Punk
The first genre we had to cover was Punk,and it was very difficult for me,at the beginning,to accept it,because I really don't like to shout and I feel it very bad for my voice because this way of singing really doesn't belong at all to me and I think that to force someone's voice it's something dreadful.
Moreover,it was impossible to find a song for me and the other singer ,not too shouted,since the most of punk singers were men with very loud voices,often made stronger and more raucous by the use of heroin,whose it is known for its peculiarity of adding particular beautiful shades to the voice of people being on its effects(there are even some singers that had to give up their careers after having quitted using it,because the record label didn't recognize their singing after rehab and didn't want to produce them anymore,what a sad thing!!!) .
Anyway,at the end,after having struggled a bit,we found a song of Siouxie and the Banshes called "Hong Kong Garden",but let's introduce a little bit what Punk is about and why this particular song was so important in that period.
For this purpose I have decided to quote this article from Silver Dragon Record website that seems to me the most complete and concise at the same time:
"Punk rock got its name from the slang word punk meaning rotten and worthless. It was originally used to describe simple guitar based rock of bands like The Seeds, and later on Detroit bands like The Stooges and MC5. The anti-establishment ethic of punk hit a feveredpitch in 1976 through 1980, started partially as a backlash to the hippie movement of the late 60's. Many of these bands also intended to shock mainstream society, rejecting the "peace and love" image of the prior musical rebellion of the 1960s which had degenerated, punks thought, into mellow disco culture. The fashion of the time included mohawks, body piercing with safety pins and conversion of unusual items into clothing and was very shocking to outsiders at the time. Punk rock embodied the ideals that anyone could start a punk rock band. Punk was stripped-down, three-chord music that could be played fairly easily. The lyrics introduced a new honesty of expression in matters both political and sexual freeing the artist to write in a more personal and honest way. Using cover songs as a ironic form of social commentary was a common theme among many artists. The emphasis in punk rock was placed on emotion and energy and not strictly musicianship. It's best known bands are the punk rock holy trinity of the Sex Pistols, The Damned, and The Clash who many feel are the defining bands of the genre. The roots of punk rock were dark psychedelic and garage rock,glam rock, new wave musicand the unusual and sporadic style of the immortal Velvet Underground, long thought to be the originators of punk rock. Later bands incorporated punk and ska elements which were largely unknown in the rock genre."( Copyright 2003 Lazarus X - Silver Dragon Records -)
Moreover,it was impossible to find a song for me and the other singer ,not too shouted,since the most of punk singers were men with very loud voices,often made stronger and more raucous by the use of heroin,whose it is known for its peculiarity of adding particular beautiful shades to the voice of people being on its effects(there are even some singers that had to give up their careers after having quitted using it,because the record label didn't recognize their singing after rehab and didn't want to produce them anymore,what a sad thing!!!) .
Anyway,at the end,after having struggled a bit,we found a song of Siouxie and the Banshes called "Hong Kong Garden",but let's introduce a little bit what Punk is about and why this particular song was so important in that period.
For this purpose I have decided to quote this article from Silver Dragon Record website that seems to me the most complete and concise at the same time:
"Punk rock got its name from the slang word punk meaning rotten and worthless. It was originally used to describe simple guitar based rock of bands like The Seeds, and later on Detroit bands like The Stooges and MC5. The anti-establishment ethic of punk hit a feveredpitch in 1976 through 1980, started partially as a backlash to the hippie movement of the late 60's. Many of these bands also intended to shock mainstream society, rejecting the "peace and love" image of the prior musical rebellion of the 1960s which had degenerated, punks thought, into mellow disco culture. The fashion of the time included mohawks, body piercing with safety pins and conversion of unusual items into clothing and was very shocking to outsiders at the time. Punk rock embodied the ideals that anyone could start a punk rock band. Punk was stripped-down, three-chord music that could be played fairly easily. The lyrics introduced a new honesty of expression in matters both political and sexual freeing the artist to write in a more personal and honest way. Using cover songs as a ironic form of social commentary was a common theme among many artists. The emphasis in punk rock was placed on emotion and energy and not strictly musicianship. It's best known bands are the punk rock holy trinity of the Sex Pistols, The Damned, and The Clash who many feel are the defining bands of the genre. The roots of punk rock were dark psychedelic and garage rock,glam rock, new wave musicand the unusual and sporadic style of the immortal Velvet Underground, long thought to be the originators of punk rock. Later bands incorporated punk and ska elements which were largely unknown in the rock genre."( Copyright 2003 Lazarus X - Silver Dragon Records -)
Siouxie and the banshees
Members:Siouxsie Sioux (vocals 1976-1996,2002),Steven Severin (bass,keyboards 1976-1995, 2002),marco Pirroni (guitars in 1976 debut),Sid Vicious (drums in 1976 debut),Kenny Morris (drums,percussion 1976-1979),Peter Fenton (guitars 1976 -1977),John Mckay(guitars ,saxophones 1977-1979),Budgie(drums,percussion,keyboards 1979 - 2002),Robert Smith (guitars 1979,1982-1984)John Mc Geoch (gitars 198o-1982),John Valentine Carruthers(guitars 1984-1987),Martin McCarrick(keyboards,cello,accordion,dulcimer 1987-1995),John Klein(guitars 1987-1995),Knox Chandler (Guitars 1995-1996,2002).
The band Siouxie and the banshees was formed in 1976 primarily by Susan Janet Ballion
(alias Siouxie) and Steven John Bailey (alis Steven Severin) that, inspired by the Sex Pistols decided to started a band together.
As a matter of fact,at the beginning,they were just part of a rabid group of fans that used to follow constantly Sid Vicious band ,labeled as "The Bromley contingent"by the journalist Caroline Coon,for their coming from the Bromley region of Kent and the first time that the two ones started playing together in front of an audience,happened by accident,when a band which had to play at the 100 club Punk festival suddenly quitted and Siouxie took the chance to propose herself and Severin to replace them and,at the end,they managed to play a crazy 20 minute improvisation built on" The Lord's prayer"
with even Sid Vicious himself on drums and punk musician Marco Pirroni (who later became a member of "Adam and the ants") on guitars.
After this one-off event Siouxie and Severin,even though determined to split up the band,were asked to play again,so,eventually,they changed their mind and started to take this music project seriously , looking for other musicians to form indeed the well known"Siouxie and the Banshees"band.
The band Siouxie and the banshees was formed in 1976 primarily by Susan Janet Ballion
(alias Siouxie) and Steven John Bailey (alis Steven Severin) that, inspired by the Sex Pistols decided to started a band together.
As a matter of fact,at the beginning,they were just part of a rabid group of fans that used to follow constantly Sid Vicious band ,labeled as "The Bromley contingent"by the journalist Caroline Coon,for their coming from the Bromley region of Kent and the first time that the two ones started playing together in front of an audience,happened by accident,when a band which had to play at the 100 club Punk festival suddenly quitted and Siouxie took the chance to propose herself and Severin to replace them and,at the end,they managed to play a crazy 20 minute improvisation built on" The Lord's prayer"
with even Sid Vicious himself on drums and punk musician Marco Pirroni (who later became a member of "Adam and the ants") on guitars.
