Assignment #5

Tony Levin: Resonator, the CD and the Tour

Tony Levin’s new CD, Resonator, is a bit of a departure from his previous two Narada releases, Waters of Eden and Pieces of the Sun. It has a harder rock edge to it, and on 10 of the 12 tracks Tony provides lead vocals. That may come as a surprise to listeners who are only familiar with his music from his session work for others and his previous studio CDs, but for those of us who have seen him perform, especially with his own band, it seems like a natural progression from what the Tony Levin Band has played live for years.

Tony is one of the premier bass players in the world and is the only person I know who has performed with both Leopold Stokowkski and Alice Cooper. He's also one of the best-known players of the Chapman Stick, a multi-stringed instrument that looks like a flattened guitar fingerboard that is played by tapping the strings with both hands. The list of people he has played and recorded with is in the hundreds and includes David Bowie, Karen Carpenter, Tracy Chapman, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Yes, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Buddy Rich and Lou Reed to name just a few. He is best known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson; he's played with Peter on his albums and on every one of his tours. It was on those first Gabriel tours where he met guitarist Robert Fripp, co-founder and driving force behind King Crimson. Robert asked him to join the 1980's version of that band and Tony has been a member of "the Greater Crim" ever since.

The music on Tony's previous solo CDs focused more on his classical background and his interest in World Music; Tony is a graduate of the Eastman School of Music and played in the Rochester Philharmonic. Resonator shows a much stronger rock and jazz influence. As is increasingly common with CDs, each contributing musician recorded most of the parts separately, many on their own home recording studios. When the band members got together on April 5 for a CD release party at the Bearsville Theater in Woodstock, NY they hadn't performed any of the new songs together as a group; this was their first time even listening to the completed recording together. During one song I watched band member and guitarist Jesse Gress play air guitar and mouth harmonies while he discussed with synthesizer player and band-mate Larry Fast some of the details they needed to address when performing this piece live.

The third member of the original touring band is percussionist Jerry Marotta. For this tour Pete Levin joins his younger brother and provides additional keyboard work and a bit of a jazzier edge. A few days after the CD release party I had the opportunity to sit in on the first "dry run" of their concert set in support of the new CD. In addition to the new material, it included a few songs from the previous CDs along with some of their concert standbys, including an instrumental version of Led Zeppelin's "Black Dog."

The live band has always played some edgier material. I saw them perform at Palookaville in Santa Cruz, California during their first tour in 2000. In addition to live arrangements of the music from Waters of Eden they did covers of pieces that Tony, Jerry and Larry had performed on tour with Peter Gabriel as well as a few King Crimson pieces. Jerry added some vocals to a few of these songs, and usual backup singer Tony even sung lead on the classic King Crimson Stick piece, "Elephant Talk."

Personal nostalgia is a theme that runs through Resonator. Musically many of the pieces reflect, as Tony puts it in his song “What Would Jimi Do?” his “salad days.” Jesse’s emulation of a few of Jimi Hendrix’s guitar licks in that piece are spot on; not surprising as Jesse makes part of his livelihood transcribing music, including most of Jimi’s catalog. The interpretation of Aram Khachaturian’s 1947 composition “Sabre Dance” harkens back to some of Larry’s earlier performances as Synergy; it is also reminiscent of some of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s 70s interpretations of classical music.

The nostalgia and personal reflection is even stronger in the lyrics. This is a new addition to Tony's composition. When I asked him why he added lyrics to most of the new pieces he said, "There was a lot I wanted to say; music wasn't enough." In the lyrics of "Break it Down" Tony talks about how we analyze the world. "Places to Go," was inspired by the scientific theory called Panspermia which holds that life on earth came from elsewhere, but it includes verses about Tony's early career in Boston and his grandparents. Even the whimsical lyrics of the heavy-metal-inspired "Throw the God a Bone" talks about his Westie, Lilly and incorporates her barking in the music.

Those who have heard the Tony Levin Band 2002 live CD Double Expresso have an inkling of what it is to see them perform live. Above all they are accomplished performers. For the Resonator tour they start and close with a barbershop quartet, yet another reflection of Tony's past. At some venues they even perform the classic, Spike Jones-inspired version of "Close to You" that Tony and Pete, along with drummer Steve Gadd, recorded in the early 70s with their short-lived band, The Clams.

Resonator is a different album, and some fans criticize the lyrics and Tony's singing. Tony may not be the best singer or lyricist, but these songs reflect a more personal view of Tony than he has shown before in his solo work. This gives them power that transcends any technical imperfections in his singing and lyrics, and when combined with music performed by a extremely talented and experienced musicians they illuminate the musician that is Tony Levin.

