Yeah it's unique, but it sucks.
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Why does Weir still prefer that harsh clangy brash metallic guitar sound? It is as unmelodic as any rhythm or lead guitar sound in jamband land. Is his tinnitus that bad he needs to sound like a chainsaw to hear himself? An artistic statement? A way to make sure he's always the sonic center of attention?
I can understand if you need to cut through a thick mass of bass and drums and keyboards, like he confronted in the GD. Or if you want to really differentiate yourself from a lead guitar playing silky liquid gold notes.
But in a trio? Or in a band with strings and horns, subservient to your whims? t's way beyond providing a unique "color." Is it really necessary to be so irritating?
I get the "I'm an old cowpoke telling song stories" approach. I appreciate the "most inventive rhythm guitar player" accolades. But his modern guitar tone is frankly unpleasant to listen to. Yeah it's unique, but it sucks.
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
^ we spent NYE watching nugs
^ we spent NYE watching nugs broadcasts -- mainly watching Wolf Pack, but switching between Dark Star Orch and Billy Strings, and even occasionally Goose. Even checked out Disco Biscuits and Umphreys for a few seconds.
Out of all that music and all those various guitars, Weir's tone was the most annoying to listen to. So I don't think it was the stream mix.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: cultivate kindness
> A way to make sure he's
> A way to make sure he's always the sonic center of attention?
I don't know if I'd go so far as to say Weir wants to be the sonic center of attention, but I always thought he did it so he'd be easily identified. Can we really call his buzz saw tone modern though? Seems to me like he started doing it in the 90s, or maybe a bit earlier.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Dr. Benway
i havent listened to much of
i havent listened to much of weir's live output during the d&c/wolf bros eras, but i really enjoyed this style of playing during furthur. to me, it felt like bob was like the first node in a process of giving form to noise and chaos, a process that was then completed by the rest of the band playing more conventionally. IMO this is one of the best aspects of furthur, along with their choice to turn the lead guitar down for a more ensemble sound. i think these two factors combined to create some incredibly creative playing.
but on the other hand, i like very noisy and abrasive music in general. lots of bands i listen to, particularly hip hop groups, are classified in some way or another as noise music, noise rap or industrial. i spent my early teen years listening to wildly abrasive black metal like dimmu borgir, and experimental/industrial/goth stuff like skinny puppy or christian death. my very first memory of music in my life is my dad playing the doors "not to touch the earth", arguably their noisiest and most abrasive song. i recall that song as my first ever "favorite" song, and the first song i ever remember memorizing the lyrics to. IIRC i was about 4-5 years old at this time. for me, the whining and grinding organ, creepy bass line and jim screaming about the corpses of dead presidents was as close to bliss as my 5 year old mind had ever come. i honestly think that my experience with this one song has gone on to inform nearly all of my musical tastes throughout my entire life. almost all of my favorite and most cherished music has some kind of stylistic similarity to "not to touch the earth".
for me, bob's noisy, grinding metallic tones tickles the exact same pickle that "not to touch the earth" did for me. i'd also count "victim or the crime" as one of my all time favorite GD songs, for the same reason i like bob's modern tone and for the same reason i was entranced by "not to touch the earth" as a child. noise given form.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
Watched Bob and the Slow Bros
Watched Bob and the Slow Bros. NYE and it was better than I expected. Bob's voice was strong and Barry's pedal steel, Jeff's piano, and the horns made up for the lack of a real lead guitar.
The weirdest thing was how low key the "ball drop" was. Watched Phish's NYE spectacular with the giant Broadway style opera thing>giant EDM dance party and that must have cost millions to pull off. By comparison, Bob's NYE spectacular probably cost $45 for the wizard outfit and a dozen roses.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
>The weirdest thing was how
>The weirdest thing was how low key the "ball drop" was.<
Yeah and what was up with those lame go-go girls? There are plenty of unemployed strippers in Ft Lauderdale that would have danced with more enthusiasm. Maybe Weir spent all the production money on his bathrobe.
Benway - I appreciate your take on it, however I'm partial to a more melodic approach when listening to GD tunes. I just don't seek "conflict chords" in a Jerry ballad. After 50 years of appreciating Bobby in various configurations (even during the early slide years) I don't understand what he's going for. I find the clanging unnecessary with the Wolf ensemble(s). Signature sound be damned.
I'm guessing it's because there is no one around anymore to say, "What the fuck are you trying to sound like? A leaf blower?"
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
It's not unique
It's not unique
it just sucks
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: An organ grinder’s tune
i mean, this is not anything
i mean, this is not anything new...
