NEWS
====
1. New CD coming out
2. Jesse Jones Jr.
3. Quit Cryin'
4. My New MUSIC VIDEO!!!
Hello Folks, well it's been a while since I've written on this blog. So, time to catch up! What's been happening...
My new CD will be released relatively soon and will be called Hugh Jarvis Hitchcock: Funkmeister. You can hear our current mixes either on my website at www.hughjhitchcock.com or on my MySpace page at www.myspace.com/hughjarvishitchcock.
We were very lucky also to have Jesse Jones Jr., local Miami jazz icon and cultural legend, play sax and flute tracks on the CD. A veritable treasure of talent. Plus the wonderful Latin percussionist Joe Collado also has contributed and we hope to have him back to do some more tracks soon.
The new mix on Quit Cryin' didn't quite work out either, I decided there is no point in trying to put lipstick on a pig, asitwere... what I mean is, the original track I was attempting to remix was done in 1994 and I no longer had the ability to remix that original rhythm bed so I was basically stuck with the flaws in that recording, so I decided to dump that mix and start over from scratch. However, the good news is, we will be producing a new album for Jesse Jones Jr. this season and he has agreed to record the song Quit Cryin' hisself, so it is going to be totally funky and cool :) I can't wait to hear it! Go Jesse! and Quit Cryin'!!!
My new music video has been finished and is available for viewing right here: Make No Mistake. Check it out!
actually it doesn't show up so good here on this blog, so please click here to see the video.
Make No Mistake
composed, arranged, performed, engineered by Hugh Jarvis Hitchcock
Video by Jay Surrell
Jesse Jones Jr. on saxophone
Joe Collado on timbales and Latin Percussion
What can I say about this elixir, errr... movie? Well... Jay Surrell, of videobillboards.org, the guy who did the video for me, did an excellent job of not only encapsulating my regurgitation of the last eight political years in this country (which he gleaned from the music itself) but he also took it several steps further and added some very nice touches, like the sheep running one way on elevated terror and then the other way on low terror. Love it!!!
I don't personally feel the president is a liar, I think he believes in himself, but people seem to like the part where his nose grows so I figured I'd leave it in. It's too bad we feel to make videos like this in the first place, but I think the video guy did an incredible job for a very small budget so let's hear it for Jay.
This video is not a big Hollywood production, obviously. It is one of those YouTube videos. However, the music track is solid at 192k mp3 and should sound great through a good set of speakers if you have your computer hooked up. The video itself is meant to amuse and not to abuse. If I had done the vid myself I might not even have taken it this far, and those who know me realise that would be some restraint on my part, but I think Jay just about said it all. I hope you enjoy it, and please leave me detailed comments if you are so moved.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Sunday, May 4, 2008
new mix on Quit Cryin' - totally bad
all right folks it's definitely starting to take shape. Mighty Joe Collado on conga, cowbell, woodblock and timbales and Jesse Jones Jr. on alto saxophone. I have lined up an awesome vocalist for the sessions. I am not going to tell you who she is yet but I will say she is a three time winner of Showtime At The Apollo so she ain't cryin', she be croonin', folks. Those tracks are yet to be created, but you can hear the new remixed (badass) tracks on my home page here, or click on the Quit Cryin' lady on the lower righthand side of this blog. And remember, y'all Quit Cryin'!
Saturday, April 5, 2008
Carfax the Wonder Dog
A while back, I received the following email, which I thought was funny enough to keep:
<quote>
Dear CARFAX Customer,
You may have recently received an email from "Carfax the Wonder Dog". Unfortunately, this email was not meant to be sent and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please delete the email.
If you have any questions, please contact us at carfaxhelp@carfax.com.
</quote>
as a programmer I know all too well how something like this can happen... it's late, you're tired, you've been staring at the code for days, you need to do a test of an email application so you write a stupid note and let it fly, realising only after it's gone that you had actually sent it to a real-life client of the company you work for.
I recently did something similar and accidentally sent a photo of some trees in my backyard to a client's customer, purporting to be from a "Test Hitchcock" and announcing that it was a resume for a potential job candidate for a ship's engineer's position. I immediately emailed him explaining my mistake, and a fairly funny exchange followed. I will excerpt part of it here. The customer is a salty sea dog of a boat captain, and replied with the usual good humour seemingly associated with such men:
<quote>
Hi <department head's name />,
When I got this, before I got the other one from the real Mr Hitchcock, I had started to write a letter say that I thought this guy looked to be out of his tree, but maybe if he had experience of Gardiner engines we should go out on a limb and give him a test on <yacht's name> in case Willie leaves and branches out into something else. I even had thought about having known Mr Hitchcock’s brother-in-law, Mr Ballcock the plumber who has the nickname Leaky – maybe you know Leaky Ballcock?
Anyway – now I know it was not a joke, I do not need to write any of that bollocks……..
Y’all have a good weekend,
Cheers, John
</quote>
LOL!!!! I replied again, inviting him to ask me about the time my friend Mark Murrell had me paged in a Chinese restaurant... that's a funny one to be posted at a later date...
<quote>
Dear CARFAX Customer,
You may have recently received an email from "Carfax the Wonder Dog". Unfortunately, this email was not meant to be sent and we apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. Please delete the email.
If you have any questions, please contact us at carfaxhelp@carfax.com.
</quote>
as a programmer I know all too well how something like this can happen... it's late, you're tired, you've been staring at the code for days, you need to do a test of an email application so you write a stupid note and let it fly, realising only after it's gone that you had actually sent it to a real-life client of the company you work for.
I recently did something similar and accidentally sent a photo of some trees in my backyard to a client's customer, purporting to be from a "Test Hitchcock" and announcing that it was a resume for a potential job candidate for a ship's engineer's position. I immediately emailed him explaining my mistake, and a fairly funny exchange followed. I will excerpt part of it here. The customer is a salty sea dog of a boat captain, and replied with the usual good humour seemingly associated with such men:
<quote>
Hi <department head's name />,
When I got this, before I got the other one from the real Mr Hitchcock, I had started to write a letter say that I thought this guy looked to be out of his tree, but maybe if he had experience of Gardiner engines we should go out on a limb and give him a test on <yacht's name> in case Willie leaves and branches out into something else. I even had thought about having known Mr Hitchcock’s brother-in-law, Mr Ballcock the plumber who has the nickname Leaky – maybe you know Leaky Ballcock?
Anyway – now I know it was not a joke, I do not need to write any of that bollocks……..
Y’all have a good weekend,
Cheers, John
</quote>
LOL!!!! I replied again, inviting him to ask me about the time my friend Mark Murrell had me paged in a Chinese restaurant... that's a funny one to be posted at a later date...
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Martian Entropy Band Radio Interview
The reader may recall that I was in a band in the 1970s known as the Martian Entropy Band. It's so wonderful to finally be able to showcase some of the meticulous work we did back in the day -- we definitely worked hard, like practiced 40 hours a week, on our original music.
Within that framework we also created a quasi-Firesign Theatre approach to our art which is very apparent in a digitally restored a radio interview we did back in 1974, which I have just posted in an audio applet on the website I've recently done to honor the MEB's work. I don't know what you'll think -- but to me, it is hysterical, and proves that I actually had some of my music played on the radio! Please check it out for a laugh. Clicking will take you to the Martian Entropy Band home page, where, if you have a sound card, speakers (turned on), and the latest version of the Flash plug-in in your browser, you will be able to hear not only the radio interview, but a concert we played if you choose.
Within that framework we also created a quasi-Firesign Theatre approach to our art which is very apparent in a digitally restored a radio interview we did back in 1974, which I have just posted in an audio applet on the website I've recently done to honor the MEB's work. I don't know what you'll think -- but to me, it is hysterical, and proves that I actually had some of my music played on the radio! Please check it out for a laugh. Clicking will take you to the Martian Entropy Band home page, where, if you have a sound card, speakers (turned on), and the latest version of the Flash plug-in in your browser, you will be able to hear not only the radio interview, but a concert we played if you choose.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Axel's on Eight Mile with Norma Jean Bell
I went down to Florida with my Thai girlfriend in May of 1982. We both got homesick after a while, so we came back up to Michigan in January of 1983. After returning to Michigan, I scored a gig with Norma Jean Bell and the All-Stars, who had a house gig at a club in Detroit called Axel's, on Eight-Mile Road -- the same Eight Mile Road that Eminem named his movie after. (I had some gigs in the same city where Eminem grew up -- Waterford township -- and I've worked with Eminem's producer, Luis Resto! But that is a different story.)
