Chris2112

I'm sure it was on the 'Best of Larry Graham and Graham Central Station' record, the one with this cover... There was a song, it was quite an upbeat groovy number where all the players introduce themselves. There was one thing that struck me as really strange, and I wanted to hear it again. The drummer puts on a faux-Asian accent and introduces himself as "Wenuoh" and says he is going to play the "wums" before doing a little solo. I've checked back through the itunes previews and I can't work out which track it was. I got rid of the CD copy I had years ago. Any ideas?

[quote name='lettsguitars' timestamp='1341790519' post='1724306'] Happens all the time. We only hear of the odd one. Theres a missing persons list as long as your arm. [/quote] Correct, though often the only missing persons the public hear about are 'high risk' missing persons, ie: when the disappearance is out of character or there are other factors in play that mean they're at risk. For a lot of people, 'going missing' is a fairly regular occurence. In cases like this, it is hard not to think the worst from the off because this was clearly out of character for him, sad news for his family.

Dots on mine, thanks! Preferably clay... [IMG]http://i669.photobucket.com/albums/vv52/Baryonyx2112/thebass021.jpg[/IMG]

I remember a few years ago a discussion on the internet about him being a bellend, apparently obsessed with making himself famous and insulting him for apparently being rude to someone in a segment of backstage footage from the 80's. I was quite pleased to see this rubbished, as he has consistently showed himself to be a nice guy with a lot of time for his fans. Superb bass player too. Whilst most of the pop bass players of the 80's faded into obscurity, you'll still hear Mark King licks in the library of any competent bassist playing today! Top that etc etc

Johngh cropped my post and couldn't remember what I had said, I can't be arsed to retype it either, and so we shall leave the Buzzard for now (in this thread).

That said, it would not surprise me if the whole episode had left such a sour taste in Rob's mouth that he didn't want anything more to do with the Buzzard.

[quote name='Warwick_Official' timestamp='1341530200' post='1720709'] Hey guys, with all due respect...this isn't my argument. I'm here for customer support and to share in the forum...hope you understand. Thanks! [/quote] As a representitive of the Warwick brand though, perhaps you could bring us some closure on this debate though, saying as it has raged on for a while now and remains very contentious, particularly amongst UK bassists with a particular affection for Status and John Entwistle. I know whats done is done inasmuch as the fact that Status will never be able to make another Buzzard, but the I'm sure the forum would benefit from seeing the facts of the matter presented from Warwick's point of view. You obviously have connections within the Warwick brand, I assume it would not be too difficult for you to speak to someone who could give you the facts? I have a feeling that if I reply to H.P Wilfer's email with a question of this nature he probably won't reply. My argument for this disclosure is purely academic as I think the Buzzard bass is a real train-wreck of the a design but I would still like to know the truth.

