Last night, as usual, I wasn\'t sure if I wanted to head up to CJ Sparrows to check out George Lesiw. I\'m lazy. But I\'m sure as hell glad I did.
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George is a master conductor and has the uncanny ability to bring a high mastery of art from all that sit in with him. And last night, he had a crew of power freaks with skills busting from their souls.
If I had to compare Georges style to someone it would be Thelonious Monk. There\'s just something I feel they share in their rhythms and playing style. I\'ve toyed around with guitar for close to 20 years, and I usually judge other guitar players on how easily I understand what they\'re doing. When I watch people like Tim P. and George Lesiw... I have no concept of how they\'re working. I\'m in a constant state of amazement.
Now, can someone explain to me how the heck I\'ve never heard of Nadav Snir-Zelniker before? Last night was the first time I\'ve ever watched a drummer sit on stage with Adrian, and I didn\'t wish they\'d get off the kit so that the Animal could show them how it\'s done. This cat played tight and tasty. He had a great balance of power and style, never going too far over the top with either, but always kept the band right where they needed to be. I\'m not sure I can properly pronounce his name, but I sure as simon will never forget it.
I really believe that We\'re only seeing a fraction of Chris DeAngelis\' skills on stage with The Breakfast. I saw him do more in his solo\'s last night then I ever imagined possible from what I\'ve seen him do on stage as The Breakfast bassist. The speed and flavor of his solo lines were absolutely shredding.
Adrian...holy shit Adrian. Imagine yourself time warped back thousands of years to the point when the first man decided he was sick of trying to lug his cave wife’s shit around the hills surrounding their home cave. So he took a stone and used it to shape something that nobody ever shaped before. A WHEEL. A wheel he could pile all that shit on top of and move it with ease. I honestly think I saw Adrian musically invent, on stage, something that has never been done. Sitting behind a couple of bongo\'s and a synthesizer, Adrian was seamlessly moving between the two instruments. At one point the band moved out of a drum solo and all eye\'s focused on Adrian who had dialed into his synth a "drum" sound and continued the drum solo moving back and forth between the bongo\'s and synth, then with absolute ease, popped the synth into a Hammond organ sound and ripped an incredible solo. I picked my jaw up off the ground, looked at Steve and said "We just witnessed the birth of man". I\'m not sure he understood what I was talking about, and I was a little intoxicated, so it might have sounded a little more like "
cave man, walk...good". All these years knowing Adrian, how is that he still amazes me every time I see him pick up an instrument? I guess the John Lennon quote comes to mind: "I\'m an artist, and if you give me a tuba, I\'ll bring you something out of it." At the core of Adrian soul is an artist, a musical genius. I actually pity the world at large that they\'ve not been able to hear and see what he has to offer.
Do yourself a favor. Go see these guys.
