Dear Awa-freaks ,
today is a big day for Awaken fans: you can finally discover what P'tit Bout thinks of his days with Awaken, after quite a long time. Also, Awa-news offers a remedy against the blank sheet syndrome, some more philosophy, and a quick look at Earth Wind & Fire's best inspiring albums. And more than that, of course. You just need to scroll down to see!
On the Beatles side, Lucy Vodden, who inspired the song "Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds", has left this world.
To complete our revelations from last issue, some of you seemed to have been annoyed by the article about Peter Gabriel and the Genesis family when they use the word 'live' to mention some studio albums. Sorry, we have one more news for you: we just learned one more cheat from the band from Charterhouse! Do you know where was recorded the live take of "Supper's Ready" that appears on their live lp Seconds Out? Well, besides the studio (like any Genesis live song I'm afraid), the real live takes come from none less than... 5 different concerts! Just for one song! Oh let's be honest: if the producer hadn't revealed the trick, no one would have noticed, the result was more than good. But holy shit: isn't a live album supposed to show some of the band's spontaneity when they're onstage?
Now Genesis releases remasters, 5.1 whatever and other re-re-re-release. I fear that they use that opportunity to record more and more overdubs, just to rewrite their story the way they want. Just a question for Mr Rutherford and Banks: isn't time to call it a day?
Don't waste more time listening to fake live records, jump on Awa-news!
Smart philosophy doesn't necessary come from the books. Here are the three rock goodies of the week:
The soul of rock 'n' roll is mistakes, and making mistakes work for you. The people who shy away from mistakes and play it safe have no business playing rock 'n' roll. (Paul Westerberg)
We rely more on enthusiasm than actual skill. Whatever you do, do it enthusiastically and people will like it more. (Chris Martin)
All work and no play makes for alarmingly predictable lyrics. (David Lee Roth)
What are the hottest news in Awaken's Universe? Awa-news gives you the answer.
It's not always easy to discover oldies from an artist. We mostly stick on what we know and don't necessary want to listen to the earlier work. It's human. But are you sure you don't miss a thing when skipping your discovery? For instance, have you ever closed your eyes while listening to "Gohongi No Hoshi", released already 6 years ago? Give it a try: http://song.ly/1puaa
And how about a more obscure track? Here's the 2002 take of "Cold As My Heart", the Robot Neko Mix! http://song.ly/1pd80
Now if you want to know about the firthcoming single of Awaken, we can already tell you that Mr Trustno1 is playing keyboards on it. Don't miss his own new album, "Sit Down & Clap Your Hands", already available here: http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/52674
Have you noticed? Have you noticed, or not?
35 years of cute (part II): Kittychan in a kitsch world
More Kittychan in Part III!
Links: http://www.alleewillis.com/awmok/kitschenette
Our interview:
Lorenz Art, a.k.a P'tit Bout
If you're an old or a a young greedy Awaken fan, you might have known the time where the lead vocals were mainly handled by someone named P'tit Bout. The album Tales Of Acid Ice Cream of course, but also some more obscure demo tapes, along with rare 1989 bootlegs like the cover of the Beatles' "Help" or our blues jam. In 1997, Awaken went into a phase of restructuration and P'tit Bout went away to continue as a session singer.
Twelve years later exactly, P'tit Bout, now known as Lorenz and recording his own songs, is planning to contribute again to a project in the Awaken galaxy. What will it be, no one knows, but in waiting Lorenz kindly accepted to be interviewed by Awa-news for you fans.
-Nice to meet you, Lorenz/P'tit Bout. Please use three words to introduce yourself.
-Ptit Bout: I am what I am.
-What brought you to become an active musician?
-Ptit Bout: I have it in me and I cannot refrain from it.
-From 1989 till 1997, you were known as P’tit Bout and were the main voice of Awaken. What kind of memories do you keep from that era, when you had to deal with Snowcat’s dictatorship?
-Ptit Bout: I remember that it was a very good time. At the time, I do not remember him as a dictator.
-Do you recall a song or two that you liked then?
-Ptit Bout: I remember a song, and it was “so many regrets on my mind, I really don’t know why” or “The sun goes down, we closed the doors”.
-Among your own work, what is the piece that you think represents you the most, and why?
-Ptit Bout: Probably the next piece, I refer things to come.
-Any song you’re ashamed of, and why?
-Ptit Bout: Except for the Dance Of Ducks, but fortunately I did not interpret it.
-If you had a magic wand, in what band would you play right now?
-Ptit Bout: In Awaken band of course.
-What would you say to Awa-news readers who might not know you, to convince them to listen to your songs?
