Bang on a Can 5

As I mentioned on Tuesday, in 2006 I was lucky enough to participate in the Bang on a Can Marathon, sitting in on mandolin w/ TACTUS. We performed a piece by the Dutch composer Mayke Nas called La Belle Chocolatière. Besides promoting how cool I am for getting that gig, I can justify posting at this website because there is a guitar in the arrangement as well: you can click on her page and hear a version by the Nieuw Ensemble.

Bang on a Can 4

Hmm ... 3 posts supposedly about the Bang on a Can Festival and I keep on linking to videos from the NY Guitar Festival.

Here's Bryce Dessner, who has apparently filled in for Mark Stewart a few times this year. He leads a double life as guitarist for the National and also a classical/contemporary performer - featured here.

Bang on a Can 3

Mark Stewart is the long-running guitarist for the Bang on a Can All Stars. Every year you can see him at the festival sitting up front and watching almost every single performance that he isn't part of. You get the sense he really really loves his job.

Here he is playing the Ubongi

Bang on a Can 2

I had the pleasure of performing at the Bang on a Can festival in 2006, on mandolin (of all things!). One of my favorite backstage moments (and there were a few) was watching Dominic Frasca warming up his ridiculous 2 handed techniques. His guitar looks more beat up in person than in the photos I'd seen - makes sense considering the 9 bazillion hours he must have practiced on it.

There's a reasonably famous and aptly named Youtube of DF playing called "Impossible Guitar" - with over 12 million page views I don't see much point in placing it here. Here's a lesser known video of him performing a new composition at the New York Guitar festival

Bang on a Can 1

This weekend marks the annual Bang on a Can Marathon in NYC, and I'm going to do my best to come up with a post a day that features the BOAC collective and something guitar oriented. This year's festival is a mere 12 hours (too easy!).

This first one is a slam dunk - about 12 minutes of the Bang on a Can All-Stars performing a drone piece with the one and only Thurston Moore (the All-Stars' own Mark Stewart is on guitar as well)

DB at the DMG

I probably shouldn't go too much longer w/ a blog entitled Free Form Guitar without a post from the grandfather of free improvisation on guitar: Derek Bailey



I was at this in-store performance at the old Downtown Music Gallery in December 2001 (just a few days after I saw him with John Zorn, Joey Baron, and Reggie Workman at the old Tonic - one of my favorite shows ever). I'm so glad someone captured this - I remembered the friendly vibe as he drifted between improvising and telling stories about when he worked at a music story in the 60s, but I was pretty far back and missed a lot of the nuance. I've often wondered if the bit around 6:26 where he's playing garden variety jazz chords was inspired by (or inspired) brainstorming for the remarkable Ballads records which was recorded around the same time.

Live at the 55

To round up my trio of recommendations from Sunday's post here's Leni Stern, recorded just a few days ago and a few blocks from my apartment with a full band of African musicians ...



Wow, if you'd told me when I first started the blog I'd be on a 4 day themed mission posting female guitarists within the first week I wouldn't have believed you.

Noel, Jonah, and Me

Continuing to run through the guitarists I listed in Sunday's post, here's an old video from the Spinanes. They were doing the guitar/drum duo thing long before the White Stripes or any other number of other groups made it hip - and RG's ability to come up with chord voicings that filled the spaces (or created the impression that they did) is one of my favorite indie guitar achievements.

Mocha Spice

Inspired by yesterday's post, here's a video of Emily Remler playing my favorite song of hers (not to suggest that my ER discography is anything approaching complete)



I find this tune to be very Pat Metheney-like, in a good way.

Venus Online's Top Female Guitarists

Stumbled upon an interesting list here at Venus Online. Many of my favorite female guitarists are present and accounted for (Joni Mitchell, Ani DiFranco, Carrie Brownstein) and there's a number that I haven't listened to very much or at all so I'm glad the article is out there. But, to throw in a few more recommendations of my own:

Emily Remler - I assume this was an oversight as she shows up in national guitar publications all the time as someone who would have been a major voice had she lived longer

Rebecca Gates - from the Spinanes. RG is kind of under the radar but definitely one of the players who has influenced me the most, and I can often trace things I've written back to sounds on her first record.

Leni Stern - Another staple to be featured in guitar magazines every time a new record comes out - and the new African-inspired one is especially hip. I had the pleasure of playing a show with Patty Stirling at Border's several years ago and I was thrilled/humbled (probably to the point that it affected my playing) that Leni was part of the same songwriting competition and had a featured set that night as well.

Michael and Leo

One of my favorite videos on Youtube -

Two of the most influential solo acoustic guitarists ever - Leo Kottke and Michael Hedges - just picking backstage without an audience (at the beginning anyway). There's something inherently sweet in that they chose to jam on something called the Theme from Doodles - not that I have any idea what Doodles is or why it has such a funky theme song. Hedges has this look on his face like he's a kid excited to be playing with his hero ...

Free Form Guitar

Welcome to a new mini-project where I hope to share some thoughts and sounds that I find inspiring from a music and guitar perspective. Beyond that - I'd hope that in my efforts to keep this blog updated (and perhaps interacting with readers) I'll learn a thing or two, which will help justify the time I'm spending writing about music instead of practicing.

To kick things off - I can't think of anything more appropriate than a video of the song that inspired the name of this blog: "Free Form Guitar" by Chicago ...



Whoa. I bet you didn't know Chicago had it in them.

This was recorded a bit before Hendrix at Woodstock - and I still found it shocking when I heard it for the first time 26 years later.

My parents had a cassette tape of Chicago at Carnegie Hall which, despite some bad reviews, I find to be brilliant and I ended up a fan of Terry Kath's guitar playing at a pretty young age. His ability to blend jazz vocabulary with rock energy gives those early Chicago records an edge it is easy to forget about considering their soft rock reputation (which, to be fair, they've earned). You've got to admire the courage of the band (and record label) to have put this music out, on a debut record full of pop hits, no less.

On a closing note, an interview with TK (looking like Javier Bardem in No Country for Old Men) with a profound quote at the end:

"Groupies have been around ever since there was musicians"