http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xIvX3LWLTI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D0F0iToKK1I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkXQosWZnwQ
http://www.jambands.com/features/2006/12/22/a-tale-of-two-continents-with-toubab-krewes-justin-perkins
The Conversation Continues? The conversation? Yes, the conversation between West Africa and America is the conversation to which we refer to here. The musical conversation that started 400 years ago when West Africans were brought to the shores of North America in chains. The conversation to gave us the banjo, jazz and Chuck Berry continues today in the form of a band from Asheville, North Carolina that goes by the name of Toubab Krewe.
Derived from the West African word for "foreigner" (toubab) and the New Orleanian word for the Mardi Gras float teams (Krewe), Toubab Krewe seeks to meld African instrumentation and polyrhythms with their own North American musical upbringing and sensibilities. The group is comprised of Teal Brown (Drums), Drew Heller (guitar and soku), Justin Perkins (guitar, kona, kamel ngoni), David Pransky (bass) and Luke Quaranta (djembe). Early into the new millenium Perkins and Heller made a trip to West Africa to research musical styles, particularly in Mali. In 1999 Quaranta and Teal had gone to Guinea with a similar prerogative. By 2005 the four, plus Pransky had teamed up to become the Toubab Krewe.
Employing a mix between conventional electrical musical instruments such as drums, guitar and bass as well as traditional West African stringed instruments such as the soku, kona and the ngoni provides a fusion of polyrhythmic sounds upon which percussion instruments like the djembe and ashiko can play off. The result is a harmonic stew of rhythm and riff upon which almost anything can happen -- and often does. It is a musical medley that lends itself to inspired improvisation that is best appreciated in the live performance.
And the live performances are indeed dynamic. Absent of vocals or any of the conventional trappings or structures of mainstream music a group such as this is free to build up its instrumental foundation and harmonies which in turn allows a platform for individuals to fill space with ethereal harmonics, searing guitar riffs and trance inducing, pulsating percussions. The effect on the listener is to draw them into their space and to transport them into the above mentioned musical conversation between Africa and America.
The band has been well received in both continents as witnessed by their solid touring schedule. They have graced most of North America's larger jamband music festivals from Langerado to Wakarusa to 10,000 Lakes to Bonnaroo as well as a prestigious invite to Mali's Festival of the Desert in January of 2007. As well, they maintain a steady stream of club dates throughout the southern and eastern states of the U.S. They are currently touring the southeast from their base in North Carolina on up to Virginia and D.C.
If you are interested in finding their music for listening, their self titled 2007 release can be found at http://www.toubabkrewe.com/ as well as their 2008 live recording "Live at the Orange Peel". For a full on dose of the Toubab Krewe experience, though, it would be recommended that you seek out the bootleg recordings found at http://www.archive.org/details/ToubabKrewe ...check out, in particular, a 2007 recording at Philadelphia's World Cafe -- it is a comprehensive exposition of the band at their best and it is an outstanding recording.
Looking for some intelligent and refreshing conversation for a change? Well come on down and join the Krewe for the latest addition to a conversation that has been going on for 400 years!
One Love,
RasIanI
Monday, January 25, 2010
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The Spam Allstars: Miami's Medley of Musical Culture
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtIQzea_FBU (In residence at Hoy Como Ayer in Miami)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=473S3hF4WZE ("Ochimi"!!! Awesome song...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1HZprq8d5s (I was at this show in Key West and it was ridiculous -- searing hot musical experience)
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A little known but growing in stature band out of south Florida is The Spam Allstars. I first came to know of this band by getting up early on Sunday morning at the 2006 Langerado Music Festival (http://www.langerado.com/) only to find this funky, live band with a turntablist laying down the foundation with classic latin beats -- on top of the beats were fantastic percussions and ethereal flute notes...it was surreal and I couldn't tear myself away from it.
