and mastered. By the end of 1996, Albarn's interests had changed from British music to American indie rock (particularly Pavement and R.E.M.) and lo-fi - genres that Graham Coxon had been supporting for years. These influences were evident in Blur's eponymous fifth album, Blur, which was released in February 1997 to plaudits, nearly rivalling that of Parklife.However the band's reinvention didn't earn them initially warm reviews in UK - the album and the first single, "Beetlebum" (said to be heavily influenced by American indie band Pavement and Albarn's longtime girlfriend and Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann's heroin addiction) debuted at number one but quickly fell down the charts - as the group's mass audience didn't all accept this incarnation. In the U.S. the record received strong reviews and the album and its second single "Song 2" became a large hit, helped by its popularity as a pre-match anthem at ice hockey games. The album reached #61 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, while "Song 2" peaked at #6 on the magazine's Modern Rock chart. "Song 2" continues to have legs, frequently being played at U.S. sports events, though it has also branded Blur as a one hit wonder. The album wasn't making much of an impression in Britain until Autumn of that year, partly because during this time Radiohead and The Verve had released their monumental albums OK Computer and Urban Hymns and critics, fans and press didn't pay much attention to Blur. The Album's American success was eventually repeated in Britain and by the end of the year Blur bounced back into the charts. It show-cased the natural evolution of the band beyond their roots, while combining earlier work in a successful blend of Britpop and American lo-fi, which came as a stark contrast to the much-criticized third album Be Here Now by their old rivals OasisAs the Britpop movement disintegrated, the band decided to take a different approach to their next album, so they parted ways with long-time producer and collaborator Stephen Street, who helped immensely in establishing the band. However, many fans weren't so happy about it and criticized the band. Nevertheless, in 1999, Blur returned with 13, a more mature album than any of their previous records. It was lyrically dominated by the end of Albarn's turbulent relationship with Justine Frischmann, Elastica frontwoman, as well as their battles with heavy heroin and alcohol addictions provoked by that relationship. Graham Coxon had even bigger artistical input, contributing vocals to some of the songs, including the hit single "Coffee & TV", and designing the cover of the sleeve. Darker in tone, the album was received very well, although not as well as their Britpop records.Exhausted by incessant recording and touring through the world, the band took a hiatus, pausing only to release a box set of Blur's singles in late 2000 to celebrate their 10th anniversary. Albarn said that as they didn't stop for a decade, they needed a break. For a couple of years members of Blur engaged in a variety of side-projects around this time: Coxon made a number of solo albums, Alex James joined actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst (who had both contributed their talents to the video for Blur's single, "Country House" earlier) to form Fat Les, while Albarn formed the cartoon supergroup Gorillaz, who released their self-titled debut album. Albarn also travelled to Mali on behalf of Oxfam, producing the fundraising album Mali Music.Recording for their next album had just got under way in Marrakesh, Morocco, middle 2002, but tensions between Coxon and the rest of the band escalated during them. It appeared Coxon had already grown distant emotionally, personally and creatively, from his bandmates, as he was reported to have failed to attend recording sessions. He was apparently unhappy at the choice of dance DJ Fatboy Slim (aka Norman Cook) as the sessions' producer. After several weeks of rumour and uncertainty, Coxon confirmed that he had been asked to leave the band for reasons connected with his "attitude" at a time when he had given up a heavy alcohol habit. Since then Albarn had said that the door is always opened for Graham to return, but a possible project or a collaborative work of the full line-up is not very likely in the foreseeable future. Coxon only appears on the final track of the album "Battery in your leg" which Albarn said was the only song he ever wrote about the band.Albarn later told an interviewer that there had been a big struggle between himself and Coxon. The album resulting from the sessions, Think Tank, was released in May 2003 to mostly favourable reviews and was nominated for Best British Album at the 2004 Brit awards. Albarn later followed the album with his first solo album Democrazy, which however was only a special edition release with few copies. Ex-Verve guitarist Simon Tong has been standing in place of Coxon on live dates.The band said in interviews that they might record a new album in 2004, but it was canceled as Albarn and the rest of the band devoted their energy for solo projects. He released a follow-up Gorillaz album Demon Days in May 2005, which received significant praise, followed by "Demon Days"-world tour 2005-2006. In early 2006, Gorillaz picked a Grammy award, for "Pop Collaboration With Vocals" for "Feel Good Inc". Meanwhile the hiatus, Coxon realigned with Stephen Street, to craft his most successful, accessible and arguably best solo albums up to date Happiness in Magazines (May 17, 2004) and Love Travels at Illegal Speeds (March 13, 2006).Blur apparently will continue as a three-piece as Graham Coxon's lack of interest towards his former band still persists. The band aren't working regularly on a new album as bandmembers are throwing more energy on their own solo endavours, although in an interview with New Musical Express in early 2006, Alex James briefly threw out some of the band's newest material was sounding similar to the Foo Fighters. Albarn also has dismissed the idea of getting a new guitarist to replace the long departed Graham Coxon saying, "What?s the point? We?d never be able to get one as good as Graham!"In late July, Albarn announced his intention to start a band with Tong, Clash bassist Paul Simonon, and drummer Tony Allen. While the band is still nameless, it is expected to release an album entitled "The Good, the Bad and the Queen" in January 2007. A tour launch and the album's first single are expected in October. Alex James is working with Betty Boo in a band called WigWam. They recently released their single 'WigWam' and are currently set to release an album soon. Dave Rowntree is working as drummer and occasionally instrumentalist and vocalist for The Ailerons.
