New Website, New Blog

Hey everyone. There is big news in the land of SkolNotes. It's time to make the announcement:

The new website is up, www.alexskolnick.com It's also the new location of the blog.

Here's the latest post, my tribute to the late great Ronnie James Dio "Goodbye Ronnie James Dio"

Its going to be a much better system having the blog contained within our own website. You'll be able to comment on the new blog and have individual threads as well. We don't have all your old comments synced to the new blog yet, but that's being worked on. There are also some new features being tweaked for the new site, its not complete yet, but it was time to get it up and running.

We will keep this blog up for reference, but all comments will eventually be disabled.

I really appreciate you all helping get Skolnotes up and running and into the formidable force that its become. I look forward to many more entertaining and informative dialogues in our new location. Thanks again and see you over there at the new SkolNotes.

Flexitarianism

Recently, I became familiar with the term 'Flexitarianism.' A flexitarian, according to Wikipedia, is someone who decreases meat consumption without eliminating it entirely from his or her diet. Here is an MSNBC article "Meet The Flexitarians." This basically describes how I already eat.

I have some friends who consider themselves vegetarian, 'vegan' and a few who are 'raw vegan.' I respect their beliefs and place a similar value on meals that are fresh, natural and health conscious. I try to shop at environmentally aware stores such as Whole Foods and enjoy a lot of healthy meals, especially here in New York where there are a good number of high quality organic and macrobiotic restaurants. I understand the need to move away from a typical processed, saturated, meat heavy diet and be more aware of where your food is coming from. However, I refuse to label and limit myself in such a way.

When I visit great high quality, upscale restaurants, such as Lola in Cleveland, Les Halles in New York or Chez Panise in Berkeley, I don't want to only order the token vegetarian selection. That would feel disrespectful to the chef and the art of cooking itself. And the same applies to my frequent travels to Asia, Europe, South America and Australia. I'll make sure to eat a lot of natural food such as vegetables, but also seafood, poultry and less often, red meat. Part of experiencing the culture is enjoying the dishes indigenous to these regions.

It is the raw vegans who I am simultaneously in awe of and occasionally annoyed by. I see their point and admit to feeling especially energized when I eat good organic raw food. But I refuse to limit my diet to it and am turned off by some who seem to be on a religious like crusade to convert others to their way of life.

There is however, one special restaurant I recently tried in New York, called Pure Food & Wine which alters my perspective slightly on raw cuisine and its practitioners. While it may not have convert me to a 'raw vegan' lifestyle, it inspires me to want to eat more healthy, more often.Sarma, the charismatic young co-founder/owner/mascot of Pure Food & Wine, has a blog post that makes a lot of sense. She's also a fan of classic Metallica. It is refreshing to hear from a raw food specialist who is not 'cult-like' about her beliefs and more or less 'flexitarian' in nature.

And the more I think about it, the more I realize that "flexitarianism" describes how I feel about a lot of movements, musical, religious,philosophical as well as dietary. It represents getting what you can out of a practice without being controlled by its limitations and unrealistic expectations.

For example, I'm a metal guitarist who is seriously into jazz but can't stand the stubbornness and prejudices that exist among certain fans of both genres. If I play metal, does that mean I should cover myself in tattoos, be culturally illiterate, drink beer all day and date strippers? If I play jazz, does that mean I have to avoid all other genres of music and say 'dig' every other word?

Similarly, I like to take a yoga class now and then. But I don't want to practice it every day, wear yoga-like clothes and hang out with yoga disciples who live in communes and ashrams.

When it comes to faith, I feel there is much to be learned from the old fables of
Judaism, the Christian principles of forgiveness and love, the honor emphasized by Catholicism and the wisdom of Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and other Eastern religions.

But why does it all have to be so exclusive? Why should one religion forbid me from checking out the teachings of another? Don't tell me I'm going to hell just because I don't follow your specific beliefs to a 'T.'

Group based movements of all types try to enforce labels on people, place psychological pressure and incorporate decisions that should be up to the individual. It is the strict rules, restrictions and disqualifications that put me off from these movements, as well as those who follow the rules like blind sheep.

To me, what works best is exploring any activity, seeing what works
best for you, doing so in moderation, never abusing it and never
trying to push it on others. I'm starting to think my entire belief
system could be described as 'flexitarian.'

Volcano Blues

Question: What happens when you combine the Icelandic volcano with a European jazz tour and a heavy metal festival in the Philippines?

Answer: A guitarist who has circumnavigated the globe.