I had already known who Norma was long before I got the gig with her, because I had seen her in concert at Cobo Arena in Detroit, with Frank Zappa, way back around 1974. I was a real Zappa freak and had gone to see his Overnight Sensation tour (repertoire included "Dynamo Humm", "Zombie Woof", "I am the Slime", etc.) The first time I saw Norma Bell she was onstage with Napoleon Murphy Brock and George Duke, and, of course, Zappa himself. I was immediately fascinated by this funky saxophone playing soul sister who could hang with the likes of Frank Zappa. Zappa had been my musical idol and main inspiration since adolescence. I always wondered about her after that concert, didn't hear of her again for a while but I remembered her name: Norma Bell. Later to be known as Norma Jean Bell. I later found that Norma had worked not only with Zappa but also with Carlos Santana, Tommy Bolin, Narada Michael Walden, even the Mahavishnu Orchestra. As her tune claims, she is definitely "the Baddest Bitch" LOL!
So when I heard that she needed a bass player, I jumped on the phone and called for an audition. When I learned that not only Trenita Womack, the spirited singer / percussionist / flautist from locally and nationally famous Detroit disco funk band Brainstorm was on the gig, but also Belita Woods, Brainstorm's stupendous lead singer, I was absolutely thrilled. With them also on keyboards, was the incredible David Lee Chong (David Spradley) of Parliament / Funkadelic, who had created the music tracks for George Clinton's hit, "Atomic Dog", among others. In addition, Randall Jacobs was brought into the group on guitar. Randy is well known for having been the lead guitarist for Michael Henderson's recording releases, as well as his road tour. Henderson songs to which Randy had contributed include the 1978 hit dance tune, "Wide Receiver". He also played on and helped write the song "Walk the Dinosaur" when he was with Was Not Was. Randy, an incredible showman in his own right, currently tours with Dave Koz. I ended up getting the gig with Norma after the audition, I guess they liked me. So I worked with them all at Axel's for close to a year.
Axel's was like a speakeasy. A single building built on the road frontage of Detroit's central Eight Mile Road, you entered through the front door and paid a cover. Once you were inside, you were seated at one of the 60 or so tables inside the building's main 50x150ft room which was the main nightclub area. At the back of the room was the stage -- an actual elevated stage with footlights and a curtain, from behind which the band would enter, dramatically, for each of three shows a night. Lighting effects and sometimes even smoke machines were used at the opening of each show to give a concert-like effect for the patrons of the speakeasy. Said patrons included nightlife afficionados of the Detroit area, party people who appreciated good music and good shows. And with a little money, as it cost a generous cover charge to get in, and a two drink minimum per show. Frequently the entire audience would change between shows, excluding the die-hards who would pay twice or three times just to hang out with Norma for the entire evening.
Norma was a visionary when it came to putting together shows. Not just another band that plays one tune after another, hers -- but an entire world-class concert performance wrapped up in each show. She would not have it any other way, her standards were very high, admirably so. But then she'd cut her musical teeth on Frank Zappa, so there you go.
So asides from a master of her instruments, the soprano and alto saxophone, and a shining vocalist, I also consider Norma Jean Bell to be a choreographer and an architect. Three sets were played each night, and Norma designed each one with a different story arc, having a beginning, a middle, and an end, with lots of fireworks and surprises in between. Besides delivering Detroit style funk-fueled excellence in the hard driving music we played, she was not afraid to have the band completely freak out with artistic noise for ten minutes, if it got us where we were going (as you will hear on the tape!) She painted pictures with sound and lights; she was equally disposed to putting on dramatic space-opera type theatrics, involving things like simulating spaceships landing (probably a Funkadelics-influenced theme) and simulated nuclear war -- which was a real possibility at the time. (just to put the story in historical context, this was Reagan's year of "The Day After" and the KAL 007 incident, among other cold-war antics.)
And Norma schooled us sidemen in attitude before she sent us onstage. We were to remain aloof and "cool". At one point, she had me put down my bass and come out front to sing David Bowie's "Let's Dance" as a frontman. She instructed me exactly how I was to play it, what poses to strike, suggested I wear sunglasses, really built a persona. Not that I don't have one, it's just that Norma had a concept and applied it to me, and it worked, all right... I had women giving me their phone numbers on napkins from the front row -- but I was already promised to the Thai girl, remember...
At any rate, working with Norma Jean Bell, and putting on her show, was a charismatic multimedia funk and soul experience -- a pleasure to work every night, as Norma would charm and captivate the audience with her saxophone stylings as well as her commanding "ringmaster" attitude.
When I first joined with the band, our opening number was Vanity 6's "Do You Think I'm a Nasty Girl?", flirtily sung by the three ladies at the front -- Norma, Belita, and Treaty. What can I say, it was a sassy, titillating opening for the show, a real pleasure to view and listen to, let alone be a part of. Then the band would go into a very original arrangement of an old Burt Bacharach classic, "Walk On By", entreatingly sung by the great Treaty Womack, to be followed by Michael Jackson's "Beat It", which featured a huge synthesizer opening by Chong followed by Van-Halenesque guitar work from Randy Jacobs.
The most amazing number that I can remember the ladies doing, is David Sanborn's "Love Will Find A Way". This tune, if you are not familiar with it, provides an opportunity to at once become very intimate with an audience during the quiet and endearing verse sections, and at the same time a chance to express the intensity of feelings during the wide open chorus sections. Norma easily outdid Sanborn in emotionally beautiful saxophone emanations, only to be almost outdone by Belita's heart-wrenching interpretation of the vocals. Truly a transcendental memory, thanks ladies, for that. Too bad I don't have a recording of that! Don't think so, anyway... but the jury's still out, as there are still many tapes for me to go through and maybe I'll find something else.
I was able to dig up a recording of one of our shows from 1983. I think it is wonderful. I cannot post it on this blog so please click here to go to the article on my home page where you will be able to listen (with a sound-enabled computer).
David Spradley, or David Lee Chong (he's known by either name) played the role of the spaceship's captain and navigator onstage, and Norma's main musical support during the shows. Working with David was such a pleasure, as he is a very nice, laid back dude, but he commanded attention and respect from his central command and control module. Onstage and off, his relaxed, funky attitude probably came from working with the Funkadelics. Originally from California, he's of Korean-american extraction and (at the time anyway) married to a Detroit woman who sometimes made extra money at Axel's by selling food she prepared.
David's keyboard array was perched at the front-most corner of the elevated stage, overlooking both the patronage and the rest of the band. "Commander David, requesting permission for landing," Norma intones during a simulated alien invasion. After the landing occurs, Commander David advises the audience: "We are not going to hurt you, we only want you to have -- some -- FUN!!" Then is unleashed a fury of girlish squeals, spacey synthesizer patches, and guitar feedback, explosively leading into the Prince song "1999". Another time, one can hear in the opening to the Police's "Spirits in the Material World", David chants "Wake up, man! And take a look around you." Really very evolved, simple, and elegant.
The recording was made inside Axel's one night in March of 1983. The listener can pick up the lively speakeasy atmosphere of Axel's in the ambient noise on the tape. The listener can also get a feel for the showmanship of the group and the architecture of the show. There are only three tunes, about 15 minutes worth, and some theatrical fireworks that Norma liked to put on in the show. It's really quite good so please check it out.
at the end of the recording, Randy Jacobs is featured on a guitar solo at the end of the song "1999". Randy was famous for his histrionics during shows, and this one was no exception, as you will hear. As the band builds up to a climax at the end of Randy's guitar solo, and as the sound reaches a frenzied pitch, Randy unplugs his guitar chord, grabs his guitar tight and makes a running leap off the stage into the audience and runs out the front door of the club with his guitar! Then re-enters from backstage. You can hear on the recording the huge applause when he makes his flying leap -- it was always a real crowd-pleaser and it's hard to miss the audience's reaction! The tape is about 15 minutes long, if you listen to the whole thing you will hear it right at the end.
