Adrian recently working at Trent Reznor's for the upcoming NIN 'Ghosts I-IV' release
WE'VE CRACKED THE 1000 SIGNATURE MARK!!!!!
THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!!
"Belew is a true "artist" - while many others of his age and tenure rely on reworking their old classics, Belew continuously refreshes his sound and utilizes all instruments and tools to deliver that vision to his fans. Brilliant is the only word that defines him."
If the Foundation once again rejects this incredibly brilliant musician (who more than amply fulfills the criteria) from the HoF, then I believe that it exposes the true agenda of the R&R HoF and its Foundation Selection Committee of music industry heads et al - the 'Boy's Club' still reigns supreme, and goes to show that their focus is certainly not to honour those musicians who truly embody their criteria of a 'CONTRIBUTION TO THE INNOVATION & EVOLUTION OF ROCK MUSIC' - as no-one could lay claim to this more than Adrian Belew....
As a result - we still have a long ways to go.....
That is why it is imperative that everyone who knows and loves Adrian's work, sign this petition - and that each and every one of us spreads the word of the Petition far and wide, to all who will listen, and take an active interest....
We must show the Foundation Selection Committee, that they cannot overlook Adrian again this year....
They must see what is so obvious to us all - THAT ADRIAN DESERVES TO BE INDUCTED INTO THE R&R HoF IN 2009!
Robert Fripp interview Part I This is from his "Drive to 1981 Tour" in 1979
Thanks to RP Curtiss (I'm the already balding (bad hair day) Dodger hatted skinny proggeek (interviewer - sitting on the right), now a totally bald, older and ever so slightly heavier proggeek.)
The Boffomundo Show existed in the early daze of cable television from 1979-80. Interviews with progressive rock luminaries included: Robert Fripp (King Crimson founder), Phil Collins & John Goodsall(Genesis & Brand X), fusion guitarist Al Di Meola (Return to Forever), singer Bernardo Lanzetti (from Italy's PFM) and bass/vocalist John Wetton (King Crimson, U.K. and by 1981, Asia.) Why Boffomundo? It's a name I made up, with inspiration from the TV show, Happy Days. Later incarnations were called In The Mode (1982) which featured an interview with singer/guitarist Adrian Belew (King Crimson) and finally Total Sound (1990-92), which included a day with drummer/composer Bill Bruford (Yes, King Crimson, U.K., Bruford and Bill Bruford's Earthworks).
Here are some excerpts from the comments section of these YouTube videos - almost as interesting as the video's themselves.....
It was taped in Santa Monica, CA at what once was called Theta Cable in the early days of public access.
Ah ha! Sort figured that by looking the intro, full screen that looked like it was typed on paper!
It was! Prehistoric technology! Eventually we used black cutout cards and then actual graphics. Those were the daze.
Wetton said Fripp ended the band after "Red" because he thought the world would end in 1981.
"chuckles" Fripp as he's known in the trade. awesome guy
Great interview. Funny how Fripp was uncomfortable facing such prepared interviewers
I find that the "press" question requires an answer rather than an explanation. Great to see Mr Fripp explaining the question , for all of us....whatever we may be.
Declare your tongue at the airport next time you fly Mr Fripp , as it may be considered a sharp object.
Why am I still listening to this? I'd love to watch this guy mow a lawn or go food shopping. You expect John Cleese to come out at any moment and hit Fripp over the head with a rubber fish.
Yes indeed a kick on the backside might be in order, just answer the bloody question Robert, stop postulating! My but he does go on. All his transgressions are forgiven through his 20th century masterpiece; Exposure, AND his bad-ass contribution to Bowie's (Heroes and Teenage Wildlife)and King Crimson. That's plenty bankable redemption I say. Bowie, Fripp, Eno...the holy trinity of sound.
Look for Parts II thru IV of this rare Robert Fripp interview in the posts that follow.....
Thanks to fellow Adrian Belew 'Tribe' member Mike Illoman - for unearthing this awesome EARLY footage of (to me) an almost unrecognizable Frank Zappa in an appearance on the 'Steve Allen Show' in 1963.....
Thanks to 'Line6Movies' on YouTube, here is Adrian Belew at home at Studio Belew - exploring looping features using Spider Jam backing track #112, Mid Tempo Rock.
from the World Cafe Live - Philly show last night.....
thanks to Twangbarking96 for the YouTube footage : )
And for your viewing pleasure, here are some excellent photographs taken by Papa (Gary) Slick from his 'adventurous' trip to view The Trio of Terror at the Beachland Ballroom in Cleveland on Friday 7 March....
Featuring the guitar wizardry of Adrian Belew! Video by AcidTiger1
If you haven't already listened to Nine Inch Nails latest offering - Ghosts I-IV - do so immediately, for some devilish Adrian Belew spotting : )
All you Belew-lovers out there! You MUST check out this video of the Trio of Power and Terror Arising.....If you only look at one YouTube vid all year - THIS IS THE ONE to see! It starts out with Eric absolutely smoking this awesome extended intro to YOUNG LIONS......then, just when you think it couldn't get any better than this - Ade and Julie join him.....and then we are treated to THE SWEETEST Ade solo EVER! It was absolutely KILLER! Ohhhh - to have been there to witness it in FULL TRIO POWER! Check it out here.....
Adrian Belew Power Trio - Young Lions
Recorded at Sunday nights show at the Center for the Arts in Natick, MA - March 9, 2008
Thanks to that incredibly informative and downright intriguing Sid Smith from the hallowed halls of DGMLive
here are the 'old-goat' confirmed upcoming dates for the long-awaited re-awakening of the long-slumbering Crimson King!
"Get along to your nearest travel agent quick as you like - King Crimson have confirmed the following dates marking their return to active service later this year."