The Spam Allstars (http://www.spamallstars.com/) Miami Beach's answer to the 70s hybrid funk rock band Tower of Power -- South Beach Grease, if you will, to paraphrase the Oakland band's hit album "East Bay Grease" from back in the day. At the hub of it all is DJ le Spam himself (aka Andrew Yeoman), a turntable DJ well versed in Afro/Latin rhythms as well as hip hop break beats and such. Really, if its got a funky beat, he's all about it. But the band itself is so diverse it is infectious -- 10 members strong laying down a full out horn section and percussions as well as guitar licks and flute. Rich and layered barely begins to describe this sound.
Its place among the jamband genre seems dubious at first until you take in the band a few times and realize the level of improvisation that is occurring amongst this extremely tight ensemble of musicians. To quote DJ Le Spam: "I guess you can say that maybe it’s 40% improvisational. It really depends on the particular show, but at this point we’ve been playing a lot of these tracks for a long time and these guys will have their arrangements worked out. Even transitioning from one song to the next, they’ll be certain transitional beats that go with the tune. So they’ll hear a drum machine sound, or whatever the next drum rhythm pattern is, and they’ll be able to tell from that what the next song is. I guess there’s a lot of intuition at this point since we’ve been doing this for so long." ( http://www.nochelatina.com/Articles/2959/QandA-Sessions-DJ-Le-Spam) And that's what this blog grooves on!! This is a band that lives in the moment of the music that they are creating -- riffing off of each other and the beats laid down by the DJ, this band starts to smoke as they get into the grooves that they are creating and in so doing never gets stale. Evidence of this is found in the number of shows that this band does in the Miami Beach area: a quick check of their websites of their Myspace page (www.myspace.com/spamallstars) will show a steady rotation of clubs, especially Hoy Como Ayer, where they have taken up residence and are well rooted in a very busy Miami club scene. At Hoy Como Ayer they are virtually the Houseband. This is not to say that the Allstars have not taken on a national presence -- although as a band, they are not as fond as touring as they once were, and are quite comfortable in Miami, they have, at different moments over the years hit the road from Los Angeles, to Chicago, to Toronto, and the East Coast of America. Their jamband credentials, though, were validated and solidified most definitely when Phish keyboardist Page McConnell took a shine to their sound and employed the band to help him put out an album called "Vida Blue and the Spam Allstars". Or perhaps it was the Spam Allstarst that solidified Mcconnell's credentials as a funky, beat-based keyboard guy?? I guess that's a matter of opinion. Regardless of opinions, Page sat in with the band a couple of times up in Burlington, Vermont as well in the mid 2000s. These recordings are absolutely excellent examples of jamband collaboration and can be found here: http://www.archive.org/details/spam2005-11-12.dsbd The quality of the recording is excellent and there is a brief review of the show by yours truly, as well!
The Spam Allstars are a fantastic band that have been working extremely hard at creating an original musical experience amid a great deal of generic music that has been clogging up the mainstream music scene for some time. Should you find yourself in sweltering South Florida night wondering what is there to do, or perhaps just cruising the internet dreaming about such a scenario, check out this band and you won't be disappointed!!
Discography:
"Best of the Spam Allstars" (2008), "Electrodomesticos" (2007) fyi: a great review of this album can be found here: http://www.jambands.com/reviews/cds/2007/04/23/electrodomesticos-spam-allstars, "Los Roboticos Matantios" (2004), "Fuacato" (2002), "Pigs In Space" (2000), "Pork Scratchings" (1999)...as well, check out collaborations with Page McConnell's Vida Blue and with Toronto based guitarist Andrew Whiteman's (Broken Social Scene/Bourbon Tabernacle Choir) band Apostles of Hustle.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=473S3hF4WZE ("Ochimi"!!! Awesome song...)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1HZprq8d5s (I was at this show in Key West and it was ridiculous -- searing hot musical experience)
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A little known but growing in stature band out of south Florida is The Spam Allstars. I first came to know of this band by getting up early on Sunday morning at the 2006 Langerado Music Festival (http://www.langerado.com/) only to find this funky, live band with a turntablist laying down the foundation with classic latin beats -- on top of the beats were fantastic percussions and ethereal flute notes...it was surreal and I couldn't tear myself away from it.