After this one-off event Siouxie and Severin,even though determined to split up the band,were asked to play again,so,eventually,they changed their mind and started to take this music project seriously , looking for other musicians to form indeed the well known"Siouxie and the Banshees"band.
Hong Kong Garden
Although they really started as a Punk band with all the characteristics of this genre,later on they evolved in a more melodic and experimental sound which was eventually defined "post punk",that's way as a band we decided to pick up their first famous song which became an hit and which was their first single:Hong Kong Garden.
This song is completely punk ,from the lyrics to the music and the singing,in fact it's made just by two chords played for all over the piece with a pentatonic scale , a very simple and hypnotic rhythm matched with almost shouted ,provocative lyrics. Moreover the subject is a political one,it's a song about injustice,racism and the damages that are caused constantly to other different cultures by ignorance and violence and more precisely against skinheads as Siouxsie explained with her words:
"I'll never forget, there was a Chinese restaurant in Chislehurst called the 'Hong Kong Garden'. Me and my friend were really upset that we used to go there and like, occasionally when the skinheads would turn up it would really turn really ugly. These gits would just go in en masse and just terrorise these Chinese people who were working there. We’d try and say 'Leave them alone', you know. It was a kind of tribute.(...)I remember wishing that I could be like Emma Peel from The Avengers and kick all the skinheads' heads in, because they used to mercilessly torment these people for being foreigners. It made me feel so helpless, hopeless and ill."
This song is completely punk ,from the lyrics to the music and the singing,in fact it's made just by two chords played for all over the piece with a pentatonic scale , a very simple and hypnotic rhythm matched with almost shouted ,provocative lyrics. Moreover the subject is a political one,it's a song about injustice,racism and the damages that are caused constantly to other different cultures by ignorance and violence and more precisely against skinheads as Siouxsie explained with her words:
"I'll never forget, there was a Chinese restaurant in Chislehurst called the 'Hong Kong Garden'. Me and my friend were really upset that we used to go there and like, occasionally when the skinheads would turn up it would really turn really ugly. These gits would just go in en masse and just terrorise these Chinese people who were working there. We’d try and say 'Leave them alone', you know. It was a kind of tribute.(...)I remember wishing that I could be like Emma Peel from The Avengers and kick all the skinheads' heads in, because they used to mercilessly torment these people for being foreigners. It made me feel so helpless, hopeless and ill."
Practice
I think that we practiced hard to try to reproduce a sound very close to the original one and everyone worked well.Personally,since it was very hard for me,at the beginning ,to find some pleasure at singing it,because I really didn't like it's monotony without shades,I tried to find other ways to enter this song and,at the end I just decided to try to dance more and to be more in contact with the overall meaning of the song,rather than insisting on thinking that the singing wasn't really my favorite one...and..at the end I really enjoyed it!
Performance
The performance was very good because I danced crazily,having fun and I think that for this kind of genre,an energetic performance is the key and almost all what matters,and my bandmates played very well too although it wasn't their favorite genre as well.It was incredible if I think that,at the beginning I wanted to die when I found out what genre we were compelled to cover!
Soul
Soul music was born in United States in a period of time spread approximately among 1950 and early 60s,from a mix of gospel music and rhythm and blues.As a matter of fact,one can noticed many influences from the gospel style and the structure of its singing ,as ,for example,the often used call and response between a soloist and a chorus or the many tense vocalisms on blues scales,while the instrumental part it' s directly connected with all the kinds of RnB music.But it's very important to precise that the things that distinguish soul singing the most from gospel's are the lyrics, as secular started to be used with gospel melodies instead of holy ones.
Most of the journalists identified Ray Charles as the principal creator of Soul music ,although many other singers contributed to create this
genre too,since there were many different kinds of soul music according to the different kinds of gospel music sang in different places.
In fact,even though Chicago is known to be the birthplace of Soul,many other cities as Memphis,Florence,New York and Detroit played an essential role in evolving and diffusing this genre,creating many different soul -labels reflecting the music of the place.
Most of the journalists identified Ray Charles as the principal creator of Soul music ,although many other singers contributed to create this
genre too,since there were many different kinds of soul music according to the different kinds of gospel music sang in different places.
In fact,even though Chicago is known to be the birthplace of Soul,many other cities as Memphis,Florence,New York and Detroit played an essential role in evolving and diffusing this genre,creating many different soul -labels reflecting the music of the place.
The Temptations
The other singer of my band,Maria,suggested,for this genre,to play "The way you do the things you do"by "The Temptations" so every one had a listen and enjoyed it and we all decided to go for it.But let's introduce this band and talk about its important role in a particular kind of soul music called Motown soul.
First original members:Eddie Kendricks (first tenor/falsetto lead singer),Elbridge Bryant (main lead singer but he was fired almost immediately and David Ruffin took his place),Paul Williams (secondary lead singer),Melvin Franklin(bass lead singer),Otis Williams (background second tenor /baritone,occasionally lead).
The name "Motown soul "came from the famous Detroit Berry Gordy's Tamla/Motown group of labels,one of the first records empire owned completely by black people which was essential for the diffusion of Soul and Black music in general,bringing a specific sound to new soul' bands while producing them and being able to make some bands touch the top of the hits and reach a massive audience and new fans day by day.
Some characteristics mentioned about its specific Motown sound are a powerful bass line,the employment of violins and bells,a strong rhythmic and a noticeable gospel influence which lead to a huge use of hand clapping as well with raw vocals in opposition of many elaborated choir harmonies.
having said that,this particular band was born from the fusion of members of from two previous vocal groups :"The Primes",from which Eddie Kendricks(first tenor/falsetto) and Paul Williams(second tenor/baritone) came,and "The Distance",previous band of Otis Williams(second tenor),Eldbridge "Al" Bryant(first tenor and Melvin Franklin(bass).The band changed on the years and had many lead singers as david Ruffin,Danny Edwards,Ron Tyson,Glenn Leonard and many others,and often was defined as the male version of the "Supremes"and lasted till nowadays going through many different black genres of music(soul,funk,disco,etc).
First original members:Eddie Kendricks (first tenor/falsetto lead singer),Elbridge Bryant (main lead singer but he was fired almost immediately and David Ruffin took his place),Paul Williams (secondary lead singer),Melvin Franklin(bass lead singer),Otis Williams (background second tenor /baritone,occasionally lead).
The name "Motown soul "came from the famous Detroit Berry Gordy's Tamla/Motown group of labels,one of the first records empire owned completely by black people which was essential for the diffusion of Soul and Black music in general,bringing a specific sound to new soul' bands while producing them and being able to make some bands touch the top of the hits and reach a massive audience and new fans day by day.
