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People, Gear, Events, GossipArticle from Phaze 1, April 1989 |
happening people, gear, events, gossip
HEARD THE ONE about the part-timers from Northampton, who ended up in Tokyo on Japanese national telly? No? Well let me tell you a story... The said band, All Grown Up, qualified as one of the finalists in the Nescafe/Yamaha Band Explosion, the world's biggest amateur band competition.
Now, if band competitions summon up images of painful renditions of 'The Irish Rover' down at your local boozer, then you could be forgiven. But the Nescafe/Yamaha competition is slightly different. Chosen from a worldwide entry of 18,000 bands from 17 countries, the 21 finalists went to battle in early February at one of Fuji's TV studios in Tokyo. Held in front of an invited audience of music industry celebs, guests, and distinguished gatecrashers, the show was broadcast across Japan as a national TV special. (If you are the person who owns the Sky TV dish, you may have seen the programme at the end of February.)
Although they came away without any prizes, All Grown Up put on an impressive performance with their song, 'I Surrender', and lead singer Richard Clements believes the all-year competition was worthwhile.
"The standard of the bands taking part was really high and the competition was very close", he said afterwards. "The language barrier wasn't a problem as we all got on really well - so much so that we are arranging a reunion for some of the bands this summer in Europe."
The eventual winners were a six-piece group from Australia called Janz. For their trouble they pocketed the first prize of $15,000 worth of Yamaha musical equipment and a $15,000 musical grant - a nice little earner for an amateur band, and that's no joke.
THOSE EXTREMELY SCHOLARLY people at Basstech have announced a new head of department. He is none other than Joe Hubbard, whose former students include Pino Palladino, Nick Beggs, and Paul Jackson (Tpau).
Basstech can be found under the same roof as the equally erudite Guitar Institute and Drumtech, and will be offering individual lessons with Joe as well as the other staff instructors, Robbie Burns (Pete Townshend) and Terry Gregory (Three Degrees).
And from 17 April, Basstech will be offering 10-week part-time courses at Foundation, Intermediate and Advanced levels, as well as sight-reading and bassline analysis classes with Joe. Individual video tuition, and rhythm workshops in conjunction with Guitar Institute and Drumtech students, will also be available.
So if you've got some readies to spare and feel like educating your thumb...
INFO: Basstech, (Contact Details)
EVER HAD A TEACHER whose knowledge of mixers amounted to bitter lemon and slimline tonic? Perhaps not. But with music technology advancing at an ever increasing pace, teachers have to do their homework too. Otherwise, they may find they're asking their pupils for the lowdown on the latest gimmickry.
For these poor beleaguered tutors, help is now at hand from the Cheshire Music Studio in Warrington. Organised by Cheshire County Council and based at the North Cheshire College of Further Education, the centre claims to be the first of its kind in the country. Four top Japanese companies - Yamaha, Roland, TEAC and Harman - are providing £100,000 worth of the latest equipment to furnish the centre, and the whole project is being underwritten by Dawsons Music. The centre aims to provide in-service training in music technology for teachers of all disciplines, from complete beginners to advanced users.
In fact, the Cheshire Music Studio looks well-equipped to tackle what will undoubtedly be a difficult task. A 16-track studio features Fostex tape recorders and a Seck 18:8:2 mixing desk, while a pre-production suite includes a Yamaha PF2000 piano, a Yamaha DX7II synth and a whole range of other goodies from Yamaha, Roland and Atari. The suite is also furnished with Fostex recorders and includes facilities for synchronising sound to video. Finally, a music workshop contains four workstations, each of which includes a multi-timbral synth, a drum machine, a multitrack cassette recorder, a sequencer, an effects unit, and full mastering and monitoring facilities.
Although the main purpose of the Cheshire Music Studio is to train teachers, they are also planning courses in the next year to cater for both boffins and blundering novices. Current courses on offer include Multitrack Recording at basic, intermediary and advanced levels; an Introduction to Sequencing; and Advanced MIDI Systems. For all you Northern purists, there's even a course in Arranging Music for Brass Band. However, rumours that an Acid Mix entitled 'Yo! Floral Dance!' will soon be released are not to be taken seriously.