The Spam Allstars (http://www.spamallstars.com/) Miami Beach's answer to the 70s hybrid funk rock band Tower of Power -- South Beach Grease, if you will, to paraphrase the Oakland band's hit album "East Bay Grease" from back in the day. At the hub of it all is DJ le Spam himself (aka Andrew Yeoman), a turntable DJ well versed in Afro/Latin rhythms as well as hip hop break beats and such. Really, if its got a funky beat, he's all about it. But the band itself is so diverse it is infectious -- 10 members strong laying down a full out horn section and percussions as well as guitar licks and flute. Rich and layered barely begins to describe this sound.
Its place among the jamband genre seems dubious at first until you take in the band a few times and realize the level of improvisation that is occurring amongst this extremely tight ensemble of musicians. To quote DJ Le Spam: "I guess you can say that maybe it’s 40% improvisational. It really depends on the particular show, but at this point we’ve been playing a lot of these tracks for a long time and these guys will have their arrangements worked out. Even transitioning from one song to the next, they’ll be certain transitional beats that go with the tune. So they’ll hear a drum machine sound, or whatever the next drum rhythm pattern is, and they’ll be able to tell from that what the next song is. I guess there’s a lot of intuition at this point since we’ve been doing this for so long." ( http://www.nochelatina.com/Articles/2959/QandA-Sessions-DJ-Le-Spam) And that's what this blog grooves on!! This is a band that lives in the moment of the music that they are creating -- riffing off of each other and the beats laid down by the DJ, this band starts to smoke as they get into the grooves that they are creating and in so doing never gets stale. Evidence of this is found in the number of shows that this band does in the Miami Beach area: a quick check of their websites of their Myspace page (www.myspace.com/spamallstars) will show a steady rotation of clubs, especially Hoy Como Ayer, where they have taken up residence and are well rooted in a very busy Miami club scene. At Hoy Como Ayer they are virtually the Houseband. This is not to say that the Allstars have not taken on a national presence -- although as a band, they are not as fond as touring as they once were, and are quite comfortable in Miami, they have, at different moments over the years hit the road from Los Angeles, to Chicago, to Toronto, and the East Coast of America. Their jamband credentials, though, were validated and solidified most definitely when Phish keyboardist Page McConnell took a shine to their sound and employed the band to help him put out an album called "Vida Blue and the Spam Allstars". Or perhaps it was the Spam Allstarst that solidified Mcconnell's credentials as a funky, beat-based keyboard guy?? I guess that's a matter of opinion. Regardless of opinions, Page sat in with the band a couple of times up in Burlington, Vermont as well in the mid 2000s. These recordings are absolutely excellent examples of jamband collaboration and can be found here: http://www.archive.org/details/spam2005-11-12.dsbd The quality of the recording is excellent and there is a brief review of the show by yours truly, as well!
The Spam Allstars are a fantastic band that have been working extremely hard at creating an original musical experience amid a great deal of generic music that has been clogging up the mainstream music scene for some time. Should you find yourself in sweltering South Florida night wondering what is there to do, or perhaps just cruising the internet dreaming about such a scenario, check out this band and you won't be disappointed!!
Discography:
"Best of the Spam Allstars" (2008), "Electrodomesticos" (2007) fyi: a great review of this album can be found here: http://www.jambands.com/reviews/cds/2007/04/23/electrodomesticos-spam-allstars, "Los Roboticos Matantios" (2004), "Fuacato" (2002), "Pigs In Space" (2000), "Pork Scratchings" (1999)...as well, check out collaborations with Page McConnell's Vida Blue and with Toronto based guitarist Andrew Whiteman's (Broken Social Scene/Bourbon Tabernacle Choir) band Apostles of Hustle.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Steve Kimock: The Best Guitarist Nobody Knows About
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=61hh03Lbqcs (unique studio effort and collection of artists doing "Tongue and Groove"..beautiful)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brwSbmR4DzE (Crazy Engine Doing JGB classic "Thats What Love Will Make You Do"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=311UL70d1L4 (SKB doing "Cole's Law"...Perhaps Kimock at his introspective best)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD4HJoKKEyg (Highlights from an electric "T n G")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQw4HQgLrEM (Just raw jamming -- sweet, spacey improvisation talents at work!)
