Show Report: Bruce James Soultet at The Continental Gallery-Mon. 1-25-2010

In January 2010 Mondays at the Continental Club Gallery were the home of The Bruce James Soultet. It's always cool for a band to have a residency, it builds fans plus the band gets a chance to stretch and perhaps try new material. This show was the last Monday (January 25) of their residency. A really cool thing about a residency on a non-weekend night with a great band is that brings out the cats to jam and to hang. I love that about a being musician, I love hanging with cats. All of my life I always wanted to be one, a musician respected by my peers. I was hanging with my man Sam a good young keyboard cat.

The lineup of the band:

Bruce James -- Keys and Vocals
Tim Spivey -- Bass
Chris Trafton -- Drums
David Jimenez -- Guitar
Fumi Sugawara -- Guitar
Dave Carrol - Percussion

During the break, I chatted up Chris, found out he saw me play with STM and liked my playing. I introduced him to Sam (Sam was rapping with Bruce about keys and Bruce invited him to come hang and learn with him at one of his solo piano gigs.) I mentioned my jazz/funk project and he was really interested in being a part of it. Very cool...

The band was hot, heavy in the pocket and drenched in soul. I love the 2 guitar line-up of the group. It's a testament to me that a group with 3 chordal instruments never get in each others way. David Jimenez is such a sick soloist. He tells a story all the time, he bends , prods and quotes in his solos (he quoted Blue Monk in one his solo.) Plus Chris and Dave had good rhythmic chemistry. Tim has that great finger-funk style of playing, dancing with the beat and chords. Fumi's guitar tone is nice deep sound texture. Overall this band just kicks ass.

After the show, Sam and I talked with the whole band and 2 other drummers about the biz, music and feel. Everyone changed information and had a good time. The show prompted me to buy one of Bruce's CDs. Some pictures of the show:

New Music (To Me) Tuesday-Again!

This little tiny spree was done today. The location was Cheapo Records.

Branford Marsalis-I Heard You Twice the First Time-$7.95

Branford plays the blues with a cast of greats including, B.B. King, John Lee Hooker and his brother Wynton.
Branford really covers the history of blues in the music. After thinking about Branford's influence on me, I decide he is on The Completion List. This album was also a cassette casualty, music that need replacement.




Ron Carter Sextet-Orfeu-$7.95

One night last week I was up brain noodling with band names, lyric writing what have you and I some how ended up on Ron's website listening to his streaming music. I heard tracks of this killa album and reminded myself about how much I love his playing and compositions. When I buy that acoustic bass this year and take lessons on it, his Building Jazz Bass Lines will be parked on my music stand.



Bruce James-The Wayside Drive Sessions-$9.99


This is a GREAT local Austin artist. I went to hear him and his Soultet at the Continental Gallery on Monday January 25, 2010. I was with my man Sam who is a good young keyboard player. Sam loves him and is going to start hanging with him to pick up some pointers. It was a night of hanging with cats. I knew Bruce just put out a new record, but he didn't have any on him that night. So I figure I'd go and pick up one at Cheapo. This disc is an early one, still slammin' though.

Here is a taste of The Bruce James Soultet:

New Music (To Me) Tuesday

This is shopping spree is from Tuesday January 19. Some times I'm in completion mode-I buy music to replace stuff I have on cassette (yes I still have cassettes) or top off collections of my favorite artists (I have about 20 artists I gotta have every sound they've ever made on record...more on that list later). Like last week, I went to Waterloo Records.

The Police-Every Breath You Take-The Classics-$5.99

I'm not sure why I bought this. I have all the Police albums and can easily make a Police play list. I didn't have "Don't Stand So Close to Me '86". I know must people think it stinks and for the most part I agree with them. But this is a case of my music addiction. At the 4:12 mark in this track Sting's vocals sound so sweet. I wish they extended it more. Plus Stewart Copeland is in my top 10 for drum influences. To me, he plays drums like Thelonius Monk played piano. Rhythmic obtuse thought, plays the space. Some favorite moments from this collection-

At the 2:11 mark in "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic" he drives into the chorus of the tune with 16th notes on the kick drum.

