Repetition repetition repetition

Alice Cooper co-founder and Hall Of Fame inductee Dennis Dunaway answers your questions!

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Lazarus
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Repetition repetition repetition

Post by Lazarus » Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:31 am

Dennis,

I have a quirky interest in one of the unsung triumphs of so many musicians, and that is the ability to successfully play extremely repetitive parts with proper expression and without mistakes. Think, for example, of how many times Greg Lake had to play minutes of alternating octaves every time Keith Emerson played an extended version of "Rondo" at every single ELP show. Or, even more extreme, consider the poor, disciplined souls tasked with performing the brilliant work of Philip Glass.

So I wonder what your take is on this, specifically the stress of keeping the groove going during Neal's solo on "Halo of Flies" and also holding down the foundation of "My Stars" during the intro and solo.

Thanks for offering this forum, Dennis - it's fascinating!

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Dreary
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Re: Repetition repetition repetition

Post by Dreary » Thu Apr 22, 2021 7:19 pm

Lazarus wrote:
Thu Apr 22, 2021 10:31 am
Dennis,

I have a quirky interest in one of the unsung triumphs of so many musicians, and that is the ability to successfully play extremely repetitive parts with proper expression and without mistakes. Think, for example, of how many times Greg Lake had to play minutes of alternating octaves every time Keith Emerson played an extended version of "Rondo" at every single ELP show. Or, even more extreme, consider the poor, disciplined souls tasked with performing the brilliant work of Philip Glass.

So I wonder what your take is on this, specifically the stress of keeping the groove going during Neal's solo on "Halo of Flies" and also holding down the foundation of "My Stars" during the intro and solo.

Thanks for offering this forum, Dennis - it's fascinating!
Practice makes perfect. ELP were amazing at the Mar E Sol festival in Puerto Rico. The festival was running so far behind schedule that Alice Cooper didn't get on until 9 hours after our time slot. We were fried but the crowd came to life when we opened with "Sun Arise" just as the sun came up.
Holding the groove for "My Stars" is a breeze compared to maintaining that bass line during Neal's solo in "Halo." Sometimes he would be blowing kisses to the girls and I would be thinking, hurry up, I'm dying here!

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Re: Repetition repetition repetition

Post by Lazarus » Sun Apr 25, 2021 5:38 pm

Thanks, Dennis! :grin:

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