It was truly difficult to troll through the vast body of work for Steve Kimock and just choose "a couple" of clips to try and illustrate the genius that is his guitarwork. The video clips posted above still barely serves to scratch the surface of the depth and breadth of this man's imagination and talent for improvisational, face melting guitar skill.
Pennsylvania born guitarist Steve Kimock cut his teeth playing in the San Francisco Bay area in the mid-70s falling in with the Grateful Dead laced vibes that permeated that scene. He started out with the Goodman Bros as well as with one-time Grateful Dead bandmates Jean and Donna Goddchaux's Heart of Gold Band. Later years would see him play with all Dead bandmates in one form or another whether it be standing up in Jerry Garcia's absence after his death with The Other Ones in the late 90's, filling in for Mark Karan in Bob Weir's band Ratdog, or playing with the Rhythm Devil's -- these are just examples of his link with the Grateful Dead. His ability to get in tune with this music may be his association with Jerry Garcia prior to his death. Garcia served as a sort of unofficial mentor to him and once, it is said, referred to him as "the best guitarist nobody knows about".
Lest anyone get the idea that Kimock is just some kind of Grateful Dead knock off, it should be noted that he is a superb and original talent in his own right. While he may have incorporated a great deal of the Dead's music into his repetoire throughout his career, he has been a prolific songwriter on his own. Perhaps Kimock's most interesting work was with a band called Zero in the late 80's and 90's. Penning such classic songs as "Cole's Law", "Tangled Hangers" or "Tongue 'n' Groove" (see above video links) allowed Kimock to establish his own profile and to soar into the musical stratosphere with devastating fills and licks up and down the fretboard of his ever growing collection of unique sounding instruments.
Part of Kimock's genius has grown out of his love for what he does. He is a man that is totally dedicated to his craft and has been since he first fell in love with playing guitar. The thought that he would ever do anything else with his life I am sure was always a foreign concept to him. If you go see a Kimock show you will see this quiet and unassuming man moving about his area of the stage during soundchecks and prior to show checking and double-checking his equipment on his own. Where many a professional guitarist will employ a technician to ensure that his instruments are tuned, strings oiled, etc -- Kimock does all of this himself out of the deep and personal connection that he has with each and every instrument he has garnered throughout the years. His love for what he does is obvious in his attention to detail and his body language when he plays.
Despite his success with Zero nationally, and after a brief stint with a rendition of Zero called KVMH, Kimock struck out on his own in the new millenium with his own collection of talent under the form of either Steve Kimock and Friends or, more commonly, the Steve Kimock Band. Employing the talents of grammy award winning drummer Rodney Holmes among others, Kimock gave himself a platform upon which his prodigious guitar talents could shine through. While the band itself did not grow to the proportions of Zero, it was a must see for anyone looking to catch one of the hottest guitar talents out there. The link below is a review I did of a 2006 Ft. Lauderdale show that I attended with my son -- outstanding stuff -- the show, not my review!! (http://www.jambands.com/reviews/shows/2006/01/27/steve-kimock-band-culture-room-ft-lauderdale-fl-1-13?sms_ss=favorites).
Kimock has shelved his solo projects for the time being and has continued to tour with a couple of different new bands. He and Zero re-formed for a moment in the late 2000s as well as his work with the Goodman Bros. In addition he has done some sidebar work with ex-String Cheese Incident members Michael Travis and Jason Hahn in both E.O.T.O and Praang -- both are electro/psychadelia/percussion based instrumental bands that just beg for some face melting guitar tear drop shots that Kimock has been more than willing to oblige them with. But for now, Kimock has teamed up with Zero bassist Bobby Vega, former Jerry Garcia Band keyboardist Melvin Seals, and his son John Morgan Kimock on drums to form a tight unit called Crazy Engine that is touring the nation and Europe to rave reviews. Do what you do, Steve!!
