Sun Tangled Angel Revival (S.T.A.R.)

Gibb Droll has had a long-standing collaborative relationship with Kevin Kinney. Kinney is most known for his days in Drivin’ and Cryin’ and the song Fly Me Courageous. I never cared for that song and never ventured to discover anything more about Drivin’ and Cryin’. My interest was heightened, however, when I discovered that he and Gibb were close. When I found out about S.T.A.R. I immediately ordered the album. It was totally different from what I was expecting. It’s best characterized as Alt Country, I suppose. If that’s another term for damn good songwriting, then that’s what it is. Gibb makes himself known on this album in a very controlled way. He doesn’t overpower any of the songs but his presence is there when it’s needed. I’ve come to really enjoy Kinney vocals. It fits this style of music very well and his lyrics are very deep. I’m very impressed with what they achieved on this album. I hope that more people discover this album and give it the exposure that it deserves.

Everything

The band Everything is one of those that never fit any mold. If I had to name a band that they remind me of, it would be Spin Doctors with tons more horns. I only saw them live once but they had a ton of energy. The thing that amazed me most about the band was that everyone played more than one instrument with the exception of like the bass player. Someone playing guitar would grab a tenor sax, someone else would grab a trombone and another an alto sax. And this wasn’t a switch up in between songs this was during songs! As I understand it Everything formed at James Madison University when they were students. After graduation they moved to Washington, D.C., and became a regional act. They put out 5 or 6 albums and I have two of those. The self-titled live album and Super Natural. Their biggest song was definitely Hooch from that album and it landed on the Water Boy Soundtrack. After about 2000 there was dramatic decline in their touring and output. I used to check their website frequently but it seldom changed. After checking it to see if I could post it for this article I find that they are back together and are promoting a new album. They explain that they were on a long hiatus due to a list of reasons. They were a great band…a very talented band and I'm sure they still are. I mentioned previously that Dave Slankard and Nate Brown played on Gibb’s album Walking Away. Gibb played on this live album that Everything put out in 1996. And if you look closely at Gibb’s website you’ll see that it is created by Slankard. Anyway, I give this live album by Everything two big thumbs up. Go support this band that has not been accesssible for awhile. There are so many jambands out there worthy of seeing but most are a variation on some familiar theme. Not so with Everything...they are unique. Go check them out.

Gibb Droll Discography

Gibb Droll (Band)

I’ve been holding off writing about Gibb Droll because I wanted to make sure that I did him justice. Having never blogged before I wasn’t sure what would be proper to write about. Now that I’ve got a few blog entries under my belt, I’d like to take a stab at it. I had the pleasure of seeing Gibb Droll live some 41 times over a period of about 9 years. I used to follow him around and record the shows on cassette, reel-to-reel and a couple of times on video. I had the fortune of meeting Gibb and the band back in October ’91, some 3 months after they formed. My first bootleg was February the following year at Trax in Charlottesville, Virginia. I have such fond memories because I was able to see the band grow and to watch the struggles of a local band (Virginia Beach) go regional and attempt national status. I will include a discography of the albums the band released together and then what Gibb released as a solo performer. When I saw the band for the first time they were selling their four-song demo on cassette. It was recorded in a studio just after the formed.

Their first official album was a Live CD released in 1993. 1994 saw the release of their first full-length studio CD, Dharma. Next was Narrow Mouth Jar in 1995. The band was originally a three piece with Mike Williams on drums, Tom Hall on bass and Gibb on guitar and vocals. By 1993 Pete Mathis had joined to play keyboards. Gary Look replaced Tom Hall. Gary played on Dharma and Narrow Mouth Jar. A guy named Kevin from Charleston, who played with the band briefly, replaced Gary. He was the most amazing bass player I’ve ever seen live, with the exception of maybe Chris Wood. A young guy who had studied music at Radford University replaced him. He played a stand up bass, and I’m sorry to say that I don’t remember his name. Somewhere around ’98 Gibb decided to disband the Gibb Droll Band and to continue on as a solo artist. He came out with a self-titled CD in 1998. It only contained 6 songs but showed some of Gibb’s best songwriting. Walking Away was released in 2002 and included two members of the band Everything, Dave Slankard and Nate Brown. This album again proved Gibb was growing as a songwriter and getting away from his moniker of just being a lead guitarist. He met up with Kevin Kinney of Drivin’ and Cryin’ fame and formed the Sun Tangled Angel Revival. They released an album of the same name. In 2005 Gibb released his latest album entitled Ten Days. Again he has honed his songwriting to a phenomenal level. Gibb now seems to be a guitarist for hire and has hooked up with a lot of young, diverse talent. He occasionally comes out and plays on short tours, sometimes with Kevin Kinney. He know longer has a “band”, as far as I know. I was proud to have gotten to know Gibb Droll and the band he had through the 90’s. He’s a very, very nice and humble person. I would like to say that Gibb Droll, who is my second favorite artist of all-time, went on to achieve fame and fortune on a national level but that never became the case. He has some notoriety but not what I had hoped. I think Gibb is happy with what he has achieved. I’ve seen an incredible growth from him as a musician, a songwriter and a vocalist since that first time in 1991. I wish him and the musicians that have been associated with him all the best. Buy his albums, go out and see him if you have the chance, check out his website. You won’t be disappointed.

