THE JEFF BECK BULLETIN ISSUE #10

July 2002 to September 2003



Jeff's World Of Opposites

Once in a while we get glimpses into the complex opposite thoughts of the artist Jeff Beck. He has always shied away from the media yet he is comfortable with his place in history. He has always complained that his record company has never understood him. Yet now that he has fulfilled his legendary contract, he makes no effort to rid himself of them. He shuns a lot of current musical trends yet he wants to get that modern feel to some of the music on his Lps. He has not had a steady singer in his lineup since he started his solo carreer. Yet he loves being onstage with great singers like Patti Labelle. This month through meeting another part of Jeff's "Beckology," the amazing keyboardist Jed Leiber, we have stumbled upon another complex of opposites. He has never been one to seemingly care about his live stuff that has shown up on bootlegs in the past yet it was indeed a bootleg of the '95 tour that led Jeff to can plans for bringing his and Jed's "Hurricane" to fruition on a commercial release. I guess it all goes back to the spirit of rock n roll which Jeff so embodies and cherishes. True cutting edge rock is predictably being unpredictable....being a lunatic..... the line spoken to me by him that I'll always remember the most.."It's (lunacy) what makes the world go 'round now isn't it!"





An Interview With Jed Leiber

by Dick Wyzanski
DW: First of all Jed we would like some background on your musical training other than the fact of being the son of one of the greatest rock songwriter's of all time.
JL: Thanks for acknowledging my Dad. His work was my earliest musical influence. I remember hanging out with him in the studio, and a constant parade of talented musicians in our home. On one special occasion, the great New Orleans piano player, James Booker, put me on his lap, my hands on his, and proceeded to play like I had never heard the piano played before. I was hooked from that moment. Later when I was maybe eight years old, my father sealed my fate by introducing me to artists like Dr. John, Sly Stone, and Elvis. For the most part, I was self-taught and learned to play by ear. Later I received a more formal education in music from Oberlin Conservatory and The Julliard School of Music.

Before you met Jeff, had you done any rock sessions or been involved with keyboards or other instruments in any rock bands?
I played in bands and did some session work in New York City, but most of my time was spent practicing and studying.

We know you met Jeff during the 'There And Back' Tour in the States in 1980. How was that meeting arranged. I understand Ernest Chapman's wife is some kind of relation to your family?
Yes, I met Jeff and Ernest through Christie Chapman. Christie is a great musician who had come to live with my family when I was little. She played piano and Hammond organ, sang, wrote songs and has been a great inspiration. She met and later married Ernest. When the 'There And Back' tour rolled into New York that fateful year, I was taking classes at Julliard and Columbia University. Much to my parents horror, as I was actually doing rather well at school, that part of my education was to end about four bars into "Star Cycle". Christie had invited me to the show. I had never heard rock 'n roll played by musicians of that caliber and I knew that from then on things wouldn't be the same. After the show, I took Jeff and some of the band out on the town and we had one of those crazy great nights in New York City. At some point in the evening, after a few cocktails I'm sure, Jeff whispered something like, "when you're ready, give me a call." Well, that was all I needed to hear. The next day I left Columbia and locked myself in a practice room.

At some point you and Jeff discussed the idea of one day working together. Yet that didn't happen at least officially for over another decade (just a few days according to Jeff's timescale of things, Hah!) How did that evolve? Were there other projects discussed before 'Frankie's House'?
It took a while before I was ready to work with Jeff. He had come to New York to begin "Flash" with Nile Rogers. I watched the making of that record, and became frustrated because I wanted so much to write and play and never got the chance. I guess my frustration was a sign that I was ready to take a shot. After the record was completed, there was talk of a tour in Japan. Ernest arranged an audition in England, and I think that was the first time I played with Jeff. Unfortunately, that tour didn't pan out* and I was very disappointed. Soon after we started to write together, and I think that is when our musical collaboration began.
(*Ed. note; After that, there was another attempt at a Japanese tour - this one coming to fruition but opening at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles and then going to Japan with Jan Hammer on keyboards.)

Did you jam with Jeff before going in to do the film?
I remember working on some sketches at his home before going into the studio, but the magic really began once we started recording.

What were your thoughts when you first heard him play with you outside of all the official commercial ventures you had heard him or even when you saw him on tour?
My thoughts were: This is one special, talented m-----f----- and oh shit I better come up with something good, I've got Jeff Beck in the room.

Jeff loves developing ideas with the piano. He's done it with Max, with Tony, was it the same way with you? How so?
I'm not sure exactly how Jeff worked with Max and Tony, but I would imagine the process was similar. Jeff is inspired by interesting musical shapes and voicings, quirky melodies, and kick ass grooves. I tried to play things that would get him to take off. Once he did, I would become excited by his inventions and we were off. Once he got going, the sky was the limit....

I remember Jeff doing a thing he's never released (but developed it during '91 around the time he was into African tribal beats with Stewart Copeland), called "Hurricane" during his '95 tour. Have you ever heard it? I thought it was something kind of like 'Jungle Theme' from Frankie's House.
Actually "Hurricane" was something I wrote with Jeff, which was originally titled "Eye Of The Hurricane". You have good ears since it is thematically related to "Frankie's House" and to some extent was a response to not having had the opportunity to develop some of those themes into longer pieces. Jeff performed "Hurricane" on his tour with Tony, Pino, and Terry. We recorded it at a later date with Steve Lukather producing in Los Angeles and England. Although the musicians are superb, as often happens, some of the magic of our original demo at Jeff's house got lost in translation. I am currently working on finishing it, so I think it's safe to say you haven't heard the last of that storm.

There are so many little great bits on the actual movie/series that unfortunately were never put on the Lp like the interlude between parts etc.....were there more fully developed ideas from those sounds that got cut? Who decided to use what bits?
We were on such a tight schedule to fininsh the score that we weren't even thinking of an album. It was only after Epic heard a compilation that our engineer, Leif Masses put together, that they decided to release it as a soundtrack. I remember selecting some of the excerpts that I liked most, but it was Leif through clever editing and sequencing, who turned it into what you hear. There may be a few good bits that he missed. For the album, I would have preferred developing our favorite themes into more substantial pieces, but we ran out of time.

Your barrelhouse piano on "Put On Your Red Dress" is priceless. Was it fun doing that number and thinking back to that 40's and 50's time when Fats Waller and everyone were boogieing down on the piano nightly?
Thank you, I have always loved that style of piano playing, Booker saw to that...I think you're referring to "High Heel Sneakers". We had been working a lot of dark music to underscore the horror of war, and this was a welcome break and a hell of a lot of fun to play!

Did Jeff bring the Kyoto into the studio to mess around it or did he already have the whammy bar on his Strat down pat for that by the time you guys were recording?
Jeff is about as deadly as you can get with a whammy bar, but what's interesting to me is how unpredictable and unconventional his choices are. He used his guitar to interpret what he heard as a Koto part. Other Koto parts like the one in duet with the guitar on the opening track, and 'Vihn's Funeral', I played on the keyboard.

Anything else from those sessions that the media never printed about at the time?
Sure, we won a British Academy Award (BAFTA) for "Frankie's House" which seemed to escape the media's attention.

You said 'Hound Dog' was done on a lunch break from those sessions. Was that a drum machine or live drums? Jeff is the ultimate Jeff Beck on that tune because he does himself and goes back to the slap echo, Duo Jet, Cliff Gallup, Scotty Moore type sound. Did you guys think it would ever be nominated for a Grammy like it did? You mentioned two Grammy nominations. Was the other for "Frankie's House"?
"Hound Dog" was recorded for the film "Honeymoon In Vegas". The drums I played on a MPC-60, designed by Roger Linn. Jeff's playing is superb though I never expected a Grammy nomination. It was a great opportunity to finally record one of my father's songs, and it was a very funny session. I remember that we needed someone to sing the backing vocal parts as and homage to the original Elvis recording with The Jordanaires. Jeff suggested his guitar tech, Lance, who casually sang a note which sounded great for the part. What we sooned learned, which seemed hysterical at the time, was that he could literally only sing that one note. So we all laughed, had a beer, and Jeff and I sang (or tried to sing) the parts. Our other Grammy nomination was for "Frankie's House".

We all thought you would be working with Jeff on the road at some point after developing and Lp. We know you approached Jeff with an idea or three and supposedly it included quite a cast. Tony Hymas was into living his own life with his family so everything seemed like you were going to be playing with Jeff for a while. What happened?
Yes, on a few occasions it seemed that I might play with Jeff on the road. We talked about it a few times, and I'm sorry that never happened. I think more than anything, the timing wasn't right. Maybe one day it will be. I hope so.....

The "Blue Chips" movie only had Jeff doing whammy sounds on some basketball scenes and none of his material (very little of yours) made it to the soundtrack. I know Jennifer Batten had heard some Simon Phillips stuff earmarked for the project. There were rumours things didn't go all that well with the producer and Nile Rogers had to be summoned in to finish up some bits. What's the real story?
The real story is long, and honestly not that interesting. The short version: I was asked to score the picture. On the strength of our success with "Frankie's House", I suggested that Jeff and I do the project together. Althought the music we created was well received, the film soon became a political nightmare that we were both unprepared for. At one point, I recommended Simon to play drums, but soon after quit the project in disgust. In the end, Nile was brought in, but no one could save the ship from sinking. I was sorry for having involved Jeff, and angry at having wasted so much time, energy, and talent. Moral of the story: If you want to watch Shaq play basketball, turn on a Lakers game. If you aspire to be an artist, stay out of Hollywood.

You threw a big 50th birthday bash for Jeff at the Hollywood Athletic Club and then had a jam at your house with yourself, Jeff, Skunk Baxter, and Jennifer. Who played drums? What tunes were played?
That was really a great night. I wanted to celebrate the success of our first collaboration together, and I wanted to do something special for Jeff on his birthday. I remember playing, I think my brother Oliver was on drums. Jeff played guitar, I played keys, and my Dad sang "High Heel Sneakers". The party was a lot of fun.

You went we heard to a New Years costume party at Jeff's house. What was that like?
One of the best parties I've ever been to. Certainly, the longest I've ever traveled to get to one. Jeff invited me, and I couldn't resist. I flew from LA to England for the party, and it was well worth the trip. Jeff and his girlfriend, Sandra, went to great lengths to make every detail of the evening authentically medieval. One of Jeff's friends had obtained amazing costumes for us. The food, candle light, music and guests were all memorable. I wish we could have another....

Have you corresponded with Jeff over the last few years and do you have any material/projects of your own happening that we could listen to and check out?
Jeff and I remain good friends and spoke recently about the possibility of finishing the piece you asked me about, "Hurricane". I just finished producing an album for John Oates (Hall & Oates) entitled "Phunk Shui" which is scheduled for release in August. If you are curious, check out www.JohnOates.com or www.phunkshui.com. (Ed. also check out the August 2002 issue of EQ Magazine, www.eqmag.com for info on the project.) I am scheduled to go to Japan with John this September. I recently re-wrote and old song of mine with Burt Bacharach who tells me that Aretha Franklin loves it and will be recording it soon. I will be a very happy camper, she is my favorite female vocalist of all time and Burt is legenday....

Anything else you can say about Jeff and your work with him that we haven't covered technical or otherwise?
As proud as I as of the work that we've done, you haven't heard the best of what we can do together. Jeff remains in his own class as an artist, and I hope you one day hear some of the treasures that we still have buried....

It's a great honor Jed. Thank you and keep in touch.
The honor is mine Dick. Many thanks for your interest in our work. All the very best! Jed

Be seeing you, Dick Wyzanski



"If You Search, There Is More" - A Rediscovered Kim Milford Single

by Dick Wyzanski
In the movie 'Field Of Dreams' Ray Kinsella thought he knew what it meant when he heard the immortal whisper "If you build it he (Shoeless Joe Jackson) will come." in the cornfields of Iowa. In reality of course it was his father who spiritually returned, a much more blessed gift than a childhood idol. The spirit of poor old Kim Milford must have been whispering a similar pied piper's intoxicating chant as I kept following a similar course. "If you search there is more" We had thought the holy grail had been found in the long lost reality of the fabled Kim Milford session with Jeff, Timmy Bogert and Carmine Appice. (Ref. Bulletin #9)............ What we indeed got was something much more satisfying......

Flash back 30 years ago.........Our freind and one of the founding fathers of the Jeff Beck fan archivist movement, Ed Chapero, corresponds as usual with a contact from Europe who, like many Euro rock music traders of the time, is busy searching for things by American groups like the Byrds. Rumoured that Ed could procure a Chad Mitchell Trio album which featured a yound Byrd Roger McGuinn, this Euro chap proposed a trade for something equally obscure....a Dutch 45 from Kim Milford , the shortly lived singer with the third Jeff Beck Group soon to become BBA, Ed did the trade more as a favor to his contact and looked at the 45. It was just a plug for Milford with little mention of the Jeff Beck group save a Dutch inscription which seemed to say Kim Milford OF the Jeff Beck Group. It was then filed under Milfor and put in the closet with the other Beck related files and 'Sparky's Magic Piano'(voice box, see Issue #8).

May 2002..........Excited that the Milford outake of "You Got To Move" (Lose Myself With You") was finally in our grasps, Ed told me "You know Dick, I've got this old Kim Milford single that's been in my closet for thirty years. I originally traded for it because I recognized the name Kim Milford and the writing mentioned the Jeff Beck Group but it didn't seem to have anything on it (with Jeff) you know? I'll make a tape of it and send it to you for posterity." About a month later I got another call from Ed who was this time slightly agitated. He told me he had actually played both sides and listened to them carefully. One side remained "clean" but the other side not only seemed to have tastefull little bits of Jeff interspersed but the backing sounded not like Timmy and Carmine.....BUT OF COZY, CLIVE,,AND MAX!!!!!!!!! Plus the Dutch inscription Ed admitted (which we later confirmed) could be WITH the Jeff Beck Group instead of OF the Jeff Beck Group.

ED hurredly sent me down a copy and with trembling fingers jammed it in the car stereo with the volume turned up to 11 to be able to listen to subleties and proclaim "Judgement" on the track "Justice". IT didn't take long. After a typical Broadway stage (Hair) style solo vocal opening ala the unisex space style that Bowie was just pioneering and Dorian Passante would later fail miserably at, I was pleasantly assaulted by a lead into a beautiful R and B rat atat tat from Cozy Powell with an equally strong following bass walk from Clive, a two handed syncopated chordal fill from Max an an eight note "I can be the most tasteful Motown style session guitarist on the planet" lead in a pure soft treble tone ala "My Cherie Amour" from the Stratocaster of our boy wonder himself....Jeff Beck!!!!!

The tune itself is a religious quagmire between following Jesus and the Devil "He's a crook" with Justice. "Judgement has come with an iron rule" which could have come right off the heels of Milford's stint in the Broadway production of Jesus Christ Superstar. The music itself vassilates between a most hummable r and b tune and the occasional stop start solilliquy style of Milford. Those looking for a real trademark Jeff Beck guitar lick should look no further than right after Milford challenges listeners to "check out your existance" as Jeff blurbs out a priceless sweet emotional passage that stops just as of course you wish it would continue all night.

The recording quality of "Justice" is superb. The reason for it is in the mysterious inscription for the production credits...CMP Productions.... Flash to the present. I tried to make sense of the timetable. Timmy had recalled years ago that Milford had been brought to the studios by Ernest Chapman specifically to help spearhead a new Jeff Beck lineup that would cash in on Led Zeppelin style concertgoers. Jeff and Ernest in the press at the time seemed to bear that statement out and indeed as we look back on their view of the importance (or lack of) of certain events that may have been the only signifigant explanation... My original assumption based on all that was that after the Jeff Beck Group split up in New York somehow Milford had gone to Europe to meet up with the group who contractually finished the English tour including the famous Paris Theatre FM broadcast. But what about that brilliant production sound quality. Who was CMP, and what wa that eerie synthesizer drone that followed the backdrop of the song and came out eerily and briefly at the end?

Only one way to clear up this bowl of soup............A quick query to Ralph Baker who graciously granted my request to have the email forwarded to Ernest Chapman himself for clarification. Not 6 hours later I got the reply that Jeff Beck historians were waiting for and for what Annette Carson may at some point have to make an addendum to her book. Ernest wrote that what we had was a "bootleg" from the original Electric Lady sessions at the end of the band's east coast tour (May 1972) and that the session was produced by Stevie Wonder's producers MALCOM CECIL AND ROBERT MARGUELEFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!! C=Cecil M=MArgueleff..CMP Productions!

This was recorded around the time of the original Superstitious session BEFORE the lineup changed. I then surmised that since Milford wrote the tune that either he or Cecil and Margueleff struck up a deal to smuggle the session out of the studio and the grasp of Jeff and put it out in Europe where Milford had a marketable following and money could be made. Meanwhile back in New York Ed was scurrying for more information. It turns out that "Justice" was actually used in one of many of Andy Warhol's underground productions, a film called Ciao Manhatten!! So not only does the Jeff Beck Discography need updating due to the priceless find, the Jeff Beck Filmography does as well!!!!!! Lay your soul to rest Kim Milford. We have built it and the "real" masterpiece with you and the Jeff Beck Group has indeed come......

Be seeing you.



