Iain Cameron's Diary
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2003-03-01 - 4:15 p.m.

Here is one of the 225 thoughts of Askold Buk who I heard and talked to a bit last night:

"Having a great feel is your most important musical asset. No one will want to play with you if you have bad time. You must have a great feel-it's that simple. By "great feel" I mean the ability to lock in with the rhythm section and produce a track that grooves. If there's one thing I would recommend you to constantly work on, it's developing your groove. Listen to the greats to learn how grooves should be played: from rock (Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" to 16th-note funk (James Brown's "Sex Machine") to blues shuffle ("Pride and Joy" by Stevie Ray Vaughan). Tape yourself (with a metronome) playing them-you'll be able to isolate and work on your problem areas. Or pick up the excellent JamTrax series (Music Sales), a series of play-along tapes covering everything from blues to alternative to metal, to stay in shape. This is the one area where you should be most brutal in your self-assessment. You'll be a much better player for it."

This is Detroit. Detroit City Council has already declared against any Iraq War. Just part of the culture shock that comes with a 90 minute flight up to the Canadian Border.

The flight was hard work but the hotel is just great. I played 10 Short Stories on the CD player that comes with the room and I thought it sounded OK.

The culture section of the Saturday Detroit Free Press has an article bout Mary Wilson. Apparently she went out clubbing last week with Martha Reeves.

I heard most of Short Stories on the sound system that comes with Cadillac de Ville tonight - that sub woofer is really something and I thought it really made the music shine - driving round Dearborn in the snow.

My first law of music in the USA was confirmed tonight. This states that in the USA in any accidentally musical situation there will be a higher level of craft than in the UK. There was a fish bar with a trio here. The trio centred around an extraordinary musician playing string bass - often with a bow and then switching to a kind of tenor guitar - often played as lead voice. There was a first rate percussionist and a spanish guitarist with an impressive technique. The music was latin, bossas and recent jazz standards - just a bar band - but exceptionally listenable.

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