Thursday, December 18, 2008

DANNY CAREY






Danny began playing drums at the age of thirteen.Drummer of progressive rock band TOOl.

Carey's popularity among drummers and non-drummers alike stems from the diversity of his sound and dynamics, his technical ability, frequent use of odd time signatures, polyrhythms and polymeters. He has stated in interviews that he effectively treats his feet as he does his hands: he practices rudiments (used for sticking techniques) and even snare drum solos with his feet to improve his double bass drumming, hi-hat control and foot independence.

In search of new techniques, Carey has studied tabla with Aloke Dutta, who can be heard playing on the live version of the song Pushit (from Salival). This is especially apparent on tracks such as "Disposition" (Lateralus) or "Intension" (10,000 Days), for which Carey has recorded the tabla parts himself in studio. The tabla (and other percussive instruments) used in Tool's music are replicated live using the Mandala pads (in fact the pads are also used when recording in the studio, a notable example being the tabla solo of "Right in Two" from 10,000 Days).

He has also stated that when he is playing to an odd time signature, he tries to drum to the "feel" of the song and establish general "inner pulse" for the given time signature instead of fully counting it out.

SONAM SHERPA-lead guitarist of indian band PARIKRAMA


Sonam Sherpa appeared as INDIA's future great guitarists in 'ROLLING STONES' MAGAZINE's 1st edition in INDIA.

Playing guitars since he was 9. The harp came only at around 15. Specialises in the Blues, Snores (no connection!) and some amazing slide work using a 9volt discard - both alkaline and dry, steel/brass/tin locks, broken glasses/bottles and a lot many more things BUT for his prized $20 SLIDE which he ever so slothfully presumes lost. And that shows in his size. He has played in many bands earlier, in hometown Kalimpong and in Darjeeling. But he saw his first EFFECTS pedal (read - distortion unit) in Delhi at around 21 something. Currently uses a Epiphone Les Paul guitar, sleeps over a Fender Mustang.


VIDEOS -
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=S2kjthLPMSA&feature=related



HEAVEN




love its a long life we've lived
Time is clocking to lay on the bed of fire
Tulips and Roses seem to be worn out
while the branches of oak have no leaves
the birds are flying and the sun is shining
while i search the path to heaven

As the farmer rides his cart through the meadows
and the airplane roars into stratosphere
the snow covering the northern hemisphere

My spirit is high,I find the way to heaven

Ridin on satan's back
driving me
dont stop me
dont never

Neither a saint,nor the pains come in my way
As i trail the path all the way up

leaving the land of my bad sins
seeing an angel with shimmering light
showing the way to heaven

at last the map is laid
and did you know
Im gonna touch the skyline
on my way to heaven

Wednesday, December 17, 2008


Everyone has a life

Under the blanket of darkness

Imprisoned but commited no crime
Unreachable
Isolated in a world within

Standing alone

Sulking beneath
Can someone see me ??
Can someone help me ??

Thoughts of laughter,love,courage,greed
your eyes look at me but i cant understand
rush of waves towards me have no vision
Friends maybe strangers
Water may be poison
See no religion
See no ambition
Can i trust everyone ??

Sun sleeps
Moon rises
lights dim
fading plants
cheerful nature
expensive champagnes
greed
deed
do they exist ??
all these are just my interpretations

But there is a life in me
Urge to desire is high
my hopes are never to die
embedded in my soul
is a snapshot of life

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

BLACK



wandering the prohibited land of unwanted things
arriving at the melodious smell of lily
summation of glorious moments of life
dreaming about the sound of waves rushing up the walls

but everthyin appears black as my mind

black as misery
sleuths upto mockery
brain mapped to some serious treachery
my son don preach the path of judiciary

layers of despair piling in
winds of seasons change
minds of bygones tatooed in the brains
revolve around the mysteries of silent movers


but everthyin appears black as my mind


but still
dont preach,dont teach the art of killing
dont inherit,dont indulge in bribing
blood drips from pain are short-lived
tears from eyes are short-lived,
and Im sure, this blackening too wil die

BATTLE







burnt up
gunned down
castrated
all butchered

boiled and daunted
half petrified
half dead
bloodshed all around

people are maimed
people are tortured
life looks like hell
souls gripped with revenge

drained out
brained out
fear crippled in hearts and brains
running to temples
burning candles

in this battle of blame game
in this battle of gunshots
in this battle of hate and revenge
in this battle of death and life

theres all to do
kill,drill and grill till your not ill

BARREN SOUL


parading the land of bliss
guard you from the forces of nature
consecrating the cup of music
do you remember the name of your love when in trouble
never fall for hatred without a reason

my true desire
dont run from me
else im just another king of fools
dont hide from me
cause without you im just a barren soul

walkin in da lustful rains
strolling under the ocean of tears
watchin u runnin through the puddle of mud
never fall for hatred without a reason


my true desire
dont run from me
else im just another king of fools
dont hide from me
cause without you im just a barren soul


faces in search of laughter
leaves of trees dried
sinful chocolates turn sour
guitar hymns songs of pain
glaciers deprived of snow