Bruce Stringer Features:

An Interview With Terry Bozzio
An Interview With Steve Barney
An Imogen Heap CD Review and Tour Itinerary



THE TERRY BOZZIO INTERVIEW 

Saturday, September 14th, 2002
London, 3:30pm
© Bruce Stringer, 2002

I had come to London to see Jeff Beck live at the Royal Festival Hall and, hearing that
my favourite drummer Terry Bozzio was to play decided to interview this genius of the
kit. Having arranged the interview via Christine in the States (-thanks, Christine!)
Terry agreed to meet on the Saturday afternoon before the final of three shows. For
days before the interview I ran through my notes and scribbled over my questions
making them word-perfect, however once Terry began to speak all of that went out the
window with what would be a very revealing interview from this master craftsman.

Waiting in the bar of the Trafalgar Hilton, an energetic, lean figure closed in as I
had just finished conversing with one-time Beck vocalist, Jimmy Hall.   

T: Hello, Bruce?
B: Yes.
T: Nice to meet you, sir
B: Nice to meet you!
T: So, how’s it going?
B: Good, very good!
T: So, which part of Australia are you from?
B: Adelaide, South Australia
T: Yeah, I’ve been there a few times.
B: Of course, I saw you on your solo drum tour, which was… (with hands up in mock prayer)
T: Thanks!
B: As a guitarist I walked away saying that’s it, I’m giving up!
T: You know, Chad Wackerman lives down there and we’ve been able to do a duo drum tour
   and we made 2 CD’s called Alternative Duets and a video with DW just called Duets.
   It features us two playing The Black Page and Little Bar Solo Music and then mainly
   us playing 2 improvised duets. Man, playing with Chad is just so much fun! I don’t
   know if he made it to Adelaide that time, but I was definitely doing some dates with
   him back there in Australia… Might have been Perth or Melbourne or something
B: Sydney?
T: Yeah, Sydney. But at any rate I’ve been there a couple of times doing that and we
   started playing together and said we have to do something so we came up with this
   idea: two ex-Zappa drummers doing that and we had a ball!
B: That’s a great idea
T: Yeah, and now here I am with this, you know. It’s like because of my drummer connection,
   playing with Steve (Barney) it’s an absolute joy.

B: So, how was it working with a second drummer?
T: I think it’s great, you know. You’re always a little concerned mainly because there’s
   certain tendencies that drummers can have that make them pro or against playing with
   other drummers and I don’t know if he’s ever done it but I’m so used to it with my
   drum connection. I’ve played with so many drummers in duet situations, ‘cause usually
   if there’s a festival there’s usually several drummers on it we all jam at the end
   and it’s magic, you know.  And I’ve played with guys who don’t speak English, like
   Indian guys, Afghanistani, Brazillian and you name it, African… And nobody speaks a
   word of English and it’s just magic so for me. I was up for it and he, I’m pleased to
   say, is a young, upcoming heavy-duty dude. First of all: great guy. Wonderful sense
   of humour, easy to be with, you know- just a wonderful hang and then, secondly his
   drumming is so powerful and his pocket is so deep that it’s just wonderful playing
   with him. You always know where it is and he’s very musical, very tasteful whereas a
   lot of heavy-handed guys are not. He’s just got it all going on so it’s just a joy
   playing with him.

B: Okay, what about the Roger Waters thing last night? (Roger was guest for 2 songs on
   Jeff Beck’s Wednesday & Thursday shows)
T: Oh, yeah- it’s so much fun. That was like a real… I’ve got another one of those
   experiences coming up today with John McLaughlin, who I’ve never gotten to play
   with, so I’m looking forward to that as well. So, yeah: Roger Waters is a very
   heavy character and I really dug his music and all the Floyd stuff he’s contributed
   to for years and years. I love the sound-scape aspect of it. I love the space and I
   love the idea that it can be played in an arena with all that ambience, and not just
   thrashing… And, you know, it takes balls to do that because most people get such an
   adrenalin rush from being in front of a huge audience that it becomes Oh, I’ve got
   to do this…instead of hold on a second, it’s about music and it’s about me inviting
   them inside my head or my soul, you know. So, he has that going on big time and I
   really dug playing with him.  I hope something can happen with that again…

B: Some of the percussion things you were doing suited What God Wants down to a ‘T’..
T: Yeah, it seemed to be this… I mean, he never said two words to me except for when to
   come in on a percussion part, to cue somebody else so they could come in on time.
   Steve bore the brunt of keeping certain time-keeping functions together for the
   ensemble, but it was just like falling off a log for me.  Jimmy (Hall) I’d never met
   and never heard before and from note one this guy was singing so great it really got
   us off in rehearsals. He’s just been better and better every night. The background
   singers are very lovely, that Roger Waters brought in and Andy Fairweather-Low:
   wonderful guy, wonderful rhythm guitarist. Just the whole thing’s been terrific. 
   And Jennifer, I know- I’ve been friends with for many years and Randy (Hope-Taylor)
   I’ve met on a couple of occasions when he was playing with Andy Gangadeen in Jeff’s
   last couple of bands. They’ve come through Austin (Texas) and I’ve hooked up with
   them. It’s really been an emotional thing, something that Jeff really deserves and
   I’m so happy to be of service and be a part of and I’m really sad that it’s all
   over…It’s like everyday the alarm goes off and it’s like Oh, fuck- another day- you
   know, they’re clicking down and now it’s the last night.

B: It’s been incredible.
T: Yeah, wonderful.

B: Jeff Beck and Frank Zappa: dissimilar styles of music, but do you see any parallels
   between what you were doing with Frank and what you are doing with Jeff?
T: Yeah. I mean, in certain respects there’s always parallels- they’re both great
   guitarists, yet they’re both so unique as individuals and as guitarists that
   there’s really no comparison. You know, Frank was of a genius on so many levels that
   it was…you know, ridiculous. Any one of the ten talents he had he could’ve made a
   serious career out of… And he had ten: as a composer, as a band-leader, as an
   arranger, as a guitarist, as a rock star, as a humorist, as a wit… as a cynic. He
   had all those things going on…Jeff, on the other hand, is one of these naturals
   who’s just been touched by god. There’s no guitarist who has his tone, his feel,
   his style… his sound! And it’s all in his fingers and it all comes from his heart…
   He’s painfully shy and self-conscious and inhibited and always second-guessing
   himself. Very self-deprecating you know, so a lot of times you have to help to draw
   things out of him. He has amazing ideas and didn’t quite know what to do with them
   or may not even put any merit into them, so my job with Tony was to sort of…

B: Draw it out of him?
T: Yeah, pull those things out. We did that Guitar Shop and things like Where Were You
   when he was fooling around with these harmonics we said yeah, this is what we’ve
   gotta do because nobody has ever done anything like this before and it’s stupid…
   and now it’s just developed so far with Angel (Footsteps)- it’s just amazing!
   He’s playing notes aren’t on the guitar and his pitch is perfect and it’s like
   it’s quantized when he does melodies and no guitarist can do this.

B: Is there any chance of a Guitar Shop 2?
T: I don’t know. Right now the plans are… I would do anything with Jeff any time -
   I love him. We tried to get something together back maybe four or five years ago
   and it just didn’t seem to pan out. Since then he’s got this band together, he’s
   working and he’s got output which is the greatest thing, you know. I think a lot
   of it has to do with the technology today that can enable Jeff to just be
   spontaneous and you can cut and paste and put this stuff together in a much easier
   way than rolling analog tape, which is what we did back then. So I don’t want to
   disrupt any chemistry or momentum he has now but I’m up for working with him any
   time, anyplace… And there is talk about doing this in some other major cities 
   with some other guest artists and if I could be a part of that I’d love to.

B: When you first got the gig with Jeff Beck your most recent reference points were
   Flash and There & Back. Was there any pressure on you to pull out a Simon Phillips,
   Space Boogie type of thing?
T: No. For me, I liked the earlier period… You know, I loved that Space Boogie and
   Star Cycle thing from There & Back, but in term of influences Narada Michael-Walden
   and Jan Hammer - as a keyboardist and he’s probably one of my top ten drummers.
   He’s a phenomenal drummer - he played Blue Wind and many things on that record,
   Wired. So that was more of the influence. That was like the notch I had to go up
   to, but I can only be who I am and at that point in my life I was past emulating
   others and had developed pretty much my own style. Then it’s just this matter of
   with any chemistry and any format that you’re in - depending on other musicians,
   where do you find putting yourself into it without destroying the context that they
   may feel comfortable in or not? So at any rate, this thing turned out to be a
   wonderful thing from day one. Most of the Guitar Shop record was done in the week we
   got together to see if there was any chemistry at the Sol studio and it was just
   magic for me. And there’s probably a good seven tracks hanging in the background
   that just didn’t make it that will never see the light of day, but I thought had
   a lot of potential.

B: Okay, Missing Persons…
T: That was my fifteen minutes of fame. I was at a point where I’d been a side-man,
   got well known with Zappa, been part of a band with UK and then I wanted to form
   my own band… So, that’s what I did and I took Warren (Ch) back from Zappa and
   with my ex-wife Dale we tried to make music that was like a Felini movie - we
   succeeded the first time out. By the second and third albums the level of talent
   - people who could really sing… ‘cause when we first started out it was Flying
   Lizards, B52’s and Talking Heads, Blondie, Devo… People were really just talking
   the words and it seemed to work. Personality and stage presence was a big
   part in selling the band. They exploited that and it backfired on us and when we
   came up with the goods for album two I don’t think the vocals were delivered right
   and the music tried to get more sophisticated and it just didn’t work…We got together
   last summer and did a few shows around LA and it was a lot of fun.

B: I understand that you’ve read Carl Jung and were into books of a philosophical nature.
   At this point in your life have you found that this type of thing pushed you to make
   yourself more aware?
T: I started to get involved in this when everything fell apart with Missing Persons and
   then I got on a program and started working that and that starts leading you to
   question what spirituality is, you know - and I was raised a Catholic, so for me
   it either I’m this or I’m going to hell. I had to lose these religious ideas and
   look for more of the spiritual and I found Jung to be pretty much the most
   clear about what it is, as much as we can know. It’s a real individual thing. I don’t
   read a lot of philosophy anymore - I’ve read a ton of it and got very into it at one
   point, but now I just try and live very simply a day at a time and in the moment…
   Deal with whatever it is, you know, because every day above ground is a good day and
   you don’t know if the next breath or the next heartbeat is the last one, so you try
   and have that outlook and in that context all the shit that you think is really
   important that pisses you off doesn’t piss you off so much.

B: Regarding the latest things you’ve been working on, could you tell me about the
   Billy Sheehan project?
T: Billy Sheehan. This was a bizarre project. I signed a contract to do four or five
   albums with Magna Carta and mainly they’re these prog-rock records that I don’t
   really enjoy doing. The best of them have been the Bozzio Levin Stevens, which
   I enjoyed doing however Steve Stevens has a bit of a problem in terms of touring
   and commitment and his working process is taxing, so that’s not going to go any
   further. The Billy thing was proposed to me as Magna Carta had, sort of, pigeon
   holed me. I always have to play with a rock name; some other rock name, so it
   immediately takes out the David Torns and the Mick Karns and the Patrick O’Hearns
   and the people who I’d like who don’t fit that moniker. So, Billy Sheehan was
   proposed and I said Yeah, that’d be fine and I’d like to do it. It was supposed
   to be just a bass and drums record. We went in the studio and I found that Billy’s
   whole approach was kind of foreign - I was thinking that it’d be much more organic
   and I found that it wasn’t, and so we immediately started structuring things and
   putting them into a format. It was almost like a song form… You had you’re A
   section, then your B section, then a bridge and then another section and so forth
   and so on. Great ideas, great stuff. So after three days in the studio he left and
   I edited it all together to make some sort of sense out of it, using the best bits.
   Sent the tapes to him and he over-dubbed on it and really did one bass solo and
   one guitar solo, and the bass solo I didn’t feel was in context so we didn’t use
   much of that. The guitar solo stayed, but the rest of it was just bass and drums
   and the record company didn’t want to put it out like that. So I said give it to
   me and I’ll do what I can and I dug out some lyrics, you know…. Not lyrics - some
   spoken word poetry, stream of conscience that I’d done ten years ago and started
  (because I have a Pro Tools set-up now)… I got some really good mic’s from AKG and
   started working in my garage. It was one of those things where at three thirty in
   the morning you go in there and just start growling out these lyrics and the
  lyrics would end, or the poem would end as the song ended. So after that kind of
  synchronicity I said okay, this is the way to go…and I just went all the way
  through it and worked maybe four to six weeks on it. I basically transformed the
  thing into something the record company wanted. I don’t know how Billy really felt
  about because he’s just joined a band in Japan and haven’t really spoken
  to him.  It’s a total departure for me, and the most commercial thing I’d done in
  years. The only thing I’d sung on in thirty years, so you know… But I’m very proud
  of it, there’s some burning playing and the influences are like progressive, ambient,
  heavy and then from a vocal character borrowing from my neighbour, Omar Dykes who’s
  a Mississippi blues guy… And living in Texas I’m soaking up a lot of the roots and…
  I was always into the blues when I was in high school and I’d been playing with
  this guy, Omar around town and I just love the blues - and that’s another thing I
  love about Jeff.  So then there’s like Robbie Robertson influence, Leonard
  Cohen and Tom Waits and maybe a little David Bowie and Smashing Pumpkins type
  punk. It’s a blend of a lot of aspects of myself and poetry that I wrote
  automatically when I was reading Jung and philosophy, so it means a lot to me
  in a symbolic sort of way, but for the most part it’s what everybody sees in
  it… It’s dark but it’s not evil, so it’s kind of interesting.

B: How did it feel looking back after so many years after writing these things?
T: I always hung onto the words and read these things and go wow, this is really
   interesting and some day I’m going to do something with it, and I will continue
   to do stuff with it on my solo projects. I’ve got a solo project I’ve been
   working on for ten years: I recorded these drum tracks and have about five
   things complete and five I haven’t finished yet so I’m thinking that’s the way
   I’m going to go with those, chipping away at that. I totally believe in that
   as opposed to other things I do with Magna Carta that I don’t believe in:
   these things that are difficult for difficulty’s sake and they’re in the
   prog-rock genre so deep that I just don’t relate to it… Things like the
   Explorer’s Club and stuff like that that’s just complexity for complexity’s
   sake and I get hired to do because I can do that kind of difficult stuff,
   but it’s not really what I like.  At the end of the day I don’t get anything
   out of the music - I feel that it’s great composing, amazing technical mastery…
   Very difficult and challenging to do but it’s not something I could sit down
   and listen to.

B: That’s a good point: it’s got to be the entertainment value at the end of the day. 
T: Yeah. It’s a part of the skill thing where I have a wife and a kid and make a
   living as a professional musician and I’ll play any kind of music and do the
   best I can at it and do whatever they want. But when it’s left to things I have
   a personal input in, the BLS (Bozzio, Levin, Stevens) or the Polytowns, or my
   other solo projects or my solo drum music, that’s where my heart is and
   my audience knows that too because I get to go around. Talk to them directly as
   a solo drum artist.

B: Regarding The Lonely Bears: did you hook up with Tony Hymas after the Jeff Beck gig
   or did you already know him?
T: During the Jeff Beck thing was the first time I met Tony and it all happened on a
   fluke when his drummer had some personal problems and couldn’t make a gig. So I
   was on my way to England and he said can you come to France for a couple of days
   and do this show in Paris? and so I said yeah. That’s where we started and the core
   of that band became the Lonely Bears… It was a big American Indian project called
   Oyate that Tony had composed with all these American Indian artists and there was
   some great stuff. That’s where we started. That’s another thing very close to my
   heart that I did and never got paid for, just did for the love of the music.
   The latest couple of things I’d done are really exciting: got a DVD of a One World
   Theatre performance in Austin that really is filmed gorgeously and that will be coming
   out soon. I have a record that I started with Patrick O’Hearn - we have ten tracks
   down that are really beautiful and I’ve completed a duo percussion album with Pat
   Mastellato, the drummer from King Crimson. He lives in Austin so he came over to
   the garage and we put down a bunch of things, just playing percussion and
   we’re going to do a show at this One World Theatre on January 18th. The CD should be
   out as soon as we can master it! The Billy Sheehan CD “9 Short Films”… I’m also
   doing like an archives series: I’ve got other one-man shows I’ve done from years
   ago that can now be digitally re-mastered and made to sound better, or if the
   sound was too dry can enhance it after the fact whereas a few years ago you
   couldn’t, you know.  So a lot of things from my past will be coming out,
   different days that just happened to be great that I did something with somebody
   or what have you…

B: I did want to ask you about the DVD, so that’s coming up shortly is it?
T: Yeah. And it’s recorded really well. It’s this beautiful theatre… intimate
   three hundred-seat theatre. It’s kind of exclusive world music, eclectic venue
   and the guy who runs it - thank god - is a drummer. So I was willing to take
   a chance there and did it without the corporate sponsorship and said I don’t
   want to make if you lose money so we all ended up making money and it was a
   success and it was a chance to do it again. It’s two parts: it’s a seminar,
   which I did in the afternoon… a couple of tracks and a discussion about
   techniques for kids at school, drummers and what have you… and the second part
   is just the theatre performance in the evening so there’s something for
   everybody there.
B: Sounds great.

