Its title notwithstanding, CLONE is a wholly original collaboration between acoustic guitar legend Leo Kottke and bassist Mike Gordon of Phish. For Kottke, it is the 25th album (excluding compilations) in a career that dates back to 1968. From the beginning, the Minneapolis-based guitarist has dazzled fans and fellow musicians with his uniquely propulsive fingerpicking and deep, resonant voice. Since 1983, Gordon has established himself as a virtuoso in his own right as bass guitarist and founding member of Phish, the quintessential jam band from Burlington, Vermont.
This recording marks a departure for both musicians. CLONE is the first "band" album Kottke has ever made, in the sense of being a true, fully credited collaboration with another musician. It is also Gordon's first musical project outside of Phish. Shot through with skewed, surreal humor and casually brilliant interplay, Clone is a captivating collaboration between two master musicians.
And to think it all began with the word "eleemosynary."
Eleemosynary is essentially a highfalutin synonym for "charitable." Mike Gordon dropped the word into an essay from his book Mike's Corner, a collection of whimsical short pieces he'd written for Phish's newsletter. Leo Kottke, after being given a copy by longtime fan Gordon, made note of eleemosynary's appearance. The only other time he'd seen it used was in John Fowles' novel The French Lieutenant's Woman. At that moment, before they'd ever played a note together, guitarist Kottke realized that bassist Gordon - who possesses the same sort of disarmingly playful intellect - might make a fruitful collaborator.
"That's what really got my attention," chuckles Kottke. "That and the fact he's easy to talk to. He's one of those people, unlike me, who can walk up and say hello to anybody on earth and be perfectly at ease with it. So I got curious about what he was doing."
Gordon already knew plenty about Kottke, having seen him in concert as far back as 1983. Mike and bandmate Trey Anastasio considered him their favorite acoustic guitarist. So when Kottke came to play Burlington, Vermont, in 1999, Gordon was ready. He had taken one of Kottke's earliest solo instrumentals, "The Driving of the Year Nail," and overdubbed an original bass line. Backstage, he presented Kottke with a tape of the revamped song, as well as a copy of his book and Phish's latest release, The Story of the Ghost.
"I had always been a fan," Gordon recalls, "and it just dawned on me like a flash that I would click with him, both personality-wise and musically."
Some months later, Kottke contacted Gordon to say he liked the bass part Mike had added to "Year Nail." Eager to explore the potential chemistry, they got together a few times to jam. At the end of a daylong session at Trey's Barn studio in Burlington, they improvised a pattern that got them excited. Just as "eleemosynary" had broken the ice, this one riff - which can be heard at the beginning of "June" - cemented their union. "It made us think we should try to write music together," says Gordon.
"I've had the experience of playing with people where things fit really well, you have a lot of fun and pretty much get what you want," says Kottke. "But I've never had the experience of locking in before the notes are happening and finding out that you can do things literally in unison. It really was a shock to me.
"We only had a lick," Kottke continues, "but based on that we committed ourselves to do a record. We jumped in over our heads without a second thought. It could've been disastrous, but it really worked. We found out we could write together, which is really what happened."
Another session, this one in Kottke's hometown of Minneapolis, found them finding a groove on the Kottke-composed "Disco." "I started playing along, and he described it as 'having foot,'" Gordon says with a chuckle. "He said that one would be good for us, 'cause people could stomp their feet to it." At that point, Clone began taking shape.
Between January and June 2002, Kottke and Gordon convened three times at the Burbank, California, garage studio of producer Paul DuGré. A freewheeling spirit of "anything goes" pervaded the sessions, as they challenged each other in ways that were novel for both of them. "Playing with him was pushing my style to a new limit," acknowledges Gordon, "and he claimed it was doing the same thing for him. So it just felt great, and it had foot."
They drew upon a choice set of uniquely slanted songs, among them "Car Carrier Blues," whose narrator worries about driving behind those car-carrying trucks for fear that the rear automobile will fall off, and "From Pizza Towers to Defeat," a surrealistic ditty (written by cult hero Bob "Frizz" Fuller) that makes lyrical references to a train robbery and Richard Nixon in drag.
Of course, Kottke played guitar and Gordon played bass, and both sang. But they also delved into a whole other realm of "found" noises and instruments to spice up the mix. Mike played a "resophonic bass" - a custom-made instrument with the body of a dobro and the neck of a bass - on "Arko" and "With." Kottke played "the Condor," a prototype guitar synthesizer made decades ago. It was so bad, it was good - especially on the bizarrely humorous title track.
"The strings were really rusty and it was dangerous to play," laughs Kottke. "It had this controller with these huge vanilla, barstool-red and turquoise panel buttons on it that said things like 'choo choo train' and 'surf.' It was awful! Half of it didn't work and it made all this noise, but it had something, so the Condor is all over 'Clone.'"
Kottke and Gordon also played percussion on pots and pans from DuGré's kitchen and flew in noises from something called a "lollipop vibrator." In "The Collins Missile," Gordon plays "skull flute" - a plaintive, high-pitched sound made by cupping one's hands and blowing through the thumbs.
