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It’s a little after 1 a.m.; the second floor of the Van Dyck Restaurant/Pub in Schenectady NY is empty except for a few employees cleaning up after 6 hours of food, drink and music. On the tiny stage in the corner of the room the members of the Tony Levin Band are packing up their equipment. The band handles this chore themselves; hauling the black, metal-banded travel cases up to the stage, packing their instruments and equipment inside, then hauling them down a flight of stairs and out the front door, where a light rain and a van await.
The
band performed, hawked merchandise, signed autographs and talked with fans for
over six hours. When they finish packing they still have an hour-long drive back
to their home base near
This
is their sixth stop in less than two weeks in support of Tony Levin’s new CD,
“Resonator” which was released on April 4. There are five members in the
band. Tony Levin plays bass, Chapman Stick and cello. Larry Fast plays
synthesizer, Jerry Marotta, percussion, Jesse Gress, guitar and new member,
Tony’s older brother Pete, plays keyboards. As is increasingly common with
CDs, each musician recorded most of the parts separately, many on their own home
recording studios. So when the band members got together on April 5 for a CD
release party at the
Bearsville Theater in
The
Bearsville Theater is west of the center of town, a red barn with gold trim on
the south side of NY Route 212. Across the parking lot from it is a two-story
white building with “Utopia” on the side; this is the Utopia Video Studio
made famous by Todd Rundgren. The back of the building is now home to radio
station WDST.
The
CD release party is a small, informal affair. There are never more than 75
people in attendance; when the party starts at
The
following Saturday, April 8, they are back in the Bearsville Theater, this time
on stage. The rear entrance to the hall is open; the sound of the band finishing
a song is heard in the parking lot. Inside the band takes a break, discussing
the rehearsal. This is their third day practicing, but most of the time so far
has been spent on technical issues; setting sound levels, adjusting monitors,
figuring out how to fit all their equipment on the small stages they’ll find
at some of the venues. They prepare to do a run-through of the new songs so they
can fine-tune the sound levels and time the length; knowing how long a concert
runs is important, especially when you do two shows a night like they will be
doing in
The
stage is chilly; the theater is letting the band use the facility for free but
that doesn’t include heat. Both Jesse and Tony are wearing hats; with his
toque, stage antics and sometimes maniacal glint in his eyes Jesse reminds one
of Jay without Silent Bob. There’s definitely a bit of the trickster in him.
“Make
note – get more stick strings,” Tony says aloud to himself while he
scribbles on a piece of paper and prepares to play King Crimson’s “Elephant
Talk,” a song showcasing the Chapman Stick. The band is still focused on the
sound, and each musician makes small adjustments to their equipment. The stage
is littered with wires, foot petals, and electronic boxes, yet the band members
appear confident as they patch between devices. There is an occasional hum or
loud burst of sound; that’s why they rehearse.
The
communication between the band members and their engineer is critical. The
engineer is sitting in the back of the room adjusting the sound for the audience
but the drummer, Jerry Marotta, controls the monitors which the band use while
they play. Between songs the band talks about what, if any, transitional
conversation will occur between songs. Although much of the conversation with
the audience during the show is impromptu, some of it is planned.
The
music sounds flawless to this reporter. “Good job guys,” Tony tells the
band.
During
a short “wife break” for Tony the rest of the band talks about “the
reality show we call going on tour.” They all clearly love what they do; yet
it’s also clear it is hard work and they are seasoned professionals. They’re
musicians, not just performers; all of them do other work in the music business.
Jesse
Gress has played and toured with Todd Rundgren for years. He’s also published
four books on guitar instruction and theory and is one of the most respected
music transcribers in the business; his transcription portfolio includes most of
the Beatles catalog, along with work by such guitar legends as Jimi Hendrix,
Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Led Zeppelin. This experience
shows in his playing, as he is incredibly versatile and can play in many
different styles.
