Showing posts with label Music Books. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Music Books. Show all posts

Friday, September 8, 2017

King Crimson's "THRAK - The Complete Scores" Full Band Transcriptions Book Now Available!


King Crimson's “THRAK – The Complete Scores” is now available! For the first time ever, full band transcriptions of this classic from the King Crimson double-trio era. Six musicians: two guitar players, two bassists and two drummers.

All parts transcribed and most of the essential bits tabbed for the various instruments and tunings: Adrian Belew's guitar in standard tuning, Robert Fripp's guitar in new standard tuning, Tony Levin's fretted and fretless basses, Trey Gunn's Chapman Stick and Bill Bruford and Pat Mastelotto’s acoustic and electronic drum transcriptions.

Transcriptions by Gabriel Riccio
Editing and tabs by Trey Gunn

Produced on high-quality paper in 9"x12" format, spiral bound for lay-flat-open reading.

Official release date: September 24, 2017

Track listing:
VROOOM
Coda: Marine 475
Dinosaur
Walking on Air
B'Boom
THRAK
Inner Garden I & II
People
One Time
Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream
VROOOM VROOOM
VROOOM VROOOM: Coda
and a bonus track from the “VROOOM EP”: Cage

To purchase: King Crimson “THRAK – The Complete Scores”: http://tinyurl.com/THRAKSCORES



From Trey Gunn:

A book of King Crimson transcriptions is a built-in contradiction – Crimson rarely steps in the same puddle twice.

This is a band known for stretching beyond even its own limits, meaning most of the arrangements are given freedom to grow and change as the spirit moves. My own experience in the group was that about every one to two weeks some part of the compositions had significantly morphed into something else. For example, in the VROOOM coda, the Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream “Spider Fingers Freakout” and THRAK every night saw the musicians heading into unexplored territory. As a result, any book of transcriptions can only reflect a slice in time of what this particular Crimson was doing on this particular day during this particular performance.

The approach Gabriel Riccio and I have taken with these THRAK recordings was to adhere strictly to what is on this record. While we’ve referred to the 2015 re-mixes and various live versions of the pieces, we have generally stayed with notating what is in the 1995 original mixes and performances. 

These particular recordings, made at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios in the UK, were live performances. In my memory, we played each piece as a group once or twice through, picked a take and then quickly added overdubs accordingly. In most cases the overdubbing was very minimal. The record was largely completed in two weeks time, including all of the vocals.

Gabriel Riccio on some of the challenges of this score book:

THRAK has been one of the most challenging records to transcribe thanks to the dense 6-player arrangements. This often made it difficult to tell who is producing each sound. The title track is perhaps the most exciting piece to see on paper, as many of the band's greatest tricks are on display – hocketed polymeters, symmetrical scales, and fiery improvisation.

The hardest part was figuring out how to write down the electronic drum parts. Bill Bruford provided some valuable input on that front, breaking down his sounds into four main categories which I used as labels throughout. The drums in the 'Sex Sleep Eat Drink Dream' freakout are a great example of the complexity of this music - Bruford plays sextuplets phrased in 5s against Mastelotto's 4/4 groove.


For more information: 
www.treygunn.com
www.7dmedia.com

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Saturday, July 1, 2017

ELP Legend Greg Lake's Eagerly Awaited Autobiography "Lucky Man" Now Available In The UK!


London - Greg Lake first won acclaim as lead vocalist, bass guitarist and producer when, together with Robert Fripp, he formed King Crimson. Their first album, the landmark In the Court of the Crimson King, co-produced by Greg, featured the iconic song “21st Century Schizoid Man.” King Crimson pioneered progressive rock and paved the way for many famous bands that followed, from Yes and Genesis to the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

In December 1969 Greg met fellow legend Keith Emerson at the Fillmore in San Francisco during a North American tour; the two shared common bonds: European musical influences and a desire to reinterpret classical works while creating a new musical genre. After being introduced to drummer Carl Palmer, they formed the first progressive rock supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

To date ELP has sold over 50 million records. Lake produced “Emerson, Lake & Palmer,” “Tarkus,” “Pictures at an Exhibition,” “Trilogy,” “Brain Salad Surgery,” “Works Vol. 1 & 2,” and two different live albums. All went platinum and featured a series of hit singles, most written and all sung by Lake. The three created a unique live theatrical performance which featured Emerson attacking his keyboards with knives, Palmer playing a 2.5 ton stainless steel kit and Lake performing on a £6,000 Persian rug which had its own roadie. One of their very first performances was at the historic Isle of Wight Festival in 1970 and they went on to headline California Jam, one of the biggest concerts of the 1970s, attended by 350,000 people.

Probably the voice of his generation, Greg fronted the greatest rock supergroup of the 1970s but never held with the “progressive” tag that attached itself to both the music and the excess. “Lucky Man” not only charts the highs and lows of a career in rock music but also reflects on the death of Keith Emerson last year, living with terminal cancer and the end of life. Greg can best be summed up by his now-famous line: “Material wealth is a very fleeting pleasure ... when you can buy anything you want and do anything you want, you soon discover that you actually don't want any of it.”

To purchase Greg Lake's “Lucky Man” autobiography: http://amzn.to/2t8BwZy

Watch the promotional video: https://www.facebook.com/GregLakeOfficial/videos/1691998314174403/

For more information:
Little, Brown Book Group Limited, Carmelite House, 50 Victoria Embankment, London EC4Y 0DZ, 020 3122 6000. A member of Hachette UK Group, registered in England and Wales under company no. 2304585
Click here for company information http://www.littlebrown.co.uk  or here www.hachette.co.uk/information/email disclaimer page

Greg Lake's official website: http://greglake.com/
Greg Lake's official FaceBook page: https://www.facebook.com/GregLakeOfficial/

Greg Lake press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158 (US), glassonyonpr@gmail.com

Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Music Legend Frank Zappa's Brother Bob Zappa To Release Second Book “Frankie & Bobby: The Rest of Our Story”


NYC - Following his critically acclaimed book “Frankie & Bobby: Growing Up Zappa,” music legend Frank Zappa's younger brother Charles Robert “Bob” Zappa is releasing a second book titled “Frankie & Bobby: The Rest of Our Story.”

