Something to move the soul

https://youtu.be/cpuih-GJkPw

Ewan Dobson: Master Guitarist

Ok...been more than a week, and I am hoping my perspective is a bit more balanced. I cannot saying such things outloud as "best guitarist I know of"...and astounding talent....the list goes on. I "found" Ewan Dobson online somehow, a little over two years ago, and learning what I did about the man, I wasn't certain I would ever get to see him play live. Obviously, I have, and in having a few moments to chat with him, and about 2 hours of the most amazing music and musicianship, I have learned there is a quick mind, deep heart, and immense talent behind every piece I have heard from him. As of right now, I think I own all but 3 of his nearly one dozen albums, and I cannot get enough. I also can't play him while driving, cos I am likely to get a ticket for speeding! Sleep calls right now- but I will be writing more about this astounding (there I go again!) fellow, hopefully to let the world know they should be paying attention.

RIP Cynthia Lennon

Today, ex of John and mother of Julian passed away from cancer. I hate getting older, and I hate watching others fall to the wayside like this. You really did well by us, ma'am, raising an amazing son, who has as much or more talent than his dad. I know Jules will miss you terribly. So will the world. http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/john-lennons-wife-cynthia-lennon-dies-75/story?id=30046686

Report From The Front...and the Back too.....

Good morning, Mr. And Mrs. America, and all the Ships at Sea. That would be all of you out there in Del Castillo land who didn't get to attend last night's final concert for DC....wherever you are. It was a normal DC gig, cept they pulled a few oldies out of the hat, like Castles and Perdoname (thank you, my brothers. That one lives in my heart forever.) I , and I suspect quite a few like me, spent much of the time trying to absorb for future memory all the details this brain could hold, so I can pull it back up again later. About half way thru I got distracted with a problem that worried quite a few of us thru the rest of the gig- Rick had pulled his back out the day before and it was causing him amazing pain. He played every last note though, to the credit of a consummate professional. I am hoping and praying he and Faith got home last night alright, and that he heals quickly. I have only had about 4 hours sleep, so am not getting the clarity of thought I want. I will do some stuff to clear the head, and try to give you better reporting in a bit. ~J

written at work, 25 June 2014 Oh good. The one day I really feel the need to relate to people I know on FB and the connectivity at work is down. Can’t check weather. Can’t check news. Can’t commiserate with fellow Del Castillo fans that we will no longer have places to get together and celebrate with the band….. Yeah, you read that right. DC announced late last night that they had decided after 14 years to call it quits….or to word it their way- an indefinite hiatus. There are a bunch of gigs between now and cutoff date October 5th that I will do my dangedest to be at, but the mere idea that there won’t be any more tours, any more time to go catch them in Europe, maybe not even any more CDs. Aye. My world has gotten duller already. I want to celebrate the amazingness that they have been- and are- in my heart and this world. I hope I can be a good positive fan until the end. I mean, I very much believe in a person’s right to choose a respectable, dignified exit from this world. Why not a band’s? The idea of “better to burn out,rather than fade away”

Patrick Moraz ...Etudes, Sonatas, Preludes

http://www.patrickmoraz.com/sound-1.htm

Please go to the above link and learn why I gush over this man to any who will listen to me.

I was absolutely mortified at myself to realize that hadn't written anything about this man or this album when it came out. Patrick's career goes back to the early 70s, and includes working with people like Chick Corea, Yes, The Moody Blues, Syrinx, Bill Bruford.....His virtuosity and extraordinary talent get lost to the backdrop of "pop" or more properly termed popular music, but I tell you this man is a modern Mozart.
All the others will fall to the wayside overtime, but I know what this man has composed, especially on the above album will live on for generations.

