Words and all that Jazz

For many years I've been attracted to words. Maybe old William S Burroughs with his junk needle and croaky sandbox of a voice still knew a thing or two when he stated that 'Language is a virus' and practiced his cut up techniques. And there is so much material available these days in the digital revolution with piles and piles of text on any conceivable topic being available at my fingertips. A sad fact probably is that I spend so much time behind this machine communicating with others that I am sure that I ( and many others ) have lost the art of face to face communication.
Having said that though, If I was to verbalise most of what I write here in an everyday conversation, most people would turn away in disinterest. So we would rather pick and choose our conversations with those who understand and identify with us, even if it does mean that the face I am conversing with throws a phosphorus glow on mine,and can be silenced and instigated at the flick of a switch.
But I digress...
These words..I've been seeing them more as an art form than as simply a communication device. There is a precious gift in articulation, imagery, emotion, rhyme, and not to forget the sound, tone, and inflictions of the human voice.
The early beat poets knew it, standing on a stage with a single microphone and a wailing jazz music behind them , talking nonsensically at times simply relying on the relationship of words on each other filling the aural palette with hues and strokes as would a master painter.
Burroughs cut up method provided a rich landscape of words disjointed yet connected, possibly the reflection of his scattered thoughts and disjointed thought processes, though when read or spoken weave a magical winding road with beautiful curves and turns which takes us on a challenging journey. Challenging because it often leaves us trying to explain what we have read or heard rationally which the mind tends to want to do.
Though not all spoken word need be like this. The best of what I have heard comes from a
gentleman who goes by the name of Ken Nordine. Now Ken Nordine is a master of the voice and words. His thoughts run deeper than the deepest murkiest waters often dismembering the human psyche and walking us through as our expert tour guide. He leaves us thinking, he proposes offbeat situations, he brings the inanimate alive. If you ever get a chance to hear his material, ( his voice is likely to be recognisable and you will ponder upon where you have heard it before) I strongly suggest you take a large dose of his wordy concoctions.
One particularly engaging series that Ken Nordine produced was a radio show called "Word Jazz" which was an installment of Ken's rantings backed up by mostly esoteric music and sound effects to suit. The link will take you to his site where you can sample some of his great works ( Unfortunately the site no longer provides downloads of the radio show, but look hard enough and you might just find some...)
Another wordsmith I have enjoyed over the years (though lately she has begun singing more than speaking) is Laurie Anderson. I guess that hearing her 'Oh Superman ' piece at 3 am while I was in half sleep was a religious experience for me. Though simple, yet profound I continued to enjoy many many more of her works over the years following especially when she joined forces with William S on one of her tracks (Sharkey's day).
Of course MC 900 FT. Jesus is another crafty constructor of the wordly kind. Readers of my previous posts should be familiar with him by now and hopefully appreciated his style of work. sometimes dark, sometimes humorous, sometimes bewildering .
In closing, I would like to acknowledge something which I cannot explain though I know certainly exists. Take a number of mediums, (in our case voice and music) alone they may stand pretty much on their own, but place them together and something extra beyond the individual elements is created, maybe it has to do with the combination of the senses or brain receptors. Speaking of which , mine is just about fried for the day.... my next post will probably take this topic further but you will just have to wait patiently my dearies...

Cheers Eric...