RAHUL SHARMA


RAHUL SHARMA -THE SANTOOR MAESTRO
He is a musician. A versatile musician, who loves to take the tougher path, To begin with, he chose Santoor, an instrument with 100 strings. Then he chose the ancient and extremely demanding idiom of Indian classical music to harness and express his creativity. And, after diving deep within this time-tested ocean if Indian classical music, he chose to share the pearls he discovered with creative minds across the globe.

Rahul thrives on challenges, loves to crossover boundaries, take un-treaded path and try the never before. Result? A series of hugely successful ‘firsts' in the list of his musical adventures

or instance he is the first young musician (not to mention the only Indian musician) to collaborate with the world-renowned pianist Richard Clayderman to not just cut an album but give live concerts too. And, he is the youngest Indian musician to perform at the WOMAD (World of music, Arts and Dance) festival in UK, as well as the Edingburgh festival, Scotland (2001). And, his performance along with his illustrious father Pandit Shivkumar Sharma was the first ever concert of Indian music in Egypt. And, he is the first young Indian classical musician to give music for a commercial Bollywood feature

film all by himself. And, probably the youngest music director for whom Lata Mangeshkar, the queen of Hindi filmdom; agreed to sing in his very first venture.

Not just that, there are consistent additions to his list of awards like the Indo American Society Award (1998), Bollywood Music Award for promising New Music Director, New York (2002), MTV (IMMIES) Music Award for Best Classical / Fusion Album 2003 and so on.

Along with all these innovations, experimentations Rahul continues to give his concerts of pure Indian Classical Music across India and beyond her shores. Obviously, his is a vast spectrum where popular music, collaborations, sublime, new age music, high-energy trance, folk music, thematic music, psychedelic sounds and film music co-exist very comfortably with his first love – Indian Classical Music.

Check out some of his videos :

http://www.rahulsantoor.com/samandar.html

http://www.rahulsantoor.com/video7.html


Friday, December 12, 2008

AVIAL-The latest music revolution in INDIA

“Avial”: a malayalam alternative-rock album.

Heard it? No? Then you need to pay attention. Drop whatever you are doing right now - yea, Right now! And listen! YouTube is a good starting point (check some of the links below). Anyways, I do not understand a word in any of the Avial tracks, except few english background sounds. But the beauty is you don’t need to. At least to enjoy the music!


To me, Avial is a defining moment in Indian rock music history. Never heard a better produced album before. The most noteworthy quality of the album is its sound - an interesting combination of progressive rock with electronica, turntables with high-energy vocals (it makes sense even though you don’t understand a word). And moreover, it declares the arrival of the ‘Indian’ bassist of the millennium, Naresh Kamath.

The album is truly a bass solo. Naresh Kamath, apparently the only non-Mallu in Avial, provides some earthshaking, glass-shattering, rear-ripping foundation to all the tracks. You can also hear NK on the band Kailasa, where he is fronted by the sufi-rock singer Kailash Kher and is also accompanied by two other finest young musicians, Paresh Kamath (brother & accomplice in crime for all things composed at band K) and Kurt Peters, a (literally lean and) mean drummer.

As long as you are not listening to these tracks on your piddly computer speakers, you cannot escape the permanent scar Naresh Kamath will leave on your brain. So please, please, get up from your computer, or connect it to a better sound system that will do justice to all frequency ranges. Or get a headphone!

Bass-ically speaking, its got all kinds - walking, running, flowing, slapping, thumping, ripping! By far the best bass I have ever heard on any Indian album. Period.

Track 1: “Nada Nada”: (Does it mean “Run Run” by any chance?). Whatever it may mean, very well sung. Powerful! Upbeat track. Great rhythm section with the wah-wah guitar. And of course, all the tracks do have the turntable thingy (is there a technical term for this music instrument?), the wahka-wahka sound. Its done very well in this track along with the rhythm section. Perfect opening song to a great album.

(there are few other Nada Nada older version videos on youtube. But this one is the closest to the track on the CD. Interestingy, notice, how the same song has evolved from an older version to the newer version. The production quality makes the song come alive in the newer version).

