Category Archives: the MisterG-laneous

Just like Doodlebug announced live on my show, the reunion of this hip hop union is kickin’ off September 10th in Sacramento CA. LadyBUG MEK, Butterfly AND CEE KNOW THE DOODLEBUG will hit da road with thier deejay performing classics & new joints too.

Check out my rappin’ w/Doodlebug here.

Check out my past convo w/the LadyBUG here.

This news is “COOL LIKE THAT”

Over the course of his career, from his mid ‘70s run with The Brecker Brothers to his various stints as a “hired gun” for everyone from Gil Evans and David Sanborn to Billy Joel and James Brown, Hiram Bullock earned his reputation as a bona fide guitar hero. But all along, Hiram has also been developing his skills as a singer/songwriter and charismatic live performer. His style is not easily categorized, since his playing is a creative blend of rock, funk, blues, and jazz. It is easy to say, however, that his music is fun. Almost immediately after arriving in the Big Apple, Hiram’s international career began. He first played with Sanborn, meeting producer Phil Ramone and playing on many gold and platinum albums. His credits include: The Brecker Brothers, David Sanborn, Paul Simon, Chaka Khan, Pete Townsend, Bob James, Sting, James Brown, Miles Davis, Kenny Loggins, Billy Joel, Barbra Streisand, Burt Bacharach, Roberta Flack, Spyro Gyra, Eric Clapton, Al Green and James Taylor. Check out the discography section of his website for the complete list. Hiram gained a huge following as the barefoot guitar player on Late Night with David Letterman. From the inception of the show until 1984, he was a regular member of the World’s Most Dangerous Band, led by Paul Shaffer. Other television work includes being a member of the house band on Saturday Night Live, and working as the musical director on Sanborn’s critically acclaimed Night Music show. He was also seen acting the part of a musician in Under Siege (starring Steven Segal); he wrote 6 of the internal songs in the film. Hiram’s career as a solo artist began in 1983. He has produced all of his albums, which include many of his own songs. His albums span many different genres of music, from the contemporary jazz of “From All Sides” to the rock of “World of Collision”; from the latin-influenced “Carrasco” to the organ-trio jazz of “Late Night Talk”. The style that Hiram’s fans have come to expect in live performances is exemplified by the group-oriented funky rock of “Color Me”, and continued with “Try Livin’ It” and his latest release, “Too Funky 2 Ignore”. He is also known as a dynamic performer, who gives his all for the sake of the show. Certainly his style of making music was an example of what greenarrowradio would like to strive for.

James Taylor-Only a Dream in Rio featuring Hiram (1988)

one of the best ever…..thanks to our friend Dr. Dot for reminding me of this one.

FOURPLAY “ENERGY” worldwide release on September 23, 2008..New album Sept23.

-features guest vocals by bass phenomenon Esperanza Spalding

According to some very basic laws of nature, when powerful forces come together, some form of energy is created – usually in large amounts. In music, the laws of interaction are no different. When keyboardist Bob James, bassist Nathan East, guitarist Larry Carlton and drummer Harvey Mason come together as Fourplay, the result is Energy (HUCD 3146), the Heads Up debut of the acclaimed contemporary jazz quartet scheduled for worldwide release on September 23, 2008.

*~* CLiCK THE PiC TO GO STRAiGHT TO fOURPLAY’S myspace PAGE…..ADD AS A FRiEND & DROP A COMMENT! *~*

‘Because Music Matters’ says it all. That was way more than a slogan or a company tagline for the magazine dedicated to great music with a dose of brotherly love. Bill Ector who was the Publisher of Hittin’ the Note passed away today at 12:15 pm. While I know so many people who knew him personally, Bill seemed like the kind of person that I would have loved to be in the circle of friends with. His passion for people, great live music and his family (not in any order other than the way I typed it) left so many memories that I imagine there will be a big jam going on somewhere tonight behind the curtain of a darkened sky, with a well deserved guest of honor.

R.I.P. Bill Ector

You know how much I dig the unique!!

FUTUJARA – hybrid fujara, 5 instruments in one!!!

The Futujara is our experimental instrument which was made in collaboration with Max Brumberg.
It have unique possibility to connect 4 different tubes in 4 keys: C,D, A and G, and if you disconnect all playing tubes you get overtone flute in A. But futujara is not only multi-key set of fujara, it also gives you amazing possibility to play in totally different way! The hose attached to futujara makes it really maneuverable and you can use technique which is used in playing on kalyuka, russian overtone flute (see the video for details).