B: When you’re writing a piece for your solo drum shows what time frame are you
   looking at between when you start and when the piece is ready to play live?
T: It could be instant or… a lot of things I’ve done just come from improvisation,
   I may get an idea for an ostinato and it will take me three days to do the
   co-ordination and then I’m free enough to just start playing it. Other things
   that are a little more complex like there’s one in 5 and one in 7 (5/8 or 5/4,
   7/8 or 7/4) that took me maybe two years, or a year before I would play them in
   public because I just didn’t feel strong enough on them. But normally I’ll start
   that way with the solo drum stuff, figuring out an accompaniment pattern and
   then as you work through the co-ordination, get the independence to play over
   it, themes start to appear and then you just use your compositional techniques.
   Develop the themes, add sections then there’s the improvisational areas within
   the composition, so if I come up with something interesting I’ll retain the idea
   and include it. So the compositions always grow from year to year: new parts
   or new sections or new techniques develope. So it’s a living, growing entity.

B: Oh, my god…. (Jeff Beck walks into the room)
T: Here he is…. Jeffrey, how are you doing, mate?
J: Fine. How you doing? Sorry, are you in the middle of something?
T: He’s Bruce and we’re just doing an interview
J: I’ll just creep on over here…(walks away)

B: I noticed at the beginning of the solo drum show in Adelaide you sat for a few]
   minutes in deep concentration. What did that do for you?
T: Well, at that time… that was what, five, seven years ago?
B: That sounds about right
T: I suffered from a lot of anxiety from stage performance and now I seem to have
   gotten past that a little bit, so now it’s not so important. I’d just gotten
   into this place where you could sort of go okay, take a breath and relax and
   just get into it. Before it would take me a little while. I’d just be praying
   and trying to breathe and trying to relax - try and centre yourself so when you
   open your eyes you just go into it, you know. And walking out on stage in the
   early days, it was… that adrenaline and stage anxiety would freak you out so it
   was just taking a second to centre myself and I found that that helped. Nowadays
   it like it’s more instant and I just feel I’d gotten to the point where I could
   trust the power of what happens when I play. I don’t associate it with my ego so
   it’s not up to me… it’s just up to me to make the choice to let go and let that
   happen and I can do it more instantaneously. Feel more casual about it. Just sit
   down, maybe wave or smile or crack a joke or something and just bang, you’re
   into it - you’re in another world where before it would take me a little it
   of … (gasps)…you know, breathing in and praying and then okay now… 
B: Just letting go
T: Yeah!

At this point Terry had to leave for the day’s sound-check and bid me farewell for
what would be an astounding show that evening. 

For more information concerning Terry and his work please visit his web 
page: www.terrybozzio.com
 
Thanks go to Christine Holz (www.musicnewsnetwork.net) for arranging the interview
and Terry for taking the time out to talk.

© Bruce Stringer, 2002
www.mp3.com/bruce_stringer


Terry Bozzio And Steve Barney


Steve Barney Interview
September, 26th 2002
Time: 7:30pm
© Bruce Stringer, 2002
Courtesy of Music News Network, www.musicnewsnetwork.net

B: Hello Steve, how are you?
S: F**kin’ great, and you?
B: Great!

B: Could you start off by telling us how it was to play with Jeff Beck?
S: I’m such a fan of the guy. I went to see him on the Guitar Shop tour when I was about
   17 years old, or whatever. It’s kind of like 13 years later, to be sitting on the
   same stage as him and Terry (Bozzio) is an absolute dream come true to be honest
   with you.

B: What was it like playing with a second drummer, Terry Bozzio?
S: Absolutely great, because I think Terry and I are such different drummers. Because
   we’re quite different style-wise we didn’t tend to step on each other’s toes, with
   what we were doing. Of course, I knew about Terry and the way he plays and I had a
   rough idea of what he’d be doing. It sounded great - he’s really musical in what he
   does… I’m kind of more of a hold it down, groove player. I try to compensate for what
   I don’t do by holding down a real steady groove, but it felt great; it was great!
   How did it sound?
B: It sounded fantastic. The duel drumming parts were standout, the audience loved it.
S: I think it’s the visual thing as well and drums are kind of exciting. Playing with
   Jeff: absolutely great. He’s a hero of mine, so to be playing with him is an absolute
   bonus and he’s a really nice guy, as you know.

B: Obviously you’ve worked with click-tracks and your role was indeed as time keeper
   - Terry mentioned that you kept time while he just played over the top. Was this
   an entry into the electronic side of drumming?
S: To be honest, I’m more of an organic drummer as opposed to an electronic drummer
   - you can see my kit on stage is all kind of acoustic drums. But generally a lot
   of studio work I’ve done requires that I play to a click so if they want to reproduce
   or put loops within what you’re doing then they can do. It’s a combination of working
   in studios quite a bit and working with click-tracks and also previous gigs I’d done
   before Jeff. I was in a band called Bullyrag for quite a few years, which was kind
   of a rock thing - that whole album I had to cut with click-track. I’ve done a few
   sessions, and pop gigs where that’s just been kind of click-track stuff. I wouldn’t
   say I’m much of an electronic drummer - if you look at my website it says electronic
   percussion, but I’ve still got to expand on that! I’ve got pads and stuff and I do
   trigger stuff off, but within the Jeff show there wasn’t so much need for it. It
   felt very organic. To be honest there were only 2 tracks where we used a click-track,
   which were Star Cycle and the first part of the Roger Waters set (- What God Wants,
   part 1). Pretty much the rest of them were quite free - I followed my heart and
   tried to play with that! (Laughs)

B: Could you reflect on the differences between playing with Jeff, Atomic Kitten
   and Bullyrag?
S: Jeff’s by far the greatest thing I’ve ever done in my life. Bullyrag was a great
   band that I was part of which was kind of a rock thing that had a lot of styles
   of music and that kind of pushed me quite a lot as well. Atomic Kitten, even
   though that was a pop gig, I really enjoyed that because the groove and drum
   parts were kind of R & B and hip-hop based so I get to do the solid thing.
   But the Jeff thing was so rewarding. For me being equally a fan like you are, then
   getting the chance to play with him… The amount of times I could’ve pinched myself
   during them 3 shows - I kept going wow!
B: It just sounds like an incredible line up.
S: It was! My first Jeff Beck gig ever and that was with Roger Waters and John
   McLaughlin there. Just playing with the guys was ridiculous. Do you know what
   I mean? The differences are really, the Jeff Beck thing was the most diverse thing
   I’d ever done musically because Jeff obviously especially for that particular
   concert goes right way through blues, rock, jazz and some of the modern stuff
   where there’s these hip-hop grooves going on and then doing rock’n’roll. To be
   honest: it was a marathon, musically! (Laughs) It was the most rewarding thing
   I’ve done this year. 

B: How are the new Jeff Beck recordings coming along?
S: Jeff’s just taken 2 weeks off after the shows to chill out, I think he starts back
   next week. All I can tell you is that I don’t know what tracks are finalised or what
   he’s done with the stuff I’ve played on, but it’s kind of a continuation of You Had
   It Coming, groove-wise. I think from how I got involved they want to keep it more
   organic with live drumming on it. I think they’ve picked me because they want to
   keep the modern style grooves. Someone who’s a drummer that understands…
B: The electronic side of things
S: Yeah, understand what people programme like all loops and stuff. I’m influenced
   by a lot of that stuff, so I tend to play like that anyway. From the material I’ve
   played on there’s some great tracks, really exciting. I’ve played on 12 tracks. 
B: 12 already?!
S: I think they might be re-visiting some stuff. I know Jeff’s going to go back in
  (the studio) and start looking at it, so I think I might be going back in at the
   end of October to do some more stuff with him. Should be great! It’s a really
   diverse bunch of stuff - I wouldn’t say it’s total electronica, I’d say it’s kind
   of… You know, Jeff being Jeff over all types of electronic grooves and stuff.
   It’s a really exciting project; I think it’s going to be a great record!

B: How did you get the Jeff Beck gig - was it through producer Andy Wright?
S: It was through Andy Wright. I met Andy when I was in Bullyrag. I was in London
   and we met through an associated studio where we were working…I had seen and
   spoken to Andy over the years and he was a fan of Bullyrag and he said it’d be
   nice to work together again. I worked on a record with him a few years ago by
   Ryad, a French artist that didn’t come out for one reason or another but me and
   Andy kept in touch. I think it was about 2 years ago when You Had It Coming was
   being made I was in a studio doing a session and Andy was there with Jeff. They
   went down and played me some stuff that they were working on for You Had It Coming.
   I was surprised: it was really modern and it sounded great and obviously at that
   time they were programming stuff. I met Jeff there: I just had a drink with him
   and listened to his stuff and then obviously Andy Gangadeen got the job for that
   particular tour. He now had his own project and so it just came about that they
   were looking for a drummer for this project and I got the call to see if I was
   interested, so yeah… I said yes! So, basically it was the Andy Wright connection.
   Yes.

B: What was your favourite part or song in the Jeff Beck shows?
S: My favourite part? God, I’d say the highlights - track-wise, Blue Wind: I absolutely
   loved playing that, Morning Dew… The whole 60’s vibe, I was trying to go for that
   intense thing on that! And I really enjoyed Rollin’ & Tumblin’ because obviously it
   was that real kinda drum thing with me and Terry. Nadia was amazing with Arrif, the
   tabla guy - I really enjoyed playing that.
B: Nadia live was obviously more of a visual thing than the studio version, which is
   fantastic. I think it had more impact live. That was incredible.  
S: Have you heard the original?
B: No.
S: There’s a version by Nitin Sawhney, the guy that wrote it. It’s on an album called
   Broken Skin by this Asian drum and bass guy who plays keyboards and programmes and
   this amazing woman singing the melody that Jeff plays; it’s basically a vocal part.
   It blows me away to think how Jeff can just pick up on that and copy what this woman
   was singing. Obviously Arrif, who works with Nitin… It really kind of helps for me to
   do the drum and bass thing with a live tabla guy… That was a highlight.
   I s’pose, just for the fun of it: Hi, Ho Silver Lining was… I couldn’t believe that
   Jeff did it! It was such a hit here (in the 60’s), so that song’s just part of my
   blood. I’ve heard it since I was a kid…There were so many great moments within
   that show: the Roger Waters thing was fantastic, the John McLaughlin thing was
   great. What did you think of the John McLaughlin tracks (Django & Scatterbrain)?
B: Scatterbrain is my all-time favourite Jeff Beck song. The two-drummer thing was
   fantastic and it was much faster.
S: To do that 9/8 thing… Jeff wanted to do it at that speed, which is pretty fast so
   we were holding on for dear life! (Laughs) It was great, though. 
B: It’s a pity that type of fusion thing isn’t fashionable at the moment. 
S: It would’ve been great to see people on the dance floor! (Laughs) People like me
   and you trying to dance to a 9/8…! (Laughs)

B: Were any of the shows recorded?
S: Yes, every night was officially recorded with the Manor Mobile outside just for the
   Sony/ Jeff Beck banks. I don’t know if they’ll come out but they’ve definitely been
   recorded and Jeff, I’m sure will listen to them at some point and if it sounds great
   and - first and foremost, if Jeff’s happy with it - then there might be a live
   record. There was no official visual record recorded as I believe that Jeff just
   doesn’t like being filmed, which I respect that.

B: Are you still using size 5B sticks?
S: I am. I’m actually using these ones called Vater Fat Back sticks at the moment,
   which are similar. They’re pretty much the same weight as a 5B but they’re called
   Fat Back… I got through a few pairs of them during those gigs!

B: Do you change sticks at all during the show?
S: I tend to use the same sticks for everything. I’ve got these things called Hot Rods;
   I used them for Nadia. I used brushes for Brush with the Blues. 

B: What do you mainly focus on during practice?
S: To be honest with you I don’t practice much. I practised the most I’ve ever practised
   in my life before I came down for the Jeff gigs. I’ve got so much respect for the band:
   Tony, Jennifer, Randy - they’re all my heroes, the way they play. So, I practised a
   lot but there’s not much that I focus on, I just try and… I think the main thing, when
   you’re given Jeff Beck’s back catalogue and I’ve got so much respect and admiration
   for the drummers that he’s had that I wanted to be true and honest to the way those
   guys played, but give it my own twist. Bring it up to date. I just focus on making it
   as solid and as powerful as possible to back Jeff up, so he’s got a really solid base
   behind him. Obviously I had to get my chops together ‘cause when Terry came over it
   was like okay….Crikey! (Laughs)

B: You play quite heavy-handed, yet - as Terry Bozzio commented you are very tasteful,
   very musical. 
S: That was nice of him. I do think I play harder than Terry - I don’t know if it came
   over that way in the gigs…
B: I definitely think so.
S: It’s quite mad that I got away with pop gigs like Atomic Kitten. With that gig I was
   actually behind screens: they screened me off because I was too loud! I do think with
   a lot of pop gigs you do tend to have that when the singers haven’t got massive voices,
   when you turn the vocal mic’s up the drums still sound in the vocal mic’s. So, for
   the volume side of things…It was cool when Terry said that - I do try and play with
   dynamics, do you know what I mean?
B: Would you attribute this to your funk influences?
S: I would say that. I am so influenced by just groove stuff and the 70’s were such a
   great time for that side of things. Phil Collins was so an inspiration to me, I think
   he plays with a great feel. I don’t know about nowadays.
B: His Brand X stuff was great.
S: Yeah, that stuff was unbelievable. When I used to see him with Genesis as a kid it was
   such an inspiration. And Chester Thompson, who obviously…. That was weird: obviously
   Terry took over from Chester, with the Zappa thing didn’t he? So it is funny how things
   come around. So yeah, I would say it’s from the funk/ groove thing that I play dynamic,
   but obviously I’m into my rock as well. I love your Chad Smiths and your Dave Grohls…
   I just heard his new album with Queens of the Stone Age that he’s playing drums on
   and that’s unbelievable!

B: Is there anyone you’d like to play with in the future?
S: I’ll tell you someone I’d always loved to play for would be David Bowie. I’ve seen
   some of his concerts on the TV and it looks like his drummer is having fun with that.
   I’m up for anything, really. I’m really hoping that I’ll manage to go on tour with
   Jeff next year. I’m not too sure when the albums coming out, maybe March. Obviously
   I’d love to do more stuff with Jeff - I’m not looking to run away, I’d like to see
   this project through and hopefully go on a world tour with it. There’s talk of doing
   similar shows to what we did in London, in America. Jeff’s got loads of friends
   and guests that he could get and it would be a whole different show out there. I
   don't know whether it will happen or not, but he does have a huge fan base in America
   and Japan so we’ll have to see what happens. I’m up for all sorts of things so who
   ever asks me… I’d be flattered.

B: Any advice for up-and-coming musicians?
S: Yeah I do: just believe in what you do because your dream can come true. I’ve been
   playing since I was 5 years old and I think if you stick with what you do, it can
   happen. I think it’s being strong, just sticking with it and not giving up!
B: That’s inspiring.
S: It’s a roller coaster. It’s hard being a musician because of the financial… There’s
   no security. I think every musician has been through the up-and-downs of it all, so
   it is survival of the fittest really. 

B: Thank you very much, Steve! It’s been an absolute pleasure. I’d like to keep in touch
   with you about the Jeff Beck thing and your future work. 
S: Absolutely!

B: That’s very much.
S:  Take it easy, mate!

A special thank you goes out to Steve for the interview. 
For more information on Steve and updates on Jeff Beck’s new album please visit Steve’s
web site: www.stevebarney.com

Bruce Stringer is an Australian guitarist-composer currently residing in the UK as a
session guitarist, interviewing musicians on the side. Bruce’s music (inspired by Jeff
Beck, Rush, Yes, etc) can be heard at: www.mp3.com/bruce_stringer

© Bruce Stringer, 2002


Imogen Heap
http://www.froufrou.net


Imogen Heap
FROU FROU   	Details								
CD Review		(Total time 54:52)

Frou Frou means the sound that makes men go wild and the first thing that struck me about
this CD - beside the succulent, breathy vocals of Imogen Heap, was the texture of the
production: something I hadn’t experienced since the Cocteau Twins.
 
Music can be like perfume… Each song is a single in its own right, yet the songs together
act as very strong listening experience. Frou Frou are a duo comprised of Guy Sigsworth
who shares the writing, piano, guitar, synthesizer, sampling and everything else - except
vocals - with the aforementioned Imogen.
Fans of Jeff Beck will be familiar with Imogen from her vocal performance on Rollin &
Tumblin’ and the grammy-award winning Dirty Mind of his recent You Had It Coming album.
Frou Frou’s Detail does not contain the type of guitar work that Jeff’s fans would be
used to but this album from many perspectives is well worth a listen for anybody interested
in quality music performances, recordings and productions.

I was lucky enough to meet Imogen twice during the recent September Jeff Beck London
shows and I must say that she is a very warm, friendly individual who seems so far
removed from the whole music industry egotism that I was genuinely impressed by her as
a person. This reflects in the music that she produces with Guy and within the lyrical
content, which is boldly original, practical and (of all things in pop music world)
conversational.

The packaging of Details is intelligent and works very well alongside the music, which
is a fine departure from the recent barrage of horribly manufactured British techno
‘electronica’. Guy is a self-confessed Kate Bush fan, seeking the Baroque fantasy within
music while Imogen tends toward the musical inspiration of Aphex Twin.

Let Go (4:13)
A prominent orchestral backing takes us on a journey to the beauty in the breakdown.
This is a light piece that both soothes and leaves one in contemplation. If this had
a heavier drum presence we could be dealing with a finely crafted rock song, but that
would be too obvious and possibly distract from what Let Go achieves musically. A nice
opener and sets the pace for the ‘sound’ of the album.