Wednesday 6th August, Park West, Chicago Thursday 7th August, Park West, Chicago Friday 8th August Park West, Chicago Monday 11th August, Keswick Theater, Philadelphia Tuesday 12th August, Keswick Theater, Philadelphia Thursday 14th August, Nokia Theater, New York Friday 15th August, Nokia Theater, New York Saturday 16th August, Nokia Theater, New York
You don't want to miss a second of any of these shows - it may be the last chance to see the Mighty Crim in action.....
2009 is a long way off yet, and who knows if the planned 40th anniversary shows for next year will come to fruition....
Better to get in this year, just in case!
Nice shot of Gavin Harrison..... can't wait to see what he brings to KC : )
And the long-awaited return of the one and only Tony Levin! Long overdue TLev.....
Thanks to Mark Colman for the excellent photograph of P@ Mastelotto in Red!
The Adrian Belew Power Trio makes a stop at the Tralf Music Hall at 8 p.m. Saturday.
A casual glance at the man’s resume is enough to make you question your own achievements. Clearly, Adrian Belew has not slept much over the past 30 years. His musical exuberance, indelible guitar stylings, unfailing songwriting acumen, and apparently, unerring ability to land in the right place at the right time, have served him rather well.
Belew has made it plain that he owes his career’s genesis to a certain Frank Zappa, who spotted the guitarist playing with a cover band in a hotel lounge and hauled him kicking and screaming from relative obscurity into the weird and wonderful spotlight of his own ensemble. This was right around the time of Zappa’s “Sheik Yerbouti” album, and the filming of his “Baby Snakes” film, both of which feature Belew prominently.
From there, Belew moved seamlessly into David Bowie’s band; played with the Talking Heads; teamed with Robert Fripp for the strongest lineup of King Crimson the band could ever have hoped for; maintained a prolific solo career; worked with his own power-pop outfit, the Bears; and found a kindred creative spirit in Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor.
Belew’s latest gambit, however, is one of his highest-yielding, creativity wise.
A few years back, the guitarist visited the famed Paul Green School of Rock Music in Chicago — the eccentric institution that provided the inspiration for the Jack Black film vehicle “School of Rock.” There, at the behest of the mercurial Green, Belew happened upon the talents of the still teenage b r other-sister bass/drum s combo of Julie and Eric Slick. The Slicks played Zappa’s “City of Tiny Lights” — a
complex number, to say the least — for Belew, whose jaw rather rapidly smacked against the carpet.
Belew saw more than abundant talent in the Slick siblings. He saw his own future. Within weeks, he’d enlisted the pair, and the Adrian Belew Power Trio was born.
“Julie and Eric are absolutely incredible musicians, for any age,” says Belew, speaking by phone from his home office just prior to hitting the road for a winter tour that stops at the Tralf Music Hall at 8 p.m. Saturday.
“The fact that they are as young as they are — well, it baffles me, first of all. But it also gives me a great feeling of hope. These guys know their history, and they are more than able to add to it.”
Much of that history, ironically or not, involves Belew himself.
“The Slicks grew up on their father’s record collection, and they fully digested all of this music. Funnily enough, so many of the records they grew up with were things that I played on! So there was a commonality, a shared language from the first moment we played together.”
Indeed, the level of intuitive musical interaction the Belew Trio has grasped is in full evidence on the just-released in-concert document “Side IV: Adrian Belew Power Trio Live,” available through AdrianBe- lew.net.
On the record, Belew and the Slicks tackle pieces from throughout the guitarist’s career, but this is no oldies revue: Rather, the Slicks add abundant fire to the performances, make the music their own at every turn, while always performing in the spirit of the original composition. Most importantly, the fluid, dynamic and incredibly energetic rhythm section is clearly pushing Belew, and hard, toward new creative vistas.
“Man, this is definitely the best band I’ve ever had, in my solo career,” Belew all but gushes. “Because Julie and Eric can do anything at all, there is the opportunity to stretch out — way out! [laughs] To the point where I’m almost overplaying in order to fit into the fabric of what they’re doing. It’s forcing me to really play in the moment. And I’m finding that really thrilling.”
Finding himself in the thick of uber-dynamic, high-intensity, envelope-pushing musical situations is far from a new thing for Belew. With Fripp in King Crimson, Belew radically combined elements of hyper-percussive Indonesian Gam-elan music with the minimalist tape loop/phasing experiments of American composer Steve Reich.
And they made it rock, a fact incredibly evident throughout the pioneering works “Discipline,” “Beat,” “Three of a Perfect Pair,” “Thrak” and “The Power to Believe,” among several others. Crimson, by the way, is an ongoing concern for Belew: As our conversation commenced, the guitarist was just finishing an e-mail to Fripp, cementing the beginning date for Crimson tour rehearsals, which Belew says “will begin pretty much the day I get back from this tour.” (Did I find myself a bit giddy talking to one of my musical heroes as he sent an e-mail to another of my musical heroes? In a word, yup.)
For now, though, Belew has his eyes firmly on the prize, that being seeing just how far he and the Slicks can take the music.
“Playing live is definitely what separates the men from the boys, the women from the girls. And really, with the trio, I’m just the old guy in the middle, [laughs] thanking his lucky stars for the opportunity to play with these incredibly talented young people.”•
It was the musical equivalent of watching an artist take a nuclear blast between his hands and sculpt it into form after form, ranging from soaring seagull to cudgel. Belew's sound can best be described as walking a thin line between order and chaos. The sound is too big, too protean, for one man to control it, but control it he does. There's nobody like Belew.
