Conference napalm::guitar

      I think with XTC, Andy Partridge has a problem with stage fright
    (seriously). I'm not sure of the date, but they tried to gig out
    one night and Partridge just mentally flipped out nauseaously
    and couldn't go back on.
      I think that was just an extra excuse to say that they were 
    never very good on stage. Partridge also has a family, that might 
    be an element too. 

>>>    On the other end of the spectrum, I read an interview with David
>>>    Hood, the bassist with the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section who has
>>>    graced records by everyone from Aretha Franklin to Paul Simon where
>>>    he discussed his one and only road experience, the Traffic world
>>>    tour of 1972-1973.
    
    I'd appreciate a pointer to this interview.
    
    If this was Traffic's final tour (supporting the "why isn't is on CD"
    When The Eagle Flies album), then I could understand why this was NOT a
    good road experience.   If it was another tour but still simiar, I can
    understand why it would put one off touring.  Due to a combination of
    drug, alcohol, equipment, etc. problems, the late Chris Wood only
    managed to play about 12 notes during the whole concert I saw at Boston
    Garden.  Luckily, the rest of the band did pretty well.
    
    - John -

    I do some recording at home, trying to get my original stuff on
    tape to share with folks (and falling furthur and furthur behind
    every time I write another song). I enjoy the recording process
    (most of the time anyway) and definately enjoy the finished product,
    when it turns out good anyway.
    
    However, I love to perform, even old moldy standards.
    
    for what it's worth
    
    dbii

I have this recurring daydream wherein everybody has a DAT deck and all the 
LP's, CD's and tapes have been duped and bootlegged, so there's no more 
profit in recording.  The music consuming public grows weary of the old 
recordings and, in desperation, turns to ...... LIVE MUSIC!  

This, of course, sparks a renaissance in local and regional music, culture 
and arts, and the homogenized masses gradually become aware of a sense of
personal and cultural identity which blossoms into a new humanism leading
to the salvation of the Earth and mankind and then the phone rings and some 
bithead doing Star Wars research wants to know how to improve his system's
responsiveness so his missiles will be more accurate and kill more Russians
and I go home and drink a beer and listen to loud Cajun music on the 
phonograph.

I daydream a lot.

Bob
    

    Re: .3
    
    Yes, Dave, but do you find that one replaces the other?  For instance,
    when you write a song, do you think that you will play it enough
    times to get it onto tape and then never play it again?
    
    Also, since I still haven't had a chance to hear you in person,
    the only way I can judge your music is by a couple of COMMUSIC tapes.
    How do you feel about those recordings being the only representation
    of what you do?
    
    And what if you could never record again?  Would you stop playing
    music?
    
    These are the kind of issues I was interested in hearing people
    talk about.
    
    Re: .4
    
    Gee, a live music revival?  What a great idea....what does live
    music sound like anyway?
    
    

    >WIll one replace the other?
     Good question. For myself, I found after 4.5 years of nothing but
    jamming with myself in the studio, I couldn't get interested in
    my music anymore. I found myself slavering over the thought of playing
    clubs again, even though when I quit I felt I'd never want to do
    that again. Recording is one side of the whole experience for me,
    performing is the other, neither is complete in itself. I actually
    prefer to perform than record, however, if I record in a real studio
    with a band (and leave all the knob twirling to others) it's
    considerably more rewarding than 6 hr.s of drum machine programming
    followed by endless attempts to write/record a bass line etc...
    
    >Commusic tapes....
    
    They are not a good representation of my work, the earliest stuff
    was recorded in a matter of a few hours, with little real effort
    put into making the parts "just so", instead they're more scratchpad
    stuff that I would use to demo a song to a band for purposes of
    preparing to perform the songs. WIth one exception, the latest
    submission (on the yet to be released CM VI) was recorded with a
    great deal of effort to make it sound "radio ready", but by no means
    is it a finished product.
    
    >if I could never record again would I stop playing?
    
    No, as a matter of fact I've thought of dumping the studio for the
    cash and concentrating on just being a "good ole boy" and playing
    out for the fun and income. As a musician I don't need the studio,
    but my lengthy abstinance from playing convinced me that to stay
    fresh and interested I do need to perform.
    
    If I could never perform again, but only record I predict that my
    output would drop off and my interest would wane, followed by periods
    of intense songwriting and sporatic recording. I still write, but
    I don't really stay in shape, and I begin to lose patience with
    the process of solo recording. My results are less than consistant
    in that type of situation.
    