I am something of a classical music buff, though only something of. My ears know what works and what doesn't and the best of the classical world is usually a musical challenge to the player. Patrick composes and plays his own work, as he has for most of his 60-odd years. I can tell you something about the man by describing how I know he recorded this album.He doesn't even have to verify this- I know it is how he works. If the entire piece didn't work, felt wrong or didn't sound right on a playback, he recorded it again, as you hear it, verbatim. There is no manipulating in the studio.

Why? Because that is how he is.

Back in the mid 1990s, he did a small show tour of the US, playing for audiences often less than 100 at a seating. I was with him in Dallas for the show there, and witnessed something most of us will never experience again.
Patrick came out into the audience before the show, shook hands with and talked to everyone in the room, including bartenders, staff, me....I'd been with him much of the day at that point. The whole show was Patrick and a baby Grand piano, nothing else- not even any amplification. After going back to the stage he said "Thank you all for coming. I would like to now give back some of what you have just given me."

The man sat down and began a completely improvised piece of music, encompassing every emotion in the spectrum, drawing all those in the room into his world, his music, and making us all part of each other in the process.

One and a half HOURS later......he started the concert. We were all drained, put thru an emotional wringer, and still, he caught us up even further and took us on a journey even further into his world. My level of elation and exhaustion was unmeasurable. All of the people I went with were unable to speak about the experience for hours afterwards. There were no words. It was one of those moments that elude even the best poet. To this day I have not experienced a more intense, moving and utterly engulfing concert. I am not sure I could survive another.

But then again...what an astounding way to leave this mortal coil, if that be the case.

I haven't felt like writing much in the last year or so, for reasons I would have trouble explaining. This movie is probably going to bring out in me a whole lot of new thoughts. At the very least, every one who can, needs to see this film- Music truly IS Everything.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/us-news-blog/2012/apr/12/alive-inside-documentary-healing-music

San Antonio ain't totally lame.

http://morrisorchids.bandcamp.com/

Ok, this city isn't always as exciting as I would like, but maybe that's a good thing? It might be better for those who do strive to be heard to have the ability to be heard over the din in,say,Austin. Here, one might actually be able to find someone new who doesn't have to leave town to get a break. I saw these fellows, or part of the band anyway under a different name, and am now sorry I didn't buy a tee-shirt or something to support their efforts. This is by far the best thing to come out of the city in a long time- new that is. My regs are still there, and I remain a fan, but it is always nice to hear something new be given space.

I've been mostly busy being a photographer, not the writer, but will endeavour to bring some more of what's being going on around here to the light. namaste!

In Pace Requisact

I haven't had the words. I don't know that I ever will. He's not here anymore, and I am. Life really sucks sometimes.

Somethings One Cannot Predict

I am headed shortly to Hamburg Germany, and intend to tour some of the more famous places (or what's left of them)that had to do with the very early Beatles. Before they became a household name, they had to pay their dues- unlike too many "idols" trying to get around the lessons to be learned on that path.
As I was studying the info online and in books about what and where, I came across this, ironically in an article about computer tomography. I recently started a new job in that business- it is better known in the world as Catscan, or CT scan. What a wild connection to make in the same brief timespan!

******************************************************
The Beatles greatest gift... is to science


As the penultimate activity for Highgate Science Week, on Friday 18 March Dr Ben Timmis, Consultant Radiologist at the Whittington Hospital, gave a lecture about the invention, development and future of the CT scanner – and what the chart-topping band The Beatles did to help its production.



Many people have had their lives saved by the pioneering scanning device, which enables doctors to view the internal structures of patients’ bodies by taking very thin (often a fraction of a centimetre) x-ray ‘slices’ across the body. Dr Timmis hailed the scanner as having had “a profound impact on modern medicine” and claimed it as one of the top five medical developments of the twentieth century.



Using the CT scanner radiologists are able to view the soft tissues in the body, which cannot easily be seen by conventional x-ray techniques, so any abnormalities can more easily be detected, lessening the need for diagnostic operations.