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: El Nino
I feel like he dialed that
I feel like he dialed that sound back at the Dead & Co Sphere shows. Using this guitar a lot which to my ears sounds more like the pre clangy sound. I feel like the pink guitar was the first one that had the clangy sound.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Dr. Benway
i always remember the blue
i always remember the blue modulus with the lightning bolt cutouts as being the most clangy, but again, i havent really paid attention to weir at that level since furthur ended. no idea how it was in d&c.
https://images.equipboard.com/uploads/source/image/66438/big_bob%2Bweir....
and its true, this type of playing does seem better when he has to defer more to other, more conventional players. i dont necessarily want to hear noisy jerry balads over and over, but on an occasional basis when bob decides in the moment to make a jerry ballad a bit more noisy it can be a fun change of pace and launchpad to interesting improvisations. in furthur, that sort of thing was much more occasional and his noisier playing was often relegated to places where it made more sense, heavier/darker songs, during more psycheelic jams, etc.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
The real sound comes from the
The real sound comes from the hands, maaan
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: skyjunk
Unemployed strippers in Ft.
Unemployed strippers in Ft. Lauderdale, yea right
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Druba
It might go back to when they
It might go back to when they locked Bobby in a bathroom, and threw a bunch of lit fireworks into that bathroom... his ears have never been the same. (Big Steve story)
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: and then there's
Bobby is a soulless pretty
Bobby is a soulless pretty-faced Libra who might be able to tell a good story in a song, but that's about as far as his talent goes
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: and then there's
And if he's still playing
And if he's still playing with John Mayor he can really go fuck off
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Alan R
>i mean, this is not anything
>i mean, this is not anything new...<
Yeah I know. But it was so apparent when I could switch between 4 or 5 other nugs NYE bands at the press of a button.
Sigh....I guess he'll never outgrow the rebellious teenager phase. But I'd sure hate to be the Weir guy in a post GD cover band that has to play intentional cacophony night after night.
Plus the cold weather is making me cranky and I need something to complain about.
But I'm not as cranky as Jill ^^ (I'm solely commenting on how his chosen guitar tone defeats the small ensemble).
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Dr. Benway
in a post GD cover band
you might be joking but this shit is already real dude. JK's "furthurmore", its a genuine furthur cover band theres a show or two on archive
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Dr. Benway
im the kind of guy who can
im the kind of guy who can tolerate a TON of corpse humpy nostalgia seeking cover band-age in the name of a great show with great improv - im nearly a JRAD evangelist at times, and i was/am, a huge fan of furthur...but a furthur cover band is way to much for even me
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: krab
I feel like the pink guitar
I feel like the pink guitar was the first one that had the clangy sound.>>> The Fender that he broke out for the Fall '83 Tour?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: frenchiethetickler
> J K's "furthurmore", its a
> J K's "furthurmore", its a genuine furthur cover band
Please tell me it ain't so. I could never stomach seeing a/any GD cover band let alone this. It's depressing me. "It's a genuine furthur cover band''... a deeply flawed concept if there ever was one.
I found the screech and klang intriguing in limited doses. Worked for me on Eternity anyway. Credit to Weir for trying shit. Same old shit, is... the same old shit, so push, expand. I don't think it got fully explored, worked out in the GD, Garcia checking out curtailed the experiment? Be real curious what Jerry thought of it? Reminds me of the times that Garcia would look over at Weir and shake his head... endearingly
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Def. High
How do you tell a Furthur
How do you tell a Furthur cover band from a GD cover band?
Yeah, there are a few tunes not in common, but really, it's just some hippies playing some music that people can't get enough of.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: El Nino
We are moving from the era of
We are moving from the era of the core 4 to the era of people who played with the core 4.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Mice elf
(No subject)
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Dr. Benway
We are moving from the era of
we are pretty close to jeff chimenti being the closest thing to an actual living GD member
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Def. High
Lol.
Lol.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Cam
Bobby has been pretty
Bobby has been pretty worthless to me since the GD.
I accepted him as part of that chemistry, and there were some Bob songs that I liked in the GD.
The pinnacle of the music I love, was always Jerry without Bob. So obviously JGB stuff, or GD stuff where Jerry just shone through everything else.
I have never been able to enjoy Bob without Jerry. I thought Ratdog was the worst idea ever, until deadco made me realize it could be even worse than that.
It's as if Batman died, and Robin suddenly thought that HE was now the best superhero in the universe. Dude, no. Just live in the cave & bang hot chicks.