Belew's companions on the stage were
Sunday night's Adrian Belew Power Trio show was tremendous. The set list was as shown on his website and perfectly amazing. Belew has spent a lifetime perfecting his craft and it shows. The videos on the sight tell the story in ways I can't put into words other than to say it was a thrill to not only hear Belew's legendary guitar but have the opportunity to see how he makes those sounds. You know, even after watching it at a close enough range that I could see every move of every finger, I still can't tell you. I'm nearly willing to put it down to magic.
Julie (bass)
and Eric (drums)
Slick, a couple of amazingly proficient kids whose combined ages are the same as mine and a bit less than Belew's. Nonetheless, neither of them had any problem adding their sounds to that of Belew's guitar. I was particularly impressed with Eric's mastery of the sometimes stuttering and frequently complex rhythms; it was easy to forget that this is a guy who is at the very beginning of what is likely to be a noteworthy musical career. I wish I could say I did anything as well as that when I was Slick's age — either one of them. All I can say about Julie Slick's playing was that by all rights she should have hands twice the size of those she possesses. She did much more with her bass than I'm used to hearing or seeing bass players do; she managed to coax sounds out of her instrument that complimented Belew's crazy, crazy noise.
Seeing Belew after so many years was an experience by itself. He certainly looks different than when I saw him play with the Talking Heads in the early 80's. He certainly looked to be having a good time, though. There was an infectiousness about his demeanor; by the end of the show, my cheekbones hurt from all the smiling. He exuded humor in his manor and his music. There were moments in the show where he produced riffs that literally made me laugh and these were accompanied by a glance at the audience that bore the look of someone who had just delivered the punchline of a joke. This was particularly so during Ampersand and Dinosaur. I can't say I've had the experience of chuckling over great guitar before; I may have laughed at a screw-up before, but never at sounds produced with such technical excellence and manifested intent.
The only downside to the show was the sound system at the Natick Center for the Arts. There were a few occasions during which it seemed like the system just couldn't keep up with Belew's power. The worst of this came during the Trio's encore; the sound got so muddy that I couldn't tell you what the song was. The set list on Belew's site lists Thela Hun Jinjeet; that's a song I've known for years and have on the MP3 player I keep in my car, but if that was the song being played it was lost on me. Belew has a sound that could fill any stadium, though, so it isn't too surprising that both the sound system and the walls at the Center for the Arts seemed ready to crumble at any moment.
Belew and Company have seven more shows to go in this tour, several of which are at small venues. The dates are on Belew's website. If they're not sold out already, go! Even if you don't know who the heck Adrian Belew is, it's worth seeing one of these shows to find out. You've never heard guitar like this. You've never heard anything like this.
Wow! That's all I can say about the Adrian Belew Power Trioat The Tralf last night. I anticipated a good show, knowing beforehand that Belew would be doing some familiar solo and Crimson material, but I didn't expect the direction of some of the instrumentals. To say the band went "out there" would be an understatement.
They were WAY out at times and we were all blown away. Blown away that they could do such a beautiful song such as "Matchless Man" one minute and then launch into a jazz-fusion/avant garde/hard-rock instrumental the next.
Some thoughts - Belew's playing and his guitar (Parker Fly) sound are better than ever. Eric Slick (20) played the evening like a cross between Steve Smith and Keith Moon and did a great job on an impromtu drum solo when a fuse blew early in the show. Belew commented that this was one of the benefits of having a great drummer. Just in case of moments like these.
Julie Slick (his 22 yr old sister) is hands down one of the best bass players I've ever seen. Even our waitress admitted she "tore it up". In fact, the two of them easily handled Crimson material without being carbon copies of Tony Levin and Bill Bruford. They played the parts, but played them their way, leaving nothing lacking in their interpretation.
The band looked and sounded like they were having a blast the whole night and I thought it was great to have a set that offered such a variety of styles. Great too to hear "Big Electric Cat", "Neurotica" and "Thela Hun Ginjeet". Also great to hear they are going into the studio at some point for a CD of new material. Well worth braving the winter storm for this show.
The Adrian Belew Power Trio - [Live] 'The Brother, the Sister & the Holy Ghost Show' VENUE: Slims, San Francisco, February 23, 2008 DATE: 03-03-08 REVIEW BY: Daryl Barnett PHOTO: Daryl Barnett Additional Photos Now Playing: "Three of a Perfect Pair" from Side 4 The first sign of dedication to the music of Adrian Belew I witnessed was seeing about 30 people standing in the rain outside of Slim's waiting for the box office to open. The next was to hear how far some people travelled to see this show—one man I stood next to in line flew in from Kansas City, I overheard another say he came from Houston, and yet another said that she had driven from Tahoe, where she saw the band's performance the night before. Once the doors opened the stage was immediately swarmed. People knew it was important to be as close to the stage as possible to be best able to scrutinize the mastery of guitar wizard Adrian Belew. This was my third time watching the Adrian Belew Power Trio perform live. Nearly 15 months since the last time they were on the west coast, and the wait was worth it. The anticipation combined with how much more excitable their musical skills had become literally blew me away. I knew it would be great, I just didn't know how great. I wasn't moved to tears tonight the way I was at The Waterboys concert in October. And I didn't start to wander into a hypnotic mental trance the way I did last week at Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, but something else spiritual did happen to me during tonight's concert. I was standing face to face with POWER. And I don't mean that in a light or filial sense. When Adrian Belew walks on stage he comes out with POWER radiating out of him; out of his eyes, out of his smile, out of his demeanor, and it is undeniable that he feels healthy, but more so it is undeniable that he is happy and loved. I don't mean this in any sappy sense either. The guy radiates energy (and confidence) like a god. When his band mates came on stage they too were confident and grounded. And they were united. They are Adrian's 'back & side men,' sure, but they are more. There was something else