Band Scene XIV: Funk From Down Under

Imagine if Jimi Hendrix and Ani Defranco had a child...well, such a person exists, introducing John Butler, an acoustic guitarist with the grit of Hendrix and the mindset and hair of Ani. Now imagine that with a very good drummer and bassist, and you have the increasingly popular John Butler Trio out of Austraila, but making it big in the U.S. with their newest March release, Grand National. Beyond this album of psychadelic alternative folk jam album, there is the totally unleashed live version. Thanks to Archive.org, I have two excellent live recordings of theirs that are completely paramount to their own playing on the album. Songs like "Ocean" or their single "Better Than" would be much less defined if i was not for the live versions of these songs. The guitar work is seamless with grueling tempos, and the emotions are clearly evident in the Trio's writing and playing.

Goverment Issue MIDI Controller

As a Part of the Emusician Xtra emails that flood my inbox, there's alwaysa section of links devoted to new ideas, ranging from scientific theories to other more studious blog posts. This one caught my eye as it was labeled "Driver's License as MIDI Controller for Ableton Live". Being an avid user of both Live and several (more conventional) MIDI controllers, I was immediately watching the above video in amazement. Turns out (if you know how to build your own MIDI I/O) you can use the magnetic strip of a driver's license or any swipeable card much like a ribbon controller to control parameters in Live. I'm sure this technique works with other progrmas, but the above example using the finger on the card with the filter works like it was almost meant to be.

Wow.

Stevie Wonder performs an amazing drum solo on a TV performance.

Spring Fling Pt.2

After the excellent Friday night entertainment (previous post), I was equally if not more excited for Saturday's full lineup of concerts. Concerts started at 12:30, with the winners of two different battle of the bands playing first. Neither really attracted much attention, but it was still early. Setup on the village lawn were inflatable games, rock climbing, free ice cream and sausages. After some much needed food, the bands were changing and an interesting group called the Landau Orchestra came on. Their instumentation included turntables, upright bass, xylophone, accordion and drums. Very unique, and experiemental, they definitely attracted a diverse crowd. Later on the same side stage was The Eclective Collective, a progressive funk/soul group that lived up to their name in a good way. With strong female lead vocals and a funky rhythm section, they sounded great live.

Next was contemporary rock group Rolla, featuring Dave Shuman, my advisor and professor on fretless electric bass (seen in red). Led by husband and wife lead singers/guitarists, they played some decent originals, and displayed some impressive guitar work. The highlight was when Dave flipped on his Moog pedal, and played some synth-like sounds. All the audio guys were there cheering him on it was excellent. (I bet not too many students can say their teachers are part-time rock musicians).


After Rolla, the crowd began to grow in anticipation for Soulive. Naturally, my friends and I were very near the front. Now, my previous impressions about Soulive included horns, as they always toured with Rashawn Ross on trumpet and Ryan Zoidis on saxophones. Yet, for unknown reasons, they stopped touring wth them in 2006, and added Ethiopian rapper Toussaint as a vocalist. No matter, Eric Krasno on guitar and the Evans brothers on drums and keys put on an impressive show, playing hits like "Do It Again". After an hour of guitar-filled jazz the set was over and the crowd was left wanting more. I was watching the roadies switch all the gear on the stage, and my 20-15 vision picked out something that made me happy: . A mac-mini in Neil Evan's key rig. Along with the usual Hamond organ he had the M-Audio Axiom controller and another digital synth I couldn't pick out. I wonder what plugins or programs he was using to run his bass/key sounds.

So the sun was setting and clouds were passing over, and commons keys and DJ setup were waiting. After several minutes, Common appeared out of no where and began with his most popular anthem "Go". He seemed full of energy and was running side to side on the stage. He even gave out a freestyle rap for a few minutes, including Hartford and other references to our lovely school. About half an hour into his 90-minute set the rain began to pour. No matter, it only made the outdoor concert more worth it. Overall, he was a good showing, even though he's not the most popular rapper. I can only imagine what acts they will line up in the future...