His crashing on the 4 or the and of 4 of measures and leaving space on the 1 of measures. It's everywhere in "Don't Stand So Close to Me" (original). Listen to the outro chorus that starts at the 3:15 mark, especially check his fills at 3:35 and 3:42 very Bernard Purdie

Stewart Copeland is awesome...

Paco de Lucia-John McLaughlin-Al Di Meola-Friday Night in San Francisco-$9.99

This is an album I wore out on cassette. I first heard this hanging out with some guitar players while I was at Berklee, a random dorm night where we dreamed and just got into the majestic, soaring music. This was my introduction to Paco De Lucia.

Isaac Hayes-Black Moses-$10.99

One of the best nicknames ever. This album is epic soul. The string arrangements are grand, his voice was strong. This album marks the man at the pinnacle of his powers. My favorite version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Part-Time Love" is just so epic.

Paul McCartney-Good Evening New York City-$14.99

2 CDs & a DVD of the show. Great value here. I think this live collection is very good. Love the song choices. His voice is strong and I always love watching him play and sing. He makes it look so easy. Plus, I love when he "covers" Beatle songs by John and George. His band is great, especially Abe Laboriel, Jr. He was at Berklee College of Music when I was there. I hung with him a few times, though I doubt he'd remember. Nice guy and great drummer.

Fela Kuti-Music is the Weapon-$9.99

This is another cassette that got a workout. Almost all of the text was worn off the plastic. I lost the jacket. All I knew was the title of the album. I got hip to Fela Kuti after he died. It was a case of his death moving to investigate the awesome influence of his music. I need to learn about him and his music. I have a general idea of the scope of him and his influence, but I need to dig deeper.

And the addiction grows....

Gig Notes: Soul Track Mind-The Hole in the Wall Sat. 1-23-10

It was a wild one. The place was so packed the fire marshalls had to shut it down.



Both bands packed them in. T-Bird had never played the Hole in the Wall before, which was kinda surprising to me. The fire marshall cut about 20-30 minutes into their set. They fire marshalls were just doing their jobs and seemed cool about it. It was crowed in there, I was hanging in back or the front, not the performing room. While it was shut down, anyone leaving the club wasn't allowed back in and there was a line waiting to get in. I could see friends out side through the storefront like window. We called each other while looking through the glass, like prisoners of music.

After T-Bird performed a smokin' abbreviated set, we went on. The crowd was hyped and ready. We started with a couple of originals, then the set got bogged down because of the shortened time slot. That happens when a band is thrown a monkey wrench in the middle of a gig. All-in-all I thought the gig went well. Still, I had a hard time getting excited about it. The innate problems still exist-the drummer dropping beats, the singer focusing on cover tunes instead of originals, lack of CDs to sell in the club. The core TC's fans were there, which is mainly made of close band friends and they sing the covers. I was looking at the crowd and potential new fans were more into the covers, which is a problem in my opinion. When given the chance to play for such a crowd, the band should've been better prepared-musically focus on originals, have CDs with some stickers or T-shirts to sell, have a person roam/work the crowd and not just dance with friends. Opportunities work best when one is prepared. It's a drum I tried to beat but fell to deaf ears. Oh well, I took my $60 at the end of the night and ate a nice late-night meal at 24 Diner.

I guess it all comes full circle-STM is replacing me temporarily with the guy I replaced last year. He's a nice guy, but kinda a gunslinger on bass-he plays a six string bass, which is cool but his sense of pocket wavers like the drummer's. Like I said, Beat Don't Lie. A whack beat can't fool dancing feet and swinging hips & asses. Pocket & groove sticks and moves the crowd. Good luck to them...

