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
**** 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
**** 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
**** 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.