Features:
1. Five instruments in one: four fujaras (C,D,A,G) and one overtone flute in A!
2. Extremely maneaurable. The hose gives you possibility to use kalyuka technique
3. Very well tuned in western concert temperated tuning
4. Collapsible (no hassle during transportation)
5. Extremely light
6. Professional quality of sound
7. The holes are close together so you can use different fingering and apply the techniques from other flutes (see video for details)
8. Very easy to play, everybody can start playing right away!

Check out more HERE.

The other day into the evening I was a guest at a beautiful wedding celebration. The ceremony was held in a Frank Lloyd Wright built meeting house and was a perfect service. After a brief get-together, the reception was held at the next to the lake front Monona Terrace, a captivating room. A fusion of cultures between Vietnamese and Irish traditions, there was elegance and beauty surrounding us from the chosen flowers right down to the exquisite lute playing. I want to share the gift given to the guests, it is a cd of love songs from around the globe. Thought it was resembling a set-list I once played sometime in somewhere.

All About you- David Grisman & Doc Watson
A Sunday Kind of Love- Etta James
Cupid- Sam Cooke
Love Land- Charles Wright
Tinh Dau- Ngoc Ha
Queen Bee- Taj Mahal (one of my wedding songs)
Let’s Stay Together- Al Green
Ve Day Nghe Em- Nguyen Khang
Kaze wo Astumete- Happy End
Cuccuruccu Paloma- Caetano Veloso
Your Love Gets Sweeter- Finley Quaye
Vi Do La Em- Nguyen Khang
Next to You- Bebel Gilberto
Quynh Houng- Khanh Ly
Mong Ban Dau- Ngoc Ha
Tupelo Honey- Van Morrison
In my Life- The Beatles
Gold- Interference

This celebration was worth sharing.

SWR has partnered with Marcus Miller – arguably the most influential bassist of his generation — to create the ultimate tool for bassists. Or as Marcus calls it: “The missing link between your bass and a great sound!” Working closely with our SWR engineers, Marcus painstakingly customized the feature set of this preamp to accommodate his own distinctive array of tones, while taking into consideration the needs of other bassists of all styles. The result is simply one of the most versatile bass products ever developed.

I have been a fan of the Boston Celtics since 1978 and tonight I witnessed the culmination of a team that played every minute of every game like true CELTICS, turn it into banner number 17. I am happy for Ray Allen, Paul Pierce and Kevin “KG” Garnett for finally getting what has been elusive in their greatness as players..that first NBA Championship. The play of Rajon Rondo and the Bench play of Eddie House, James Posey and of course the all out production of the “Big 3”. Doc Rivers deserved a good portion of credit for allowing this team to become who it is and trusting all the players on his roster to fit into the puzzle. And it never hurts to beat the Lakers by 40 to win the title!!!!

GO GREEN!

According to Swedish media reports, Svensson had been diving with a group and an instructor in the Stockholm archipelago when he suddenly disappeared. The married father of two had been found badly injured on the sea bed and had been transported by helicopter to a Stockholm hospital, where he died shortly before midnight (2200 GMT) on Saturday. This event is still under investigation. Svensson, a genre-defying musician who reached audiences far beyond the traditional jazz crowd, was “the most important figure in jazz in this decade,” said Burkhard Hopper, manager of the Esbjoern Svensson Trio (E.S.T.). E.S.T., formed in 1993 by pianist and composer Svensson, drummer Magnus Oestroem and base player Dan Berglund, have released a dozen records that have enjoyed critical acclaim and commercial success in Europe and the United States. The group, which has won a string of other Swedish and international awards and was in 2006 the first European jazz band to grace the cover of US jazz bible Down Beat, released its last album “e.s.t. live in hamburg” at the end of 2007.

SOMETHING TO TALK ABOUT!!!