You may need to listen to this CD a few times, but the music will grow on you. And for a special experience try to catch the Tony Levin Band in concert; here in the Capital Region we are lucky in that the band members are nearby neighbors and play frequently in the area. And check out Tony’s websites: www.tonylevin.com includes information on Tony and his tour diaries; www.papabear.com/store/store.html has all of his solo CDs, including those released on his own Papa Bear Records. He also sells tee shirts, photo books of pictures he took during his early touring days and his book about the life of a professional bass player, Beyond the Beyond the Bass Clef.

Assignment # 4

[NOTE: this is a ficticious report written as an assignment]

Severed Arm Found Near Local Tavern
Jon Erwin Bush
Daily Revealer Staff Reporter Pareles, NY Times 7/12/2006

HOPTOAD JUNCTION, July 12 - A man's arm was found early this morning by the owner of the Beaumont Tavern, Sean Tooley, in an alley next to the bar. According to police, Mr. Tooley found the bloody limb behind a row of empty kegs at 4:20 am after he had locked up for the evening. Using fingerprints and a tattoo, "Yolanda," found on the bicep police have identified the arm as belonging to Steven Shapley, a 47-year old truck driver from Dover, New Hampshire. Only the arm was found; it is not known where the rest of Mr. Shapely is or whether or not he is still alive.

When shown a picture of the victim Mr. Tooley thought he had seen him drinking in the bar earlier that evening. Hoptoad Junction police chief Robert Brass added, "we're looking for a tall blonde who may have been with him in the bar." Several witnesses recall seeing a woman with Mr. Shapley, but descriptions of her were inconclusive.

According to a neighbor in New Hampshire, Earl Homesteader, Mr. Shapley worked for Kingdom Freight Lines as a truck driver. "I don't know him too well. He and his wife only lived here since March." Mr. Homesteader added that he assumed the woman living with Mr. Shapley was his wife, but he wasn't sure.

Local police are working with the State Police in West Virginia and New Hampshire and ask that anyone who may have information about the incident or Mr. Shapley's current whereabouts contact them at (123) 555-2006.

[NOTE: this is a ficticious report written as an assignment]

Assignment #3

Analysis of Article:
"Syd Barrett, a Founder of Pink Floyd, Dies at 60"
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/12/arts/music/12barrett.html
by Jon Pareles, NY Times 7/12/2006

This article is a profile of Syd Barrett, written in response to his death. Although Barrett died on July 7, news of his death didn't reach the public until July 11. This article was clearly written on a short deadline and has some hard news elements regarding his death. The cause of death was not public at the time this was written, and the only current source quoted by the author is one from a Pink Floyd spokesman quoted by many other newsman; this had to be a press release.

In spite of the lack of details about his death and the dearth of contemporary sources, this article provides a great deal of information about Barrett, his work with Pink Floyd, his subsequent breakdown and disappearance from public life and his profound influence on psychedelic rock music and other musicians. It's not clear from where this information was gathered; most of it is commonly known details that have previously been documented. Pareles does a good job of presenting these details in a profile which hints at the profound affect Barrett's short time in the limelight had on rock music.

The opinions expressed about why he had a breakdown and how his drug use affected him are part of the common folklore about Barrett and are generally accepted as fact. But Pareles also talks about how Barrett's problems affected the bad both musically and emotionally. By pointing out that fellow band members David Gilmour and Roger Waters helped Barrett with his solo albums in the early 70's helps to illustrate the ties that remained between them in spite of Barrett's erratic behavior and reclusivity.

One stylist aspect about the story that I found awkward was the journalist's use of the honorific "Mr." when making latter references to Syd Barrett and his band mates. This is typical of the NY Times style and for many of their stories is appropriate, but referring to "Mr. Barrett" and "Mr. Gilmour" felt odd considering their occupation. Dropping the "Mr." would have made the piece flow better.

Of course the article leaves many fascinating questions about Barrett and his life unanswered. But as a timely hard news/profile/obituary it does a fine job of presenting the peaks and valleys of a musician's short but influential career.

Assignment #2

Hoosick Valley Dodges Flooding from Recent Storms

The storms over the last few weeks have caused widespread flooding throughout the Northeast, but the Hoosick Valley was spared serious problems. This was in sharp contrast to the high water and flooding caused by the storms last October, which resulted in the drowning death of two in the Hoosic River last year; 6-year-old Michael Hackett and his mother’s boyfriend, Bob Scanlon. Michael, along with his older brother and cousin had gone to the bridge overlooking the Hoosick River Falls to look at the swollen river; when Michael slipped and fell in Scanlon jumped in to try and save the boy. Their bodies were found downstream the following day.

