Here it is folks; the WORST musical instrument ever. As presented by Joe Lovano. Two soprano saxes thrown together in tandem in the grand spirit of Rahsaan Roland Kirk (even though I don’t think Kirk ever played two sopranos together, i think he had better sense). Enjoy!!!!
Live footage from our latest show! “Chihuahua Shit” was composed by our guitarist, Alex Cohen. Originally titled “Pidgeon Shit,” it was renamed after Alex was brutally attacked by a vicious, bloodthirsty Chihuahua. Enjoy!
On a lighter note, this is pretty sweet.
This is a video by Earl Sweatshirt, a 16 year old rapper who is part of the collective Odd Future. I feel that although he is the youngest of the group, he is the strongest musically, and definitely one of the greatest MC’s of all time. Odd Future themselves are similar to the Sex Pistols; as the Sex Pistols grew out of impoverished urban 70′s England, Odd Future has grown out of the poor urban American communities of the 2010′s. Both bands are/were known for their intense live shows, and both make music with lyrics that shock/potentially offend people, even though both groups are/were very nihilistic. The difference in the two bands is the skill level. The musicians of the Sex Pistols were mediocre at best, and Sid was hired for his antics, not his ability to play the bass. The members of Odd Future are quite young (the oldest is 25) but have created a whole new sound of hip hop, with different timbres than today’s popular music. The MC’ing is incredible; nobody has ever rapped like Earl or Tyler. The group says a lot of things that really ring true in today’s society, as opposed to the vapidity of popular music today (although there has and will always be vapid music). Many people mistake Odd Future as stupid young men who want to rape and kill girls, but this is really not true. None of them have ever been convicted or even suspected of sexual violence of any kind (they have only gotten arrested for vandalism). Interestingly enough, their lyrics are much more repulsive and violent than the lyrics of many rappers who have actually served jail time for violent crimes.
I am inspired by this group, especially by the MC’ing of Tyler the Creator and Earl Sweatshirt. I don’t find their lyrics are not pointlessly offensive; I hear them as extremely twisted yet occasionally humorous stories that point out a lot of problems in American society that these young men had to grow up dealing with; these are also problems that many Americans sadly choose to ignore. One of our teachers, Wendell Logan, would talk about a sense of urgency and how that is lacking in music today. Lack of urgency in music is a problem, because these are urgent times! Our country is in horrible shape, we’re hopelessly in debt, and our society is obviously unsustainable. No pop music other than Odd Future (and they are suprisingly popular!) really makes an urgent statement because it generally doesn’t sell. Or it’s stuff like Kanye West (which is very vanilla compared to what really needs to be said). There is no sense of urgency in LMFAO’s Party Rock Anthem and there shouldn’t be… because it’s a stupid song that people listen to when they’re trying to get drunk or get laid or both. And as American society goes down the tubes, that’s gonna be the music that takes us to our grave as we stupidly shake our booties. I feel that if people listened to Odd Future and recognized that these talented dudes were actually saying something that was relevant in society today, they would be impacted. Anyways, enough ranting, listen to the music!
Footage from our NYEE show, 12/30/11. “Mommy and Daddy” is a newer song of ours written by Danny. Enjoy!
Video from Organ Yank for Lovers, featuring special guest Herbert Clayton Ross performing ”Remembering Vietnam.” Enjoy.
Hello Yanker Universe. I realized I started in the wrong place for this series, so I’ve decided to start from square one.
When I was in high school, I decided that I wanted to pursue music as a career. I was fortunate enough to have parents willing to foot the bill for lessons at the Mannes College of Music, where I studied with two phenomenal teachers: Francisco Roldan and Joe Ravo. Both of these men provided me with the groundwork of an approach to learning and composing music in an efficient and fulfilling way. However, being young and impatient, I spent much of my time under their tutelage practicing the wrong way. I would take my pieces to quickly. I would rush through my technical exercises. I would play in uncomfortable positions with terrible posture and bent wrists. I would muscle out every note in an effort to produce more volume on the acoustic instrument. Most importantly, I did not breathe while I was playing.
When it came round to audition for music schools, I had been practicing so many hours making these fundemental practicing mistakes that I was diagnosed with tendonitis in its early stages. By the time I had started attending the Oberlin Conservatory, I could only play or practice for short periods of time, 30-45 mins spurts if I was lucky. Luckily, Bobby Ferrazza (my teacher at Oberlin) introduced me to the concept that not only allowed me to play the guitar for hours at end without pain, but has allowed me since to learn whatever styles of technique I feel like working on with relative ease. This concept is simple: Breathe evenly while you play.
If you are familiar with some meditation techniques, then even breathing should make a lot of sense. In meditation, you focus on “in” and “out” while you breathe, until the words become meaningless. The resulting feelings include a heightened awareness of how your body is working. If you are particularly skilled you can even control your heart rate. Now this applied to the guitar means that you breathe evenly, focusing on your “in” and “out breaths, while playing and listening.
The best way to start doing this is to first meditate without the guitar. Spend some time focusing on your breathing and becoming aware of whats going in your body and your surroundings. As you become more aware of your body’s tensions, actively relax your muscles. If your wrist is tense, you can literally think to yourself “relax wrist” and relax itself if you are breathing properly. Ideally your whole body should be relaxed.
To meditate with the guitar a few fundamental concepts must be understood:
- Every muscle in your body (including your leg muscles, back muscles, etc.) should be relaxed.
- The minimum amount of physical effort is all the guitar requires of you.
- Use gravity to your advantage.
I will elaborate more on these fundamentals next week. Stay tuned Yankers!
-Alex
Howdy folks. Sax/general woodwind player Dan here, looking to educate you about the Suling, a flute found in both the Philipines and certain regions of Indonesia, such as Bali and Java. I just acquired one, and have been practicing it consistently since the good folks at TSA dropped my baritone sax and screwed it up. It is actually quite different from a western european flute, in terms of intonation, fingerings and wind resistance- you don’t even hold it the same way. It sure sounds good though; kinda like a recorder but more badass. Here is the Sunari group from Bali rocking out on these bad boys: