Blog By James

I like to think that my fellow music heads out there and I do a decent job of keeping up with the good stuff. However, there will always be those “Where the hell have I been?” moments and this is definitely one of them for me.

Although I had heard of the Israeli-born guitarist before and had previously seen a YouTube clip or two, it just didn’t click at the time. Oz Noy is the kind of artist that I’m constantly on the look out for and so rarely find. He’s a player that is truly doing something fresh and although you hear the occasional nod to past greats, his sound is very much his own.

A few days ago I stumbled upon Oz’s studio album from 2007 entitled “Fuzzy”. As I drove to work listening to this recording for the first time, I often found myself with a huge smile on my face. I felt a high that only the really good music can provide, complete with chills that make you forget about everything else. As each track came to an end, I nodded with approval and as I sat in the car alone, I caught myself commenting out loud a couple of times. “Damn! This is so fucking good!”, I’d say whilst reaching for the display button for the song title.

Unless you’ve heard Oz play before, I assure you that you’ve never heard anyone play guitar or compose songs quite like this before. Head over to the Amazon mp3 page for samples. “Which Way is Up?!”, “Three Wishes”, and “Intensity” are some of my favourites.

I have no doubt that I’ll be buying all of his records and following his work for as long as I have ears to listen.

I’ve been proud of myself for keeping my GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) under control for quite some time now. Last week however, during the #snomfg storm, I fell off the wagon…

The only metal snare drum I own is a 1991 5×14 steel Tama Artstar that I purchased new 19 years ago. It’s a drum that I can confidently say will stay with me until I’m no longer around. Truth is, I would sell all of my other gear before I would sell that drum. The only other professional metal snare that I’ve owned up to this point was a Stewart Copeland Signature. Sadly, I sold it to pay the rent back in 2001 and since then I’ve longed for another brass drum to replace it. I considered buying another SC145, but when I saw the advancements Tama made with their new Starphonic line, I was sold.

The drum arrived today and it’s absolutely gorgeous. The build quality is astounding and I’m feeling really good about the purchase. One of the nifty new awesome bits is what Tama calls the “Freedom Lug & Claw Hook”. It allows you to change heads without removing the lug screws. Brilliant! (See last two pics below.) I’ve done a quick tuning job and my first impressions are very good so far. And as I’d hoped, it sounds considerably different than the old Artstar. It comes standard with an Evans G1 coated on top and a Hazy 300 snare side. I’ve yet to play it with my full kit but when I do, I’m surely in for a treat.

Japanese group “Casiopea” was a big part of my music listening back in my late teens. It was through their music that I’d heard the amazing Akira Jimbo on drums for the first time.

Jimbo wasn’t the only thing that made Casiopea great though because the whole band has always been made up of stellar musicians. Bass player Tetsuo Sakurai quickly became a favourite and I’ve been following his work ever since.

For the last couple of days, I’ve been playing “My Dear Musiclife” in the car and really digging it. Joining Tetsuo on this one are what appears to be mostly Japanese musicians, some of which I hadn’t previously heard of. Two of the tracks are Jaco Pastorius tunes including the classic “Teen Town” (previously covered brilliantly as well by Marcus Miller) and the Pastorius/Hancock penned “Kuru”. Also included is a new arrangement of the 20+ year old Casiopea track, “Domino Line”. Here is some old footage of the band playing it live:

Another killer track is the album’s riffy opener “Regenerate”, which has some absolutely burning playing by all. The drum solo at the end by Hiroyuki Noritake had me shaking my head in disbelief. This recording has a great variety of styles and dynamics including both a solo bass piece and two duets with acoustic guitarists Issei Noro of Casiopea fame, and Rynten Okazaki.

If you’re interested in more info and hearing a few short samples, head over to Audiophile Imports.

“Subdivisions” is the opening track from Rush’s “Signals” album, released in 1982. I was about 11 years old then and as a pretty unpopular kid through school, this song has always hit home for me.

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Sprawling on the fringes of the city
In geometric order
An insulated border
In between the bright lights
And the far unlit unknown

Some will sell their dreams for small desires
Or lose the race to rats
Get caught in ticking traps
And start to dream of somewhere
To relax their restless flight
Somewhere out of a memory of lighted streets on quiet nights…

-Neil Peart

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I had posted the below video a while back on Facebook. But for those that missed it, it’s definitely worth checking out. I’m usually pretty against Rush covers in general because most that attempt playing a Rush song just embarrass themselves. However, Jacob Moon’s version of this song is absolutely an exception:

I’ve updated and most importantly, simplified the gear page. I’ve added recent images and fixed some of the links.