Track 2: “Chekele”: Awesome beginning of the song. Draws you into the song form the word go: great wah-wah to begin with. Once the vocals begin, listen the entry of the bass there. Something to die for. Great acoustic guitar backing throughout the song. And the chorus is nice, easy for us non-mallus to sing along. The song breaks into a continuous sorta jam at 3:48. Cool tone of the acoustic guitar.

Track 3: “Njan Aara”: Love the reverb-ish, delay-ish acoustic guitar patch in the beginning. Listen to the bass line in this part, floaty, jazzy. And then the song suddenly switches to this dry-distortion on the guitars, And then again switches to the dreamy sounding acoustic guitar. Great dynamics. Just a superb execution. Also the song has shades of jazz in parts. 3:37 onwards, the song breaks into yet another instrumental jam.

Track 4: “Arikuruka”: These guys know how to arrange the opening of a song. This one starts mainly on the rhythm section and sparse guitar and keyboards, and slowly builds up. Before you realize, you land up in an intense vocals section. And during the verse, the rhtyhm pattern is quite interesting. Doesn’t quite follow the normal route. BTW, the only part where I could understand few words, notice at the end: seemingly a teacher asking a-square minus b-square =? - and a girl answering (a + b) into… into….. The part is pretty funny.

Track 5: “Aranda”: Fabulous beginning of the song. The most powerful opening of all the songs on the album.The bass in the latter half of the song is noticeably solid and ties the song pieces together.

Track 6: “Karukara”: This is actually the first Avial songs I ever heard, and it has such a magnetic appeal. Very radio-friendly single, it grabs your attention from the nice Sitarish guitar prelude. And what a transition @ 1:32 from that Indian sound to a power distorted guitar riff. Also, listen to the last minute of jam of guitar, bass and drums. Some awesome jazz-like phrasings of guitar & bass there.

Track 7: “Aadu Pambe”: The pure headbanging content here. The best part of the song is the transition from banjo style guitar picking to a very hard headbanging section of the song. Anand’s singing is nice. After hearing it many times, I totally love the transition @4:12.

Track 8: “Ettam Pattu”: The Enigmaish mix of a tribal chants with a slow rock song! Crisp guitar work there, and powerful vocals too. The only song in the album which has a little piece of guitar solo. Having said that, the other songs incorporate absolutely brilliant guitar work, but none follow the usual verse-chorus-solo-bridge-chorus routine.

In fact, that (last sentence) is in essence the beauty of the entire album, rebellious and unconventional, yet so musical. This is a showcase of arrangement and musical production. I am not sure, but it must have been some state-of-the-art studio where the album has been recorded.

Shankar, Shiv

Courtesy: Shankar, Shiv (flickr)

Avial is:

Anandraj Benjamin Paul — Vocals
Tony John — Vocals, Turntables and Synth
Rex Vijayan — Guitars and Synth
Naresh Kamath — Bass
Mithun Puthanveetil — Drums

Avial is a musical milestone, a masterpiece - not for the faint of the Art! Also, I am proud of the fact they have very well retained some of their roots in their music, some folksy music from Kerala, while giving it an amazing makeover. Check out facebook and youtube for some Avial live videos.

youtube links

nada nada-
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ADD7ga9Bs_k


chekele- http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=ezWZafXv2OM

aadu pambe- http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=FKE5_6QDX6c

Monday, December 8, 2008



"Fingerstyle Guitar Prodigy"

This is an interview by one of the best guitarists i have ever seen.He is only 12 yrs old.
Sungha Jung from South Korea.
Sungha:
My dream is to become a professional acoustic fingerstyle guitarist.

I had been watching my dad play the guitar for awhile before I finally jumped on it myself three years ago. I just turned twelve in September, 2008.

Currently, I am taking weekly classical guitar lessons and teaching myself fingerstyle guitar.

I used to not have tabs for the music that I played in my videos. I just listen and pick them up directly from the sound source in videos available on the internet. However, recently, I have started playing with original tabs whenever they are available to me by courtesy of the authors.

My old guitar is custom made by Selma to fit my body size, and on it, Thomas Leeb( one can say he is an older version of sungha jung). check him on youtube :
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=pz5mMHJMr7s
wrote "Keep on grooving to my friend."

I'm very grateful to those prominent guitarists who have had a great influence on my guitar playing. I'll continue to study them and learn more about interpretation of music and various playing techniques.

My daily practice routine lasts for one to two hours when school is open, but I play up to three hours a day during the school breaks.

It usually takes me two to three days to practice and videotape a new piece but sometimes up to a week for more difficult ones.

Last, but certainly not least, I can't thank Ulli Bögershausen enough for being my musical inspiration.

For more sungha jung videos :

http://in.youtube.com/results?search_query=sungha+jung&search_type=