Sorry to Rob for my mis-spelling of his name in blog 7, always unforgiveble not to check a persons name.
I also went through the Bands profiles again today just as a reminder to myself of who they are individually and what brought them here. From ALL of their backgrounds I must admit to a feeling of naivete( correct spelling folks ,I checked) when singing their praises, they have all been around this scene many, many more years than I have, so perhaps much of my enthusiasm is water off a ducks back to most of the listeners. If so, thats just tough luck unless YOU can come up with better ways to help this band move forward and get the recognition they deserve as The SoTight Band and help get them more gigs. This is a very TOUGH city musically speaking (although I am given to understand this has not always been the case), venues are not plentiful and for various reasons ( having to go through agents etc) those that ARE here, the band at this time cannot play at.
They will help themselves a great deal by producing a CD and better Publicity and that is where I see this blog being of real help as we go along as it is my intention send it to various places, such as the Georgia Straight and many others ( suggestions please) and get some FREE publicity
Get involved people, it would be very sad if they were forced to break up because WE did not do our part.
Richard Winn
White Rock
Monday, April 30, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Save Me, Somebody Save Me
Rossinis, saturday afternoon, roughly 3pm to 7pm .What's happening here?The sun is shining ouside, folks walking, biking playing volleyball on the beach in bikinis (the older I get the more I seem to notice these things, at least the bikini wearers and why is it that the mind never seems to grasp that you ain't 25 anymore ,hell I ain't 55 anymore, makes a man want to weep, still I CAN ogle and I'm very good at that)
So, back we go to Rossini"s, which is jam packed full AGAIN despite the weather. I don't know how they get away with it, the crowd, the decibel level. Did you know in the great and wonderful City of Vancouver (where freedom reigns) it is ILLEGAL to have more than TWO musicians on stage at one time on a Saturday afternoon, ILLEGAL for heavens sake. According to Stephen May at Rossini"s they are the ONLY place in this city who have requested and received some form of exemption from this stupid draconian law, who thinks these things up anyway? Remember when the same stupid people outlawed TELEVISIONS in bars because they exceeded the width ALLOWED by those folks who know whats best for us.
Anyway, politics aside and as I get so bloody hot under the collar at silly restrictions like these we were unable to have Kent's trumpet added as Rossini's were concerned that this might just become a red flag and none of us wants that, it's a shame, he adds so much to the Band but there it is.
So the place is filling up, the 'Lookers" and the "Posers" of both sexes are entering the premises (THEY know who they are or if they don't WE DO) the hugs and air kisses are in profusion, the booze is flowing and the Sotight Band starts playing.
People, I just do not know how they do this in this location, Time after Time they raise the level of performance but without question for me this was simply the very best yet. Rob Nueman says I ALWAYS say that and I do, if its true) I thought the overall sound system was better, at least to my ears and yet I understand the band themselves (or some of them) were not sure. To me, the individual notes now coming from Peter's keyboards right through to the words of the songs themselves were clearer than they have ever been in Rossini's and added greatly to the effort. Having said that ,the Band just seemed to be up for it. The jump that they had from the very first note played had me forgetting I COULD have been cutting the grass. At times if you shut your eyes you would have sworn there was a Big Band on stage, the wall to wall sound was just huge. I just love that, can't get enough of it.
Did you notice Robbie's five string bass guitar, great mellow sound, as a drummer (ex) I would have gone a long way to play with that, without ANY other instrument present. It doesn't take me to say Robbie could play with any of the worlds best known groups of any genre and come out ahead, he is one oustanding musician. Did you get a load of him with 'Ride Sally Ride", more of that please, great fun.
They were all excellent as usual and it was great to hear a new addition in "This will Be" (isn't that a Natalie Cole number)? Whatever, it is very welcome. .Nadine never sounded better and more relaxed all afternoon and doesn't she work the room so well? Started off in the washroom and got through everybody in the joint.