[quote name='slobluesine' timestamp='1341419740' post='1718741'] Paul Simon doesn't have a 'bass player' on his latest album, apparently he doesn't like the sound of a bass guitar, hmmnnn.... wonder how Bakithi took that one? Joni Mitchell also likened bass as 'that horrible brick wall in my music' (with the exception of Jaco and Larry klein) [/quote] You could argue that Simon has done little of worth since 'Graceland'. 'Rhythm Of The Saints' was hardly incredible, though it had a handful of glorious tunes on it (and Bakithi Kumalo, albeit playing a far less prominent role). Since then, Simon just seems to have released average to poor records. His latest is absolutely dire. Similarly, Joni Mitchell's records with Jaco or Larry are crap! Sometimes the bassist is just the making of the record. Klein's bass playing on the 'Shine' is superb. As for the documentary, I really enjoyed it. I liked the fact it was very well researched, and spent a lot of time focusing on the music and how that came about. I hadn't realised the record had been so controversial at the time, I thought it had just been a mega-hit and that Linda Rondstadt had bore the brunt of the argument against playing in South Africa. I also noticed the show didn't mention Los Lobos or the controversy surrounding their contribution to the record, though as an analysis of the record's mainly South African inspired roots perhaps that episode/track was considered beyond the remit of the documentary. That Tambo bloke came across as a bit of a twat though, just an idiot looking for something to complain about now that the apartheid system is dead and buried. Simon quite easily made him look an idiot when he described how the ANC were seeking to control the situation in a direct parallel to the way the the ruling goverment sought to control life in South Africa. One could not fail to see the genuine affection the South African musicians have for Simon. Graceland is undoubtedly my favourite record of all time (alongside Hold Your Fire by Rush), but to me, the reunion show didn't sound that good. Bakithi's Elrick sounded great but the Yamaha was a little lifeless. What really spoiled it for me is Simon's insistence on fiddling with classic songs. He is always looking to rearrange parts, add new rhythms or change melodies and they are usually hugely unsuccessful. The reunion songs just didn't seem to have the energy or the groove of the album tracks, mainly I think because Simon was in there changing things at the last minute and messing things up. He has been off the boil a long time and needs to recognise that he doesn't really have the touch of genius he did back then, and that meddling with the classics isn't doing them much good. One thing that really sticks out to me, as a Graceland pedant, is most live renditions of The Boy In The Bubble. For me, Graceland is all about the tiny details. When Paul sings "The bomb in the baby carriage was wired to the radio" on the record, he gives it a lovely melody that lifts at the end and really locks in with the sudden drive of the bassline into the chorus. It is a moment of true genius in a small detail that has a huge impact on the song. When he sings it live, he usually changes the phrasing of the line and sings it flat and stacatto, all in one note, taking the melody away and ruining the impact of the line. Sometimes, you can't improve on what you've already done.

[quote name='Bass-Thing' timestamp='1341503205' post='1720176'] Ok thanks for that Chris. I understand what you mean but do you know HOW he was forced? IE Did somebody put a gun to his head and give him a sledgehammer or was it just a court order which he has said he complied with? I would have thought also that regardless of rights to any means of production, you can't destroy or have somebody destroy their own property without compensating them financially. Of course if Rob did accept any such compensation, it probably means he hasn't just buried them under the patio after all . I wonder if HP Wilfer has a video of the moulds being broken, that he uses to cheer himself up occasionally. You don't fancy asking him personally do you? [/quote] If a court ordered the moulds destroyed, they'd have to be broken up. After all, it would likely declare the rights to the design as the sole property of Warwick, therefore you would not be able to own a means of making a copy. I'm not sure there was ever any legal action though, Warwick could sue Rob Green into bankruptcy ten times over with money down the back of the bait room sofa and they could threaten as such with little effort.

[quote name='Bass-Thing' timestamp='1341496063' post='1720041'] I'm curious to know what happened here. Why did Rob have to destroy the moulds? Doesn't make sense. [/quote] Likely the rights to the the Buzzard bass include the right to any means of producing an exact copy. The fact that Rob was forced to destroy the moulds has sometimes been presented as though it was an assurance for Warwick that he would not make any more, at other times it has been presented as just Warwick being spiteful because they had the financial means to bury Status Graphite and were determined to have their way.

[quote name='Warwick_Official' timestamp='1341356720' post='1717815'] Chris2112, I'm sorry the link was not to your bass. But...your email was indeed from Hans-Peter Wilfer. He personally responds to [b]all[/b] of the instrument requests. Your are correct, we currently do not have images of the 1990 LTD. Thanks for your support! [/quote] I find that pretty cool for a company as big as Warwick. Well, he has a copy of my images now for the file if he ever needs them, they were attached to the email!

Play it with a straight bat. The small increase in your premium will be less than the grief you'd get for lying to them.

[i]I Wanna Play For You[/i] seems to be the only record I would really revisit of that lot. The sound quality on Stan records is good though, so I can't see what a remaster is going to do for the tracks sonically. 'Remaster' is usually a term for boosting the bass and making the whole record louder overall so it loses it's dynamic punch.