Posted: Sun Jun 12, 2005 1:14 pm Post subject: Guthrie's other regular musicians.....
While it's great that guitarists, musos, and appreciators of fine music can set up a forum devoted to Guthrie, I wanted to dedicate a thread to the other musicians in Guthrie's troupe.
While most people seem to know Guthrie through his Asia connections, his other two side projects, Erotic cakes and the Fellowship both feature the same musicians, drummer, Pete Riley, and bassist and younger brother, Seth Govan, completing the Erotic Cakes lineup, and Zak Barrett (sax) and John Dutton (Keyboards) that extend the trio to make the Fellowship of Funk. (a.k.a The Fellowship)
I've been down the Bassment in Chelmsford almost every Thursday night for the past few months, and as a guitarist, am awed by Guthrie naturally, but the wonderful thing about the band is that each musician in the Fellowship excels in their instrument too, and each gets a chance to showcase their skills.
Seth Govan ranks as one of the most impressive and tight bassists I've seen. His solo spots are few, but each time Seth performs, you know there's going to be something special (usually marked by someone in the audience shouting "GO ON, SETH!!!". Seth isn't prone to the Billy Sheehan/Stu Hamm style of overindulgence, but at moments during his solos, he dazzles - he'll pop, slap, tap and play over the neck and has an arsenal of pyrotechnics on the bass, but only as and when required, never to excess. A perfect backing counterpart to his brother's lead lines.
Pete Riley is probably the only drummer I wouldn't tell drummer jokes about. The guy sounds like there's two drummers onstage. He seems relaxed at what he does, but each fill, roll and ornamentation is brilliant! Drum solos were never really my thing, but this guy can set a groove and floor an audience without needing anyone else on the stage.
Zak Barret has the scary job of having to trade licks with Guthrie, and he doesn't shirk at the prospect. In fact, credit where due, while Guthrie has the advantage of the guitar, and can augment his solos with different tones, effects, pitch-bends, and other guitar-related tricks, Zak's only consession is to switch from an alto sax to a tenor sax between songs. The term "Shred Sax" sounds vulgar (as does shred guitar to a lesser degree), but several times, Zak and Guthrie will be trading blisteringly fast lines, and even at one point, harmonise a stupidly fast solo in perfect synch!
John Dutton is quite happy, it seems, to fill in all that's left from the front and back stage, which may not sound like a lot, but when he's not playing, the whole set loses a lot of energy. His playing is akin to gospel funk, with a lot of bebop jazz thrown in for good measure on the piano, and he's not afraid to go into psychadelic '70's moog style at the drop of a hat. He wasn't there at last week's Bassment gig, and was filled in by another keyboardist - a guy clled Sam. Sam was also incredible, being able to improv, and clearly having jammed with the guys, and knew the tunes, but in comparison, I'd definitely have preferred John to be there.
So, what's the point of this thread? Well, the focus in this forum is naturally on Guthrie, and I'd guess that most of the forumites are guitarists themselves, but if you ever get to see him perform with any (or all) of the above musicians, just watching Guthrie do his stuff and dismissing the talents and performances of any other musicians Guth plays with is a wasted opportunity!
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 2:28 am Post subject:
Good thread, although I posted a similar thread a while back expounding the great talents and the virtues of the guys that Guthrie plays with to make their exquisite music. We do need to talk more about the other guys as well as they're so deserving of the recognition as well.
I saw them play here at TM for 4 nights in a row and I can't emphasize enough that the whole of this band is greater than the sum of its parts. They play as a cohesive unit that really listen to each other. Seth and Pete comprise the perfect rhythm section for Guthrie's exploits - they are unobtrusive while having the chops, the feel, and the groove necessary to drive Guthrie to new heights. For the Fellowship sets, Zak provides the perfect foil and the counterpoint to Guthrie's dizzying lines with mega chops of his own and a warm throaty sax tone.
I didn't get to see John Dutton as the stage here would not have been able to accommodate a keyboard player. But based on the Fellowship recordings I've heard, he does seem like a mighty fine keyboard player.
The telepathic interplay between the guys is quite awesome to behold. They listen and they anticipate what the other guys are going to do. They complement and embellish what the others are doing and pay attention to the overall structure - not their solo spots. They are very comfortable with each other and know where each member is going and what he's going to do, but they also drive each other to come up with something that they hadn't come up with before. They're all trying hard to come up with something new every time they play together.
It must be nice to be able to see them play every week. How 'bout some more reviews, set-lists, some interesting tidbits, gear usage, pics, etc? _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
It's funny hearing that view of Sam, a lot of other regulars like Sam's contribution more than John's. I like John's stuff as he adds some massive sounds to the mix but Sam is more of a showman, slapping the keys and standing up... my wife wants to buy John a red christmas hat.
The best laughs are had when Andy Frost decides to take the mike and play human beatbox. Andy is a regular there and a proper drummer in his own right, there's a lot of friendly competition between Pete and Andy when they share the roll of percussion.
First time I went down to the bassment, my appraisal was that the band had two parts: the Govan boys, and the kung-fu-jazz monks (for the rest of the band are bereft of hair).. _________________ Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"
Joined: 10 Sep 2004 Posts: 2783 Location: Chino, CA
Posted: Tue Jun 14, 2005 6:10 pm Post subject:
frankus wrote:
The best laughs are had when Andy Frost decides to take the mike and play human beatbox. Andy is a regular there and a proper drummer in his own right, there's a lot of friendly competition between Pete and Andy when they share the roll of percussion.