Posted in: Biography | Blur | 0 Comments
A fully blown artist
Posten on: 2006-10-24 16:12:21
Jeff Buckley was born in California's Orange County in 1966 and emerged in New York City's avant-garde club scene in the 1990's as one of the most remarkable musical artists of his generation. His first commercial recording, the four track EP Live At Sin-é, was released in December 1993 on Columbia Records in the United States and Big Cat Records in the United Kingdom and Europe. The EP captured Buckley, accompanying himself on electric guitar, in a tiny club in New York's East Village, the neighborhood he'd made his home; the record's selections included two cover tunes laced with soaring vocal improvisation: Edith Piaf's "Je N'en Connais Pas Le Fin," Van Morrison's "The Way Young Lovers Do" and two original songs showcasing his songwriting abilities: " Mojo Pin" and "Eternal Life." Buckley began to tour North America, the United Kingdom, France, and Holland as a solo acoustic/electric artist in support of the Live At Sin-é release.During the end of 1993, before the release of Live At Sin-é, Jeff entered the studio with his band, Mick Grondahl (bass) and Matt Johnson (drums), and producer Andy Wallace to begin recording the seven original songs ("Mojo Pin," "Grace," " Last Goodbye," "So Real," "Lover, You Should Have Come Over," "Eternal Life," "Dream Brother") and three covers ("Lilac Wine," Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," Benjamin Britten's "Corpus Christi Carol") that comprise his debut album Grace. Guitarist Michael Tighe, who cowrote and performed on Grace's "So Real," joined Buckley's ensemble shortly thereafter as a permanent member.In 1994, Jeff toured clubs, lounges, and coffeehouses in North America as a solo artist from January 15-March 5 as well as Europe from March 11-22; his "Peyote Radio Theatre Tour" of that year found him on the road with his band and lasted from June 2-August 16. His full-length full-band album, Grace was released in the United States on August 23, 1994, the same day Buckley and band kicked off a European tour in Dublin, Ireland; the 1994 European Tour ran through September 22, with Buckley and Ensemble performing at the CMJ convention at New York's Supper Club on September 24. The group headed back into America's clublands for a Fall Tour lasting from October 19-December 18.On New Year's Eve 1994-95, Jeff returned to Sin-é to perform a solo concert; on New Year's Day, he read an original poem at the annual St. Mark's Church Marathon Poetry Reading. Two weeks later, he and his band were back in the United Kingdom for gigs in Dublin, Bristol, and London before launching an extensive tour of Japan, France, Germany, Italy, Holland, Belgium, and the United Kingdom which lasted from January 29-March 5. On April 13 1995, it was announced that Jeff Buckley's Grace had earned him France's prestigious "Gran Prix International Du Disque -- Academie Charles CROS -- 1995"; an award given by a jury of producers, journalists, the president of France Culture, and music industry professionals, it had previously been given to Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel, Yves Montand, Georges Brassens, Bruce Springsteen, Leonard Cohen, Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Joni Mitchell, among other musical luminaries. France also awarded Buckley a gold record certification for Grace. Buckley and band's Spring Tour 1995 found them back in the U.S.A. with gigs running from April 20-June 2. The band took off for Down Under to play six Australian shows between August 28-September 6, 1995. In November 1995, Buckley played two unannounced solo shows at Sin-é and celebrated New Year's Eve 1995-96 with a performance at New York's Mercury Lounge.Jeff and his touring group went back to Australia, where Grace had earned a gold record certification, for the "Hard Luck Tour," which ran from February 9-March 1 of 1996. Drummer Matt Johnson left the group after the final Australian show. In May of '96, Jeff played four gigs as a bass player with Mind Science of the Mind, a side-project of Buckley's friend, Nathan Larson of Shudder To Think. In September '96, Jeff played another unannounced solo gig at his old favorite haunt Sin-é. December of 1996 found Jeff Buckley embarking on his "phantom solo tour," a series of unannounced solo gigs played under a succession of aliases: the Crackrobats, Possessed By Elves, Father Demo, Smackrobiotic, Crit Club, Topless America, Martha & the Nicotines, A Puppet Show Named Julio.On February 9, 1997, Jeff debuted his new drummer, Parker Kindred, in a show at Arlene's Grocery on New York's Lower East Side. He also played a couple of solo gigs in New York during the first months of 1997: a gig at the Daydream Cafe (featuring band members Mick Grondahl and Michael Tighe as "special guests") and a solo performance February 4 as part of the Knitting Factory's 10-Year Birthday Party.Buckley and his current band line-up went to Memphis, Tennessee, in February 1997 to begin rehearsing in preparation for the recording, scheduled to commence June 30, of the eagerly-awaited follow-up to Grace. The new lineup debuted Buckley's new songs at Barrister's in Memphis on February 12 and 13. Beginning March 31, Jeff began a series of regularly scheduled Monday night solo performances at Barrister's. His last show there was on Monday, May 26, 1997.In addition to his Columbia Records releases, Live At Sin-é and Grace, Jeff has appeared as a guest artist on several other recordings. He can be heard singing " Jolly Street," a track on the Jazz Passengers 1994 album In Love. He contributed tenor vocals to "Taipan" and "D. Popylepis," two recordings on John Zorn's Cobra Live At The Knitting Factory (1995). On Rebecca Moore's Admiral Charcoal's Song, Buckley plays electric six-string bass on "If You Please Me," "Outdoor Elevator," and "Needle Men" (on which he also plays drums). He both plays guitar and sings backup vocals on Brenda Kahn's "Faith Salons," a key track on her Destination Anywhere album (released 1996). Patti Smith's critically acclaimed Gone Again album features Buckley adding "voice" to the song "Beneath the Southern Cross" and "essrage" (a small fretless Indian stringed instrument) to "Fireflies." On kicks joy darkness, a various artists' spoken word tribute to beat poet Jack Kerouac, Jeff