Thursday, 31 May 2012

Tuesday, 29 May 2012

Britain's answer to The Meters...

Last summer, the soundtrack that accompanied me on most journeys was The Meters' Greatest Hits. A fantastic collection of songs, which ALL musicians working within popular music should own. If you want to develop skills to do with rhythm - timing, syncopation, pushing & pulling feel and generally developing a kick arse sense of groove, you really can do no better than listening to the fabulous, fabulous funky Meters. In particular...

* Just Kissed My Baby
* Jungle Man

and




I particularly like the break at around 2m57s, where the drummer reverses the pattern of kick and snare for half a bar or so. Magic! This then got me thinking about whether British bands can 'do' funk. And the answer is of course they can. 


Ian Dury and the Blockheads immediately sprang to mind. An extraordinary blend between funk and music hall. Norman Watt-Roy is one of my favourite bass players, without a doubt. I'm delighted to see that The Blockheads are still at it and are heading out on the road from June - Dec this year, as part of their 35th anniversary celebrations. Here's a recent track. 







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Monday, 21 May 2012

Thank you for the music...

This made me proper chuckle today!



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Thursday, 17 May 2012

This is...


...what my face looks like today. I have been criticised for this.

I am sorry. It's just my face.


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Wednesday, 16 May 2012

Katie Malco...

...this is my friend Katie. I may or may not have mentioned her before, I don't remember. This is possibly a consequence of turning 40 last week. Perhaps I'm having my first "senior moment"? Anyway, Katie has just been on tour, playing an assortment of gigs. What I love about this is that a Katie Malco show could be anything from a solo acoustic performance, to a full on proper LOUD concert with band. VARIETY which, as we all know, is the spice of life. The performance beneath is somewhere in between.

Check it out ya'll...






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Tuesday, 15 May 2012

Spoon...

I'm very much liking this band today.






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