-Ptit Bout: To make music is for me a question of survival.
-In the Awaken times, you wrote a few songs, though the group didn’t seem to record any. How did your songwriting evolve during these 12 years?
-Ptit Bout: I was a part of diverse projects and I wrote approximately 100 titles since I sing, but nobody knows that!
-The question may sound clich�E but where do you find your inspiration?
-Ptit Bout: I find my inspiration, all around me, in every human, in every thing.
-Have you heard any recent song from Awaken, and what do you think about them?
-Ptit Bout: Yes I do, and I find that awaken has something of untemporal.
-Last but not least, would you openly admit that you are an Awaken fan?
-Ptit Bout: I think I’m, and forever...
Links: http://www.myspace.com/lorenzart
What happened in October some years ago? Awa-news took its time machine...
13/10/1949: Birth of Gary Richrath from Reo Speedwagon.
14/10/1969: Diana Ross and The Supremes release their final single, ironically titled: "Someday We'll Be Together". The Supremes would continue without Ross though.
19/10/1988: Duran Duran presents Big Thing, an album influenced by house music and featuring proeminent guitar work from Warren Cuccurullo.
9 steps to live your life more meaningfully:
How to write a meaningful song?
Stuck behind your Fairlight, desperately seeking for a god-sent idea? Moaning since no poem can ever satisfy your need to seduce the girl of your dreams? Turn everything off, go for a walk but first read these 9 tips, coming straight away from your good friend the Cat-That-Sleeps:
1. Make a mess of your ideas. Put together all your ideas, make a big mess. Then take a rest and come back to work, you'll be able to decide what to keep and what to throw away.
2. Contact your inner child. Adults are spoiled by restrictions and fear of what other people will think of their work. Children are more spontaneous. Be a child again when it comes to write a song.
3. Jump inside the picture. Use you power to visit a painting, a picture from a magazine or a tag on a wall. Go inside!
4. Travel in time. Go back in your past and write a song. Then come back in the present with your ideas.
5. Travel for real. If visiting a picture and your past are not enough, take your car or a plane, and go somewhere else. Even just for one day. You'll be amazed to notice how it boosts inspiration.
6. Indulge yourself. The common belief is "you have to suffer to write a song". Bullshit. Yes, pain can be an excellent motivation to write a good song, but the spark can come from anything else. Mostly pleasure. A good meal, a good bottle of wine or a romantic kiss can create a need to write a song, as much as any sad event.
7. Be a hungry bear: use an instrument you're not good at. Surprisingly, when you think you master an instrument, your inspiration can quickly run dry. It is too easy. You'll travel the same old paths and will not find any motivation to create something. What's the relation with a hungry bear?! In zooligical gardens, it has been noticed that if you just throw a fish to a hungry bear, he/she will eat without motivation. Without tasting it. Now put the fish into a block of ice and give it to the bear. Look at how much energy they use to break the ice and how happy they are to finally reach the reward and eat that fish! Yeah, be that bear now: create some difficulty. Well, no need to put your guitar into a block of ice, no. You're a true beginner at keyboards? Write your next song on piano. You can hardly blow a note on a flute? Take it and compose your future melody. You will suddenly find yourself in front of a new challenge, that might boost your inspiration more than you can imagine.
8. Ask your own ghost. Unless you have to write a song for a specific use (commercial, to offer as a present, to illustrate an event) or you are completely lost in songwriting, it is not a good idea to ask your friends for their opinion before you actually officialize the result. Your friends will only tell you what they love, and they will think their tastes are the only way to reach a good result. Moreover, X will tell you to slow down the tempo, Y will order you to play faster, and so on. So, instead of being a slave of your friends' musical tastes, ask your own ghost for his/her opinion. Yes, yourself but several years ago. Ask the child you were, for instance.
9. Sleep. Overwhelmed by too many ideas? You go crazy? Stop! Go out, eat, meet people, and sleep. The day after, go back to songwriting and chances are the ideas will suddenly come as clear as pure water.
Now go and write that hit!
You like Awaken? You *will* like these albums:
EARTH WIND & FIRE, Powerlight (1983)
There was a time when Phil Collins openly admitted that he would dream to produce Earth Wind & Fire. He could almost reach his wish by getting involved in two albums of Phil Bailey, and even had a hit with "Easy Lover" around 1985. Some may have had a deeper wish: EW&F produced by their own fan Quincy Jones. Well, that never happened either. But don't cry, there's an album from Maurice White's band that sounds so good that you could think, if you didn't read the credits on the cover, that The Dude would be around. He wasn't. But hey, that Powerlight sounds sooo good!
