From ynottnaro@yahoo.com Thu Feb 06 21:10:37 2003
Subject:Re: My Reply to Tony (yottnaro)


Hey John...

This is heavy dude; I dont know what to say. Let me
start with this:

> "When people pay to see you play, they expect to be
> entertained, and there aren't that many of us who
> are content to watch fingers fly..." Tony, I was
> angered by that quote as I first thought that it was
> a direct attack on me, but I have since thought
> about it and realize that it's merely the truth, and
> I need to come to grip with it.

I'm probably one of the few guys who WILL stand and
watch someone like Eric Johnson or Jean Luc Ponty
(seen em both numerous times) move their fingers and
stand in one place, because I can appreciate it. I"ve
seen Al DiMeola (who stands still except until each
song is over and then throws his fist in the air in a
salute of triumph to himself...kind of annoying
actually! lol), Ottmar Liebert (barefoot, with
classical guitar plugged into a fuzz box? his
"rhythmn" guitarist is the true flamenco man in that
band), Stuu Hamm solo, David Sanborne, Gil Scot Heron
(many times, he was one of my favorites), some really
fabulous musicians who just stood there and played;
and they all were in small venues (most bigger than
what I get to play in, but they've been at it for 20,
30, 40 years in some cases). I love, respect and
admire guys with that kind of facility with an
instrument, a voice or a pen. I also loved seeing Yes
in the 70s play concerts in the round, and can still
see Chris Squire in his backgammon board suit ripping
the strings off his Rickenbacker in a flurry of notes,
knees bent, face in a grimace, being overly dramatic.
Me and 18,000 other people. Some people are natural
performers in addition to musicians, and it helps get
the message across.

John, hopefully we never get too old or too set in our
ways to learn something. I'm probably the only one of
my friends to listen to rap (I'm a 40yr old white
musician) and I actually think some of it is brilliant
(I loved Ice Cube's THE PREDATOR when it came out,
before my kids were old enough to hum a tune, much
less buy a cd). You cant shut your mind and ears off
to stuff without giving it a fair shake. Britney
Spears....she can't get naked enough to sell me a
record, but I listened to be sure. There's good and
bad music in every genre, and sometimes its tough to
weed through the feces.

There is nothing wrong with being able to outplay your
fellow man; Steve Vai has made a career of it. Frank
Zappa gave Steve his break. There are some beautiful
pieces by Steve that I think are incredible, but for
the most part, it's not my bag. For my money, and
apparently 3 decades of music fans (and musicians)
someone like David Gilmour hits the mark a lot more
accurately (he plays a lot less notes, that's for
sure). You just have to be yourself, and let the
music guide you. And just cuz someone doesn't get
what you're going for, doesn't mean you're wrong or
way off, it just means you need to figure out how to
communicate it more clearly. Maybe that means less
notes (David Gilmour); maybe it means a mirror over
your hands so that everyone can see what you're doing
(Genesis' Tony Banks); maybe it means wearing a
foxhead mask (Peter Gabriel); maybe it means spitting
blood and puking fire (Gene Simmons); sometimes it
means throwing away the synthesizers and firing the
band (Tori Amos).

You've probably shaken me up more than I have you with
your email. I didn't realize anyone put that much
faith or trust or whatever you want to call it into
anything I wrote. But you have given me a lot to
think about too. Your ability to look at yourself and
see room for growth is an amazing feat for a man of
any age, and I applaud you for it.

Good luck in all your aspirations, musical and
otherwise John. And thanks for listening to me.

Sincerely...tony

PS...if you would like a good place to start to listen
to Frank Zappa without lyrics, try Shut Up N Play Yer
Guitar. There is some incredible music on there, and
some of it STILL displays his incredible wit, and he
does it with his guitar. Hit me offline with
anything you'd like to talk about.



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