Cost of the courses varies, but those aimed at inexperienced users start at £20 for a one-day course. Bed and breakfast accommodation is also available for an additional £11 per night. So if nothing else, you'll get to see the sights of Warrington such as... er...
INFO: Dawsons Music Education Department, (Contact Details).
OLD STARS NEVER DIE, they just... turn up at product launches! Last month, at London's celebrated Ronnie Scott's Club, various dealers, "experts" and media types witnessed "unbelievable scenes" at the launch of Shure's new BETA series of microphones. And two true pillars of the rock fraternity, Roger Daltrey and John Otway, were on hand to put the new mikes through their paces.
Daltrey was presented with the first BETA 58 off the production line, in honour of his longstanding support for Shure products. Roger was obviously quite touched by this, proceeding to hurl the mike around the stage in time-honoured rock-star tradition, just to make sure it was as rugged as its predecessors. True to form, the mike suffered no more than a damaged grille and still worked.
Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen parped around for a bit, and demonstrated the more conventional qualities of both the BETA 58 and the BETA 57. But this proved to be the calm before the storm.
The arrival of John Otway on-stage saw the microphones headbutted, thumped together to provide an alternative drum machine, used to wage battle against combative microphone stands, and finally volleyed across stage Boris Becker-style with some old guitar that happened to be lying around. Rumours that Otway has since been drafted into Britain's Davis Cup team remain unconfirmed...
The proceedings were brought to a close in a more subdued manner with a set by singer/songwriter Julian Dawson, accompanied by session musician Linda Hayes. Not many products have been launched in this manner and Shure certainly proved the durability and quality of their range, whatever conditions they are subjected to.
But what's going to happen next month, we wonder? Pete Townshend to "launch" the latest Rickenbackers by throwing them off a cliff? Dusty Springfield to trash the Pet Shop Boys' gear on-stage? Jason Donovan to... ? Well, on second thoughts, maybe not.
QUESTION: WHAT would you say is the most popular musical instrument in the world? The guitar? Maybe the recorder? (And no, the spoons do not qualify.)
It is actually the mouth organ. "Well knock me down with a feather", you all cry. It is because of astounding facts such as this that one David Michelsen was inspired to set up Harp Start, a project which aims to put a mouth organ in the hands (or mouths) of as many children as possible. The children are taught to play Chord, Bass, Diatonic and Chromatic Harmonicas. (To the uninitiated, that's large ones, small ones and in-between ones.) They also learn to read and write music, stage craft and "media craft", whatever that is.
The scheme is operated on a sponsorship basis, which covers the cost of instruments, tuition, and other school expenses, so no charge is made to either children or parents. All very well, but as it can cost up to £1000 to equip one trio with instruments alone, this is no small order. Harp Start are currently prising precious moolah out of various harmonica manufacturers, and with the addition of postal courses to their repertoire, the future for Harp Start looks pretty sharp.
INFO: Harp Start, (Contact Details)
WHY ARE THESE THREE characters looking so pleased with themselves? Could it be something to do with this month's Akai Roadshow, which will soon be going "buzz, blip, plonk, thud" all over the place in a town near you? Looks that way.
Joining Akai's keyboard player Jerry Chapman will be session musicians Phil Todd on EWI (electronic wind instrument) and Steve Ferrera on drums.
As well as touring with Akai, Jerry runs his own studio, Phil has played in the past with Paul McCartney and Brother Beyond (but if you won't tell anyone, neither will I), and Steve toured last year with Suzanne Vega and has worked on sessions with Christine McVie and Peter Frampton.
The roadshow aims to "combine the entertainment of a live band with an informative introduction to the Akai range of products". So if you've ever stumbled around a music shop, not really knowing what you want to know, find out what Akai has to offer at one of the palatial venues listed below. Tickets are free from Akai dealers, so get hold of one and see if these three are still smiling after a week on the road.
The tour starts on 18 April at the Holiday Inn, Birmingham, then moves to Liverpool Adelphi Hotel (19), Bristol Hilton Hotel (20), Croydon Holiday Inn (21), Manchester Piccadilly (24), Glasgow Grosvenor Hotel (25), Southampton Polygon Hotel (27), and Watford Hilton National (28). All shows start at 7pm.
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