Buckley collaborated with erstwhile Nymphs' vocalist Inger Lorre on "Angel Mine"; Jeff plays guitar, sitar, and mouth sax (adding words at the poem's conclusion) on the track.A big enthusiast for a myriad of musical forms, Jeff was an early champion among young American musicians for the work of Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, the world's foremost Qawwali (the music of the Sufis) singer. Buckley conducted an extensive interview with Nusrat in Interview magazine (January 1996) and wrote the liner notes for the singer's The Supreme Collection album which was released on Mercator/Caroline Records in August 1997.A product of the Greenwich Village folkie and bohemian circuit, Buckley lived on the frontline, choosing to mix it amongst the communes and squats where he found what he called the last real writers, artists, expressionists; people he could relate to, people unafraid of society's mores and dictates, willing to take a chance. Over 1994 and 1995 I spoke to him twice.Each time we spoke mostly of life, what he saw around him, the injustices, the fear, the laws that repelled him, the death of Western civilisation, the loss of spirituality, the problems he had coming to terms with the modern world and those in silent power, and, sometimes, the shadow of Tim, the father he hardly knew who died when he was just eight. Tim Buckley knew no limitations; for him, songs were a springboard for risk-tasking, for delving into the dark side of man's nature and the indefinable nature of the spirit. Tim only knew that once he found the edge, he had to go over it. And through a series of extraordinary albums that tested the limitations of jazz, folk and rock and his own freeform fusion of the elements he took those who listened with him.On June 25, 1975, at the age of 28, Tim Buckley was dead from an accidental drug overdose. Today, he is revered as a true great, a man capable of charging songs with an emotional depth few have ever reached or dared to try and find: it was a trait that somehow passed itself onto Jeff, even though he was forever trying not to admit it. One stinking hot LA morning when the temperature had already soared past the older 100 degree mark, Buckley who had been talking with more and more lateralness for half-an-hour suddenly said, "All this stuff about my Dad, I never knew him, really. It's so hard to live with. I'm Jeff not Tim. Do you think what they say is true?" The question never got answered. How could you tell him, yes, he was so much his father's son. The way he sang, that extraordinary multi-octave voice, the jaggedness of his music, his willingness to throw it into freeform chaos, to bend between genres, and the passion and the scary, fractured, hanging on and yelling out emotion that flew effortlessly in unforgettable codas that spanned much more than words can ever transmit in songs such as Grace and So Real. No, Jeff Buckley could never be told that, it didn't seem right.He so much just wanted to be Jeff Buckley, and he so badly wanted to change the world. Instead we talked about how LA's city fathers owned a tank, about the "no smoking in certain public places" law, about how he didn't want to write the second album the record company or anybody else wanted him to write and how he would write the songs that he felt, no matter what anybody thought.To Jeff, it was all part of beating and breaking the system. The streets romanced him and the edge scared him - there he was different from his dad. He already feared what he might find out and he already feared what he might become. Somewhere towards the end of the conversation, he spoke of insanity - he saw it all around him - and how he feared that he too would become insane. Yet, you sensed there was something driving him on, something terribly urgent and restless within him.He could, easily, have taken the soft option; given the music industry, the public, what they wanted - whatever that was. But it would have been a defeat Jeff Buckley could never have lived with and so he went on, taking a very long time to write his second album, which he was finally just about to go into the studio and record. Buckley was due to begin working up material for his long-awaited sophomore effort at Memphis's Easely Studios on Thursday, the day he disappeared. Former Television leader Tom Verlaine was originally down to produce the project, but that partnership was scrapped in March when Buckley decided he needed more time to come up with material for the album. Recording with Andy Wallace - who produced Buckley's phenomenal debut - was scheduled to begin at the end of June.The album, to be called My Sweetheart, The Drunk was set for early 1998 release. Although Buckley already had more than two-dozen songs finished, he wanted to spend the next month preparing himself for the production of the album. Buckley most recently appeared on a track featuring Inger Lorre on Rykodisc's Jack Kerouac tribute, Kicks Joy Darkness. He was also going to contribute a song to Hal Willner's forthcoming Edgar Allan Poe tribute alongside Lou Reed, Diamanda Galas and Leonard Cohen; and will be appearing on the First Love, Last Rites soundtrack. The facts then as they are: Thursday night, May 29, Jeff was hanging out with a friend at the Mud Island Harbour marina, half a mile inland off the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee. He and the friend were listening to a stereo and playing a guitar when Buckley waded, fully clothed, waist-high into the water. He started singing and laid back on the water, when a boat went by causing waves to come in to the shore.The friend on shore turned his back to move the stereo away from the incoming waves and when he turned around, he couldn't see Buckley. After a 10-minute search, the friend called local police. The Memphis police department began dragging the waters that night and continued to do so - for two days afterward. Harsh rains hampered their search efforts. They also checked, in vain, on the chance of him having wandered out the water. Friends were contacted and people in the area of the marina questioned. They came up with nothing.Jeff Buckley simply dissapeared. He was found three days later by passengers on a steam boat, who saw a body in an Altamont T-shirt tangled up in some branches on the riverside, near Harbor Island. He was 30 years old.
