“Wisdom always has its reward,” said a comforted John Zorn after an interview in which, to his surprise, the reporter did his job very well.
This truth, however obvious it may seem, has multiple and infinite ways of manifesting itself in all areas.
Tony Levin (bass and sticks, ex King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, Paul Simon), Pat Mastelotto (drums, ex King Crimson, XTC, The Rembrandts, Ork) e Markus Reuter (touch style guitar, disciple of Robert Fripp) I am definitely one of those people who assert their musical wisdom -and courage-.
If someone pays attention to your group’s work Stick men -practically the only possible way to appreciate it, by paying attention- will fall within the suggestive way of “distorting” the meanings of the trio.
They don’t need to put their gear on 11, paint their faces white, and utter guttural screams to bend the listener into a fetal position in the corner of the room—they know their tuning forks and their heads well enough to cope without going all the way. impact of sound exaggeration.
He uses this ability only as an example because, fortunately, his music moves not only in deep and disturbing mental passages, but in an admirable dynamism in which rhythm and harmony always take surprising paths.
Pat Mastelotto, for example, has his own idea of the kind of virtuosity the band displays: “our virtue is to listen, I think we are very good listeners”.
play this weekend
Stick Men will be back in Buenos Airesas part of a long Latin American tour in which they will also play unusual places to receive this type of concert such as Montevideo or La Paz.
They will present their latest release tentacles the Saturday 26 November at CC Konex (tickets at entradas.cckonex.org) and of course they will cover King Crimson classics.
Tony Levin talks about the tour and why Buenos Aires is a special place for him: “In the 90s Buenos Aires became a second home for us of King Crimson, because we established the band there while finishing our album and starting our live’ Double Trio ‘Concept’.
“We got to know the city,” he says, “and really enjoyed it. Since then I’ve become increasingly aware of the wonderful reception progressive rock has in this city. So it’s a welcome stop for any band playing that genre.
He adds: ‘It’s also fun to go to Montevideo, I’ve only seen that part of Uruguay, not the rest. And La Paz, once you catch your breath (after a day or so!) it’s… well, fantastic ! “
A Frankenstein who reinvents himself
Stick Men’s songs are complex and intricate and work like soundtracks to get out of reality for a while. As a listener it is fascinating to try to understand how this group works in terms of writing processes.
“Music is never finished until it’s in the shrink wrap and even then it’s still alive! Every time we connect, it comes to life, like a Frankenstein that can be reinvented over and over again,” explains Mastelotto and prompts Levin to tell a little more about the trio’s way of working:
“We tried different approaches to write our music. The most common thing, until recently, was for Markus or me to write a piece, including the part for the others; After presenting it to them, we asked them to change it a bit. We also did a lot of improvisations that turned into pieces, where the whole band is making up in real time,” he says.
About tentaclesdescribes that “This new music was done differently. Markus and I wrote on our own but with an open architecture, leaving plenty of room for the other players (even Pat) to push things into a different key or time signature We are very happy with the result, which feels different from our other compositions, it’s really a product of the three of us and most importantly, I feel that the band has its own sound and type of music, which is what I look for in bands that I seek to admire.”
A solitary visit
As is common in this type of musician – creative, hyperactive, eager for novelty – the versatile element of each is part of their potential. potential that in the case of Mastelotto it was highlighted in the visit to Buenos Aires in 2016 with his improvisation band TU.
Seeing him play with this duo and with his Ork band that night was a wonderful opportunity to appreciate that adaptability, one of the drummer’s artistic goals modestly commenting that “music and players are different, so obviously, I would like to do this setting well and be the right person for the right concert.”
He adds, “One of the things about my career in general is that I try to be a chameleon depending on the music and range of acoustic and/or electronic drums I work with. That said, I have limits getting used to it.”
Beyond Mastelotto’s not lacking humility comment, Stick Men sounds like an impressive unit where nothing is left or missinggiving rise to a practically perfect sound within the canons of the progressive genre.
Levin laughs when he hears the word “perfect”: “Haha! I don’t know if it’s perfect. But the other musicians in the band inspire me. Markus is one of the leading guitarists and masters of ‘touch’, with impeccable technique, unlike me! His approach to songwriting is very modern and very different from mine, which helps, I think, make us an interesting band.”
“But also – he says – on stage, in live shows, the way we can – with our two touch-style instruments – swap who plays bass or guitar, gives the audience a fascinating experience beyond listening to the music” .
He concludes: “Then there’s Pat, probably the drummer I’ve played with the most during my long career. He always approaches all music in his own way, not in the typical drummer way, and either with acoustic drums that with electronica, there’s a wide variety in what he can do. This helps us fill in the gaps despite being ‘just a trio’, and I also find his creative sense to make our music truly progressive.”
mfb
Source: Clarin