going on here than just musicians playing music. If I hadn't heard this idea from Adrian himself I may not have gotten this deeper realization during the show—these 'kids,' Eric and Julie Slick, are not just happenstance sessions players Adrian found that were looking for work. Eric and Julie are brother and sister who have listened to and played music together since they were small children. They grew up in a house of music lovers. They know each other extremely well and know how to read each other. Their unity together, and with Adrian, was uncanny and powerful. There has never been a missed note or beat in the shows I have seen. It's hard to isolate highlights of the night because the crowd knew the Belew catalog so well; he stormed in with his own "Writing on the Wall," then King Crimson's "Dinosaur" moved into his own "Ampersand," where he began his first improv of the night. Improvisation is a hallmark experience of every Belew and Crimson show. The improvisations tonight seemed to be lengthier and a little more animated than I recall them being before. For one thing, Adrian stood and played more during this show than I remember from the 2006 shows. Still, the space he had to move about in was limited to a small circle due to the amount of distortion contraptions and pedals he was plugged into. Also, being a photographer, I'd have liked to see him have more space to bend, gyrate and hop around in, but still, maybe that wasn't really necessary. Oh yeah, it wasn't really necessary because the barefoot dancing muse of the band was bassist Julie Slick. She was one to watch. Julie is a magician when it comes to playing bass guitar, or maybe psychic surgeon is a better description. The way she reaches into the instrument with her powerful and dexterous fingers to elucidate some of the most complexly written bass lines out there is genuinely phenomenal. If I were deaf but could sit and watch her play, I think I'd still hear the music, she dances it to life as if it were as simple as breathing. Eric Slick is rumored to be just as remarkably life giving to the music. Someone posted some video of him playing on YouTube and I was able to watch more closely how delicately, yet powerfully he meets the needs of all the compositions that Adrian has written. He sat perfectly upright at his drum set—spine erect and straight—but his arms wailed away like a multi-armed deity on his drum set. He was sensitive, stoic, solid and grounded; immovable by any external distraction. And he looked only two places; at Adrian and at Julie. He truly is the anchor of the trio. I got the feeling from the sophisticated audience that most attendees were long term Crimson listeners and technical guitar players, although there were new comers to the music as well. One guy brought his 10-year-old son to this show and there was a young woman in the show that embarrassed herself by calling out songs for the band to play, like Radiohead's “Creep,” thinking that they had been playing covers all along. There are so many incredible songs in the Belew and Crimson catalog that I wish they had mixed up the set list a little more this tour. Alas, time constraints of the three prevented them from even having time to rehearse before the opening show in Seattle. One new song that appeared on the set list, “Neurotica” from King Crimson's BEAT, was actually hard to listen to. There was a tape feed of a lot of the background elements that the band played over and it came across screechy on the Slim's sound system. Regardless, the audience seemed hyper excited that it was added to the set. Remarkably the concert ended at 10:40 pm, the earliest I have ever gotten out of a show at Slim's. It felt like I had been immersed in a world of sounds that easily lasted three times that long. For more information visit www.adrianbelew.net
Adrian Belew, former Talking Heads and King Crimson guitarist, plays at TCAN Sunday with sister and brother Julie and Eric Slick on bass and drums. Together they're The Adrian Belew Power Trio.
By David Riley/DAILY NEWS STAFF
GHS
Posted Mar 06, 2008 @ 12:44 AM
NATICK —
With David Byrne's neurotic vocals and a blend of bouncing funk, punk and fractured pop, Talking Heads was an unusual band from the start.
But three minutes into their fourth studio album, 1980's "Remain In Light," in tumbled a guitar solo that pushed the boundaries of their sound. Its scattershot bleeps, bloops and bending notes sounded more like Pac Man in the throes of a seizure than any six-string instrument.
Even a listener familiar with the band had to sit up and wonder: What the heck was that?
It wasn't a video game on the fritz, but Adrian Belew, whose squawks and squeals, abstract textures and intricately plucked patterns have defied the limits of guitar music for more than three decades. He got his first big break touring with Frank Zappa in 1977, became front man for progressive rock giants King Crimson, and has played with everyone from David Bowie to Paul Simon to Nine Inch Nails to Cyndi Lauper.
Soon, Belew will add Natick to the long list of places he's toured. His latest project, the Adrian Belew Power Trio - featuring young brother and sister Eric and Julie Slick on drums and bass - stops at the Center for Arts in Natick on Sunday, March 9, during a month-long national tour in support of their new live album, "Side Four."
"I get to play with my hero," Eric Slick, 20, said in a phone interview. "I've been listening to Adrian since I was about 11 years old and I heard a cassette tape of King Crimson's 'Frame by Frame."'
For the most part, the trio is playing a showcase of Belew's work, with about two-thirds of the songs pulled from his solo albums. Much of the rest of their set is made up of King Crimson songs from the '80s and later, Slick said.
But the trio is exploring new territory of its own, debuting an original song, "e," live during the tour. While the songs pull from Belew's catalog, the shows aren't rote performances, but three musicians reacting and playing off one another.
"It's coming from a place that's very personal and fun and playful. We're having fun on stage. You don't see that much these days," Slick said.
"We're having a ball. We're collectively improvising and really striving to do something musically adventurous."
Despite his influence in the music world, Belew is far from a pampered rock God - his near-hit "Oh Daddy" in 1989 featured his daughter wondering when he'd finally strike it rich. The Power Trio is traversing the country not in a private jet or giant tour bus, but in a Dodge Caravan, Slick said. Belew and his wife, Martha, share duties at the wheel.
Though they have performed together since 2006, this is the trio's first long tour together. They first met while Belew was visiting the School of Rock in Philadelphia to advise students, and the owner urged him to jam with two of his former students - Eric and Julie.
"I was freaked," Slick said. "I was very nervous. I still get nervous, but I was very nervous before that happened. It's something out of a book. Opportunities like that don't really come along ever."