Posted in: Biography | Jeff Buckley | 0 Comments
Reggae's ultimate ambasador
Posten on: 2006-10-19 18:26:50
Bob Marley was born 6th February 1945 in Jamaica in a small village called Nine Miles in the parish of St. Ann. His father was a white British Naval Officer named Norval Marley. Bob had only a scant recollection of his father. This was largely due to the fact that the 'well to do' Marley family did not approve of the relationship Norval had formed with Bob's mother Cedella. His father therefore, despite marrying Cedella, was more an occasional visitor. He did not live to witness the rise to success of his son Bob.Bob Marley cut his first record at the age of 16 in Kingston. A song called 'Judge Not'.In 1963 the original Wailers were formed, the line-up being Bob Marley, Bunny Livingstone (who was later to take the name Wailer), and Peter Tosh. Their first song 'Simmer Down' was an instant number one hit in Jamaica.In 1966 Haile Sellasie visited Jamaica and Bob Marley and the other Wailers embraced the Rastafarian faith and began to grow their 'locks'. Also at around this time they teamed up with the producer Lee Perry for what was to become a very productive but ultimately soured relationship. The union ceased when Perry allegedly sold their material to another label without their knowledge.In 1972 Chris Blackwell signed the band Wailers to his 'Island' label, and gave them 8000 to produce a record. The result - 'Catch A Fire', released in 1973 - was a breakthrough album, triggering international recognition of the Wailers. In the UK they appeared on BBC television, and in New York they opened for Bruce Springsteen at Max's Kansas City Club.The touring schedule proved too much for Bunny and he announced his intention to quit the Wailers. Soon followed by Peter Tosh who left to concentrate on a solo career. And so a new line up emerged, with Bob being the front man of 'Bob Marley and the Wailers'. He retained the stalwart rhythm section of the Barrett brothers (Aston and Carlton) on bass and drums, and added a trio of female backing vocalists called the 'I-Threes', one of which was his wife Rita who had sung occasionally with the Wailers since the beginning.The first album of the new line-up 'Natty Dread' was a major success. In 1975 Bob Marley and the Wailers played the Roxy in Los Angeles. Among the ectstatic audience (apparently some were dancing on the tables) were Beatles George and Ringo, Bob Dylan, and Jack Nicholson! Back home in Jamaica Bob was becoming revered as a mystic and prophet, his influence was noted by politicians. When Bob approached the then Prime Minister Michael Manley offering to stage a free concert he responded by fixing a date (5 December) that would conveniently coincide with the national elections, thus implying that he had the support of Bob Marley. This dangerous move resulted in an attempt on Bobs life.On the evening of the 3 December a number of gunmen arrived at Bobs house on Hope Road and shot Bob, his wife Rita, and his manager. These gunmen were thought to be the henchmen of the opposition leader Edward Seaga. Fortunately, nobody was killed, and Bob went ahead with the planned concert defiantly appearing with his arm in a sling. The following year Bob cancelled the last few dates of a big European tour when doctors diagnosed melanoma cancer in the big toe of his right foot. This was the result of a neglected football injury (football being Bobs other major passion alongside music) which occured in Paris when the Wailers took on a team of French journalists some time earlier.Back home in Jamaica the gunmen leaders of the two warring political factions (The Jamaican Labour Party and the Peoples National Party) approached Bob and asked him to perform at a concert marking a truce between them. The concert titled the 'One Love' Concert took place on 22 April 1978. During the concert Bob persuaded the Prime Minister Manley and the opposition leader Seaga to join him on stage where they shook hands. An incredible event in Jamaica at that time. As a reult of this act Bob received the United Nations' Peace Medal in New York the following June.During 1979 Bob introduced reggae music to the world, touring Japan, Australia and New Zealand.In 1980 he headlined the independence celebrations in Zimbabwe, one of the dignitaries present being non other than Prince Charles!In September of this same year Bob collapsed while jogging in Central Park, New York, just after commencing the American leg of a world tour with the 'Commodores' playing support. Doctors told him the shocking news that the cancer (previously considered to have been cleared) had returned and was present in his lungs and brain. Despite this he flew to Pittsburg where on the 23 September 1980 he performed his last concert at the Stanley Theatre.Initially Bob was treated in New York but the doctors eventually said there was nothing more they could do for him. He flew to Bavaria where he was treated by the unconventional Dr Issels. First signs were encouraging and for a while it appeared that Bob was improving. However by the beginning of May Dr Issels had to tell him that there was no longer any hope. Bob intended to end his days back in Jamaica but was so ill that he had to check into a hospital in Miami en route.Here he died on 11 May 1981.His body was returned to Jamaica where it was placed in a specially constructed mausoleum at his birthplace, Nine Miles.