moe.

I want to write about this band because I don't personally know anyone else who digs them. I know they have a fan base and I know that they are written about in Relix and on the web, but I can't find anyone near me that wants to listen to them. The name of this album is Warts and All, Volume 2, and the title says it all. This is a band that brings the best of jamband music to the stage. They are raw...their solos are flawed...they don't have great vocalists but they come across with energy and enough talent to express things no one else is expressing. They are a fun band to listen to...and I'm sure fun to watch, as well. I haven't had the pleasure of seeing them live but I would jump at the chance. They're not polished and slick like Phish, MMW or SCI but the good time is there.

Hound Dog Taylor

Tell me this ain’t a happy man. A kitchen chair and an old guitar. In the world of electric blues people talk about B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf and Muddy Waters, but you don’t hear Hound Dog Taylor’s name mentioned near enough. As a kid I was lucky enough to be exposed to this album, Natural Boogie. One of the things that I love about the blues is that every note doesn’t have to be perfect, sound quality is optional, but the emotion has to be there or it ain’t the blues. Hound Dog wasn’t the technical guitar player that seems to be the norm these days, but he was a master of emotive playing. When someone tries to play the blues without the emotion, it just sounds awful…it’s empty. But you can pull it off the other way round, emotion can make you a blues player even if you can barely get around on a guitar neck. Now I won’t extend this exception to punk music. Me and punk don’t exactly get along. And the argument has been made that if the energy is there, music will follow even if melody doesn’t. I don’t agree with that. Melody has to be there. Anyway, I’m getting off course. This album, Natural Boogie, exemplifies my point. It’s solid from beginning to end with the highlight being the track Sadie. Sadie is available on iTunes for download if anyone is interested and I highly recommend it. This album is available on CD, as well.

Ladell McLin

I knew very little about this artist before I picked up his CD, Stand Out. I found his album advertised in the back of Relix magazine, which I subscribe to. He was referred to as a “new Hendrix” and I’m a sucker for anything related to Hendrix. Let me start by saying that he has Hendrix’s look down. He looks and dresses very similar, and this should have been a red flag to me, but it wasn’t. I listened to the album after I got it and was struck by two things: Firstly, how similar his voice and vocal style is to Hendrix, and also how similar his writing style is to Hendrix’s; Secondly, this didn’t get me at all excited. Though this guy plays well enough to comp some of Jimi’s riffs, his songs could be mistaken for long lost Hendrix songs, and his voice sounds like Hendrix more than any artist I’ve ever heard SINCE Hendrix…it doesn’t do it for me. It’s a case where you think you want something (i.e. someone to pick up the torch and carry on as the reincarnated Hendrix) but when you find it you’re disappointed. What McLin has done for me is help me realize Hendrix is dead and should be left that way. Wherein a thousand good guitarists have covered Jimi’s works and even expounded on them to great effect, trying to channel Jimi’s songwriting doesn’t work. Ironically, McLin’s downfall is that he’s channeled too much of Hendrix. And, by no means is this album bad, I don’t want to leave the reader with that impression; McLin may go on to do very well. But for me it’s a case of Icarus flying too close to the Son.

Larry Rice..........

