Travis Dickerson Recording Studios Forum

QuoteThanks, P.O. was fun to make. We may have a thing or two to drop soon but don\'t want to jinx it by saying too much. We have talked about doing something live soon as well, we are just trying to get the timing right.

My heart just fluttered a bit at that...

Oh Travis, you big tease -- that is a tantalizing prospect indeed!

Can you say if the live thang would be with Ramy?

Bootsy\'s mom passed away a few years ago.  :\'(

QuoteSo this summer is going to be a quiet summer?

Except for Giant Robot touring nation-wide. I\'m hittin\' the NYC show and maybe Boston too.

Giant Robot on the East Coast, as well as the Mid-west -- now THAT\'S good news!

Yo Cheapsk8! Yeah man. Gotta get Unison. It is a crucial Bucket-related release. Doomride said it well. First class all the way. Bernie is great on this as well as Bucket & Laswell. Beautiful textures and sweet, propulsive grooves. Some of Bucket\'s nicest playing. (I know, I\'m always saying that, but really.)
You def won\'t regret copping it. I play it regularly.

Chris,
There is a BURNING alternate version (instrumental) of Bold as Love on the box set I mentioned. Jimi just shreds. Also there\'s a classic, funny alternate mix of "Third Stone from the Sun" (since you referenced it) where you hear Jimi & Chas just cutting up and losing it while recording the voices.

And yeah, the Villanova Junction/Woodstock Jam is jaw-droppingly awesome. I feel transported to another dimension watching/listening to that one. That is some of the most truly inspired improv ever. He composes brilliantly right there on the spot... so great to watch him do those moving bass lines with his thumb while playing the chords with the rest of his hand. (!) This spot showcases how brilliantly creative he was, and how much more he could\'ve accomplished if he\'d had the time...

Oh YEAH man! Brother I am with you on this one. Electric Ladyland is in a class, and a whole world, by itself. It is true brilliance. It exists on a different level from anything preceeding it or following it. It was on this album that Jimi really found his voice in the studio. He broke with Chas Chandler who always tried to reign him in (sometimes for the best) and keep each song within 3 minutes. With EL Jimi freed himself to push the boundaries of recording and composition. I feel it\'s extremely important to bring engineer Eddie Kramer into the conversation here, as he was truly Jimi\'s right-hand-man in the studio. In Kramer, Jimi had a counterpart and they both encouraged and learned from each other. Kramer\'s role in Hendrix\'s productions cannot be overstated. Especially with regards to Electric Ladyland. Kramer was Jimi\'s translator and would funnel Jimi\'s grand designs down to tape.
Alot of people think that Jimi was always wild and too stoned to know what was going on -- but in fact he was meticulous in the studio and worked like hell to get things right. He did 40 takes of "Gypsy Eyes" before it was done to his satisfaction. Nothing mattered more to him than his music, and he would go to any length to get the right sound and the best recording quality. He always wanted to learn... wanted to know how to get the sounds he heard in his head, and with EL he was really finding those sounds, and remarkably, getting them on tape and out on an album.
About "Drifting" -- this is one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever composed by anybody. Folks who have the image of Jimi as the "wild man" who just burned his guitar need to hear this song, as well as "Angel" and various others. "Drifting" gives me goosebumps every time I hear it -- absolutely gorgeous. The words, his singing, the music, his guitar... absolutely transcendent.
The Jimi Hendrix Experience box set has some great alternate takes and unreleased stuff for the hardcore Jimi enthusiast (as I would describe myself.)
Also, I would highly recommend the VH1-produced "Making of Electric Ladyland." Has Kramer in the studio with the master tapes talking about how tracks were recorded and bringing up individual tracks to hear how they all interacted. Brilliant stuff.
Thanks for this thread. Jimi Hendrix is my favorite musician of all time.

Yeah man. Crazy sexy cool. Is there a happier phrase in the English language than "got some booty"?  

Alternate title in the context of this thread:

[glb]Procreation Overdrive[/glb]

 

QuoteWeather you\'re pro-war, or against everything that\'s going on over there, watching that\'s gotta put a sick feeling in the pit of your stomach, and a lump in your throat.

Well said bro. Regardless of one\'s stance on this whole nightmare, if seeing those photos of the reality of the situation doesn\'t put your gut in knots, something is missing in your soul.
 :\'(

QuoteTravis, I would love to hear Thanatopsis do an album that rocks a little bit more - like the last 40 seconds or so of "Pyre."  I think it would be great.

Funny you mentioned that. I don\'t know if anybody here heard it but when Greg had that "Submit your Buckethead cover tunes" thing I did a piece taking that last little section of Pyre and sped it up a bit. Then I made a rhythm bed with many different drum loops and added my own bass and guitars. I cut Bucket\'s riff up and made different riffs from it. Mutated it, built it up, broke it down. It\'s in mp3 format and if I knew how to I\'d post it up here... (?) I did it \'cause I felt the same way: What a great riff! And just when it seems like it\'s gonna kick in... /
But I LOVE Ramy\'s playing on both Thanatopsi. He bashes and slams on the first one where that\'s what\'s called for and he lays back and grooves more on Axiology. His feel and sensitivity on both discs is highly commendable. He obviously has a high level of musicianship which matches Bucket\'s and Travis\' and blends so well together with everything else that\'s going on. The prospect of Thanatopsis 3 makes me very happy.
Very happy indeed.

Oh yes and I absolutely agree about Pinch\'s drumming on PO. I said it before and I\'ll say it again: all the players sound better than ever on this disc. Pinch is more in the pocket than ever.
Leads to an interesting question. How was it decided to have Pinchface play drums on PO? Would it have become Thanatopsis 3 if Ramy had played on it? With the huge stable of players at his ready, I wonder how it comes to pass that Bucket has this or that player on his albums, and exactly which project it turns out to be. Either a Thanatopsis or a Cobra Strike or a "Buckethead" CD. Hmmm... *rubs chin, looks longingly off in the distance...*

Thanks Travis. That\'s awesome. It\'s so cool asking a question and actually getting an answer. Too rare anymore.

The more I find out about how this album was made the more I love it. The whole concept as you laid it out is so great... and it really works too. You absolutely succeeded in getting that feel.

I love the segues, the looseness, the jammability. That little piece has this quizzical nature and then...

Once again, nice.

Quote
With Humans Vanish, I keep playing that one over and over. I\'ve decided (in my mind anyway) that it sounds like the guitar is asking a really sweet question, and then receives a beautiful answer. So to me, even at .33 sec. it is a complete song.

Well that\'s a very cool and poignant perspective. Being a musician/recordist myself, maybe I\'m getting too deep into the technical aspects of it. I was just hoping for Travis\' insight on the track. It is indeed beautiful and self-contained as it is. Just curious if it was intended that way...

Oh, and DELI CREEPS FRICKIN\' RULE!!!

Well there\'s a major distinction between someone telling you where THEY\'re at and YOU being at the same place. As far as the content of the vast majority of Bob\'s lyric\'s ... HELL NO I\'m not in to that -- but I like the music.
What I\'m saying is, at least he just lays it out for all to see, take it or leave it. He\'s not claiming to be a catholic priest (for example) and then partaking in all manner of foulness. He lays out his priorities and you are free to run like hell if you should choose to do so.
That\'s what\'s up.

Well I agree with you on that one. Bob would get my vote if for no other reason than because he\'s at least honest. He\'ll just come out and tell ya what\'s important to him.

"My sandwiches and my condiments -- survivors are optional."

How can you go wrong with a political agenda like that?

Well, I know what you\'re saying but I\'m sure it takes alot LESS time than that if ya wanna get right down to it!