Before long, the trio performed together in New York, and Belew invited the siblings to his studio outside Nashville to start learning songs, Slick said.
Slick said he and his sister have been musically inclined since the beginning, using a microphone and two boomboxes to record songs in their Philadelphia living room. "I started playing percussion when I was about 2 years old. She would just kind of sing along," he said. "We would sing songs about how much we loved our mom."
Though Slick said he listens to bands like Dirty Projectors and Animal Collective, his views seem well-paired with Belew, who laments in a video on his Web site that so much modern music is "fashionable crap dressed as artistry."
"I try and stay current with new music, but a lot of it, I can't really tolerate it," said Slick, who spent much of his teenage years exploring classic rock and bands like The Flaming Lips. Now he's often occupied with Igor Stravinsky and Charles Mingus.
The trio breaks away from that "highly choreographed" and "overly serious" music, Slick said. He said the band shares a special, sophisticated sense of communication on stage, and they're working hard. But above all, they're having fun.
"I think what we're doing is very unique and very different," Slick said. "There's a lot of soul in our show."
The Adrian Belew Power Trio plays at The Center for Arts in Natick, 14 Summer St., Sunday, March 9, at 8 p.m. Admission is $37, $35 for members and seniors and students get a $1 discount. Call 508-647-0097 or visit natickarts.org.
Fellow Tribe-member Petey attended the Chicago show last night, and here is his review of the latest high-voltage Adrian Belew POWER Trio gig.....
"WOW. This was the first time we caught the power trio, due to a bad series of fates in 2006 we missed the first leg of the tour in chicago. we did see the first side of this tour in 05 with mike and mike backing him up at the naperville "RIBFEST". but boy we were in for a surprise tonight, not only has mr. belew beefed up his arsenal of effect processers, his fellow band mates have pushed the live adrian belew experience beyond the perception of what an intense show would normally have to offer.
julie and eric have propelled adrians live preformance into a space rarely achieved in the status quo of ho hum pose laden rock shows. there is plenty of room to breathe, if you can count into the one hundredth of a thousandth of a millisecond. eric layed down a powerfull nuclear clock synchronized mean time beat, only to be rivaled by his big sisters tapestry of hand spun low frequencies that would make a certain claypool ponder, how did that happen again? seriously jeopardizing my normal amazement of adrians fret work, my attention was immediately pulled to julie's nonchalant "i didn't even realize i just played 60 notes in 8 seconds" approach to playing the bass guitar.
seriously, his fellow stagemates have not only pushed him, they definitely have inspired him, as demonstrated in the jaw-dropping rendition of "E", a yet to be released gem that sprouted from these sessions. now more than ever some of his whacky stage antics like playing over loops and multiple loop overdubs make an impression that these tricks are old hat to this ridiculously symbiotic trio. almost to the point of questioning if perhaps a certain twang bar king had perhaps moonlighted as a mailman some 23 years ago in whatever town the slick kids have called home.
i did get a chance to talk to eric after the show, he had a set of castinets, and was clickety clacking them in an ordinary fashion going on about them. "what about in 7/8?" i asked him, he closed his eyes, tapped it out and did it. julie was very humble and down to earth, acting like i was exaggerating when i couldn't stop bringing up how great she can play the bass. she told me a story about jeff beck's bass player saying "i am not julie slick" when questioned after a show! heh. she said adrian will have them play on his new solo album, but probably not all of it, (solo album), either way i can't wait to hear a new one. it is so exciting to see him always end up working with such talented folks, and these guys are cutting their teeth with him, but they don't sound young at all, they just have a really clean soul , and can play like you wouldn't fucking believe.
adrian's set up was one of the largest most disgusting displays of guitar effects he has been seen with in a while. he has a whole new section, for the footpedal that controls the vg-99, (rolands sickest guitar thingy ever) only to be topped by the new eventide delay box, a boomerang, some boutique fuzzes, compressors, synth, dual fade pedals, chopper, j.h pedal, the list goes on, gomti got some nice pics which i shall post soon, its late so, thanks for reading all of this.
it always strikes me how much of a gentleman he is after the show, i mean a lot of folks that are that talented don't seem to have any time for the common man, much to say take a picture with him, i think that is the best part of adrian belew's character , , i mean you can even read his signature, how many rock stars can you say that about.
bottom line, if you don't have side four yet, get it, and if you have ANY possible way to catch this tour, don't miss it, a truly new take on an artists work that is even more unique."
Thanks Petey - can't wait to see your photo's of the night, and all those pedals!
Personally, I had hoped and prayed that I might be able to make it to last nights show in Chicago myself, but to my chagrin, the fates have not allowed this to come to fruition.....so I must continue to be patient, and keep on wishing on a star, that the ABPT will eventually make it, even if only for one or two dates, up here in Canada!
"Summary: Leave the anger at the door, Trent Reznor has finally grown up. This 36 track instrumental is astonishing at the very least.
Don’t deny it-Trent Reznor loves controversy and attention. He’s tried to act like a seedy recluse with a bad chip on his shoulder throughout his career, but somehow, the public eye has stayed consistently focused on him. When Pretty Hate Machine broke into the mainstream and all that mess with TVT was publicly displayed, guess what? Reznor was practically begging for all the public attention he could muster. When The Fragile hit and he openly spoke out about how he was unhappy with the final product, he caught plenty of attention. When Marilyn Manson and Trent Reznor butted heads, he couldn’t keep his mouth shut. Only Trent Reznor would go off on a tangent about how “the record executives are ripping the fans off. So you know what that means? Steal, steal, steal my music. Go steal it, and steal some more!” Things like this seem to always turn the public eye keen to Trent Reznor and often get him in hot water.