I’d like to write a bit about one of my favorite songwriters. In bluegrass circles most people know Tony Rice, guitar extraordinaire. A bit fewer knows about the Rice Brothers as a whole. The Rice brothers were born in Danville, Virginia (deep in the heart of bluegrass territory) but were moved as young children to California. Their father and an uncle, I believe, taught them to play. Tony was playing before audiences by the time he was 8, following in his idol’s footsteps, Clarence White. His brother Wyatt also took up guitar and released a solo album that is quite good. He also often plays rhythm for Tony on the road. Brother Ron is a bass player but never sought to be a professional, as far as I know. Neither did Larry Rice, the brother I’d like to talk about. Larry has released a few albums over the years and most recently played with Tony, Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen for a couple of CDs. Larry is a mandolin player (my personal favorite mandolin player), a vocalist and an incredible songwriter. His album Time Machine is riddled with great songs (Winter Conversation is a highlight!). Another favorite of mine is the album Artesia. Kodak Carousel is a beautifully written song from that album. So are Bleeker Street and my personal favorite, Tinsel Town. I think you can download his albums as mp3s, but I could never find Artesia or Time Machine on CD. I have Time Machine on vinyl and Artesia was recorded for me onto cassette more than a dozen years ago. I believe they were both on the Rebel label and for some reason they didn’t release Larry’s works on CD. Like Tony’s album Mar West, which is a jambander’s dream, it was only available on cassette and I don’t know if you can still get it.
Larry played with J.D. Crowe in the New South in the 70’s. I understand that he became disenchanted with the music industry and moved to Florida where he worked as an electrician. Occasionally he came out to play with his brothers or to do the odd album.

About a year ago I read that Larry was battling cancer and that Tony was doing some concerts for him. In preparation for this review I discovered that Larry Rice passed away on May 14…less than a month ago. That deeply saddens me because Larry has always come across as an incredibly empathetic and caring person. His songwriting, to me, is every bit as powerful as Dylan’s. God Bless Larry, the Rice Brothers and all of Larry’s family. My heartfelt prayers are with them and for the repose of Larry's soul. So run out and download, beg, borrow or steal Larry’s albums and songs. Discover a truly magnificent songwriter that has left a powerful legacy behind.

A couple of years ago I went to see Tony Rice and Peter Rowan in Blacksburg, Virginia. I had wanted to hang out afterwards to talk to Tony. I wanted to tell him how much of a fan I was of Larry's. I wanted to tell him to tell Larry how much his songwriting meant to me. I know Tony gets praise all the time but I thought it would mean something to him and to Larry if I told him how much of a Larry Rice fan I was. I hung out for a little while and Peter Rowan did come out and sign autographs. But Tony didn't show any signs of coming out after the show so I left after about half an hour of waiting. I wish that I'd have gotten to tell Tony how much Larry meant to me.

It's 5:30 a.m. and I'm up drinking coffee and listening to Time Machine while I write this. I can't get Larry off my mind since I discovered last night of his passing. It seems appropriate to drink coffee and watch the dawn break while listening to Larry sing.

Kimmo Pohjonen

I found this artist on the Link Channel. They have a show headlining world artists and this guy caught my attention. His name is Kimmo Pohjonen. He’s a Finnish accordionist, but with a twist. He uses loops and his body to make odd percussion sounds that are incorporated into his songs. Unless you see what he’s doing it’s hard to visualize it. This accordion that he plays is something like the biggest, most complicated one that is made. Apparently, his mastery of this instrument puts him in a small minority. His music sounds very similar to something Pink Floyd might have recorded; yet he is the only one playing. He’s a one-man band with a loop machine. Of course, as usual, finding his album Kielo requires some searching on the Internet. But if you want something truly original, Kimmo Pohjonen can deliver.

To get a feel for this guy's artistic impulses, check out this release from his website:

Pohjonen collaboration with farm equipment

On May 27, Kimmo Pohjonen makes a special concert performance in Ramsöö, Finland with local farmers from Pohjonen's home county, Häme. The event, Ramsöön ITE Festival will feature Pohjonen and his accordion performing composed music and improvisations with the farmers and their farm equipment.

