Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 534 Location: SF Bay area
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 2:46 am Post subject: GARTH WEBBER
Shhhhhh, don't tell anybody, but Cinderella is just getting home and it's almost 3 AM. I had the extreme pleasure of seeing Garth Webber perform tonight, and all I can say is, "WOW!"
I thought I knew how great he was, having listened to him on CD...wrong! This man is a spectacular, stupendous, amazing, stellar, (looking for superlatives here, folks...it's waaaaaay past my bedtime!) monster musician. I can't begin to tell you how good this evening sounded. What I can't figure out is: WHY ISN'T THIS MAN A HOUSEHOLD NAME? He is, truly, one of the best guitar players I have EVER heard.
I'm yawning, my contact lenses are stuck to my tired eyes, and my car has long since turned into a pumpkin, so I will give you more details manana. Did I say, "WOW"? If I didn't, WOW!
sweet dreams..
love, elizabeth
(is it me, or does my little froggy look tired, too?) Come on little guy, time to shuffle off to Buffalo...you too, Max. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
P.S. Dream band: Robben, Garth, and Chris Cain! _________________ www.elizabethgage.com
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 12:51 pm Post subject:
Well, I had the pleasure of meeting "that woman" and listening to a great band. Although Elizabeth keeps saying that she isn't a musician, she obviously kept picking up on all the highlights (which came ever five seconds with this show)
The band is called Blue Monday. They have a release out called "Live at Norma's" with Chris Cain in the guitar chair. As of late Garth has been pulling guitar duties with this crew.
The rest of the personnel are:
Ron E. Beck on drums, probably best known for filling the drum chair in Tower of Power. I don't think it's possible for this man not to groove. Even his solos make you want to dance. When he breaks things up or superimposes 5 over 4 or whatever, it is done with feeling, not as a clinical excersize. Oh and he's a great singer too, something that's not easy behind the drums.
Danny Hull on sax, vocals and ocasional harmonica. When I first got into the music scene out here, Danny was a legend. Easy to see why. I don't know what he's been up to all these years (maybe someone else knows) but it could have been anything. He could hold his own in any jazz combo as well as be a lead singer for any r&b or blues band. He quotes Bird and Webster with equal facility and mixes it all with down home blues drive that leaves you breathless.
Clifford Colter on keys and vocals. I've heard that this man was in the Verve stable in the past. Another guy who should be a household name. At one of the earlier Blue Monday shows, Chris Cain remarked that Cliff was one of the best bass players he'd ever worked with. And that's just his left hand! He sings and plays amazing keys on top of all that. Another cat who can go in any direction he choses and must know a thousand songs. I'd love to hear him with a real B3 but the things he does with synthizers is beyond belief. Elizabeth kept saying "how come MY Korg doesn't sound like that. Cliff brings up these patches and then plays each one in a way that fits. He had this scat vocal patch with different vowels at different dynamic levels (it's from Roland samplers, he told me he remapped it to his Triton). When Cliff played this, it sounded like someone had stuffed Manhatten Transfer into Charlie Parkers horn. He played guitar, harmonica and sax patches with equal aclarity. Making each one sound like the real instrument, playing licks and phrasing native to the original instrument, instead of just playing piano licks on a sax sound.
Then we have Garth. Some folks who have posted about seeing him live can attest to how this man can take you on a trip. For the techies, he played the same set up he described here earlier, blonde spruce top RF Fender, Fender (Riverra designed) Concert amp, Alesis MicroVerb with a little slap delay, Carl Martin compressor (which appeared to be on the whole time) and Boss SD-1. He has a knob on the back of the Concert which I'm guessing is one of the L-pads he used to set on top. I'm not sure which channel of the Concert he's using but it's set up to get a nice clear dynamic overdrive with the guitar wide open, then he kicks in the Boss to get the more saturated "boost" like the bypass on a Dumble. How he gets such great dynamics with a compression pedal and a soak on the amp is a testament to the tweaking of a sound professional and the talented hands of a world class guitar player. Garth really seems to be enjoying himself in this band. Who wouldn't? Each is incredible on their instrument and they all listen and pick up on each other. Garth has great ears and not only follows Cliff's left turns but tosses in wonderfully placed ideas of his own.
