South African Music (sorta OT)
e7h3r
BLUES. Now, normally, I'm not into this kind of music - I don't think it
has a genre, it's just South African. Anyway, these are people from very
poor parts of the country, who basically tught themselves to play guitar -
they all use different tunings, different picking styles, even wierd ways of
holding the guitars. One woman even put 2 strings through one nut, so she
could play 2 strings with one finger :o)
Anyway, i was very sceptical at first - my dad just got us tickets and told
me we were going, but once it started, the 1.5 hours were over before i knew
it. One of the first acts was a violin player. The body of his violin was
made out of a tin petrol can - I don't know if they're common where u guys
are, but they are here- and a few pieces of wood, and some gut. The bow was
made out of horse hair, and literally a stick from some tree. They miked it,
and it sounded SO good. 3 strings by the way. Anyway, the violin was my
favorite part, no words, just violin and another guy on guitar.
In the beginning, the songs were pretty upbeat and cheerful, but those were
the ones without words. Towards the end, a slight old woman came and played
one of her songs. First of all, our country is very poor, and i mean REALLY
poor, especially where these people come from. This woman sang a song about
having no mother, no father, no money, no home. It was definitely one of the
most moving songs i've ever heard, and it was basically just one verse and
one chorus, repeating....most of these songs were written to sing on the
road, to stave off boredom, so they're usually pretty cyclic.
After that, some more people(relatives of hers) came and played another
song. It's amazing how people with no training at all can make such raw,
powerful music. I'll never forget it.
On another note, the bassist that played there was exactly how i want to be
one day - his basslines fit the songs perfectly, they were really simple
when they needed to be, busy when they needed to be. There was a rhythm
section- drummer, bass, and guitar/banjo that played with all the different
people, and they did a really good job - if i felt like listening to the
bass, fine, but if i was concentrating on the main player in front, i
wouldn't even notice them coming in, just feel the song gathering momentum.
Anyway, I just had to post that
eadg
e7h3r <quin...@iafricanospam.com> wrote in message
news:3cfbb...@news1.mweb.co.za...
Thanks for posting a review.Sound's like you had a good time - which is what
it all boils down to when you think about it ;)
Just a pity that in this hype-ridden world ppl won't have the chance to
share...
SR
Christopher Berry
Seriously, all you need to hear a great performance is a crate of castle
lager or a couple of bottles of mampoer and find a few Blacks (not
derogatory in SA) huddling around a fire on a Friday night after work,
pulling out a few drums and giving you every penny's worth for the alcohol.
You're instantly reminded that song was "the" means of communication and
recording information and it's done with such pleasure.
cb
TAPKAE
> Last night i saw the most amazing show ever, DAVID KRAMER'S KAROO KITAAR
> BLUES. Now, normally, I'm not into this kind of music - I don't think it
> has a genre, it's just South African. Anyway, these are people from very
> poor parts of the country, who basically tught themselves to play guitar -
> they all use different tunings, different picking styles, even wierd ways of
> holding the guitars. One woman even put 2 strings through one nut, so she
> could play 2 strings with one finger :o)
> Towards the end, a slight old woman came and played
> one of her songs. First of all, our country is very poor, and i mean REALLY
> poor, especially where these people come from. This woman sang a song about
> having no mother, no father, no money, no home. It was definitely one of the
> most moving songs i've ever heard, and it was basically just one verse and
> one chorus, repeating....most of these songs were written to sing on the
> road, to stave off boredom, so they're usually pretty cyclic.
>
> After that, some more people(relatives of hers) came and played another
> song. It's amazing how people with no training at all can make such raw,
> powerful music. I'll never forget it.
Yeah. Last year I bought $20000 of music gear and haven't done much with it.
Sometimes you need to be reminded that music exists in the heart and soul,
not in the material world. I wish I was at that show. It's a little far
(from California)...
Sometimes I think I should just sell everything but my acoustic guitar, and
stop hiding.
e
Cooler than sh*t!
Fat Bald Middle Aged Bloke
Continuing with that I will never ever forget taking my family up to near
the three rondavels and God's Window in the Drakensburg and there at the
very edge of this mountainous drop of stood a gospel choir, all clothed in
their purple and white outfits, not exactly my preference in music. They
sang against this beautiful backdrop and my family and I, I have 4 kids,
stood in awe, in respect and in sheer delight, we were the only audience.
Bernie :-)
Rob Kloka
--
-rob
O< "Go Red Wings!"
/(\)
^^
"Fat Bald Middle Aged Bloke" <ne...@bernd.org.uk> wrote in message
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