Bob's first book, “Frankie & Bobby: Growing Up Zappa,” is poignant and insightful perspective on the life of one of the twentieth century's most provocative and intriguing musicians. This “coming of age” memoir provided readers with never before told stories about events that helped shape Frank's political, social, intellectual and creative development. The book begins with the brother's time in Maryland from the late 1940's until the summer of 1967 in New York City before Frank and the Mothers went on their first of many European tours. This fascinating account describes how the two brothers lived through, and handled, a series of events ranging from amusing to life threatening. It is a must-read for anybody interested in Frank's amazing life that only his closest confidant and brother, Bobby, can tell.

Bob's new book “Frankie & Bobby: The Rest of Our Story” picks up where the first volume leaves off... Says Bob, “For those of you who read my first book, 'Frankie & Bobby: Growing Up Zappa', thank you. I hope you enjoyed it and found that the information about Frank added to your understanding his complex and brilliant mind and his early development. This book tells the next chapter in our story. It's about how my brother and I continued on our separate but intertwined paths after his successful long running show, 'Absolutely Free' (sic), at the Garrick Theater in New York in the summer of 1967.

“When I decided to write the sequel to 'Frankie and Bobby: Growing Up Zappa,' I wanted to provide readers with more personal stories that would fill in gaps on how our lives intersected over the last decades of Frank's life. I also wanted to describe more about life in America during the Vietnam era and up to the present day to help set the stage for events that fans have wondered about for a long time. This time I added more about my own life's journey. I wanted to depict how Frank and I maintained our relationship because to me he was a 'regular guy,' except for his extraordinary life in the public eye. He was my older brother and best friend regardless of his talents, celebrity or public image. I think fans will find this aspect interesting and should help add a more human dimension to his image.

“There are also the episodes about Frank's own family - especially his wife, Gail - that try to explain their curious relationship and how she interacted with me and her own children. Of interest are how our mother, sister, and brother, and especially me, were kept from Frank's and his children's lives. The reasons for that are still unclear to my niece Moon and nephew, Dweezil.

“But I do end on a positive note by describing my reunion with Moon and Dweezil following Gail's death, after more than four decades of estrangement. 'Frankie and Bobby: The Rest of Our Story' provides new material that will help Frank's fans add some much needed pieces to the puzzle that is Frank Zappa.”

While there have been several books and documentaries about Frank Zappa, most have forgotten to mention that Frank often referred to himself as “a regular guy.” And that is one of the “driving forces” behind Bob's new book.

Says Co de Kloet, well-known radio personality and music producer in Amsterdam, “By sharing personal, sometimes extremely personal stories about his relationship with Frank, Bob gives us a clear view of that 'regular-guyness' quality, leaving the importance and impact of his brother intact. By not just focusing on Frank and giving us information about other relations and some of his own experiences, he puts Frank in a new and sincere perspective. I had a great time reading it and I hope it will do well. Over the years I had a friendship with Herbie Cohen, Frank's manager and business partner. He was at my farmhouse a few times and once when he was reading something in a book about Zappa, he smiled and said, 'It is always fun to read what people THINK really happened (in Frank's life) but they haven't got a clue.' Bob Zappa has! And that is what makes this book a must have.”

The book is also one of rejection, reconciliation and closure... As James Cohen: Zappanale Master of Ceremonies explains, “A memoir is more than recollection, it exposes a continuum of related events: Bob Zappa's 'Frankie & Bobby - The Rest of Our Story' is wisdom gained over time. Picking up where his first book left off, it focuses on Bob's adventures in the US and elsewhere - a Swedish university course in Deviant Behavior or a close brush with Soviet espionage. Bob's ultimate purpose of understanding how his alienation from his brother Frank's world developed, or was created, overshadows these episodes. Climaxing with a series of rejections relating to the passing of their mother Rose Marie and finally of Frank himself, Bob celebrates his subsequent reconciliation with Dweezil and Moon and a new life rooted deep in his past…A great read, and for the Zappa faithful, optimistic closure.”

Distinguished Teaching Professor Joseph Klein, Dmus concludes, “Perhaps most poignant are the episodes relating to Frank's own family- in particular his wife, Gail…during the final years of Frank's life…and (sheds) light on a matter that has baffled and frustrated the Zappa fan community for decades…'Frankie and Bobby: The Rest of Our Story' is essential reading for any Zappologist curious for answers regarding some of the more enigmatic aspects of Frank's life.”

Bob Zappa's “Frankie & Bobby: The Rest of Our Story” is a must-read for all fans of Frank Zappa!

To purchase “Frankie & Bobby: The Rest of Our Story”: 
https://www.createspace.com/6991665 (United States)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/1544258798 (United States)
http://www.amazon.ca/dp/1544258798 (Canada - Book not currently available in Canada)
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1544258798 (United Kingdom)
http://www.amazon.de/dp/1544258798 (Germany)
http://www.amazon.es/dp/1544258798 (Spain)
http://www.amazon.fr/dp/1544258798 (France)
http://www.amazon.it/dp/1544258798 (Italy)

To purchase “Frankie & Bobby: Growing Up Zappa”:

https://www.amazon.com/Frankie-Bobby-Growing-Up-Zappa/dp/099647790X

Press inquiries: Glass Onyon PR, PH: 828-350-8158, glassonyonpr@gmail.com