Band Personnel:
Norma Jean Bell
Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Vocals, MC
Belita Woods
Lead Vocal
(Belita currently tours with George Clinton and P-Funk)
Trenita Womack
Vocals, Timbale & Cymbals, Flute
Randall Jacobs
Lead Guitars
(currently with Dave Koz)
David Lee Chong
Keyboards, Vocals, MC
Bruce Parker
Drums
Hugh Jarvis Hitchcock
Bass, Vocals
Norma Jean Bell
I had already known who Norma was long before I got the gig with her, because I had seen her in concert at Cobo Arena in Detroit, with Frank Zappa, way back around 1974. I was a real Zappa freak and had gone to see his Overnight Sensation tour (repertoire included "Dynamo Humm", "Zombie Woof", "I am the Slime", etc.) The first time I saw Norma Bell she was onstage with Napoleon Murphy Brock and George Duke, and, of course, Zappa himself. I was immediately fascinated by this funky saxophone playing soul sister who could hang with the likes of Frank Zappa. Zappa had been my musical idol and main inspiration since adolescence. I always wondered about her after that concert, didn't hear of her again for a while but I remembered her name: Norma Bell. Later to be known as Norma Jean Bell. I later found that Norma had worked not only with Zappa but also with Carlos Santana, Tommy Bolin, Narada Michael Walden, even the Mahavishnu Orchestra. As her tune claims, she is definitely "the Baddest Bitch" LOL!
So when I heard that she needed a bass player, I jumped on the phone and called for an audition. When I learned that not only Trenita Womack, the spirited singer / percussionist / flautist from locally and nationally famous Detroit disco funk band Brainstorm was on the gig, but also Belita Woods, Brainstorm's stupendous lead singer, I was absolutely thrilled. With them also on keyboards, was the incredible David Lee Chong (David Spradley) of Parliament / Funkadelic, who had created the music tracks for George Clinton's hit, "Atomic Dog", among others. In addition, Randall Jacobs was brought into the group on guitar. Randy is well known for having been the lead guitarist for Michael Henderson's recording releases, as well as his road tour. Henderson songs to which Randy had contributed include the 1978 hit dance tune, "Wide Receiver". He also played on and helped write the song "Walk the Dinosaur" when he was with Was Not Was. Randy, an incredible showman in his own right, currently tours with Dave Koz. I ended up getting the gig with Norma after the audition, I guess they liked me. So I worked with them all at Axel's for close to a year. Axel's was like a speakeasy. A single building built on the road frontage of Detroit's central Eight Mile Road, you entered through the front door and paid a cover. Once you were inside, you were seated at one of the 60 or so tables inside the building's main 50x150ft room which was the main nightclub area. At the back of the room was the stage -- an actual elevated stage with footlights and a curtain, from behind which the band would enter, dramatically, for each of three shows a night. Lighting effects and sometimes even smoke machines were used at the opening of each show to give a concert-like effect for the patrons of the speakeasy. Said patrons included nightlife afficionados of the Detroit area, party people who appreciated good music and good shows. And with a little money, as it cost a generous cover charge to get in, and a two drink minimum per show. Frequently the entire audience would change between shows, excluding the die-hards who would pay twice or three times just to hang out with Norma for the entire evening.
Norma was a visionary when it came to putting together shows. Not just another band that plays one tune after another, hers -- but an entire world-class concert performance wrapped up in each show. She would not have it any other way, her standards were very high, admirably so. But then she'd cut her musical teeth on Frank Zappa, so there you go.
So asides from a master of her instruments, the soprano and alto saxophone, and a shining vocalist, I also consider Norma Jean Bell to be a choreographer and an architect. Three sets were played each night, and Norma designed each one with a different story arc, having a beginning, a middle, and an end, with lots of fireworks and surprises in between. Besides delivering Detroit style funk-fueled excellence in the hard driving music we played, she was not afraid to have the band completely freak out with artistic noise for ten minutes, if it got us where we were going (as you will hear on the tape!) She painted pictures with sound and lights; she was equally disposed to putting on dramatic space-opera type theatrics, involving things like simulating spaceships landing (probably a Funkadelics-influenced theme) and simulated nuclear war -- which was a real possibility at the time. (just to put the story in historical context, this was Reagan's year of "The Day After" and the KAL 007 incident, among other cold-war antics.)
And Norma schooled us sidemen in attitude before she sent us onstage. We were to remain aloof and "cool". At one point, she had me put down my bass and come out front to sing David Bowie's "Let's Dance" as a frontman. She instructed me exactly how I was to play it, what poses to strike, suggested I wear sunglasses, really built a persona. Not that I don't have one, it's just that Norma had a concept and applied it to me, and it worked, all right... I had women giving me their phone numbers on napkins from the front row -- but I was already promised to the Thai girl, remember...
At any rate, working with Norma Jean Bell, and putting on her show, was a charismatic multimedia funk and soul experience -- a pleasure to work every night, as Norma would charm and captivate the audience with her saxophone stylings as well as her commanding "ringmaster" attitude.
When I first joined with the band, our opening number was Vanity 6's "Do You Think I'm a Nasty Girl?", flirtily sung by the three ladies at the front -- Norma, Belita, and Treaty. What can I say, it was a sassy, titillating opening for the show, a real pleasure to view and listen to, let alone be a part of. Then the band would go into a very original arrangement of an old Burt Bacharach classic, "Walk On By", entreatingly sung by the great Treaty Womack, to be followed by Michael Jackson's "Beat It", which featured a huge synthesizer opening by Chong followed by Van-Halenesque guitar work from Randy Jacobs.
The most amazing number that I can remember the ladies doing, is David Sanborn's "Love Will Find A Way". This tune, if you are not familiar with it, provides an opportunity to at once become very intimate with an audience during the quiet and endearing verse sections, and at the same time a chance to express the intensity of feelings during the wide open chorus sections. Norma easily outdid Sanborn in emotionally beautiful saxophone emanations, only to be almost outdone by Belita's heart-wrenching interpretation of the vocals. Truly a transcendental memory, thanks ladies, for that. Too bad I don't have a recording of that! Don't think so, anyway... but the jury's still out, as there are still many tapes for me to go through and maybe I'll find something else.
I was able to dig up a recording of one of our shows from 1983. I think it is wonderful. I cannot post it on this blog so please click here to go to the article on my home page where you will be able to listen (with a sound-enabled computer).
David Spradley, or David Lee Chong (he's known by either name) played the role of the spaceship's captain and navigator onstage, and Norma's main musical support during the shows. Working with David was such a pleasure, as he is a very nice, laid back dude, but he commanded attention and respect from his central command and control module. Onstage and off, his relaxed, funky attitude probably came from working with the Funkadelics. Originally from California, he's of Korean-american extraction and (at the time anyway) married to a Detroit woman who sometimes made extra money at Axel's by selling food she prepared.
David's keyboard array was perched at the front-most corner of the elevated stage, overlooking both the patronage and the rest of the band. "Commander David, requesting permission for landing," Norma intones during a simulated alien invasion. After the landing occurs, Commander David advises the audience: "We are not going to hurt you, we only want you to have -- some -- FUN!!" Then is unleashed a fury of girlish squeals, spacey synthesizer patches, and guitar feedback, explosively leading into the Prince song "1999". Another time, one can hear in the opening to the Police's "Spirits in the Material World", David chants "Wake up, man! And take a look around you." Really very evolved, simple, and elegant.
The recording was made inside Axel's one night in March of 1983. The listener can pick up the lively speakeasy atmosphere of Axel's in the ambient noise on the tape. The listener can also get a feel for the showmanship of the group and the architecture of the show. There are only three tunes, about 15 minutes worth, and some theatrical fireworks that Norma liked to put on in the show. It's really quite good so please check it out.
Randy Jacobs
at the end of the recording, Randy Jacobs is featured on a guitar solo at the end of the song "1999". Randy was famous for his histrionics during shows, and this one was no exception, as you will hear. As the band builds up to a climax at the end of Randy's guitar solo, and as the sound reaches a frenzied pitch, Randy unplugs his guitar chord, grabs his guitar tight and makes a running leap off the stage into the audience and runs out the front door of the club with his guitar! Then re-enters from backstage. You can hear on the recording the huge applause when he makes his flying leap -- it was always a real crowd-pleaser and it's hard to miss the audience's reaction! The tape is about 15 minutes long, if you listen to the whole thing you will hear it right at the end.