Jean-Michel Pilc Trio

The Jean-Michel Pilc Trio is another jazz group that I found whilst listening to WVTF. The name of this album is Welcome Home. It features both covers and originals. Without question, the most impressive track is their cover of So What. This also leads off the album. I’ve heard many versions of this standard, but this by far dwarfs everything I’ve heard. Jean-Michel Pilc is a true genius and he has a tight, tight trio. His original stuff is similar to a calculated baboon beating on a piano. It’s hard to get into, other than to say you have to trust that he has a vision he’s chasing. But, just like the scene in Green Card, Pilc is able to turn it around in a millisecond into the most controlled, melodic of songs. His virtuoso is stunning and makes this album a fun one to listen to. To know that human spirit and body can achieve and create this level of virtuosity is awe-inspiring.

Steve Winwood

This artist is no stranger to anyone. His name is right up there with Clapton, Page and Hendrix. However, he has pulled off recreating a sound that is timeless with this album. Released in 2003, About Time is as close to a Traffic album as one can get. And I’d even go so far as to say it’s Winwood’s best work. I grew up listening to John Barleycorn Must Die and I still absolutely love that album. It’s one of my all-time favorites. But this album surpasses it. The group of musicians that Winwood surrounds himself with are all at the top of their game. And he’s learned to lay back and play soulfully and mellow. The song Silvia (Who Is She) just blows me away. This ain’t the 80’s Steve Winwood; this is the 60’s version of Winwood, who has created an album filled with the songwriting of a lifetime. And that’s saying a lot for this man.

Baaba Seth

I’d like to talk about a band that I don’t think exists anymore and whose albums are not even available to buy. Still, I feel like saying some kind words for this band that made some great music. Baaba Seth was a band from Charlottesville, Virginia during the mid to late 90’s. I don’t know much about them except that they had several line-up changes, and they were heavily influenced by world music, specifically African music. To my knowledge they released only two albums on the label Butros Butros Groove. Crazy Wheel was a studio album that was released in 1997. Live…At The End Of The World followed it in 1999. I missed many opportunities to see this band but I did see them once. They had incredible stage energy. They had about 6 musicians onstage, a great electric guitarist (Mike Chang); the lead singer (Dirk Lind), who also played acoustic guitar; a flautist who played an incredible flute, sax, percussion and sang and danced (Hope Clayburn); a horn player (Tim Lett); a great drummer (Jim Ralston); and a bassist (Derek Bond). I’ve often wondered what happened to the band but not a lot can be found about them on the Internet, except that they did exist. If anyone out there happens to know anything about the band, let me know. I’d love to know if some form of the band still exists or if members of Baaba Seth went on to other projects.

Doyle Bramhall II

Sometimes I’ve come across a talent wherein the artist has achieved a level of success amongst peers and idols but that doesn’t translate to mainstream success. This seems to be the case with Doyle Bramhall II. I came across him when he played on Austin City Limits. I ran down to my local record store the next day and they had never heard of him. Their database showed no evidence of an album by him. I finally found him through the internet, although I also found his father, Doyle Bramhall, Sr. Apparently, Doyle Senior is a drummer and has been on the scene in Texas for many decades. He played with Stevie Ray Vaughan and many blues greats. It seems that Doyle Junior has been overshadowed to some degree by his father. But his talent is there. He plays a unique style of guitar, a right handed guitar played like a left handed one. He never re-strung it correctly, so the high strings are up top and the low strings are on the bottom. This causes all of the fingerings to be upside down. Try finding a Mel Bay Chord Book for that! Anyway, he somehow taught himself to play this way, and play very well at that! His first album is called Jellycream (1999) and his second is called Welcome (2001). He caught the eye of Eric Clapton after his first album and he played on the phenomenal CD Riding With The King. BB King and Eric Clapton even covered two of Bramhall’s own songs on that album. Bramhall went on to tour with Clapton as his opening act. His website is often dormant, or even missing. I don’t know why this guy has not made it to the radio or to mainstream stardom. Clapton did all he could to help launch this guy and his performance on Austin City Limits is certainly on of the most memorable I’ve seen. If you like blues in the vein of SRV or Hendrix, look this guy’s albums up….if you can find them.