Some characteristics mentioned about its specific Motown sound are a powerful bass line,the employment of violins and bells,a strong rhythmic and a noticeable gospel influence which lead to a huge use of hand clapping as well with raw vocals in opposition of many elaborated choir harmonies.
having said that,this particular band was born from the fusion of members of from two previous vocal groups :"The Primes",from which Eddie Kendricks(first tenor/falsetto) and Paul Williams(second tenor/baritone) came,and "The Distance",previous band of Otis Williams(second tenor),Eldbridge "Al" Bryant(first tenor and Melvin Franklin(bass).The band changed on the years and had many lead singers as david Ruffin,Danny Edwards,Ron Tyson,Glenn Leonard and many others,and often was defined as the male version of the "Supremes"and lasted till nowadays going through many different black genres of music(soul,funk,disco,etc).
The way you do the things you do
This song was written in 1964 by Smokey Robinson and Bobby Rogers,two members of another soul band of Motown Record called "Miracles",and was conceived while the two musicians were on tour,traveling for many hours by bus,and started as a joke of words between them to kill some time.
Although the lead singer who sang on the recording was still Elbridge Bryant,the one who would lead sing it on stage was David Ruffin,due to the sudden firing of Bryant.
Although the lead singer who sang on the recording was still Elbridge Bryant,the one who would lead sing it on stage was David Ruffin,due to the sudden firing of Bryant.
Practice
I think that we practiced immediately very harmoniously because we had a very clear idea about the role of each member of the band on the arranging we made.In fact I had decided to sing the highest part of the harmonies as soon as I had listened to the song and when I referred it to Maria ,she was very happy about singing the lead one because she was worried about the harmonies being too high for her and she loved so much the main melody and the other member of the band were pretty organized about the instrumental part,moreover,at the end, we managed to introduce the winds as in the original one,having some rehearsal with Adam and Cameroon , who learned their parts very quickly without any problems at all.
So,eventually, everything was quite good,even if,I have to admit, this song is not really one of my favorites and this genre as well so it was a bit hard,at the beginning,to find a pleasure or a motivation to sing it ,somewhere,but at the end,enjoying the satisfying sound of the good harmonies I tried to make,I had fun another time and I was amazed by it.
So,eventually, everything was quite good,even if,I have to admit, this song is not really one of my favorites and this genre as well so it was a bit hard,at the beginning,to find a pleasure or a motivation to sing it ,somewhere,but at the end,enjoying the satisfying sound of the good harmonies I tried to make,I had fun another time and I was amazed by it.
Performance
The performance was better than the practice and this time I felt that Maria and I were much more connected then while singing "Hong Kong Garden",maybe because my singing,being an harmony,was supporting her's and vice versa for hers being the lead one,or maybe because all the band were more enthusiastic about this song rather then the other one,although,when I watched the video,I wasn't fully happy about my singing because I realized that sometimes I wasn't completely in control,but anyway,I never imagined of singing such a high harmony with my voice and the overall feeling was satisfaction for the improvement in my singing technique and,above all,for my patience to cope with things I don't really like!
Funk
As I read the email in which it was written that the next genre would be Funk,I thought that that was unfair...I thought"maybe the next time they will decided to go even for Disco!"I thought that someone had decided to punish me for something I didn't know!
I interpreted it as a kind of purgatory which I had to go through to be given,maybe one day,a genre slight different as blues , rock ,trip hop, post rock or even folk ,whatever that I could appreciate more!
But after a while I reflected about the other previous performances and how eventually I managed to have fun,using magic powers and how I even learnt something very useful for my self,so I rolled up my sleeves and started researching for it.
Funk was approximately created in mid late 1960s from New Orleans musicians who,experimenting with different afro cuban rhythms ,mixed together Soul music,Jazz and RnB.
One of the main characteristic of Funk is the predominance of the rhythm over the melody and the harmony and the new important role played by the bass guitar with the drums on building the centerpiece of the song consisting in a very strong groove.As a matter of fact this genre is very poor of chord progressions,differently from Soul,Jazz and RnB,and often the structure of the song is based just on one or two riffs or extended vamps made by very complex rhythms applied while playing a very few ,often extended ,chords.
The word "funk" literally means or "pungent odor"or "smoky" hence,in terms of music,some researchers ,focusing on the first definition,affirm that it was used to mean a music with a very strong and unique groove,as for example,Robert Ferris Thompson who, in a very detailed way , affirms that it came from the Kikongo words "lufuki"that means in fact bad body odor and that"Both jazzmen and Bakongo use funky and lu-fuki to praise persons for the integrity of their art, for having 'worked out' to achieve their aims (...)the irradiation of positive energy of a person. Hence 'funk' in American jazz parlance can mean earthiness, a return to fundamentals"("Flash Of The Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy"by Robert Ferris Thompson ),while others affirm that it was used to define this music because,referring to the second definition of this word that is "smoky" indeed,the musicians used to play it in very smoky places and bars.
James Brown and Little Richard had a very important role on the diffusion of this genre and especially Brown was essential for the develop of a new particular groove which was a mix of back beats(mainly used in all the Afro American music before as Jazz,soul,RnB,with accents on the 2nd and 4th beat)and downbeats(accents especially on the 1st beat of each bar) supervised often by himself who used to say ,while playing live,to the band "on the one!" when willing to change it on the drums,while keeping some syncopate guitar,maintaining in this way a particular swing.
I interpreted it as a kind of purgatory which I had to go through to be given,maybe one day,a genre slight different as blues , rock ,trip hop, post rock or even folk ,whatever that I could appreciate more!
But after a while I reflected about the other previous performances and how eventually I managed to have fun,using magic powers and how I even learnt something very useful for my self,so I rolled up my sleeves and started researching for it.
Funk was approximately created in mid late 1960s from New Orleans musicians who,experimenting with different afro cuban rhythms ,mixed together Soul music,Jazz and RnB.
One of the main characteristic of Funk is the predominance of the rhythm over the melody and the harmony and the new important role played by the bass guitar with the drums on building the centerpiece of the song consisting in a very strong groove.As a matter of fact this genre is very poor of chord progressions,differently from Soul,Jazz and RnB,and often the structure of the song is based just on one or two riffs or extended vamps made by very complex rhythms applied while playing a very few ,often extended ,chords.
The word "funk" literally means or "pungent odor"or "smoky" hence,in terms of music,some researchers ,focusing on the first definition,affirm that it was used to mean a music with a very strong and unique groove,as for example,Robert Ferris Thompson who, in a very detailed way , affirms that it came from the Kikongo words "lufuki"that means in fact bad body odor and that"Both jazzmen and Bakongo use funky and lu-fuki to praise persons for the integrity of their art, for having 'worked out' to achieve their aims (...)the irradiation of positive energy of a person. Hence 'funk' in American jazz parlance can mean earthiness, a return to fundamentals"("Flash Of The Spirit: African & Afro-American Art & Philosophy"by Robert Ferris Thompson ),while others affirm that it was used to define this music because,referring to the second definition of this word that is "smoky" indeed,the musicians used to play it in very smoky places and bars.
James Brown and Little Richard had a very important role on the diffusion of this genre and especially Brown was essential for the develop of a new particular groove which was a mix of back beats(mainly used in all the Afro American music before as Jazz,soul,RnB,with accents on the 2nd and 4th beat)and downbeats(accents especially on the 1st beat of each bar) supervised often by himself who used to say ,while playing live,to the band "on the one!" when willing to change it on the drums,while keeping some syncopate guitar,maintaining in this way a particular swing.