Last but not least WHAT ABOUT JT. He was just right up there all day and I have no doubt it was because of the way that the rest of the band was performing, when THEY are in the groove he becomes unstoppable in his intensity. Someone said to me during JT's solo on Dr Feel Good that he heard a high D ( I thought he said Heidi and I was searching with bated breath for a big busted blonde in a halter top) whatever, all the dogs in the surrounding area must have been going nuts. Jt doesn't PLAY his saxaphones he ATTACKS them, absolutely relentless and breathtaking. Will he survive the song, will his head explode. All I know is if I were a sax manufacturer and wanted the product tested to its limit I'd be calling Mr Platt. He even plays the bloody whistle with high power. One thing that does cheese me off though is the number of women who always fall in love with the sax player, one told me yesterday she wants to marry him. what about the poor sodding drummer, belts his skins around all night trying to keep everyone else in line and all he ever gets is a free beer(if he's REALLY lucky). Anyway JT was simply awsome and if he ever starts practicing look out(LOL)
Ah well, thats it for now folks, lets hear from YOU. Met the lovely Andra (Cliffs wife) and she tells me the blog link will be added to the SoTight website this week AND I heard a WHISPER about a CD getting closer and closer. I do know that money is disappearing out of the door in new sound and recording equipment so we have a lot to look forward to. Don't forget Rossini's next Saturday and remember .. Keep it Tight.. Keep it SoTight.
Richard Winn
White Rock
So, back we go to Rossini"s, which is jam packed full AGAIN despite the weather. I don't know how they get away with it, the crowd, the decibel level. Did you know in the great and wonderful City of Vancouver (where freedom reigns) it is ILLEGAL to have more than TWO musicians on stage at one time on a Saturday afternoon, ILLEGAL for heavens sake. According to Stephen May at Rossini"s they are the ONLY place in this city who have requested and received some form of exemption from this stupid draconian law, who thinks these things up anyway? Remember when the same stupid people outlawed TELEVISIONS in bars because they exceeded the width ALLOWED by those folks who know whats best for us.
Anyway, politics aside and as I get so bloody hot under the collar at silly restrictions like these we were unable to have Kent's trumpet added as Rossini's were concerned that this might just become a red flag and none of us wants that, it's a shame, he adds so much to the Band but there it is.
So the place is filling up, the 'Lookers" and the "Posers" of both sexes are entering the premises (THEY know who they are or if they don't WE DO) the hugs and air kisses are in profusion, the booze is flowing and the Sotight Band starts playing.
People, I just do not know how they do this in this location, Time after Time they raise the level of performance but without question for me this was simply the very best yet. Rob Nueman says I ALWAYS say that and I do, if its true) I thought the overall sound system was better, at least to my ears and yet I understand the band themselves (or some of them) were not sure. To me, the individual notes now coming from Peter's keyboards right through to the words of the songs themselves were clearer than they have ever been in Rossini's and added greatly to the effort. Having said that ,the Band just seemed to be up for it. The jump that they had from the very first note played had me forgetting I COULD have been cutting the grass. At times if you shut your eyes you would have sworn there was a Big Band on stage, the wall to wall sound was just huge. I just love that, can't get enough of it.
Did you notice Robbie's five string bass guitar, great mellow sound, as a drummer (ex) I would have gone a long way to play with that, without ANY other instrument present. It doesn't take me to say Robbie could play with any of the worlds best known groups of any genre and come out ahead, he is one oustanding musician. Did you get a load of him with 'Ride Sally Ride", more of that please, great fun.
They were all excellent as usual and it was great to hear a new addition in "This will Be" (isn't that a Natalie Cole number)? Whatever, it is very welcome. .Nadine never sounded better and more relaxed all afternoon and doesn't she work the room so well? Started off in the washroom and got through everybody in the joint.
Last but not least WHAT ABOUT JT. He was just right up there all day and I have no doubt it was because of the way that the rest of the band was performing, when THEY are in the groove he becomes unstoppable in his intensity. Someone said to me during JT's solo on Dr Feel Good that he heard a high D ( I thought he said Heidi and I was searching with bated breath for a big busted blonde in a halter top) whatever, all the dogs in the surrounding area must have been going nuts. Jt doesn't PLAY his saxaphones he ATTACKS them, absolutely relentless and breathtaking. Will he survive the song, will his head explode. All I know is if I were a sax manufacturer and wanted the product tested to its limit I'd be calling Mr Platt. He even plays the bloody whistle with high power. One thing that does cheese me off though is the number of women who always fall in love with the sax player, one told me yesterday she wants to marry him. what about the poor sodding drummer, belts his skins around all night trying to keep everyone else in line and all he ever gets is a free beer(if he's REALLY lucky). Anyway JT was simply awsome and if he ever starts practicing look out(LOL)
Ah well, thats it for now folks, lets hear from YOU. Met the lovely Andra (Cliffs wife) and she tells me the blog link will be added to the SoTight website this week AND I heard a WHISPER about a CD getting closer and closer. I do know that money is disappearing out of the door in new sound and recording equipment so we have a lot to look forward to. Don't forget Rossini's next Saturday and remember .. Keep it Tight.. Keep it SoTight.