The interplay between these guys is even more than the sum of the parts. They catch phrases from each other and take off in new directions at the drop of a hat. This is like a great jazz ensemble that is playing blues and r&b songs and using them as a palette for group improvisations. To stand three feet in front of them and get the full force of this is too much for words. I got a couple of photos (in defference to the guys I turned the flash off and it's pretty dark in there). I need to figure out how to get them to post. You'll be able to see what a tiny "joint" JJ's is. But there is great music in these little holes in the wall.
Hopefully, this band will get Garth out of the studio and some more folks will be able to see this incredible music making.
Cheers, _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 16 Jul 2003 Posts: 534 Location: SF Bay area
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 6:39 pm Post subject: Uhhhh, no...uhhh, yeah!
Thank you Aeolian!
That is exactly what I was trying to say (except that I don't know what I'm talking about.) I DO know this: You would do well to get on the internet (well, you ARE on the internet if you are reading this...) and get your hands on Garth's CDs.
Honest...I was at a gas station using one of those coin-operated vaccuuming things (don't hate me for my glamourous life!) with "Get A Grip On The Blues" for mood music, and someone asked me, "Who the HELL is that? It's freakin' fantastic!"
I told him it was Garth Webber, (the cut was "You're a Bad One"...one of my favorites!) and I told him how to buy it (www.bluerockit.com/) He had a really nice car, so I told him to buy The Ford Blues Band's "Another Fine Day" also, since he was ordering, and then suggested he buy their entire CD catalog. He asked me if I worked for them and seemed shocked when I said, "Uhhh, no, I teach middle school!"
Buy Garth's CDs; the man is a genius. I promise. Trust me, I'm a teacher! (ha ha ha ha ha!)
And I thought I could write. A & E ( yeah, I like the sound of that, A & E ) you did good, real good. _________________ iamthewalrus
----------------------------------------------------
Knock knock.
Who's there?
Control freak. Now you say "control freak who."
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Sun Jan 18, 2004 7:16 pm Post subject:
A & E, that would be Arts & Entertainment? I'm not sure which is which.
So much music, so little time... _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 916 Location: Fairhope, AL
Posted: Wed Jan 21, 2004 8:00 pm Post subject: Garth Webber
Guys, I just got "Man on a Mission" tonight. I put it in the player and I can tell you it will be there for a while! The man is great! This a great CD. Thanks guys for putting me on this man. I'm loving this!
Frank
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 916 Location: Fairhope, AL
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 2:16 pm Post subject: when you're right...
You were absolutely right, too. I came into work today and had to go back out to the truck and get the CD. I just couldn't go all day without hearing it again. Robben and Garth together are unbelievable.
Frank
Joined: 04 Nov 2003 Posts: 886 Location: SF Bay Area
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 4:03 pm Post subject: Re: when you're right...
frank0936 wrote:
Robben and Garth together are unbelievable.
Frank
Can you imagine what the "out-takes" sound like? I'd do anything to hear these two sit down and cut loose. _________________ There are no such things as wrong notes, there's only the look on your face.
My Stuff: www.stevekirbymusic.com
Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 916 Location: Fairhope, AL
Posted: Thu Jan 22, 2004 8:13 pm Post subject: out-takes
Oh. yeah!! You know, when I met Robben I had this dream that we would really hit it off. then I was going to ask him if I could have a job just polishing his guitar....he brought the Tele. There's another great idea shot down in flames! But can you imagine being able to be in the wings for those sound checks, or in the booth for those pre-recording jams when those two are bouncing ideas off each other? I guess it's just as well. I'd either want to find a cave so I could practice undisturbed for the next ten years, or I'd just donate my gear to Goodwill.
Frank
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