Gig notes:
1. Cody Furr, bassist for T-Bird let me use his rig-Ampeg B-2RE head with a 4 x 10 cab (don't remember what it was...). The sound was good. It was nice not have to lug my Harkte 3500 with my ported Genz Benz XB4 cab. I gotta get a new amp/cabinet combo this year...
2. Played Clyde on the gig-my '78 Fender Jazz.
3. By the way, it irritated me to no end that we never documented the tunes we play or had solid set lists. It's like the key part of the show gets lost in time. Plus STM had a recorder so there was never a reason not to have recordings of the shows to listen to to get better & tighter.
4. It's always weird playing your last gig with a band you got fired from when it slow dawns on people that never really thought of it. "You must so excited about this year! What a gig to start the year off with!" Actually, not with this band....

Page turned.

Pardon the Interruption

Cheers to the Saints, the football team for best music city in the United States-New Orleans, Louisiana- for the winning the NFC Championship and making it to the SuperBowl 44

American music really started in New Orleans. Congo Square was the seed of just about all original American music.



I had the great fortune to play in New Orleans a few times with Jim Lampos. I always loved the vibe & spirit of the people of New Orleans.

Some great musicians from New Orleans:

Louis Armstrong:


Professor Longhair:


The Meters:



Fats Domino:


Branford Marsalis:



I know there are a ton of great musicians from New Orleans, but these 5 came to my mind instantly:

Louis Armstrong-The King of American Music. He is the root from where we all grow.

Professor Longhair-King of News Orleans Piano

The Meters-Cissy Strut changed my concept of rhythm when I was younger.

Fats Domino-Always loved his music and he was a prominent face of Katrina survivors.

Branford Marsalis-The concert that changed my life was in 1986. I saw Sting on his Dream of the Blue Turtles Tour. I was a sax player at the time. I saw Branford Marsalis and I thought he was the coolest musician I'd ever seen. The next day I went out and bought Scenes in the City & Royal Garden Blues. It was in the liner notes where I read that he attended Berklee College of Music. He is the reason I attended Berklee and continue to pursue music as a career.

Aftermath in 4 Parts: Part 4-The Finale?

"This is the end, beautiful friend..."

Tonight I play with Soul Track Mind for the last time, I think. I never say never, especially when it comes to playing with people. We musicians are loyal to music and money. Yeah I said it. Actually, playing on stage is pretty easy. It's the issues with personalities, the music business and all the prep work for the stage performance (writing, arranging, rehearsing music, etc..). All the stuff that puts us on stage to make the performance great. So when you see bands get back together, its for the love of the music and performing on stage. Or it's all that and the fact that a band can make a shit load of money-see The Eagles or The Police. The battles within those bands are legendary, but in the end-music and money can salve a lot of wounds.

The tonight's show at the Hole in the Wall with T-Bird & the Breaks was going to be a nice launching pad for a big 2010. Now, I think it will show the tale of 2 bands-one going up and one going down. There is a very interesting subtext that came to light recently. A little tidbit I got from Sam, the keys man. I'll see how it plays out and report back.

Just cause I'm a sentimental guy, here is a video of Soul Track Mind at Antone's September 7, 2009. The band had some promise and a bright future...Sorry Sam, this is before you got in the band...

The Week That Was: Birthdays

The Week In Birthdays:

January 17
Mick Taylor



(This is a great interview, a lot of relevant stuff even for musicians of today.)

January 18
David Ruffin



(The note he hits at the 57 sec mark is almost holy.)

January 19
Phil Everly




(This song was written by Paul McCartney)


Janis Joplin



Dolly Parton



January 20
Paul Stanley



(Can you take a threat from Paul Stanley seriously dressed like that?)

Leadbelly



(Love this tune-Note how he name drops Alan Lomax)

January 21
Richie Havens



(Singing my favorite song of all time.)

Edwin Starr



( Love the line "Now when I kiss her lips, I turna back over flip" classic Motown lyric writing, turning a regular phrase into pop poetry.)

Billy Ocean



(Gotta love the background singers.)

January 22
Sam Cooke



(Love everything about this man's music)

January 23
Anita Pointer


Django Reinhardt