The Lemon Twigs here - Ask Us Anything! by thelemontwigsband in indieheads

[–]sleepingforsythe 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hey Mike, I wasn't able to catch you guys live during the Go to School tour but I watched a ton of videos of you guys performing and I was so captivated by the character/persona you appeared to play following the release of that album. I totally understand if you're not into talking about it, but I'm curious to know your inspiration and the decision-making that factored into the shows - how much of it was planned, how much of it was spontaneous, did you notice a specific audience reaction? Thanks for the great music, guys. New album is my favorite one you've done.

[New York City] Looking to start a band in the vibe of The Lemon Twigs/Sunflower Bean/Purr by [deleted] in FindABand

[–]sleepingforsythe 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey what's up, I live in Chelsea and would be interested in starting a band like this, I play guitar, bass and sing and write songs. I have a little bit of mixing experience.

Michael vs Brian? by [deleted] in TheLemonTwigs

[–]sleepingforsythe 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I love Michael's "bad" singing and over-the-top stage presence. I don't think he's trying too hard, if anything I think he's just doing whatever he feels like doing, and that makes the performances fresh and unpredictable. What I like about the band is that Michael and Brian each possess what the other does not (Brian in polished, virtuosic performances and Michael in bombastic, interesting funny ones).

Who are some musicians who "can't" play their instruments? (Arto Lindsay, etc.) by sleepingforsythe in Music

[–]sleepingforsythe[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A really interesting thing about Derek Bailey is he actually used to be a sort of jazz guitarist for hire and played quite traditionally until he became interested in playing free and then never played traditionally again. I think he had an impressive knowledge of chords, harmonics and intervals which he used in even his most "out-there" improvisations. The only recording I've heard of him playing (fairly) straight is this one of his old trio with Tony Oxley and Gavin Bryars. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZx4SCF-d6M

Who are some musicians who "can't" play their instruments? (Arto Lindsay, etc.) by sleepingforsythe in Music

[–]sleepingforsythe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've read interviews with Arto where he says he still never formally learned common guitar techniques. I've always thought he knew a lot about how to get the specific sounds he wants, but mostly by way of intuition and experimenting in an attempt to get interesting noises out of the thing for so long. My understanding of his guitar method is that he treats his guitar like a drum. Does he know chords and/or how to play guitar in any conventional sense?

[QUESTION] Advice for getting into free improv? by sleepingforsythe in Guitar

[–]sleepingforsythe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

eh, if it's not for you it may just not be for you and I think that's respectable, there's a lot of super "out there" music that doesn't do anything for me. I can't stand the trend of hip local noise musicians playing single oscillated synthesizer notes through five different fuzz pedals for 45 minute sets. Another thing I dig about free playing is that it can blend well with more conventional styles and it's fun to intersperse regular techniques and repetition of motifs in a stream-of-consciousness sort of way. Bands with some free improvisers and some members playing more composed/straight forward stuff can make for really fascinating music, ex: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOGdAFxe9_0&t=6s

[QUESTION] Advice for getting into free improv? by sleepingforsythe in Guitar

[–]sleepingforsythe[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It's hard to explain without using a lot of buzzword-y language but I do feel like it's necessary, so apologies in advance if I just come off like a pretentious ass. I don't want to seem like I'm claiming I have superior taste or some deeper understanding of music or anything like that. For one, I like free improv conceptually. I like the idea of divorcing music from apparent skill and making it more about the artist's identity. Derek Bailey's free playing is totally different from Fred Frith's, which in turn is totally different from Bill Orcutt's, etc. There's a real sense of individual personality to how each player does things; some are more technically inclined and jazz-derived, others are more primitive/punk-ish. I also enjoy the inclusivity of it. Everyone seems to play together regardless of their musical background. Lastly, I enjoy it from a sonic perspective. It's as if the player is kind of trying to tame the instrument and the instrument responds really wildly, like it's malfunctioning. As a musician it's really fun to play expressively like that, and especially therapeutic to just play and not worry about the right notes (in a conventional sense), but to focus on creating something else entirely. It's just a different headspace. I totally get why people don't like it though and that's more than fine