And throughout all the controversy over Year Zero, the Nine Inch Nails mastermind has stayed fairly quiet, going into hiding, yet again. However, this time, the infamous recluse didn’t stay quiet for nearly four years like before; he waited about half a year. All the while, Trent Reznor was secretly wasting away at the keyboards and synthesizers as the Nine Inch Nails fans prepared to settle in for another four to five year absence, messages on the Nine Inch Nails website blog began reading "We’ve been doing secret things. We’ll begin to tell you about them soon." On March 2nd, a simple message on the blog read "2 hours." Wasting no time, in two hours, a new website design was up with a download link. Despite the online server meltdown, Trent kept to his word and offered the album online in a variety of downloadable ways (one offering the first Ghosts edition for free), and one offering a $10 double-disk digipak shipped on April 8th. The album's release was so well planned and it's tactic of catching people off-guard may very well be the best planned album release in near history.
The best part is that this is a 36-track instrumental album that nobody expected. Maybe its too early, or the shock factor is still there, but Ghosts is truly amazing. Trent has compiled a wide variety of unorthodox instruments, electronic tools, distorted guitars, lush soundscapes, and eerie sounds into this collection of Explosions in the Sky influenced Nine Inch Nails. On the online booklet, a picture is shown of one of the guys, during recording, rubbing aluminum foil on strings. That is what you can expect from the album-unorthodox sounds coming from unorthodox instruments and playing styles. You can still distinctly hear the Nails sound throughout the album, but the wide variety of instruments, the soundscapes, and the unusual guitar riffs make a strange post-rock influenced ambience.
The initial response when I realized that Ghosts was a massive 36-track instrumental package was immediate excitement, but it then faded away. I imagined a boring album with 36 low-key instrumental tracks. But when I actually got Ghosts the feelings of being let-down left my body. The melancholic opening piano track sets such a dull, depressing feeling inside of you, and the same goes for the second track. But just as you begin to think this isn’t quite Nine Inch Nails, this is more Sigur Ros than NIN, you quickly discover you’re wrong. Very, very wrong. Because when you think you've figured out this is a piano-led album, songs like 3 (which is a lot like The Becoming) show up, or track 19 which wouldn't be out of place on a Skinny Puppy album, with all of it's heavy industrial beats. Basically, if you expected Ghosts to lull you with pianos, almost something in the vein of Still, you are quite wrong. Some of the stuff is heavy, loud, and aggressive, if not some of the loudest Nails music; 31 is like Hyperpower!’s aborted brother. Newcomer Brian Vigilone lays down a cymbal-heavy drum pattern and distorted guitars overpower the mix into a headbanger. And just as it gets loud, it ends abruptly.
The album has no issue with flow, either. Despite being 36 tracks that span a wide variety of genres and phases in NIN’s career, the songs seep into one another, and the four Ghosts editions have four distinctive feels. Ghosts I has a melancholic edge, seemingly painting the picture for a cold, rainy day. Ghosts II has an upbeat, foreign edge that reminds me a lot of The Fragile, and Ghosts III comes off as an industrial powerhouse. Ghosts IV is electronic, funky, and danceable. The tracks are all distinctive, original, and grandly epic. You can’t confuse a track with another, they all stand-out. Some of the tracks are clear throwbacks to various areas in Nine Inch Nails’ career, while some offer new sounds and vibrations. However, Ghosts IV definitely the stand-out. It’s like a more fun, less repetitive, and danceable Year Zero. So it’s not like the album is droningly monotone with no separate areas and sounds, each Ghosts volume presents a new sound and aura to the mix. But what’s the best, most surprising about the album is how atmospheric it is. Every track creates a new sound, a new feeling you get lost in. The tracks won’t lull you to sleep, but they send you to another place, another place Trent Reznor and co. have perfectly handcrafted. But what else stands out on the album is the fact that Trent doesn't seem to be catering to the teenagers and what's popular anymore. The last two NIN albums seemed to be what the public wanted, not what Reznor wanted. At age 42, it was time for Trent to stop catering to what the public wants and to start making what he wants to make; no more overused angst, screaming, and profanity. This is proof that Trent Reznor has finally grown out of the teenage angst.
But it wasn’t pure shock factor and surprise that runs this album. The originality, inventiveness, variety, and the emotional soundscapes could have carried this album without the marketing scheme. It’s so dreamy, and atmospheric that you can’t not enjoy it, no matter what type of music you listen to. It doesn’t bore at all, it keeps you interested and going, for two hours straight. As I sat outside in the cold, pelting freezing rain this morning, the sky was bleak and dull, I had Ghosts playing in my ears, and thought to myself "this is how Trent Reznor meant this album to be listened to." Complete creativity and inventiveness at its core, Ghosts I-IV proves that Trent Reznor is one of the most vital artists in music today."
This is an article written by Porter W Richards, and you can find the original post HERE
If you check it out, you will see that this well written article has, since it was posted on March 3, scored 18,406 hits, and elicited 176 comments so far...... (Numbers I can only but dream about...lol)
Adrian Belew recently celebrated his 30th anniversary as a professional musician. In 1977, Frank Zappa pulled the guitarist out of Kentucky club hell and cast him as an auxiliary musician who would join him onstage as performer or visual punch line. Sometimes Belew would wear a military uniform; other times he'd don a dress, like the one he sports in Zappa's 1979 concert film, Baby Snakes.
"It was OK — my legs are not embarrassing," laughs Belew. "It could've been worse. It could've been a bikini."
These days, Belew fronts a trio made up of 20-year-old drummer Eric Slick and Eric's 21-year-old bass-playing sister, Julie. Belew swears he has no intention of humiliating the kids onstage, as Zappa did to him years ago. Then again, Zappa taught him a valuable lesson in showmanship, he says.
