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| TUESDAY
November 3, 1998
Tonight's Gig: Harmony On 5th - San Diego Let's Debate On The Barflies List! I just had to post something to the barflies list recently. People on the list are debating? arguing? maybe bickering about what is ska and what's not, what is swing and what is not... It just hurts me greatly to see that everyone's missing the point! That music is the universal language of mankind. Ideally, music should be uplifting enough to stand on its own, and that music should know no boundaries. Here was my post that attempted to drive the point across: Kiersten Lednik wrote: <<< Okay here's the deal...I have heard enough about the difference between ska and swing over the past three days to last me a fucking lifetime. Can we just end already?! >>>
Kiersten, Well, I totally agree with you, but there's no getting around the fact that everyone on this list has a right to express his/her opinion about something. I don't like what I'm reading here too, but what can I do about the matter. People are going to express themselves in what manner they feel like. I can't stop them, neither can you. I just wish people had more of an appreciation
for 'music' in a way as not to say one is better than the other, or that
a band is more ska or more swing than another. Being a working musician
myself, it hurts me that people feel this way. All I ever wanted
was to play music. It doesn't matter what music it is, I love it
all. I've played ska, swing, latin, alternative, punk...
If we are all supposed to be so open-minded and hip to a lot of things, and more open to a lot more different styles of music than ever before, then why do we have to be so narrow-minded in our approach to label this music? It's almost as if we appreciate the music we like by comparing it to other forms, and not just appreciate the music for what it actually is (the music by itself). I mentioned Led Zeppelin the other day
and someone says they're the greatest band on the planet (or something
like that), then another person replies that
Anyway, Kiersten. I understand where you're coming from. I don't post often on this list like I used to, but when I come across a message on this list that begs for a reply, I can't resist. I just hope that some of you can see the futility of trying to put a 'label' on something, especially in music. Relax everyone, let's just appreciate the music itself. There's a lot of truly great music out there that defies category. I hope you can see where I'm coming from as far as approaching MUSIC as a universal language that SHOULD defy categorization! "...as long as it comes from the heart...", that is my concept for appreciation of music. Take care people! CR
Final Days Before The Tour I am getting excited over this upcoming tour. I know it'll be quite an experience. From the San Fransisco Bay Area to Portland, Oregon, then down to Scottsdale, Arizona, then up to Seattle, Washington. From Seattle we go to Las Vegas, then to Orlando, Florida for a show at Disney World, then back to Las Vegas for two shows at the Freemont Street Experience! Wow, what a schedule!!! Practicing My @$$ Off... I practiced this morning before getting the kids off to school, while they were eating their cereal. When my youngest son was finished with breakfast, we both watched the Buddy Rich video for awhile. My son asked me, "was he the world's fastest drummer?" I simply said, "he was the world's greatest drummer". I practiced for another hour just after lunch and ended up watching the Buddy Rich video again, studying his left hand. The beauty of these videos is that you get a bird's eye view of what Buddy is actually doing, but he is playing so fast that you simply have to watch it over and over again to really see what he's doing... if you can! I Picked Up The New Zoot Suit I picked up the new zoot suit from Lee's today and I have to admit, this is the sharpest looking suit I've ever bought. I think it was a 'good sign' that I was able to find a parking spot almost directly in front of the store! I try not to be a superstitious person but sometimes I look at little things like that as a signal in my head that it's good to go. Anyway, I did get a lot of compliments on the suit later on. The Harmony On 5th - A New Supper Club It was a strange night for me at Harmony. After practicing hard today, I felt rather weak during my performance tonight. I don't think anybody noticed, but it was one of those things in which I was self-conscious about it all evening, up until I did my solo on Sing, Sing, Sing. During the solo I kept thinking Buddy Rich, Buddy Rich.... afterwards I received lots of applause from the audience and from my fellow band members! I wasn't sure whether I was thankful that I got through it, or whether I should just admit that my efforts to try and sound like Buddy Rich had succeeded. Either way, I guess it was a good night for me. I think in my mind that I've seriously made a committment to really start playing like Buddy Rich, regardless of how daunting the task may be. Buddy is the ultimate drummer and no one's really achieved the speed and technical proficiency he had achieved. I figured in my mind that if I had made it this far, I could take it a step further. There was a young lady named Heather who finally asked us to sign her 'High Altitude Swing' CD. She said she'd been wanting us to sign it for the last two months but just didn't have the 'golden' opportunity. Now she had. We talked about the movies that were playing in the theaters right now... about how "Pleasantville' was.... rather pleasant, and that the movie 'Vampires' wasn't worth the time. I told her I almost fell asleep during 'Pleasantville', but it was due more to the airconditioner in the theater not working or something. She said some nice things about the band, and the fact that she had been following us for the past two months. I thought that was nice to hear. I'm always thankful of all the people whom I have befriended at the gigs, and how they are faithful followers of the band. It really is someting I am thankful for... There was an old gentleman that came up to me and complimented me on my drumming. We talked about how the young people were now getting into this swing music. This older gent said that tonight he was swing dancing with his granddaughter, and that it really was 'something else' to be able to do that. He talked about the old days, and said he was grateful that we're bringing it all back. I told him I thought that the youth of America was ready to hear some 'real' music with substance, and that all this alternative and punk music had probably run its course. After talking with this older gent who had lived the swing era, I felt rather touched that he and I could connect, two people from different generations. It seems things were different in my view, say maybe a decade and a half ago... I think it is really special when different generations can connect like this. I feel this is one of the fruits of this second swing era!
Most Recent CDs Played:
Carlos Rull 
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