Band Personnel:
Norma Jean Bell
Alto and Soprano Saxophones, Vocals, MC
Belita Woods
Lead Vocal
(Belita currently tours with George Clinton and P-Funk)
Trenita Womack
Vocals, Timbale & Cymbals, Flute
Randall Jacobs
Lead Guitars
(currently with Dave Koz)
David Lee Chong
Keyboards, Vocals, MC
Bruce Parker
Drums
Hugh Jarvis Hitchcock
Bass, Vocals
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
Quit Cryin' !!!
So what's all this "Quit Cryin" insanity all about? Well... back in the day I used to hang out with this guy named RonRico ______. Ron, if yer out there man, get in touch. RonRico is the one who actually brought that phrase into the mainstream of my conciousness. What a personality. Ron was this incredible, I mean incredible drummer. He was a thin, wiry, extremely personable black man from Ann Arbor, about my age, whose family had moved northwards from Alabama, if I remember correctly. He had a relaxed manner that belied the powerful energy that would flow through him musically.
Ron had the fire and spark on the drums of a million cultures, but came out in an explosive R&B rock jazz feel. I played bass on gigs in those days, and Ron and I hit it off as a rhythm section. His kind of drumming style was a bit more advanced than most, if not all of the drummers in town, it was a little beyond your usual 2 and 4 beat style of playing. He could have played with Weather Report, and taken them to a whole new level, he was that powerful, and that creative. Unfortunately the level of intensity in his playing seemed to pervade his personal karma as well, as he was someone that was continually running afoul of the law. I won't go into the details here, but apparently that's what led to him disappearing from my musical life.
Ron was such a wonderful musical friend to have back in the day, because he made me learn stuff. He would alway drop by an album or two and say "Huey, check out the bass part on this!" Between him and Ron Scott, I got an education. Ron and I worked out so many bass & drum riffs, we used to show up on people's gigs, ask them to let us sit in on bass and drums, then we'd just take over! Playing all our bumped up riffs :) Smokin' the band, turnin it out, whatever. It was fun, and I'm sure many band members would shudder when they saw us come into the club. Ron knew so many people around town, and could get us next to just about anyone who was anyone in Detroit. Case in point, Orthea Barnes, with whom we would sit in. My recollection was she was playing at the Renaissance center in downtown Detroit, where we would jam.
I had my issues as a young man, I believe Ron had quite a few more, but I tended to overlook his shortcomings in exchange for the marvelous music he made, as did many people of me in those days. I had no problem getting gigs in those days, but for some reason, Ron did. Maybe it was because he was black, and there were a lot of gigging bands around Detroit that were mainly white. I don't know but I do think there was a fair amount of prejudice in the business. At any rate, my custom was to try to bring Ron into every band I got into. I think I pulled him along with me into three or four bands, some of them quite established and well-funded. He brought me into all of his projects as well. He mainly focussed on the fusion gigs, and he could get some gigs around Ann Arbor, while I was looking more at full time working bands around the Detroit area to pay the bills. So we both did both things together, and it was cool.
Ron did run into some problems, though. For example, one of the bigger bands I got him into was Air Condo, from Livonia. Air Condo was an extremely well organised, well funded and solidly booked seven piece disco band with a full time manager and sound engineer, that played a lot of fairly large venues around the Detroit area. Bugs Beddowe (the tall guy with the afro in the picture), whom I consider a friend, is still a well known Detroit artist, and we worked a few jazz gigs throughout the years after the AC days. He is another computer geek like me :) or was a programmer in those days, anyway. So Air Condo had offered me the job as bass player. I guess I had somewhat of a reputation for being a really great bass player, and I was in demand. They had their heart set on another drummer, and I insisted they bring Ron into the band. Logistically, it would have been wiser for them to hire the other guy, because he had a car and Ron didn't, for one thing. I guess I was really obstinate because finally they gave in -- "Well Hugh, we want you to be happy." So, Ron came in, and they were nice enough to co-sign on a car loan for him. He insisted on buying this old station wagon, which broke down about two weeks into the gig. Ultimately he stuck them with the loan, sadly...
In that band, we used to have family meetings at the manager's house and talk things out as a group, sort of a band encounter session. I remember one time, they all took a vote on who in the band had the strongest personality, and I was the hands-down winner. Go figure. I guess that's why Ron had a nickname for me, "Hugh Bucking-Horse Hitchcock". He'd seen me tell a few people off in my day. Oh, I always wanted it my way, all right. I guess I behaved sort of like an alpha musician in my world of bands.
I remember one sad scene when I, of all people, decided I wanted to play drums on a song one night, which was a bad idea, because I don't really play drums. I wanted to play Herb Alpert's "Rise" which was Bugs' showpiece tune. I think Ron had learned the bass part (or not) but the two of us were switching up instruments. I had been SO confident that I could play it, but guess what, I couldn't... after about thirty seconds, Bugs held up his fist in the universal musician hand-sign for "end this pig" :) Which I didn't want to do, to save face, but... the song died a sad death. I mean silly scenes from a nightmare, chapter 36...
As I recall, things pretty much deteriorated with Ron and Air Condo. I don't think it was my fault at all, but to be honest I don't remember. I do know that it wasn't easy for Ron (or me) to fit in, and the whole car issue peaked, leaving some very bad taste when Ron didn't show up for gigs and that sort of thing, and him being my friend, I probably was not always on the bread and butter side of the argument.
My recollection was that it was such a disaster with Air Condo that Air Condo decided to throw in the towel and shut down the band after about four months. To be fair, we were really trying to take the place of some very popular guys who'd been there two years before us, and all Ron and I cared about was throwing down with serious funk, no matter whose feelings got hurt, so... really it's understandable. They had a great following, but it was for a very different band before we got in. On Air Condo's last night, I remember Kent Strange and Sonny Winston of Flyin Easy were at at the gig, offering me the gig back with them, which I took. I stayed with them for about a year, and then went with a group called Frosted.
But Ron was a real trip. He would go through these heavy financial problems where he would have to pawn his drum set. A friend of mine once commented, "yeah that's like pawning your dick." LOL But in hindsight, I agree... eventually Ron got arrested for breaking into a pawn shop trying to get his drums back. The last band I'd gotten him into was Wingspan with Sonny Winston. I remember on our first gig, Ron had just gotten back a drum set he'd had in pawn for a long time. The music we played involved a lot of hitting the snare drum on the backbeat, every time around the groove. He told me that day, every time he hit the snare drum made him feel better and better. And I could certainly see it in his eyes. He didn't play like tee-tee tee-tee ta, he played like pdrdrd-bang smash kazang! Great player.
One of his less pleasant talents was the ability to make things disappear, like money, cigarettes, cars, that sort of thing. For example, he would say "I'm going to the store, you want anything?" I'd say "yeah, get me a pack of cigarettes," and hand him a ten dollar bill. Cigs were like $1.50 in those days. So he'd come back with the cigs and give me like $3.50 in change, and I'd say what the....? He'd always have some really lame, but complex series of excuses which he would run off in this sort of whiney voice. "Well, you see, Huey, man, I ran into this problem, see, I needed to get x and then y happened, man,". This whole song and dance is intrinsic to the meaning of the phrase "Quit Cryin'", for me. It embodies the entire spirit of the phrase!
One time, Ron made a whole car disappear! I'd needed a ride to the airport, so I asked Ron to give me a ride. He didn't have a car, so I let him use mine and asked him to return it to my house afterwards. I told him he could use it while I was gone, if he really needed it. When I returned five days later, the car was no longer in evidence -- Ron had another one of his great stories, about oil leaks, transmission fluid, and that he had to leave it at a gas station in Willow Run by I-94. Oh well, it wasn't a great car, my first car to be exact - a 67 Chevy Impala which cost me $300. So I sort of shrugged my shoulders and let it go. Never saw nor heard from that car again! My friendship with Ron continued, however.
