(from http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/11/world/meast/israel-palestinian-jewish-rock-bands-for-peace/index.html?iid=article_sidebar)
"Two Israeli bands, one Jewish and one Arab, are joining together in "metal brotherhood" to spread a message of peace through rock 'n roll. Arab group Khalas (Arabic for "Enough") and Jewish band Orphaned Land are heading out on an 18-day European tour that they hope will foster tolerance between the two sides in the Arab-Israeli conflict "We want to share the stage together, we want to show co-existence," said Kobi Farhi, Orphaned Land's vocalist. The bands will also share a tour bus for three weeks. What more perfect example of co-existence, asks Farhi. "We will snore at each other, we will do laundry together, we will make coffee for each other," he said. Among those on the tour bus will be Abed Hathout, Khalas' guitarist and band manager. "If we can do this co-existence on a bus, why can't we do it all over this country," he said.
One in five Israelis is of Arab descent, according to Israel's Central Bureau of Statistics. Sometimes called Israeli-Arabs, many consider themselves Palestinians. Apart from handful of cities that the government designates "mixed," where a minority of Arabs lives alongside a majority of Jews, the two groups live in separate communities.
We will snore at each other, we will do laundry together; the only conflict we have is who is going to pay the bill. . ."
(from The New York Times)
“I was in a rock band, I played with a bunch of Brazilians, I played R&B with Parliament-Funkadelic and all of that,” he said in an interview before his most recent album, “DreamWeaver,” was released last month. “I mean, I’ve done jazz with Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley. It’s a goulash. It’s a gumbo.
George Duke, who as a small boy begged his mother to buy him a piano after she took him to see Duke Ellington, began playing professionally at a time when many musicians were interested in blending genres. He played in a trio that backed the singer Al Jarreau while he was still a teenager, then accompanied Dizzy Gillespie and other jazz musicians at clubs in San Francisco. By the early 1970s he had performed and recorded with Adderley, the jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty and Zappa’s Mothers of Invention.
Zappa “told me one day that I should play synthesizers,” Mr. Duke wrote on his Web site. “It was as simple as that!” Urged by Zappa, he said, he experimented with a few types of synthesizers before settling on the ARP Odyssey, “purely to be different from Jan Hammer, who was playing the Minimoog.”
Critics sometimes said that Mr. Duke’s music was too smooth, not
challenging enough, and that he was too eager to court a broad audience.
He disagreed. “I really think it’s possible (and still do) to make good music and be
commercial at the same time,” Mr. Duke wrote. “I believe it is the
artist’s responsibility to take the music to the people. Art for art’s
sake is nice; but if art doesn’t communicate, then its worth is negated.
It has not fulfilled its destiny.”
I just stumbled upon a video of your band on YouTube. I heard you guys at the beach last year. Very nice. Jay and David (founding members of OHO) know your keyboardist very well and actually played in a band with him years ago.
Anyway, still hoping OHO can get a date(s) from you at the Downtown Club. Fall or winter would be fine if your schedule is full.
Best,
Ray Jozwiak
Oho
Dear Ray,
I've had time to listen to some of your stuff and I don't think it's going to fly at The Downtown. We mainly book high energy pop/rock cover bands. Our demographic Thursday through Saturday nights is more of the young university crowd. We don't really do original bands & the covers you guys do are pretty obscure.
Thank you for taking the time to listen to Oho and for your kind response.
I presume you mean by 'high energy pop/rock cover bands' that each of them play virtually identical repertoire of predictable selections. Also, do I read into your comment 'high-energy' that for some reason (longevity?) you presume a lack of or a 'low' energy quotient in us?
It seems odd to me that you give the university crowd, a population who is dedicating or will dedicate 4 to 6 years of their lives to LEARNING NEW THINGS, no credit for artistic open-mindedness. Possibly you should reconsider ORIGINAL bands for the venue.
We seem to think that Beatles/McCartney/Lennon material as well as Leonard Cohen, the Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel and the like are ANYTHING BUT obscure. But hey, that's just US! What the hell do WE know????
Best,
Ray Jozwiak
Oho
or B?
Dear Mr. Booking Agent,
Thank you for taking the time to listen to Oho and for your kind response. Should you and The Downtown decide on a change in format, we hope you will keep Oho in mind.
. . . into my (and Oho's) world the other day. . .
So I didn't memorize Jay's actual address, but I knew the location of the development and I figured after turning into the neighborhood it would be obvious where the band was to setup.
After turning into the main road of the park, I saw Joan walking up the road. We greeted and I asked where the band was setting up. She gave us directions and saved the day.
We were able to pull up right next to the band, so I quickly unloaded my gear. Pam was off to spend some time in Bethany with her sister so we kissed goodbye.
The general plan was for Pam to call me when she was close to Warren's Park so I could remove the cones blocking the entrance to the street on which we were setup so she could drive right down to the band where I could easily load up after we finished.
Setup and sound check complete, we were content to relax before our 6 o'clock starting time.