Buckethead and That 1 Guy recorded live at Neumos in Seattle 3/18/08 They played Willie Wonka and Star Wars theme during the “encore”

Artists/Albums I have been listening to:

Richard Pinhas- Single Collection 72-80
N.E.R.D.- Seeing Sounds
Paavoharju- Laulu Laakson Kukista
Cassettes Won’t Listen- Small Time Machine
My Morning Jacket- Evil Urges
Supergrass- Diamon Hoo Ha
Univers Zero- Univers Zero
Lars Hollmer- Viandra
Black Fortress of Opium
Vijay Iyer- Tragicomic
Boby Previte & the New Bump- Set the Alarm for Monday
Erykah Badu- New Amerykah Part One: 4th World War
the Orb- the Dream
Portishead- Third
Los Campesinos!- Hold on Now, Youngster…
Tommy Talton in Europe- Someone Else’s Shoes

a partial scope of what’s been filing up my thirsty ear-holes in recent days.

This is a promo trailer from the URB ALT Festival featuring artists from the first two years including Faith, Kyp Malone of TV On The Radio, Harriet Tubman, Tenderhead, MuthaWit, Grisha Coleman, Shaka Zulu Overdrive, Spottiswoode & His Enemies, Nerdkween, Secretary and Blackbeard. There are cool video projections by Tim Fielder and Yuko Sueta. This features friend of the radio program, Paula Henderson and her band Secretary.

URB ALT Festival Trailer – Extended

I have had a hard time creating a post to completely describe what the music of and the starting line Mr. Bo Diddley helped create has done for a listener like me. There are few words to relay how much I think Bo Diddley meant to rock and roll music, heck music…so I will not even try….just ask that you check out the music he created and how he took it to places we are lucky he tried.

Check out my previous conversation with this legend here.

We spoke a few times after about some possible collaborations, and I consider this man my friend. He will be missed.

Jamie McLean sits in with Warren Haynes and Govt Mule at Raleigh Street Stage on 4/13/08. The former Dirty Dozen Brass Band guitarist joins Govt Mule on Thats What Love Will Make You Do.

One of my favorite covers that Mike and Paul pull off. These guys are equally cool off stage as they are on.

Check out more at the SCRAPOMATIC site.

Let’s Celebrate this celestial being today and every day.

A prolific recording artist and frequent live performer, Sun Ra’s music ranged from keyboard solos to big bands of 30-odd musicians; his music touched on virtually the entire history of jazz, from ragtime to swing music, from bebop to free jazz; he was also a pioneer of electronic music, space music and free improvisation, and was one of the first musicians, regardless of genre, to make extensive use of electronic keyboards.

Seattle punks the Gits, led by riot grrrl par excellence Mia Zapata, were at the height of their powers in 1993 when a single inhuman act brought their promising trajectory to an abrupt halt. While walking home on the night of July 7 of that year, Zapata was raped and murdered. It took over a decade for police to find Zapata’s killer and put him to justice. Meanwhile, the tragedy shocked and horrified the members of the Seattle music community that had embraced Zapata– but at the same time, it united them. In response Zapata’s death, several members of this community founded Home Alive, an organization which continues offering self-defense classes and educating folks through community outreach programs to this day. Zapata also left her mark on more than a few charismatic frontwomen to emerge over the years. The legacy of the Gits and the circumstances surrounding Zapata’s untimely passing are examined in depth in The Gits, a feature-length documentary that has been making the festival rounds and will soon hit a theater and/or DVD player near you. Directed by California filmmaker Kerri O’Kane and packed with rare footage of the Gits’ formative years, The Gits will screen at theaters around North America in the coming months. It emerges in DVD form July 8 via Liberation Entertainment.

A list of cities where you can catch The Gits follows. More screenings and theatrical runs are expected to be added, so do yourself a favor and bookmark the film’s website for updates.

The Gits (arranged by opening date):

June 5
Louisville, KY – Rudyard Kipling (Last Call Film Festival) (single screening)

June 7
Columbia, MO – Ragtag Theater (single screening)

July 4
Denver, CO – Starz Film Center
New York, NY – Pioneer Theater
Portland, OR – Clinton Street Theater
Sacramento, CA – Movies on the Big Screen
Seattle, WA – Northwest Film Forum
Winnipeg, Manitoba – Big Smash

July 7
Austin, TX – Alamo Draft House (single screening)
Indianapolis, IN – Greenbriar Cinema Grill (single screening)
Providence, RI – AS220 (single screening)
San Francisco, CA – The Embarcadero (single screening)
Seattle, WA – Metro Cinema (single screening)

July 27
Edmonton, Alberta – Metro Cinema