In a matter of days, I have flown from New York to Europe, Europe to Asia, Asia to New York. Around the planet Earth, all because of a volcano. Welcome to my world.

I write this, I am resting comfortably at home in Brooklyn, NY while the two guys in my band, Alex Skolnick Trio, remain stuck in Europe. We were all supposed to fly back together, but the aftermath of the eruption, specifically the grounding of flights in Europe, changed all that.

It was just over two weeks ago we all flew from New York to Amsterdam to support the hugely popular acoustic guitar duo Rodrigo Y Gabriela. Since the trio had yet to have made it to Europe, supporting Rod And Gab presented the perfect opportunity for us to debut overseas, before continuing with them in the US. But I never could have predicted how this run of the tour would end.

After the final French show, in Toulouse, I flew to the Philippines for a metal festival with my longtime band Testament and the popular metal group Lamb Of God. This show had been booked for a long time and marked the first time the group had ever been in the Philippines. I couldn’t let the bands or the Filipino fans down. I had to be there. Besides, it coincided with some festival dates that Rod and Gab were playing on their own, so the trio had the time off anyway.



It should have been a perfect scenario. The trio stays with friends of ours in Paris for a few days, then meets me in Luxembourg. I fly to Manila from Toulouse, play the gig, then fly back to Europe and play the last two shows with the trio and RodYGab in Luxembourg and Brussels, Belgium.

Ok, it was a little crazy, but I’ve done stuff like this before. And it would have worked out perfectly. Who could have predicted that a volcano would erupt in Iceland, creating a massive ash cloud that would engulf the continent and cause a complete shutdown of every major airport in Western Europe?

I flew to Manila with no issues, had a bleary eyed dinner and wine with my buddies in Lamb Of God and a great nights sleep. The next day, I met up with my band who had landed in the middle of the night. We played a successful show for 30,000 Filipino fans. The following morning, rides to the airport were organized.

When I checked on my flight, I realized that it and every other flight to Europe had been canceled. My heart sank as realized I would miss the last two shows of the trio/RyG tour. including a sold out concert at for 5,000 people in Brussels, Belgium.

There was nothing I could do except try and get home or risk getting stuck in Manila. I called my airline, Etihad Airways, but the best they could do was reissue the ticket at another date. That was no help at all. When else will I need a ticket from Manilla to Luxembourg?

I asked about transferring the flight towards purchase of a flight to the United States. I was told that would be an ‘additional’ $5,500. No thanks. Meanwhile flights to the US were being snatched up left and right by people in my situation: scheduled to fly from Asia to Europe but forced to fly home instead.

Fortunately I was helped by a couple sources. First, American Express came to the rescue. While I’ve sometimes questioned the high annual fee I pay for the my Platinum card, their premium travel service came in very handy that day. They found me flight for under a thousand dollars. This service, which I pay the high fee for, actually saved me a lot of money and trouble. (Forgive me if I sound like a commercial for AmEx). Also, the Filippino promoter, Vernon from Pulp Productions, was also extremely helpful and extended my hotel stay for an extra night. And his assistant Karen and her friend Ivan took me out for an impromptu evening of food and drink in Manilla. The next day I caught my flight and after nearly twenty hours of travel, made it home.

I am still sad about missing those last two shows, and worried about my guys. But I take some consolation that we had some great European gigs, the Netherlands, Zurich, Switzerland and three cities in France, Paris, Marseille and Tousouse. The highlight was the two sold out shows at the legendary theatre, L’Olympia, considered the “Radio City Music Hall” of Paris.

Next week we are scheduled to play the real Radio City here in New York City. That is, if my band can make it over here by then.

As I write this, the band is scheduled to fly home tomorrow from Amsterdam, but everything is up in the air, pun not intended. Flight restrictions continue to be lifted, then put back into effect. Their connection is through London Heathrow, the airport which has suffered the most from the aftermath and continued eruption of the Icelandic Volcano. Many fingers are crossed that they make it.

This is one of those situations that will only make our band stronger. When this is all over, we will have one heck of a story.

Quick Update From The Road

Hey folks- thanks for all the positive comments here and over on the GP page. I figured that ought to hold everyone for now.

As we tour with Rodrigo Y Gabriela across Europe, we are playing for the biggest crowds we've ever seen as the AS Trio. The pic at right, taken from the stage after our set, represents a typical night. As you can see, the crowds are really getting it.

In other words, things are great but it's very tough to blog right now! So please hang in there while this very important business is taken care of. The regular blogs will start up again once we get back to the US and things settle down.

Cheers!

