From: Level42-request @ worldmachine.com (Level42 Digest) Subject: Level42 Digest V2000 #101 _ ____ _ ____ _ _ ___ // //__ // / //__ // /__// __// //__ //__ \\_/ //__ //__ // /__ D I G E S T Level42 Digest Volume 2000 : Issue 101 1313 subscribers Today's topics: bassist stuff... Jason Bell Mission Impossible 2 Mark Summers new bass James Watkins Re: Earth Wind & Fire...+ Paris Bilal42 A new kind of LevelFest DonZipf TITO PUENTE M. Payne Me tired? Brian Flint Hi LJRS ! Ed Nowak chris doney The number "42"! Byron Wong Silent Majority ..Follow Me billybilly3 Re: Level42 Digest V2000 #99 Cymrusmc Introduction/Mission Impossible II David Moore To Slap or Not to Slap Joey Vela EWF and L42 Joey Vela ------------------------------ Subject: bassist stuff... From: "Jason Bell" Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 11:38:20 BST Bill Burnett wrote: >I've always found these amps somewhat under powered for my likeing, but >for compact handiness you wont find better (and some seem to come with a >pre-shape button which should be labelled a "make me sound like Mark >button") you might like that as well!! Two features about the BLX I like, it's somewhere to park your bike if you need to. And next to the "make me sound like Mark button" there's three extra index fingers so you can play like Doug Wimbish (has anyone listened to "Trippy Notes For Bass", wonderful album, not forgetting the Jungle Funk and Tackhead stuff as well). Mike Lavin wrote: >Sounds to me like jase from from the york area is a man of knowledge, oh stop it please. i've been playing in York for the last fifteen years and i love to pass knowledge on. All the basses, the pedals, the amps and then the Chapman Stick.... aww I must have learnt something, apart from not to drink beer and play at the same time. Do the gig first and then have a beer, it's much more enjoyable. >to add the westone you have iif its a thunder bass then you will find its >ideally suited to the jazz funk style of playing even better if is a >thunder >1a as thats a passive bass(more groove) and interestingly it was desingned >by the same guys who designed JD basses I was offered an old pair of Westone Thunder III's a couple of years ago, the design team were directly from Alembic for the early models then Westone made some mods, but the pickups are very cheap Alembic humbuckers from what I can remember. Wonderful instruments, which is why I won't hear a bad word against the I and IA. The fretlesses were lovely as well. Kind regards Jase ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: Mission Impossible 2 From: "Mark Summers" Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 13:56:09 -1000 Please please please can someone privately e-mail me and tell me EXACTLY wot was said about L42 in Mission Impossible 2. I am dying of curiosity but I can't be bothered to watch the film myself! (Apparently it sucks like Monica Lewinsky doing an impression of a particularly powerful Dyson). :o) Regards Mark Summers www.msummers.force9.co.uk/level42.htm ------------------------------ Subject: new bass From: "James Watkins" Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 14:53:19 +0100 Hi y'all I must confess that my first bass was bought from Argos of all places (to those of you who don't live in the Uk - it's a shop where you pick an item from a catalogue and you are just given it without even seeing it). I must be the most luckiest guy in the world, cos this bas was a "Marlin Slammer" - (ever heard of it - I haven't), but the frets were knocked in so true (obviously a complete fluke), so when I took the action right down - pronto - an instantly playable (and slappable) bass. In hindsight, this is obviously not hte route to go. If you're a beginner, try and get somebody that can play to go with you to a proper music shop (I've just done it with my best mate and picked up a bargain for £150 which is not a great sounding bass, but plays well). Once you can play well on that, move on to something that sounds nice (and will obviously play just as well). Trust me, the worst thing I ever did was buy a cheap acoustic, and I've never got into playing a 6 stringer (why play 6 strings when 4 are as good?). All I can really play on my electric are 5th power chords, cos I've never had the incentive to get any better. But heh - if it means my bass playing is my main concentration and ain't too bad, maybe it isn't such a bad thing. Cheers Jimbo (And I ain't gonna say "drums stop" etc - cos everybody says that - how's about - "Turn the f----ng bass up") ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Earth Wind & Fire...