Breathe In (4:36)
The new single from Frou Frou is a light but quirky pop song and grand candidate for
single, with it’s hidden harmonies and minimalist guitar lines. Focussing on the
less-is-more treatment, Imogen’s backing vocals are mixed with an eerie reverb effect.
Is this it? I believe it is! 

It’s Good To Be In Love	(4:38)
This radio-friendly piece has the sing-along catch-line title that gets in your head
and you end up humming it over the next few days. The bridge and outro are a little
more on the Floydian, atmospheric side, which separates this band from all of the
manufactured pop bands out there.

Must Be Dreaming	(4:01)
Another great pop piece with a tasteful orchestral string arrangement and multi-vocal
crescendos over some acoustic guitar. Imogen really lets loose on her vocals, proving
that she has what it takes. Put this on your radio play list, where it belongs.

Psychobabble (5:33)
Psychobabble is a strange mix of Bjork and Tori Amos. Orchestral passages interspersed
with an industrial rhythm and an attack of Arabic-style strings during the instrumental
sections. It is material like this that separates the mainstays from the fly by nights! 

Only Got One (4:09)
With a subtle, moody piano introduction the pace quickens and suddenly we are into a
rocky tale of approval and wasted opportunity: it’s your life. Dark and moody at times,
with haunting piano and some interesting backing to take you places. 

Shh (5:34)
Keeping in line with the conversational truthfulness, Shh is a very relaxing yet
up-tempo track. Some synthesizer effects behind the vocal parts gives the song a nice
emphasis during the choruses, proving that the production is quite superior. Imogen’s
breathy vocals are a real standout, yet she never over-uses them preferring to give
space to the music to create a mood over this 5 and a half-minute song.  

Hear Me Out	(4:18)
Listen up… Just hear me out. Another intelligent song from Guy & Imogen that is
reminiscent of the work of early-1990’s, UK vocalist Tasmin Archer. With multiple
vocals and minimal backing, there is a space within the mix, which presents a dreamy
quality. A very beautiful piece… Just hear me out, I’m not over you.

Maddening Shroud (3:37)
With some Indian sampled percussive backing we are taken into a light, fluffy pop song
that pretty quickly has you in a good mind to throw it all away and just take life easy.

Flicks (3:58)
Flicks was the first song put together for Details and this has some very interesting
off-time rhythms that push this song into uncharted territories and confirm the duo as
a writing force to be reckoned with. 

The Dumbing Down Of Love (4:41)
Sounding quite reminiscent of the Cocteau Twins, Dumbing Down is another beautiful
piece held together with synth atmospherics and piano, creating the haunting backing
for a beautifully crafted work of art. 

Old Piano (5:07)
Rounding off this CD, Old Piano brings itself into a sudden attack of jazz from which
an old piano highlights an interesting progression for Imogen’s vocals. Building and
falling, the sheer moodiness of this piece is unsettling. Interesting choice to end
on and is probably my least favourite song only by process of elimination.

An Enhanced Section is also included for Mac and PC with some great things like a video
interview with Frou Frou, biography, photos and an interesting piece of “Mumbleboy”
animation - Well-worth checking out!
Frou Frou website www.froufrou.net

© Bruce Stringer, 2003
www.mp3.com/bruce_stringer
www.musicstreetjournal.com

FROU FROU 	2003 US Promo Tour Itinerary				


17 Jan 	Fri	Seattle		KPLZ, KBKS

19 Jan 	Sun	Salt Lake City	Borders in-store (afternoon). 
                                    Headling club show (night) in SLC

20 Jan	Mon	Salt Lake City	KQMB, KENZ, KZHT

21 Jan	Tues	Salt Lake City	Sundance - Universal Music Publishing Showcase 
                                    (Deer Valley at Snow Park Lodge)

22 Jan	Wed	Salt Lake City	Sundance - ASCAP Showcase (Deer Valley)

23 Jan	Thu	Denver		KIMN, KALC, KFMD

24 Jan	Fri	Denver		Music Link, KBCO "Studio C"

25 Jan	Sat	Austin		Waterloo Records in-store (afternoon), 
                                    Club show opening for larger act (KAMX Presents)

27 Jan	Mon	Austin / San Antonio / Houston KHFI, KXXM, KHMX, KRBI

29 Jan	Wed	Raleigh / Norfolk	G105

30 Jan	Thu	Norfolk / Baltimore WPTE (Norfolk), WWMX (Baltimore)

31 Jan	Fri	DC		Z104 
                              Club show opening for larger act

01 Feb	Sat	Boston	Club show opening for larger act

03 Feb	Mon	Boston	WBMX, WXKS, WBOS, WXRV

04 Feb	Tues	Boston / Providence Borders lunchtime performance, WSNE, WPRO

05 Feb	Wed	Cleveland / Columbus WQAL, WAKS, WNCI, Borders early pm (WBNS Presents)

06 Feb	Thu	Cincinnatti	WFKS, Tri-State, Borders early pm (Q102 Presents)

07 Feb	Fri	Chicago	Club show at Shuba's opening for larger act.  
                              WTMX, WKSC, WKIE, McClusky, WXRT

08 Feb	Sat	Chicago	Borders in the afternoon.  Club show at Shuba's
                              opening for larger act. (JBTV may tape)

10 Feb	Mon	Los Angeles	TBS - Show will be tied in with radio

13 Feb	Thu	New York	WBLI, WLIR, WFUV, MCA Showcase at Mercury Lounge

14 Feb	Fri	New York	WPLJ, Z100, Sirius Radio, MTV2, VH1 
                              Borders at noon Mercury Lounge Show


Imogene Heap Q & A

www.froufrou.net

1. How did you get the gig working with Jeff Beck on his album You Had It Coming?
I met Jeff one beautiful autumn evening just after dinner, in the courtyard of a 12th century castle in Anguleme, France. 30 people or so are invited by Miles Copland to his French gaff every year to drink wine, eat fantastic food, laugh, drive around in his golf cart and oh yeah...write some music! I remember him teaching me a few guitar tricks for beginners! Liked him instantly.

2. What was the process of rehearsing and recording like?
Went in, said hi, had a wee hug and a chat...heard the song for the first time and sang it! It all happened so quickly! I think we spent more time over lunch than the singing part of it.

3. Dirty Mind sounds as though we are hearing snippets of out-takes from Rollin & Tumblin. Was this the case or did you specifically sing the parts to Dirty Mind?
No...I can’t really take the credit for the concept of that song. What you hear at the beginning are the words I said when I first heard the music ‘oh my god’. I was asked to just go in and warble however I please...the only bit they kept was a breath or two and made me pant! Oh well...he knows what he’s doing he won a Grammy for it!!!

4. Did you spend any time in the studio during the production?
Nope. Left that in their capable hands.

5. What sort of experiences did you take away after working with such a legendary musician?
What an incredibly nice bloke and HOW can anyone really play like that!

6. Did you know much about Jeff before you started working with him? If so, what?
Er...(clear throat) I have to admit...no, but everyone else had and they all said ‘but he’s a legend, how can you not know who he is?’

7. What was it like playing the Royal Festival Hall shows in London this past September?
That was soooooooo much fun! I’d met Jennifer at the castle too and I think she’s fantastic. Now I knew who SHE was from my fanatical Michael Jackson pre teen days. That hair. How exactly did she get it that high? It’s a great song to sing live and the rhythm section was really raw and tribal pounding through it. Jeff is really exciting to be on stage with. Such a force of energy! I went to town with my outfit and wore a huge white ostrich feather boa wrapped around my head...difficult to visualise I know. I could also walk home after the shows which was a bonus.

8. During the live version of Rollin & Tumblin it sounded as though there was a low-mixed, backward vocal track underneath your own. Were you working to a backing tape or was that a live effect?
For a section of the song a sample was triggered along with me to double up. It’s difficult to sing backwards!

9. Are there any plans to work together again in the future?
I hope we’ll get together and do something again. I don’t know what yet. Maybe I could ask him if he could go finger licking mad on my next record...? I should take him up on that dinner one of these days too. mmmmm

10. What is your musical background?
Born into a classical music loving family. We had a gorgeous grand piano in the living room and as soon I could reach it I was on it non-stop. Dad was great at sight-reading and mum could just tunefully glide over the ivories without a clue what notes she was hitting. I figured out quite early on that the more instruments I took up the more academic classes I could ‘skive’ (- British term meaning skip or get out of- BS). So I learnt one from each of the four families. Piano (percussion) Clarinet (woodwind) cello (strings) and had a bash at the brass but couldn't get anything more than a raspberry out of the trumpet. I studied music theory, composition and arrangement at school as well as music technology. Been very into programming from an early age. The singing came much later. I’d never paid much attention to my voice. I could never slide from my chest to my head voice smoothly so I adopted the yodel effect!

11. Could you please tell us something about Frou Frou’s US promo tour you’ve just returned from?
We had a great time. All over the shop we were! Started in Seattle then did a big figure of eight through Salt lake, Austin, Virginia, Washington, Boston, LA, Sanfran then NYC. Phew. Working up those air miles. We are really very excited about the reaction we’re getting. Our fans are people that we’d hang out with. A real mixed bunch! The gigs are going great. It’s just Guy and I, a couple of Apple laptops, a live vocal sampler/ looper I record into on the night and create harmonies and patterns. Cloning myself as we go. A couple of racked synths. I also sport a red strap-on keyboard and a red Gibson 335 pops out every now and then.

12. I understand that you had recently just toured live in the USA and that things were very successful. Where were you playing and what type of audiences were you playing to?
All kinds of venues and though they were mostly our own shows we did do a couple of gigs with Nora Jones and also Coldplay. The Coldplay gig was at one of my favourite venues, Bimbos 335 in San Francisco on my Birthday! That was a great night. As for the audiences...at our last show in LA I met Wes Craven! He’s a big Frou Frou fan...and he created Freddie Kruger...It’s all about balance!

13. The tracks on Details show a pop sensibility, yet there is an underlying maturity in your words, the arrangement and the production. How did you approach this project- was it to write pop singles or an album? Are you happy with the finished product?
Sometimes when you finish a song there may be a moment where you cough really loudly or mention something to distract the listener at a certain point cause you’re not happy with one bit. We don’t feel like we need to do that to this album. We were really intent on making this a non-fat album. Meaning...no fillers. No song got less love than another.

14. I notice that the production, although it has modern electronic sounds, doesn’t fall into the category of British electronica (which tends to be cheap and disposable). Did you and Guy set out to produce a more original piece of art?
Electronica is only cheap and disposable if the people writing are that way inclined. There is plenty of shallow music in all styles. People with a real passion and a love of music don’t write that stuff. We write songs we use computers. EVERYBODY uses computers these days. The difference is we celebrate it not hide it. We love them so much we take them on the road with us!

15. It does tend to sound more like a Cocteau Twins, Tori Amos, Kate Bush, Bjork hot-pot than electronic pop music . Were you influenced by any of these artists vocally, compositionally or production-wise?
The girls. Aren’t they great. Guy is a huge fan of the Cocteau Twins. I’m only just now getting to know their music myself. These are all ladies who are not shy of being themselves. They all push boundaries. They are all completely different from one another too. Maybe we’re are all alike cause we’re all individuals.

16. Breathe In, It’s Good To Be In Love, Psychobabble, Hear Me Out and (my favourite) Flicks all sound like hit singles: how hard are they to re-produce live. What type of arrangements are you using?
For the shows we use a computer software programme called Live made by Ableton on the Laptops. This is perfect for us as you can manipulate loops and effects on the fly. We don’t use it as much as we want to just yet as we only have four hands between us. We trigger samples and play melodic lines on the various keyboards we have and all the vocals are live (including harmonising with myself as I explained before). It is very important for us to be true to our sound and techniques live and we worked long and hard to try and achieve the flexibility you get with playing in a band but using our gear. We did try with a live band a while back but we just ended up sounding and looking like something we weren’t.

17. Where were the photographs from the album cover taken?
At the Ukrainian embassy in Manhattan.

18. What’s next for Frou Frou?
Tour, tour and more tour!!

19. I wish you and Guy all the best for the future and with your US promo tour and thank you very much for participating with this Q&A. Thank you!!!! :)



Job 86245 aka The Rough and Ready Mixes

"Bobby (Tench) would sing a lyric and I would play off that. We were composing at a very fast pace.Jeff wanted to get back out there (points a finger towards outside) in a hurry and he needed to finish the record in order to do that....."

Clive Chaman as told to Dick Wyzanski

Having been depresssed over losing a good 2 hours of the five hour taped interview I did with Clive Chaman a couple of years ago, I had a hard time writing the sequel to Clive Live Part I (Issue #8) Then all of a sudden things started popping up to charge me up the bum again. First the Milford track "Justice" uncrated itself from Ed's closet (see this issue) Then there was the all too nearly finalized mixes of the Orange LP. Finally the boxed reels of the Rough and Ready Mixes from CBS via Island and Olympic studios surfaced.complete with mix dates/alternate song names, Job numbers, and even a note about Jeff not wanting this to be considered a Jeff Beck solo venture but rather a band with the front cover of the forthcoming LP not to have Jeff centered (the final cover had his picture top left).

On first listening to all the bits edited from five reels the main thing that stands out is the strong rhythm section boost which of course was lost on the original lp pressings and laid dormant until Gregg Geller brought back the original feel with "New Ways/Train,Train"(not in these mixes although listed on the reel notes) Other than some extra percussion in one version of "Got THe Feeling", fans unfortunately will not find anything different with regards to the takes of the existing songs on Rough And Ready. Again as in the Orange lp, these mixes were done ijust a short time before the lp release. Notice I said existing songs. That's where the excitement of this find comes in. It turns out that there is a never released before really funky instrumental called "Tiddlywinks" found on two different reels. When I say funky I'm talking Meters "Cissy Strut" type funky. Jeff and Clive lay down the riffs simultaneously as Max and Cozy play off each other throughout. There is no solo and the song never made it on the record (probably because it had been recorded late in the sequence and Jeff either didn't have the time or the want to do one on it.)

I called Clive Chaman down in Miami and played him the tune over the phone. His reaction was highly emotional to say the least. "That's my riff, That's my riff!!" he exhalted. "Everything was riffs back then. that was how Max and I used to play with my brother in the band Flare. I hope no one is making any money off this" Remember I did go back to England a few years ago and received some settlement money for the stuff I wrote from Equator Music." I told him that I don't think he'll have to worry about that happening. Only die hard fans will appreciate it even though it's so funky the general listening public would dance to it not knowing where it came from!

On an historical note the song titles are an interesting retrospective. Remember as we reported in the Alex Ligertwood interview (Issue #5) "Situation" was originally called "Truth" and on these reels that name pops up for the tune several times. The lyrics were changed enough not to infringe copyright and the riff was totally written by Clive. "I remember composing the riff from sevenths", Clive says. "Got the Feeling" was alternately entitled "Freezer Fire" and "Ain't As Good As You". "Short Business was called "Heads", and "I've been Uses" was named "New Song" which showed that it was recorded late in the game, probably around May or June of 1971.

So if you haven't done it lately, dust off your old copy of Rough And Ready and relisten to it. It was ground breaking stuff with great riffs, varied guiar featuring lots of slide an even an electric sitar to boot. These mixes available as a boxed set from Japan on the boot market serve as a reminder that there's nothing like true to the master mixes for that high compression booming sound. Finally, there's "Tiddlywinks" a masterful funky set of syncopated licks that will have you movin' all night as well as wishing Jeff overdubbed a solo on it!! Enjoy!Be Seeing You.



A Talk With Jimmy Hall

by Dick Wyzanski
Beckologists have long thought that vocalist extrodinaire Jimmy Hall was first eyed by Jeff while Jimmy was in the hayday of his tours with Wet Willie while Jeff was on tour with BBA. What we have gleaned from Jimmy Hall himself will forever change that perception. Sometime in later 1970 after Jeff had done the Motown sessions, he, Ernest, and Cozy traveled down to Macon Ga. in search of a vocalist to replace Rod Stewart. While we now know that after returning to England Jeff launched the ad in the trade paper that landed Alex Ligertwood (see Issue #5) it is interesting to note that Jeff had wanted an American, a southerner with a strong voice to initially front the new band. Jimmy recalls, "Jeff, Ernest, and Cozy came down to Macon (Ga.) and stayed a couple of days. We (Wet Willie) were the house band and they (Jeff) gave me a call. We jammed and recorded about three hours of blues and Duane Eddy. I remember we played "Forty Miles Of Bad Road" which was one of my favorite Duane Eddy 45's from my teen years. Ernest took the tapes saying, "I'll take these tapes. They belong to us." Jeff told me he would love me to work with him again someday."

Just as Jeff had entertained thoughts in '69 about joining up with members of the Vanilla Fudge for a new group, so had Jimmy Hall. "We(Wet Willie) were opening up sometime in '69 for Timmy and Carmine with the Fudge at the University of Arkansas at Fayetville. Mark Stein wanted me to join the Vanilla Fudge and told me "You would be a great singer for us." I said no because of Wet Willie."

Flash ahead to 1973 during the glory live days of the thunderous BBA tours. Wet willie was the opening act. Jimmy recalls, " About two or three dates into the tour Jeff and Carmine asked me to hang around and sing "Goin' Down" at the encore. I'll never forget what Jeff told me. I remember it vividly. He told me "One of these days we are going to do something together, I promise." Before that actually happened Jimmy Hall would reprise the "Goin'Down" encore once more onstage with Jeff Beck. "Jeff called me prior to his Atlanta show in 1980 (There And Back Tour) I got up onstage and was able to sing "Goin' Down" before my hometown (Ga.) crowd. It was great!!"