Guitar Player II

Here's my second blog for Guitar Player Magazine. It's about guitar players who are their own worst enemy, (kind of like the guy at the right), entitled
"How To Lose Your Envy And Become Your Own Best Guitar Player"

Click and enjoy : )

Alex

PS Feel free to comment here and/or on the GP Blog.

Further Thoughts On Great Songs With Bad Lyrics

Some of my favorite hard rock songs have terrible lyrics, it’s true. Especially the songs in last weeks post.

When I listen to these songs, it is not for the words, but for the sound. The lyrics just blend into the background as the timbre, annunciation and rhythmic inflection of the voice simply become part of the overall picture. It almost becomes instrumental music.

One can listen to different music for different reasons. For example, lets look at some music from a completely different genre than hard rock: the music of James Brown. As a regular listener of the JB box set "Star Time," and several other albums, I consider his work to be some of the best popular music of the 20th Century. Millions of other listeners, fans and critics alike, seem to agree.

Yet it would be easy to point a finger at James Brown's music and critique it for lack of melodies. Unlike other soul singers of the day such as Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye, his music doesn't lend itself to good covers and instrumental arrangements. There is little content for melodic vocal study or for an improviser to quote, embellish and explore as a thematic interpretation.

Does that make it bad? Of course not. James' music has something else, something so strong it makes up for it: rhythm. The rhythm is so great in fact, that too much melodic movement would get in the way. It is, at its core, music for the purpose of bobbing heads, tapping feet, full on dancing or otherwise feeding off the groove of the rhythm.

Just as the strength of James Brown's music does not lie in its melodic content, the strength of these great hard rock songs does not lie in their lyrical content. Both styles have their own unique qualities that are separate from other genres of pop music. James makes you want to dance while AC/DC, Scorpions and Kiss make you want to play air guitar. James inspires headbobbing, these bands inspire headbanging.

If you were to ask most listeners and fans what they like best about hard rock, a short list of these qualities might include the following: memorable guitar riffs, sing-along choruses, driving movement of the bass and drums, high energy and a sense of power. Lyrical content wouldn't even make the list. Like the great music of James Brown, hard rock is subject to certain limitations, and that doesn't make it bad. It can even be argued that the limitations even become part of their strength. Hard rock is not music to be listened to for depth of words, but for power of sound.

As a young boy, it was this power which drew me in and got me into music in the first place. Despite my later appreciation of depth, lyrical and otherwise, this powerful sound of hard rock will always hold a special place in my heart. Like many others out there, I started as a youthful hard rock fan and then in the blink of an eye, unwittingly found myself transformed into an adult with good taste and high artistic standards.

Today, I can't help but look at these lyrics without pangs of embarrassment and snickers. But my outer sophisticated adult co-exists with a kid inside. This kid still hears these songs at nightclubs and parties, sometimes unable to resist the urge to pump a fist in the air, play air guitar, sing at the top of his lungs and, to quote one of the biggest offenders of bad lyrics: shout it out loud.

The "Best Songs With The Worst Lyrics" Awards

In the spirit of the recent 2010 Olympics, I'm awarding figurative Bronze, Silver and Gold medals for the best songs with the worst lyrics. These are three undeniably great hard rock songs by three of the greatest bands in hard rock history with lyrics that can be described as dubious at best.

Try reading them out loud as poetry. All are basically about the same thing (you know what). This is meant to be taken with a sense of humor and an understanding that I'm not putting down the music. In the next post I'll have some reflections on hard rock songs and why they're great even though some of them have embarrassingly bad lyrics.

Feel free to add your own selections to the comments section. Keep in mind, the song has to be good. For example, I didn't include my choice of song with the worst lyrics because I and many other fans of the band consider it a bad song:

"Baby, let's put the X in sex. Love's like a muscle and you make me wanna flex."

Way to go, Paul and Gene. You really made us Kiss fans proud with that one.

BRONZE:

BAND: Scorpions
SONG: "Rock You Like A Hurricane"

Lyric: "The bitch is hungry, she needs to tell, so give her inches, and feed her well...He's licking his lips, he's ready to win. On the hunt tonight for love at first sting"

SILVER:

BAND: AC/DC
SONG: "Let Me Put My Love Into You"

Lyric: "Let me put my love into you babe. Let me put my love on the line.
Let me put my love into you babe. Let me cut your cake with my knife."

GOLD:

BAND: Kiss
SONG: "Love Gun"

Lyric: "I really love you baby. I love what you've got. Let's get together we can get hot....No place for hiding baby, no place to run. You pull the trigger of my...love gun!"