Let play the record and see quickly what you are currently missing by not having that wonderful Powerlight. "Fall In Love With Me" is a relax groove with an interesting basses match: bass guitar and Moog bass, climaxing with a heavy guitar solo from Mr Bautista, back in the band since previous lp Raise. "Spead Your Love" is a bizarre tune with a superb vocal arrangement and hypnotic beat and steel drums. Then comes "Side By Side", romantically starting with electric piano and Maurice White's smooth voice, then turning to be a new cool electro-funk led by a groovy Moog bass. Like other tracks of Powerlight, the song here takes its time to grow and to install the mood. The A side ends up with a solid piece from Phil Bailey, "Straight From The Heart", with again a beautiful bass part from Verdine White.
On B side, the mood begins with a frantic gem "The Speed Of Love", following with another synthbass-based piece, "Freedom Of Choice", featuring a nice vocal part, then back to a more electric groove with piano and real bass guitar: the Vaughn's "Something Special". That title could illustrate the composers' abilities all through Powerlight... "Hearts To Heart" takes us back to a more complex kind of music, should we say progressive (and have you checked Awaken's cover? No!!??? Tsss...) before finally resting thanks to the magnificient "Miracles", sounding like a lullaby at first, before ending in a splendid orchestral blast. Wow.
As you can guess, there's not a single weak moment on Powerlight. This is a festival of electronic keyboards and groovy basses, cool voices and heavy guitar. A masterpiece, completely underrated. EWF sadly ignores that album now, due to the lack of hits probably.
Links: http://www.homdrum.net/ewf/index.htmlA few more treasures in the EWF world:
You just bought Powerlight and wonder what other albums you could like, knowing that you are of course a die-hard Awaken fan? Don't cry dude, here's a beginner's guide for you:
The Need Of Love (1971): A mix of jazz, funk, progressive, with the beautiful voice of Sherry Scott and impressive playing from the whole band. Sounds like a feast with percussion everywhere. Listen to the jonlordesque Hammond intro on "Everything Is Everything" if you need to be convinced!
Last Days And Time (1972): New members Phil Bailey, Ralph Johnson (both still in the band in 2009), along with Hendrix-influenced guitarist Roland Bautista and keyboardist Larry Dunn, give EWF a stricter musical direction, although there's luckily still space for jamming and partying. Another inspired record with creative artwork.
Head To The Sky (1973): Probably the strongest record of 70's EWF, in terms of inspiration and songwriting. The last song, "Zanzibar", is a long and wonderful jam proving the talent of the band's soloists, while "The World's A Masquerade" features sensitive playing and delicate organ parts.
What's hot on the web side? Awa-news' Site Of The Week is:
CD BABY
Moaning, moaning, that’s all we hear from a lot of musicians who take the crisis as an excuse to feel sorry for themselves. They will blame the music industry, the medias, internet, the audience, the banks, and why not the politicians, the cooks, the dolphins and the elevators…
Sure the industry changed, and things are quite different from the 70’s: on one hand it became incredibly easier to correctly record music with a low budget, on the other hand it’s now rather harder to “make it big”, since the market is overwhelmed by from average to high quality productions. Myspace and its many followers allow an incredible potential exposure, but, like any kind of business, it needs time, persistence, creativity, flexible attitude, patience and, did I already say: persistence, persistence and persistence.
Derek Sivers, founder of CD Baby, who since has quit.
What about selling CDs online? There’s a wonderfully well-made, professional and human site called CD BABY. Founded more than 10 years ago by a creative indie musician, Derek Sivers, who wanted to sell his own records, CD BABY grew up quickly thanks to Derek's friends who wanted him to sell their CDs. Now CD BABY became the most famous online indie shop, having an enormous catalogue of indie music (including well-known musicians like famous session guitarist Paul Jackson JR), easy to buy (credit card, Paypal), easy to access, with a helpful staff, steaming excerpts and a clear design. Not only the fans can reach their favourite music without an effort, greedy music lovers have the ability to discover new and exciting stuff with just one click of the mouse, and artists have their own record company! Moreover, they cover the digital distribution (iTunes and several other platforms) and now offer an interesting CD Pressing service. Still moaning, fellow musicians?
Last but not least: they have Awaken's Party In Lyceum's Toilets waiting for you there. Now you have a good reason to surf on CD BABY, don't you?
The new Squonk66 is out, and, oh coincidence, the man himself will reply Awa-news' interview. We'll take a look at Deep Purple's Slaves & Masters and go a bit deeper into Awaken's rare stuff.
See you next week!
e-mail: awamail(at)hellokitty.com
Awaken main sites: www.awaken.be
[downloadable pdf version here]
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