Deltachord

The backbeat originally referred to the backing off of the drumstick away from the drum “on even beats in Classical music,” according to allexperts.com in the article Back Beat.

As we discussed before, the backbeat is also implored in popular music such as rock and roll and rhythm and blues, though in these genres the terminology refers to the accenting of the second and fourth beats.

A mixing of the blues style with boogie woogie rhythm, done by Louis Jordan in, which he used humerous lyrics is a well known and primal example of this urbanization of the blues, which began in the 1930’s. Though RnB drew influence from gospel and jazz also.

Wikipedia states that Jerry Wexler of Billboard Magazine coined the term rhythm and blues and that it was deemed a more proper terminology after WWII, as it wasn’t considered offensive, like the term race music in the new era, but the original lingo had been coined by the black community.

References:

http://en.allexperts.com/e/b/ba/back_beat.htm
http://www.rhythmandtheblues.org.uk/pdhist2.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R&B

Interesting site:

http://www.backbeatfoundation.org/

Dear Reader,

Hey, you do remeber the moog, don’t you? We finally got back to it.

The first totally easy to use moog, the Minimoog Model D, came out in 1970. Basically, before that Robert Moog produced the modular systems and the thermin. In 1972 the Sonic 6, Satellite, Modular System “12″, “921″, Oscillators debuted.

In 1975 the Taurus and the Polymoog were released. Robert Moog went on to produce several other products and started and sold several companies. Lastly, he produced thermins again.

His family decided to start The Bob Moog Memorial Foundation for Electronic Music, after he died in 2005. The goals of the foundation can be seen at

http://www.moogfoundation.org/.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moog_synthesizer
http://moogarchives.com/
http://www.moogfoundation.org/

The backbeat is common in rhythm and blues and rock and roll couldn’t exist without it. So what is it? The beats 2 and 4 in a 12 or 8 bar (or measure) song ie; stressing those beats as opposed to stressing beats 1 and 3.

Another term, the upbeat is when the 4th beat comes right before the next bar. Both terms refer to a conductor moving his baton up and down.

Earl Palmer, a drummer that recorded with Fats Domino and Little Richard relates that The Fat Man by Fats Domino is the first popular song that utilized the backbeat for the entire tune. It was recorded in 1949. The style actually began in the 1940’s. The backbeat technique had been a technique in Dixieland Jazz, used in the final chorus or shout.

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Back_beat#_note-grove2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earl_Palmer

To hear Fats Domino:

http://www.rhapsody.com/fatsdomino

To hear Little Richard:

http://www.rhapsody.com/littlerichard/theessentiallittlerichard

To hear Earl Palmer:

http://www.rhapsody.com/earlpalmer

Recently, I asked Mark of Analog Missionary some questions. Check the results out below.

Would you describe the band as alternative?

If the implications are “independent/outside the mainstream,” I guess that would apply. Commercial appeal isn’t a concern with us really and we do like to experiment. These are some of the things originally associated with the term “alternative,” but it’s not something we consciously try to adhere to.

The songs tend to come out the way they want to, and we try not to force them into any particular style or genre.

How would you describe the band?

Sound-wise, “atmospheric/cinematic art-rock” is what we feel comes closest to describing what we do.

Which artists do different members of Analog Missionary like?

Rush, Yes, King Crimson, Cocteau Twins, Peter Gabriel, Daniel Lanois, Muse

What genres of music does each member like?

Progressive Rock, Ambient Rock, Shoegaze, Polka.

What age group does your band appeal to the most?

Our demographic falls between 21-53, or so.

Did the band ever have another name?

Nope, just this one. (Thanks for not asking what the name means, by the way. That one’s outlived its welcome…)

What plans does the group have for the future? Anything unsual?

Keep recording our own albums and performing across the country. Perhaps starting our own label. We would also enjoy doing more scoring/film soundtrack work.

Do any of the members create art in other media or mediums?

Anstrom teaches and performs Bellydance, and paints. Tony is delving deeper into photography, lately.

Do any of the members of the band ever listen to music they don’t like in order to find something useful, that can be used differently?

I don’t believe this is a technique any of us have ever utilized.

Do you play any covers? If so, which ones and why?

We perform a few homages to artists that we respect, but often twist them in a bit of a different direction. Led Zeppelin, King Crimson, Rush, Yes, Bjork, Tori Amos, and P J Harvey are all artists that we enjoy.

And are sometimes overlooked by the general listening public (well, maybe not in the case of Zep, but the others…). We also enjoy the challenge of performing a wide variety of material.

Anything else you want to add?

Maybe just that we always enjoy meeting new folks, that’s half the fun of traveling and performing.

Well, dear reader, some of the answers suggest other questions, which we’ll delve into in the future.

So, stay too cool for school, as my friend Mike says. Hey, you remember Mike don’t you? My friend that I chatted with about the Merseybeat and the Merseybeat posts were born. We really need to birth another one of those soon. Until then…

http://myspace.com/analogmissionary

Dear Readers,

A reader had commented asking questions about the 1999 film by Woody Allen entitled Sweet and Lowdown. I hadn’t seen the flick, so I watched it.

I liked it and particularly the performance of Samantha Morton as Hattie who is mute. Through facial expressions and body language she portrays her character’s emotions perfectly. Emmet Ray played by Sean Penn is an egocentric jazz guitarist, though fictional. He treats Hattie and all women he is involved with badly to say the least.

Allen creates a realistic portrait of a 1930’s jazz musician in that some of them, such as Buddy Bolden and Jelly Roll Morton were known to be “managers” that is pimps, as Ray is in the film according to Ira Gitler in the article Sweet and Lowdown: A Jazz History Perspective. Also, during that time period jazz artists traveled the U.S. basically introducing people to jazz music because there were fewer means of communication then.

Howard Alden and Bucky Pizzarelli beautifully play the guitar parts. Also, old recordingas are used. Several classic jazz songs are represented. Penn skillfully draws a picture of the anti-hero, talented musician, that leads a quirky life.

For More Information:

http://www.sonypictures.com/classics/sweetandlowdown/perspective.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sweet_and_Lowdown
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A0DE2D9113FF936A35751C1A96F958260

Blog Directory

Ronnie Winter of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus got stuck playing the tuba in his high school band, which turned out to be a musical education. He credits the time he spent listening to the other instruments, while he kept time as sharpening his song writing ability because this experience ingrained melody and timing into his musical thinking.

I hear Rush in their song Face Down, in the lead vocals and the guitar riffs. Cat and Mouse is a ballad that is reminiscent of seventies bands like Aerosmith and pivots on a reaccuring piano melody.

The band is from Middlesburg, FL. and the members are Ronnie Winter (lead vocals), Elias Reidy (guitar, vocals), Duke Kitchens (guitar, vocals), Joey Westwood (bass, vocals), and Jon Wilkes (drums, vocals).

They have the emo screaming anthem thing going on in songs like Waiting, In Fate’s Hands, and Seventeen Ain’t so Sweet.

To hear Red Jumpsuit Apparatus go to:
http://www.redjumpsuit.com/

References:

http://altpress.com/index.cfm
The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus: Drumlines And Firing Lines
Rob Ortenzi

http://www.redjumpsuit.com/
http://www.lyricsmania.com/

Shane! Shane! Shane! is a jazz, blues, ballad, and swing band located in Fairhope, AL that wails with horns and full percussion and varies from 4 to 8 pieces. Shane is the founder and plays guitar and belts out great vocals.

Two other musicians involved are Dr. Joseph Mitchell on flute and Randy Hoffman trumpet and flugelhorn. The lineup varies somewhat. I recently heard them and enjoyed their music very much.

The band was formed in 2002 and quickly became popular in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast. Shane! Shane! Shane! plays their own renditions of bossanovas, delta blues, pop favorites, fox trots, and standards…always with gusto and creative interpretation.

The range of influences is enormous including Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughn, Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin, Ray Charles, Garth Brooks, Bonnie Raitt, Ella Fitzgerald, Norah Jones to name a few.

The band has played at music concerts, festivals, and venues on the West Coast, in Atlanta, Connecticut, and Rhode Island.

Shane has appeared on tv in different venues such as a Country Western variety show, National telethons, and a regional cable talk show pilot, though the band Shane! Shane! Shane! hasn’t appeared in that media yet.

The web site shane.shane.shane.com will be up and running in the near future. Until then, you can get a demo CD by sending your request to shanex3@bellsouth.net.

Shane was born in Connecticutt and raised in New England, lived in Atlanta, and has resided in the Alabama Gulf Coast for a number of years. Shane will be teaching a workshop at the Gulf Coast Ethnic and Heritage Jazz Festival in August. (See post about the festival under jazz)