As a direct result of The Beatles’ success, Dr Timmis claimed, the scanner’s inventor, Sir Godfrey Hounsfield, was able to devote about four years developing the scanner from its 1968 prototype, to something that could be used in a clinical setting. His work was done in the Central Research Laboratory, a facility near Heathrow airport that was part of the EMI Group. Having sold 200 million of the Fab Four’s singles, (at seven inches, almost enough vinyl to stretch the length of the equator) the Beatles’ record company, EMI, was able to fund Hounsfield to do his research and the scanner was ready be used in hospitals in the 1970’s.



Dr Timmis said that EMI’s research had initially estimated a worldwide need for only 25 of the machines, but thanks to their decision to invest in the pioneering technology, now there are thousands of the scanners worldwide being used in hospitals every day.


http://www.whittington.nhs.uk/default.asp?c=2804&t=1

lessons

Listening to Chick Corea's Children's Songs. I am struck by something....music is , at its best, like a forgotten dream, a resonance of something just on the outskirts of our collective memory.
The resonant quality of string- piano, viola, guitar, or whatever- remind me still of the sounds created by planets and stars thru out the known universe. Something sings still, deep down inside, and demands to be let out, reproduced n response to what we unconsciously hear, or mayhaps, remember. No matter what musical form from the earliest days of man, there is a demand for harmony and melody, patterning to the sounds created. It is only since we have become cut off from the natural world, so overwhelmed by sound, such as the highway that dirtys up the peace of my backyard, that the sounds have started to be so discordant as to be offensive to the ear. Most metal music is not produced in small villages. It comes from the loud, obnoxious big cities around the world, born of the rats-in-a-cage syndrome.


Ah, I rant, the scientist, the poet, and the philosopher battling for supramacy. I am just glad for the music that passes into my life. It is balm to my troubled soul.


With heavy heart, I also note the passing of yet another musician from my own past, as well as a lot of the world. Doug Feiger of The Knack lost the battle with cancer recently. He is fondly remembered by the world for bright perky pop that could make a heavy world seem lighter, if only for 3 and a half minutes at a time! RIP, Doug.

Michael Martin and the Infidels

It is amazing how one can miss what is directly in front of one’s self, when living in a huge city. Most who visit don’t realize how big a place San Antonio is or how much it has to offer,to the local or the visitour. Take me for example- I know this city, but was just pleasantly surprised last night to find a “new’ band to go out to see now and then. Michael Martin apparently has been playing for a long time, and while I’ve heard the name the Infidels, I paid little heed. I was usually busy with whomever I was working with at the time and my vision of the city as a whole was limited as a result. Often is the time I have heard people complain about there being nothing to do in this city, and I know they are wrong. It may not all be YOUR cup of tea, but there is music everywhere here. I have come to think that even if Austin has more venues with live music on a daily basis, San Antonio offers a cultural diversity Austin can’t touch. I also think that SA offers the artists a more lively, interested crowd in general. I watch people up north of here pay to get into see a band and then act incredibly bored by the whole thing. Does make me wonder why the heck they didn’t just stay home and listen to some CDs instead.

The foursome I had the pleasure of listening to last night were not playing under the best circumstances.I hate being in restaurants where people are eating, clanking dishes, and talking over the music being played. It speaks volumes of a group when they can make those same people stop all that commotion and play attention! That happened quite a few times last night. There were quite a few covers in the sets they played, but frankly, I’ve not heard “Tangled Up In Blues” done as well. I might get hit for saying it, but while Bob Dylan is an incredible songwriter, the man’s singing voice and vocal style leaves much for my ears to desire. Michael handled the vocals beautifully, and the harmonies were next to flawless. (One must always give the artists room to expand, and according to one I call genius, perfection is limiting. Mistakes bring growth.) I also think I may have been one of the few in the room to recognize the Waterboys tune they covered, smoking thru Mike Scott’s classic about a WW II Russian soldier being sent off to a gulag because of Stalin’s paranoia."Red Army Blues" always moved me, and Mr. Scott was done proud last night, in a cramped venue short on lighting and proper acoustics. It was also one of the songs that due to the band’s intense approach to the story, stopped the audience in its collective tracks.