Richard Winn
White Rock
Friday, April 27, 2007
Re COMMENTS
This is just a reminder for all who read this blog that they also read the COMMENTS. I know that the Band are reading about what is happening here so the comment listed under "How to Post" should clearly show them we need to know what DOES happen to requests or suggestions.
While it is likely the Band feels a certain song does not fit with them, it is made more difficult if we don't know WHY. I know I personally find it difficult to suggest new material because the Band has such a diverse range of ability which in turn is so very attractive. For instance I would love to hear Nadine add a couple of slower numbers, she does such an incredible job with "At Last" which always gets a good audience response and the whole approach of the Band when they perform 'Dr Feel Good" is nothing short of brilliant. I think Nadine is capable of adding some Billie Holiday material> I can see her sat on the Piano doing her own thing with "Love for Sale" for instance. On the other hand the Band probably feel that they must stay with their up-tempo frenetic approach which after all gets all us old buggers dancing. It really is hard to suggest new stuff and frankly the band themselves are going to have to give us some clue as to which direction they are going. It WILL all work out, it's just going to take time. So people read the COMMENTS and add your stuff to them. I will do my best to sort out the presentation to keep it fun and entertaining, just recognise I ain't done anything like this before so i'm learning as we go.
Keep it Tight people Keep it SOTIGHT.
.
While it is likely the Band feels a certain song does not fit with them, it is made more difficult if we don't know WHY. I know I personally find it difficult to suggest new material because the Band has such a diverse range of ability which in turn is so very attractive. For instance I would love to hear Nadine add a couple of slower numbers, she does such an incredible job with "At Last" which always gets a good audience response and the whole approach of the Band when they perform 'Dr Feel Good" is nothing short of brilliant. I think Nadine is capable of adding some Billie Holiday material> I can see her sat on the Piano doing her own thing with "Love for Sale" for instance. On the other hand the Band probably feel that they must stay with their up-tempo frenetic approach which after all gets all us old buggers dancing. It really is hard to suggest new stuff and frankly the band themselves are going to have to give us some clue as to which direction they are going. It WILL all work out, it's just going to take time. So people read the COMMENTS and add your stuff to them. I will do my best to sort out the presentation to keep it fun and entertaining, just recognise I ain't done anything like this before so i'm learning as we go.
Keep it Tight people Keep it SOTIGHT.
Richard Winn
White Rock
.
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
How to Post a Comment
Not sure how to post a comment? Very easy to do, takes less than a minute.
1) Scroll down to end of the post (message) I've put up and Click on "COMMENTS"
2)Sign-up for a FREE Google Account, just follow the simple instructions shown. You are now good to go.
3) Enter your USER NAME and PASSWORD and put your comment into the box provided. Click "PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT" and your done.
Don't be scared folks, get the comments in, we need them to help the band.
1) Scroll down to end of the post (message) I've put up and Click on "COMMENTS"
2)Sign-up for a FREE Google Account, just follow the simple instructions shown. You are now good to go.
3) Enter your USER NAME and PASSWORD and put your comment into the box provided. Click "PUBLISH YOUR COMMENT" and your done.
Don't be scared folks, get the comments in, we need them to help the band.
Sunday, April 22, 2007
SoTight at Chantel's
This is proving the hardest update so far.
Got home to White Rock around 3.30 am this morning following the Bands Performance at Chantel's Lounge in the Boulevard Casino.
And what a performance, this was easily the very best I have seen yet from them, they were absolutley on fire. For those who have only seen SoTight at Rossini's, their best effort there cannot come close to what we witnessed last night and frankly I'm not sure I can do them justice, in fact I know I will fall short.
