Scott Henderson Discussion

[Scott Henderson]

Willis and I have decided not to continue with Tribal Tech. There are many reasons, but here are a few of mine.

I find it difficult to work on music when band members live in other countries. It’s a lot of work sending files back and forth, and there’s an unbelievable amount of post-production needed after the basic tracks are done. The recording budgets are low enough with a trio - I can no longer justify spending that amount of time for the same budget with a quartet.

It’s a similar situation with touring. I have a family to support and thankfully I’m making good money with my trio and HBC. Nothing against keyboard players, but I’m having a great time writing instrumental music for guitar and I want to put all my attention on that path because it’s more challenging as a guitarist and composer. I still hope to play with Deron Johnson in LA, and also with Steve Taviglione, two of my favorite musicians.

Thanks to all the fans who supported Tribal Tech!

[talfarlow]

Reasonable enough, particularly for those of us who know how it works. Good luck in your current and future projects, I bet we'll be delighted as ever. And thanks for sharing your reasons with us. Best regards from Spain.

[bigscottfan]

Sorry to hear that. It would have been really interesting to hear how the music would have evolved with the new lineup. But I totally understand your reasons.

All the best for you and your family.

[Roman Hampacher]

so sorry for that, but i think its a good decision. band like tt must to play gigs .. there is almost no chance to record really great album and not to be together.
wish you all the best scott and i know, that you will make a lot of great music on the place, where you will feel comfortable
hope se you soon in prague!

[harmonicator]

Thanks for all the amazing TT music Scott. Looking forward to all your future projects!

[Red Suede]

End of an era......

[daschwarjazz]

This is exactly why, with a few exceptions, I've stopped working remotely with other musicians. I used to think to myself, "This is great! We can just record all of our parts individually and mix them later. Go technology! What could possibly go wrong?" The answer to that question is, "Everything."

Lack of communication + volatile personalities + hundreds of gigabytes worth of data that need to be passed back and forth = disaster. From now on, I don't want to be more than 50 ft. away from the people I work with during recording sessions!

Hope you find happiness and fulfillment in your future endeavors.

[Scott Henderson]

Luckily we didn't have lack of communication or volatile personalities, but the way we did albums after Willis moved to Spain definitely changed. We were still playing together on the basic tracks since Willis always came to LA to record with us, but the post production was more difficult than if we all lived in the same city. There's always the danger of recording alone on someone's tune and then find out they don't like this or that - I'd rather the person be there while I'm recording so I don't waste my time. But overall it worked pretty well, and I think the best musical ideas usually won, no matter who's they were.

[dizzy]

Scott
Tribal tech will always be one of the great fusion bands. After weather report and return to forever in the 70s you guys picked it up in the 80 s and 90s.
And you did it as a BAND with a group sound.
I am glad you have moved on to your trio because I think creatively your trio is more "modern" for lack of a better word.
I sure appreciate your musical output.

[daschwarjazz]

That's good to hear. For the most part, my experience has been that the music does win out in the end (even if a couple people end up not being on speaking terms for a while), but I've been part of a few projects that imploded for one reason or another. Mostly it ends up being a communication issue. A lot of people in my age group just seem to want to communicate via text messages or emails, and sometimes you just can't tell how someone is feeling through words alone. It's one thing if you know someone really well (like you and Gary), but sometimes I feel like I'm working with a group of sentient machines instead of people when all we do is email each other. It's so easy to take things the wrong way, and I'd much rather talk on the phone or Skype.

Dealing with inflated egos has also been a hurdle at times. I've had the opportunity to work with musicians who can really shred, but freak out if they're not the loudest person in the mix or don't get to solo on every tune. Nowadays, I care more about working with nice people who approach music with a sense of humility.

So here's my Public Service Announcement to everyone: Be nice!

Sorry for the rant...

[AlexThanos]

So sorry to hear that Scott. Watching you guys play and hanging out with you guys was one of the best moment of my life. Thanks for all the great TT stuff and you've got my support w your upcoming records. Hope to see you soon!