Blossoms bursting out all over the place like popcorn...

Hi to all,..
while busy having some winter fun, I was suddenly surprised by an extremely sproingy sprung spring with blossoms bursting out all over the place like popcorn on sticks and audiences following much the same pattern.. By the time you read this we will all be enjoying the more varied and entertaining summer scene, having discarded our winter spacesuits...(longjohns and all!) for more user-friendly party togs. Now I must mention that although our winters here in the S of A are at times quite chilly, we are certainly not a 'hiber'-nation...However, we really come into our own when 'da summa' arrives and life seems to become one big picno-party, both indoors and out. This is also the time for us musicians to show what we've been up to during the cooler months, where most 'original' musos have been hard at work recording new albums(ofcourse while still playing some winter shows). So it is that spring and summer heralds the arrival of a bunch of new album releases to spice up the change of season with launch parties, promotional tours and concerts.

Well for me it was the 'arrival' of the new JAzzZOMBIES 'DUG UP' album which was great fun to record and now, even more fun to play live. We JAzzZOMBIES are very proud of the fact that this album has managed to revive the spirit of picturesque adventure and sonic story telling that is encompassed in the attitude called 'jazz'. Yep...ATTITUDE not style..as styles tend to age and are continually replaced by more fabricated so-called 'hip' styles which inevitably go stale and end up passing their stylistic sell by dates necessitating those music industry 'hip replacements'(with few exceptions!) I am extremely lucky to be involved with six groups, each with it's own unique line-up, approach, and albums. They are: STRINGS&SKINS / VIVID AFRIKA / The JAzzZOMBIES / The AQUARIAN QUARTET / The SUR BANDITS / GORDON'S SUITCASE...these are the 'regular' but by no means 'ordinary' groups that I often perform with...presenting me with a continually changing and varied musical menu that keeps me on my toes and breathing deeply. In addition to this, I am a sucker for interesting and cool yet spicy collaborations with some hot, yet cool musos, such as the legendary Piet Botha, Ernest Mothle, Guy Buttery, maskande master Madala Kunene, acoustic guitarist extraordinaire Steve Newman and the inimitable Syd Kitchen.

I know that this all sounds like rolling mass action or, at least, musical chairs, but there's a whole lotta music in that big waterfall of originality and we, as artists, and our audiences, will stand no chance of quenching our thirst, or even being splattered by a few drops, unless we ignore the recording industry 'lifeguards' with their restrictive swimming beacons and just dive in anyway and anywhere! It's a known fact that, in their effort to control the source(musicians composing) and the consumption(audiences paying!) of music, the music industry has divided music into byte size bits called 'styles' which are either 'in' or 'out' of fashion and with each style being more suitable for this or that venue,radio station, festival and audience. This 'divide and rule' principle is the main factor behind the death of communal adventurous creativity in both musicians and audiences. Add to this the abuse of computers to replace inner vision, musicality and 'hands on' musicianship with heaps of digitally sampled loops...and Bob becomes, not just your uncle or the prez of Zim, but a hit makin', dancefloor shakin', money rakin' superpopstar that can now give up that daytime job as a postman to more efficiently satisfy the homogenous herd of industrially brainwashed sheep also known as his fans.

After saying all of this...I feel I should add that there really is light at the end of the tunnel and not just some lost soul with a torch!... an awakening instinctual urge in audiences, all over, to unite across the barriers of style...for the ultimate freedom.....the freedom to choose, without restrictive music industry categories , from an open selection of music......the freedom to dive in and feel the waterfall just the way you like it...the freedom to ditch that sell by date and be permanently hip! ----Last one in is a funny banana!....
Hey Ho Silver Surfers!
Let's hear it for all that freely original SA music!
FUN&SPIRIT!