I also know that my friend Dennis who is as big a fan of SoTight as I am was there both nights and will be adding his perspective and insight to what happened here, 'cos I'm telling you folks, based on this performance they are capable of holding their own on stage in Vegas or anywhere else you can name. Over the Top?? Well you weren't there were you. So what happened? What happened is they put on a SHOW, collectively and individually. For the first time for me I can see that their true name should be The SoTight Show Band, they didn't just play great music last night they Entertained us and boy was it fun to watch.
To start with, the Stage area gave then freedom of movement not possible in Kits, then there is the sound system and way above all of that is the addition of Kent's just superb Trumpet playing.. Kent fits this band like a glove and just like all the others is so damned unassuming. I know i've said it before but it is very difficult to find an "Ego" between them which in this world of "prima donna" entertainers is nothing short of remarkable. There are other perhaps more subtle differences like Rob being able to play on his own drumkit which on its own changes the overall sound.
I am not a technical person when it comes to sound systems but i do know that the clarity of every instrument and voice was top notch (I understand this was not the case the night before) and had a major influence on the overall performance, it helped everyone but I thought it definitely helped bring Cliff's guitar and Peter's keyboards to a new level. In fact Cliff was an absolute star all night, I have never before heard the quality or the intensity of the solos he played and it was obvious to all that the band themselves, new this was something special. There were many highlights too numerous to mention, not the least was Robbie Marr's front and centre solo. What was interesting to me with that ,is that all the people on the dance floor weren't dancing, they were just cheering and applauding. One for the book Robbie. By the way we need you doing a few more vocals Mr Marr, really enjoyed that, band take note.
Now I must get down to Number One, Numero Uno star performer who just had a ball up there allnight and that was Nadine. She COMMANDED the stage throughout, she LOOKED the part, took CONTROL and sang her heartout. Some of her interactions with the band, particularly with Kent on Dr Feelgood were mesmerising. Because she has this unique ability to use her voice as another instrument, the interplay of notes between her and Kent was awesome to hear and they quite obviously raised each others game. Yes, Nadine was in charge right from the word go, never still and looked and sounded like a true star, and why not, SHE IS.
The other thing I personally love is when the The Two Horny's (Blame Nadine not me) play off each other. I wish they would do much more of that, they seem to have such an understanding of each other that transcends just two immensely talented individuals. JT who ALWAYS gives so much of himself, always pushing for more, definitely benefits from Kent's involvement. The practiced riffs they play behind other soloists are good but is when they improvise together that the sparks start to fly. Much more of this please. In fact I would love to see this happen between all of them, sax and guitar,trumpetand keyboards, both horns with bass guitar, bring in the drummer fot interchanges etc etc. The band will get the picture(I hope) Also JT NEVER seems to have any practiced or improvised riffs behind HIS solos and yet all musicians know that this send the soloist to new heights so why is that? Maybe use Nadine more with the instrumentalists when the band is really stretching out, perhaps more 'songs within songs' too.
My only point here is that the Band which has only been together for just over six months and has improved to an amazing degree ,is already at a crossroads of a sort. They can either stay the same and lose out in the long term or get ahead of the game, add new material,maybe some fusion stuff, maybe some more choreography( not SLICK stuff) but a little added group together action.
I want to make it absolutely clear this is in no way any kind of criticism that ain't my job, I just think the POTENTIAL for SoTight is so huge Im just so certain with the calibre of people in the band they have not even touched the surface of what they can achieve musically. I see this blog as not simply inviting comments on the band but COMING UP WITH SUGGESTIONS to help them move forward, GET SOME REQUESTS IN THERE FOLKS. I know from MY playing days we would get complacent and play the same stuff over and over and had problems at practice with one band member suggesting trying so and so and others not being too excited BUT the LIFEBLOOD is always looking for new material and I can tell you when REQUESTS came in we bloody well had to handle them, providing they were not extreme or simply did not fit.
Funny thing about trying new material from requests is the bands ablility to try it out, get some reaction and then expand on the number until its part of the groups repetoire. My own example is when they felt they should look at trying playing Stevie Wonders "Sir Duke" They obviously were not sure and yet they now do a superb version that Mr Wonder would be proud to hear. Not sure why the band is not including that recently but that is THERE right to choose what and what not to play, just bring some suggestions either direcly to the band or through this blog.
Now this blog has been more of a personal rant when I read it, but I am sincere in wanting to help SoTight do some great things for music (and themselves) in this city and need help from YOU in making that happen.
