Gadda get it

I'm a lucky dog. Khon Kaen has a mall. In the mall there's a place called Top DVD (it's on the top floor). They have cam versions of the latest Hollywood movies. And if you wait a couple of weeks you can lay your hands on a 'ma-se-tur'. Master copy that is. What's more: they sell music DVD's on the side. Rare ones. Ones with the old dude in the picture. He's only the best drummer in the known world: Steve Gadd.

Steve features (along with Dave Weckl, Steve Smith and Horacio 'El Negro' Hernandez) on the 25th anniversary DVD put out there by NYC's Drummers collective. Lot's of para diddles, blender strokes and poly-rhythms. But the real cherry on top of this pound cake is bass player Victor Wooten.

Between all the ghost notes, power solo's and parlour tricks he get's on stage alone. Just a four string bass and...a sampler gizmo. He outlines the rhythm, then plays the chords over it and then plays melody and solo's over that. Insane.

Anywho: even if you are not a drummer, check out my favorite Steve Gadd clip from yesteryear: here he is with Dave Weckl,Vinnie Colaiutta and the Buddy Rich Big Band(bonus: all with 1989 hair and suits).

Ramblin'

David (my Aussie colleague) was kind enough to let me rip J.J. Cale on to my hard drive. J.J. Cale! Gold! Two CD's! Why?! Isn't that country?! No. Well: let's just say I've never come more close. I have two songs in my collection that feature a kind of (dare I say the F-word).... fiddle. One by Nora Jones and one by J.J. Cale.

Now don't be frightened: I'm not rushing out to add Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt (you look 'em up) to my collection just yet. But J.J. was inevitable really. I've been a hardcore-ish Steely Dan fan since before they added trombones to their line-up. They fade in their slide guitar-like sounds with great stealth. But they are there nonetheless.

Then there's Eric Clapton. Used to play some hefty R&B. No stranger to country-ville either. And he made Cale's 'Cocaine' and 'After Midnight' into hits and habits. Also proving beyond reasonable doubt that at the core of Cale's tunes is a bluesy, rootsy boogie. Very contagious. Especially with J.J.'s laid back drooling vocals and immaculate but rambling guitar style.

But no apologies: I am a real country bumpkin now. Yeeeeehaw! According to the Thais I'm as hick as heck. All red earth and BBQ. I live in Khon Kaen, where the pickup trucks roam near the buffalo's home. I guess J.J. is a prefect fit.

[Before some of you music-heads start emailing me: Yes, I do realize Ramblin' On My Mind is by Robert Johnson and not by J.J. Cale and that Eric Clapton played it too. The title is not a reference to that.]