They group goes electric later in the month at a venue I have come to like a lot, Casbeers at the Church, and I eagerly await to hear the difference in attack on the songs they did last evening. I am hoping to help them out by flyering the city for the gig , maybe to fill the seats of this unique place. The stained glass windows, old wooden pews, full dual level stage, and sufficient levels of lighting can be inspiring to both band and audience. In the meantime, my photography is getting behind again, and I have about 1000 pictures to get edited. More on Michael and co. when I get a chance.

Yes, I am still alive

I just haven't had much time for writing...what can I say. Bought a netbook recently, which I can now tote around with me and make notes as I go.....the link included will show anyone reading me still what I have been up to. I'm afraid my band repetoire is limited, by my choice now, to pretty much Del Castillo and Buttercup, but every now and then.....something comes upthat inspires me. Hopefully I will get back into the writing, all kinds, as 2010 gets started.

http://www.youtube.com/user/JazzpjD


namaste
~J

The Day The Surf Music Died

Ventures guitarist Bob Bogle dies at 75


(CNN) -- Ventures lead guitarist Bob Bogle, whose fretwork on such instrumental hits such as "Walk -- Don't Run" and "Hawaii Five-O" influenced countless bands, died Sunday in Vancouver, Washington.

He was 75.

The cause was non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, according to Don Wilson, who co-founded the Ventures with Bogle in the 1950s.

"He had a special sound that nobody could ever re-create. He was totally unique as a guitar player," Wilson told CNNRadio.

Wilson and Bogle learned how to play guitar while working as construction workers in the 1950s in their native Tacoma, Washington. The pair formed the Ventures in 1958.

"We had a lot of time on our hands after work, so we'd get together and play," Wilson recalled. "A year and a half later, we had a number two hit called 'Walk -- Don't Run.' " The group first heard the song on a Chet Atkins record.

Several other hits followed, including "Perfidia," "Walk Don't Run '64" and "Diamond Head." The group took the theme of the TV show "Hawaii Five-O" into the Top Ten in 1969 and later supplied background music for the series.

But the band, which played almost solely instrumentals, was perhaps more influential for its albums. Thirty-eight of the band's long-players hit Billboard's Top 200 chart, including albums that covered country songs, dance tunes and Christmas melodies. One of the band's albums was titled "Play Guitar with the Ventures," and countless did.

"I can't think of a better contribution for instrumental music on his style than 'Walk -- Don't Run,' " Wilson said. "A lot of good would-be guitar players and garage bands would go out and buy guitars just to learn that song."

The Ventures were voted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2008. At the induction ceremony, Creedence Clearwater Revival's John Fogerty praised the group: "It's enough to say, the Ventures are the most popular instrumental band of all time," he said.

Bogle fought his illness with dignity, Wilson said.

"His doctors gave him 10 years to live, and he lived 12. The last two years were really tough. At least he lived to know the Ventures had been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

Bogle is survived by his wife, Yumi.


*****************************************************************************
Ok, so not all of you remember surf music, or even the Sixties with any great clarity, but I do. I even have my brother's old 45's (small vinyl records? Single song on either side?) of some of the Ventures' stuff. The Ventures influenced a lot of the pop music of the Sixties, especially because they wrote and performed their own stuff. It's expected these days, but back when record companies made all the decisions for their stable of singers, it was just not heard of that an artist would want to do all of it: write, play, sing, perform, record, and in a few rare instances when they won the fight, produce their own music. Buddy Holly started some of the real changes, especially in the newly born Rock-n-Roll, and others, like the Ventures, took the bit in their teeth and ran with it. It wasn't until the day of DIY (Do It Yourself) came that anything more adventurous was brought to the light in music. Nowadays, recording at home, from concept to finished product is quite common, partly because it is just plain cheaper. Doesn't hurt that the technology involved has shrunk to a portable size. I've been in some of those really old recording studios, and can see why some artists were intimidated into accepting what they were told. Now, they don't have to; they can experiment an make stuff as good as almost all majour studios, and at 1/4 the cost.