And he WAS a TRIP! One time, we were with Air Condo playing at a huge dance club in Dearborn called Coral Gables (I had a Thai girlfriend in those days and she pronounced it Colly Gurbles). The stage was set up with a big drum platform in the back, the drummer towered over everyone else like a thunder god. There was another band that played the club periodically and they were called Saxony. During our break, as we watched the giant crowd dance to the loud stereo system, the manager of the club came up to our singer and gave him a napkin upon which had been written, "Announce Saxony," meaning to let people know they would be there the following week. On this napkin, the word "Saxony" was on a separate line from the word "Announce", and the singer, who was a bit of a joker, took out a pen and wrote "Fuck" before the word Saxony, so the result was that the napkin now said "Announce Fuck Saxony". A few minutes later, we went onstage and turned on our amps and got ready to go, and Ron climbed up the massive drum platform and mounted his drumset. Ron was the one that counted off the songs, so we were waiting for him to count it and start the show. Just then, the singer handed him the napkin and told him to do the announcement. No one believed anyone would actually say this, but Ron, great guy, looks at the napkin, grabs his microphone, and in a booming voice says "We are Air Condo, and FUCK SAXONY! 1, 2, 3, 4," and the band started into "It's So Funny how We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richards or some such disco nonsense. I could hardly play, though, because I was trying not to split my gut laughing.
In another band I was in with Ron, we would just do impromptu silliness. For example, once we broke into a ska version of Nelson Riddle's Batman theme. "When yer runnin round yer house, and yer tryin to catch a mouse, call for Batman," Ron ad libbed over a fast ska beat.
Ron & I drove around all over Michigan together, doing gigs. Also some gigs in Ohio. We'd smoke multiple packs of Marlboros, eat together at restaurants and "dog" the waitresses. We had a running series of jokes and a running background of the finest funk. At one point we had a notion to record under the title "Partners in Crime", but that turned out not to be such a good idea, considering his eventual fate, to which I was not a party. But is sure was fun while it lasted.
Ron was responsible for introducing me to many talented and successful musicians around the Detroit area. It was Ron who had brought me together with Lamont Johnson. He had also introduced me to Ricky Rouse, through whom we had gotten gigs with Carolyn Crawford, both of Bohannon 'fame' if you will. The were countless others I can't remember now, but before I met a musician around town, famous or not, I'd always heard of them from Ron first.
[editor's note -- if you want to know who Bohannon is/was -- I am sure you have heard the recent dance song where the woman screams "GET ON UP AND DANCE, Y'ALL" bump... bump...bump bump? That song actually was stolen from a Bohannon song called "Let's Start the Dance". Bohannon's version was popular during the 1977 and 1978 period, it had an incredible bassline and of course Carolyn Crawford is the bomb on vocals, having started that whole phrase in the first place... and Ricky Rouse? Please. What an awesome guitarist, pure excitement to be in the same room with the dude. (also on my MySpace friends list now!)]
We also did some studio work, Ron did the demo with me for the Les Harvey Band stuff. He was later replaced by Steve Bray on that project. I have some recordings somewhere, of both of those sessions, I will try to get them out. They are pretty nice actually. He also helped me with some sessions for producer Duane Freeman.
We had a great group he put together, called Sky High. Somewhere Ron had found Luis Resto on keyboards and his brother Mario on guitar, along with Pete Khan of Ann Arbor on saxophone. Luis was a funky little keyboardist, I still have tapes of us recording a tune I wrote called Sunstorm. I later brought him into a Detroit project I was involved with called the Automatix with Bruce Nazarian, for which I was then fired, for good reason, I might add -- I was too argumentative -- the ol' Bucking Horse :) Luis later became an award winner for writing and producing Eminem's music (I got him as a friend on my MySpace page now too :) Sky High was a short-lived phenomenon that truly was Sky High, in a musical sense. We did material by Tom Browne, Joe Sample the Crusaders, Ronnie Laws, Chick Corea, and other jazz greats of the day. In Sky High we had an attitude of heavenly explosion when we hit the stage. When we practiced, it was at Luis and Mario's parents' home in Livonia. But the energy just blew up as soon as we started playing, live. It was really a treat for everyone including us.
In the winter of 1977, Ron had me driving us almost daily into Detroit to hang out at Cloudborn Studios with Eugene Lamont Johnson, the bass player from Brainstorm I've written about. Lamont was in the studio finishing up his album "Music of the Sun". Ron had known that Lamont was looking for backup for a tour he'd intended to put on, and I guess Ron and I were the elected parties for the rhythm section, so we hung tough with Lamont for that season. Lamont also came to see some of our gigs, too. [Don't you think this is like the coolest album cover you've ever seen?]
While in the studio with Lamont, I met Kashif Saleem of BT Express, who was working on his own material. I later went to New York and hung out with Kashif in his practice studio there while he practiced his group for a tour. Kashif became very successful as a writer, he wrote "Love Come Down" for Evelyn Champagne King, "Personal" for George Benson, and a slew of others including his own successful albums.
So Ron really was responsible for hooking me up, either directly or indirectly, with a lot of very interesting artists, from which I learned mucho over the several years that this transpired. Ron had a way of finding the right place to hang out and the right people to hang out with. That is, if you liked cutting edge, Detroit funk and R&B.
It was during those days, and especially at Cloudborn studios, Ron coined the phrase "Quit Cryin'". It was usually in response to one or the other of us whining about something or other, like running out of cigarettes, or that he'd ripped me off for change, or something stupid. "Quit Cryin'" is an all-purpose command that really comes in handy! Try it sometime, when your boss asks you to do something you don't want to do! Or how about when your wife is in a bad mood, a strategic "Quit Cryin'" really can do wonders!
Ron's phrase "Quit Cryin'" has always stuck with me, along with his recommended response, which is "I can't help it!" Or actually, Ron had explained to me the correct inflection, which is "Cain't Hep It" without the L in help. So at some point, I decided it should become a song. At one point I even promised RonRico half of the writer's royalty on any song I wrote on the Quit Cryin' concept. Not that I'm going to make any money, but... I think I fulfilled that obligation the last time I talked to him. I will say this: Ron, I wrote the song, but you invoked the phrase. If you can get a drum set and get yer ass down here and play some fusion, dude I will put your name on the copyright.
I definitely wish Ron was still in the jazz-funk arena. I contacted him in 1990, the last time, took him out for dinner in Ann Arbor, I was overjoyed to see him, but he didn't seem to be the same person anymore, too many run-ins I guess. What a damn shame. After I went back to Miami he called me up with some kind of scam to ask me for money... which I did send him. That sucked. I honestly don't think he's playing or doing anything anymore. Someone, please correct me if I'm wrong. If you got a computer dude you might be reading this, so email me.
When I moved to Miami, I continued to admonish all my new friends to "Quit Cryin'", and it has sort of become a trade mark for me, and something we always have a lot of fun with. So, Quit Cryin! Cain't Hep it! And by the way, I have just put up a new mix of the song Quit Cryin on my Myspace page! Check it out... I think you will like the sound effects :)
Disclaimer: while this article mentions cigarettes and smoking, I quit smoking in 1982. I do not condone cigarette smoking by anyone.
Ron had the fire and spark on the drums of a million cultures, but came out in an explosive R&B rock jazz feel. I played bass on gigs in those days, and Ron and I hit it off as a rhythm section. His kind of drumming style was a bit more advanced than most, if not all of the drummers in town, it was a little beyond your usual 2 and 4 beat style of playing. He could have played with Weather Report, and taken them to a whole new level, he was that powerful, and that creative. Unfortunately the level of intensity in his playing seemed to pervade his personal karma as well, as he was someone that was continually running afoul of the law. I won't go into the details here, but apparently that's what led to him disappearing from my musical life.
Ron was such a wonderful musical friend to have back in the day, because he made me learn stuff. He would alway drop by an album or two and say "Huey, check out the bass part on this!" Between him and Ron Scott, I got an education. Ron and I worked out so many bass & drum riffs, we used to show up on people's gigs, ask them to let us sit in on bass and drums, then we'd just take over! Playing all our bumped up riffs :) Smokin' the band, turnin it out, whatever. It was fun, and I'm sure many band members would shudder when they saw us come into the club. Ron knew so many people around town, and could get us next to just about anyone who was anyone in Detroit. Case in point, Orthea Barnes, with whom we would sit in. My recollection was she was playing at the Renaissance center in downtown Detroit, where we would jam.
