Though it's about three guitarists I'm not really fond of, I just saw It Might Get Loud... which bore investigating, because I love the documentary Dig even though I dislike both of the bands if focuses on and I love Comedian even though I don't find Jerry Seinfeld funny: I can like a movie without being enamored of the subject. However, It Might Get Loud is actually pretty annoying.
I get why Jimmy Page is in the movie. I've never liked Led Zepplin (sorry kids, it's me and Ben Weasel skipping merrily down this path), but if you're doing a movie about guitarists and their instruments, this guy is the 70's blues-rock lead guitarist. I don't like the stuff, but he's the king of that particular hill.
I actually hate U2, but from an interview standpoint, The Edge is an okay guy to have in the movie. He's an 80's superstar, so there's some generational contrast between him and Page's 70's thing, and he's pretty candid about his "riff" being absolutely nothing if he switches off his effects (Bill Bailey beat him to this punch, but it shows some self-awareness to have the guy actually demonstrate it).
After that, I think we should try to roll up all of the pretentious shit that falls out of Jack White's mouth over the course of this movie and beat him to death with it. I don't like the other two guys, but the whole Jack White thing is just bog-standard 70's rock... and Jimmy Page is already in this movie. Half the time I can't tell the White Stripes from any other classic rock revival band until the bassline fails to arrive. I don't think he's a bad guitar player, really, but a stunningly average one who (from what I've heard) has never done anything original and has a couple pop radio hits.
Seriously, was Jonny Greenwood not returning this movie's calls? They couldn't get anyone interesting? If it had to be an American (as opposed to the UK guys for the 70's and 80's), why not someone like Tom Morello? I know the Rage Against the Machine thing is way past its sell-by date, but at least he was innovative. Not only that, but if you'd add someone who had his push in the 90's and is still remembered, there's sort of a guarantee that you're not dealing with someone destined for the cut-out bin by next year.
Hell, I think Dean Ween and Larry LaLonde are better candidates... and they're bound to be less smug in front of a camera.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
PSA: Gear is heavy
As Public Service Announcements go, this one's more of a note to self... but, as most every part of me is really, really sore today, the whole thing is burning bright neon in my frontal lobe.
ubik. is currently practicing at Crybaby Studios, and our show last night was one block away, at The Comet. One block! Hey, it's not that far! My brain whirled around bringing the van up to Capitol Hill, loading into the van from the practice space, trying to find parking by The Comet, loading into the club, and then driving around the neighborhood to find a place to park the van until the end of the show... at which time, we'd have to repeat the process (albeit, in reverse). It made perfect sense to just walk the gear over to the club.
I maintain that theoretically, it was a good idea. The whole thing got shakier when put into practice.
Gearwise, ubik.s basically pair of bass cabinets, amps, a pedalboard, basses, and a drum kit to move. Where guitarists can have a Vox or Fender combo amp (a single piece unit that has a handle on top... obviously meant to be lifted by one person), bassists like us are usually in a two-man-lift situation. The upshot is: these things come with wheels. Downside: the wheels are fine for moving across a room, or a hardwood floor-- nobody ever meant them for a long hall across cracked city sidewalks. Joel's cabinet, for example, is an Ampeg 8x10 that stands taller than Michelle: it's a large, heavy, upright rectangle with four little wheels on the bottom.
My pedalboard is its own challenge-- this thing also takes two people to carry (1 1/2" to 2" plywood, with its lid on, it looks like the world's cheapest junior-sized coffin), though I did decide to get it there on my own: I had Tyler help me lift it onto my cabinet, which is half as tall as Joel's, and then I rolled it over myself. That was actually my first trip, and I figured out it was a bad idea before I had crossed the street. Another note to self: it's easier to pull these things than to push. Luckily, two of us just grabbed a side and carried the board back for the return trip.
Crybaby provides a shopping cart just for the "let's wheel our gear over to The Comet" types of nights (that actually introduced the idea in my fertile subconscious), so we used it to load up all the cymbal stands and other small, heavy pieces. I wasn't part of the shopping cart experience, though I know it pulls to one side, but I did carry the kick drum over to the venue; while I have loaded that thing in and out of a show more than once, it does get heavier after half a block or so.
The whole thing was manageable, and it really wasn't the world's biggest hassle, but... I am definitely sore today. All in all, it wasn't my best idea... and yes, it was my idea. Next time, we're taking the van. A block is a lot longer when you're carrying one end of my pedalboard than it is when you're just walking around.
ubik. is currently practicing at Crybaby Studios, and our show last night was one block away, at The Comet. One block! Hey, it's not that far! My brain whirled around bringing the van up to Capitol Hill, loading into the van from the practice space, trying to find parking by The Comet, loading into the club, and then driving around the neighborhood to find a place to park the van until the end of the show... at which time, we'd have to repeat the process (albeit, in reverse). It made perfect sense to just walk the gear over to the club.
I maintain that theoretically, it was a good idea. The whole thing got shakier when put into practice.
Gearwise, ubik.s basically pair of bass cabinets, amps, a pedalboard, basses, and a drum kit to move. Where guitarists can have a Vox or Fender combo amp (a single piece unit that has a handle on top... obviously meant to be lifted by one person), bassists like us are usually in a two-man-lift situation. The upshot is: these things come with wheels. Downside: the wheels are fine for moving across a room, or a hardwood floor-- nobody ever meant them for a long hall across cracked city sidewalks. Joel's cabinet, for example, is an Ampeg 8x10 that stands taller than Michelle: it's a large, heavy, upright rectangle with four little wheels on the bottom.
My pedalboard is its own challenge-- this thing also takes two people to carry (1 1/2" to 2" plywood, with its lid on, it looks like the world's cheapest junior-sized coffin), though I did decide to get it there on my own: I had Tyler help me lift it onto my cabinet, which is half as tall as Joel's, and then I rolled it over myself. That was actually my first trip, and I figured out it was a bad idea before I had crossed the street. Another note to self: it's easier to pull these things than to push. Luckily, two of us just grabbed a side and carried the board back for the return trip.
Crybaby provides a shopping cart just for the "let's wheel our gear over to The Comet" types of nights (that actually introduced the idea in my fertile subconscious), so we used it to load up all the cymbal stands and other small, heavy pieces. I wasn't part of the shopping cart experience, though I know it pulls to one side, but I did carry the kick drum over to the venue; while I have loaded that thing in and out of a show more than once, it does get heavier after half a block or so.
The whole thing was manageable, and it really wasn't the world's biggest hassle, but... I am definitely sore today. All in all, it wasn't my best idea... and yes, it was my idea. Next time, we're taking the van. A block is a lot longer when you're carrying one end of my pedalboard than it is when you're just walking around.
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