From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 Digest) Subject: Level42 Digest V98 #135 _ ____ _ ____ _ _ ___ // //__ // / //__ // /__// __// //__ //__ \\_/ //__ //__ // /__ D I G E S T Level42 Digest Volume 98 : Issue 135 563 subscribers Today's topics: lolitaj's comments jeff mahoney ps boon jeff mahoney My Boon mail JDoody Boon... The Saint Guitar players Lolitaj L42 & Madison Square Garden Winman42 Leaving New York.. winston.walker Boon Joey Vela [Fwd: A few things] Brad Dietz Guitarists Joey Vela Isle of White Bruce_Conrad Boon's guitar playing Adrian Bond Re: Gar/Mark RealAudio Carl Mueller Steve Lukather Brian MK and the Thunderlizard john c vaeth Re: Level 42 MIDI files Charl Mocke ------------------------------ Subject: lolitaj's comments From: "jeff mahoney" Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 20:01:46 +1000 hi all lolitaj.....i enjoyed your comments about guaranteed and staring at the sun. it had to be said. both albums are chock full of great songs. but,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,i don't call them my worst albums. i don't know what to call them. i would play guaranteed more than say....standing in the light but standing in the light is a better album than guaranteed. (i'm just a crazy aussie).forgive me. for me the absence of phil and boon had a lot to do with it. its like taking george and ringo out of the BEATLES for a couple of albums. and forever now well thats like abbey road for me. a return to form. its a pity boon was not there. songs such as love in a peaceful world and romance and talking in your sleep and all of them are the best. forever now is a great album be it the rca or resurgence copies. and hojo query..........live acoustic america is great. and to don.......the cheques in the post re:pins. an impeccable groove cheers from sydney and enjoy your levelfest. jeff ------------------------------ Subject: ps boon From: "jeff mahoney" Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 20:38:42 +1000 hi again i forgot to mention that jon's comments re: boon were a little harsh. from what i hear he goes ok. and for rythme parts listen carefully to the sun goes down on the live at wembley vid...............its infectious. his early playing is excellent. NOW...............i did'nt really get into jakko. he kind of looked out of place on stage to me. this is coming from somebody who has only seen the vid. now i'll start a jakko thead. its fun is'nt it. he is a great guitarist but he just lets rip. boon plays with passion. as does LEVEL 42. mark sings with such passion. and i still think phil is the best drummer. comments from the mad aussie. an impeccable groove cheers from sydney jeff ------------------------------ Subject: My Boon mail From: JDoody @ checkpoint.co.uk Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 12:10:08 GMT To: Level42 @ worldmachine.com Right. Defense time. Yes, I agree that pre WM, Boon's sound fitted into the band well. But, I believe the band we're looking for a larger, fatter sound. I believe Boon did not fit into this category. Yes, I did think that post-WM his guitar sound was "girly". I will raise this point. When I first heard Running in the Family (single), I was delighted when I heard this "fatter" sound in the chorus... you know, "Looking back it's so bizarre (der der derrrrrrrrrr!!!). It sounded brilliant!!! (IMHO). Why the hell wasn't Boon playing this??? It was Mike on the keyboards making this sound!!!!!!! What on earth was going on???!!! I feel that the band's biggest step forward was taking Alan Murphy on. His playing was cool, sophisticated, large and by goodness fatter than fat Jack McFat........Last years winner of Mr. Fatman competition! Take Heaven In my Hands for instance - wicked tune! I believe this new sound elivated Level 42 to new and wonderful heights. Now, Don't get me wrong, I don't hate Boon - I just prefer my guitars with a bit more Ooomph! One more point, completely off the subject. Phil Gould. For my money, his drum sound was oh so sweetly perfect!!! Gary's playing was good, but Level 42 was not Level 42 without Phil. Which is why Forever Now is such a great album. The original "Drum and Bass" music was Mark and Phil jamming! Long Live Controvesy!!!! Jon ------------------------------ Subject: Boon... From: The Saint Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 07:15:11 -0400 Wow, this is a can of worms............ I can't say that I feel Boon was the weakest link in the band or that he was a bad musician either. He does have a less pronounced playing style than some other session players with the band. You really hear him better in the pre-World Machine albums and again in RITF........ His solo album, TIN MAN shows that he was playing low key with L42, but that he really can play when given the chance.......... He's no Clapton or SRV, but he's not all that bad.... paul F ------------------------------ Subject: Guitar players From: Lolitaj Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 08:42:01 EDT Greg - I am absolutely in agreement with you. Since I am into funk, acid jazz and fusion, I have found that I am much happier when the guitar part is a rhythm guitar; very percussive and helping to drive the beat, with a good solo in the middle. A great example of a song like this is You Got the Love by Rufus and Chaka Khan. The guitar part in that song is awesome. What makes it moreso is that the whole band has their part of the groove and they are riding it - no one is featured, yet somehow they are all featured. Does that make sense? I have a real life example of the chaos that happens when the guitar is too much. I have recently joined an organization called the Off Wall St. Jam, where we have three jam sessions a week. We always inevitably have too many guitarists, and I was trying to sing a song last week that had two guitarists playing. One should have been playing rhythm and the other lead, but of course that didn't happen - I was completely drowned out. I ended up leaving that room after that song, and the drummer and bassist were pissed. That happens all the time. Even when there is only one guitarist on the song, the guy who runs the jam often has to tell him/her to stop trying to solo over the singer, or to turn the amp down. I don't take it personally, but I find that I have to do that with the guitarist more than anybody else in the band. Back to the original point - subtlety is key to everything, both playing and singing. That is why Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston get on my nerves; they both are technically proficient, but you don't have to screech and do a glissando (sp?) on every note to prove it. Oleta Adams has a very subdued, yet richly textured and beautiful voice, and I feel the same way about Boon. By the time you all read this, I will be in London (yea!!), but I will still be checking my e-mail daily. If anyone has messages for any Levelfest participants I can get it to them. Also, anyone who still wants to join the chat I can give you instructions up until 11AM Saturday (London time). Lolita ------------------------------ Subject: L42 & Madison Square Garden From: Winman42 Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 08:57:16 EDT Hey Paul, how long did it take you come up with all those MK vs. Godzilla comparisons? I get the impression that you enjoyed the film? Btw, Level 42 also played Madison Square Garden. They opened a show for Steve Winwood, and blew him off the stage. 2 newspapers in the city made mention of the fact that level 42 were great, and almost overshadowed the headliner. Tcoy, Win ------------------------------ Subject: Leaving New York.. From: winston.walker @ wathneltd.com Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 9:45:47 -0500 Since I'm leaving this city for a week to live it up with some fellow digesters, here are the top 20 signs you are from new York: 1. You say "the city" and expect everyone to know that this means Manhattan. 2. You secretly envy cabbies for their driving skill. 3. You have never been to the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. > >> 4. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get > >> from Columbus Circle to Battery Park at 3:30 on the friday > >> before a long weekend, but can't find Wisconsin on a map. > >> 5. Hookers and the homeless are invisible. > >> 6. The subway makes sense. > >> 7. The subway should never be called anything prissy, like the Metro. > >> 8. You believe that being able to swear at people in their own language makes you multi-lingual. > >> 9. You think $7.00 to cross a bridge is a fair price. > >> 10. You've considered stabbing someone just for saying "The Big Apple". > >> 11. Your door has more than three locks. > >> 12. You go to a hockey game for the fighting. In the stands. To participate. > >> 13. Your favorite movie has DeNiro in it. > >> 14. The most frequently used part of your car is the horn. > >> 15. You consider eye contact an act of overt aggression. > >> 16. You call an 8' x 10' plot of patchy grass a yard. > >> 17. You complain about having to mow it. > >> 18. You are a skee-ball juggernaut. > >> 19. You consider Westchester "Upstate". > >> 20. You cried the day Ed Koch took over for Judge Wapner. Tcoy, Winston ------------------------------ Subject: Boon From: "Joey Vela" Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 07:12:19 PDT Greg, Your take on Boon was dead-on right! Boon was a