For further information on all things Kimock check him out at http://www.kimock.com/ or better yet, give a listen to his vast collection of shows that can be found here at:
http://www.archive.org/browse.php?collection=etree&field=%2Fmetadata%2Fcreator
Just put any of the renditions of this man's musical journey into the search engine, from Zero to SKB to Praang to Crazy Engine and you will come up with more face melting beauty than you might ever wish for!!
One Love til next time
Ras I an I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brwSbmR4DzE (Crazy Engine Doing JGB classic "Thats What Love Will Make You Do"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=311UL70d1L4 (SKB doing "Cole's Law"...Perhaps Kimock at his introspective best)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BD4HJoKKEyg (Highlights from an electric "T n G")
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQw4HQgLrEM (Just raw jamming -- sweet, spacey improvisation talents at work!)
It was truly difficult to troll through the vast body of work for Steve Kimock and just choose "a couple" of clips to try and illustrate the genius that is his guitarwork. The video clips posted above still barely serves to scratch the surface of the depth and breadth of this man's imagination and talent for improvisational, face melting guitar skill.
Pennsylvania born guitarist Steve Kimock cut his teeth playing in the San Francisco Bay area in the mid-70s falling in with the Grateful Dead laced vibes that permeated that scene. He started out with the Goodman Bros as well as with one-time Grateful Dead bandmates Jean and Donna Goddchaux's Heart of Gold Band. Later years would see him play with all Dead bandmates in one form or another whether it be standing up in Jerry Garcia's absence after his death with The Other Ones in the late 90's, filling in for Mark Karan in Bob Weir's band Ratdog, or playing with the Rhythm Devil's -- these are just examples of his link with the Grateful Dead. His ability to get in tune with this music may be his association with Jerry Garcia prior to his death. Garcia served as a sort of unofficial mentor to him and once, it is said, referred to him as "the best guitarist nobody knows about".
Lest anyone get the idea that Kimock is just some kind of Grateful Dead knock off, it should be noted that he is a superb and original talent in his own right. While he may have incorporated a great deal of the Dead's music into his repetoire throughout his career, he has been a prolific songwriter on his own. Perhaps Kimock's most interesting work was with a band called Zero in the late 80's and 90's. Penning such classic songs as "Cole's Law", "Tangled Hangers" or "Tongue 'n' Groove" (see above video links) allowed Kimock to establish his own profile and to soar into the musical stratosphere with devastating fills and licks up and down the fretboard of his ever growing collection of unique sounding instruments.
Part of Kimock's genius has grown out of his love for what he does. He is a man that is totally dedicated to his craft and has been since he first fell in love with playing guitar. The thought that he would ever do anything else with his life I am sure was always a foreign concept to him. If you go see a Kimock show you will see this quiet and unassuming man moving about his area of the stage during soundchecks and prior to show checking and double-checking his equipment on his own. Where many a professional guitarist will employ a technician to ensure that his instruments are tuned, strings oiled, etc -- Kimock does all of this himself out of the deep and personal connection that he has with each and every instrument he has garnered throughout the years. His love for what he does is obvious in his attention to detail and his body language when he plays.
Despite his success with Zero nationally, and after a brief stint with a rendition of Zero called KVMH, Kimock struck out on his own in the new millenium with his own collection of talent under the form of either Steve Kimock and Friends or, more commonly, the Steve Kimock Band. Employing the talents of grammy award winning drummer Rodney Holmes among others, Kimock gave himself a platform upon which his prodigious guitar talents could shine through. While the band itself did not grow to the proportions of Zero, it was a must see for anyone looking to catch one of the hottest guitar talents out there. The link below is a review I did of a 2006 Ft. Lauderdale show that I attended with my son -- outstanding stuff -- the show, not my review!! (http://www.jambands.com/reviews/shows/2006/01/27/steve-kimock-band-culture-room-ft-lauderdale-fl-1-13?sms_ss=favorites).
