[HeavyWeather77]

Hi, SOTW! I have a new band called Progress, and we had a show at the Elephant Room in Austin last weekend. Here are some video clips! The audio's not always great-- camera guy had a great onboard mic, but the guy I got to record separate audio didn't show, so the sound moves around with the camera. Came out OK regardless. Here they are:

Clip 1, "Strut"
Clip 2, "Nuclear Jet Ski" (short, just a teaser)
Clip 3, "Trapezoid"

 

[Jazztenor87]

Wow!!! The band sounds great! Your tenor sound is really something else....I'm loving the camera angles, too.

 

[Wade Cornell]

Awesome band. Who writes the material? Everyone seems to have mutual respect. That's difficult with two potential lead guitars. Major rhythm engine room that cranks. Fine playing from everyone and the audience seems to be with you as well. Fine sax work, especially since you're often out there holding all the melody lines yourself. The only negative comment I could make (and it's being pretty picky) would be for the keyboard player to choose some sounds that had some balls.

Hopefully you guys get the recognition you deserve and do well.

 

[Tony5175]

Thanks for posting! I really enjoyed listening.

 

[HeavyWeather77]

Thanks, guys! To answer some of the questions, I write most of the original material so far, but the keyboard player and the guitar players have both contributed, too, and continue to do so. When we play long gigs we include a few covers by Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Bernard Wright, and even guys like D'Angelo and Michael Jackson, but our focus is on our original compositions.

The reason I use those two guitar players is precisely because they work so well together. They're both phenomenal players, but they approach their instruments and sound palates very differently and sympathetically. The group actually started as a weekly jam session and evolved into a band very naturally since everyone works together extremely well, complementing strengths, listening intently, reacting appropriately, and all that. I'm very lucky to have a band like this.

The keyboard player is a genius, but that board he was using was a rental (his was in the shop) so he didn't know it as well as he would like. But I hear you, the Rhodes sound on the M50 isn't my favorite. The string, pad, and lead synth sounds aren't bad at all, though. Hopefully we'll be getting a demo together in the next couple months at a studio nearby, and we'll have a big selection of keyboards to use for that-- I'll probably be playing some, too.

 

[HawaiianSaxMan84]

Yeah, you guys have a great sound man. I dig what you guys do. Do you guys have a facebook or something?

 

[saxphil]

Thanks for posting your stuff Brian.

I like Strut the best, great tune.

When the Telecaster solo clicked in, it had a Steely Dan vibe, circa Royal Scam period.
The beginning, ala Supertramp.

Edit: and, of course you sound great, Brian.
Love your sound on the hr mpc too, like Dr. G mentioned.

I do agree though, more ballsy keyboards would be a plus
Very enjoyable, keep 'em coming.

 

[cvsimson]

Great sound!
I hope that you record more and post soon.

 

[jvsax]

Cool band, sounds great!

 

[Dr G]

Like Strut best, great tune.
When the Telecaster solo clicked in, it had a Steely Dan vibe, circa Royal Scam period.

+1 on all counts - and I was a huge 'Dan fan during the '70s.

We should post that as a sticky also for the demonstration that a HR mouthpiece can be quite effective in the mix of such an ensemble. Nice work all 'round!

Thanks for sharing.

P.S. Respect to Tony Campise. I miss him. I went to see him when he last toured my area and - surprise, surprise - found that a friend of mine from waaaaaaaaaaaaaay back college days was playing drums with him.

 

[ismail]

The keyboard player is a genius, but that board he was using was a rental (his was in the shop) so he didn't know it as well as he would like. But I hear you, the Rhodes sound on the M50 isn't my favorite.

Just listening... You can instantly tell the key guy is great. The feel of the first simple chords is so good it's hypnotizing. Nice groove. The sax seemed a bit loud in the mix, but I know, the cam mic...
Around 4.00, the keys play accents on "1" and "2 and", which maybe bass and/or drums could chime in on so it sounds more energetic.
I have a band with a real rhodes and only analog synthesizers, no digital keys, and I know what a blessing that is. Except for carrying the ~60kg rhodes. But in my humble view, synthetic keys have destroyed a lot of music from the 80's until today. I guess there is a lot of pop, fusion and whatever that would sound great with better keys. And less cheesy. I know, there are nice exceptions, today, Nord has great Rhodes emulators that I dig. Anyhow, it's also a lot about a key player who knows how to tastefully select among those thousands of sounds. You obviously have that.
I'd be interested in hearing some well applied effects on sax in this band. Nice stuff you guys are doing, also those other bands of yours! Seems inspired. Nice sax playing, of course.
I'm at the key solo now. Funny. He plays with real humour. Great!

 

[HeavyWeather77]

Campise was a great player, and he died too young. I'm heading down to the Elephant Room now and will undoubtedly play with many people who knew and played with him during his life. He will not be forgotten soon in Austin, that's for sure.

I've done a lot of work with effects pedals in the past, and plan to apply them to this group as we develop, for sure. They can be very tricky, as everyone knows, but I'm a huge fan of well-applied effects and they can seriously expand the sound possibilities of a group.

We do have a Facebook page, and here it is! The Youtube clips are still the only ones of this group, all the rest is old stuff of mine. We'll be getting a recording together soon, though.

 

[MartinMusicMan]

Very nice original stuff. I could listen to more of it. This exemplifies my response to the "jazz is dead" posts.

For ballsier keybd, I recommend the Nord boards -- good B3, Rhodes, Wurly sounds. The Stage model has synths, pads, etc.

 

[HeavyWeather77]

Very nice original stuff. I could listen to more of it. This exemplifies my response to the "jazz is dead" posts.

This is probably the best comment I've ever received... couldn't ask for a better compliment than that. Thank you! I like to think we're making improvised, swinging/grooving music that's relevant to today. That's the goal, anyway. This music is anything but dead, as long as we're doing our jobs.

I'm a huge fan of Nord keyboards, I own an Electro-2 73-key that I use constantly (I work often as a keyboardist as well). Our keyboard player normally uses a Roland Fantom, and those also have excellent Rhodes and Wurli sounds, in addition to great virtual-analog synth engines. Those Korg M3s are actually very good, too, but they just take a lot of digging to get them to sound their best.

Incidentally, I don't know if anyone here frequents vintagesynth.com and their forums, but that's a great resource for electronic keyboard info. Kind of like SOTW for keys.

 

[Dr G]

Enjoying "Hunting Grandmother" at http://www.donomation.com/ right now - superb playing and recording.

Gear head time, Brian, you know it's coming... What are you playing on your recordings? Do you use the same setup with Progress as on your solo/leader tracks?

Tasty! I'm going to call some friends to turn them on to your group. I'll have to plan my next visit to Texas to coincide with listening to your group.

 

[HeavyWeather77]

Thanks, Dr. G! By the way, were you the guy I sold that Lawton tenor piece to a couple years ago, in Santa Fe? That was a crazy time, and selling that piece helped me move to Austin...

On "Hunting Grandmother" and "Three Friends..." from my website I was using a Morgan Excalibur 8E, and on everything else (everything I've been doing since mid-2007) I've been using my Jody Jazz HR 7*. I use the Jody for everything, cover bands, the rock band I tour with (Nelo), my own original groups, Snarky Puppy shows/recordings over the years, everything. I found something that works and stick with it. I use hard reeds, usually a #4 Hemke, Rico Royal, or Rico Jazz Select.

If you come to Austin, let me know, chances are there will be good music happening somewhere.