Since those dress-wearing days, the 59-year-old guitarist has gigged with everyone from David Bowie to Talking Heads to Nine Inch Nails. He even fronted veteran prog-rockers King Crimson for a spell in the early '80s.
Belew's latest project features a pair of Philadelphia siblings who still live with their parents. They've been wowing audiences together since 2006. "The old guy in the middle isn't that bad either," jokes Belew, who met the Slicks after he participated in a Paul Green School of Rock Music program. The kids' father gave his children instruments a decade ago and pointed them toward his vinyl record collection, which featured more than 5,000 LPs — including albums by Zappa, King Crimson, and a solo Belew.
The sibs performed some Zappa tunes for Belew at their first meeting, "And that was it," says the guitar legend. "Something magical was there." Belew's old boss, King Crimson's Robert Fripp, dubbed Belew's new group "the trio of terror." "It isn't that we terrorize people," clarifies Belew. "It's that we surprise them with our intensity and power. They're so good at it. They sound like 50-year-old musicians. But they're so energetic. You can't get that out of a 50-year-old."
Belew should know — he's been trying to jump-start a power trio for most of the '00s. He didn't want to be in front of yet another group of solid but faceless backing musicians; he was dying to be part of an actual band made up of three distinct voices. Les Claypool and Tool's Danny Carey joined Belew on his 2005 CD, Side One, but they weren't about to leave their careers to join him full-time. Belew then tried working with jazz vets Mike Gallagher and Mike Hodges, but the fiftysomething musicians came to the conclusion that no one really had the initiative to commit to a permanent project.
It all came down to age. Old folks get set in their ways, become jaded, and have super-huge egos. The youthful Slicks, on the other hand, were eager to try anything Belew threw at them. "I can tell Eric, 'Tonight, you've got to play on bongos,'" says Belew. "But they aren't kids to me. They're very smart, gifted people, and very responsible."
Last year's Side Four Live caps Belew's Side series, which he's been working on since 2005. It features the trio performing cover versions of old Belew and King Crimson tunes. Taken together, the quartet of guitar-heavy and experimental CDs "represents all the stuff that has gone through my head in the last five years," says Belew.
But don't call it prog-rock; Belew has never been comfortable with that label. He thinks it's an old-fashioned tag that conjures images of cluttered '70s concept albums about dancing unicorns and malicious gnomes. He prefers to call his new trio's material "modern music." "One of the things that I picked up from people like Frank Zappa or Robert Fripp or David Bowie is that, if you can possibly form your own little corner of the world, that's the best way that you can go," he says. "Because you are the only person who has it."
The kids have sparked Belew, who has been plotting a new version of King Crimson with Fripp, bassist Tony Levin, and drummers Pat Mastelotto and Gavin Harrison, the latter a member of alt-prog combo Porcupine Tree. After Belew wraps his current tour, he'll join up with his old pals for a couple of high-profile gigs this summer. He also contributed guitar noises for something Trent Reznor put together late last year. Belew — who played on Nine Inch Nails' The Downward Spiral and The Fragile albums — is coy about the project. Or maybe he just doesn't have a clue about it. "[Reznor] was very secretive about what it was going to be," says Belew. "I didn't press him on it."
Belew says performing with people half his age "rejuvenates" him. At first, he feared "it would sound silly and look silly." But the guitarist recalls a time 30 years ago when Zappa lifted him out of obscurity, put him in a dress, and launched a career that's been exploring music's many different shades ever since. "I have a debt to Frank Zappa for discovering me and putting up with me for a year," he says. Now Belew is in position to be that "someone who believes in you." And he's relishing every minute of it.
Freekee attended last nights ABPT gig at the Shank Hall in Milwaukee WI, and here is his review of the night....
"We saw Adrian Belew at Shank Hall tonight. Fun show.
Adrian is a guitar guy. Innovative and fun loving. He's a member of King Crimson, and plays with a lot of people. This time out, he's doing the Adrian Belew Power Trio. It's him with bassist Julie Slick and drummer Eric Slick. They're brother and sister, she's 22 and he's 20. They've been playing with Belew for a couple of years. Here's a bit of history: Julie Slick began taking bass lessons at age twelve at the Paul Green School of Rock as one of seventeen students Paul Green taught in his apartment in 1998 in order to help pay his tuition at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was a philosophy major. Green had the students jam at venues around the city to give them real experience as musicians. For their first show, Green and his students performed Pink Floyd's The Wall at the Griffin Cafe in Philadelphia, PA. He didn't have a drummer so the owner of the restaurant sat in. Julie’s mother, Robin, suggested that Green consider her 11-year-old son, Eric Slick, who eventually became the house drummer. The Paul Green School of Rock was later born. Eric began studying drum lessons at the school and now teaches there.
Eric is pretty damn good. Adrian seemed to enjoy working with him, since he usually faced Eric, and interacted with him a lot. He only occasionally interacted with Julie. Julie and Eric, however, interacted with each other a lot. It was fun to watch the signals back and forth behind Adrian's back. Like the time Eric tricked Julie with a fake cue. She was like, thanks a lot! He was laughing his ass off.
Julie was pretty damn good too. She doesn't look like a rock star, with her skirt and sweater (and bare feet), but man can she play. It was kinda wild watching these kids playing Bruford and Levin.
Adrian was having a good time. He could hardly contain himself during the first few songs. He's a madman. He actually kinda devolved into wankery a few times, but he was having fun. Most of the songs they played were either Crimson or from his latest Side albums. My favorite song of the night was "Three of a perfect Pair." Smokin! (Hey, you can hear it here, for a little bit: http://www.adrianbelew.net/)
The downside: really loud. I'm going to be hearing it tomorrow. Not good. I need to find some musician's earplugs."
Thanks for the info on the show Freekee!