I've decided that the main reason getting old sux bigtime is that one has to watch those older than one self slowly drop away. I missed noting the passing of Koko Taylor, and a couple of others the average under-30 has never had the privilege to hear, but with each passing, my world seems to shrink a little.
Luckily, due in no small part to myspace, I am finding out that there is real talent out there, and a few of them even know where their roots are from, who paved the way for the artists of today. Bob Bogle may not be a household name to all, but his music sure as heck is.
RIP, dude. See you on the surfside!

DC's Fourth CD, and its consequences.....

I may not get around to writing this up immediately, but the Antone's CD release party was a blast. And my own skill as a photographer, bowled me over.(Incidentally- not one of these photos has been altered, save reduction in size. They are as they were shot.)

Note to self- do not forget to put in the story about the cascarones!

It's a matter of tolerance...

I believe as a concert photographer I may have strained my watchers' patience to the very edge. It dawned on me as I was slaving to upload literally hundreds of pictures for two different gigs that I had shot something around 1000 pictures and about a dozen videos of varying lengths in only two gigs.....good lord.

I am going to have to start getting MUCH pickier about what I put up.

Well, in all fairness to myself, I find both bands absolutely riveting, so I am not surprised at myself. Film limited my range, something that the digital camera has removed. It ain't the ridiculous sized camera crap I see "pros" lugging around, but I have a wonderful time and I think I capture the essence of the gig while those "pros" are searching for the impossible: the "perfect" picture.
Apparently computer manipulation of photos is considered okay in this day, whereas the real artist- the one who can capture the moment right then and there and not have to change anything- is poo-poo-ed . Well, in the art world, ugly is also the new beautiful, so who knows what the hell to think anymore. I don't follow fads- I capture a moment. I have one great advantage- I am not shooting for any other reason or person than myself. There is no thought of sales or trying to impress a world that passes over fashion and fad as fast as they change their underwear. I am able to look back at the over 8000 pictures on that site, and remember. I saw them when- I remember that- man, wasn't that so much fun?!

I figure it this way- I am doing what I love, because I love it. I know others like it, as I average over 2000 hits a week on that site. My ranking on the site for music photography is 12th out of more than 50,000. I have got to be doing SOMEthing right. With all the crap in my world, knowing I bring happiness to folks thru what makes me happy puts a smile on my face at the weirdest times of day. Like now.

Another video from DC's last Sam's gig is loading as I write, with yet another to go. Found them the other night, hiding innocently in the 450s of the photos from that gig. Right now, Buttercup is playing on the PC, vid uploading, and I am feeling itchy again with that camera! Can't wait to see BC and Salim on the 2nd, but I may go catch Ms Vonne Saturday, just to flex the muscles.;p

http://community.webshots.com/user/jazzpjd

Artifacts of Buttercup- the long journey Home

Oh my oh my oh my....I have been quite lax about the music stuff, haven't I? Well, frankly, I haven't done much searching or traveling and what I have found hasn't moved me to write so much that I couldn't wait to tell the world about it. Shame. I know it will come around again, and maybe I have just been a bit too cynical of late.