Jerry
Marotta started with the band
Larry
Fast released the first of his ten Synergy™ recordings, “Electronic
Realizations for Rock Orchestra,” in 1975. He’s toured with the
English/German band Nektar and Peter Gabriel, providing his electronic
production skills along with his playing. He’s also an engineer; while still a
student he designed synthesizer modules for Rick Wakeman of Yes. He’s also
worked as a consult to Moog Music and with AT&T Bell Laboratories where he
was an early pioneer of digital and computer control synthesis. He’s worked on
numerous film and television projects, and recently he created the broadcast
sound logos for the XM Satellite Network and hours of new compositions for the
The
new member of the band, Pete Levin, has been playing since the mid-1960s. He’s
played with jazz greats Chuck Mangione, Artie Traum, Miles Davis, Billy
Cobham and the Brubeck Brothers Quartet. But he’s also played with performers
as diverse as Judy Collins, Paul Simon, Gregory Hines, Annie Lennox, Robbie
Robertson and Tommy Chong, as well as releasing several CDs of his own solo jazz
work.
Tony Levin is one of the premier bass players in the world; he’s also the only person known to have performed with both Leopold Stokowkski and Alice Cooper. The list of people he has played and recorded with is in the hundreds, including David Bowie, Karen Carpenter, Tracy Chapman, Dire Straits, Pink Floyd, Yes, John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Buddy Rich and Lou Reed. He is best known for his work with Peter Gabriel and King Crimson; he, Jerry and Larry played together with Gabriel’s band for many years in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Tony joined King Crimson in 1980 and has been a member of “the Greater Crim” ever since. His song “Apollo” from his previous CD “Pieces of the Sun” was a 2002 Grammy nominee for “Best Rock Instrumental Performance.”
After
the complete the run through their engineer wants them to go back over a tricky
vocal harmony part in “Throw The God a Bone”; it’s difficult getting the
sound levels right for each of the four voices. Tomorrow is their last day of
practice, and then they’re off to
Two
weeks later it’s a wet evening in
Once
you get your table assignment you wind your way up the narrow stairs to the
second floor where the stage is located. At rehearsal Jerry said the stage was
the size of a typical drum riser and he wasn’t exaggerating by much. It’s
maybe 15 feet wide with the front edge angled, only six to eight feet deep.
Jerry’s drum kit is in the far back corner. Unfortunately he has to contend
with a plastic bag filling with water hanging above his head; the roof started
leaking during the first show, causing this second one to be delayed by a half
hour.
They
open the show with a barbershop quartet; a variation of one Tony recorded many
years ago as a joke while playing with King Crimson. But instead of singing
“no pictures please” they sing “pictures are allowed” whereupon they all
pull out cameras and take pictures of the audience. Some of these end up on
Tony’s Tour Website for each show.
Although
their rehearsal sounded great, the concert is much tighter and polished; by this
time they’ve been playing this music together for two weeks. One difference
with the new material is that most of the songs have lyrics. According to Tony,
“There was a lot I wanted to say; music wasn’t enough.” After years of
singing backup his vocal performance is polished.
Before
they play “Fragile As A Song” Tony confesses that it isn’t a love song to
a woman. A few years ago he went to the
Their
music cuts across the rock music genre and at times tends toward the
avant-garde. It’s not for everyone’s taste. Before the performance started
one couple said, “we aren’t familiar with his [Tony’s] music, but the ad
for the show sounded interesting.” However it becomes clear during the
performance that this wasn’t what they expected, although they politely
applaud after most songs. When the band leaves the stage they disappear, not
staying for the encore.
The
show ends with an a cappella version of Peter Gabriel’s duet with Kate Bush,
“Don’t Give Up”, with a concluding voiceover by Larry, the only band
member who never sings, thanking the audience and telling them about the
merchandise sales and autographs to follow.
The
signing is very casual and much less chaotic than before; they don’t have to
compete with a box office line. Like the release party, it feels more like a
bunch of friends hanging out together than fans meeting international music
stars; a few months earlier Tony had unknowingly turned down an opportunity to
perform with Peter Gabriel at the Olympic Opening Ceremonies. Tony said it was
just like Peter not to say what the gig was and just like him not to ask.
Watching
the band pack up their own gear after the show the question comes to mind –
why do they do it? Clearly they don’t make a lot of money on these shows, and
it’s a lot more work playing a small club with inferior acoustics and sound
system… and where you have to set up and pack up your equipment yourself.
Tony’s answer is:
“You don't go into music (usually) to become wealthy, or to cruise through life - you just want to make music. By the time we're beyond our teens, most of us musicians have learned that it'll be a lot of work, and some bumps along the road - those who don’t' want that life find other things to do. And what you see in our band is some of those players who will put up with whatever it takes to get out and play music.”
Erwin Bush
May 2006