The Commodores
Members:Lionel Richie (vocals, saxophone, drums and piano),Thomas McClary(lead guitar),Milan Williams(trombone,keyboards,Rhythm guitar),William "Wak"King(trumpet,rhythm guitar,synthesizer),Ronald LaPread(bass guitar,trumpet),walter Orange(vocals,drums).
"The Commodores"was a band born around the late 1960s in Tuskegee,Alabama,from freshmen who met at Tuskegee institute and,as "The Temptations"was the result of a fusion between two previous band:"The Jaws" and the over mentioned "Miracles".Moreover also"The Commodores" signed with Motown, but in 1972.
The first lead singer, James Ingram ,left the band almost immediately ,to go to Vietnam and was replaced by Walter "Clyde" Orange and Lionel Richie,that alternated as lead singers.Lionel Richie played also piano,drums and saxophone according to the demands of each different song and around the 1982 decided to leave to embark in a solo career,keeping on singing for many years some of the hits who made the Commodores known all around the world,as the ballad "Easy".
But,besides their very famous slow ballades ,they were known for their Funk songs .The one that we deeded to pick up for that performance is indeed the famous "Brick House".
"The Commodores"was a band born around the late 1960s in Tuskegee,Alabama,from freshmen who met at Tuskegee institute and,as "The Temptations"was the result of a fusion between two previous band:"The Jaws" and the over mentioned "Miracles".Moreover also"The Commodores" signed with Motown, but in 1972.
The first lead singer, James Ingram ,left the band almost immediately ,to go to Vietnam and was replaced by Walter "Clyde" Orange and Lionel Richie,that alternated as lead singers.Lionel Richie played also piano,drums and saxophone according to the demands of each different song and around the 1982 decided to leave to embark in a solo career,keeping on singing for many years some of the hits who made the Commodores known all around the world,as the ballad "Easy".
But,besides their very famous slow ballades ,they were known for their Funk songs .The one that we deeded to pick up for that performance is indeed the famous "Brick House".
Brick House
This song was released in 1977,with the album "Commodores" and was conceived during a Jam in the studio,when the band,while recording,were waiting for some technical problem to be solved,and bassist LaPread started playing an interesting riff that slowly all the other members followed,so when their producer James Carmichael entered the room to tell them that everything was solved,was amazed by the music and suggested to start to write words as well because in his opinion that was a great material,but the most curious thing is that at the end the words were written by William
King's wife Shirley Hanna-King,just the night of the jam,But the day after William pretended to be the author so just years later the truth was discovered!
King's wife Shirley Hanna-King,just the night of the jam,But the day after William pretended to be the author so just years later the truth was discovered!
Practice
It was the time to change band so we had to get used to new bandmates and their way to play and rehearse.
I really enjoyed the way this band rehearse because I think it was a bit more disciplined than the previous one,due to the capacity Ricardo has to make musicians not to fuck around,in fact I hate to be the one who tell"please,could you play quieter?"or"please,could we play the song we are supposed to?"so thanks god this time I felt less alone dealing with it or,precisely,I had someone that said exactly what was needed!
In fact,we started practicing playing the original on loop till every one managed to find precisely the right notes and rhythms and then it came quite natural to me to find a good harmony for the chorus,because the song was quite low pitched for my voice,so the high harmony I found was very comfortable,while I had to struggle a little bit with the verse,but eventually I found it very enjoyable. I think that the guitarists made a good work as well,because,while one was playing the riff,the other used the wah wah effect so the sound was'n far away from the original,moreover the drummer
and the bassist worked hard to reach a good Funky balance from a well integrated drum and bass sound.
I really enjoyed the way this band rehearse because I think it was a bit more disciplined than the previous one,due to the capacity Ricardo has to make musicians not to fuck around,in fact I hate to be the one who tell"please,could you play quieter?"or"please,could we play the song we are supposed to?"so thanks god this time I felt less alone dealing with it or,precisely,I had someone that said exactly what was needed!
In fact,we started practicing playing the original on loop till every one managed to find precisely the right notes and rhythms and then it came quite natural to me to find a good harmony for the chorus,because the song was quite low pitched for my voice,so the high harmony I found was very comfortable,while I had to struggle a little bit with the verse,but eventually I found it very enjoyable. I think that the guitarists made a good work as well,because,while one was playing the riff,the other used the wah wah effect so the sound was'n far away from the original,moreover the drummer
and the bassist worked hard to reach a good Funky balance from a well integrated drum and bass sound.
Performance
Although I wasn't present for the final performance,I can say that the one we did the week before was great and so much better then the rehearses.
In fact it was very powerful and relaxed at the same time and I could feel that everyone of the band enjoyed it.
In fact it was very powerful and relaxed at the same time and I could feel that everyone of the band enjoyed it.
Disco
Unbelievable!Now I am pretty sure that this is a punishment by some deity.
Anyway,Disco is a genre of dance music which spread over in the mid -late 1970 starting from New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s.
It was a very important worldwide social phenomenon because reached a massive audience formed by many various kind of people as Afroamerican,Latino,queer,women and psychedelic.
It was very important for queer people because ,although the sexual revolution took place in the late 60s,they were left out and homosexuals sex acts were still illegal in many states ,in fact many gay bars were frequently broke in by cops.But in 1969 in a gay bar in Greenwich,called Stonewall there was a big riot against the police,during one of the many raids,that would go down in history as one of the capital gay actions which made many
queer people reflect about going on street to change that critic situation.
So it was during these years that the atmosphere of Disco was born as a way to free one's self through dancing surrounded by dreaming psychedelic lights and following an obsessive beat of a music that was properly conceived for that purpose and was a mix of Soul.Funk and Latino.
Then,who better than Motown label could take advantage of it?!
Indeed,one more time the label founded by Berry Gordy got the best of it producing the singer who became "the Queen of Disco",that is Donna Summer,who,having left the "Supremes",started a solo career which was very successful , from her 1976's "Love hangover" till her 1980's
"I'm coming out"(which was and still is one of the most beloved songs by the queer community).
Another capital personalty of this period was producer Giorgio Moroder who was the mind behind many Disco hits of the time.
Disco can be intended,at the beginning ,also as a reaction against the precedent era of Rock with its counterculture which tended to stigmatize dance music in general and dominate all the scenes and it is very interesting to notice how,at one point, after having become so popular so as making even musicians who weren't Disco at all,starting to compose some Disco song to increase their sales,this music provoked also a very strong reaction by musicians and djs from all he other genres and general people who were against Disco lifestyle(from homophobic and conservative ones till simple people that got annoyed by it)and who were bored of its supremacy and who contested its musical worth at all.
This anti -Disco cruised in fact culminated at Comiskey Park in Chicago the 12th of July in 1979 with the "Disco Demolition Night",a very extreme protest ,organized by disc jockeys Steve Dhal and Garry Meier with the support of Michael Veeck,son of the owner of White Sox football team,which consisted on blowing up the most of Disco recording they could obtain by people in exchange for an admission fee.This night was remembered as the night of the death of Disco.