The story behind the Zubes

It is time for me to reveal the story behind the great and almighty Zubricks.
Having moved to the Central Coast of New South Wales back in 1999 from the big smoke of Sydney, due to my girlfriend at the time wanting to open her own Hair Salon, I embarked upon getting myself involved in a rock band. I had been in bands previously in Sydney though gigs mainly consisted of Bikie gigs, small clubs, and charity benefits and it felt more like work than it did fun.
I decided that the best tact to take was in the form of a 'keyboard player looking for band' sign at my now local music store. As I pinned my sign up, I was amongst a collage of metalheads, jazz nuts, blues freaks, all wanting to reach their band Nivana. I was feeling a little lost within the pool of talented muso's, so I went on my merry way and soon forgot all about my little advert not expecting too much of a reply.
Some weeks later, I received a call from a guitarist whose girlfriend had seen the sign, and suddenly realized that what her boyfriend's band needed was keyboards, and lo and behold I was asked to turn at their next rehearsal.
The band ended up being a bunch of cricket mates who, having said that, were great musicians ( I personally am not into Cricket so I subsequently endured many a conversation regarding the current tour, best players, latest controversy etc.)
The Bass player (who was tenderly known as tooly Jeff) had obviously listened to too much new order and the cure (which resulted in a great solid bass technique), whilst the drummer (known as dazzla) was quite technical and tight. The guitarist though seemed a little lost in the 70's and hadn't realized we were on the brink of a new millennium.
Initially, he didn't say much too me, and I felt he sort of didn't approve of having a keyboard player in the band ( where the others seemed quite keen),this apprehension seemed to last only for about an hour as during our first rehearsal break, I pulled out a muso's cigarette. Well that was the end of the guitarist's complacency, his eyes made like light bulbs that had just been applied 240 Volts. Unfortunately the old fella couldn't handle his weed too well, and soon totally lost the plot, and several personal possessions, and was forced to leave the band.
So we ended up being a three piece and an occasional percussionist when he felt the need to join us. I ended up being affectionately known a Bundy Zubrick as they felt I reminded them of the Bundy Rum Bear. hmmm...
The music soon took a sudden turn from the old 70's covers which the ex guitarist had the band play, to originals, which I had started writing and playing to the band. Overall fun was had by all, we became great friends.
We soon recorded our first CD, titled 'The Bistro Witch Project', and then a second entitled 'Dognuts'. This happened over a period of about 3-4 years and many jam's, Guinness's, and Muso cigarettes.
As things happen, on the brink of our third band recording, I fell ill, the drummer found a partner and had a kid, and the Bass player well he was going through tough times financially after a bitter divorce and felt he had to dedicate his life to non musical cash generating activities.
The band still gets together sporadically, periods between getting together are becoming increasingly longer.
I have moved on to other things, joining a Sydney and local corporate band, a local 70's band (ironic I know), and two acoustic duo's.
Enjoy the photo's and the band link below :)





Listen to the Zubricks

Take a listen

Its halfway through the week, and I don't really have too much to report.
So i decided I'd share a little gem with you all, a fiery red hot gem which I discovered some years back.
If you have read my previous posts, you would be aware of my attachment to Triple J, Australia's youth radio network. Now whilst these days I'm not totally wrapped in everything they play, but often many independent bands or artists starting out will only get played on the j's, and I am still discovering new artists which I would otherwise never hear from.
A few years back, one such artist was a guy by the name of Mark Griffin, or better know as MC900FT Jesus hailing from Dallas, Texas.
I remember material from his first recording 'Hell with the lid off' which was recorded with a guy named DJ Zero in 1990. I recall one particular track on the album scared the hell out of me but I still loved it. it was experimental hip hop using assorted samples and showed real musicality ( Mark was a classically trained musician).
A little while later (1991) MC 900FT Jesus released what I considered his classic album (and the one that I instantly took a severe liking to) 'Welcome to my dream'. The imagery and story telling on this recording were just brilliant. One particular track 'The city sleeps' has MC900FT Jesus adopting the persona of an serial arsonist. Most of the album reflects a demented psycotic nature. I have provided a link below of 'The City Sleeps' for your listening pleasure.
The MC's last release was 'One step ahead of the spider' (1994), once again a great album.
Unfortunately a 4th album was attempted, but he felt that his style was growing stale, and he had taken it as far as he could.
Mark Griffin became disillusioned with the music industry, decided to become a commercial pilot trainer, received his licence, but ended up working in a large Dallas bookstore, and frequently DJ's at a local venue.
I can hear a little of MC900FT Jesus in my material...enjoy the song link.

...and remember kids...dont play with matches !


MC900FT Jesus - The City Sleeps

Friday Night.

