#1962777 - 06/25/08 03:01 PM
NEARfest / Gentle Giant / Bob Moog Foundation
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TinderArts
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I had a busy weekend in Bethlehem PA at NEARfest X seeing a bunch of bands and hanging with old and new friends. One of the new friends is Gary Green, guitarist from Gentle Giant. A wonderful guy with some great stories of GG and what he's up to next. I taped a twenty five minute interview with Gary that will be posted somewhere. I'll let you know when it's up.
Liquid Tension Experiment played Saturday's headline slot proving that prog can go to 11+! Jordan Rudess played the Roland Fantom G exclusively and it sounded great.
Larry Fast did his first ever live performance of Synergy of Friday with another on coming up on the 30th at XM studios in DC. Very impressive with great visuals and playing.
I was working the festival to some degree with The Bob Moog Foundation. I put together a video montage with clips from Jordan, Steve Molitz, David Rosenthal and Roger Powell. I had the pleasure of introducing Michelle Moog-Koussa and Larry Fast to the stage. They both had wonderful stories about Dr. Moog and his history in the world of electronic music. The foundation is raising money to help preserve and restore audio tapes, schematics, letters, photos and instruments that Bob had in less that ideal storage. We aim to exhibit these materials in the future but these items need some TLC before they will be ready. Please stop by the site if you can help or to just take a look at what we're up to.
Edited by TinderArts (06/25/08 03:02 PM)
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#1962999 - 06/26/08 06:09 AM
Re: NEARfest / Gentle Giant / Bob Moog Foundation
[Re: Geoff Grace]
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Magpel
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I can't wait to hear the Gary Green interview. I think he's a wildly underrated guitarist. They said he was "just" a "12 bar blues player" when he auditioned for Minnear and the Shulmans, but just so instinctively musical that he really didn't struggle with the material. And the rougher edges of his playing are a key reason why the music works. I prefer him--by quite a bit actually--to Steve Howe or Steve Hackett, not that it is a contest...
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#1963157 - 06/26/08 11:13 AM
Re: NEARfest / Gentle Giant / Bob Moog Foundation
[Re: Magpel]
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Geoff Grace
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The thing about Gentle Giant is that each instrument fit like a puzzle piece into the intricate whole. Their style was less of an individual showcase than most progressive and fusion music in which the song is often a backdrop for each soloist.
I think that made it easier for some people to overlook Gary Green's talent, as well as the rest of the individual members of Gentle Giant; but for my money, they were the best progressive band ever.
Best,
Geoff
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#1963177 - 06/26/08 12:07 PM
Re: NEARfest / Gentle Giant / Bob Moog Foundation
[Re: Geoff Grace]
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Magpel
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I think that made it easier for some people to overlook Gary Green's talent, as well as the rest of the individual members of Gentle Giant; but for my money, they were the best progressive band ever.
Well, you know we're in agreement there. There was just such elegance and wit to their lines and counterpoint. It's hard to find any block chords of the kind that typifies so much prog in Gentle Giant--always that slithery sense of line. Just wicked stuff. I'll never get over it; long after the awe wore off (and there's always something more awe-inpsiring out there, technically), the beauty of the composition hadn't diminished at all for me.
Edited by Magpel (06/26/08 12:08 PM)
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#1963183 - 06/26/08 12:18 PM
Re: NEARfest / Gentle Giant / Bob Moog Foundation
[Re: Magpel]
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TinderArts
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I'm going to put the interview into Final Cut today. I should have it up somewhere soon. There are some good stories like Kerry's clavinet catching fire during the recording of "Playing The Fool" - hint - ever wonder why they played Sweet Georgia Brown?
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#1963407 - 06/26/08 10:23 PM
Re: NEARfest / Gentle Giant / Bob Moog Foundation
[Re: TinderArts]
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Geoff Grace
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Sounds great, Tinder Arts!
Best,
Geoff
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