Greg sent me this first draft for a post here on our Citizen Artist Notes & News page:
I grew up on Motown, The Beatles, rock ‘n roll – then more esoteric rock, RnB, pop,
And, then… the funk.
Recorded, mixed and hung with several of my heroes along the way.
Some truly surreal experiences. Lots of hard work and hard partying.
I thrived – and survived.
I thought I knew a bit about jazz – had a comfort level with the improv and the stretched envelopes. But, I had no idea. This was a different animal for me.
The first time we recorded together was a real eye-opener! I was able to bring back a multitrack recording and take time to play. Being able to listen to each player, individually and in select groups, was huge. Figuring out what these guys were saying to each other taught me about music in a very new way. The inclusion of Kidd Jordan and other world-class contributors brought even more joy.
The poetry generally tends to hit very close. Righteous. Wacky! I’m in!
I’ve participated in hundreds of rehearsals for all kinds of shows. I’ve never seen a rehearsal like this. Normally, in my world, tunes would be run through, tweaked and rudimentarily performed.
These guys talked about it, burped out 4-8 bars of flailing and confirmed – move on.
We all do it for the love of doing it.