+ Paris From: Bilal42 @ aol.com Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 09:53:17 EDT Yesterday Asha (lovely name) wrote about L42 being fans of EWF... Did you know that the gallery page of mikelindup.com has a scan of an original picture of L42 with Earth Wind & Fire? It was taken at EWF's 'The Complex' studio in the US, during the recording of Standing in the Light. http://www.mikelindup.com Also, a quick note to our Parisian friends hoping to see Mike Lindup (Hi Anne-Catherine!) - details will follow very shortly on the 'Shows' page. Bilal ps. check out Lisa's poll and vote for your record - cool! >Subject: Earth, Wind, and Fire >From: "Fotos, Asha" >Date: Wed, 31 May 2000 07:41:38 -0400 > >Hello Everyone, > >On one of the Level 42 sites, I read some trivia that >members of the group >were ardent fans of the band "Earth, Wind and Fire". >I found this >interesting because there are similar aspects of both >Level 42 and EWF which >endeared me to each group even before I fell privy to >this information. I >was wondering if there were other Level-heads out >there that share my joy in >listening to Earth, Wind and Fire, and if so, what is >it that you like about >the two groups, and if you draw any similarities. > >Asha ------------------------------ Subject: A new kind of LevelFest From: DonZipf @ aol.com Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 11:01:35 EDT > Now who in their right mind would give sex for this? > Let me tell you, it'd take more than this to persuade me...like say: a > bass previously owned by Mr. King? ;) > I don't think that anyone here would find it worth giving it away just > for sex though... I have a bass previously owned by Mark King!! :o) By my reckoning, there are at least 14 of MK's former basses out there. An industrious gal could have a party and end up with the whole collection. Hey, a NEW kind of LevelFest!!! If anyone out there hasn't yet seen my MK bass go to... http://members.aol.com/donworld Cheers! - Z. ------------------------------ Subject: TITO PUENTE From: "M. Payne" Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 10:18:43 CDT Tito Puente, giant of Latin music, dies NEW YORK -- Bandleader Tito Puente, who rode to fame on the heels of the 1950s mambo craze and for the next five decades helped define Latin jazz, died today. He was believed to be around 77. Puente died at NYU Medical Center in New York, said his agent, Eddie Rodriguez. Puente recorded more than 100 albums in his more than 60 years in the business. He won his fifth Grammy in February for best traditional tropical Latin performance for "Mambo Birdland" and has been nominated for the music award 10 times. Puente joked that he has profited off the talent of Santana, whose early hits include Puente's "Oye Como Va." "Every time he plays 'Oye Como Va,' I get a nice royalty check," Puente said. "The excitement of the rhythms and the beat make people happy," he said in a 1997 Associated Press interview. "We try to get our feelings to the people, so they enjoy it. "It is not music for a funeral parlor." That year, RMM Records released a three-CD, 50-song compilation from Puente's recorded output through 50 years. It's titled "50 Years of Swing." The first cut, "Que No, Que No," is from his "El Rey del Mambo" ("The King of the Mambo") recording of 1946. The eldest son of Puerto Rican parents, Puente was born Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. in New York City on April 20, 1923. (Some references give other years.) His father, Ernest Anthony Puente Sr., was a foreman in a razor-blade factory, and his mother was Ercilia Puente, who called her son Ernestito, Little Ernest, then shortened the name to Tito. It was his mother who first discerned his musical talent and enrolled him in a piano class when he was 7. Puente studied drums for years before switching to timbales. He studied conducting, orchestration and theory at the Juilliard School from 1945 to '47 on the GI Bill. Puente had been released from a San Juan, Puerto Rico, hospital May 2 after two days of treatment for an irregular heartbeat. Puente canceled all his events in May, including three concerts, planned with the Symphonic Orchestra of Puerto Rico. ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: Me tired? From: "Brian Flint" Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 08:53:12 PDT Yes it's true, It's the same old argument that I thought was extinct here. But it seems that when someone is given a bit of criticism, they stick to their same ridiculous argument assuming they are right. It's like a mime trying to make a rock laugh. I know there has been a lot of off-digest communication this time around, and I have been part of some of it, and my estimation of what is going on is that it went very quickly from "Level 42 vs. Non Level 42 content" to I'm right your wrong. Well we are all wrong to argue. For me to say one person can't say something is absurd, but that applies to all of us. I'm sick of the pig headed closed minded semi-intellectually people that throw the petrol (trying to be international here) on the fire and then whine when the fire burns them. So, keep in mind that there are a few of us antagonists here on the digest that like to stir things up a bit and if you can't handle the heat, then don't come out to play. To help out I have some suggestions: For all of you purists that want this to be strickly a Level 42 content digest then please do the following: Save this next paragraph on your hard drive and fill in the appropriate blanks. Hi My name is (Blank), I'm a Level 42 Fan. My favorite song by Level 42, my faovrite band, is (Blank). My favorite band member of Level 42, my faovrite band is (Blank). I (Have/have not) been to see Level 42 my favorite band, Live. When Level 42, My favorite band, split up I felt (A. Sad B. Depressed C. Suicidal D. All of the above). Someday I hope Level 42, my favorite band, will get back together so all may be happy. Signed, A Level 42 Fan So everytime you want to post to the digest please fill out this form and email it in, Make sure in the subject line you type "Axis" so we will know what the content will be, the rest of us that enjoy deviating from big brothers manifest will type "Allies" in the subject line so that you won't risk imprisonment for reading material that may go against the State. Hopefully this will finally end our little dispute about who hit who first during our long road trip through life. Out of sight, Out of Mind Brian ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: Hi LJRS ! From: "Ed Nowak" Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 20:15:25 +0200 Hi Leon ! I`m Edward from Poland (do you remember me ?) :-) What is your new web page address ? E&D www.edward.prv.pl ----------------------- [POLBOX - REKLAMA] ------------------------- WYGRAJ odtwarzacz MP3 Daewoo Magic w KONKURSIE Magazynu WWW http://www.www-mag.com.pl/cgi-bin/konkurs0001/rm.pl?i=00-05-22dk01ko -------------------------------------------------------------------- ------------------------------ Subject: From: "chris doney" Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 21:58:25 BST Hi all Michael M - You've probably picked the best there in your favs list. I would add 'Standing in the light,'(Lyrics) 'If you were mine'(Rhythm) and 'Mr Pink,'(Everything cept maybe lyrics) (!) (Yes, Bill, my courage is slowly returning!!) Brian from Brum is right - The NIA record fair is one of the best in the UK. Get those requests in to him before he goes..... Cheers all Chris ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: The number "42"! From: Byron Wong Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 14:41:24 -0700 (PDT) Hi Y'all! I haven't seen MI2 but it sounds like the L42 reference is referring to a building with at least 42 levels on it and whomever appears on the 42nd level on screen. FYI: Moore and Braga co-wrote MI2. Both were also involved in Star Trek: TNG and coincidentally, the Enterprise-D has 42 decks! Cheers! _______________________________________________________ Get 100% FREE Internet Access powered by Excite Visit http://freelane.excite.com/freeisp ------------------------------ Subject: Silent Majority ..Follow Me From: billybilly3 @ excite.com Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 15:37:07 -0700 (PDT) Heh all, The digest has been so full of topic lately that I just had to share some of my thoughts and energies. I have recently been grabbing for my post it notes and writing down the names of all these great Music groups I have never experienced, Prefab Sprout ( someone explain the name to me I don't get it) James Taylor Quartet ( I thought James Taylor was in the group!) and so on..... It's great to be introduced to your favs as well as Level 42. All the info and discs and help I have received from fellow digesters is a godsend I can't get enough. Recently recv'd Unreached Discs thanx Gromit and there is a song on there called Follow Me. Love it! So in a past digest someone suggested checking out the archives for Newbies such as myself to learn all someone might want to know and it was brilliant full of info. All of this info has rekindled my interest in music in general I had burned out from being a dj in L.A. fo 16 years. Now I go digging in my collection for all my lost gems. Does anyone listen to Tower of Power talk about Da Funk! Love Simply Red, Earth Wind Fire, old Prince, Boz Skaggs, Steely Dan, Robert Palmer ...Etc. Like a juorney thru Music Heaven and Level 42 leads the way. This all rekindled my need to Play my bass again. Got a Peavey G bass, Graphite neck active electronics. It sings when you pluck the string real throaty sound. I really like it. Is anyone else familiar with this bass... I appreciate this digest and all its contributers keep it up. thanx! _______________________________________________________ Get 100% FREE Internet Access powered by Excite Visit http://freelane.excite.com/freeisp ------------------------------ Subject: Re: Level42 Digest V2000 #99 From: Cymrusmc @ aol.com Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 18:40:06 EDT In a message dated 5/31/00 3:06:25 AM Pacific Daylight Time, Level42-request @ worldmachine.com writes: << On the subject of bass techniques, on Over There mark's playing bass chords I think - he seems to play them differently than the way I've been taught to - it looks almost as if he's holding a pick, I don't know. >> You know, I've only ever seen ONE Level 42 video, and that was "Something About You" (was that woman in the video Mark's wife, or Mike's girlfriend? Just wondering.) I've seen the RITF tour video with Mark actually strumming (which I learned to do first before actually plucking strings one at a time! Hurts like heck, but amazes 6-string guitar players!) Maybe Mark was strumming actual triple-stop chords on "Over There", judging by the sound (was there bass synth on that song?). On "The Pursuit Of Accidents", toward the end of the tune, it sounds as if Mark strummed very quickly - just an up-and-down stroke that sounds amazing! Can anyone figure out if Mark used some sort of delay on "Pursuit" -- that bassline was bassline, melody and rythm all in one! He's slapping, popping and bending notes seemingly all at once, so in the past I suspected those were layered basslines and not recorded in real time, or he had to be using some sort of pedal delay to be able to squeeze that distant "buzz" in the background. --Fred, The Two-Bit Bass Player ------------------------------ Subject: Introduction/Mission Impossible II From: "David Moore" Date: Thu, 01 Jun 2000 15:48:42 PDT Hello there. I happen to be married to a very avid Level 42 fan who is a member of this digest. I remember (during the Mission Impossible movie) my husband leaning over and saying, "oh honey, look!, look!, Level 42! Can you believe it?" I think that was his favorite part. I like Level 42 a lot, but only because my husband plays them ALL the time. Can only like it can't you? Actually, I never really knew who they were, but now I really do like the band. By the way, we rather liked the movie. Oh, I was supposed to let all you husbands know that my husband is allowed to buy all the Level 42 re-issues when they come out in August. So...... Crystal P.S. Here's going out on a limb.....does anyone like Australian Shepherd dogs? ________________________________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free E-mail from MSN Hotmail at http://www.hotmail.com ------------------------------ Subject: To Slap or Not to Slap From: "Joey Vela" Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 20:20:48 -0500 Levelheads (especially the bassists), To the person who said that slapping is overrated, I only partially agree. I think that slapping is actually more "overdone" than overrated. I've seen so many Flea and Les Claypool wannabes here in H-Town who think that slapping is all you need to be a good funk bassist, and I just laugh. These are the same cats who couldn't do a walking bassline or finger-style groove to save their lives. Some of the funkiest basslines ever aren't slapped. Listen to the bassline on Parliament's "Funkentelechy", for example, and be amazed by the funkiest bassist alive IMHO, Bootsy Collins. Before Bootsy's Rubber Band and Parliament/ Funkadelic, he was playing his cosmic finger style grooves with James Brown at the tender age of 18. The man clearly knows how to funk even though he seldom if ever slaps, but he does thump and pluck quite a bit. Mark King may be "Thunderthumbs" and is a freak when it comes to slapping, but he is equally adept at finger- style bass. I love that finger-style groove he plays in the coda section of "Man", just after he says, "...Time marching on, face the future, etc..." That groove is the sh*t! That's about all the funk you'll find on SATS, but that little bit of funk goes a long way. Keep on grooving! Joey Vela ------------------------------ Subject: EWF and L42 From: "Joey Vela" Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 20:29:52 -0500 Levelheads, There is a strong EWF influence in L42's music, not just in the jazz-funk grooves, but most especially in the vocals. I listen to "Dream Crazy", and I often think that it sounds alot like a EWF tune with Mike's keyboard riff being the Phoenix Horns, Mark doing Maurice White's vocals, and of course Mike doing Phillip Bailey's falsetto. Joey Vela