Both my beloved bands are due to put new albums out soon. Del Castillo's is due out April 7th, to a literal world onslaught- US to Brazil to Russia and who knows how much further! We who are insane have been hearing these songs off and on for the last year or so, but what the guys have done in the studio will say volumes about how we in the audience responded. The very beautiful Castles, and Everlasting, and Anybody Wanna Dance with Me? are spread all over the internet already. I could never find a CD release of theirs anticlimatic, but then with the Boyz, it was never about the CDs. Their true power to me has always been the live gigs. The worst night has still managed to find energy, and a good night can leave a silly grin on my face for days. And this after over five years of dedicated fandom.(speaking of LIVE.....someday, ....SOMEday...the live gigs recorded in Montana just might make it to DVD. Hey, if they had done it in Texas like they should have, it would be out already.....{put little somewhat tee-ed off emoticon here} )

The BC Boyz- the San Antonio side of the coin which is me- are waiting on the mastering of the music they have been recording with Dallas balladeer Salim Nourallah. I met Salim years ago, due to a mutual friend (hi Lisa!) and can hear what it is about his music style that caught Buttercup up. After years of self-production and local only production, the guys have felt the need to stretch out. They graciously gave me an advance copy of four of the unmastered songs, and I must say it sounds good as it is. I know that they will still try to find that discerning ear to pull the last bits of nuance from the recordings, but for their dedicated local fanbase, they could get away with selling the advance copy as is. I've heard it on computer, iPod, car stereo, and iDog, and it holds up thru it all. Again- I think a lot of Buttercup's strength ultimately is in their live performances. These songs have all been tried in front of audiences. I liked "Kite" the first time I heard it live, but the song is probably too quiet for any but the most intimate of rooms. It would've fit well at the Red Room, or Flipnotics. When one gets a club type crowd going though, the quieter songs become victim to the chatty sorts. Such was the destiny of Kite that first night, and more's the pity. It's a beautiful tune.

Catchy and Buttercup seem to be connected. I cannot get "I Am A Tiger" out of my head! Doesn't help that I have several felines wandering around my house who think they are indeed tigers. There are some pop tunes that one knows instantly when the first notes are struck. This will become one of those to the BC crowd. Right now, it is a subtle semi-acoustic piece, but I wait for the day, when it gets turned on its own ear one night and becomes a rocker.

Some part of Erik Sanden resists the rock in him....giving in only when pushed to the edge, usually by the audience in front him. He actually could give Iggy Pop a run for his money on the apparently self-destructive stage personna. There is a serious rock band festering under the guise of a pop band. I saw that in a number of the bands that are inspiration to Buttercup too, so I am not surprised really. The fun part is to watch it bust out.
Ah well, I have lingered over this piece for too many days, so I publish now and wait for the albums to surface for further review. In the meantime there are other gigs to make, and maybe a few peeps to help come to SA rather than continue to depend on Austin for the "big break."

namaste

Headline: Vatican Proves Itself Full Of Hypocrites (Subtitle: I read the news today, oh boy

Vatican: Beatles music better than today's songs
AP VATICAN CITY – Vatican media are praising the Beatles' musical legacy and sounding philosophical about John Lennon's boast that the British band was more popular than Jesus.

Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano recalls that Lennon's comment outraged many when he made it in 1966.

But it says in its Saturday edition that the remark can be written off now as the bragging of a young man wrestling with unexpected success.

The newspaper as well as Vatican Radio last week noted the 40th anniversary of the Beatles' "White Album
*************************************************************
That lil load of crap came out today....

It doesn't help the Vatican's case that so many of us were alive and listening when that first statement of popularity came tumbling out of John's mouth.

In fact, the Vatican didn't react nearly as vocally or violently as the evangelistic American South did. The Beatles probably made a mint off the records bought to just be burned. And I am certain a fair number of people then went out later trying to replace the music they had flung into "holy" fires on an ecstatical whim.

Wouldn't it be ironic to find out that the Beatles' hit # 1 with a few albums or 45s BECAUSE people had bought them to destroy or replace what had been destroyed.

And as for the statement, yes, John had a fair amount of arrogance as well as being confused a bit by the extremes of the fanatasism the band was exposed to, but he was also John Lennon. He never ever had a problem mouthing his opinion...just had a little trouble with discression. The Beatles were quite possibly bigger than any religion at the time. They might actually be looked upon as a new religion, one than people still follow to this day- I know of a few myself. There is no way I could possibly know as much as I do today about the Fab Four (or the Pre-Fab Four!) without having been the friend for more than 30 years of a Beatles fanatic.