Many of the relatives of Michael Hackett gathered on July 4th in North Petersburg to celebrate the 90th birthday of Connie Waitekus, his great-aunt and matriarch of the family. The event was held at the home of her son, John Waitekus, which sits by the bank of the Little Hoosic river, a tributary which feeds into the Hoosic river a mile to the north. Michael’s father was there; he was serving with the National Guard in Iraq when his son drowned last fall and was sent home in time for the funeral. So was Michael’s older brother, who had been with him last October when he slipped and fell into the river.

John’s cousin and neighbor, Gina Roberto Bush, pointed to the edge of the back lawn at a set of steps leading down the bank to the river. “Last fall the water was just over the top of the steps.” The lower half of her backyard, which sits closer to river level, was completely submerged at that time. The water level of the river rose to the top edge of the Webster Road bridge road surface, just a few hundred feet to the north.

The Webster Road Bridge. The picture above illustrates the normal water level. The one below was taken during a storm surge in January, 2006. In October 2005 the water level was several feet higher, to the level of the road surface. [photos: Erwin Bush]

The Little Hoosic river, while higher than normal for this time of year, was far below the levels of last October. But even the modest rise caused a few problems. According to John’s girlfriend, Pam, he was trying to cross the river in his ATV the previous week, but managed to get stuck in the middle. A neighbor had to come to his rescue with his own ATV which had a winch. It wasn’t a serious problem, but it highlighted the potential dangers that any unusual rise in the water level can cause.

Assignment #1

A Life in Transition

Nicole Chesney is a busy young woman. She’s been attending SUNY Albany for the last four years and is a Senior Psychology/Education major, living off-campus in a house she shares with two friends she met her freshman year. School keeps her busy, but doesn’t prevent her from having a social life.

Nicole enjoys music; as a child she played the cello, but gave it up when her parents moved to a town where the school didn’t have an orchestra. She acquired her taste in music from her parents and enjoys listening to performers from their generation like Tom Petty and the Allman Brothers.

She remains close to her family. In addition to a love of music, Nicole acquired a love of boxing from her father; Mike Tyson is her favorite. She’s still a fan and watches when she can. This summer she is working for her mother’s Private Service Bureau; they handle DMV paperwork for customers and car dealers, helping them avoid the inevitable DMV delays. This requires her to commute from Rockland County to SUNY Albany several times a week. She enjoys both work and school, “Only the commute is bad.”

She and her friends are always ready to socialize. Sometimes it’s a concert, sometimes they just hang out together. But often it involves going out and doing something; Nicole loves physical activity. In high school she swam all of the time. Today she especially enjoys camping and recently spent a week outdoors near Las Vegas.

Nicole will complete her degree this fall. “It’s [college] been a lot of fun.” She’d like to work with developmentally disabled people, or perhaps become a guidance councilor; she definitely wants to work with people. She’s keeping her options open; she may decide to go to graduate school instead. The one thing she doesn’t want to be is a teacher. Nicole sees her life in front of her, but she’s not in a rush. Whatever Nicole decides to do in the future, success will follow her.

Introduction to Erwin Bush

Erwin was born in New York City and grew up in a Long Island suburb. Since then he has lived in Delaware, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California and Rensaelear County, New York. He also spent 3½ years living on the U.S.S. Richard L. Page (FFG-5) which moved from Greece to Philadelphia, PA to Norfolk, VA; a year and a half was spent cruising the Mediterranean. He has an 18-year old son, Maxwell, living in Placitas, New Mexico and studying for a career in the film industry.

Over the years Erwin has been a patron of the illustrative arts and early member of ASFA (The Association of Science Fiction & Fantasy Artists,) a radar technician on a naval destroyer, a playwright and composer, a small press publisher, an editor of an academic journal, a book reviewer, a professional philosopher (who talked his way into a non-existent Masters Degree program at an Ivy League School), a spouse and business partner to a book cover artist, a computer repairman, a course designer and teacher, a technical writer, an early designer of CD-ROM based documentation, a steering committee member for the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Association for Software Design, an avid reader and book collector and a freelance writer. He spent 20 years working in the high tech industry, focusing on how to make technology accessible and understandable to ordinary people.

Erwin recently moved back east and is now living with his parents on 62 acres of what was once part of a small New England farm in North Petersburg, NY. He's gone back to school studying journalism; he's enrolled at Excelsior College, but is also taking classes from the University of Minnesota and at SUNY Albany. In addition, he's just started doing volunteer work for the Director of the Stratton VA Medical Center in Albany, New York.

And he's continuing with his freelance writing; he's had several articles published online by various writing and bookselling newsletters. He's also sold reprint rights to one of them to Amphora, published by the Alcuin Society in Vancouver, B.C.. More information about Erwin can be found on his website, www.erwinbush.com.