"Wankery"..... interesting turn of phrase - not sure at which point having fun turns you into a 'wanker', or how one could 'devolve' to such....but I am glad that Ade was having such a wonderful time.
And HUGE THANKS to Burton Lo (Bam0027) for the excellent photos used throughout todays post....
If you haven't checked out his huge selection of ABPT photo's from the Coach House gig on Feb 24, then you really need to click on this link and see them all on his Flickr site.... I really enjoyed the slideshow, especially the sets that seem to morph from one to the other...excellent!
A new offering from YouTube this morning..... from the 'certainly not mainstream' collection of King Crimson sound bites, out-takes and back-room rehearsals of years gone by....
KING CRIMSON - CLOUDS
from the 'Happy with what you have to be happy with' disc.
Brilliantly set to the fitting and strangely interesting animations created by "Achtungrael" (Francisco Contreras Esquinca)
"Nine Inch Nails presents Ghosts I - IV, a brand new 36 track instrumental collection available right now. Almost two hours of new music composed and recorded over an intense ten week period last fall, Ghosts I - IV sprawls Nine Inch Nails across a variety of new terrain."
Well folks, I've listened through the full 36 tracks twice, since posting my initial NIN News Flash this morning - and I thoroughly enjoyed it all..... Certainly worthy and listenable material..... It was also great fun listening with an ear for the Adrian Belew signature sounds in many of the tracks.... I will certainly be downloading the full 36 LOSSLESS files - @ $5.00 an absolute deal! I probably will also lash out and purchase the $10.00 2 disc set.... : )
Trent Reznor explains, "I've been considering and wanting to make this kind of record for years, but by its very nature it wouldn't have made sense until this point. This collection of music is the result of working from a very visual perspective - dressing imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams. I'm very pleased with the result and the ability to present it directly to you without interference. I hope you enjoy the first four volumes of Ghosts."
Says Trent Reznor (from the NIN Website).... "This music arrived unexpectedly as the result of an experiment. The rules were as follows: 10 weeks, no clear agenda, no overthinking, everything driven by impulse. Whatever happens during that time gets released as... something.
The team: Atticus Ross, Alan Moulder and myself with some help from Alessandro Cortini, Adrian Belew and Brian Viglione. Rob Sheridan collaborated with Artist in Residence (A+R) to create the accompanying visual and physical aesthetic.
We began improvising and let the music decide the direction. Eyes were closed, hands played instruments and it began. Within a matter of days it became clear we were on to something, and a lot of material began appearing. What we thought could be a five song EP became much more. I invited some friends over to join in and we all enjoyed the process of collaborating on this.
The end result is a wildly varied body of music that we're able to present to the world in ways the confines of a major record label would never have allowed - from a 100% DRM-free, high-quality download, to the most luxurious physical package we've ever created.
More volumes of Ghosts are likely to appear in the future."
- Trent Reznor, March 2, 2008
Interestingly, I unearthed this cryptic message whilst browsing through the site.....
Nine Inch Nails released a four volume collection of 36 instrumental tracks through their website last night (March 2).
EntitledGhosts I-IV, the tracks are now available on the band's official websiteNIN.com, with nine tracks that will form an album available free to download.
Ghosts was recorded during an impulsive ten week recording session last year with the help of longtime NIN and now Arctic Monkeys producer Alan Moulder, NIN touring keyboardist Alessandro Cortini, King Crimson's Adrian Belew and Dresden Dolls and Jesse Malin drummer Brian Viglione.
Speaking on the website, Reznor states that the 36 tracks were: "The result of working from a visual perspective – coating imagined locations and scenarios with sound and texture; a soundtrack for daydreams".
Ghosts I-IV is available in different download and physical packages, including a deluxe four 180-gram vinyl set numbered and signed by Reznor.
A double CD set will be released in retail outlets in the UK on April 8.
Full details of all the variations are below.
FREE DOWNLOAD Ghosts I - The first 9 tracks from the Ghosts I-IV collection available as high-quality DRM-free MP3s (320kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged) including complete 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack - various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.
$5 DOWNLOAD: Ghosts I-IV - All 36 tracks in a variety of DRM-free digital formats (320 kbps LAME encoded, fully tagged; FLAC Lossless; Apple Lossless) including a 40 page PDF. Also includes the digital extras pack - various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.
$10 2 CD SET: Ghosts I-IV - 2 audio CDs in a gatefold digipak package with a 16-page booklet. To be shipped TBD. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in same choice of formats as $5 Download option. Download will include the 40 page PDF and the digital extras pack - various wallpapers, icons, and graphics tools for your computer, website, profile, etc.
This configuration will be released to retail April 5 in Australia and Japan, and April 8 in North America, the UK and most European territories.
$75 LIMITED EDITION DELUXE PACKAGE: Ghosts I-IV - Hardcover book holding 2 audio CDs, 1 data DVD of all 36 tracks in multi-track format (in .wav files readable by Mac and Windows), and Blu-ray disc featuring stereo recordings in high-definition 24 bit 96Khz with exclusive slide show. Includes immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above. Also includes 48-page hardcover of photographs by Phillip Graybill and Rob Sheridan. Discs and art book both housed in fabric slipcover.
$300 ULTRA-DELUXE LIMITED EDITION PACKAGE: Ghosts I-IV - Contains all elements from deluxe package, along with exclusive 4XLP 180-gram vinyl set, and two limited edition Giclee prints available exclusively in this package. Disc book, art book, and prints are all housed in a fabric slipcover. 4XLP vinyl set comes in its own fabric slipcover. INCLUDES immediate DRM-free download of the entire collection in all formats and with all extras mentioned above. LIMITED TO 2500 PIECES, NUMBERED AND PERSONALLY SIGNED BY TRENT REZNOR.
A $39 4 x vinyl version will be available at retail at a later date.
