17 Jul 2018 – Al’s World

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And the sun is shining again. What is the world coming to? Easily the warmest summer I can remember since 1976.

Sadly there is no new material as yet but we are working behind the scenes as they say.

We have a sensational gig coming up this coming Sunday if you are in the Leeds area.

Al Bampton’s Sunday Evening Project

East of Arcadia (Meanwood)

https://www.facebook.com/eastofarcadia/

James Raftery & Judith Watts

Robbie Anker

Al Bampton

Sunday 22nd July

If you click the link below you will be able to have a listen to James and Judith. Sounds lovely and I for one can’t wait for Sunday.

https://moonshyners.bandcamp.com/track/coalminers

Not too much else to report but here is a video from a recent Deuce Katz rehearsal. I love this track and I love playing with this mob.

Danny’s All Star Joint (Rickie Lee Jones)

If you enjoyed more can heard by clicking the following link.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdpQr-U668XqJHtfUSXt-RA

Time to go. Enjoy your days.

See ya — Al.

A few thoughts about time..

I come from a world where the musician is in control of time not a machine. If I want to push time (speed up slightly) as the music enters a chorus or a solo I do, returning to the original tempo when the next verse arrives. To me this creates excitement for both the listener and the player.

The modern way of recording with click tracks and drum machines has eradicated this skill from the list of things a musician needs to master.

To me we are losing the wonderful stuff that humans add to music. Originally, when drum machines arrived on the scene the players lived in both worlds but as the years roll on the bands that do this have disappeared and musicians have grown up never hearing this so have no idea it ever happened.

There are many reason why great bands are remembered and this to me is something that is part of what makes them great whether it be The Wailers, Little Feat, James Brown or Led Zeppelin.

My question is simple – Are we losing the humanity in our music in this technological era?

A Beethoven score tells the conductor to speed up and slow down to create an emotional impact. The great jazz and blues legends did it naturally as a collective with their bands.

The drum machine rolls on with no understanding of how we dance or react to the music we hear.

I miss this in most of the modern music I hear. Change is an interesting thing. I mean, just because I don’t like something doesn’t actually mean it is bad for the world. Definitely different though.

Steely Dan’s quest for perfection has definitely changed the world. They invented the drum machine because Steve Gadd quite simply wasn’t good enough. That in itself is something to think about. Like all humans it is impossible for him to maintain a perfect 120 per minutes for eight minutes but when you groove like he does what were they worrying about?

I do understand how easy this has made it to make recordings in the modern world but….

I will always be a lover of live music though.

Time is yours so reclaim it — Al.

A slight detour — football!

Every four years I go on a roller coaster ride called the world cup. For a period of weeks I go through all the emotions and at some point the ride ends. The emotions, good and bad are why I can’t wait for it all to start.

A lot of people appear to listen to the pundits and watch the proceedings from a distance grumbling about whatever said pundits have brought to the table. My advice is simple, stop looking for entertainment, support your team and join in the ride. A life without emotions, are you sure? We are in it until we are not and I’m having a ball.

Come on England!

Oh, and thanks for all the stunning emotions. One day the ball will bounce our way.

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Day: July 17, 2018

Good day to you all.