Stacy Hobbs - Guitar Harpist

I mentioned in another part of this blog that I’ve been playing guitar for twenty years now. In all that time I had only one guitar instructor. In the early 90’s the Southern Conservative helped turn me on to bluegrass and I wanted to learn how to play it. I struggled for a few years and then decided it was time to seek out help. I went to the Fret Mill, a high-end acoustic instrument store and local bluegrass hangout. There I was able to get lessons in bluegrass guitar through Stacy Hobbs. I had been playing for 10 years by this time. Stacy was able to get me straightened out on the flat-picking basics (I had been doing everything wrong). Then he taught me about fingerstyle, going through old country blues and Old Time, and then we even did a few classical pieces. I stayed with Stacy for about a year and a half before I stopped. Stacy was a wonderful teacher and a friend. He even played at my wedding. When I left Stacy he was still playing a six string. Some time later he switched over to a guitar harp. I knew that Stacy had been leaning more and more towards fingerstyle and he had already created some incredible effects on the six string. He was using a third hand capo and combining that with multiple finger tappings (think Eddie Van Halen on acoustic) to get an amazing sound. I have Stacy’s first two solo CDs, Seller’s Remorse and Beggars’ Dance. Both showcase Stacy’s incredible talent and dedication to fingerstyle. In preparation for writing this entry I did a Google search and was happy to find that Stacy has a website. He’s also offering a new CD. I’ve lost touch with Stacy over the years but hope to use this opportunity to catch up with him. Check out his albums and if you ever get a chance to see him live, don’t miss it.

Stevens, Siegel & Ferguson

For my first jazz album review I’d like to talk about Stevens, Siegel & Ferguson. We have a local public radio station that plays jazz in the evenings and I had to stop listening to the show because every time I did I would have a list of CDs to go buy the next day. This is a group that I discovered through that radio program. This album is called Points Of View and contains both originals and covers. They are a wonderful trio and you can tell when listening to them that they have been together for awhile. They read off of one another beautifully. When I last looked this group up I think they had only two albums to their credit. I don’t even know if they are still around. Points Of View was released in 1997. No one is a virtuoso in this group, but the sum of the parts is what makes this group a great jazz trio. Check them out. They are very soothing and melodic, not super strung-out (or "nutballs", to coin my daughter's phrase for craziness).

New Bohemians

After thinking about this blog, one of the things I hope to accomplish is to talk about lesser known bands or albums. One of the first that I would like to discuss is the New Bohemians. Edie Brickell & the New Bohemians were written off in the early 90’s after two albums. The first, Shooting Rubberbands, was a huge success. The second, Ghost of a Dog, was nowhere near as good in my opinion. Then the band disbanded. What a lot of people don’t know is that a third album was recorded several years ago. It’s called The Live Montauk Sessions and was only released, to my knowledge, through their poorly kept website. It’s short, only 7 songs long, but achieves what they state is the original New Bohemian sound. The story goes that when they were signed their record label didn’t like their original drummer. He was fired and doesn’t appear on the label’s albums. The record company heavily influenced the sound for Shooting Rubberbands and it didn’t sound like the original band. The Montauk Sessions was an effort to get the band back together and resurrect the real Bohemians. They spent a few weeks together in Montauk writing and recording these songs. Raw is the key word for this album…and it works to their advantage. It is their best writing and playing and many people probably don’t know it. What a shame. I hope it’s still available and that people will check it out.

Guitars and such.......

One thing that I neglected to mention in the title is that I play guitar. I'm trying to learn jazz but it is much harder than anything else I've learned. I know a lot of flatpicking bluegrass, some Old Time, some fingerstyle. I can play some country blues and a lot of blues on the electric. Depending on what I am playing, I have different preferences for the type of guitar I play. Here are my main guitars and bit about them......


This is my Fender DG-9 Natural. It has the widest neck I've ever found on a flat-top and it has a nice, bright tone. I've had it for about 4 years now and I use it mainly for fingerstyle. The neck is a little wide for flatpicking. Sadly, it is no longer made by Fender. I don't know why they discontinued it, other than most people don't like a wide neck.






This is my Ibanez Artwood. It has a solid, white spruce top, a bound neck and a smaller fret scale than the Fender. This is my main acoustic and what I use for everything. The only complaint I have about this guitar are the tuners. I'm an Ibanez fan but they have horrible stock tuners. Otherwise, this guitar is the best I've found for the price range. I can't afford a Martin or a Santa Cruz.