I had my issues as a young man, I believe Ron had quite a few more, but I tended to overlook his shortcomings in exchange for the marvelous music he made, as did many people of me in those days. I had no problem getting gigs in those days, but for some reason, Ron did. Maybe it was because he was black, and there were a lot of gigging bands around Detroit that were mainly white. I don't know but I do think there was a fair amount of prejudice in the business. At any rate, my custom was to try to bring Ron into every band I got into. I think I pulled him along with me into three or four bands, some of them quite established and well-funded. He brought me into all of his projects as well. He mainly focussed on the fusion gigs, and he could get some gigs around Ann Arbor, while I was looking more at full time working bands around the Detroit area to pay the bills. So we both did both things together, and it was cool.
Ron did run into some problems, though. For example, one of the bigger bands I got him into was Air Condo, from Livonia. Air Condo was an extremely well organised, well funded and solidly booked seven piece disco band with a full time manager and sound engineer, that played a lot of fairly large venues around the Detroit area. Bugs Beddowe (the tall guy with the afro in the picture), whom I consider a friend, is still a well known Detroit artist, and we worked a few jazz gigs throughout the years after the AC days. He is another computer geek like me :) or was a programmer in those days, anyway. So Air Condo had offered me the job as bass player. I guess I had somewhat of a reputation for being a really great bass player, and I was in demand. They had their heart set on another drummer, and I insisted they bring Ron into the band. Logistically, it would have been wiser for them to hire the other guy, because he had a car and Ron didn't, for one thing. I guess I was really obstinate because finally they gave in -- "Well Hugh, we want you to be happy." So, Ron came in, and they were nice enough to co-sign on a car loan for him. He insisted on buying this old station wagon, which broke down about two weeks into the gig. Ultimately he stuck them with the loan, sadly...
In that band, we used to have family meetings at the manager's house and talk things out as a group, sort of a band encounter session. I remember one time, they all took a vote on who in the band had the strongest personality, and I was the hands-down winner. Go figure. I guess that's why Ron had a nickname for me, "Hugh Bucking-Horse Hitchcock". He'd seen me tell a few people off in my day. Oh, I always wanted it my way, all right. I guess I behaved sort of like an alpha musician in my world of bands.
I remember one sad scene when I, of all people, decided I wanted to play drums on a song one night, which was a bad idea, because I don't really play drums. I wanted to play Herb Alpert's "Rise" which was Bugs' showpiece tune. I think Ron had learned the bass part (or not) but the two of us were switching up instruments. I had been SO confident that I could play it, but guess what, I couldn't... after about thirty seconds, Bugs held up his fist in the universal musician hand-sign for "end this pig" :) Which I didn't want to do, to save face, but... the song died a sad death. I mean silly scenes from a nightmare, chapter 36...
As I recall, things pretty much deteriorated with Ron and Air Condo. I don't think it was my fault at all, but to be honest I don't remember. I do know that it wasn't easy for Ron (or me) to fit in, and the whole car issue peaked, leaving some very bad taste when Ron didn't show up for gigs and that sort of thing, and him being my friend, I probably was not always on the bread and butter side of the argument.
My recollection was that it was such a disaster with Air Condo that Air Condo decided to throw in the towel and shut down the band after about four months. To be fair, we were really trying to take the place of some very popular guys who'd been there two years before us, and all Ron and I cared about was throwing down with serious funk, no matter whose feelings got hurt, so... really it's understandable. They had a great following, but it was for a very different band before we got in. On Air Condo's last night, I remember Kent Strange and Sonny Winston of Flyin Easy were at at the gig, offering me the gig back with them, which I took. I stayed with them for about a year, and then went with a group called Frosted.
But Ron was a real trip. He would go through these heavy financial problems where he would have to pawn his drum set. A friend of mine once commented, "yeah that's like pawning your dick." LOL But in hindsight, I agree... eventually Ron got arrested for breaking into a pawn shop trying to get his drums back. The last band I'd gotten him into was Wingspan with Sonny Winston. I remember on our first gig, Ron had just gotten back a drum set he'd had in pawn for a long time. The music we played involved a lot of hitting the snare drum on the backbeat, every time around the groove. He told me that day, every time he hit the snare drum made him feel better and better. And I could certainly see it in his eyes. He didn't play like tee-tee tee-tee ta, he played like pdrdrd-bang smash kazang! Great player.
One of his less pleasant talents was the ability to make things disappear, like money, cigarettes, cars, that sort of thing. For example, he would say "I'm going to the store, you want anything?" I'd say "yeah, get me a pack of cigarettes," and hand him a ten dollar bill. Cigs were like $1.50 in those days. So he'd come back with the cigs and give me like $3.50 in change, and I'd say what the....? He'd always have some really lame, but complex series of excuses which he would run off in this sort of whiney voice. "Well, you see, Huey, man, I ran into this problem, see, I needed to get x and then y happened, man,". This whole song and dance is intrinsic to the meaning of the phrase "Quit Cryin'", for me. It embodies the entire spirit of the phrase!
One time, Ron made a whole car disappear! I'd needed a ride to the airport, so I asked Ron to give me a ride. He didn't have a car, so I let him use mine and asked him to return it to my house afterwards. I told him he could use it while I was gone, if he really needed it. When I returned five days later, the car was no longer in evidence -- Ron had another one of his great stories, about oil leaks, transmission fluid, and that he had to leave it at a gas station in Willow Run by I-94. Oh well, it wasn't a great car, my first car to be exact - a 67 Chevy Impala which cost me $300. So I sort of shrugged my shoulders and let it go. Never saw nor heard from that car again! My friendship with Ron continued, however.
And he WAS a TRIP! One time, we were with Air Condo playing at a huge dance club in Dearborn called Coral Gables (I had a Thai girlfriend in those days and she pronounced it Colly Gurbles). The stage was set up with a big drum platform in the back, the drummer towered over everyone else like a thunder god. There was another band that played the club periodically and they were called Saxony. During our break, as we watched the giant crowd dance to the loud stereo system, the manager of the club came up to our singer and gave him a napkin upon which had been written, "Announce Saxony," meaning to let people know they would be there the following week. On this napkin, the word "Saxony" was on a separate line from the word "Announce", and the singer, who was a bit of a joker, took out a pen and wrote "Fuck" before the word Saxony, so the result was that the napkin now said "Announce Fuck Saxony". A few minutes later, we went onstage and turned on our amps and got ready to go, and Ron climbed up the massive drum platform and mounted his drumset. Ron was the one that counted off the songs, so we were waiting for him to count it and start the show. Just then, the singer handed him the napkin and told him to do the announcement. No one believed anyone would actually say this, but Ron, great guy, looks at the napkin, grabs his microphone, and in a booming voice says "We are Air Condo, and FUCK SAXONY! 1, 2, 3, 4," and the band started into "It's So Funny how We Don't Talk Anymore" by Cliff Richards or some such disco nonsense. I could hardly play, though, because I was trying not to split my gut laughing.
In another band I was in with Ron, we would just do impromptu silliness. For example, once we broke into a ska version of Nelson Riddle's Batman theme. "When yer runnin round yer house, and yer tryin to catch a mouse, call for Batman," Ron ad libbed over a fast ska beat.
Ron & I drove around all over Michigan together, doing gigs. Also some gigs in Ohio. We'd smoke multiple packs of Marlboros, eat together at restaurants and "dog" the waitresses. We had a running series of jokes and a running background of the finest funk. At one point we had a notion to record under the title "Partners in Crime", but that turned out not to be such a good idea, considering his eventual fate, to which I was not a party. But is sure was fun while it lasted.
Ron was responsible for introducing me to many talented and successful musicians around the Detroit area. It was Ron who had brought me together with Lamont Johnson. He had also introduced me to Ricky Rouse, through whom we had gotten gigs with Carolyn Crawford, both of Bohannon 'fame' if you will. The were countless others I can't remember now, but before I met a musician around town, famous or not, I'd always heard of them from Ron first.