It was 1984 and Jeff found himself coming back out of his shell after a self imposed hibernation after the successful but stressful run of out front instrumental lps and tours. As we have documented, Jeff took this time in the early eighties to jam with old friends and guest record on a bevy of lps. Looking perhaps to catch the musical mainstream which was at that time a more techno driven funk spawned out of the disco era, Jeff enlisted funk-meister Nile Rogers to produce an lp that would thrust Jeff back into a vocal /guitar group setting that would stay on the cutting edge. For that, Jeff needed a vocalist. Nile was insistant that he could doctor Jeff’s vocals into an out front acceptability (which if you listen to Flash, he actually was mildly successful Hah!) however it became painfully apparent to Jeff that he needed some soulful guts to carry off some of the remaining tracks as well as to be able to tour……Jimmy Hall recalls, “I was not aware that Jeff was in the studio. I’m good friends with Chuck Leavell. (Jimmy was in a band that did “Lots of touring” named BHLT which stood for Betts, Hall, Leavell, and Trucks) Chuck was doing Mick Jagger’s solo lp in Nassau (Bahamas) as was Jeff. Jeff was talking about his (Jeff’s) lp to Chuck and told him Nile Rogers needed a vocalist to finish up his (Jeff’s) record. Chuck brought up my name. Jeff was elated but told Chuck, “This might not be his cup of tea.” “ I got a phone call on June 21st close to my wife’s birthday. We were expecting my second child any day. I got this call from Jeff saying, “Hey Jim! This is what’s up. I’m working on an lp. We’ve already cut some tracks. We need a great vocalist. The tracks are already cut so we can’t change keys but we want your voice!” “ The 22nd of June was on Friday,” Jimmy continues. My wife in her calm told me, “Don’t worry, you need to do this.” “Ernest (Chapman) provided the plane tickets and on Sat. the 23rd we did the 1st session “Ambitious” “I came back Sat. night. The baby was born the next day which was the 24th, Jeff’s birthday!! We named our son Alexander Jeffrey (Hall). Jeff would joke sometimes about his “American Godson.” Jimmy also did “Stop, Look, and Listen” and “Nighthawks” at that 1st session. About “Nighthawks” Jimmy had to say, “ I was thinking it’s not a strong enough song, oh my God we need a third verse!” That track of course only appeared on the new at the time media of CD, and the Wild Thing ep released only in the UK.

eff realized that Nile Rogers was so busy with other artists as well that another producer was needed to bring the lp to fruition. Arthur Baker was called in and Jimmy Hall was called back for a 2nd group of sessions that yielded “Ecstacy” and the brilliant Guitar/Vocal anthemic “It Get’s Us All In The End”. “I still love listening to that lp,” beamed Jimmy. “ I was flown up to Electric Lady (Studios) . Arthur Baker played me “Ecstacy” and “It Gets Us All In The End.” He told me, “Tell me what you think.” “The original lyrics to “It Gets Us All In The End” were a little dark”. Jimmy started to sing “Life’s so hard it gets us all in the end” “ Those lyrics sounded like suicide, like giving up on life. I said what about “love’s so hard”. Jeff asked me, “Can you sing it in this key?” “ When we did the song it (the key) was up there but I could do it and when the button was pushed and I hit THAT note I saw Jeff and Arthur jump up and down with joy like kids.”

It was at the apex of the time in the mid eighties when music videos were embellishing on realistic lyric storylines while still having some semblance of the artists playing their instruments . Quick to cash in on this after the release of Flash, Jeff brandished his Tina Turner-carved-in-name-engraved pink Grover Jackson and was made the centerpiece of one of the funniest most entertaining videos ever. Taking the lyrical theme of ‘Ambitious”, everyone under the sun including a lot of blasts from the past and some young hopefuls had “ambition” to land the role of the lead singer for “Ambitious”. “I remember everybody,:” laughed Jimmy Hall.” The Madonna look alike, Donny Osmond, Tattoo (midget Herve Villachaise from the TV series “Fantasy Island”) the fat guy, the jewish guy - Al Kooper, everybody! I remember it (the shoot) took all day. I also remember Donny Osmond being really good and being able to sing great. I was the singing coach for Donny Osmond and Al Kooper and Cheech and all those guys. Everyone was in awe of Jeff. He can hold court! Originally there was a lot more video shot of me dancing and singing around Jeff especially towards the end. A lot of that just got edited. They wanted more of Jeff.”

A quick decision was made to do a tour of Japan with the thought of doing the U.S. afterwards. The tour warmup date was The Greek Theatre at which the show highlighted a mixture of Jan’s tunes, vocal selections from the Flash lp with Jimmy Hall, and Jeff’s oldies. One of the new songs, “Love Will” was written by Jimmy himself “Jeff asked me to bring a song. He said “Do you mind”? . On the Japan tour there were many guests onstage among others a long time Beck admirer Steve Luthaker. When the tour got to the open air Market Festival at Karizawa, the Japenese TV stations and media were on hand to record the venue which most fans have in their video collection that featured the encore superjam with Jeff, Carlos Santana, and Steve Luthaker. “I remember Jeff being real nervous about having guests out onstage” recalls Jimmy. You can see the initial nervousness in Jeffs face but Carlos was back then so into his own angelic religious stuff that his face smiled at Jeff as if to say. “It’s ok Jeff your with your peers. We all think your fucking great!” Jimmy picks up the conversation;” I think it was the (Japanese) promoters suggestion to do Johnny B. Goode as the encore. I remember a sea of hand clapping and (guest) Buddy Miles telling me “Jump on my back and I’ll ride you around!”. I had to shout the words to People Get Ready to Buddy through one ear.” Jimmy said. During the previous number (Johnny B. Goode) Jan did an imitation of the Chuck Berry “Duckwalk” as everyone laughed. There is some story that some in the band ran into Chuck Berry in Japan and he acted like he didn’t want to recognize or know anybody, kind of a dissing. Jimmy said, “I heard about that but I wasn’t in that group”.

The big final afterparty was held at a Japenese resort Clubhouse. Recalls Jimmy Hall with excitement, “WE had a party, at the Clubhouse of that resort. All the bands that had played the venue were there. Part of the presentation were Tribal Drummers with their crude wooden drums, kind of a ceremonial thing. Simon Phillips and Santana’s drummer got up and jammed with those tribal drummers. It was great!”

From 1956 through 2000 Jimmy Hall “…made an effort to stay in touch with Jeff whenever possible. My solo lp (Rendevous With Blues” came out in ’97. I sent Jeff a copy. He (Jeff) wrote back “I love it! Keep up the good work. I want you to play on my next lp.” On the 2nd leg of the Who Else Tour Jimmy’s wife got to see Jeff at the show in Vegas. Then …”in April of last year Jimmy recalls, “ Jeff was in Nashville, He called ahead to me. I really wanted to see Jeff. Before the show Jeff told me that it would be fine if we could jam but if it didn’t happen to hang around anyways.Then Jeff called to one of his stagehands, “Hey, get me one of my little amps and put it in my dressing room.” Jimmy picks up, “Jeff, myself, Jennifer Batten, and Adrian Below (guitarist of Zappa fame) were drinking wine. Jeff and I played “Superstitious” and then Jeff turned to me and asked, “Please sing “People Get Ready>” Then we played a funky blues shuffle for about an hour. Jeff told me, “I really want to do something else so don’t give up on me.”

I asked Jimmy how he got contacted for the London RFH gigs last year. “It was a Friday night after I was goin’ out on gigs in N.Y. with Derek Trucks. I got a note from Ralph Baker that said, “Jeff’s thinking about six shows at the end of August.” “I quickly replied “Count me in!”. “When I saw Jeff I said “I’m so ready to do this.” Jeff just laughed and said ‘Great!”. I asked Jimmy about the Big Town Playboys cancellation from the original show. He picks up, “I was present for all of that. Jeff told me, “I don’t know if it’s working. I don’t know about the new singer.” After the show was trimmed down Jimmy Hall and the main band kept rehearsing. Jimmy asked Jeff, “What do you think about “I’m A Man? We don’t have to do it Yardbirds style. We can do it the blues way like Muddy Waters.” Jimmy Hall also added, “The Sly And The Family Stones classic “I Want To Tke You Higher” was originally slated for performance.

After the shows of course most thought that it would come to America. “Jeff wrote me a great thank you note. It said “Words can’t express how I appreciate your soulful singing. Let’s do some more.” “All the performers spoke of keeping the idea alive to take to Japan and then to the States”, Jimmy said. “Like everything else in Jeff’s history…you can’t predict.” Well one thing that we can predict, Jimmy is that your voice will remain soulful, and soaring and since I’m writing this last installment posthumously after meeting you in Atlanta, God bless you and your family. Thanks from the bottom of our hearts……Be seeing you!



An Interview With Max Middleton

By Bruce Stringer

16.06.03

With the recent release of the stunning Land of Secrets, Max Middleton’s first solo album, the man behind the Fender Rhodes agreed to speak with me about his inspiration behind the album, Snowy White and life as one-time Jeff Beck keys-man.

Bruce To start off with, why so long before you decided to make a solo album?
Max Um, I’ve never thought about it before.

Bruce Really?
Max No, no - I’ve always been working with other people and I always see the problems of trying to sell a CD and I’ve never really bothered. As I wasn’t working as much this last year I thought it might be a good time to start and I’m glad I did, really. It was a bit of fun in the studio. About a month ago I did an album with Snowy White. He’s done a new solo album which sounds quite good. I don’t where it is along the line, if he’s finished mixing it and everything, but he’s certainly done it and he said he wouldn’t mind touring this year. It’s got Richard Bailey on drums, so it might be quite good. I am doing some things with Mick Taylor, still. This week I’m going to France and the following week, I think, we’re going to Greece so I’m still doing things for Mick.

Bruce What was the inspiration behind Land of Secrets?
Max Well, I’ve always liked jazz and I’ve always liked anything that’s rhythmic. Most of the stuff is spontaneous in the studio: I just play in the studio and a picture comes and then I go down that route. There’s one tune where the melody sounded Japanese, Cherry Blossom Blue, and I decided to use a shakahachu(?) and a koto -nothing too ethnic - but I suppose it’s as I play I get inspiration as I listen. I don’t have the whole thing in my head, most of it is improvised. I like to go to the studio with a couple of ideas or a couple of chords and that’s about it because every time I’ve gone in a studio when I’ve thought of the whole thing - every dot and cross - I’ve always been disappointed. So I like it to be a bit loose in the studio. See what comes from other musicians, whether that inspires you. Sound inspires me, if it’s a nice sound.

Bruce What’s you’re favourite track from Land of Freedom?
Max I like Miles Away and the blues, actually. The last tune I did, Blues on a Summer’s Day.

Max’s tinkering on the ol’ ivory has set a precedent with some very interesting progressions and time signatures. Particularly interesting is his use of certain 5/4 patterns that have been used in songs like Diamond Dust from Jeff Beck’s Blow By Blow and have crept into on of his new pieces, Cuban Nights.

Bruce There seems to be a definite Max Middleton stamp on everything you do. Are there any particular modes, scales or chord progressions that you feel especially comfortable with over others?
Max Not really. I’d love to be able to play be-bop stuff where you have lots of changes but I can’t play that stuff. But I like my Fender Rhodes and I like playing where you improvise and you improvise melodically so you can almost hum the melody… Or it becomes melody. I like melodic solos. I find that when I’m playing I don’t have too much time to think. When you’re improvising you just play and hope it come out good.

Bruce What type of warm-ups or finger exercises do you use?
Max I don’t have any.

Bruce You don’t have any?
Max No. I’ve never practiced. Well, I used to practice scales but ordinary major and minor scales, like you do on the piano, but that’s it. I’ve been too lazy, I think that’s really what it is to learn jazz scales, or whatever they are. I just normally do things by ear and the melodies that come out come out through the improvisation. My improvising is not very advanced, it’s not Coltrane or Bill Evans or people like that. It’s fairly simple but that’s the best that I can do at the moment. I might change but I’m fairly middle of the road at improvising. I’m not really out there.

Max Middleton’s playing and writing were prominent on the Jeff Beck Group albums as well as the fusion era of Blow By Blow and Wired - the era that would give Jeff his most critically acclaimed work up to date. However, details of the time between the Jeff Beck Group and Beck Bogert and Appice line-ups have drawn some questions. I queried Max on his involvement with Jeff during this period.

Bruce There seems to be a question mark over the period between the Jeff Beck Group and BBA. Could you tell us about the development between those two line-ups?
Max I think what happened was, for the first couple of years…He’d always wanted to play with Carmine (Appice) and Timmy Bogert. At the end of the 60’s he got into a car crash just when they were going to form, so that put Jeff out of action for a couple of years, or so. Then he formed Jeff Beck Group with Cozy (Powell) and after a couple of years he’d felt that it had gone as far as it could go and he wanted to carry on, or just go on his own, or in another direction. So he got Timmy and BBA was formed and he used me as well. And he also used Bob Tench singing. We toured in America with that line-up and then I think he then carried on with just BBA because he wanted a trio - a power trio. And then after that we got together again to do Blow By Blow. In fact it was me and him and it was Carmine Appice but he kicked up such a fuss about him wanting it to be his album so Jeff kicked him off and asked me if I knew anybody. So I brought in Richard Bailey and Phillip Chen because I knew them for some time and that was how we did that album.

Bruce Did you have any definite ideas with regards to the string arrangements on Scatterbrain and Diamond Dust that you shared with George Martin?
Max Well, Jeff wasn’t interested. George used to sit with me and I would suggest certain things. I’d write the chords down for him but that was my only input and the George went away and did the arrangements. I would suggest a few things to him, but that was it. He is a great arranger.

Bruce Did you have much say in production?
Max No. George just did that… I don’t know what that term means - it’s different with every producer you meet. No, production meant that George was responsible for the finished sound of the album, so no.

Bruce What are the most vivid memories you have concerning the recording of Blow By Blow?
Max Some of the tunes we did as a trio because Jeff wouldn’t be there. Things like Diamond Dust, did that as a trio, and She’s A Woman, the Beatles tune on there. I remember Jeff hadn’t turned up so I said to George “Look, I’ve got an arrangement for She’s A Woman” and I just said “Let’s just do it” It was only one take so I said “It’s no skin off your nose. Let’s just do it and see if Jeff likes it”. George hated it as it was quite different to the Beatles and then Jeff came in and he really liked it, so he played on it and that was it. We did a lot like that because he just wasn’t in the studio. He’d turn up later in the day. Yes, it was quite good fun. Freeway Jam I wrote and that was just spontaneous: I showed him the tune and we just played and that was first take, that tune. In fact most of them in there were first take. Diamond Dust was first take. Scatterbrain, I think, we had a couple of goes at and it was only the second or third take because that’s quite energetic. She’s A Woman was definitely first take…. And Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers - that was just straight forward first take.

Bruce I think a lot of people will be surprised. It sounds like a fully produced, multiple take album where precision was the dominant factor.
Max No, no. Jeff can’t do that. He’s a one or two take person. Most things with him are spontaneous.

Bruce Did the instrumental line-up allow you more musical freedoms or did it feel more natural playing with a vocalist? What did you prefer?
Max My favourite band was when we were touring with Blow By Blow because when we were touring we had two Americans. You had Bernard Purdie playing drums, you had Wilbur Bascombe on bass and me and Jeff. That was my favourite time because it was really clear on stage, as there was only one guitar, and no singing involved and Purdie is a fantastic drummer. He was a great rhythm and blues drummer and he made such a difference to playing instrumental music because people would be dancing in the audience. We were playing to some pretty big crowds, 10,000 upwards and Jeff wanted to play all these Tony Williams tunes or Stanley Clarke tunes but if it wasn’t for Bernard Purdie I don’t think we would’ve gone down very well. It’s just that he made it accessible to big audiences. He’s a great, great player.

Max will be appearing on the new Snowy White album, soon to be released. Through his session connections he has also worked with Kate Bush and Linda Lewis, to but scratch the surface on Max’s extensive history of sessions.

Bruce How did you get involved with Kate Bush?
Max I think because I used to do a lot of work at AIR Studios and the engineers up there I knew. One of the engineers was working with Kate Bush and that was how I met her. Lovely girl.

Bruce And what about Snowy White - did you meet him through the Linda Lewis sessions?
Max Snowy I’ve know about and of for years and we’ve crossed paths many times but this is the first time he’s asked me to do his own albums. He’s been up to all sorts of things. I think he had a power trio in the last few years. Yes, he’s a very nice chap and a very good guitarist, as well.

A Fender Rhodes user throughout his career, I decided to ask Mr. Middleton about his views on the technology which have shaped the music industry from within.