Posted in: Biography | Bob Marley | 0 Comments
Progressive metal at it's finest
Posten on: 2006-10-12 20:36:31
Founding members John Myung, Mike Portnoy and John Petrucci in 1986Dream Theater was formed in 1986 by guitarist John Petrucci, bassist John Myung and drummer Mike Portnoy while studying at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Kevin Moore, a high school band-mate of Petrucci's, was recruited to play keyboards and Chris Collins was enlisted as vocalist.The quintet settled on the name Majesty for their newly-formed group (a name inspired by Portnoy's description of the closing section of "Bastille Day" by Rush), and the three Berklee attendees dropped out to concentrate on the band.In November 1986, after a few months of writing and performing together, Chris Collins left the band because of creative differences with the other members. After a year of trying to find a replacement, Charlie Dominici, who was far older and more experienced than anyone else in the band, successfully auditioned for the group. With the stability that Dominici's appointment brought to Majesty, they began playing more shows in and around the New York City area, and gained a considerable amount of exposure for a band that had not yet released an album.Their first major recording project was The Majesty Demos, a collection of ideas and demos that were released in 1987. The initial run of 1,000 sold out within six months, and dubbed copies of the cassette spread like wildfire through the progressive metal scene all over the world.Shortly after the release of the demos, they were forced to change their name when another band named Majesty threatened legal action. Various names were trialled until Portnoy's father suggested the name Dream Theater, which was subsequently settled upon.They signed their first record contract, with Mechanic (a division of MCA), in 1988 and set out to record their debut album.When Dream and Day Unite was released in 1989 to far less fanfare than was anticipated. Mechanic ended up breaking the majority of the financial promises they had made to the band prior to signing their contract, so they were restricted to playing around NYC. The promotional tour for the album consisted of just five concerts, all of which were in New York or Rhode Island.After the fourth of these gigs, Dominici was fired because of personal and creative differences between him and the rest of the band. Shortly after, however, Marillion asked Dream Theater to open for them at a gig at the Ritz in New York, so Dominici was given the opportunity to perform one last time. It would be a further two years before Dream Theater had another full-time singer.Following Dominici's firing, Dream Theater fought successfully to be released from their contract with Mechanic, and set about auditioning singers and writing material for their next album. In the time until they had secured a replacement vocalist, they wrote the majority of the music for what would become their second album, Images and Words.In their search for a new singer they auditioned over 200 people, among them former Fates Warning frontman John Arch, but all were turned down for various reasons. In 1991 a tape arrived from Canadian singer James LaBrie, who was immediately flown to New York for a proper audition. After a short jam session he was hired as full-time singer.For the next few months, the band resumed gigging, and worked on vocal parts for all the music that they had written to that point. ATCO Records (now EastWest) signed Dream Theater to a seven album contract on the strength of their reputation and a three song demo (later made available as "The ATCO Demos" through the Dream Theater fan club).The cover of Dream Theater's Images and Words albumThe first album to be released under their new record contract was Images and Words in 1992. The song "Pull Me Under" gained a lot of radio airplay, and as a result the label commissioned a video clip for its promotion, which had high MTV rotation.The success of "Pull Me Under", combined with relentless touring throughout the U.S. and Japan, caused Images and Words to achieve gold record certification in the States and platinum in Japan. A tour of Europe followed in 1993, which included a show at London's famed Marquee jazz club. That show was recorded and released as Live at the Marquee, Dream Theater's first official live album. Additionally, a video compilation of their Japanese concerts (mixed in with some documentary-style footage of the off-stage portion of the tour) was released as Images and Words: Live in Tokyo.Keen to work on fresh material, Dream Theater retreated to the studio in May 1994. The 1994 sessions were the first in which Dream Theater as a whole wrote music together that was specifically for an album.Awake, Dream Theater's third studio album, was released in October 1994 in a hail of controversy among established fans. Shortly before the album was mixed, Moore announced to the rest of the band that he wished to concentrate on his own musical interests and would be quitting Dream Theater. This rocked a band that had enjoyed just two years of stability after a tumultuous first half-decade, but Moore was no longer interested in the life of a touring musician nor the brand of progressive metal Dream Theater performed, so the two parties went their separate ways.As a result of that news, the band had to scramble to find a replacement keyboardist instead of jumping head-first into touring mode.Jordan Rudess, an up-and-coming keyboardist who was relatively unknown to that point, was invited to play a trial performance with Dream Theater in the hopes that he would join the band. The gig went well, but Rudess decided to join The Dixie Dregs as a touring member instead of Dream Theater, and Derek Sherinian was brought on as a hired-gun instead. By the conclusion of the Awake promotional tour, Sherinian was Dream Theater's full-time keyboardist.After a petition from fans to EastWest Records, the group recorded their previously unreleased song "A Change of Seasons" and distributed it as an EP with a collection of live cover tracks. After a short run of small "one-off" concerts to promote the EP, Dream Theater entered the studio once more to write their next album.In all, almost two CDs worth of material was written including a 20 minute long follow-up to the Images and Words song "Metropolis Part 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper". The label, however, did not allow the release of a double album because they felt that a 140-minute record would not be digestible by the general public, so half the songs had to be cut.In addition to, and as a function of, pressuring the band into adopting a more mainstream sound, EastWest recruited writer/producer Desmond Child to work with Petrucci on re-writing the lyrics to his demo "You Or Me". The whole band substantially reworked the music to that song, and it appeared on the album as "You Not Me" in a form that was barely reminiscent of the original.The material that made it onto the album proper was released as Falling Into Infinity, which received a mixed reception from traditional Dream Theater fans. Despite the album containing some very progressive-sounding songs, tracks like "Hollow Years" and "You Not Me" prompted some to believe it was the dawn of a new, mainstream-sounding Dream Theater, just as the release of Empire had previously heralded the same shift for Queensrÿche. The album was both a critical and commercial disappointment.In recent years, the album has