Scott Henderson Discussion

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Scott: Will there be upcoming tour dates in conjunction with the release of Vibe Station? I live in Vegas and was hoping your trio would be doing some gigs in L.A. There are some dates listed on the Scotthenderson.net site, but I wasn't sure if they were current. (The L.A. gig said July 10 at the Baked Potato, but I couldn't get confirmation from the venue's website.)

Also, on a related matter, it's probably naive of me to wonder if there are any high-quality video recordings of your live performances available, like on DVD. I've seen just about every YouTube clip there is of you performing, but I would love and gladly pay for a high-quality concert-length DVD. I think of that Rockpalast clip of your Covington-Humphrey trio playing "Devil Boy" and wonder, How the heck could I get ahold of the rest of that broadcast? (I'm assuming you did a whole set if not a whole show. And while I love the version on Well to the Bone, that live version is fantastic.)

It's sad that the best live footage I've seen of Tribal Tech and your trio comes from Germany and Israel (TV broadcasts), while apparently there's none to be had from this country.

[Scott Henderson]

Yes, the gigs on my site are current. There are some US dates in September - NYC and Chicago are confirmed, and our agent is working on more.

That being said, the states is always difficult because most of the clubs don't pay much and there are flights, gear rental, hotels, etc. I'm hopeful that we can play in more cities than we did last year.

Most of the high quality video was recorded at festivals in Europe. You can blame me when there's only a few tunes from a gig that end up on my YouTube channel - it's because I thought my playing sucked. My live album was recorded from the best of four nights in an LA club, but I hate it. I'm not a big fan of my own playing - I love to play but listening to it afterwards is like fingernails on a blackboard to me. If I ever get the chance to record three or four nights in a club with good recording gear, I'm willing to try again and hope for better results.

Alan has the gear for good live recordings, so now that he lives in LA we've been talking about doing a Vibe Station live record, along with older tunes and a few covers. Don't know when but it's on the to do list.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Scott: Thanks so much for the reply. I am going to try to make it down for the L.A. show. I totally respect how you feel about your playing on the "Live!" album, but I hope you'll forgive me for disagreeing. Just to hear the trio-version reboot of "Sliding into Charlisa," with you handling all the harmony and the melody, and the solos, of course.... I bought that LP (Illicit) as soon as it came out in... when? 1992? I was just finishing my first round of college back then, and I remain awestruck to this day from the small-print comment in the liner notes: "Recorded under armed guard during the L.A. Riots." And yet that album is resolutely positive and ironic and happy and realistic, without being naive, and it includes some stark reflection on the times. I don't know what else to say: it's a masterpiece. Twenty-three years old now? Seriously? And the first Tribal Tech recording with Kirk and Kinsey? So, in short, to hear your re-imagining of that tune on "Live!" was as cool as your fantastic trio re-imagining of "Db Waltz." Oh, and incidentally, I've been binge-listening to Vibe Station during my daily old-dude jog, and it continues to surprise and delight me every single damned day.

[Scott Henderson]

Thanks Tyrone - Slidin' is the only tune I can listen to on Live.

Illicit was a crazy record. We were trapped in the studio because of the riots, and Rick James was in there with his whole crew. As if it couldn't get any crazier than that, the owners of the studio were firing AK-47's from the roof to stop people from looting the Radio Shack across the street. We could all hear the gunfire while we were playing. Talk about a wild night!

[mylaa]

[magicaldog]

Hi Scott !

I still see only 2 gigs in Sweden.

Any chance there will be any gigs added for southern Sweden ?