Anyway,this video maybe can help:
Anyway,Disco is a genre of dance music which spread over in the mid -late 1970 starting from New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s.
It was a very important worldwide social phenomenon because reached a massive audience formed by many various kind of people as Afroamerican,Latino,queer,women and psychedelic.
It was very important for queer people because ,although the sexual revolution took place in the late 60s,they were left out and homosexuals sex acts were still illegal in many states ,in fact many gay bars were frequently broke in by cops.But in 1969 in a gay bar in Greenwich,called Stonewall there was a big riot against the police,during one of the many raids,that would go down in history as one of the capital gay actions which made many
queer people reflect about going on street to change that critic situation.
So it was during these years that the atmosphere of Disco was born as a way to free one's self through dancing surrounded by dreaming psychedelic lights and following an obsessive beat of a music that was properly conceived for that purpose and was a mix of Soul.Funk and Latino.
Then,who better than Motown label could take advantage of it?!
Indeed,one more time the label founded by Berry Gordy got the best of it producing the singer who became "the Queen of Disco",that is Donna Summer,who,having left the "Supremes",started a solo career which was very successful , from her 1976's "Love hangover" till her 1980's
"I'm coming out"(which was and still is one of the most beloved songs by the queer community).
Another capital personalty of this period was producer Giorgio Moroder who was the mind behind many Disco hits of the time.
Disco can be intended,at the beginning ,also as a reaction against the precedent era of Rock with its counterculture which tended to stigmatize dance music in general and dominate all the scenes and it is very interesting to notice how,at one point, after having become so popular so as making even musicians who weren't Disco at all,starting to compose some Disco song to increase their sales,this music provoked also a very strong reaction by musicians and djs from all he other genres and general people who were against Disco lifestyle(from homophobic and conservative ones till simple people that got annoyed by it)and who were bored of its supremacy and who contested its musical worth at all.
This anti -Disco cruised in fact culminated at Comiskey Park in Chicago the 12th of July in 1979 with the "Disco Demolition Night",a very extreme protest ,organized by disc jockeys Steve Dhal and Garry Meier with the support of Michael Veeck,son of the owner of White Sox football team,which consisted on blowing up the most of Disco recording they could obtain by people in exchange for an admission fee.This night was remembered as the night of the death of Disco.
Anyway,this video maybe can help:
Earth,Wind & Fire
Principal members:Maurice White (vocals,kalimba,drums,percussion) Philip Bailey(vocals,conga,percussion),Verdine White (bass),Ralph Johnson (drums,percussion)Larry Dunn(keyboards,synthesizers),Al McKay (lead/rhythm guitar,sitar,percussion,vocals).
This band was founded in 1969 by Maurice White in Chicago and became one of the most popular bands
ever existed ,winning several awards and 20 Grammy nominations,defined by Rolling Stone as "a band that changed the sound of black pop",being the first Afro American group which sold out the Madison Square Garden and being also invited by president Barack Obama to perform for one of the first social event at the White house of the new administration.the name of the band was inspired by Maurice White's
astrological sign connections with these three elements and the band was famous for covering a wide range of black music genres as Soul,Disco,R&B,Funk,Jazz and Rock.
This band was founded in 1969 by Maurice White in Chicago and became one of the most popular bands
ever existed ,winning several awards and 20 Grammy nominations,defined by Rolling Stone as "a band that changed the sound of black pop",being the first Afro American group which sold out the Madison Square Garden and being also invited by president Barack Obama to perform for one of the first social event at the White house of the new administration.the name of the band was inspired by Maurice White's
astrological sign connections with these three elements and the band was famous for covering a wide range of black music genres as Soul,Disco,R&B,Funk,Jazz and Rock.
September
This song was written in 1978 by Maurice White,Al mcKay and Allee Willis during the "I Am" session ,released at first as a single an then in the album "The best of Earth,Wind and Fire Vol 1".This song is know to have been one of the most popular success of the time all over the world.
Practice
It was funny how,when we started to play it,immediately the spirit of "Disco" came out from each members of the band and each rehearse was plenty of humor and self-irony.As the drums and guitars started playing the first chords,I was overwhelmed by the vision of me with a tower of curly,frizzy hair,glitters and bell-bottoms trousers dancing in one of the most Saturday nights,surrounded by colorful electric lights and so I started dancing cause it was obviously irresistible!
We started practicing with the original track on loop as we did for funk and then decided how to share the harmonies on the chorus between almost all of us,except the two guitarists,and the two verses between Ricardo and I.
I was so happy to have other two singers for the harmonies (Radek and Brett) because,for this kind of songs harmonies are essential.
i think that everything went out quite well because all of us already came to rehearse very well prepared and eventually Dot could easily help us adding keyboards .I decided to sing the highest part of the chorus because I was the only one who could reach those notes for all the length of it,since for Ricardo's voice it was clearly too heigh,even though I have to say that Radek and Brett with their falsetto sometimes were much better than me!
We started practicing with the original track on loop as we did for funk and then decided how to share the harmonies on the chorus between almost all of us,except the two guitarists,and the two verses between Ricardo and I.
I was so happy to have other two singers for the harmonies (Radek and Brett) because,for this kind of songs harmonies are essential.
i think that everything went out quite well because all of us already came to rehearse very well prepared and eventually Dot could easily help us adding keyboards .I decided to sing the highest part of the chorus because I was the only one who could reach those notes for all the length of it,since for Ricardo's voice it was clearly too heigh,even though I have to say that Radek and Brett with their falsetto sometimes were much better than me!
Performance
I think that the performance wasn't that good as some rehearsals we did,at least for my singing,because I couldn't hear very clearly and I was at the beginning of a cold and my voice was tired and not very elastic.Having said that Ricardo and I danced a lot and I was very pleased watching the video,noticing how Disco style was present in the performance,in fact I started laughing as soon as we started to dance ,because in the video we were very plausible.
But,I have to say that ,in comparison to group A performances ,ours were nothing because we forgot to dress the right,inspiring clothes,the ones which I dreamt about,while starting the rehearsals!
But,I have to say that ,in comparison to group A performances ,ours were nothing because we forgot to dress the right,inspiring clothes,the ones which I dreamt about,while starting the rehearsals!
Jazz
Jazz music was born in Afro - americans communities at the beginning of the 1900 , being the result of a fusion between the most distinctive Afro-american based music elements as syncopation, polyrhythms, blues note and swung note, with european form and harmony comprehending for instance , modal scales, construction of complex chords, frequent modulations, substitutions,etc.
However, Jazz is a genre very hard to define for it comprehends many different kinds of sub genres , starting from the end of the 19 century with the Joplin Ragtime ,until nowadays Electro Jazz.
The city of New Orleans , starting with its Ragtime and Blues music played also a central role in the develop of Jazz .It was indeed the hometown of pioneers jazz musicians such as Buddy Bolden (whose band was known for its creation of the first syncopated bass-drum pattern called the Big Four), Jelly Roll Morton (known to be the first to have used "the spanish tinge " or tresillo/habanera in Jazz, and to have developed the concept of Swing, creating so new complex afro- latin rhythmics ) and Louis Armstrong ( famous for his introduction of a completely new way of improvising and soloing and for his development of Swing)
The period of time in which Jazz music became more and more popular spread over the 1920's and 1930's, for it was the music played the most in the" Blind pigs " or "Blind tigers" ( venues where alcohol was illegally sold during the prohibitionism era).