been rehabilitated to an extent, and interest was rekindled when Portnoy indicated that the unused songs - including more traditionally progressive cuts such as "Raise the Knife" - would be released through Portnoy's YtseJam Records.During the European leg of the Falling Into Infinity world tour, two shows were recorded for a live album entitled Once In A LIVEtime, in France and The Netherlands. The album was released at around the same time as the video 5 Years in a LIVEtime, which chronicled the time from when Kevin Moore left the band right up to the Falling Into Infinity promotional tour.In 1997, Magna Carta Records' Mike Varney invited Portnoy to assemble a progressive 'supergroup' to work on an album, which would become the first in a long string of side-projects for the members of Dream Theater. The lineup that was eventually settled on consisted of Portnoy on drums, Petrucci on guitar, Tony Levin of King Crimson on bass, and Jordan Rudess, who had finished with the Dixie Dregs by that time, on keyboards. The band assumed the name Liquid Tension Experiment, and would act as a medium through which Portnoy and Petrucci could once again court Rudess to join them in Dream Theater. They extended an invitation for him to join them in 1999, and he accepted the offer to become the third full-time Dream Theater keyboardist. Unfortunately for Sherinian, this meant that he was out of a job.The cover of Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From A MemoryArmed with yet another new member, Dream Theater entered BearTracks Studio once again to write and record their next album. Perhaps as a response to the backlash over Falling Into Infinity, this time their record label gave the band complete freedom with their music. The follow-up to "Metropolis Part 1" off Images and Words, which was written during the Falling Into Infinity sessions (but not used on that album), was taken off the shelf as the first composition for them to work on.They decided to expand the 20-minute song into a complete concept album, with the story revolving around themes such as reincarnation, murder and betrayal. To avoid stirring up the fan base, a tight veil of secrecy enveloped the writing and recording process. The only things fans knew prior to its release were a tracklist that had been leaked against the band's wishes, and a release date. They knew nothing of the title, the music, or even the fact that it would be a concept album.In 1999, Metropolis, Pt. 2: Scenes From a Memory was released to high critical acclaim. It was hailed as Dream Theater's masterpiece by many fans and critics alike, despite only reaching #73 on the charts.A massive world tour followed, taking over a year to complete and visiting more countries than they had ever toured before.For one extra special show, at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, actors were hired to play characters in the story, and a gospel choir was enlisted to perform in some sections of the show. One actor played the part of the hypnotherapist, and gospel singer Theresa Thomason sang the part of the female main character, Victoria.This show, the last North American date of the tour, was recorded for the band's first DVD release. After many technical delays, Dream Theater fans finally got their hands on the DVD, entitled Metropolis 2000, in early 2001. Shortly after its release, the band announced that an audio version of the concert, with the entire four-hour long setlist (most of which had to be cut from the DVD to save space), would be released shortly thereafter.The covers of Live at the Marquee and Live Scenes From New York, notice the silhouette of the World Trade Center within the flames on the rightThe cover for the CD version of the concert, titled Live Scenes From New York, showed one of Dream Theater's early logos (the Images And Words-era burning heart, modelled on the Sacred Heart) modified to show an apple (as in Big Apple) instead of the heart, and the New York skyline, including the twin towers of the World Trade Center, in the flame above it. In an unfortunate coincidence, the album was released on the same date as the September 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S. The album was immediately recalled, but many copies were snapped up by Dream Theater collectors as a very rare piece of Dream Theater's history. It was re-released with revised artwork a short time later.Dream Theater once again entered BearTracks Studios to record their sixth studio album. Four years after they first petitioned EastWest to allow them to release a double album, they finally got their chance with Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence. The first disc consisted of five tracks of 5-13 minutes in length, and the second disc was devoted entirely to the 42-minute title track, which is to date the longest song Dream Theater have written.Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence ended up being received very well by critics and the press. It was the most publicized of Dream Theater's albums since Awake, debuting on the Billboard charts at #46 and the Billboard Internet charts at #1.Throughout the next year and a half they toured the world once more, with an expanded live show including a select few special "album cover" gigs, in which they played Metallica's Master of Puppets and Iron Maiden's The Number of the Beast in their entirety.At the completion of their promotional tour and a short break, Dream Theater entered the studio to write and record what would become Train of Thought, their heaviest album to that point. The album was a critical success, but it had a polarizing effect, alienating a fair proportion of Dream Theater's fans who enjoyed the traditional progressive rock influence from bands such as Yes or King Crimson more than Dream Theater's modern muses like Tool and Metallica. Regardless, it expanded the band's fan base into new territory, that of mainstream heavy metal and nu-metal.Their next move was to release another live CD/DVD combination, this time recorded at the famous Nippon Budokan Hall in Tokyo, Japan on their Train of Thought world tour. Live at Budokan was released on 5 October 2004, and further propelled Dream Theater's reputation as one of the premier live acts in progressive metal.Upon the completion of their Train of Thought promotional tour, Dream Theater entered the Hit Factory studios in NYC to record their eighth album. As it turned out, they would be the last group ever to record in that famous studio, and after they wrapped up their final session, the lights were turned off at the studio forever.The new album, Octavarium, was released on 7 June 2005 and took the band's sound in yet another new direction. Among its 8 songs is a continuation of Portnoy's Alcoholics Anonymous suite (steps 6-7 in the 12-step plan), and an epic rivalling A Change of Seasons and covering several musical styles in its 24-minute running time. The album has caused much controversy among fans, some thinking that the band wore its influences too prominently on their sleeves, eg. Never Enough has been compared to Muse's Stockholm Syndrome, and the relatively radio-friendly I Walk Beside You to the trademark sound of U2 blended with Chicago's Peter Cetera. The album is the last under their seven album deal with Elektra Records. Their plans for the future are currently unknown, although it likely includes slapping together a few sophomoric rifts in a three week period -- the same amount of time the band states they spent writing "Train of Thought."