Pre-recorded Beatles music from a Circque du Soleil production at a comfortable volume level, thoughtfully provided by Jay, was in progress.
Jay and Joan have a beautiful trailer home in the park, impressively large and tastefully decorated.
A bottle of ice cold water was just what the doctor ordered (for me) in light of the type of beverage upon which I over-indulged the prior evening.
Six o'clock start time brought the strains of my piece entitled 'Always You', in consideration of the invitation to the over 70's to partake of the potluck buffet at the start.
I discovered the next day that the gain switch on my Zoom was pushed to the maximum setting, rendering the complete recordings un-listenably distorted.
Pam called eight times during the last set, in hopes I'd hear her and remove the cones that blocked entrance to the road where the bandstand was. Unfortunately, I did not exert any extraordinary effort to enable myself to hear incoming phone calls and therefore, missed her call.
She parked across the street and fought the Seacrets traffic to enter the development.
All ended (happily?) about 9ish.
A successful performance garnering many appreciative partygoers (and hopefully new fans) in the process.
Pam and I retired to the Atlantic Hotel for a nightcap. . .
. . . and all's right with the world.
Isn't it????
If you don't believe this, just listen. . . (no lie about the distortion nor the enthusiasm, heart or soul that we put into the performance)
Ocean City Ditty
by John P. Graboski
Performed by Oho Live at Warren's Park, Ocean City, MD, July 27, 2013
Writing to acquaint you with OHO and our music in hopes of securing future performance dates at _______________**.
OHO began as Baltimore's answer to Pink Floyd, an American underground icon, a band that came out of nowhere playing music the chroniclers swore was years ahead of its time. OHO sneaks around the musical conventions that have mummified so many others, unleashing sliders where you'd expect curve balls, fast balls where you'd expect change-ups. Part of it is their sense of humor, part of it their unerring humanity. A curious anomaly, the band was totally out of synch with current musical trends when they formed in late 73, a five-piece multi-instrumental, avant garde, acid-progressive band from Baltimore with a do-it-yourself lifestyle and album/label/outlook who were either seven years too late or seventeen years too early.
After almost forty years of evolution from precocious prog-rock darlings to pre-punk garage rebels, to folk-jazz free fliers to power-trio original and sophisticated-covers band, OHO (now consisting of founders Jay Graboski and David Reeve, reunited with thirty-year musical collaborator [1970s Ful Treatment] Ray Jozwiak and occasional, special, when-available, musical guests) now belts out a bevy of thought-provoking original material blended with classics and the cream of current, intelligent rock and roll, spiced with musical influences from everywhere-including the kitchen sink- for your dancing, dining and drinking pleasure. A physical and aural delight.
We hope to experience the pleasure of performing for your fine clientele at ____________** in the near future. Looking forward to hearing from you. A CD of the current incarnation of OHO is enclosed and and free download card (to experience the rich history of OHO) for your review and musical pleasure.
Fagen met Becker at a college coffee house at Bard College in 1967. Responding to an ad in The Village Voice in the summer of 1970, Fagen and Becker met guitarist Denny Dias and started a musical partnership that formed the basis of what would eventually become Steely Dan. However, the original group's line-up would only be assembled in full around December 1971 in Los Angeles, California, to where Becker and Fagen had relocated, initially to work as staff song writers for ABC/Dunhill. Fagen and Becker formed the core of the band and co-wrote all the group's music; on tour and record, Becker played bass (and later lead guitar) and Fagen played keyboards, as well as performing almost all of the lead vocals on their recordings.
After releasing their third LP in 1974, the other members gradually left (or were fired from) the band, which gradually evolved into a studio project headed by Becker and Fagen. They scored their biggest success in 1977 with the platinum-selling album Aja.
After a lengthy period of inactivity as a band which began in the early 1980s, the duo of Becker and Fagen revived Steely Dan in the mid-1990s, and have since produced two more Steely Dan studio albums: 2000s Two Against Nature which won several Grammys, Everything Must Go (2003), as well as the live CD Alive in America (1995) and a live concert DVD entitled Two Against Nature, which included material spanning much of the band's history.
Fagen frequently uses aliases. He wrote the liner notes to Can't Buy a Thrill under the name Tristan Fabriani, which he would use on stage when he played keyboards for Jay and the Americans, (Becker would use Gus Mahler). On his solo albums, when he plays or programs a synthesizer part to replicate a real instrument (bass, vibraphone, horns, etc.) he will credit one of his aliases - Illinois Elohainu, Phonus Quaver, or Harlan Post.
Here's an instrumental performance of an older, never recorded composition, rife with imperfections. (You sing it.)