During this time jazz music became popular indeed also in many areas of the north, especially Chicago and New York City as, while many black musicians started migrating from the south to the north , a lot of white musicians started also to get passionate about this new style of music, increasing the popularization of Jazz more and more. I highly recommend to read the autobiography of Billie Holiday "the lady sings the blues" in order to better understand how differently the most of the american audience along with the Media used to treat white musicians in comparison with black ones and how important eventually was the popularization of Jazz music for what concerned the racial discriminations.
However, Jazz is a genre very hard to define for it comprehends many different kinds of sub genres , starting from the end of the 19 century with the Joplin Ragtime ,until nowadays Electro Jazz.
The city of New Orleans , starting with its Ragtime and Blues music played also a central role in the develop of Jazz .It was indeed the hometown of pioneers jazz musicians such as Buddy Bolden (whose band was known for its creation of the first syncopated bass-drum pattern called the Big Four), Jelly Roll Morton (known to be the first to have used "the spanish tinge " or tresillo/habanera in Jazz, and to have developed the concept of Swing, creating so new complex afro- latin rhythmics ) and Louis Armstrong ( famous for his introduction of a completely new way of improvising and soloing and for his development of Swing)
The period of time in which Jazz music became more and more popular spread over the 1920's and 1930's, for it was the music played the most in the" Blind pigs " or "Blind tigers" ( venues where alcohol was illegally sold during the prohibitionism era).
During this time jazz music became popular indeed also in many areas of the north, especially Chicago and New York City as, while many black musicians started migrating from the south to the north , a lot of white musicians started also to get passionate about this new style of music, increasing the popularization of Jazz more and more. I highly recommend to read the autobiography of Billie Holiday "the lady sings the blues" in order to better understand how differently the most of the american audience along with the Media used to treat white musicians in comparison with black ones and how important eventually was the popularization of Jazz music for what concerned the racial discriminations.
Autumn leaves
Autumn leaves is a very famous Jazz standard composed by Joseph Kosma (music) and poet Jaques Prévert (lyrics) in 1945.
The original title of the song was indeed "Les feuilles mortes", that literally means "The dead leaves".
Here below you can find an accurate analysis of this harmony analysis of this song to better how complex it can be to improv over it:
The original title of the song was indeed "Les feuilles mortes", that literally means "The dead leaves".
Here below you can find an accurate analysis of this harmony analysis of this song to better how complex it can be to improv over it:
We can notice that the starting scale is a G major scale and the first progression is a linear II -V-I one: Am7 - D9 -Gmaj7
Then there is a IV-VII that basically coincides with a II-V because the chord built on the II degree is the secondary chord related with the primary chord built on the IV degree,as a matter of fact they have three notes in common and are interchangeable the most of time so you can choose between them to harmonize a song that requires a IV degree chord.The same line of reasoning has has to be followed to understand the relation between the chord built on the VII degree that is a minor7b5,in this case a F#min7b5 ,and the chord built on the V degree that is a 7,in this case D7 for instance.
These two chords have indeed three notes in common (F#,A and C) and are related to each other in a strong way so as often you can choose between them when you need in your harmony a V degree chord,as a matter of fact the one built on the V degree is called "Primary chord" while the one built on the VII is called "secondary" ,it is indeed the secondary chord whose the primary is the V one.
Having said that ,now it would be easier to understand how this progression from the IV chord to the VII one is nothing else than another II - V progression but this time it resolves into another particular V (B7)which leads also to a modulation into the E minor scale. B is indeed the V degree of E minor and although in G major and in E natural minor the chord built on it is a minor 7,in this case it appear as a 7 because it is a chord taken from the E harmonic minor scale( that has indeed the D sharp) and it is needed to emphasize the change of key through the perfect V-I cadence.
Therefore we have this progression until now :II-V-I-II(IV)-V(VII)-V(of the VI degree)-I(that was the VI degree before the modulation).
Lets move forward to analyze the second modulation happening on this song: Emin7,Eb7,Dmin7 starting from the 23rd bar.
Now it appears a tritone (Eb7) which is used to modulate in D minor.As a matter of fact the tritone Eb7 corresponds to its dominant chord A7 so it can be regarded as a V chord as well.Hence here we have a modulation through another perfect cadence V -I that is indeed Eb7 to D min7.Moreover ,if we proceed analyzing the 24th bar we will find another modulation again: D min 7 to Db7 to C maj7.Basically it happens exactly the same thing happened before: modulation through a tritone.
Db7 is the tritone correspondent to G7 and resolves in Cmaj that is the I degree,so we have V-I cadence again where instead of the dominant chord built on the v degree there is its relative tritone:Db7.
But we have to consider also that Cmaj7 can be the IV degree of G major! Therefore in conclusion the song ends with another II -V-I on the last four bars: Cmaj7 (that is the chord built on the IV degree,that is indeed the relative of the II degree Amin7), B7 (that is the V degree of E minor harmonic scale) and E - (the I degree of the E minor scale).
I love Chet Baker and I think that this is one of the best interpretation of the song where melancholy is the absolute protagonist.
Then there is a IV-VII that basically coincides with a II-V because the chord built on the II degree is the secondary chord related with the primary chord built on the IV degree,as a matter of fact they have three notes in common and are interchangeable the most of time so you can choose between them to harmonize a song that requires a IV degree chord.The same line of reasoning has has to be followed to understand the relation between the chord built on the VII degree that is a minor7b5,in this case a F#min7b5 ,and the chord built on the V degree that is a 7,in this case D7 for instance.
These two chords have indeed three notes in common (F#,A and C) and are related to each other in a strong way so as often you can choose between them when you need in your harmony a V degree chord,as a matter of fact the one built on the V degree is called "Primary chord" while the one built on the VII is called "secondary" ,it is indeed the secondary chord whose the primary is the V one.
Having said that ,now it would be easier to understand how this progression from the IV chord to the VII one is nothing else than another II - V progression but this time it resolves into another particular V (B7)which leads also to a modulation into the E minor scale. B is indeed the V degree of E minor and although in G major and in E natural minor the chord built on it is a minor 7,in this case it appear as a 7 because it is a chord taken from the E harmonic minor scale( that has indeed the D sharp) and it is needed to emphasize the change of key through the perfect V-I cadence.
Therefore we have this progression until now :II-V-I-II(IV)-V(VII)-V(of the VI degree)-I(that was the VI degree before the modulation).
Lets move forward to analyze the second modulation happening on this song: Emin7,Eb7,Dmin7 starting from the 23rd bar.
Now it appears a tritone (Eb7) which is used to modulate in D minor.As a matter of fact the tritone Eb7 corresponds to its dominant chord A7 so it can be regarded as a V chord as well.Hence here we have a modulation through another perfect cadence V -I that is indeed Eb7 to D min7.Moreover ,if we proceed analyzing the 24th bar we will find another modulation again: D min 7 to Db7 to C maj7.Basically it happens exactly the same thing happened before: modulation through a tritone.