Look this NOT an ordinary run-of-the mill bar band, it is NOT just another TRIBUTE band, it is a band who are JUST BEGINNING to recognise their own potential or should be- possible problem there just maybe because of the lack of ego or frankly a band leader,( I'm in trouble now) they DON"T understand how good they already are but much more importanly how good they COULD be. They are just STARTING to create a style of their very own, an IDENTITY and after seeing just a piece of that on Saturday I WANT MORE because they have it in them (if they indeed want it) to put a lot of smiles on the faces of Vancouverites and wherever they wish to go for a long long time.
Struggled with this folks and hey I might be out to lunch implying what may be construed as interference or criticism but that is NOT ME and I am not doing this blog for some personal ego thing, I just want to put in the effort to hopefully help a group of individuals who give me so much pleasure by the effort THEY put in to entertain us.
More this week on how I believe YOU can help, so if you like what we are trying to do here, TELL ME, if you don't like it TELL ME WHY, just do something.
Keep it Tight, Keep it SOTIGHT.
Richard Winn
White Rock
Got home to White Rock around 3.30 am this morning following the Bands Performance at Chantel's Lounge in the Boulevard Casino.
And what a performance, this was easily the very best I have seen yet from them, they were absolutley on fire. For those who have only seen SoTight at Rossini's, their best effort there cannot come close to what we witnessed last night and frankly I'm not sure I can do them justice, in fact I know I will fall short.
I also know that my friend Dennis who is as big a fan of SoTight as I am was there both nights and will be adding his perspective and insight to what happened here, 'cos I'm telling you folks, based on this performance they are capable of holding their own on stage in Vegas or anywhere else you can name. Over the Top?? Well you weren't there were you. So what happened? What happened is they put on a SHOW, collectively and individually. For the first time for me I can see that their true name should be The SoTight Show Band, they didn't just play great music last night they Entertained us and boy was it fun to watch.
To start with, the Stage area gave then freedom of movement not possible in Kits, then there is the sound system and way above all of that is the addition of Kent's just superb Trumpet playing.. Kent fits this band like a glove and just like all the others is so damned unassuming. I know i've said it before but it is very difficult to find an "Ego" between them which in this world of "prima donna" entertainers is nothing short of remarkable. There are other perhaps more subtle differences like Rob being able to play on his own drumkit which on its own changes the overall sound.
I am not a technical person when it comes to sound systems but i do know that the clarity of every instrument and voice was top notch (I understand this was not the case the night before) and had a major influence on the overall performance, it helped everyone but I thought it definitely helped bring Cliff's guitar and Peter's keyboards to a new level. In fact Cliff was an absolute star all night, I have never before heard the quality or the intensity of the solos he played and it was obvious to all that the band themselves, new this was something special. There were many highlights too numerous to mention, not the least was Robbie Marr's front and centre solo. What was interesting to me with that ,is that all the people on the dance floor weren't dancing, they were just cheering and applauding. One for the book Robbie. By the way we need you doing a few more vocals Mr Marr, really enjoyed that, band take note.
Now I must get down to Number One, Numero Uno star performer who just had a ball up there allnight and that was Nadine. She COMMANDED the stage throughout, she LOOKED the part, took CONTROL and sang her heartout. Some of her interactions with the band, particularly with Kent on Dr Feelgood were mesmerising. Because she has this unique ability to use her voice as another instrument, the interplay of notes between her and Kent was awesome to hear and they quite obviously raised each others game. Yes, Nadine was in charge right from the word go, never still and looked and sounded like a true star, and why not, SHE IS.
The other thing I personally love is when the The Two Horny's (Blame Nadine not me) play off each other. I wish they would do much more of that, they seem to have such an understanding of each other that transcends just two immensely talented individuals. JT who ALWAYS gives so much of himself, always pushing for more, definitely benefits from Kent's involvement. The practiced riffs they play behind other soloists are good but is when they improvise together that the sparks start to fly. Much more of this please. In fact I would love to see this happen between all of them, sax and guitar,trumpetand keyboards, both horns with bass guitar, bring in the drummer fot interchanges etc etc. The band will get the picture(I hope) Also JT NEVER seems to have any practiced or improvised riffs behind HIS solos and yet all musicians know that this send the soloist to new heights so why is that? Maybe use Nadine more with the instrumentalists when the band is really stretching out, perhaps more 'songs within songs' too.