[editor's note -- if you want to know who Bohannon is/was -- I am sure you have heard the recent dance song where the woman screams "GET ON UP AND DANCE, Y'ALL" bump... bump...bump bump? That song actually was stolen from a Bohannon song called "Let's Start the Dance". Bohannon's version was popular during the 1977 and 1978 period, it had an incredible bassline and of course Carolyn Crawford is the bomb on vocals, having started that whole phrase in the first place... and Ricky Rouse? Please. What an awesome guitarist, pure excitement to be in the same room with the dude. (also on my MySpace friends list now!)]
We also did some studio work, Ron did the demo with me for the Les Harvey Band stuff. He was later replaced by Steve Bray on that project. I have some recordings somewhere, of both of those sessions, I will try to get them out. They are pretty nice actually. He also helped me with some sessions for producer Duane Freeman.
We had a great group he put together, called Sky High. Somewhere Ron had found Luis Resto on keyboards and his brother Mario on guitar, along with Pete Khan of Ann Arbor on saxophone. Luis was a funky little keyboardist, I still have tapes of us recording a tune I wrote called Sunstorm. I later brought him into a Detroit project I was involved with called the Automatix with Bruce Nazarian, for which I was then fired, for good reason, I might add -- I was too argumentative -- the ol' Bucking Horse :) Luis later became an award winner for writing and producing Eminem's music (I got him as a friend on my MySpace page now too :) Sky High was a short-lived phenomenon that truly was Sky High, in a musical sense. We did material by Tom Browne, Joe Sample the Crusaders, Ronnie Laws, Chick Corea, and other jazz greats of the day. In Sky High we had an attitude of heavenly explosion when we hit the stage. When we practiced, it was at Luis and Mario's parents' home in Livonia. But the energy just blew up as soon as we started playing, live. It was really a treat for everyone including us.
In the winter of 1977, Ron had me driving us almost daily into Detroit to hang out at Cloudborn Studios with Eugene Lamont Johnson, the bass player from Brainstorm I've written about. Lamont was in the studio finishing up his album "Music of the Sun". Ron had known that Lamont was looking for backup for a tour he'd intended to put on, and I guess Ron and I were the elected parties for the rhythm section, so we hung tough with Lamont for that season. Lamont also came to see some of our gigs, too. [Don't you think this is like the coolest album cover you've ever seen?]
While in the studio with Lamont, I met Kashif Saleem of BT Express, who was working on his own material. I later went to New York and hung out with Kashif in his practice studio there while he practiced his group for a tour. Kashif became very successful as a writer, he wrote "Love Come Down" for Evelyn Champagne King, "Personal" for George Benson, and a slew of others including his own successful albums.
So Ron really was responsible for hooking me up, either directly or indirectly, with a lot of very interesting artists, from which I learned mucho over the several years that this transpired. Ron had a way of finding the right place to hang out and the right people to hang out with. That is, if you liked cutting edge, Detroit funk and R&B.
It was during those days, and especially at Cloudborn studios, Ron coined the phrase "Quit Cryin'". It was usually in response to one or the other of us whining about something or other, like running out of cigarettes, or that he'd ripped me off for change, or something stupid. "Quit Cryin'" is an all-purpose command that really comes in handy! Try it sometime, when your boss asks you to do something you don't want to do! Or how about when your wife is in a bad mood, a strategic "Quit Cryin'" really can do wonders!
Ron's phrase "Quit Cryin'" has always stuck with me, along with his recommended response, which is "I can't help it!" Or actually, Ron had explained to me the correct inflection, which is "Cain't Hep It" without the L in help. So at some point, I decided it should become a song. At one point I even promised RonRico half of the writer's royalty on any song I wrote on the Quit Cryin' concept. Not that I'm going to make any money, but... I think I fulfilled that obligation the last time I talked to him. I will say this: Ron, I wrote the song, but you invoked the phrase. If you can get a drum set and get yer ass down here and play some fusion, dude I will put your name on the copyright.
I definitely wish Ron was still in the jazz-funk arena. I contacted him in 1990, the last time, took him out for dinner in Ann Arbor, I was overjoyed to see him, but he didn't seem to be the same person anymore, too many run-ins I guess. What a damn shame. After I went back to Miami he called me up with some kind of scam to ask me for money... which I did send him. That sucked. I honestly don't think he's playing or doing anything anymore. Someone, please correct me if I'm wrong. If you got a computer dude you might be reading this, so email me.
When I moved to Miami, I continued to admonish all my new friends to "Quit Cryin'", and it has sort of become a trade mark for me, and something we always have a lot of fun with. So, Quit Cryin! Cain't Hep it! And by the way, I have just put up a new mix of the song Quit Cryin on my Myspace page! Check it out... I think you will like the sound effects :)
Disclaimer: while this article mentions cigarettes and smoking, I quit smoking in 1982. I do not condone cigarette smoking by anyone.
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Captain Jarvis
I received my new copy of Captain Jarvis today... the record was not released on CD, Noel died in 1994 ya know... the only copy I had was my original vinyl disc from 1979. I used it to make an mp3 a couple of months ago, but there was still an annoying skip that's been there forever, that I wasn't able to get rid of, so I had a copy of the album digitally re-mastered by a professional service.
I've ripped it to mp3, and WOW, let me tell you... I think that is one nice sounding piece of music... in fact I am so pleased to hear it so well, I have featured it on my MySpace page so jump over there and have a listen if you have a chance. I'm definitely a proud papa of this piece.
In case you don't remember, I composed Captain Jarvis in the 1970s and it was picked up by a big time Motown producer named Paul Reiser, who thought it was the perfect concept for jazz great Noel Pointer's R&B Funk Fusion breakout album called Feel It.
I'm not crazy about the album cover, I guess he was trying to appeal to the urban R&B audience, whereas he had previously catered mainly to the New York creative jazz audience. Before going with Paul Reiser, he'd been produced by Dave Grusin (also one of my favorites!)
Playing on the song are the following:
Noel Pointer - 5-string electric violin, string arrangements and conducting
Will Lee - bass
Quentin Dennard - drums
Onaje Gumbs - fender rhodes
Hiram Bullock - guitar
Richard Tee - clavinet
Michael Boddicker - Moog, ARP 2600 synthesizers
Eddie Bongo Brown - percussion
Neil A. Clarke - percussion
Producer: Paul Reiser
I'm honored to have had my tune arranged, produced & recorded by the top cats in the business. Paul Reiser is a big name in Motown, having produced such greats as Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Ashford & Simpson... Will Lee is one of the top studio bass players in the business, currently the bass player on the David Letterman show, has been for many years...Quentin Dennard is a super funky Detroit drummer who's worked with Aretha... Neil A. Clarke worked with Phyllis Hyman and Harry Belafonte... Richard Tee was one of the original musicians on Saturday Night Live, worked with Paul Simon, Billy Joel... Hiram Bullock did David Sanborn's stuff... Onaje Gumbs toured with Kenny Burrell, Norman Connors and Woody Shaw... Eddie Bongo Brown played on Marvin Gaye's material... Michael Boddicker played synthesizer on Michael Jackson's albums Thriller, Bad and Dangerous... so dude I am definitely in good company !!!
I've ripped it to mp3, and WOW, let me tell you... I think that is one nice sounding piece of music... in fact I am so pleased to hear it so well, I have featured it on my MySpace page so jump over there and have a listen if you have a chance. I'm definitely a proud papa of this piece.
In case you don't remember, I composed Captain Jarvis in the 1970s and it was picked up by a big time Motown producer named Paul Reiser, who thought it was the perfect concept for jazz great Noel Pointer's R&B Funk Fusion breakout album called Feel It.
I'm not crazy about the album cover, I guess he was trying to appeal to the urban R&B audience, whereas he had previously catered mainly to the New York creative jazz audience. Before going with Paul Reiser, he'd been produced by Dave Grusin (also one of my favorites!)Playing on the song are the following:
Noel Pointer - 5-string electric violin, string arrangements and conducting
Will Lee - bass
Quentin Dennard - drums
Onaje Gumbs - fender rhodes
Hiram Bullock - guitar
Richard Tee - clavinet
Michael Boddicker - Moog, ARP 2600 synthesizers
Eddie Bongo Brown - percussion
Neil A. Clarke - percussion
Producer: Paul Reiser
I'm honored to have had my tune arranged, produced & recorded by the top cats in the business. Paul Reiser is a big name in Motown, having produced such greats as Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Ashford & Simpson... Will Lee is one of the top studio bass players in the business, currently the bass player on the David Letterman show, has been for many years...Quentin Dennard is a super funky Detroit drummer who's worked with Aretha... Neil A. Clarke worked with Phyllis Hyman and Harry Belafonte... Richard Tee was one of the original musicians on Saturday Night Live, worked with Paul Simon, Billy Joel... Hiram Bullock did David Sanborn's stuff... Onaje Gumbs toured with Kenny Burrell, Norman Connors and Woody Shaw... Eddie Bongo Brown played on Marvin Gaye's material... Michael Boddicker played synthesizer on Michael Jackson's albums Thriller, Bad and Dangerous... so dude I am definitely in good company !!!