tasteful soloist, but his strength was funky rhythm guitar. Just listen to "Almost There" and "Love Games". He was certainly not a weak link. He was simply the perfect guitarist for Level 42 at that stage of the band's evolution, pure jazz-funk. His rhythm guitar "perfectly" complimented Mark's bass, the band's featured instrument. Boon was of course not as accomplished a guitarist as the late great Alan Murphy or the incomparable Allan Holdsworth, but his guitar work and other musical contributions fit perfectly within the framework of Level 42 especially during the early years. Regards, Joey Vela ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: [Fwd: A few things] From: Brad Dietz Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 12:55:30 -0400 X-Mozilla-Status: 0001 Message-ID: <35626352.7A1E @ erols.com> Date: Wed, 20 May 1998 01:00:02 -0400 From: Brad Dietz X-Mailer: Mozilla 2.01KIT (Win95; U) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: level42 @ worldmachine.com Subject: A few things Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Hey all, A couple of things: I like Gresham Blues. I think that it is a really nice breath of fresh air from the other tunes on SATS- not that I don't like the other tunes... Does anyone think it could be the next Saturday Night Live "ending music"? Imagine... I'd like to see Michael Brecker play on Gresham Blues. Can anyone give me the lowdown on Foundation and Empire? I was wondering about the vocalizing oh, ah, bah type of stuff. I remember hearing on the Fait Accompli Video that Mark (and Mike?) gives Phil the notes, and then he writes the lyrics. It seems to me that Foundation and Empire got to the notes part, but didn't get to the lyrics part. Anyone? It seems like a promising song, and I'm still wishing that it would be released in a more "finished" version in a studio album. About singing/playing: I would think that Mark's experience as a drummer would help him with those dual brain requirements. I think that even though Mark is left handed, that preference made little difference with him playing right handed basses/guitars. Once again, I think the drumming influence was the thing. I think that starting out on a guitar or bass is equally as hard either left or righthanded. Just my opinion... While the pins are being ordered, did anyone ever think about recreating the "football shirt" that Mark wears on the Lovegames video?. I would think that any decent printshop would be able to replicate it. We talk about a lot of stuff on this list, but rarely seem to say anything directly about the list itself. Here's my two cents- I think that it's great that there is a general even-keel atmosphere about this list. Most of the posts have been good natured and informative about lots of things including those posts not directly about Level 42. Even people that dissagree generally do so in a responsible and mature manner. I've been on a couple of band lists in which this is not the rule, but rather the exception. Thanks to all (and Eric Hansen) for making the Digest one of the most consistently enjoyable e-mails that I get everyday. I'm honored/honoured to be in good company. -Brad "Music is Love"- David Crosby ------------------------------ Subject: Guitarists From: "Joey Vela" Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 10:04:17 PDT With all of this Boon talk, I just thought I'd share my list of guitarists who would have been great in Level 42, similar to the drummer lists from a few digests back. EDDIE HAZEL - He would have made the band more soulful and at the same time heavier. He was a great songwriter too. R.I.P. Eddie!! NILE RODGERS - He is probably the greatest funk rhythm guitarist ever. Also, imagine him producing a Level 42 album! GEORGE BENSON - Jazz Guitarist!! Imagine his scat guitar on "Love Games". SONNY SHARROCK - Level 42 would have been a free-jazz ensemble with much more improvisation and much less pop and a little less funk. Interesting, huh? R.I.P. Sonny!! LEE RITENOUR - Mr. 335 would have been quite possibly a perfect fit for Level 42, he is a great jazz guitarist with pop/funk abilities. "Rio Funk" would have been a nice addition to the set list. BUCKETHEAD - This mysterious cat is probably a little too over-the-top for most Level 42 fans, but he is a phenomenal guitarist! He can shred with the best of them, and he can most certainly funk with the best of them. Just ask Bernie Worrell and Bootsy Collins. Chicken/Robot guitarists rule!!! Regards, Joey Vela ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: Isle of White From: Bruce_Conrad @ harvardpilgrim.org Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 13:26:40 -0400 Boonie - I think his playing fit very well with the