Db7 is the tritone correspondent to G7 and resolves in Cmaj that is the I degree,so we have V-I cadence again where instead of the dominant chord built on the v degree there is its relative tritone:Db7.
But we have to consider also that Cmaj7 can be the IV degree of G major! Therefore in conclusion the song ends with another II -V-I on the last four bars: Cmaj7 (that is the chord built on the IV degree,that is indeed the relative of the II degree Amin7), B7 (that is the V degree of E minor harmonic scale) and E - (the I degree of the E minor scale).
I love Chet Baker and I think that this is one of the best interpretation of the song where melancholy is the absolute protagonist.
Practice: playing "Autumn leaves" in C# minor
We decided to transpose "Autumn leaves" in C# minor as this key resulted the more comfortable for Ricardo and I.
Moreover I think that playing this song in that uncommon key led us to play with new interesting shade of sounds.
I remember we worked very hard to learn how to decently play it and to find interesting solos. At the beginning it was very difficult for me to sing in Swing as it seemed to be very uncomfortable for the drummer to accent the 2nd and the 4th bit and this was a big problem as all the band would follow him playing in a terrible kind of "military march" rhythm. I really love this song and I was the one who proposed it so, at the beginning I thought I made a huge mistake choosing it as we were going to kill this beautiful and subtle composition through our terrible way of playing.
But fortunately Brett (the drummer) worked very hard to find an acceptable Jazzy drum pattern so that eventually we could Swing more comfortably. I have found also very hard to improvise in a creative way as Scat singing is not really something I like. Everything started being more enjoyable when Ricardo and I decided to work together on a "Called and Response" improvisation, as it was so inspiring for me to develop in my solo some of Ricardo's ideas and vice versa. Sometime, during the rehearsals , I also tried to sing some harmonies over Ricardo's solos , either trying to guess his improv direction or driving him towards new paths and sometimes he also did the same and it was so good when we managed to improvise together at the same time in this way.
Moreover I think that playing this song in that uncommon key led us to play with new interesting shade of sounds.
I remember we worked very hard to learn how to decently play it and to find interesting solos. At the beginning it was very difficult for me to sing in Swing as it seemed to be very uncomfortable for the drummer to accent the 2nd and the 4th bit and this was a big problem as all the band would follow him playing in a terrible kind of "military march" rhythm. I really love this song and I was the one who proposed it so, at the beginning I thought I made a huge mistake choosing it as we were going to kill this beautiful and subtle composition through our terrible way of playing.
But fortunately Brett (the drummer) worked very hard to find an acceptable Jazzy drum pattern so that eventually we could Swing more comfortably. I have found also very hard to improvise in a creative way as Scat singing is not really something I like. Everything started being more enjoyable when Ricardo and I decided to work together on a "Called and Response" improvisation, as it was so inspiring for me to develop in my solo some of Ricardo's ideas and vice versa. Sometime, during the rehearsals , I also tried to sing some harmonies over Ricardo's solos , either trying to guess his improv direction or driving him towards new paths and sometimes he also did the same and it was so good when we managed to improvise together at the same time in this way.
Performance
I think that our performance was the worst one ever! I was so disappointed. I wasn't very well because I had caught a cold and my voice collapsed during the second verse. I felt so upset that I couldn't enjoy at all the rest of the performance and everything turned out to be a kind of torture. I was so discouraged that I even went out of tune while improvising and that was n't me at all as I have many glitches in my singing but surely not that of being easily off-key! What is more I felt that the general attitude of the band was very weird during that performance and no one played really at the best of his potential. In my opinion we rehearsed too much that morning, coming at school too early (9.00 ) so that my voice , that was already very weak due to the cold, at 11 was too tired to sing again and the rest of the band was tired for having overplayed that song . We all agreed indeed that that could have been the main problem. On the other hand I have to say that I have learned a lot from that experience. I know that in the future I will respect my voice more during the rehearsals and I will sing at full potential just when it will be strictly necessary.
Nice work if you can get it
For our second jazz performance we decided to work on Nice work if you can get it a song of George Gershwin (music) and Ira Gershwin (lyrics).
We decided to play this song because we wanted to try something very different from our previous Jazz song . Nice work if you can get it is indeed a very energetic song with very challenging chords progressions and rhythmics. It is in fact the opposite of the melancholy Autumn Leaves and it was very hard for the guitarists of my band to learn to play these complicated chords progressions in an incredibly fast time.Let's have a listen to Sting9s version of this song, just to give an idea of what I am talking about:
We decided to play this song because we wanted to try something very different from our previous Jazz song . Nice work if you can get it is indeed a very energetic song with very challenging chords progressions and rhythmics. It is in fact the opposite of the melancholy Autumn Leaves and it was very hard for the guitarists of my band to learn to play these complicated chords progressions in an incredibly fast time.Let's have a listen to Sting9s version of this song, just to give an idea of what I am talking about:
Moreover, Ricardo suggested to try to work together on some harmonies, following the Andrew sisters version. I found it very hard to do from the beginning, as we were just two singers and the Andrew sisters used to work on very complex harmonies ,singing with a phrasing that I don't like very much as I prefer more Sting phrasing. Here below you can find the Andrew sisters version:
Anyway, after having desperately tried to find the Andrew sisters's harmonies without any satisfying result , we both agreed to work on some easier harmonies , more appropriate for our voices. Therefore one day Ricardo came to my singing lesson and we worked together with Taylor on this song.
It was great as we sorted out some very interesting rhythmic and harmony and Taylor also helped us with phrasing and interpretation. In the meanwhile our group mates were working very hard to become more fluent on the chords progressions , progressively speeding up the time.
It was great as we sorted out some very interesting rhythmic and harmony and Taylor also helped us with phrasing and interpretation. In the meanwhile our group mates were working very hard to become more fluent on the chords progressions , progressively speeding up the time.
Performance
I think that our performance was great. We all worked very hard as this song was quite complex and we ended up with a very good result . I was very happy as I managed to sing all the harmonies and the rhythmics worked with Taylor and also my solo was quite enjoyable. I really needed it in order to forget about our terrible previous performance! The only thing i really didn't like while I was watching the video, was the way I used my body. I don't know why, but it seemed like I completely forgot actually to have a body and I sang all the song shifting my weight from a leg to the other in a kind of autistic dance. It was awful!
Ska/ English 2 Tone
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica Ska is "Jamaica’s first indigenous urban pop style.Pioneered by the operators of powerful mobile discos called sound systems, ska evolved in the late 1950s from an early Jamaican form of rhythm and blues that emulated American rhythm and blues, especially that produced in New Orleans, Louisiana. A new beat emerged that mixed the shuffling rhythm of American pianist Rosco Gordon with Caribbean folk influences, most notably the mambo of Cuba and the mento, a Jamaican dance music that provided the new music’s core rhythm. " (Encyclopedia Britannica, [No date], [online]. available from: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/547221/ska).