Its Friday night, and I'e been gearing up for this night for the last few weeks or so. I am involved in a band that plays corporate functions where the staff get up and sing and we back them up. quite fun really. The last time I did one of these gigs was about a 18 months ago, so as you can imagine I was quite rusty.
It's now 2.20am I just got back and thought I'd share the experience.
Firstly I must thank my father's GPS which I borrowed for the trip into Sydney, which helped considerably. I am normally a good navigator and quite good with maps, but not when I'm driving at the same time :)
So I found the place quite easily. Quite a nice function room on one of the wharfs on Sydney Harbour, very nice views, nice setting, well presented.
The rest of the band were already there (even though I was quite early), and I suddenly recognised some familiar faces of which some I had not seen for over two years.
The stage reminded me of a matchstick, quite long but stuff all wide, so instead of the usual triangle formation, we all had to set up in a line with the drummer in the middle.
I set up my 88 key keyboard which weighs a ton, and even more when it is in it's road case which I tenderly refer to as a child's coffin as it would probably be of the same dimensions, hooked up my Laney amp which weighs another ton and I was ready to go. well not quite, with these functions the musicians normally turn up before everyone else to set up and then wait a number of hours until it is time for them to play, so it was now the waiting game after a quick sound check.
We all chatted amongst ourselves, caught up on the last 2 years, talked muso talk, met a few celebrities which were judging some of the acts for the night, drank a few ales, had our meal, watched the clients arrive in their crazy costumes ( it was a theme night ), and smoked way too many cigarettes.
OK we were ready to go, ( the schedule was running around 45 mins late as usual for these type of functions). The acts were made up of different department members from this firm, some were listenable, others were average, most were awful, but still entertaining in sadistic sort of way. Most singing way beyond their range, others fighting over microphones, some even falling off the back of the stage. Everyone had fun including the band.
The strangest thing about the night was that the musicians on either end of the stage, couldn't hear each other, so I couldn't hear the guitarist, and he couldn't hear the keys. We got through it OK though.
The night ended on a great rendition of 'Hey Jude' with the crowd coming in on the 'na na na' bit with a choir of slurring voices not wanting the song to end.
We then watched the slow exodus of partiers shuffling through the exit doors wondering if many of them would actually make it home without incident, and of course there were those who decided to stay and continue the revelry even though the lights had come on, the exit doors open, and the function centre staff have started clearing the tables and begun packing them away. These are the same that play chicken with you as you are trying to carry a ton of amp back to your car, or try engage you in conversation during the same.
Anyway, after having successfully packed away the gear and gave my farewells to the band members, I slumped into my car ready for a long drive...no GPS this time...I knew my way home.

I am what I hear.

One of the greatest rewards to come from the act of creation, whether it be an art form or a physical object, is being aware of the effect it has on others. Unfortunately often the artist has a general idea whether their creation is accepted or viewed in a positive light, though is not aware of more personal impacts.
Today I thought I would offer a list of my top 3 bands or artists who have changed my life of influenced me greatly.

Firstly I need to mention the influence of a radio station which is a national youth network in Australia called JJJ (pronounced Triple J). Without them I would have never heard many of my favorite artists. During my teenage years, they provided me with a wealth of quality music and commentry. These days I still enjoy listening to them (as opposed to the top 40 stations) , though as I am older their impact is not quite as strong but I still certainly enjoy their content.

So on with the list:

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds - St Nick is truly magic, his music simple, his lyrics poetic his presentation preacher like. His Old testament style language combined with a passionate presence and detailed imagery really conveyed his subject matter totally. Albums like 'Tender Prey' and 'The Good Son' literally didn't leave my car CD player for months.
Having experienced Nick and the Bad Seeds live a number of times, the intensity and passion generated by each performance was unlike anything else I have experienced.

Tom Waits - A true master of musical genres. This man can do anything from a touching ballad to skeleton music and pull it off brilliantly. Detailed imagery, the husky voice, the sometimes quirky subject matter, the original concepts all combine to make the perfect troubadour. He reminds me of a Tenor that has lost his way. All of his releases have been consistently great, but my favorites are 'Swordfishtrombones' and 'Frank's Wild Years', I recall being totally blown away upon hearing both these albums. 'Frank's Wild Tears' was especially close to my heart as at that time I had left my full time job to take up a music career, and related to much of its content.

