Bill Frisell Disfarmer CD Review

Bill Frisell ranks in the top tier of guitarists from his generation, alongside such luminaries as John Scofield and Pat Metheny. His recorded output is arguably as eclectic as any living artist. Previous projects have ranged from trio records with jazz greats Dave Holland and Elvin Jones, contemporary collaborations with producers Hal Wilner and Lee Townsend, as well as a collection of Americana and folk-tinged albums for the Nonesuch record label.

The most remarkable aspect of Frisell’s career has been his ability to retain his unmistakable sound and compositional style, regardless of genre. Whether he’s performing his own compositions, or interpreting the music of artists as diverse as Bob Dylan and Thelonious Monk, Frisell’s uniquely recognizable guitar style is always present.

Since the release of his 1996 effort Nashville, Frisell has continued to explore American roots music with subsequent albums such as Good Dog, Happy Man and Gone, Just like a Train. For his latest release, Disfarmer,, Frisell has teamed up with longtime colleagues to create a collection of music based on the work of World War II-era portrait photographer Mike Disfarmer.

Joined by Greg Leisz on steel guitars and mandolin, Jenny Scheinman on violin, and Viktor Krauss on bass, Frisell has returned to a format similar to his highly acclaimed recording Nashville. On Disfarmer, the quartet creates waves of lush counterpoint with an apparent mindset that the ensemble is greater than the individual.

Solos are virtually nonexistent as the group interprets Frisell’s folk-based melodies. The result of this collective style of playing, with acoustic timbres, is hauntingly beautiful.

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Golden Age of Guitar Makers

Imagine you’re looking for a piece of art to hang in your home. You have an idea of a certain style you’re looking for, the size and colors you think might look nice. You might even have specific details in mind regarding the pieces subject matter. At some point in the purchasing process you decide to go the route of a facsimile from a home supply store and, though it isn’t an original, it ends up being not all that cheap.

The piece of art fills the void on your wall or mantle, but the more you look at it, the more generic it seems. In the near future, you meet a local artist at a street fair and realize that, for a slightly larger investment, this artist could have made exactly what you had envisioned, with the added personal touch that is missing from the facsimile.

This scenario occurs more often than not when people are shopping for a new guitar.

Guitarists often fantasize about owning their dream guitar, and in today’s market filled with young guitar makers, this dream can be a reality more than ever before. When shopping for a new guitar, keep in mind that the goals of an individual maker and those of a factory are completely different when it comes to design and value. When you decide to cross the line from factory made guitars to an individual maker, you are being handed a menu of unlimited choices in the design and build of your instrument.

A musician’s connection with their guitar is very personal. This relationship is strengthened when they develop a relationship with the person who made their instrument. A good hand-made guitar has qualities, some hard to verbalize, that set it apart from those that are mass-produced in giant factories at home and abroad. A well-made guitar is very sensitive, has balance from string to string, a complex palette of color, and overall aesthetic appeal.

While factory made guitar companies are bigger than they’ve ever been in history, never before has the world experienced a greater number of individual makers advancing the future of guitar design, something that deserves a closer look.

The main difference between guitar-factories and custom makers are their goals. Even though large makers perform tedious quality checks and produce an end product that was well thought out, the main attention is focused on speed, repeatability, and durability.

Some factories claim that they have more handwork than other companies that rely on computerized machinery, but this factor really isn’t important to the company unless they are fast and efficient, while working at an accepted standard of precision.

This means that each guitar top, for a particular model, that is braced by a worker is done in exactly the same manner. As well, in order for these companies to prevent instruments from being returned, they must overbuild in order to ensure that they will be able to withstand fast delivery to any destination.

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Carl Verheyen Interview

Matt Warnock: Your latest album Trading 8s features a series of tracks where you’re trading short solo sections with other guitarists, instead of having each guitarist take a longer solo on their own. How did you come up with this concept for your latest release?

Carl Verheyen: The idea first began to develop when a lot of my fans had heard me play that tune “Taxman” live, and they told me I should record that song. I started to think that if I recorded that song it’d be great to have the soloists trade eight-bar sections, instead of the normal two-hundred bar solos from each guy. Each soloist could kick the other guys butt a little bit and really ramp things up.

Once that idea came around, using eight-bar trading for that song, I started to write “Highway 27,” featuring Joe Bonamassa on the album, which would feature us trading solo sections. All these guys are my buddies, and we’ve played together many times before, so it seemed like a cool idea to feature each soloist in this way. As I started to get more into the writing for the new record, I started to think that the trading eights concept would be a great idea for all of the two guitar tracks on the album.

Matt: One thing that seems to happen when you start to trade eights like this for an extended period of time, is that each soloist really feeds off of what the other guys is playing. It’s almost a constant source of inspiration during the solo section. Were you able to record live with all of these great players and really dig in on the communication and cross-inspiration during the solo sections for the new record?

Carl: There were two soloist who I didn’t get to play live with. Steve Morse did his track in Florida and Rick Vito did his in Hawaii, being in L.A. I was able to play with all of the other guys, but not with those guys. With Steve, I had expected him to lay down a beautifully melodic solo, but instead I got this cranked up, reaming, high-energy solo. But it also has a melodic quality to it, so I feel I got his entire personality on that track. When I first listened to it I went, “Wow, what is this?” It was kind of a shock, it was so good. With the other guys it was more give and take, since we were able to be in the same room together.

Matt: You’ve got some of the top guitarists in the world on your latest record, including Rick Vito, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Morse, Robben Ford, Albert Lee and Scott Henderson. How did you decide on who you would ask to be on the record, was it a tough choice to narrow down your picks to just six players?

Carl: It was more like I picked my friends and guys that I know, guys that are amazing players as well as friends of mine. The only guy I didn’t really know beforehand was Rick Vito. I was doing a clinic at a place here in L.A. called California Vintage Guitars, which is a wonderful guitar shop where they empty out the middle of the shop to host clinics.

I’ve seen great players there like Pat Martino, Ted Greene, just some amazing players do these clinics. I’ve been lucky enough to do several clinics there over the years and during one of those afternoons I looked out into the crowd and there was Rick Vito. I think he even raised his hand at one point and asked a couple of questions.

I didn’t really know him before that, but I was thinking it would be great to have a slide solo on a tune I had written for the record called “Higher Ground,” so I asked him if he’d be into doing a track for the Trading 8s record and he said sure. I had been a fan of his going back to his days with Bob Seger, and of course his stuff with Fleetwood Mac is amazing. The other guys were really musical friends, and I felt I shared a bond with them that would really contribute nicely to the album as a whole.

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Rob Zombie Unexpectedly Switches Labels

MOVES TO ROADRUNNER RECORDS’

LOUD & PROUD IMPRINT TO RELEASE HELLBILLY DELUXE 2 IN EARLY 2010

HOLLYWOOD, CA (October 28, 2009) – In a sudden and unexpected move, multi-platinum hard rock artist Rob Zombie has inked a new worldwide deal with leading rock label Roadrunner Records through its Loud & Proud imprint.

This shocking announcement comes as Zombie exits his former label and of eighteen years, where he sold fifteen million records as a solo artist and with his former band White Zombie. Zombie’s new album, Hellbilly Deluxe 2, previously set for release on 11/17 will now be released by Roadrunner / Loud & Proud Records in early 2010.

“It certainly wasn’t an easy decision to make after all this time, but it had to be done,” states Zombie. “I love this new record and wanted to surround myself with an excited new group of people who can reignite my enthusiasm for working within a hard rock record label. Roadrunner seems to be the perfect place.”

“Roadrunner is thrilled to be involved with Rob Zombie on a worldwide basis as he is a multiple-threat artist whom we’ve admired for many years,” said Roadrunner president Jonas Nachsin.

Tom Lipsky, founder and president of Loud & Proud echoed Nachsin’s sentiment, “Rob Zombie hits hard on Hellbilly Deluxe 2 and the fans expect nothing less. We are excited about the monster mayhem that he is certain to create!”

The first single from the new album, “What?” recently launched at all rock radio formats and is quickly climbing the charts. This latest album marks the follow-up to 1998’s triple platinum Hellbilly Deluxe.

The track listing is as follows:

1. Jesus Frankenstein

2. Sick Bubblegum

3. What?

4. Mars Needs Women

5. Werewolf, Baby!

6. Virgin Witch

7. Death and Destiny Inside The Dream Factory

8. Burn

9. Cease to Exist

10. Werewolf Women of the SS

11. The Man Who Laughs

In support of this release Zombie, will kick off his first headline tour since 2007 in Phoenix, AZ on October 29^th. Shows in Las Vegas, NV on the 30th, and a very special Halloween event on October 31st in Hollywood, CA are set to follow. Zombie will be accompanied by his longtime band mates - guitarist John 5, bassist Piggy D and drummer Tommy Clufetos.