Posted in: Biography | Dream Theater | 0 Comments
Musical match made in heaven
Posten on: 2006-10-09 06:37:41
The best, most enduring and original creative collaborations always adhere to a simple formula: the total equals more than the sum of its parts. Lennon & McCartney; Jagger & Richards-by the strange alchemy of teamwork, a tally of talent can add up to more than simple arithmetic. It's a principle that's at the heart of one of the best, most enduring and original musical partnerships of our time. The music of David Crosby, Stephen Stills, Graham Nash and Neil Young is something unique and distinct from its individual creative components. It's a sound instantly recognizable and eternally fresh; a perfect balance between familiarity and surprise. It is the basis of a partnership that has lasted, in one form or another, for thirty years and is the impetus for Looking Forward, the aptly titled new album from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young on Reprise Records, and their first studio venture together in over a decade. Comprised of twelve tracks representing new material from all of these consummate songwriters, Looking Forward is produced by Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young (with additional production by Ben Keith, J. Stanley Johnson and Joe Vitale). It features instrumental backing from a stellar lineup including, among others, Jim Keltner, Duck Dunn, Gerald Johnson, Hutch Hutchinson, Luis Conte, Spooner Oldham, Joe Vitale, Mike Finnigan, James Raymond, Bob Glaub and, of course, the group itself. Recorded in various studios in Los Angeles as well as Neil Young's Redwood Digital Studios at his Woodside, California ranch, Looking Forward is the first new Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young release since 1988's American Dream and only the fourth album of the quartet's career, together with Deja Vu (1970) and the live 4-Way Street (1971). The release of Looking Forward will be supported by major concerts in 2000, reuniting the foursome on tour for the first time since 1974.The story of the genesis and evolution of Looking Forward is as extraordinary as the history of a group who, although apart far more than they have been together, have maintained a lifelong musical connection requiring only proximity to set off sparks again. But more than just the long-overdue reunion of four, often fractious, friends, Looking Forward is the best evidence to date of the assessment made by Graham Nash on the meaning and motives of C,S,N&Y: "We still have it. We still mean it. It's not for the money. It never was. It's for the music."The saga of that music is a matter of record-a lot of records. The oft-told tale of four formidable, ferociously gifted artists who, together and in various combinations, created a sound that defined an era. The career of Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young could-and has-filled both library and record collection shelves. But what has always mattered to the group, individually and as a whole, is not what has come before, but what is still to be-a sentiment gloriously summed up on Looking Forward.It was in early 1998 that the first tentative moves toward a reunion took place between Neil Young and Crosby, Stills & Nash, who had been working together as a recording and performing trio for nearly three decades. "We were playing the Fillmore," recounts Graham Nash. "Neil came to one of the shows and we ended up doing 'Ohio' and 'Carry On' together. It was a lot of fun, but nothing serious.""We've always stayed in touch, but most of the time it's on the run," adds Stephen Stills, whose connection to Young stretches back to their '60s tenure in the legendary Buffalo Springfield. It was, in fact, their recent work together on an upcoming Buffalo Springfield retrospective box set that added the next element to the inevitable. "I was up at the ranch," continues Stills, "and we were listening to a lot of the old stuff. I think that process put a notion in the back of both our heads."It was also during this time that Crosby, Stills & Nash had re-entered the studio to begin work on a new self-financed/produced album. "The songs we were doing were a little long on mellow," recounts Stills. "I thought we needed a bit more energy, so I asked Neil if he would come down to play on a few tracks for us."David Crosby picks up the story: "I heard that Neil was coming down to work on one of Stephen's songs. I thought 'Great. It'll be good to see him again,' at the same time knowing that you don't hold your breath waiting for Neil Young. He's really on his own path."That path did, however, eventually converge with that of his erstwhile bandmates in Los Angeles, with immediate and gratifying results. "We were sitting around the studio," recalls Nash, "and suddenly Neil ambles in, all alone with his guitar. It was hugs all around and then we got down to business.""They were in the studio even though they didn't have a record company deal," is the way Young remembers the fateful meeting. "I thought that was telling. They really were into the music...they were committed." "We had my song 'Heartland' up on the board," continues Nash. "Neil asked to hear it, then suggested a guitar part. We were delighted, and I think we were all sort of holding our breath, waiting to see what would happen next."What happened next was the musical equivalent of spontaneous combustion. David Crosby: "Neil listened to 'Heartland' and said, 'Hey, that's neat. Can I play on that?' And we all said, 'Are you kidding? Of course.' Then he heard another one and said, 'I kind of like that one, too.' Eight songs later, we all knew something special was happening. But nobody had given it a name. After those first four days, when I drove Neil to the airport I asked him what was going on and he said, 'It's as plain as the nose on your face.'"On the cusp of a full-scale reunion, the