"Laughter was important," says Gordon of the sessions, which even had their own mascot: a neighborhood cat.
"Ralph was her name," says Kottke. "This cat was really peculiar. It would run across the street whenever we showed up. And when we brought it in the studio, it played everything: walked on the guitar, on the bass, on the piano, on Paul's control board."
This feline spirit of daring carried over to Kottke and Gordon, who happily followed their collective muse wherever it led them. "There was no strain," says Kottke. "It was the easiest record I've ever made. It was completely unstructured and spontaneous. There wasn't any idea we were trying to express some message or anything. We were just looking for that click."
- Article originally appeared on PhreshWater.com in October 2002
7.25.2004
DVD Review: Grateful Dead - The Closing of Winterland
Artist: Grateful Dead
Title: The Closing of Winterland,
December 31, 1978
Label: Monterey Video
Year: 2003
Rating: 4.5 Drops
Winterland, originally built as a boxing venue and then an ice skating arena in San Francisco Ca, became the second home of Rock promoter Bill Graham when the acts he normally sponsored at his Fillmore Auditorium, a few blocks away, became too popular and a larger seating capacity was needed. Bill promoted well over 500 shows at Winterland through its legendary slice of history that saw acts such as the Rolling Stones, the Doors, Stevie Wonder, Cream , James Brown, Jefferson Airplane, the Sex Pistols, and certainly one of the greatest Rock and Roll bands of all time: The Grateful Dead.
After going through several renovations, Bill Graham could no longer manage keeping the crumbling building together and decided to close the doors of Winterland with one final smash evening on December 31, 1978 with opening acts New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Blues Brothers, and the Grateful Dead to headline this sentimental farewell concert. ‘Pete’, according to one of the Winterland management crew, ‘Who is always the first to show up’ made it to his legendary place at the front door three days before the show. Bill Graham’s sister, Esther, set up a soup kitchen outside to feed all the ‘Beautiful Kids’ waiting outside with a healthy menu of soup, rolls, and carrot cake. It had been, according to the obsessed fans banner, “1535 Days Since Last SF Dark Star”. San Francisco public television station KQED and pioneering FM Rock station KSAN were there to capture every moment in video and audio: It was the beginning of a historical evening.
With well over 5000 ‘Heads’ crammed into Winterland, and the opening acts having wowed the crowd, Bill Graham dressed up as ‘Father Time’ and took his midnight ride in his carriage to the stage that was a blazing monster joint that only King Kong could enjoy in one sitting. Once the gigantic doobie hit the stage, with Dan Aykroyd finishing the countdown, a million balloons flooded the audience with uproarious applause as the Dead whipped out the first chords and riffs of Sugar Magnolia. From that moment on, the night belonged to the Grateful Dead and the swarming sea of fans paying their last rites to the place that held 59 Dead shows, nearly 10% of all Grateful Dead performances.
There are so many magical moments on this film that I could spend several more pages or a full essay on the subject without a doubt. Now, this is the best Grateful Dead footage that is in my library and certainly one that will be enjoyed over and over again. With 2 DVDs, a 28 page collectors book, and over 6.5 hours of material, you can get completely immersed in this magical evening. And, you now have the luxury of archiving it right in your own home. Plan on making an all-nighter or an entire weekend out of this DVD the first time out of the box!
By: S. Remington
Title: The Closing of Winterland,
December 31, 1978
Label: Monterey Video
Year: 2003
Rating: 4.5 Drops
Winterland, originally built as a boxing venue and then an ice skating arena in San Francisco Ca, became the second home of Rock promoter Bill Graham when the acts he normally sponsored at his Fillmore Auditorium, a few blocks away, became too popular and a larger seating capacity was needed. Bill promoted well over 500 shows at Winterland through its legendary slice of history that saw acts such as the Rolling Stones, the Doors, Stevie Wonder, Cream , James Brown, Jefferson Airplane, the Sex Pistols, and certainly one of the greatest Rock and Roll bands of all time: The Grateful Dead.
After going through several renovations, Bill Graham could no longer manage keeping the crumbling building together and decided to close the doors of Winterland with one final smash evening on December 31, 1978 with opening acts New Riders of the Purple Sage, the Blues Brothers, and the Grateful Dead to headline this sentimental farewell concert. ‘Pete’, according to one of the Winterland management crew, ‘Who is always the first to show up’ made it to his legendary place at the front door three days before the show. Bill Graham’s sister, Esther, set up a soup kitchen outside to feed all the ‘Beautiful Kids’ waiting outside with a healthy menu of soup, rolls, and carrot cake. It had been, according to the obsessed fans banner, “1535 Days Since Last SF Dark Star”. San Francisco public television station KQED and pioneering FM Rock station KSAN were there to capture every moment in video and audio: It was the beginning of a historical evening.
With well over 5000 ‘Heads’ crammed into Winterland, and the opening acts having wowed the crowd, Bill Graham dressed up as ‘Father Time’ and took his midnight ride in his carriage to the stage that was a blazing monster joint that only King Kong could enjoy in one sitting. Once the gigantic doobie hit the stage, with Dan Aykroyd finishing the countdown, a million balloons flooded the audience with uproarious applause as the Dead whipped out the first chords and riffs of Sugar Magnolia. From that moment on, the night belonged to the Grateful Dead and the swarming sea of fans paying their last rites to the place that held 59 Dead shows, nearly 10% of all Grateful Dead performances.