Words are all that I have to express all the things I would
Like to be able to tell you but don't quite know how
Couldn't before and still can't do it now
During all of this time that's transpired little's changed but
A lot has occurred in my thoughts and my feelings for you
Countless superior intellects have searched for answers
I never gave it a whole lot of thought
Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside
Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside
for you
I have always believed that it's true very few things I'll
Ever encounter will be quite as precious as you
The magic between us so rare and so new
Though I'm not one of those that you find who has always the
Need to express to so many exactly what he has in mind
I find I have this burning that's deep down inside me
For words I never needed before
Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside
Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside
for you
I can't imagine ever having my life depend upon eloquence
And maybe it doesn't
But after all this time together it seems long overdue
And in the end it probably doesn't make a difference in how you feel
If I never say it
Now I'm daily rehearsing the way to articulate
Every syllable nuance and stress when I say
How much I need to have you here today
And I won't give it up easily I suspect that it's
Just as important to you as it is now to me
The words we use themselves have no meaning
So all the more must I make them right
Now that I try to let you know how much I feel inside
Until I tried to let you know how much I feel inside
for you
(from wikipedia.com)
Fishbone is a U.S. alternative rock band formed in 1979 in Los Angeles, California, which plays a fusion of ska, punk rock, funk, hard rock and soul. Critics have noted of the band: "Fishbone was one of the most distinctive and eclectic alternative rock bands of the late '80s. With their hyperactive, self-conscious diversity, goofy sense of humor, and sharp social commentary, the group gained a sizable cult following during the late '80s, yet they were never able to earn a mainstream audience."
Fishbone first assembled in 1979 with John Norwood Fisher (bass); his brother Phillip "Fish" Fisher (drums); Angelo Moore, who sometimes uses the stage name "Dr. Madd Vibe" (vocals, saxophones ranging from sopranino to bass, theremin); Kendall Jones (guitar); "Dirty" Walter A. Kibby II (vocals, trumpet); and Christopher Dowd, who sometimes uses the pseudonym "Charlie Down" (keyboards, trombone, vocals). Founding members John Norwood Fisher, Angelo Moore, and Walter Kibby remain with the band as of 2013.
Fishbone got started in 1979 as a "disparate, all-black oddball crew" when the members were in junior high school. The Fisher brothers, Jones, Dowd, and Kibby were all from South Central Los Angeles. and were included in a school busing program that sent them daily to the San Fernando Valley, where they met Moore, who was native to the area. After first using the name Megatron with Titus Norris on vocals, the sextet adopted the name Fishbone and formed a unique stew of different styles that became popular in the Los Angeles club scene and was a great influence on several subsequent alternative bands.[citation needed] They were close friends with Los Angeles bands like the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Thelonious Monster. Fishbone were signed to Columbia Records in 1983 after being spotted at a club gig by producer David Kahne. Their first release was the 1985 single "Party at Ground Zero", followed by a self-titled EP, Fishbone. In 1987, in support of their first full-length album, In Your Face, the band performed "Jamaica Ska" in the Annette Funicello/Frankie Avalon reunion movie Back to the Beach. Fishbone's first major international tour was as the opening act for the Beastie Boys.
Fishbone was mostly considered to be a ska and funk band in their early years, but later became more guitar-driven with a focus on rock and soul music. The 1988 album Truth and Soul brought Fishbone wide critical acclaim. With this album, the band also added left-leaning social commentary to their lyrics, covering important topics such as the breakup of families, early 1990s racism, fascism, nuclear war, and oppression in lower income housing projects. The album was highlighted by a hard rock-inspired version of Curtis Mayfield's classic "Freddie's Dead" from the film Super Fly. The music video, directed by Douglas Gayeton, became the band's first hit on MTV. That same year, the group toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers and became nationally known in the burgeoning alternative music scene. Also that year, Fishbone and Little Richard recorded the Lead Belly song "Rock Island Line" for the tribute album Folkways: A Vision Shared.
The band added former Miles Davis sideman John Bigham on guitar and keyboards in 1989. The 1991 album The Reality of My Surroundings was a critical and commercial success, reaching #49 on the Billboard albums chart. One month before the album's release, the group played a memorable performance on Saturday Night Live of "Sunless Saturday," a song which later featured an MTV video directed by Spike Lee. The song "Everyday Sunshine" also became a modest hit on radio and MTV.
While the band retained their roots in funk and ska, the 1993 album Give a Monkey a Brain and He'll Swear He's the Center of the Universe included songs with hard rock, punk, and heavy metal elements. At the time of the album's release, the band began to tear apart internally. Just before Fishbone joined the 1993 Lollapalooza tour, guitarist Kendall Jones, reportedly suffering from mental instability, quit the band and joined a religious group. Bassist John Norwood Fisher tracked Jones down in the belief that he needed rescue from the religious group, only to be charged with attempted kidnapping; Fisher was acquitted at trial. A benefit concert to help with Fisher's legal expenses featured Porno for Pyros, Primus, Tool, and Alice in Chains. Keyboardist Christopher Dowd left Fishbone in 1994 and released an album titled Puzzle in 1997 under the name The Seedy Arkhestra, with various guests including Jeff Buckley and N'Dea Davenport. The album included an anti-Fishbone song called "Flog Your Dead Horse."
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