next development was all but a foregone conclusion. "Neil asked us if we wanted to hear a few things he was working on to see if we could do anything with them," recounts Nash. "After that, it all just fell into place. We were obviously in the middle of a Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young record."Neil Young: "I'd recorded about fourteen or fifteen songs for my next solo record and it was too much. So I took some of them down to L.A. with me and when we were done playing their songs it seemed like a good time to bring in some of mine."From the beginning, each of the four members shared a commitment to let the music lead. "All of us are really good record makers," asserts a matter-of-fact Stills. "We can step back at any time and see the big picture, without falling in love with the first thing we hear. We were able to take out everything that wasn't necessary and maintain the essential spirit of what was happening between us.""We know what happens when Neil sings with us," continues Nash. "We know the edge that it brings, that slight ruggedness and that's very appealing." "He did a wonderful thing by getting us all to sing around one mike again," explains Crosby. "It got the music airborne and brought us back to a very organic sound. Before, we'd do separate takes for cleanliness sake, trying to get a perfect spread. But Neil's not into perfect. He's into making you feel.""It was fun using live vocals," adds Young, "instead of overdubbing for years and trying to fix everything that was the slightest bit wrong. I think the best records we've made, together and separately, have been when we're singing and playing and recording all at once, which is the way I always try to do it."Aside from a vocal approach that mixes spontaneity with the seamless harmonies that have long been the group's trademark, Looking Forward also boasts the potent guitar lineup of Stills and Young, firing and inspiring each other to new heights. Stephen Stills: "I learned to be very precise playing acoustic guitar in concert for Crosby, Stills & Nash and my technique really grew by leaps and bounds. And I knew that, with Neil on board, I'd have to be playing at the top of my game.""The way Stephen and I played is very similar to what we did in Buffalo Springfield," is the way Young describes the process. "We'd stand by each other, watching and listening to each other play and interweaving what we do. It was really an extension of what we had started back with Springfield, picking up that ball again."Before they would put the ball back down, some four months later, the quartet would have recorded over twenty new songs. Then began the difficult and demanding process of making the cut and mixing the final selections. "We mixed from January through July," Nash recalls, "and for some of that time, Neil was away on tour. We sent the results up to the ranch and waited to hear back." He laughs. "The message we got was that Neil thought we were off to a good start."Dedicated to capturing the elusive, always-evolving essentials of the group, Young suggested that his three partners come to his ranch to cut new material-specifically three freshly minted songs including Young's "Queen of Them All" and Nash's affecting "Someday Soon." With the new material in the can, the album quickly began to take final form.Not, however, without a final test of the foursome's determination to make the best record possible-regardless of personal priorities. "This group is a very full thing," remarks Crosby, adding with a laugh, "we're seven pounds of stuff in a three pound bag. We've got to make room for each other." "We were really trying to be sensitive," adds Stills. "We all have opinions and they're very strong opinions, but we've also all learned the hard way to listen to each other. Being kind was very much a factor in putting this record together."Graham Nash: "Neil put up a big piece of paper on the wall of the studio and drew four columns with C,S,N and Y at the top. And he said, 'I'm going to put a check by the songs I can't leave off this record. You all do the same.' And we ended up with nine songs that we unanimously agreed on. After that, it was a question of balancing out the rest of the record."What began as pure serendipity and grew into an extraordinary collaborative experience has resulted in Looking Forward, a dozen songs that place these four artists squarely at the juncture of what has been and what has yet to be. "One of the things they used to say about us," recounts Crosby, "was that we were speaking for our generation. And I think, in a sense, that it's still true. You hear a lot of music these days about rage and frustration and anger, but not much about hope and love and forward motion. That's what we want to continue to stand up for."It's a contention brilliantly borne out on Looking Forward, an album in which each song carries the weight of personal meaning and universal implication. "I wanted to remind people that the heart of America is still good and solid and worth fighting for," remarks Nash on the inspiration for his original, "Heartland." "You can't have ever loved a child and not asked the questions that are in this song," asserts Crosby of "A Dream For Him," his musical meditation on his young son's future. "I didn't want to be an old guy preaching," says Stephen Stills on the impetus to his extraordinary original "Seen Enough," "but I wanted to use my own experience to let kids today know that no one should judge them unless they've walked a mile in their moccasins.""What people think of us and our music is totally up to them," concludes Neil Young. "I don't think we could ever live up to the myth that surrounds us. So we just tried to please ourselves. And we made a better record because of it."
Posted in: Biography | Crosby Stills Nash & Young | 0 Comments
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