During the World War II indeed, Jamaicans could listen for the first time the American black music of New Orleans through the radios of the American military forces stationing there. Hence Jamaican people got crazy for this american music and wanted to listen to it more and more so ,after the war, they started buying radios and the first sound systems were introduced by Dj / entrepreneurs such as Prince Booster , Duke Reid and Coxsone among the others. Jamaican musicians then, getting very excited by this innovative New Orleans tunes , started playing their own version of it that later became the first Jamaican urban pop genre called indeed Ska and characterized by its upstroke sound which came from Caribbean Mento and Calypso. You can see here below an example of a Ska and Rocksteady score where the upstroke is central:
During the World War II indeed, Jamaicans could listen for the first time the American black music of New Orleans through the radios of the American military forces stationing there. Hence Jamaican people got crazy for this american music and wanted to listen to it more and more so ,after the war, they started buying radios and the first sound systems were introduced by Dj / entrepreneurs such as Prince Booster , Duke Reid and Coxsone among the others. Jamaican musicians then, getting very excited by this innovative New Orleans tunes , started playing their own version of it that later became the first Jamaican urban pop genre called indeed Ska and characterized by its upstroke sound which came from Caribbean Mento and Calypso. You can see here below an example of a Ska and Rocksteady score where the upstroke is central:
The "2 Tone" then, defined also as The Ska second wave, was born in England, in the West Midlands areas in the late 70's by musicians who grew up listening to 60's Jamaican Ska. It was a fusion between Jamaican Ska, reggae and rocksteady with elements of Punk and New wave music. Among The most influential Two tone bands of the time there can be mentioned The Specials, Madness , The Selecter,The Bodysnatchers ,The name and The Beat. The name "2 Tone" come indeed from the genre pioneering recording label 2 Tone , created by the The Specials's keyboardist Jerry Dummers.
This genre became very popular among left-orienteted skinheads and has been often associated indeed to antiracist movements of that time.
This genre became very popular among left-orienteted skinheads and has been often associated indeed to antiracist movements of that time.
Practicing Madness's Baggy trousers
We decided to play a song called Baggy trousers of the band Madness, formed in London Camden Town in the 1976. This song was written by the band's frontman Suggs along with guitarist Chris Foreman and was released as a single preceding their 1980 album called Absolutely and it's about school days crazy memories.It was quite hard for me to sing this song as ,basically the melody is incredibly monotonous and the lyrics are formed by a huge amount of words sang in an incredibly fast way . At the beginning I didn't like it at all as I love to sing proper melodies and I don't like to shout words in a fast way at all.What is more, it was so hard for me, being a foreigner, to remember all these words and to pronounce them in a good way,speaking so fast! Let's have a listen to that
song, in order to better understand what I am talking about:
song, in order to better understand what I am talking about:
The only way to sing that song was just trying to have fun! I decided that I had to learn all the lyrics and find a way to enjoy the spirit of the song. I also decided to sing all the song a forth above in order to move it a bit more not singing in unison with Ricardo.But as it was still very hard for me to remember all the lyrics, we all agreed that it would have been easier if I had sung just some phrases of the versus and some harmonies on the chorus. So I just cared about learning these parts at my best.We practiced a lot ,had a lot of fun and eventually decided to perform this song wearing sunglasses and hats. The only negative thing I noticed was that to sing in this way is not something that suits really my voice and often I felt very tired because I had to force myself to sing this kind of shouted or spoken songs. It has been an interesting experience but it's not something I feel I want do again.
Performance
I think that Ricardo and I put a lot of energy in this performance, dancing and jumping all the time, moved by the obsessive rhythm of that Ska song.
I think actually that all the band did really a good job . I felt we were very connected and I enjoyed it. The only problem was that Ricardo decided to play the keyboard and sing at the same time and it was very hard with a song with so many words to remember...as a matter of fact he forgot the lyrics of a verse and started singing again just on the next chorus . I tried to sing the whole verse in his place but I couldn't as I was too focused on remembering my part. I decided that it was better if I would learn all the lyrics for our final performance.
I think actually that all the band did really a good job . I felt we were very connected and I enjoyed it. The only problem was that Ricardo decided to play the keyboard and sing at the same time and it was very hard with a song with so many words to remember...as a matter of fact he forgot the lyrics of a verse and started singing again just on the next chorus . I tried to sing the whole verse in his place but I couldn't as I was too focused on remembering my part. I decided that it was better if I would learn all the lyrics for our final performance.
Final group performance
We had to choose three songs for our final assessment , so we decided to perform Autumn Leaves, September and Baggy Trousers. I was very happy to have the chance to perform Autumn Leaves again as I really like this song and I wanted to replace the bad memory I had of the last time I performed it with a better one. For what concerns the other two songs honestly I can say that for me they were ok but far from touching me. I have to say indeed , with all fairness, that for me it has been very hard to sing all the times songs that I didn't feel wholly connected with , songs that I didn't feel the urgency to sing. Although it has been a great exercise in terms of technical issues, I have really struggled to make it someway enjoyable . This was due to two main causes: the first was that I was forced to sing genres that I don't really like and the second was the too different music tastes between all the members of the bands I played with. So it was very hard for me to try to interact with the rest of the band while we were playing because I had to force it if I wanted it,as it was not spontaneous at all. I hate to force things ,I hate to pretend, so I decided not to do it. I decided to show it as it really was.
Autumn leaves
Although I was very nervous I think I managed to sing this song quite well. I have to admit that I just interacted with Ricardo while we were singing our "call and response" solos. I just didn't feel like. I know that it could appear arrogant but when we started our performance I felt very lonely and I wanted to keep this feeling throughout the song because I felt it would help me to focus better on my singing and actually it helped me. I think that I have found a lot of new colors in my voice while singing that song that day in that way. My band mates played very well and supported our singing perfectly. I was very happy at the end. I definitely managed to replace my bad Autumn Leaves first performance memories with better ones.
September
We were more relaxed when we started playing this song. Maybe because Autumn Leaves was the most difficult one in terms of chords and solos. Any way I think that I didn't sing this song at my best although I tried to do my best. I had also some problems listening to my voice through my monitor speaker . On the other hand I interacted much more with the rest of the band as I liked to dance a lot while singing this song , and I really liked the feeling of having the most of the band singing many different harmonies with me, it was very supporting and enriching.However I preferred the way we performed September the first time as I think the harmonies were much more tighter and well sung.
Baggy Trousers
We had an amazing keyboardist this time so that Ricardo could focus more on singing. We went all crazy, we all wore sunglasses and danced. I went completely crazy as I decided to dance the more I could. Although Ricardo forgot some lyrics again I managed to remember his part this time and to sing at his place. I worked very hard indeed the previous week, to memorize all the lyrics. I enjoyed dancing it vey much, although ,for what concerns the singing, I kept on struggling with this kind of shouted/spoken songs and I felt very tired at the end. I think that everyone worked very hard for what concerns the overall performance, and did a great job. I felt a felt improvement especially in Autumn Leaves.
Conclusions
Overall,I think that everyone worked very hard and did a great job. I felt a felt an improvement especially in Autumn Leaves.