My only point here is that the Band which has only been together for just over six months and has improved to an amazing degree ,is already at a crossroads of a sort. They can either stay the same and lose out in the long term or get ahead of the game, add new material,maybe some fusion stuff, maybe some more choreography( not SLICK stuff) but a little added group together action.
I want to make it absolutely clear this is in no way any kind of criticism that ain't my job, I just think the POTENTIAL for SoTight is so huge Im just so certain with the calibre of people in the band they have not even touched the surface of what they can achieve musically. I see this blog as not simply inviting comments on the band but COMING UP WITH SUGGESTIONS to help them move forward, GET SOME REQUESTS IN THERE FOLKS. I know from MY playing days we would get complacent and play the same stuff over and over and had problems at practice with one band member suggesting trying so and so and others not being too excited BUT the LIFEBLOOD is always looking for new material and I can tell you when REQUESTS came in we bloody well had to handle them, providing they were not extreme or simply did not fit.
Funny thing about trying new material from requests is the bands ablility to try it out, get some reaction and then expand on the number until its part of the groups repetoire. My own example is when they felt they should look at trying playing Stevie Wonders "Sir Duke" They obviously were not sure and yet they now do a superb version that Mr Wonder would be proud to hear. Not sure why the band is not including that recently but that is THERE right to choose what and what not to play, just bring some suggestions either direcly to the band or through this blog.
Now this blog has been more of a personal rant when I read it, but I am sincere in wanting to help SoTight do some great things for music (and themselves) in this city and need help from YOU in making that happen.
Look this NOT an ordinary run-of-the mill bar band, it is NOT just another TRIBUTE band, it is a band who are JUST BEGINNING to recognise their own potential or should be- possible problem there just maybe because of the lack of ego or frankly a band leader,( I'm in trouble now) they DON"T understand how good they already are but much more importanly how good they COULD be. They are just STARTING to create a style of their very own, an IDENTITY and after seeing just a piece of that on Saturday I WANT MORE because they have it in them (if they indeed want it) to put a lot of smiles on the faces of Vancouverites and wherever they wish to go for a long long time.
Struggled with this folks and hey I might be out to lunch implying what may be construed as interference or criticism but that is NOT ME and I am not doing this blog for some personal ego thing, I just want to put in the effort to hopefully help a group of individuals who give me so much pleasure by the effort THEY put in to entertain us.
More this week on how I believe YOU can help, so if you like what we are trying to do here, TELL ME, if you don't like it TELL ME WHY, just do something.
Keep it Tight, Keep it SOTIGHT.
Richard Winn
White Rock
Friday, April 20, 2007
Too Tight
I have been severely reprimanded for poor set-up, mised (sic) letters and lousy shhpelling.
All errors are mine and I am very proud of them.
Richard
All errors are mine and I am very proud of them.
Richard
That Band Again
PHEW!!! I'm glad to see some comments coming in from the first blog, 'ancient den" is right, i've been sweating bullets that nothing would happen and i was naturally pleased to see I have been given a Knighthood at this early stage. He certainly has my son (karaoke steve) and myself well pegged. Stephen (not unlike myself) is a fountain of useless knowlege and never afraid to hand it out( I blame The Discovery Channel) to anyone within range. I shall be watching what I say to "den" in the future and restrict my outpourings to simple subjects such as 'the sexual life of a camel" so as not to confuse the poor fellow. What has this to do with Band? "Nowt" as they say in Yorkshire, just my verbal dihorrea. In the first blog I mentioned holding various contests to get people involved, one of which is how best to describe the band to those poor folks who have not heard them play. I will be keeping a note of the suggestions and publish them for a vote at a later date. Thanks to "mrallnight6" who suggested "The Soul of the City" your first on the list. any others??Den is right that they are simply the best "party entertainment" group we will ever get to hear so we need to tie all that in with the description. One of the vital components is their ability to get people dancing which SoTight does so well, we should look at that too. It is almost impossible not to WANT to dance to them. I myself am NOT a dancer, my son gets very embarrassed claiming I look like Bill Cosby on steroids(little bastard,I'll stop his pocket money) but Sticks and
stones etc, in fact before some poor soul (I think is was the lovely and very lively Renee who has body movements alien to me) who hauled me to the dance floor i think the last band I hopped up and down to was KC and The Sunshine Band or maybe Boney M in the seventies wild, wild times ,mostly wrapped up in an alcholic haze.