TISM (This is serious mum) - If you are not an Aussie you are not likely to know the likes of TISM. They were a Band that basically didn't take themselves or the music industry very seriously, though managed through their mockery of the industry to become quite popular. Their early material was raw and poignant, sometimes cryptic lyrics were incredibly well written. Law suits came at them like wildfire as they parodied and sometimes shamed popular artists, celebrities and bands in their songs. Their identities were always hidden by balaclavas or similar face covering headgear. Their concerts were a creative theatrical event often with something goofy going on behind the band. Hitler Ron Barassi ( the bands voice) often broke into spoken word diatribe attacking the evils of the music industry and Aussie culture. Tism fans were loyal, dedicated, fun loving yobbos who would often slag the band as much as the Band slagged them as being mindless sheep.
Unfortunately the band did their final gig a few years back, there was always hope for a reunion, but their lead guitarist (Token Blackman) passed away earlier this year. ( most of the band were in their 40-50's). Tism were pure energy.

The Mysterious Box.

I'm sure by now you may have noticed there is a mysterious box at the bottom of this page. This contains many of my own composition for your listening pleasure. These tunes were recorded by myself over the last 5-6 years in either my Wamberal beach studio between 2001 and 2006 or my Wyong Studio from 2006 onwards, Both on the Central coast of New South Wales, Australia.
I have been been involved with bands and a great network of musicians since I moved up to the coast from Sydney, and have never looked back, though have found that musicians are no different to normal people (well generally speaking) they have their own lives, and cannot always be available when you are, and may not share the passion for music at the same level as you do, so eventually whilst still enjoying making music with my greatly talented friends, I stepped over to the dark side of sequencers, workstations, VST's and VSTI's to be able to create music on a computer which sounds half decent.
Let me say from the beginning that one type of music making does not replace the other and this works either way. With a real live musician situation, you feel the connection of working with another human being, appreciating their interpretations, styles and influences, which you would not get from a machine, whereas on the other hand, working with a machine, you have the freedom of putting in exactly what you want and how you want it, which I would never dictate to a musician as that would be a disregard of their artistic interpretations and feel.
Each have their distinct advantages.
The material which you can listen to below is mainly computer stuff, some may include live overlays by myself or a musician friend, but mostly sequenced.
Have a listen to it, leave your comments if you feel inclined, I'd love to hear them. though please understand I am not an engineer or producer, so please don't analyse the production techniques, I know these could have been produced a lot better.
So sit back in your favorite comfy chair, turn the lights down, light one up if that is how you like your music, and hit the button. Enjoy !!!

Cheers.
Eric

Initial Ramblings

Well folks, here I am, fingers poised, ready to offer my first nuggests of thought and wisdom to a world which I know is just starving needlessly for them.
Unfortunately, all I can do is stare at my Simpsons coffee cup and search my deepest innards for something I need to say, somthing that gripes me amuses, annoys me or elates me.
Nothing... I have nothing. When I lay down to sleep of a night my mind races for hours with sporadic thoughts, situations, schemes... though as soon as I sit humbly before this great machine with its infinite possibilities for mass communication and expression, my brain scampers into a hidden corner of my scull, (I can feel it somewhere behind my left ear).
In fact, the exact same process occurs when I am faced with social interaction.. after the standard pleasantries and 'how ya doins', Im lost for words. There is plenty I could say, but sifting through what would be appropriate and relevant to the conversation takes time, Im a thinking man, not one to be able to spew out words on call, or come up with the witty one liners.
More so in the presence of beauty, it is as if a weight is suddenly placed upon my upper lip causing it to remain clasped shut, and a trigger is sent to the nerve centre of my brain telling it to go into meltdown other than dispatching freakish facial expressions or the code for my skin pores to suddenly open and allow a flood of persiration to cover me.
No. I am one most comfortable with silence, the silence which allows us to listen and hear the utterings of the heart and soul.
As esteemed author Kahil Gibran most elequently puts it: 'Beauty has its own language, loftier than the voices of tongues and lips, it is a timeless language common to all humanity, a calm lake that attracts the singing rivulets to its depths and makes them silent' .
Upon those words, I shall become silent once again, until the next time I have absolutely nothing to say.

Take Care...Ecca