Independent Research Entry – Brian Eno

Interesting to think of the world without Brian Eno. What a wonderful and brilliant mind. Crazy how in 1975 he was plowed into by a Taxi cab moving 40mph. It seemed to put him at rest long enough for him to capture the ambience sound coming from one speaker due to the music being too low.

After being exposed to conceptual painting from art school in 1965 and not able to play traditional instruments Eno began to build sound sculptures and spent days on creating collages of sonically sound. Brian would speed up and down the sound and was amazed by the possibilities he could create. Most believe he is pop’s most influential artist! Eno has stamped his techniques and sound on a number of projects and artist alike. Some artist include The Velvet Underground, Maxwell Demon, Merchant Taylor’s Simultaneous Cabinet etc… Eno changed the way music was produced, mixed, approached, performed and you name it. I like how Brian collaborated with art and made it come to life. I find it very interesting that Mr. Eno calls himself a non-musician. Yet he was sitting in his Drake Hotel suite playing a lineup of glasses filled with liquids of varying degrees. (According to www.enoweb.co.uk )

As a professional in the industry I think Brian Eno’s role, as producer was incredibly needed. It takes a special person to jump out of the box to make a change and create something… That’s right, I said, “CREATE.” So many try to imitate something that’s already being done. Here we have someone that said, “Ok, I may not be able to play an instrument but it doesn’t mean that I can’t get involved and CREATE music.” I wonder, “what if everybody sat down for one minute a day and thought about something they could do or CREATE that would change the world forever.” – Our world might be in better shape!

Peer Review – William Rivera

 I think it is great that you choose Dr. Dre for your final blog in MHII. I had no idea that the Dr. had produced that many successful artist. I feel that music, if produced the right way can touch the hearts of millions. In my personal opinion most artist come to the table with an idea but don’t know how to achieve the impact without a producer around. Just like Lennon always did with producer George Martin. Dr. Dre played a very important role in many lives and will continue to touch people world over through his image and understanding on an ever-demanding industry. Thanks for the wonderful read!

Your Pal, Joshua

Double Trouble Reunion, May 25th 2012

Double Trouble Reunion

May 25^th at 3^rd & Lindsley, Nashville TN.

It is May 25^th, 2012. A packed house ready to receive what most would consider a powerhouse of the best electric blues Nashville TN has ever heard. Walking in from the front of the club you would give your ticket to the guy at the door and pass through the open bar onto the main seating area lined with tables. All of the lights are dim looking up at the balcony and wrapping my head around amazed at the atmosphere. Here it is going on to 7:00 P.M. the musicians take the stage and the crowd cheers.

“For the lineup tonight we have the Original Double Trouble featuring Chris 'Whipper' Layton, Tommy Shannon, Reese Wynans, Jack Pearson, Mike Farris, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Dave Perkins, Tom Britt, Bart Walker, Rob McNally, Tom Bukovac, Gary Nicholson, James Pennebaker and a few guest.”

The crowd cheers some more!

I noticed several electric guitar sounds played through amps with pedals and ‘mic’ed for perfection. Off to the left of the stage you had Double Trouble’s keyboard/organist player Reese Wynans. In the middle there was Chris ‘Whipper’ on this nice candy apple red drum set with a sparkle no one could miss, bearing the clubs name in black literature on the front of the kick drum. To the right of the drums opposite side of Reese is the bassist Tommy Shannon on his Fender electric. These guys played throughout the show for two 70-minute sets.

The sound was amazing! Several floor monitors and speakers hanging from trusses and chained from the ceiling. There was never any raw sounds or annoying static. I was very pleased with the overall show. I enjoyed that every member improvised the whole show with very little practice… One could tell that the blues was apart of them and the audience as well! I could feel the universal circle of energy between the artist and me. Being in front of the stage versus the recorded versions gave the best experience one could ever understand.

Double Trouble started out as the band Triple Threat Revue created by Stevie Ray Vaughan in 1978 with an all-star cast consisting of Lou Ann Barton (Vocals), Fredde Walden (Drums), Jackie Newhouse (Bass), and Johnny Reno (Saxophone). The name Double Trouble came from a song done by Otis Rush. In 1985 the final group consisted of Chris Layton (Drums), Tommy Shannon (bass), and Reese Wynans (Keyboards).

I had the luxury of meeting the band and was able to ask them a few questions. I wanted to know what their reaction was to the success of technology and how they feel it has changed for better or worse. To sum it up they all felt the same about the question. 