So what is it about this Band that has this ability to fill Rossinis to the rafters consistently(wonder how much moolah they take at the bar, perhaps they could spend some on the washrooms) fill the dance floor almost from the first note played and have everyone else clapping and tapping their feet with huge smiles on their faces?
There is no doubt that as individuals they are first class musicians ( and I include Nadine in that category, more on that in a later blog) but you can have that and not the effect this group gives you. A group of great individual athletes in no way guarantees a great team, in fact usually the opposite. The SoTight Band has such a magic togetherness as a group that sets them apart from anything I have heard live in many, many years. They play with such obvious joy and passion together it just reaches out and grabs you and when they REALLY get "in the zone" it sends shivers up and down my spine. I will never in my life forget going to the Odeon Cinema in Leeds in the early sixties and sitting in the front row (Seat AA1, cost me a pound) and being just blown away by the Count Basie Band the shear power and togetherness of that band left me breathless and even now I can remember catching the bus home in a complete daze but on cloud nine. Thats the feeling I personally get when this little local group of players gets in the groove and i come home wringing wet just from listening, heavens knows how THEY feel. At he end of three or four encores they all must be totally exhausted and yet surely thrilled with the audience reaction and participation. The only pity about Rossinis is we can't hear Kent's trumpet as well, if anyone can think of how to fit him in there, short of hanging him from the ceiling, we will all buy you a drink and carry you home. Mind you the decibel level in there must reach some incredible levels, Kent's addition might blow the roof right off. The other aspect of Rossinis is how the heck do you invite 'new" people to come and hear what all the excitement is about, there is no room to breathe in there so we need many, many new venues so the Band (and us) can stretchout more. I have a lot more to say about the Band as individual players and collectively but I want to go on record and say that in my humble opinion here is a group of people who work for a living, don't have a lot of time to add more to their repetoire except over time, a goup of superb players with no visible individual egos, in fact exactly the opposite, a group of people who play at such an intensity and at such a high level, then as an ex-drummer who has played a few gigs in his time and a lover of good music of all stripes I have nothing but admiration and
respect for everyone of them.
Hope Chantel's is full tonight (Friday 20th) I can't be there as it is "she who must be obeyed's birthday" (I keep reminding her it is also Hitler's birthday but for some reason it does not go down too well) Will be there with Karaoke Steve on Saturday and ready for a new blog on Sunday.
Keep the comments coming ( Thanks to "Kitsdancemob" good stuff) and lets bring the support for this band to an unprecedented level in the Lower Mainland, THEY deserve it and so do we.
Richard Winn
White Rock
stones etc, in fact before some poor soul (I think is was the lovely and very lively Renee who has body movements alien to me) who hauled me to the dance floor i think the last band I hopped up and down to was KC and The Sunshine Band or maybe Boney M in the seventies wild, wild times ,mostly wrapped up in an alcholic haze.
So what is it about this Band that has this ability to fill Rossinis to the rafters consistently(wonder how much moolah they take at the bar, perhaps they could spend some on the washrooms) fill the dance floor almost from the first note played and have everyone else clapping and tapping their feet with huge smiles on their faces?
There is no doubt that as individuals they are first class musicians ( and I include Nadine in that category, more on that in a later blog) but you can have that and not the effect this group gives you. A group of great individual athletes in no way guarantees a great team, in fact usually the opposite. The SoTight Band has such a magic togetherness as a group that sets them apart from anything I have heard live in many, many years. They play with such obvious joy and passion together it just reaches out and grabs you and when they REALLY get "in the zone" it sends shivers up and down my spine. I will never in my life forget going to the Odeon Cinema in Leeds in the early sixties and sitting in the front row (Seat AA1, cost me a pound) and being just blown away by the Count Basie Band the shear power and togetherness of that band left me breathless and even now I can remember catching the bus home in a complete daze but on cloud nine. Thats the feeling I personally get when this little local group of players gets in the groove and i come home wringing wet just from listening, heavens knows how THEY feel. At he end of three or four encores they all must be totally exhausted and yet surely thrilled with the audience reaction and participation. The only pity about Rossinis is we can't hear Kent's trumpet as well, if anyone can think of how to fit him in there, short of hanging him from the ceiling, we will all buy you a drink and carry you home. Mind you the decibel level in there must reach some incredible levels, Kent's addition might blow the roof right off. The other aspect of Rossinis is how the heck do you invite 'new" people to come and hear what all the excitement is about, there is no room to breathe in there so we need many, many new venues so the Band (and us) can stretchout more. I have a lot more to say about the Band as individual players and collectively but I want to go on record and say that in my humble opinion here is a group of people who work for a living, don't have a lot of time to add more to their repetoire except over time, a goup of superb players with no visible individual egos, in fact exactly the opposite, a group of people who play at such an intensity and at such a high level, then as an ex-drummer who has played a few gigs in his time and a lover of good music of all stripes I have nothing but admiration and
respect for everyone of them.
