afroskull weekend. maple leaf. new orleans, la
just got back from the insane weekend that was afroskull's 10th anniversary celebration. hours after arriving, i spent the whole day (7 hours total) in rehearsals. next day, we loaded up at the maple leaf in the afternoon, and then milled around at b and w's place (conveniently located two blocks away from the leaf) until 2345, when the band hit. the second set ended around 0315, followed by a brief encore. i somehow made it back to nyc by catching an 1100 flight. maybe this was a dream?
the show itself was the best i've ever seen of the old boys. what really made it so devastating was the horn section: chuck arnold, bonerama's rick trolsen, and jason mingledorf of papa grows funk. it was ridiculous how they could shift from gentle to downright violent at the drop of a dime. i wanted to die.
the show had everything- band reaching new heights, very enthusiastic crowd, cops showing up, and insanity. the band returned to its dank roots with b. on bass. his brand of sliminess makes skull's music that much uglier (in the funk sense). earl scioneaux played his very singable organ lines over "IT", and big j.'s ozzy-like rendition of black sabbath's "electric funeral" was several people's favorite moment of the night. the regulars of the band were not in a mood to mess around. i wondered if they were aiming for the decibel level wherein the mouth of hell opens up and swallows us whole. every solo section was a statement. the raging lines from j. and m. were met with thunderous response from j. and s. potent stuff.
i'm pleased to have not diminished them when i showed up for my guest spots. on "dance of the wild koba", i felt my fingers coming back to life again (long slump lately). aided with my original blue tube pedal and big j's fender twin, i was really happy with my tone. and i'm delighted to have nailed the harmonies that make up "in memory of elizabeth reed". thank goodness i listened to it that morning.
received somewhat of a confirmation of johnny gordon's status. also learned that his cd "blacksmith blues" is the ONLY THING HE EVER PUT TO TAPE! argh! amazing story of someone who likewise loved johnny, and more or less produced the album as a favor for him. they even managed to make a little money on it with sales at the bar. even sadder about him now. poor guy.
music back this week. check for some surprises.
the show itself was the best i've ever seen of the old boys. what really made it so devastating was the horn section: chuck arnold, bonerama's rick trolsen, and jason mingledorf of papa grows funk. it was ridiculous how they could shift from gentle to downright violent at the drop of a dime. i wanted to die.
the show had everything- band reaching new heights, very enthusiastic crowd, cops showing up, and insanity. the band returned to its dank roots with b. on bass. his brand of sliminess makes skull's music that much uglier (in the funk sense). earl scioneaux played his very singable organ lines over "IT", and big j.'s ozzy-like rendition of black sabbath's "electric funeral" was several people's favorite moment of the night. the regulars of the band were not in a mood to mess around. i wondered if they were aiming for the decibel level wherein the mouth of hell opens up and swallows us whole. every solo section was a statement. the raging lines from j. and m. were met with thunderous response from j. and s. potent stuff.
i'm pleased to have not diminished them when i showed up for my guest spots. on "dance of the wild koba", i felt my fingers coming back to life again (long slump lately). aided with my original blue tube pedal and big j's fender twin, i was really happy with my tone. and i'm delighted to have nailed the harmonies that make up "in memory of elizabeth reed". thank goodness i listened to it that morning.
received somewhat of a confirmation of johnny gordon's status. also learned that his cd "blacksmith blues" is the ONLY THING HE EVER PUT TO TAPE! argh! amazing story of someone who likewise loved johnny, and more or less produced the album as a favor for him. they even managed to make a little money on it with sales at the bar. even sadder about him now. poor guy.
music back this week. check for some surprises.
Labels: afroskull, bonerama, johnny gordon, new orleans, papa grows funk
posted by the wild koba at 00:08
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