Visit www.RobZombie.com for Hellbilly Deluxe 2 World Tour updates, including the official blog, Twitter feed, photos, and videos directly from the road. Hellbilly Deluxe 2 World Tour tickets are on sale now; tour dates are as follows:

TOUR DATES:

Oct 29 Dodge Theater Phoenix, Arizona
Oct 30 The Pearl - Palms Concert Theater Las Vegas, Nevada
Oct 31 Hollywood Palladium Los Angeles, California

Nov 1 The Grove Anaheim, California

Nov 3 San Jose Events Center San Jose, California
Nov 5 The Great Salt Air Magna, Utah
Nov 6 The Fillmore Auditorium Denver, Colorado
Nov 8 The Brady Theater Tulsa, Oklahoma
Nov 10 Austin Music Hall Austin, Texas
Nov 11 Verizon Wireless Theater Houston, Texas
Nov 13 Palladium Ballroom Dallas, Texas
Nov 14 Uptown Theatre Kansas City, Missouri
Nov 15 The Pageant St. Louis, Missouri
Nov 16 Murat Theater Indianapolis, Indiana
Nov 17 Akron Civic Center Akron, Ohio
Nov 19 Eagles Ballroom Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Nov 20 Roy Wilkins Auditorium St. Paul, Minnesota
Nov 21 Val Air Ballroom Des Moines, Iowa
Nov 22 Aragon Ballroom Chicago, Illinois
Nov 24 Broadbent Arena Louisville, Kentucky
Nov 25 The LC Pavilion Columbus, Ohio
Nov 27 The Fillmore Detroit Detroit, Michigan
Nov 28 The Sound Academy Toronto, Ontario
Nov 29 Metropolis Montreal, Quebec

Dec 1 Hammerstein Ballroom New York, New York
Dec 2 House Of Blues Boston, Massachusetts
Dec 3 Mohegan Sun Arena Uncasville, Connecticut
Dec 4 Electric Factory Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec 5 9:30 Club Washington, DC

In addition to his illustrious recording career, Zombie has also written and directed five feature length films. Most recently was the animated cult favorite The Haunted World Of El Superbeasto based on his successful comic series.

This season’s Halloween 2 (August 2009) followed up Zombie’s record breaking blockbuster re-imagining of Halloween in 2007. In 2005, Zombie assaulted the film world with the critically-acclaimed The Devil’s Rejects (Lionsgate), the follow-up to his already cult classic House of 1000 Corpses (Lionsgate 2004).

For more information visit www.robzombie.com or www.myspace.com/robzombie.

Matt Palmer Interview

Matt W: While at the U of A you were also able to work closely with David Russell. What were some of the main points of study that the two of you worked on during your time together?

Matt P: David has this great ability to dissect a piece of music note for note to make anyone a better player. So, of course having the opportunity to work with him has been a real pleasure. Along with musical and technical points, I’ve really tried to learn from his professional attitude, enthusiastic teaching, and confident stage presence. I’m not sure if there’s a better example to follow than that of David Russell.

Matt W: What advice do you have for younger players who are thinking of going to school to study classical guitar?

Matt P: Practice, a lot. Choose a school and professor that can help you further develop your career goals. Be willing to sacrifice nights out on the town for the sake of practice.

Matt W: Over the years you’ve won an impressive amount of guitar competitions. How important do you feel it is for a young classical guitarist to be winning competitions in order to gain recognition in the world of concert guitar?

Matt P: I personally have never liked to compete. In some ways I felt it went against what I believe music is all about. That being said, competition wins do look good on the resume, and furthermore, force us to practice a lot to refine our skills. However, I don’t believe one needs to win competitions to be successful. Probably the best aspect of a competition or a guitar festival is the possibility of networking.

Matt W: There are a number of videos on YouTube featuring you in various performance situations. Do you feel that using sites like this, as well as Facebook, Myspace and Twitter, are a necessary fact for anybody who is looking to become a professional guitarist in the 21st century?

Matt P: Absolutely. Any tool that is available to us to network is valuable. For instance, YouTube has allowed me to reach an audience of thousands that otherwise would not know who I am, and I’ve even gotten concerts from Facebook friends in the past. Due to the classical guitar’s relatively small fan base, we need to do everything we can to reach more people. The sites you mentioned are all great tools to do that.

Matt W: You’ve recently filmed a video of your arrangement of Tom Waits’ tune “I’m Still Here.” What is it about Waits’ music that inspired you to explore this song on the classical guitar?

Matt P: I’m a big fan of Tom Waits. He has an incredible ability to write beautiful and original melodies. I’m interested in any great music, regardless of the genre.

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