Hope Chantel's is full tonight (Friday 20th) I can't be there as it is "she who must be obeyed's birthday" (I keep reminding her it is also Hitler's birthday but for some reason it does not go down too well) Will be there with Karaoke Steve on Saturday and ready for a new blog on Sunday.
Keep the comments coming ( Thanks to "Kitsdancemob" good stuff) and lets bring the support for this band to an unprecedented level in the Lower Mainland, THEY deserve it and so do we.
Richard Winn
White Rock
Thursday, April 12, 2007
THE SOTIGHT BAND
Hi all.
This is the first blog in support of The SoTight Band so bear with me here, it can only get better. The whole idea is to involve all those people who already follow the band and spread the word to those who WILL be following them over the next weeks, months and hopefully years. The blog is intended for all those who wish to add there own views on the band itself, individual members of the band, new tunes,ideas for new venues etc etc. this is going to be a fun thing, we will be adding photos,interviews with band members,suggestions on how we think we can help them with promotion,free advertising, t-shirts (JT has a great idea for the wording on both mens and womens T-shirts-more later on that). We will also be looking at holding contests for different things like maybe "how best to describe the band" to others, I.ve heard "Showband' NAH, Happiness Band NAH (sounds like something out of a Chinese whorehouse,NOT that there is anything wrong with that) I've heard references to parts of the Anatomy of the fairer sex and so on. I quite like "Hot n" Funky or Hot n Dirty anyway lets have some input here, what do YOU think? What about a Band signature tune and who agrees(or disagrees) with me that they should write their own.
Anyway this was just a very first effort, lots more to come but before signing off I just want to add that I have been very fortunate in my life to have heard some the worlds best musicians in club settings no bigger than Rossinis from Louis and Ella to Miles and Coltrane and while this band is not a "Jazz" band the standard of musicianship is absolutely awesome and i can only hope we all understand just how lucky we are to be witnessing a growing phenomenon that is " The SoTight Band " long may they be around.
Richard
White Rock BC
This is the first blog in support of The SoTight Band so bear with me here, it can only get better. The whole idea is to involve all those people who already follow the band and spread the word to those who WILL be following them over the next weeks, months and hopefully years. The blog is intended for all those who wish to add there own views on the band itself, individual members of the band, new tunes,ideas for new venues etc etc. this is going to be a fun thing, we will be adding photos,interviews with band members,suggestions on how we think we can help them with promotion,free advertising, t-shirts (JT has a great idea for the wording on both mens and womens T-shirts-more later on that). We will also be looking at holding contests for different things like maybe "how best to describe the band" to others, I.ve heard "Showband' NAH, Happiness Band NAH (sounds like something out of a Chinese whorehouse,NOT that there is anything wrong with that) I've heard references to parts of the Anatomy of the fairer sex and so on. I quite like "Hot n" Funky or Hot n Dirty anyway lets have some input here, what do YOU think? What about a Band signature tune and who agrees(or disagrees) with me that they should write their own.
Anyway this was just a very first effort, lots more to come but before signing off I just want to add that I have been very fortunate in my life to have heard some the worlds best musicians in club settings no bigger than Rossinis from Louis and Ella to Miles and Coltrane and while this band is not a "Jazz" band the standard of musicianship is absolutely awesome and i can only hope we all understand just how lucky we are to be witnessing a growing phenomenon that is " The SoTight Band " long may they be around.
Richard
White Rock BC
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