Monday, January 7, 2008
Pressure & Profits
I have put a new mix (original song) up on my MySpace page. I really like this song a lot even though it may be annoying to some people. It's called "Pressure & Profits".
Actually I created the meat of the song twenty years ago using a cheap Casio sampling keyboard. Ole Ronnie was trying to explain away the Iran Contra mess, and I decided to have some fun with it, the result was this tune. There really is no message besides the fact that "Pressure was put on from the other side" and that someone was going to "profit from what was going on". But one can read between the lines... and those concepts are more germane now than ever, even though it's a voice from a different era. At any rate I think the result is kind of hysterical.
A long time ago my father played me this piece by composer Steve Reich called "Come Out". It consisted of a recording of some spoken words. To be precise, it was the words of a young black man who had been beaten during a race riot (this was the turbulent sixties). The young man was saying that he would have to squeeze his bruise to make the blood "come out to show them". Apparently for the red cross or something. This piece of music took a repeating loop of the phrase "come out", split it into two, offset the timing a bit, split those two into four, offset the timing, etc. etc. until you have this raucously complex series of loops offsetting each other, which sound absolutely nothing like the phrase "come out" by the time it's done. But you do have a very repetitive, rich environment.
Now my song makes no pretense at being high art, it is "Just a Groove" as Captain Jarvis will remind you. But I think it does have some of the same elements, a repetitive recognisable phrase. But I'm hoping by the time the song fades out, the phrase has become music. That's my hope :) Enjoy. H.
Actually I created the meat of the song twenty years ago using a cheap Casio sampling keyboard. Ole Ronnie was trying to explain away the Iran Contra mess, and I decided to have some fun with it, the result was this tune. There really is no message besides the fact that "Pressure was put on from the other side" and that someone was going to "profit from what was going on". But one can read between the lines... and those concepts are more germane now than ever, even though it's a voice from a different era. At any rate I think the result is kind of hysterical.
A long time ago my father played me this piece by composer Steve Reich called "Come Out". It consisted of a recording of some spoken words. To be precise, it was the words of a young black man who had been beaten during a race riot (this was the turbulent sixties). The young man was saying that he would have to squeeze his bruise to make the blood "come out to show them". Apparently for the red cross or something. This piece of music took a repeating loop of the phrase "come out", split it into two, offset the timing a bit, split those two into four, offset the timing, etc. etc. until you have this raucously complex series of loops offsetting each other, which sound absolutely nothing like the phrase "come out" by the time it's done. But you do have a very repetitive, rich environment.
Now my song makes no pretense at being high art, it is "Just a Groove" as Captain Jarvis will remind you. But I think it does have some of the same elements, a repetitive recognisable phrase. But I'm hoping by the time the song fades out, the phrase has become music. That's my hope :) Enjoy. H.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
musical bio
Hugh Jarvis Hitchcock studied electronic music composition at the Royal Conservatory of Music, Toronto, Ontario, Canada and then studied composition at the University of Michigan under George Balch Wilson and William Bolcom. He is a founding member of the Martian Entropy Band.
Hugh has worked with the following people of note:
Anita Baker (famed songstress)
Luis Resto (producer, Eminem)
Stephen Bray (writer, Madonna)
Belita Woods (vocalist, P-Funk, Brainstorm "Lovin' is Really My Game")
David Lee Chong (synthesizers/writer, P-Funk, "Atomic Dog")
Larry Fratangelo (percussionist, P-Funk "One Nation Under a Groove")
Lamont Johnson (bass/vocals, Brainstorm, "This Must Be Heaven")
Norma Jean Bell (saxophone, Frank Zappa, Santana, Mahavishnu)
Kashif (writer, producer "Love Come Down")
Carolyn Crawford (vocalist, Bohannon "Get on up 'n' Dance, Y'all")
Shaun Murphy (vocalist, Bob Seger Band, Eric Clapton)
Deon Estus (bassist, Brainstorm, Wham!)
Jeryl Bright (Brainstorm, Cameo)
Paul Reiser (Motown Producer, Diana Ross)
Eddie Kendricks (the Temptations)
L. J. Reynolds (the Dramatics)
Robyn Robins (pianist, Bob Seger Silver Bullet Band "Old Time Rock and Roll")
Alan Kendall (guitarist, the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive")
Noel Pointer (Jazz violinist, "Captain Jarvis")
Marcus Belgrave (1st trumpet, Ray Charles)
Jesse Jones Jr. (international Jazz Artist, "Soul Serenade")
Ricky Rouse (guitar, Bohannon "Let's Start the Dance")
Roger Miller (founder, Mission of Burma, "Not a Photograph")
Randall Jacobs (guitar/writer, Was Not Was, "Walk the Dinosaur")
Bruce Nazarian (Automatix, TV producer)
Jerry Q. Jones (drums, P-Funk, 5 Special)
Angel Canales (cantante, "Bomba Carambomba")
Mike Hanopol (guitar, "Jeproks" the "father" of Pinoy Rock)
Roger Nichols (producer, Steely Dan)
Jim Gaines (producer, Tower of Power, Huey Lewis and the News)
Hugh sends a big "BuyaKasha" to all his great friends. "I hope you all stop by, listen to my jams and be my friends on My Space! 'n' remember, Quit Cryin' 'cause it Ain't Nothin' but a Groove, y'all!"
Hugh has worked with the following people of note:
Anita Baker (famed songstress)
Luis Resto (producer, Eminem)
Stephen Bray (writer, Madonna)
Belita Woods (vocalist, P-Funk, Brainstorm "Lovin' is Really My Game")
David Lee Chong (synthesizers/writer, P-Funk, "Atomic Dog")
Larry Fratangelo (percussionist, P-Funk "One Nation Under a Groove")
Lamont Johnson (bass/vocals, Brainstorm, "This Must Be Heaven")
Norma Jean Bell (saxophone, Frank Zappa, Santana, Mahavishnu)
Kashif (writer, producer "Love Come Down")
Carolyn Crawford (vocalist, Bohannon "Get on up 'n' Dance, Y'all")
Shaun Murphy (vocalist, Bob Seger Band, Eric Clapton)
Deon Estus (bassist, Brainstorm, Wham!)
Jeryl Bright (Brainstorm, Cameo)
Paul Reiser (Motown Producer, Diana Ross)
Eddie Kendricks (the Temptations)
L. J. Reynolds (the Dramatics)
Robyn Robins (pianist, Bob Seger Silver Bullet Band "Old Time Rock and Roll")
Alan Kendall (guitarist, the Bee Gees "Stayin' Alive")
Noel Pointer (Jazz violinist, "Captain Jarvis")
Marcus Belgrave (1st trumpet, Ray Charles)
Jesse Jones Jr. (international Jazz Artist, "Soul Serenade")
Ricky Rouse (guitar, Bohannon "Let's Start the Dance")
Roger Miller (founder, Mission of Burma, "Not a Photograph")
Randall Jacobs (guitar/writer, Was Not Was, "Walk the Dinosaur")
Bruce Nazarian (Automatix, TV producer)
Jerry Q. Jones (drums, P-Funk, 5 Special)
Angel Canales (cantante, "Bomba Carambomba")
Mike Hanopol (guitar, "Jeproks" the "father" of Pinoy Rock)
Roger Nichols (producer, Steely Dan)
Jim Gaines (producer, Tower of Power, Huey Lewis and the News)
Hugh sends a big "BuyaKasha" to all his great friends. "I hope you all stop by, listen to my jams and be my friends on My Space! 'n' remember, Quit Cryin' 'cause it Ain't Nothin' but a Groove, y'all!"
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)