band. On many songs, except for his solos, it didn't even sound like he was playing, but if the spotlight was on him, so to speak, then there would be less room for Mark & Mike. Boon's TinMan CD is good - he plays a lot more guitar on that. Also, I loved Alan Murphy's guitar work, even though he played a lot 'more' with L42. His SFX CD is awesome too. Anyway, I'm leaving tonight for my pilgrimage to the IOW. See you all there!!! you may wish to check www.level42.com's fanlist so you can recognize some of us. I'll have to get my picture added soon. Bruce Conrad Bosstown, MA BHConrad @ AOL.Com ------------------------------ Subject: Boon's guitar playing From: "Adrian Bond" Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 21:25:11 +0100 Jon asked > Am I the only one who thought Boon was a real waste of time as a guitar player? I think you might be ! I've always thought that Boon's solos really made some of the song. Something About You is a classic example of that, unlike most blistering rock guitar solos you just can't play any series of very fast triads following the general song chord progression and get away with it, that solo has to be played as it was written. Technically he's also very good, listen to some of the live parts on Physical Presence, very fast chord play high up on the neck (don't know the techie term I'm a bass player) and some very fast solos. He may not have been as technically good as Alan Murphy (the solo on HIMH is a boster) but I always rated him quite highly. Children Say is very innovative. Normally it's the guitarist who outshines the bass player and not the other way around. In L42 this is reversed but I think it has more to do with MK's bass playing being so incredibly good, that it simply outshadows Boon's brilliance. The whole jass-funk thing seems to lend itself more to bass/keyboard/brass parts of the songs anyway. If Boon wanted to turn it into a competition for the spotlight it would have been interesting technically but a bit empty sounding (try listening to the Dave Lee Roth Band to hear Steve Via and Billy Sheehan fighting over top spot). You asked ! Cheers Ade "On the border, there's disorder" ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Gar/Mark RealAudio From: Carl Mueller Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 19:13:21 -0700 Eric's spam filter strikes again. My apologies if this message shows up twice (thanks Eric ;-]) but for those of you that would like to hear some Gary & Mark jamming, check out the RealAaudio on my site http://www.inland.net/~cmueller/level42.htm And I guess everybody is on their way to the International Levelfest, have fun!!!! We are headed off to the Budgetfest I at Shannon's house on saturday. Anybody that can not make it, there will be a Budgetfest II at Jeff's house the 30th. Email or post! Carl ------------------------------ Subject: Steve Lukather From: Brian Date: Thu, 21 May 1998 21:22:34 -0500 Has anyone heard any of Steve Lukather's solo CD's? How are they? How about the latest one, 'Luke' ('97) ? Thanks, Brian. ------------------------------ Subject: MK and the Thunderlizard From: jcvaeth @ juno.com (john c vaeth) Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 02:07:00 EDT Thanks to Paul f. for the most entertaining post I've read so far on this Digest! Got a belly laugh outta me. Should have a special spot in the archives. John. P.S. Although I believe he is writing from Harvard, Mr. Jay Tracy should note that not everyone holds to the somewhat stale idea that the Last Supper is "mythology". :^) _____________________________________________________________________ You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866] ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Level 42 MIDI files From: "Charl Mocke" <9413693 @ narga.sun.ac.za> Organization: Stellenbosch University Date: Fri, 22 May 1998 08:39:29 +0200 Hi everyone, just a short note to let all know who mailed me for my L42 MIDI files, you just need to wait till after the weekend 'coz there is still a little work to be done on the pitch bend thingies in LIAPW. I hope it's okay! :) Just a quick reminder, anyone interested in the latest 3 MIDI files by me, can e-mail me and I'll send them all zipped. Those who have already got the first two, I've enhanced them so you can overwrite them with the newest: Guaranteed.Mid To Be With You Again.Mid Love In A Peaceful World.Mid Next MIDI file I propose to write: Freedom Someday.Mid Sean Green, where are you!!?!?!? Later, Charl oooo oo Mnr Charl Mocke ============ University of Stellenbosch South Africa Home tel.: +27 21 854 8005 E-mail: 9413693 @ narga.sun.ac.za Mugshot: http://fudd.ard.sun.ac.za/surfer.jpg University Home Page: http://www.sun.ac.za/