I heard bootlegs of almost every live concert the band did, outtakes from recording sessions (in a studio in London I got to visit in 1980- no, not Abbey Road- the Decca studios where they recorded their first demos!), got to learn details about the lives of the Beatles that were never really anyone else's business, ...
And lastly on a trip to the UK that tested our friendship to the hilt, I stood at Strawberry Fields, Menlove Ave., "the roundabout where the nurse was selling poppies from a tray," ...and Crackerbox Palace gate. I stood in front of Paul's london house and walked across the street in front o Abbey Road Studios.....

If none of that means a thing to you, you are not a Beatles fanatic.

Trust me, the Vatican may be trying to be "cool" by kind of forgiving John for his forthright statement but I don't think anyone there quite understands how very much the Beatles changed the world. Recording techniques, live concert needs, songwriting approach.....the list is nearly endless. I must agree that much of the current "popular" music absolutely sucks, but I don't think for a minute that the Vatican has any business trying to "absolve" John or the other Beatles for being "confused young men." John Ono Lennon and the Beatles legacy have become "gods" of a sort, and will remain so a long as their music can reach ears.
It goes beyond rules and regulations. It goes beyond religion. It came from the heart, which is why it touched so many, and still does.

It is also why we miss John, and George, so very much. The world will be a colder place indeed, if the Beatles are allowed to fade away.

Something new!

I am JAZZ.
My nickname comes from my obsession with a music form that contains greater versatility, more demanding technique, than most other forms out there. Talent is a must, as well as pure adventurousness. I have found one of the most interesting bands I have heard in a long time quite by accident on Myspace: Local 518, out of Florida. It has been many years since someone(s) made me sit up and really notice a jazz group like these guys do.

I found them because of one of my heroes- Jaco Pastorius. Someone asked me to be a friend, who had Jaco on the top friends list (I always look for why someone is seeking me out.) To my shock, there was another Pastorius next to Jaco.I checked him out, and found Local 518, one of the two bands he plays in. David is Jaco's nephew, and apparently that family was made to play bass guitar. Most of Jaco's kids are musicians (big surprise)but frankly, Weather Report would have trouble keeping up with Local 518.

They have recently made a record deal of some kind in Japan (I'm not surprised- they resemble Kazumi Watanabe in the attack)but I am hopeful that this nation will sit up and take notice. It has been a real thorn in my side that so many innovative bands from the US can't get noticed here, but make it ig in Europe or elsewhere. My brother's band is definitely among those, until this latest CD. In the meantime, crap and pablum passed off by the industry as music gets thrown out to the public, who, knowing no better, swallow it whole.

Listen to these guys. Open your ears and mind to what talent really means. It doesn't hurt in my book that they count among their influences Miles Davis and Mr Bungle! With that wide a mix, one can't help but find something worth appreciating!

http://www.myspace.com/local518

RIP Rick Wright

Sad news indeed.

Pink Floyd member Richard Wright dies at age 65
Sept. 15, 2008, 11:47 AM EST
LONDON (AP) -- A Pink Floyd spokesman says founding member Richard Wright has died. He was 65.

Wright died Monday after a battle with cancer at his home in Britain. His family did not want to give more details about his death. The spokesman is Doug Wright, who is not related to the artist.

Richard Wright met Pink Floyd members Roger Waters and Nick Mason at college and joined their early band Sigma 6.

Sigma 6 eventually became Pink Floyd and Wright wrote and sang some of the band's key songs. He wrote "The Great Gig In The Sky" and "Us And Them" from Pink Floyd's 1973 "The Dark Side of the Moon."

He left the group in the early 1980s to form his own band but rejoined Pink Floyd for their 1987 album "A Momentary Lapse of Reason."

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.