This summer marks my 20th year of playing guitar. I always used to wonder why any guitarist would play such an ugly guitar. Then two years ago this one caught my eye. I loved the finish and sat down with it at the music store. I was amazed at how easy these are to play. I understand why jazz guitarists use them. The action is incredibly low and fast. The pick guard allows you to station your hand over the strings. Fingerstyle and picking are both easier. Gibson and Gretsch hold the market on these guitars. And they sell used for $1,100 to $1,200. Ibanez came out with an economy model called the Artcore Hollowbody. They skimpped on a few things, mainly the tuners and the pickups. I replaced the pickups with Atilla Zollers (handmade German piezo pickups). I've also been waiting for a year for a set of Schaller tuners to come in so that I can replace these. The knobs were also switched out for knurled chrome and the nut was replaced with an Earvana.

This is my Fender- Custom Telecaster FMT HH Electric. This is the electric I go to if I want to play very fast and very bright. The Seymour Duncan pickups have a push-pull coil tap on the tone knob. So they can sound like single coils or humbuckers. You can get the traditional Les Paul sound out of this guitar in addition to the tele sound. Personally, I've always loved the sound of a tele but I HATE the tele's neck. The appeal of this guitar is that it has an extremely thin and narrow neck. Plus the cherry sunburst is beautiful!






This is my favorite guitar of the lot. I bought it in '92 and it's the most I've ever spent on a guitar. It is a Fender Pro Strat. It has a locking nut and Lace Sensor pickups (Lace Sensors debuted that same year on the Eric Clapton Signature Series). The pickups are warm and clean, not very bright. I had the headstock signed by one of my favorite guitarists about ten years ago (Gibb Droll). His old band's logo sticker is in front of the bridge.




If I were to hit the lottery tomorrow, these are the guitars that I would run out and buy immediately.


CF Martin - DCE Trey Anastasio Acoustic/Electric Guitar The DC Trey Anastasio Signature Edition blends form and function in a style as original as the man himself. A Dreadnought body with a smoothly curved Venetian cutaway allows for easy access to the upper frets. Solid tonewoods yield an exceptionally clear, full tone, enhanced with a top of rare Italian alpine spruce, East Indian rosewood sides and a three-piece back with “wings” of East Indian rosewood and a center wedge of beautifully flamed Hawaiian koa. A 1-11/16” (at the nut) low profile genuine mahogany neck provides playing comfort. Distinctive appointments include a flamed Hawaiian koa headplate with eye-catching headstock and fingerboard inlays. It’s a practical guitar that looks and plays as good as it sounds, and it is offered with Fishman’s acclaimed onboard Ellipse™ Blend System that delivers superb live and recorded sound. And a nice $4,000 pricetag.


Dean - Schenker Brothers V Limited Edition Guitar
Only 200 of these guitars are being produced worldwide! This surefire collector's treasure is made from mahogany, along with a "5A" grade flamed maple top that is laser-engraved with the Schenker brothers' portraits and flames. Even the ebony fingerboard is inlaid with MOP flame designs! The neck is made from mahogany as well. Other top-notch appointments include Grover tuners, a custom "S" tailpiece, cream body and neck binding, custom heel, and gold plated hardware. Includes a set of custom-designed humbuckers so you can rock out whenever you want to take it off the wall display. This one is only $6,000.



Fender - Yngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster® Unleash the fury! In addition to the Swedish shred maestro’s trademark scalloped fretboard and brass nut, theYngwie Malmsteen Stratocaster guitar has a unique pickup combination—two DiMarzio YJM Pickups in the neck and middle positions, and one DiMarzio HS-3 Stack in the bridge position. Other features include a large headstock, original synchronized tremolo and aged plastic parts. Available with maple or rosewood fingerboard. $1,400.




The Tony Rice Professional Model includes certain design elements that further customize the guitar for those players seeking to emulate the style of the legendary bluegrass player. The back and sides of the guitar are made from Brazilian rosewood, and the top is carved from German spruce. The shorter scale length of 25-1/4" provides a slightly more supple feel and a sweeter tone. The soundhole on this model has been enlarged to 4-9/16", which provides a stronger response in the upper ranges. Other features include ivoroid/black/ivoroid binding on the fingerboard and peghead, and SCGC tuners. Somewhere around $3,500-$4,000.


Well, these are what I dream of at nights.