Before the digital age life was expensive and it took forever to send mail and communicate. (The manager/coordinator had $900.00 a month payments on phone bills and faxes) It cost money to send press releases and information. Now with the ever-growing Internet/technology the group was able to send emails much faster and locate potential clients etc… Even though this reduced the high-end monthly payment, the band itself had more responsibilities. With this they talk about 1000’s of emails, non-stop questions and the “I know you, how are things going” questions. The stress can put a strain on not just the band but all other musicians/artist alike. (If you don’t say something at all, or if you say the wrong thing, people can get confused, upset and angry) With the rise of Facebook, Twitter and all other mainstream social networks life on the road can get crazy… (All they want to do is entertain)

“Its tuff out there for a bluesman!” – Reese Wynans

“It’s not like it used to be. You gotta bite the bullet, it’s something that just evolved… It evolved.” – Tommy Shannon

“It sounds great on the stage!” – Reese Wynans

Josh Knight on Stevie Ray Vaughan

This is my podcast on Artist Stevie Ray Vaughan... I hope you like it. Thanks for watching.

http://youtu.be/QYifcxSn2f0

Peer Comment

Matt Murray,

Kraftwerk was such a wonderful phenomenon. I really liked the earlier albums Kraftwerk 1 and 2. I too feel the same way about this group. Without Kraftwerk electronic music might not ever be the same. It takes a rare breed of individuals to step out into the open and take a leap into a new direction. As you talk about the album Autobahn, we both notice a huge difference and change from the groups first two albums mentioned above. Adding new members to the group outside of Ralph and Florian contributed in a big way. I really appreciate the read and I look forward to future blogs.

Regards, Joshua

Electronic Music Innovations Entry

Electronic music has come a long way from the early innovations of technology including magnetic tape and synthesizers. Early pioneers like Kraftwerk, whom pushed the boundaries of early electronics, set the stage for other musicians alike. David Bowie and engineer Brian Eno showed so much interest, these two went left for Germany to pursue the sound. David Bowie being one of the artist using further experimentation from the Kraftwerk compositions (Electronic Music) has made mainstream success in dance music. Not just for him but even future artist like Marvin Gaye with his song SEXUAL HEALING. I think it is wonderful what groups like Kraftwerk was able to accomplish.

I really like German producer and musician Conny Plank. He crafted some wonderful masterpieces. Conny worked with several acts like Liliental and Os Mundi, Kraftwerk, Guru Guru, Cluster etc… Starting his carreer in the 1960’s as sound engineer with his first album Kluster. Lets not forget the most important albums produced in the 1970’s like Kraftwerk, Kraftwerk 2, Ralf and Florian, Autobahn etc… By this time Mr. Plank had a nice palette of imagery and taste for the electronic sound. Conny became big on mainstream rock artist in Germany and crafted a new era of production for electronic in the music industry.

As a professional I like how the electronic era came out into the public. With this I am talking about the success of David Bowie and Brian Eno and the albums Berlin Trilogy, Low, Heroes and Lodger. All of these albums where highly influenced by Conny Plank. In the long run electronic music became a step up with not only dance but also became pop. Thank you very much for your time. I hope you enjoyed reading my blog. Feel free to leave a comment below and let me know what you think.

Regards,

Joshua

Kraftwerk - Electronic Music Entry

Kraftwerk, a group from Germany came along at a time where music in my opinion needed a change. Conny Plank who was the engineer for a few albums had such an amazing way to express the group and their talented abilities as musicians and composers. I think it is wonderful how the band created hand-made instruments using limited technology, perfect for that one-of-a-kind sound. Kraftwerk had a way to put imagery to the music with powerful concepts and ideas. The group would create an album based on one concept. Like in the 1970’s album Autobahn, the idea of highway traffic and street cars. Just like in the album Radio Activity with the album sleeve looking like an actual radio. Kraftwerk would put pictures in the studio on the console to help with creating ideas during the mixing stage.

This group consisted of two main members, Ralf and Florian, two innovators and creators of the robot image and founder of Kraftwerk. With the release of Autobahn in 1974 the band was far away from the earlier albums created and set the stage for a new era in dance electronic music. For that reason the group has become a huge success and spawned influences like David Bowie, John Foxx, Gary Numan, RUN-DMC and many on into the future I’m sure. Kraftwerks image of mysterious robot movements gave us all new heights and ideas of creativity.

As a professional in the industry of music and engineering I think it is amazing what Kraftwerk was able to do. This group made such a huge impact on many generations and many to come. What I like most about this group is that they were able to create music to a picture or image without getting lost in the process. It is very easy to get sidetracked in this industry. Sticking to the theme is what did it for me. Thanks for reading.

Regards, Joshua