There are so many magical moments on this film that I could spend several more pages or a full essay on the subject without a doubt. Now, this is the best Grateful Dead footage that is in my library and certainly one that will be enjoyed over and over again. With 2 DVDs, a 28 page collectors book, and over 6.5 hours of material, you can get completely immersed in this magical evening. And, you now have the luxury of archiving it right in your own home. Plan on making an all-nighter or an entire weekend out of this DVD the first time out of the box!
By: S. Remington
DVD Review: Allman Brothers Band - Live at the Beacon Theater
Artist: The Allman Brother Band
Title: Live at the Beacon Theatre
Label: Sanctuary
Year: 2003
Rating: 5 Drops
The Allman Brothers Band pulls into New York city every March for an extended string of performances that dedicated fans have come to refer to as 'The Beacon Run'. This DVD puts you not only in the front row for two stellar nights at the Beacon, March 25 & 26, 2003, but nestles you directly in the lap of one of the founding bands of the Jam scene and clearly one of the greatest Rock and Roll bands of all time. The film brings you in through the front door of the famous Beacon Theatre on New York's upper West side and literally suspends you out over the crowd and the stage for a beautiful and blistering 3 hours of Allman Brothers magic.
Over the years I've seen the Allman Brothers Band, through rough times and good times and different line-ups, but I'll tell you right now they have arrived AGAIN! They have never sounded tighter and more full of collective energy and joy and watching this film is nothing short of awe inspiring. Gregg Allman has made a complete transformation and this rekindled fire within himself is a potent fuel for the entire band to feed and explore the improvisational landscapes that set this legendary band apart from the rest and continues to evolve musically today.
This professionally shot film is some of the most electric concert footage that I have ever seen and is enhanced with crystal clear digital audio to transform your home entertainment center and living room into a super charged Allman Brothers experience. The band charges brilliantly through many Allman Brothers classics including 'Ain't Wastin' No More Time', 'Woman Across the River', 'Midnight Rider' with full fledged fervor and ferocity. One of the highlights of the set list was a mind altering collaboration of Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes giving a slide guitar clinic, both trading lead back and forth, in an amazing rendition of 'Rockin' Horse'.
The DVD is also packed full of features, photo gallery, a bonus track with Derek and Warren tearing up an acoustic version of 'Old Friend' in a backstage dressing room rehearsal, and a wonderful interview section with all of the band members as they speak on the roots of the Allman Brothers Band and the stage chemistry they share today. I watched the film from beginning to end and only tagged the pause button long enough for a restroom break and to switch discs. This DVD is definitely a must have for the hardcore Allman Brothers fan young and old alike and its treasures will certainly be explored again and again from my living room for years to come.
By: T. Monroe
Title: Live at the Beacon Theatre
Label: Sanctuary
Year: 2003
Rating: 5 Drops
The Allman Brothers Band pulls into New York city every March for an extended string of performances that dedicated fans have come to refer to as 'The Beacon Run'. This DVD puts you not only in the front row for two stellar nights at the Beacon, March 25 & 26, 2003, but nestles you directly in the lap of one of the founding bands of the Jam scene and clearly one of the greatest Rock and Roll bands of all time. The film brings you in through the front door of the famous Beacon Theatre on New York's upper West side and literally suspends you out over the crowd and the stage for a beautiful and blistering 3 hours of Allman Brothers magic.
Over the years I've seen the Allman Brothers Band, through rough times and good times and different line-ups, but I'll tell you right now they have arrived AGAIN! They have never sounded tighter and more full of collective energy and joy and watching this film is nothing short of awe inspiring. Gregg Allman has made a complete transformation and this rekindled fire within himself is a potent fuel for the entire band to feed and explore the improvisational landscapes that set this legendary band apart from the rest and continues to evolve musically today.
This professionally shot film is some of the most electric concert footage that I have ever seen and is enhanced with crystal clear digital audio to transform your home entertainment center and living room into a super charged Allman Brothers experience. The band charges brilliantly through many Allman Brothers classics including 'Ain't Wastin' No More Time', 'Woman Across the River', 'Midnight Rider' with full fledged fervor and ferocity. One of the highlights of the set list was a mind altering collaboration of Derek Trucks and Warren Haynes giving a slide guitar clinic, both trading lead back and forth, in an amazing rendition of 'Rockin' Horse'.
The DVD is also packed full of features, photo gallery, a bonus track with Derek and Warren tearing up an acoustic version of 'Old Friend' in a backstage dressing room rehearsal, and a wonderful interview section with all of the band members as they speak on the roots of the Allman Brothers Band and the stage chemistry they share today. I watched the film from beginning to end and only tagged the pause button long enough for a restroom break and to switch discs. This DVD is definitely a must have for the hardcore Allman Brothers fan young and old alike and its treasures will certainly be explored again and again from my living room for years to come.
By: T. Monroe
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