Bruce What are the pros and cons of music technology that you’ve experienced in recent years?
Max Well, there are two examples: I saw a programme recently on Miles Davis and they had one shot of when he had his Kind of Blue era, around 1959 and there’s a recording in a TV studio where the musicians are just walking about. I think there’s a couple of mic’s, it’s black and white. The sound, the playing and the atmosphere was fantastic. Sound is brilliant. There’s a lovely Miles Davis trumpet sound, Coltrane is brilliant and you see technicians in the back just walking around and then it went through the years and then showed you a concert recently at Hammersmith Odeon where it was all the latest technology: new instruments, new synthesizers and the sound was rubbish. Musically, it wasn’t good, the sound wasn’t good. When I taught myself as a keyboard player, there’s very few keyboards or synthesizers I like. I like my Fender Rhodes, my Mini-Moog has it’s own sound. I would like to find a nice polyphonic synthesizer that was easy to play and…. The problem I find is that they’re so technical. They’re okay in the studio when you’ve got hours to fiddle about but when you’re live you need accessibility straight away. You can’t be fiddling about with buttons and programmes - not the way I play! It’s different for guitarists where you normally have your own guitar that your comfortable with and then you might use a few other things to change the sound. But normally the initial sound of the guitar is the most important thing and is probably better than all of these gadgets you put on.
The sound in studios has definitely changed. At least recording has become much quicker doing things on computer. I like the way you can say “Right, I’ll play a bit on this tune”, you press a button and everything’s up including the mix and you can just play without getting reels and tape out of their boxes. It seems so slow now! I don’t care as long as you can get the music down onto tape and with good atmosphere and not too sterile.

Max Middleton’s stunning new album, Land of Secrets is out now through RL-2. Check it out now at www.rl-2.com and to find out more about Max and his work please visit www.maxmiddleton.com

Special thanks got to Max Middleton for agreeing to do this interview and Paul from RL-2 for his assistance in setting it up.
© Bruce Stringer, 2003



A Review Of Max Middleton's New CD "Land Of Secrets"

By Bruce Stringer

The long-awaited solo album from Max Middleton holds some interesting surprises and is this reviewer’s favourite album of the last 2 years. For fans of Jeff Beck’s Blow By Blow this CD comes highly recommended, infusing jazz, Latin and reggae whilst retaining the wonderful Fender Rhodes playing that was the watermark on Jeff Beck’s fusion era. Not a moment of disappointment on this album and a wonder as to why Max didn’t offer a solo album earlier.

Loco
Max’s electric piano work is delicate and beautifully contrasted to the pumping locomotive rhythm. The themes that he creates are subtle yet effective, occasionally met with some vocal harmonies that further smooth out the pillow-soft padding. Max never ceases to hold your attention with his moody improvisations and Loco is a great start to the album.

Miles Away
Utilising the fading between songs (a la Blow By Blow) this is a beautifully textured, John Barry-esque piece which highlights Max’s modal and, at times, Arabic themes over a mixture of latin jazz. The basis feels very simplistic, where max has used this platform to create a modern, yet moody ‘after dark’ piece. Disk Pearce’s trumpet work takes us into the Miles Davis territory however it’s Max’s swirling stereo piano that gives a certain jazz tension.

Cherry Blossom Blue
One of the features of Land of Secrets which is well placed is the rhythm section. Comprising of some electronic, chillin’ jazz we are taken on a modal journey that never ceases to hold you throughout it’s near 12-minute running time. Maiuko makes some appearances with some well-placed vocal parts, taking this song into the area of the sensual mood of acts like Sade. Some of Max’s playing is reminiscent of some of his work with the Jeff Beck Group and gives good reason for why Jeff would choose such an incredible talent.

Mr. Godsky
My favourite song from the CD, Mr Godsky has a little reggae bass flavouring with some tasty playing on the trumpet and, of course, some nice sustained electric piano from the man of the hour. There are some interesting themes highlighted by the trumpet and piano in unison. Ending on a resolving theme Max takes us on the fade-out and into…

Blues on a Summer’s Day
With the swirling electric piano reminiscent of Diamond Dust (from Jeff Beck’s Blow By Blow), Max takes us on a journey into the blues. Rhythmically very light, this is also a late night jazz club piece. Max’s beautifully recorded piano solo adds a totally different dimension over the underlay of electric piano and this song has some building tension that draws the listener in. If you listen closely you can hear so many things in the background that aren’t even there, which goes to show that Max is a master of creating a sound which places themes into your head without actually playing them. Less is more - to the Max!

Cuban Nights
Some build-up in the early stages sets the tone for this piece. The chorus parts also play on the 5/4 piano work of Diamond Dust, proving that Mr Middleton can reclaim his parts and use them fittingly in his own songs. The choruses do have a haunting feel that we have become accustomed to with Max’s compositions. Once again, the rhythmic exchanges between percussion parts stand out as smooth foundation to his masterful work. Also it is a worthy contender for best song on Land of Secrets.

Land of Secrets
Using some beautiful, yet nostalgic, Latin themes and a very interesting introduction that lasts almost 2 minutes, Land of Secrets takes you to the land of Afro-Latin rhythms. A dark, yet familiar theme holds the foundation, appearing and disappearing between Max’s solos. Some more smooth vocal parts highlight elements of the dark and sombre melody. Haunting as it is, Land of Secrets really defines the melodic composition of the album.

Bomba’s Bar
Max’s honky-tonk piano sound takes us into Bomba’s Bar with a crowd of relaxed onlookers. This reggae piece retains the Latin percussion sounds and has a sensuous piano melody that stands out over the mix, but always leaves room for the vocals to capture the mood of the Afro-Carribean. A nice round-off to my favourite album of the last 2 years!

Max Middleton’s stunning new album, Land of Secrets is out now through RL-2. Check it out now at www.rl-2.com and to find out more about Max and his work please visit www.maxmiddleton.com

Special thanks got to Max Middleton and Paul from RL-2.
© Bruce Stringer, 2003



B.B. King Musicfest W/Jeff Beck 2003 Tour Reports From The Fans And The Press

Courtesy chevy195@webshots.com

From Rob Taylor....Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, July 25th.

Hi since I read your site all the time I thought I would contribute what I could. Saw Jeff in Vegas on the 25th. 11th row, center. The Mandalay Bay Events center was only about half full. Jeff opened with a slow tune, must have been from the new album. Freeway Jam was next followed by Savoy then two songs from "Who Else" and then two new songs, lost track after that. Jeff was right on and played pretty intensely. Jeff sounds so much better with Terry Bozzio and Tony Hymas. Terry had the same triple base drum set he played on the 95 Santana tour. I think he's better than Simon Phillips. They have a round video screen that showed Jeff almost the entire time, with a couple of effects thrown in. BB King played for a little over an hour, maybe. He threw gold chains to the front row after the show. Mofro was just OK. I didn't care for the vocals, but Galactic sounded very good.

A link to some shots from Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, July 25th.

http://community.webshots.com/album/82916901QbJvSR

An article, not a review, from the San Francisco Chronicle, July 26th.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/07/27/PK254333.DTL

A report posted on www.vintageamps.com's BB.

http://vintageamps.com/PlexiPalaceUBBcgi/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=16;t=001242

From Christine Newsam.....Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, July 25th.

July 25, 2003, My husband and I have just got returned from Las Vegas, where we went just to see B.B. King live at the Mandalay Bay's House of Blues. I did not know until this evening that July 25 was the first day of his tour with Jeff Beck. What a night, it was everything I hoped it would be and then some, because of Jeff Beck touring with B.B. King. I wanted to give you some feedback and share with you what the evening meant to me. It was a dream come true. Mr. King was as great as I thought he would be, his voice is the same and everything about the experience was wonderful, except that to hear Jeff Beck and his drummer as well as B.B. King just made it all even better. I'm still on a high from having been there. Jeff Beck was absolutely awesome and his drummer deserves standing ovations. Actually, there are not enough words to describe what the evening was like. I have been a fan of B.B. King's for years and The Thrill is Gone is by far one of my favorites. My one dream has been to see him live and something that I wanted to accomplish as soon as possible. Neither him nor I are getting any younger. I saw him on Live by Request on a Saturday last month and right away I went on the website to see if he was touring. Imagine my excitement when I saw that he was playing in Vegas. We live in Salt Lake City, so it's a little bit of a drive, but I purchased the tickets on Sunday before I even knew if I could have that day off from work. I was willing to do anything!! We purchased good seats so we did not get there right away because when we went to pick up our tickets that morning, I had been a little disappointed to find out that Mr. King wasn't playing until 10:30 but when we got to the House of Blues around 9 p.m., Jeff Beck was on stage. Need I say more? I couldn't believe what I was hearing, what he can do with that guitar is unbelievable. I wish he'd played more and the same goes for B.B. It was so incredible. My husband says that he saw Jeff Beck at a concert in Lincoln, Nebraska in the late 60's. He does not remember though who played with him then. Was it his band or was he then with Eric Clapton? Would you know? Whomever came up with the idea that Jeff Beck and B.B. King would be a good combination for a tour is a genious. As far as Jeff Beck playing at Royal Albert Hall, I hope it's videotaped and sold. I have the Moody Blues video and c.d. from when they played there and that is my favorite video to watch and I listen to the c.d. in my car all the time. Thanks for listening to me babble on, I just needed to share this with someone that would hopefully understand what this meant to me. I hope B.B. King never quits touring, and if he plays anywhere within a few hours drive from SLC, you can bet I'll be there, no matter what. Except that I want front row seats. Sincerely, Christine Newsam

From Ric Ovalle.....Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas, July 25th.

hi, my name is ric and i'm a long time jeff fan...my first show was the L.A. Shrine Expo Hall in '68....i've witnessed various jeff incarnations through the years and they've always been fine...last friday night in las vegas was no exception, tony and terry once again!!! leaving our hotel for the gig i was playing a yardbird comp i had burned for the trip and told my wife robyn (who was going to her first jeff experience) how we used to scare people in high school by playing "still i'm sad" over the p.a. at lunch...bingo! jackpot! still i'm sad as opener!!! then "freeway jam"...jeff looking sharp in black, goofy grin in place as he rips off THOSE licks...oh man....i won't get into all the setlist...i just want to say, as always, the ease and seemingly effortlessness of his playing tore me up...jeff's directing of the band with a raised eyebrow and/or nod of the head was superb...we had 9th row center seats and he was in our laps the whole show...PLUS, least i forget, when he brought out the slide...YEOW!!! the hairs on the back of my neck are still standing....as for the rest of the show....mofro were enjoyable and forgettable at the same time...i enjoyed the hell out of galactic and b.b was great as always, the show aspect of the set was great, i love the blues/r&b show concept...the band opening instrumentals...the star intro...funnin' the band...the whole bit...b.b.'s digs at his sittin' through his set...the whole thing was great, we especially enjoyed when he played with only the rhythm section and 2nd guitarist...all in all an enjoyable gig...five hour total was a little too long, major delay in getting b.b set up...seemed to be monitor board problems... some years back we had killer seats for the universal amph. in no. hollywood. i think it was the first go-around with the "jennifer band"...we had to pass and give our tix to friend's for their anniversary (we live in grand canyon nat'l park and couldn't get away) ...my wife's first words as we got in the car and headed out of mandalay bay were basically, "damn!!! we should've gone, back then!!!" oh, by the way my wife also thinks he's still cute after all these years! thanks for the great work on this site....ric ovalle

From Karen Thompto.....Reno, Nevada, July 26th.

Hi Bill, Just a nugget of info from the Reno show 7/26, myself and two friends had front row seats. Just prior to Jeff coming on stage, the security staff from BGP, was most helpful in getting a chilled bottle of Dom Perinion Champagne( $230.00) to Jeff from me , to thank him for his gift of music to us( i've done this 3 times before )and that we appreciate him very much. The show was one of the best if not the best I have seen him do. This was the 11th time I have seen Jeff live. I met him the 10th show I saw, he was great, he signed my cd, and the picture of his 32 Ford , made for him by Roy Brizio, and then we(and about 8 people went to the Sports bar, in THE HARD ROCK HOTEL, and partied!I enjoyed Reno so much because Jeff was SO DAMN HAPPY!! PLUS his playing waqs unstopable!! He and the band were clearly aware of the fact that this was a die hard Jeff BECk crowd, and HE,( they) played for us!! He didn't stop smiling except for reacting to tony's amazing key board licks, then his facial expressions said it all! He was also punching out licks like I had never heard him do. Running up and down the neck, as if he was doing some hyper-active jidderbug, BUT TIGHTand very interesting. He kept playing directly in front of myself and friends, smiling and FLIRTING with me!! he rasberried me and I started laughing, then he started laughing back!!He also went to the mic several times to say how much he enjoys playing with his band and touring with BB King. He was very receptive ,warm, friendly, and funny with the audience.All in all, Jeff Beck and band get an A+, with standing ovation!!Hope you enjoyed the review, Bill, feel free to put it up on the webpage. Thanks, Karen Thompto

An interview from www.nyrock.com.

http://www.nyrock.com/interviews/2003/king_int.asp

A 'Jeff' review from launch.yahoo.

http://launch.yahoo.com/read/album.asp?contentID=214270

An article from 107.3 The Bay.

http://1073online.com/common/launch/070203/070203_jeff_beck_says.html

From James Snow.....Mandalay Bay, July 25th.

I went with my wife and some friends to the July 25th show in Las Vegas. Jeff played with cool confidence and you would never have guessed it was the first show of the tour. He grinned frequently and was obviously having a good time. He started off with a new song that had a "Lion sleeps tonight" melody vibe going for it. He played "Traffic Jam" which I had never seen him play before. His version of "Rolling and Tumbling" was without vocals, he played the melody on guitar. The off-the-fretboard slide hammer-ons for "Angel Footsteps" were unbelievable. From my seat above the left side of the stage it was obvious that Terry Bozzio had told his drum tech to "Go forth and buy me two of every drum that is known to man" because his set was huge! We didn't know how he fit in there to play! It was a great show and my wife is all set to go again, she is especially into the electronica style songs. B.B. King was awesome as well. He played most of the same songs from the "Live By Request" show, even injecting his "I'm gonna do this until I die, folks" into "Key to the Highway." After seeing that show on A&E, I thought it was nuts that the two didn't play together, but maybe they will on other dates. It was an awesome experience and really makes me wish for a Jeff DVD to pour over for hours at a time. I'll conclude by sending you my two dopey little pictures from way up high! Keep up the good work! James Snow

From Lionel Mall.....Concord, CA, August 1st.

I saw an excellent set of music from Jeff Beck, Terry Bozzio & Tony Hymas tonight in Concord, Calif. The energy level was high & the gig was awesome! It's great to the trio united again...wow! SETLIST 1)psycho sam 2)big block 3)savoy 4)brush w/ blues 5)roys toys 6)goodbye porkpie hat 7)freeway jam 8)nadia 9)new song (hard intro into melodic) 10) Angel (footsteps) 11)you never know 12)blue wind *end of set but the boys return for a two song encore* 13)people get ready 14)new song with a catchy riff but I'm not sure of the title....All in all a very inspired performance....yee-haw!

From George Peters.....Concord, CA, August 1st.

Jeff started around 8.00pm 
Psycho Sam 
Big Block 
Savoy 
Brush with the Blues 
Roy's Toy 
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat 
Freeway Jam 
Nadia 
---changed guitars-- 
New Tune (Bulgaria? fast,melodic,then a longer jam-- 
with recorded voice, then chorus) 
Angel 
Scatterbrain 
Blue Wind 
-----------encores------ 
People Get Ready 
New Tune (My Thing-played to video 
featuring snarling blonde) 
Jeff finished at 9.00pm exactly.
I sat in the fourth row left (in front of Tony). I've seen Jeff at least once every time he's come to the Bay Area since 1980, usually at close range. This was a fine set, with probably the best version of "Pork Pie Hat" I've seen. At least half the audience stood to applaud each number:Jeff really seemed to enjoy and appreciate the response. He was wearing exactly what he wore on Leno the day before, including the sunglasses. It seemed like his eyes were bothering him enough to wear them all night. The reason I say this is because he would peek out from under them to acknowledge the ovations, as if he was not being aloof. Terry was amazing as always, particularly at the end of "Scatterbrain"'. During the final repetition of the fast riff, he turned his head to the right and just pounded while Jeff tried to make eye contact with him to end the song. Obviously,Terry knew this, but Jeff had to walk across the entire stage and stand in front of the drum kit before Terry looked over. I thought it was pretty funny. I was surprised to see "Freeway Jam" on your Sacramento set list, because I'd read that he doesn't like playing it. It all made sense when I heard it, because he played it at least twice as fast as any version I've heard: it seemed like he was racing through it to get it over with. The new tunes were great ,especially My Thing. He really seemed to enjoy himself, and spoke a little more than usual at the end. He ended with "God Bless....You always make me feel good when I come here" (He played here in 1995 and 1999) Thanks for your great website. George Peters, Martinez,CA USA

From Mallory Moad.....Grizzlies Stadium, September 30th.

Did I send this to the right place? Regardless, here goes...
I've been waiting for someone, anyone from Fresno to comment on the show here on July 30. I guess it's up to me.
July 30 was the 15th day of a terrible, muggy, over 100-degree heat wave here and all I can say is, those guys are troupers, every one of 'em! Remember, the show was at Grizzlies Stadium and that's outside!
There's not much I can add to what everyone else has been saying. Although I know the music, this was my first time seeing Jeff Beck live and the performance left me absolutely speechless. "Jeff Beck's Guitar Shop" is one of my favorite recordings ever, so seeing Terry Bozzio and Tony Hyams up there, too, was a special treat.
I've always appreciated performers who aren't afraid to have a good time on stage. What with nutty, boyish grins, a wave or two at the audience and thumbing his nose at a video camera, it was obvious that Jeff Beck was having as much fun as we were. Returning for a second encore (sans shades), he raised his hand, index finger up as if to say, "one more", then two fingers, three, four. The audience went nuts, but with an apologetic shrug, that lonely index finger returned and we did, indeed, get just one more song ("People Get Ready").
For an hour plus, this musical magic took us to a place where we forgot we were melting into our shoes. That's quite an accomplishment for just 3 guys!
BB King was, as always, BB King -- charming, funny, stylish. His backup band, many of whom have been with him since day one, are tight and talented. My only complaint is, I saw BB King here a year ago and his performance was the same, word for word. If it ain't broke, don't fix it, I guess. Still, it would be nice to have some variety from someone so accomplished and legendary.

From Ramon.....Greek Theatre, August 2nd.

I caught the LA show on saturday. Jeff did come back out for a jam with BB's band. They played 2 songs, the last one being "Cost to be the Boss" like the Leno show. There were about 2 songs that were new. I think it was "So what", but it consisted of a repeated sample female vocal part and dancing visuals on the back screen. The new songs were very heavy, especially considering there were only 3 guys on stage (guitar, drums, & keyboard). Great Show. Jeff was very bashful when he came back out to play with BB. The King poked fun at this. Great show.

From Rich......Sacramento, CA, July 29th.

I saw Jeff on the BB King tour... Jeff was awsome..I mean AWSOME..!!!! It the first time I've ever seen him and he puts his albums to shame...they are so much less than his live performance. I was sooo..impressed..and I've been a musician for over 40 years...and am hard to impress...but he just kept me in awe...no bullshit talk..to asking the audience to clap..none of that bullshit...just good...hard...stuff. Rich

From Doctordeeptrack.....Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, August 5th.

my name is Paul Korkames
doctordeeptrack is my mike name in the clubs i have spun in for the last 22 years.
the blues jazz fusion group "Galactic" opened to a fat crowd at the downtown Phoenix Dodge Theatre tonight and warmed it up right with their blend of bass grooves and a finisher that had a wailing harmonica and "Capricorn" era slide guitar crying emotion in the foreground.
The middle ground was the high ground as Jeff came out and blazed away for a 40 minute roar through memories and new melodies with a video disc center stage showcasing a duece coupe car chase to the beat of "Traffic Jam".
The white strat spoke to me. In contrast to contemporary guitar legends on the circuit today he played the same axe throughout the set changing only once to do a slide guitar show slicker than Mobil 1. Then back to the original guitar for the duration. In old school fashion he used a guitar chord. No wireless here!
The only vocals in the show were two songs. A black female rapper akin to voacally to Missy or Lil Kim with a few hooks in the middle of the set and a leather clad blonde on video with "It's my thang" for the closer. Both were dub tracks with no live singer and could have better been left on the shelf. The man and his guitar were plenty enough for the Arizona hungry.
Bozzio was a phenom as was the silky smooth keyboardist whose name i am searching for. The percusssion and synthesizers and piano were so tight i felt as though i was hearing brothers.
B.B. lit up the night with his polished and relaxed down home showmanship that sheds light on the reason for his international superstardom.
For the finale B.B. called on the Orangeman to come out and take the forefront for a doulble song traditional blues set. Proving what a true gent he is Beck blazed when signaled and gave perfect complimentary emphasis to B.B.s sultry Mississippi lead.
Phoenix loved it. Tony Hymas built the most incredible rhythms effortlessly and in perfect unison. Since it was only a trio he had the fourth job of creating and holding the bass line for the group.
cheers doctordeeptrack

From Chris D..........Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, August 5th.

(Let this prove we print all reviews!) Phoenix, Dodge theater, Jeff Beck and BBking concert. I went to this concert with my wife we were celebrating 30 years together and we were really looking forward to see Jeff and bb king.
The night turned into a nightmare. During Jeff's set the sound system took a dump, and all you could hear on the right side of the dodge concert hall was the bass music from the keyboard. It was deafening. we had to get up and go to the front lobby area it was so bad.
I spoke with the sound engineer who told me they would fix it, but by the end of Jeff's set it was still not working, and then by the third song on BB kings set we had to leave. We were refused a refund and we were told there was nothing they could do about the sound it could not be fixed that night.
I and at least 60 others who asked for refunds, got mad and left because we couldn't hear a thing except the bass, we will never go to the dodge theater again. Some of the people who left mad are posting what happened on all the Arizona chat rooms and that numbers are in the 100s of chat rooms. The actions of the theater personnel, and Danny Zelesco the promoter, who we were told by the Dodge theater personnel, that he knew about the problem but refused to do anything about it. These actions will be costly to the Dodge theater and to Jeff on his next tour.
Just thought he or some one that could get his ear needs to know. Chris D.

From Paul Jensen.....Greek Theatre, Los Angeles, August 2nd.

Hi guys - thanks for all your great work with the website. I have been enjoying it for several years but I have never written to you before. My review of the Greek theater show is below. I'm not an eloquent writer but tour reports seem to be somewhat lacking so I thought I'd better step up! The setlist is accurate as verified by my DAT of the show.
Review: Jeff Beck (& BB King) August 2, 2003 Greek Theater, Los Angeles, CA
I've seen Jeff several times over the years in 1980, 1995, & 1999, but the Greek is one of the nicer venues I've seen Jeff in. There were 3 large video screens during the show - one on each side that showed a lot of Terry and Tony in a split screen as well as Jeff. The center video screen was a black & white with a sepia-like effect. It's just Jeff, Terry, and Tony - no bass player this time. Amazing show, fantastic musicianship - how can these guys possibly hit the stage with such intensity right from the start? Unbelieveable. Simon Phillips was my favorite drummer to see with Jeff (and I've seen Jeff with Terry before), but after tonight I can't imagine a better drummer than Terry. Simply put, Terry Bozzio is insane! Never miss a chance to see Jeff live. It is such an incredible experience that will blow away any guitar playing you've ever heard. It is like a spiritual event, Jeff's music pouring over the audience blessing them! It's funny how nonchalant he seems during his performance.
The setlist: Psycho Sam, Big Block, Savoy, Brush With the Blues, Roy's Toy, Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, Freeway Jam, Nadia (really nice tom tom work on this), Seasons (a nice rocker with a slow interlude section in the middle with the wailing sound of Jeff's tortured strat), Angel Footsteps (amazing slide work especially the end part in the register above the neck), You Never Know (with no bass player Jeff handled the intro on guitar which gave this song a really updated feel -cool!), Blue Wind (confirmed, Terry is one of the greatest drummers of all time! - also, I really enjoyed Tony's work throughout the show). Encore: People Get Ready, My Thing (during this song the band played in sync with the video monitor which showed Nancy Sorrell, singing the lyrics. Pretty amazing, I've never seen a band play in sync with a virtual singer before!)
BB King played his set next and towards the end of it he announced "We're gonna do something we haven't done yet'" and he brought Jeff back out. Jeff's comment was "In the presence of the King," and BB said "when it comes to playing the guitar, there's nobody better (than Jeff Beck)." Over the next 10 minutes Jeff played several solos with BB on 2 numbers: I Know, and, Paying the Cost to Be the Boss. Fantastic- what a treat! I repeat: do not miss a chance to see Jeff play!
Jeff's set was 60 min. (14 songs) and the 2 aditional numbers with BB stretched it out to 75 minutes - perfect for a CDR!
Paul Jensen - San Diego, California - zionic@cox.net P.S. I am looking for trades for other JB 2003 shows!

From Marcus O'Farrell.....Reno, NV, July 26th.

Dick,, Reno, Hilton Ampitheatre was the 5th time I saw Jeff live. Better with age? I would guess so. I couldn’t stop smiling and screaming! He picks up and handles that guitar like it’s a TOY! Jeff and his axe are one! He’s truly one of the greatest living guitar players. He Wham Bams that thing!
All the best/ Marcus O’Farrell/Seattle, Wa.
Opening with : 
Still I’m sad 
Freeway Jam
Savoy
Psycho Sam
Brush with the blues
Roy’s Toy
( New Tune)
Declan
Big Block
Nadia
Rollin and tumblin’
Good-bye pork pie hat
Scatterbrain
Encore:
People Get Ready

From Brad Martin....Denver, CO, August 7th.

Playlist:

Psycho Sam
Big Block
Savoy
Bout With The Blues
Roy's Toy
Freeway Jam
Goodbye Porkpie Hat
Nadia
Seasons (new)
Angel(Footsteps)
You never know
Blue Wind

ENCORE
People Get Ready
My Thing (new)

Played about 1hr 10 mins, Beaautiful show, just a
little short. Did not play with BB (curfew at
venue). B.B.'s show was much better than the one
he did on A&E, so You didn't miss Jeff as much,
but it would have been nice.

Keep up the good work
Brad Martin
Denver

From Dave Whittingham......Dodge Theatre, Phoenix, AZ, August 5th.

Gentlemen,
I saw Jeff and B.B. at Phoenix's Dodge theater Tuesday night. What a fantastic show! I had front row tickets, center stage (which made the 3 hour wait in the blazing Arizona sunshine all worthwhile).
I didn't sit there with a notepad writing down the set list, but it differed a little from the one you published. A lot of 'Guitar Shop', a few from the last two albums (Including 'Brush With the Blues' and 'Roy's Toy') 'Freeway Jam', 'Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, and 'People Get Ready' (the first encore).
There were two from the new release - at least that's what I'm assuming since I'd never heard them before. One had a staccato sample of a female voice repeating over and over - I really enjoyed it. The other, which was the final encore, featured a video accompaniment from a gorgeous blonde lady on the big circular screen.
Jeff looked happy, Terry was energetic, and Tony looked laid-back.
Jeff came back onstage, at B.B.'s insistence, and played a couple of numbers near the end of the King's set. I thought I'd died and gone to heaven. Jeff was a little more melodic and restrained than on the PBS show, and, well, better. Much better.
Here's the local news station's review:
If you look at the 'slideshow' link there are a couple of pictures of Jeff among all the ones of B.B. King.
Just as a point of interest, I thought I'd share a few impressions of the concert. I've been fortunate enough to see him many times over the last 20 years, but I've never been fortunate enough to sit in the front row. What struck me was the how he plays the guitar. I'm not a guitarist myself, but I could tell that I was watching something special. The range of sounds he can pull from that Fender is nothing short of amazing. From the gentlest touch to bending strings right off the fretboard, from plucking a single string to hammering all six while simultaneously working the various knobs, switches and tremolo bar... all I can say is that my jaw just dropped. At times he was not so much playing that guitar as tyrannizing it. No pedals either, a stark contrast to the bewildering array that one typically sees taped to the stage in front of other players.
B.B. King's set was most enjoyable, too. The most noticeable difference was the wonderfully consistent warm tone from that big Gibson, quite a contrast from Jeff's multiple-personality guitar. But to hear them play together was the treat of a lifetime.
Okay, I'm biased - I've been a huge fan for longer than I care to remember. But I have to say that that gig was the high point of my concert-going career.
As always, I'd like to think you guys for the website. It's a great thing that you're doing.
Sincerely, Dave (An Englishman in the desert)

From Kevin Weiler......Santa Barbara, CA, August 3rd.

Hello Gentlemen! (I use that term verrry loosely!)
Here's a setlist (the order may be a little mixed up) from last night's show:
Psycho Sam
Big Block
Savoy
Brush With The Blues
Roy's Toy
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Nadia
Seasons
Angel (footsteps)
Freeway Jam 
New Tune
You Never Know
Blue Wind

People Get Ready
My Thing 
A fantastic show.. though the set lasted just over an hour.. (maybe 65 min.).. because of the 10pm curfew at the Santa Barbara County Bowl, Terry and Tony came on stage just before 7pm (with lots of daylight remaining) and began the intro to "Psycho Sam".. then Jeff appeared wearing different shades (larger lenses) than on the Tonight Show, also clad in green army style pants, black zippered shirt and black boots... without going into any more excruciating detail, the band was on fire.. this was a WAY better performance than the one I saw at Universal in 2001... more in line w/the shows from `99.. lots of energy and smiles.. as has been said before, Jeff seemed to be having a great time playing w/Bozzio.. there were subtle (and over-the-top) call and response jams between the two thruout the show.. Hymas was outstanding imho... no bass player missed.. he was the grounding force and steadying influence.. this show reminded me a lot of the one in`95 at Portland Meadows Race Track in Oregon.. that was also a daylight show and they were on fire that day as well.. Jeff would point (using his hand like a gun and "shooting" it) at Bozzio and Hymas when he wanted them to solo.. he appeared overwhelmed by the crowd's response.. (not a sell out, and the venue only holds @4500 people).. a criminal shame.. I wonder how the tour is drawing overall.. I think they wanted to get the Jam band youth scene out to these shows, but most people I saw in the crowd were there mainly for B.B. King.. Mofro's set was ok, but there were only a handful of folks there to see them.. Galactic surprised me and were very groovin'... but like `95 with Santana, even B.B. King was a letdown after Beck had gone for the throat.. no jamming between the two... had a Seal sighting in the stands.. and later saw him on Jeff's bus as we were walking out of the venue.. B.B. was great.. but Jeff left me wanting more.. really hope he comes back w/the trio and plays longer.. oh yeah, noticed he was more faithful to the album versions of Goodbye Pork Pie Hat, Freeway Jam & Blue Wind than he has been in a looong time.. (Bozzio played the drum intro on FJ and JB played the part right after that.. instead of the "honking" versions we've gotten over the years.. like on the live release w/Jan Hammer).. go see the show if you can..
Kevin

From Ed.......Concord Pavillion, August 1st.

Hi Dick:
Read you reviews on the gig set list and caught Jeff and BB with a bit of a different format. Picked up the CD yesterday (release date) and thought he was going to gig most of that. Much to my surprise he played a lot of his old stuff. He played three numbers that I didn't recognize so I assumed they were from his latest CD. I had a very patient cousin who was kind enough to hold my cigarette lighter so I could write down the songs. His fingertips were pretty sore by the end of the night. And the lady we borrowed the pen from kept bitching that she wanted it back because she thought I was going to rip it off! This is what was on the list.

Psycho Sam
Big Block
Savoy
Brush With The Blues 
New Song (Seasons?)
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
You Never Know  (Re-reading the piece of paper the next morning,
I wrote down a song I play against but couldn't remember what the
name of it was.  The notation read D - There and Back;  I realized
later that the dash was the guitar notation for minor which triggered
me off that it was a song from There and Back in D minor)
Freeway Jam
Nadia
New Song (JB Blues?)
Angel (Footsteps)
Blue Wind

Encore
People Get Ready
New Song (With a lady vocalist saying something like "What You Looking At?". (My Thing)
He had a huge circular video screen that would show him and the band playing up close and it one display he had two roadsters racing each other which he used for one of his previous tours I caught - either the Who Else tour or the You Had It Coming tour. Reading the other set list, I was hoping he might have included Where Were You which is one of my favorites (amongst hundreds of others). For you folks who got a chance to see him gig Scatterbrain, how lucky you were. It took me about three months to learn that intro from Blow by Blow - it was like his version of Flight of the Bumble Bee only on guitar. BTW - someone posted that JB played Scatterbrain at this concert in Concord - WRONG! I checked with a couple of my JB buddies and they concurred that he did not play that.
Ed From California

From Tavis....Holmdel, NJ, August 14th.

Made it out of NYC 10 minutes before the blackout!
Power in Jersey was on, at least at the venue, but this will be called "The Blackout Gig"
Beck-Bozzio-Hymas
Holmdel, NJ 8/14/03 "The Blackout Gig"
Psycho Sam
Big Block
Savoy
Brush with the Blues(best version I've ever heard)
Roy's Toy>
Freeway Jam
Goodbye Porkpie Hat
Nadia
Seasons
Angel(footsteps)
You Never Know
Sling Shot
*encore*
People Get Ready
My Thing
cheers, Tavis

From Gord MacKay......Toronto, August 19th.

After listening to his stuff for over 35 years (I've owned "Truth" 5 times in 4 different formats and have every other album he's recorded), I finally saw him play. Words almost fail me. Incredible show and sound. Best performance I've ever seen. I don't know what I was thinking about when I passed on previous opportunities to see him. All three of them (JB, Tony, and the drummer, whose name I regrettably did not know) were absolutely outstanding. I took my 20 year old daughter with me and she was totally into it. My only consolation is that he's only getting better, and I didn't see him after he'd peaked. Surprise of the night was his instrumental take on "A Day in the Life". My only disappointment was that they had to get off the stage for B.B.King. I only made it through 3 King songs and I had to leave. Nothing could compare.
I will never pass up another chance to see him play.
Gord MacKay

From Brian McGeever......Cleveland, OH, August 20th.

Bill, Jeff was so intense he had the crowd going crazy! Galactic was a cool band they have a nice thing going, but when Jeff came out after the second song the roof blew off the joint. I took a good friend of mine to the show and he's always liked Jeff Beck but after seeing him live He's become real fan! He was amazed. After Jeff was done I was waiting in line for beer and talking to these two young lads of 21 and one of them had a "ZOSO" shirt on. I said to him "So your a Jimmy Page fan." and he replied "I thought he was something, but this guy tonight was just so incredible, I think he's better!" Both of the guys play guitar and they want to try to figure out what he does. I told them there a couple of books on his style but I told them it's rough. I've tried a couple but I'm just not ready yet because I'm in between a beginner and a novice player and it just kicks my ass, although messing around on my own, I accidentally picked up a couple of his licks. B.B. King was also really good as well it was the first time I've seen blue legend live in concert. The whole show was great! I wish I could give you a set list in order. He opened the show with Pork-U-Pine. He also did Savoy, Brush With The Blues, Good By Pork Pie Hat, Freeway Jam, Blue Wind, Nadine, Blast From The East, A Day In The Life, People get ready. He didn't realize the time and some one back stage had to remind him so he only did one encore. I think he would have just kept on going had no one told him his time was almost up. Bill he was in a really great mood and just full of energy and you know what when I told those kid how old he was in our conversation they couldn't believe it one kid said to me "He has more energy and get-up-and go then I do." Well, I thought I'd just drop you line to let you know the Cleveland show went. Take care!
Brian

From Bill Armstrong.........Tweeter Center, Mansfield, MA, August 17th.