Kimock has shelved his solo projects for the time being and has continued to tour with a couple of different new bands. He and Zero re-formed for a moment in the late 2000s as well as his work with the Goodman Bros. In addition he has done some sidebar work with ex-String Cheese Incident members Michael Travis and Jason Hahn in both E.O.T.O and Praang -- both are electro/psychadelia/percussion based instrumental bands that just beg for some face melting guitar tear drop shots that Kimock has been more than willing to oblige them with. But for now, Kimock has teamed up with Zero bassist Bobby Vega, former Jerry Garcia Band keyboardist Melvin Seals, and his son John Morgan Kimock on drums to form a tight unit called Crazy Engine that is touring the nation and Europe to rave reviews. Do what you do, Steve!!
For further information on all things Kimock check him out at http://www.kimock.com/ or better yet, give a listen to his vast collection of shows that can be found here at:
http://www.archive.org/browse.php?collection=etree&field=%2Fmetadata%2Fcreator
Just put any of the renditions of this man's musical journey into the search engine, from Zero to SKB to Praang to Crazy Engine and you will come up with more face melting beauty than you might ever wish for!!
One Love til next time
Ras I an I
Monday, January 4, 2010
Derek Trucks and The Derek Trucks Band
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-UqKh_SaUI Great version of "Rastaman Chant"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N65cP52NC8s Sahib Teri Bandi - Eastern Qwali influence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p2FUqRl-_Qo Playin' In the Band! Doing Grateful Music!!
Derek Trucks! What can you say...well, plenty it would seem. Jacksonville, Florida born and Atlanta based guitarist Derek Trucks is the closest thing to a legitimate "child prodigy" in music that this generation has seen in a long time. Just cresting past his 30th birthday in the last year, Trucks has been on the road since the early 90s with his own band as well as guesting with the Allman Brothers Band.
Trucks lineage is definitely unquestioned as he grew watching many, many great artists - especially guitarists - as his uncle, Butch Trucks, has been an original member of the Allman Bros Band and brought Derek along for the ride once his love of guitar and music was evident. Trucks resisted the inevitable pull towards being typecast in the Allman's style of music which opened him up to eastern styles of music as well as to jazz greats like John Coltrane for example. But the allure of his upbringing and heritage was strong enough to pull him into the southern blues and rock styles -- especially once he joined the Allmans as a permanent member in 1999. Destiny deferred no longer! Truly, Trucks and his band can only truly be described as "world beat music", so eclectic and diverse is their world perspective and influences.
Trucks has got to be one of the busiest guys out there on the jamband-land. This man and his band(s) probably does upwards of 300 shows per year. Between his work with the Allman's and his own band, Trucks also toured with Eric Clapton's band in 2008 as well as his work with his wife Susan Tedeschi -- no shrinking violet as a blues guitarist and singer in her own right. The couple have been meshing their bands in recent years in a project called the Soul Stew Revival.
For fans of world beats as well as slide guitar afficianados, Derek Trucks IS the man. He is one of the true originals out there in the new millenium.
You can find all kinds of Derek Trucks' music and further information on him at these URLs!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derek_Trucks
http://www.archive.org/details/dtb2005-04-15.shnf (this was one of my favourite Trucks shows EVER!! Check out my review of this show as the bottom)
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Why we love Jams!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDMKTdTYjq8
As a follow up to our New Year's Eve post, let the above YouTube link do the talking for us! This is why we love band's that jam -- this is Widespread Panic doing what they do every night and every show. Click and give it a watch and a listen and you will see what the jamheads love!
This was a show in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla in 2007 at the Langerado Festival which they headlined and I attended representing WFIT Radio. It was an awesome show!
As a follow up to our New Year's Eve post, let the above YouTube link do the talking for us! This is why we love band's that jam -- this is Widespread Panic doing what they do every night and every show. Click and give it a watch and a listen and you will see what the jamheads love!
This was a show in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla in 2007 at the Langerado Festival which they headlined and I attended representing WFIT Radio. It was an awesome show!
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