    I need to interact with other musicians to stay fresh and interested in
    my skills as a musician. Currently I have done that by working with 2
    bands, one is a labor of love (LAEAST, and on hold for personal
    injuries) a fairly serious orginal platform for blues, the other
    (Deeper in Debt) is a fun gig, with a focus on what little income we
    can glean from it playing a variety of songs from as far back as the
    60's right up to today, it works and we're getting booked pretty solid.
    I find this much more satisfying than just recording..... 
    
    dbii
                          
    

    
    interesting topic.  Until the recent "anarchy jam", i had not even
    jammed with someone in 10 years, and i have not gigged since nov
    75.  Up until then i had written 100+ songs and performed as a
    solo, and played both guitar and bass in bands. Then came DEC
    and i got distracted for some 12 years or so.
    
    over the last 2 years, i bought a cheap fostex(x-15), a real cheap
    bass, and cheaper microphone, and started out learning how to use
    it.  At first i was thrilled just to put old songs on tape with
    more than just guitar and vocal. However, these were all very quick
    and dirty and really not too good. Along the way i discovered that
    electronic drummers  helped me keep time a whole lot better, and
    up until recently, i've had a real fine time trying to perfect some
    recordings. Since my budget requires low-tech solutions, i've been
    studying the Beatle recording logs for clever solutions and really
    having one hell of a good time.
    
    But then comes the recent DEC jam and i finally get up the nerve
    to go out and play again. Boy, a whole week of real nervous and
    terrible rehearsing with old "live" albums. And the result? I had
    a blast playing live! I had such a good time, i really didn't care
    about any fluff's or whatever. I realize now, i really miss that
    aspect of it all! I do really enjoy recording, but that getting
    up front of an audience, and playing with other musicians was
    basically a real thrill. 
    
    I suspect though that any public performances from me will still
    be few and far between. 
    
    bs

	I was in the same band for about 8 years.  The last 2 weren't much
	fun.  Ego trips and distractions stemming from jobs, grad school
	and relationships put a close to some pretty nice years.  Since we
	broke up, I've been writing a lot more and find myself to be much
	more disciplined (musically, that is!).

	I spend a lot of time rewriting and "perfecting" my compositions
	ever since I began to put stuff on tape.  I guess the most important
	difference I see in my playing style is a lack of ego and more
	emphasis on technique.  I seem to have moved from a "stomp box mode"
	to a mellower (and almost completely acoustic guitar) scenario.

	I'd be curious to know if others who've made the switch feel this way.

	/ravi

    re: .8 At first when I left my band, I was very interested in putting
    my  time into writing and having the time to do a good job of it. At
    that time I thought that nothing would get me back into the "human juke
    box" mode for drunken ass***** ever again, I hated clubs, club owners,
    bands and the entire scene (for all the same reasons as you). Then I
    grew ever more bored and less and less disciplined, eventually this
    became clear to me and now I'm looking forward to our first gig
    next weekend...
    
    dbii 

A lot of talking has gone on about live vs. record from the performer's point of
view.  What about as an audience.  Do you prefer rock bands who have knockout 
shows or knockout records.  Does it bother you that XTC doesn't tour, or that 
fIREHOSE's records pale next to their live shows?

    One of my favorite guitarist almost never tours, I wish he would
    so I could see him once but I still buy his albums...
    
    
    
    Jeff Beck of course!
    
    dbii

    Re: .10
    
    That's a tough call.  I hear more recorded music than live music
    these days so I have to judge a lot of people by the recording. 
    On the other hand, I *prefer* the live experience, so it's a drag
    when I check someone out who has great records and they do a crappy
    show or I buy a record after a great show and find it to be garbage.

    What I have gotten to really enjoy is live tapes, radio concerts,
    soundboard boots, etc. as they are closer to the "live" thing. 
    I also appreciate producers who can make the record sound "live",
    some good examples are Nick Lowe, David Kershenbaum (did Joe Jackson's
    "Look Sharp" and Tracy Chapman) and Bruce Iglauer (who does most
    of the Alligator releases).
    
    In my own recording, I wish it was possible to do more truly live work
    in the studio, but with budget constraints, overdubs and punch-ins make
    a project a lot more manageable.  This in itself is a great evil. Most
    recordings done prior to 1967 were essentially done live, with vocal
    overdubbing starting to appear in the early 60s.   Listening to classic
    jazz albums of the late 50s that were recorded direct to 2-track, then
    remastered for CD, one is amazed at how good the sound is.  24 tracks
    doesn't add to that, it just makes it easier to fix blown takes.  This
    in turn leads to some lazy musicianship, you only need to get it right
    once. Ideally you should be able to get it right every time you play
    it. 
    
    And of course, I am *always* dissatisfied with my recorded
    performances, thinking that they lack the fire that I *think* I
    have live.