Arrived in Mansfield with a contingent of friends from my hometown, Marblehead, about 6:00PM. I had forgotten how long a drive it was out here! The first band, Mofro was already playing but never saw them or Galactica for that matter. There were several beers calling my name.

Jeff came on at about 7:40PM. My friends and I had pretty good seats, 13th row center. Terry Bozzio was stage left, Tony Hymas stage right and Jeff in the middle. For amps Jeff had three Marshall 100 watt DSL heads and three 4 by 12 bottoms. A friend of mine who was in the front row later told me that was using one head for the 'clean' sound (classic gain,green light) and the another (ultra gain,red) for the overdrive. From where I was sitting I only noticed one cabinet miked though. For pedals he had the Snarling Dog Whine-O Wah, which had a heavy duty custom made switch next to it to turn the wah on, and a Marshall channel switcher for one of the amps. I've since learned that he also had a pedal board behind the amps that his guitar tech Steve switched on and off.

First thing I noticed is Jeff had what appeared was his usual guitar. His guitar looks what Fender calls 'Vintage White' to me, not Olympic White like the new ones out now. I asked a guy at Fender once about the color of his guitar. The guy told me when they shipped the guitar to Jeff it was Olympic White but it had yellowed. I'm not so sure, although I've since been assured that's the case. Anyway I digress. Jeff had what looked like to me his Vintage White Strat. The Anoushka signature that was mentioned in the last 'What's New' and you can see on the Jool's Holland New Years Eve show was very small behind the bridge.

So now let me get to the setlist;

Psycho Sam
Big Block
Savoy
Brush With The Blues
Roy's Toy
Freeway Jam
Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
Nadia
Seasons (for this number changed guitars, a real Olympic White Strat
         with the low E tuned down to I think a Db.)
Angel (Footsteps) (Back to the Vintage White.)
You Never Know
A Day In The Life (haven't seen this on other recent setlists)
Sling Shot

*Encore*

People Get Ready
My Thing

Some cool things during the show. First the video screen. Same big round one they had last tour. There were two hand held cameras at the front of the stage that mainly shot Jeff. Then for Terry and Tony they had two 'lipstick' cameras. Terry's was hung up inside his drumkit, Tony's was on a little tripod next to his keyboards. I liked it, although with these cameras when either Tony or Terry got closer to the lens it had a little fish-eye effect and when they moved away the focus went a little soft. They also fed video in the screen. For 'Roy's Toy' there were hot rods of course. And for 'My Thing' a woman was singing, "My thing, what you lookin' at." The woman could be Nancy Sorrell who sings that on the CD. I did a Google search of images for "Nancy Sorrell" and I found a modeling site with a woman by that name and it could be her. About three quarters into the set, Jeff came up to the microphone and said, "Thank you, thank you very much, Boston has always been so good to me."

B.B. came on around 9:15. What a great band he has! And tonight was somewhat special in that Jeff came back out and did two numbers with B.B.. About three quarters into his show B.B, who did a lot of talking during the show said, "Over in England they treat me like my last name, a King, and here's a great friend of mine from England." This was while he and the band were playing a slow blues, an instrumental. Jeff came out and joined B.B. and the band on this slow blues number for about 2 or 3 more minutes, then they broke into the song Jeff and B.B. always seem to be playing together, "The Cost For Being The Boss". The whole thing was just great.

Overall the show was great. Jeff was little slow coming out of the box but by the time he hit 'Savoy' it was rockin'. Terry and Tony both great, didn't really notice there wasn't a bass player. Terry is a madman, only some song endings were a little shakey. The next day I was reading the Boston Globe and there was a little blurb that was interesting. Here's the copy verbatim;

SIGHTINGS Ace British axman Jeff Beck, in Boston to play at the Tweeter
Center with B.B. King, was at Foley's on Kingston Street Saturday night, 
huddled with an entourage that included two members of the noted Boston
garage rock band the Bristols...

The Foley's they're referring to is J.J. Foley's, a beer joint about 4 blocks from the 'combat zone' or what used to be the 'combat zone'. I didn't really know much about the 'Bristols' so in researching them I found that they are an all-girl band....a very nice looking all-girl band. Figures.

From Christian Drolet .... Molson Amphitheater, Toronto, Canada, Tuesday, August 19th, 2003.


After I long trip (Quebec to Toronto) in a train I finally saw my favorite guitarist! Very emotional show and special moment for me!
Crowd : maybe sold out = 16 000 people
Playlist (15 songs) :
 
Psycho Sam
Big Block
Savoy
Brush With The Blues
Roy's Toy
Freeway Jam
Goodbye Porkpie Hat
Nadia
Seasons (new)
Angel (Footsteps)
You never know
A Day In The Life (WOW!!)
Sling Shot
 
ENCORE
People Get Ready
My Thing (new)
Played about 1hr 15 mins, Beautiful show, just short but Jeff was so good and people really appreciated the show. Terry and Tony are so good too. Did not play with BB King.
Keep up the good work!
Christian Drolet
Quebec, Canada

From Patrick Minnick.....DTE Music Theater, Clarkson, MI, August 22nd.

Hi there:
First off, my nephew wondered if Jeff could do certain pieces without Jennifer on midi-guitar. Well, in addition to my nephew screaming at the sight of Terry Bozzio in a black fishnet shirt, he was convinced Jeff could do anything including parting the Red Sea.
The setlist was similar to previous stops, with the addition of "the Pump" right after the set opener, "Psycho Sam". And, at one point in "Sling Shot", several bars of "Train kept Rollin"
The sound was clear and deafening. My face was numb for days. Jeff worked with one white Strat all night, switching once to a cream-colored one for "Nadia".
Jeff was absolutely verbose compared to previous visits. He used the microphone not once, not twice, but three times!! He must be slamming lots of coffee. I've said it before...Jeff is not getting older, he's getting better.
BB King brought Jeff out for two numbers that were easily the highlight of his portion of the evening. Maybe a "Beck and the King" LP??
Thanks Jeff. Love watching you work.
Patrick Minnick

From Kevin VanCleave......Arie Crown Theater, Chicago, IL, August, 26th.

Just a quick review for you. Just got back home a few minutes ago from the Arie Crown show in Chicago, (8/26/03). Great show, perhaps Jeff's best in recent years(seen him with the Santana tour, and both tours with Jennifer). He opened with Roy's toy. He played 17 songs total unless I miscounted. New songs played were Seasons (on the all white Strat) and My Thing. Other Strat was like a cream color. Encores were People Get Ready and My thing. Day in the Life was one of the last songs before the encore. Set list basically seemed the same as what others listed, just slightly different order. No encore with BB. Jeff played about 1 hour and 15 minutes, BB played exactly 1 hour, then they turned the lights on. Overall a fantastic performance by Jeff and the band.

2003 Tour Backstage Stories



Dick Wyzanski....Chaistain Park Amphitheater, Atlanta, Georgia, September 6th.
Will The Circle Be Unbroken?
Flash- back to the Mike Harding In Concert series on the BBC in 1972 Mike Harding “The last time I saw Jeffrey was up in a seedy ballroom in Scotland, I think they’re all seedy anyway I think it was in Albertine and you weren’t very happy then. Are you happier now?” Jeff: “No” Mike Harding : (Laughter) No he’s not happier now. "Shows you things don't change."You can’t throw me. I don’t mind….”( A few seconds later ) Jeff “Yeah” Mike Harding: “ Yeah? He said Yeah”

Well the last time I saw Jeff in Jacksonville, Fl., the weather was miserable ,he was blinded by his lighting crew right in the middle of Angel Footsteps and the stupid hotel where they and I were staying listed me on their bill!…… ……..Anyways Sat. night Sept. 6th saw a perfect balmy autumn night at the magical venue of Chastain Park Amphitheatre in Atlanta, Ga. where a much happier Jeff took center stage and assaulted the breezes with a plethora of sounds which fans, newcomers, and guitar afficianados alike took to their bosoms with deep felt emotion and gratitude. Unlike the techno shred balls to the wall PA’s that marked the Gutiar Shop tour in ’89, this Guitar Shop Trio was mixed to highlight each individual’s contribution with perfect clarity. Terry Bozzio to my delight was instrumental in slowing down the oldies. Freeway Jam was almost at it’s original tempo allowing Jeff to create a whole new solo that would have stood on it’s own on the original! Being a “Blues” festival was not lost on Jeff (as we’ll discuss later) as “Brush with Blues” was done elegantly rather than wildly as on previous tours, and just to throw everyone GoodBye Pork Pie Hat was NOT done in the switch to twelve bar blues fashion as had previous tours. Tony Hymas laid down the most delicious trad jazz foundation as on the Wired version of the Mingus tune. Much to the guitarists in the audience delight every nuance of style could be gleaned from the two towering video displays on the side of the stage. I couldn’t F*****n believe it when I was listening to Nadia and looking that Jeff wasn’t even hardly using his slide!!!! Amazing!!!! Added to the set towards the end of the tour were Scatterbrain and a perfect rendition of Where Were You. I was glad that the featured selection from the new lp was Seasons as no other tune could let Jeff completely and freely let go yet all within the framework of the opening funky rythym. That tune as on the album spells all the dichotomies and schizophrenic nature of what rock music, hence Jeff, is all about! Finally even the part of the crowd not used to Jeff’s music but older and pseudo hip dropped their jaws with A Day In A Life. The encore found Jeff Beck dedicating People Get Ready to …Jimmy Hall who is in the audience” Wow, I said to myself. Jimmy Hall. This is going to be some evening! Jeff finished People Get Ready with a tremendous extended end portion where after laying the familiar rythym he glided up and down doing choice soft licks for over another minute and a half!!!!! Unbelievable!

After being ushered quickly after the set into the side stage meet and greet room, I was facing a blondish man with a hint of red hair pacing up and down with his back to me. He turned around as I was talking and I realized THIS IS JIMMY HALL!!! I introduced myself and Jimmy told me he had seen my initial stuff on the site about my conversation with him last Nov. Jimmy is a real great down to earth guy and he brought most of his family with him, wife and two of his sons.

A class act....Jimmy Hall

At this point I threw him the info about B.B. and Jeff having done a track (Three O’Clock Blues ..see Issue #5 of the Jeff Beck Bulletin) and it got results as you’ll see in a minute (Kept my word didn’t mention it to Jeff myself Hah!) Jimmy was enthused that we had hooked up with Clive Chaman and wanted to get his phone number to explore maybe some playing possibilities as I told him Clive was active again. We also talked some more about the RFH London shows and Jimmy exclaimed,” I kept every set list from that tour. I wish it could have gone on and on and come to America. I can even remember getting Roger Water’s autograph.” At that a lightbulb when off in my head and Jimmy graciously jotted his John Henry down on my rather now cluttered Beckology Box. Just then Terry entered followed by Jeff. I waited as I knew Jeff would love to have some time to embrace and greet Jimmy and his family and manager.

Simply a great drummer-Terry Bozzio.

After a while I sauntered over to Jeff and he greeted me with this knowing smile. I said half kiddingly, “Thanks for having me back Jeff” He just simply said Yeah, Dick” like it’s ok don’t sweat it. I immediately reintroduced my son and proclaimed “Jeff, he’s gonna take over the fan club from me.” I expected to get a humerous rise out of him but Jeff got genuinely very enthusiastic and said to him. “Yeah, this is what we need, youth. The youth of America energizing. Get all your friends to listen. Kick ass!

"You're the youth we need", Be careful what you ask for Jeff, it may come true. Remember he'sa Wyzanski.

I said, Yeah and it will help sell more records……which led me into the serious subject of THE END OF THE MOST FAMOUS RECORD CONTRACT IN ROCK HISTORY! “Now that your contract with Epic is finished will you be re-signing with them or looking at other companies?” Jeff turned to me to get my full attention and said “ That is a pointed question. They are taking me out to dinner in a couple of nights and I’ll find out if my head is on the chopping block’! (laughs) I explained to him the Odd Couple (Felix and Oscar) syndrome that we’ve been touting in comparison with Jeff/Sony and he nodded like we had a point. Then he told me “Jennifer is doing great.” Yeah I said “she played killer licks when she toured with you.” Jeff: She’s amazing……she’s a princess!”

I also asked Jeff where Tony was and he said, "I think Tony's drying off in the shower." Figures as Tony shies away from these 'meet and greets'.

Two old friends hook up.

At this juncture Jimmy walked over and asked much to my utter surprise “Jeff there is a rumour that you recorded something with B.B.. Jeff said “Yeah but I couldn’t let that one out. (Mentions the producer’s name) .…made the solo sound too over the top from one side. And he chopped up my solo completely and just put bits together. I couldn’t let it go like that. “ Jeff also remembered that he had to keep having the studio door shut during his session “because Eric was in the booth next door and would get up and come over to see what I was doing.” (laughs) Then I got a note from B.B. a couple of weeks after his record came out thanking me for my contribution. He didn’t even know! At this juncture it must be said that although it pains me to do it considering how I’ve been non-treated by many at Epic over recent years SORRY! WE THOUGHT IT WAS YOU GUYS WHO PULLED THE PLUG!

Then Jimmy and Jeff started talking about an acoustical guitarist Jeff had seen in a cathedral setting with a tabla player. Jeff said the tabla player was amazing. “The tabla player tuned the guitar with the tablas. (Motions like he’s playing a tabla) Bing. Nope your not in tune Bing.(again) yeah that’s it” The subject then turned to Ronnie Wood. Jeff: Yeah I’m seeing Ronnie with the Stones in a couple of days. “ I remembered the clip in the All The Kings Men video where Jeff said of his reunion with Ronnie “Party Time!” I threw the phrase out and Jeff picked up on it right away laughing. “ Ronnie’s got this (mentions a piece of clothing) that’s got hidden pockets in it for wine bottles” Everyone around including Jeff almost fell on the floor laughing.

Jeff noticed that the lights were bright in the room and then jumped up and dimmed them exclaiming “That’s better”.

Notice he's holding Toshi's Jeff Beck Singles catalogue we passed along to him. We know Jeff's gonna look at every page of it. Hah!

I complimented him on Django and offered that I felt he had a calming effect on McGlaughlin cause it took him about 30 seconds into his first solo before he (McGlaughlin) started going a mile a minute. Jeff recalled how difficult and challenging he thought that session was. I thought I would see if Jeff remembered some melodies he had toyed with but had never put down on his own or in a session. I hummed the line to the slow piece from the four track SteakHouse session with Luthaker and Sending Sweets from the Euro 98 tour but Jeff didn’t remember either one. Finally I said Jeff before I leave I’ve got this great reunion story that you’ll love. I told him how Bill had taken Clive Chaman to see Mick Taylor in Ft. Lauderdale cause Max Middleton was playing with Mick and when it was time for the show to begin it was upstaged and delayed slightly due to Max coming down into the audience and giving Clive a long bear hug. Jeff: Yes I love that story Great! Jeff sauntered off outside the room to cajole with a few female fans and I asked Andy (Jeff's tour manager this time out)how he got hooked up with the cast (as he signed my Beckology Box being the newest member) “I gave up a lot for this (A year tour with Destiny’s Child) but it’s worth it. Jeff every week amazes me with what he plays”.

Jeff: "Ralph how could you do this to me? Just wait 'til I get back to England."

Suddenly it was time for Andy to escort Jeff back to the stage to do the duets with B.B. It must be said that B.B. that night in Atlanta decided to thank Jeff for the whole tour as it was getting down to one more official stop after Atlanta. B.B. lavished Jeff with praise embarrassing the heck out of Jeff as all he could do was gesture thanks and mutual admiration towards B.B.. At the end of that Jeff went over not only to raise and shake B.B.’s hand but to give him a heartfelt big hug. The same stuff he did with B.B on the Leno show. Great. All too brief, and then off as we took off too back on the five hour jaunt to Tallahassee.

Thanks to Andy, Ralph and Jeff.
Be seeing you.



Thank You's For Issue #10

Ralph Baker: Good one yourself!
Ernest Chapman: Been a long road since the contract signing in '70 hey?
Andy Crookston: You did the right thing alright!
Jimmy Hall: Great to meet you and your family. Keep buggin' Jeff to do something!
Jennifer Batten: For still inspiring Jeff!
Ed Chapero: Next time Joey gets that close tell him to say something!
John Walsh: Thanks for better copies of the fabled Euro radio broadcasted missing All Star track.
202 Angle Plug: "Where were you buddy?"
My son: For one day preparing to take over the reigns.
Kodak
Kia Autosports
Chastain Park Ampthitheater, Atlanta (except the snooty stage lady)
And Jeff, thanks for all this and all the other heartfelt wonderful performances over the years. I'm sure you'll suggest to Ronnie ways to polish off all that hidden wine. Hah!