First time I went down to the bassment, my appraisal was that the band had two parts: the Govan boys, and the kung-fu-jazz monks (for the rest of the band are bereft of hair)..
Andy is just unreal! How did all these unreal musicians end up congregating at the Bassment? You guys over there should consider yourselves extremely fortunate to have Guthrie and the rest to see on a weekly basis. Even us jaded LA guys have nothing over here that could even approach what's going on at the Bassment every Thursday night. _________________ Ed Yoon
Certified Guthrie Fan-atic
BOING Music LLC - Managing Partner
.strandberg* Guitars USA
Ed Yoon Consulting & Management
Guitar Center Inc.
Sorry Ed - must have missed the thread the first time around. Still, as you say, the whole band is greater than the sum of its parts, and like you say, the interplay between the musicians is incredible.
The biggest draw for many Bassment attendees still seems to be Guthrie, but from chatting with other Bassment regulars, Pete and Zak seem to have their own contingent in the form of other drum and sax players in the audience, and with good reason.
I've not had the pleasure of Andy's beatboxing yet. ill, I've got to admit, Frank - looking forward to meeting up with Bowksy and Guitar-Slinger this thursday. Knowing our luck though, it might be the day when Guthrie's visa for the US comes through. (Apparently, he'll be heading out there soon, but that's all I know for the moment....!)
Joined: 28 Jul 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK
Posted: Thu Jul 28, 2005 12:14 pm Post subject:
frankus wrote:
It's funny hearing that view of Sam, a lot of other regulars like Sam's contribution more than John's. I like John's stuff as he adds some massive sounds to the mix but Sam is more of a showman, slapping the keys and standing up... my wife wants to buy John a red christmas hat.
The best laughs are had when Andy Frost decides to take the mike and play human beatbox. Andy is a regular there and a proper drummer in his own right, there's a lot of friendly competition between Pete and Andy when they share the roll of percussion.
First time I went down to the bassment, my appraisal was that the band had two parts: the Govan boys, and the kung-fu-jazz monks (for the rest of the band are bereft of hair)..
Hi. I'm new to this site but have been a Guthrie fan for several years now and see him at The Bassment in Chelmsford regularly. Andy Frost is a good friend of mine and we have just set up a website for his beatboxing called www.andyfrostbeatbox.com we have just made a tuition DVD and it's for sale now. check it out!
I'll have to check it out Oliver - cheers for the heads up.
Seemed appropriate though to bring this thread up again, cos last thursday, the fellowship performed without Guthrie and Pete (presumably they were both over at GIT) - Filling in for Guthrie was the incredible Dave Kilminster and on drums, another bassment regular who's name I don't know (big fella, has a goatee and baseball cap....Big shoes to fill for both of them!
It's interesting hearing other musicians takes on the same pieces of music. Dave K in particular relies heavily on his teles for his sound (I'm not, absolutely not going to compare the two), but as a guitarist, can appreciate the differences in Dave's playing. - I'm assuming most of us are guitarists here, and if you haven't checked Dave K out, you're missing out.
(Felt a bit of a doofus too for a sec. As I was going down the stairs, I was passed by a great shaggy mane. I happily called out "Hi Guth", and the mane looked up and said "It's Seth actually" - Well, how was I to know? From the top down, the Govan brothers look alike)
Hi. I'm new to this site but have been a Guthrie fan for several years now and see him at The Bassment in Chelmsford regularly. Andy Frost is a good friend of mine and we have just set up a website for his beatboxing called www.andyfrostbeatbox.com we have just made a tuition DVD and it's for sale now. check it out!
Hi Oliver,
You appear to have Jumped the Gun.. you should have introduced yourself in the Introduction section, first. If you're the Oliver Southgate who went to Chelmsford College of FE and did Comp Sci with Jane Daniels in 1992 then I most likely was in the same class as you. _________________ Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"
just kidding.. but if there was a guy called Frank in your Comp Sci, Maths and Physics classes.. the chances are good he'd have worn a knackere d brown leather jacket that looked all shredded on the back where a ginger tomcat might have sat on his shoulders (like some pirates keep a parrot) and clawed the shoulders , some desimated jeans and a pair of german para-trooper boots. _________________ Fabulous powers were revealed to me the day I held my magic Suhr(d) aloft and said "by the power of great scale!"
Joined: 01 Aug 2005 Posts: 171 Location: Chelmsford England
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2005 5:41 pm Post subject:
Sorry. just need to correct a bit of information about the drummer with the goatie beard. It's Odgie Aldridge, not as I previously stated. He is a new mate, so got the info a bit wrong! He plays in other bands to, including Jackie Wilson Says.
Looking forward to tomorrow night, when Odgie will be performing again with his awesome DW kit, with the great Dave K and Sam on keyboards. Check it out for a different slant on things.
Joined: 28 Jul 2005 Posts: 4 Location: Chelmsford, Essex, UK
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2005 6:31 pm Post subject:
frankus wrote:
Well:
I am portly
and
I am maroon..
just kidding.. but if there was a guy called Frank in your Comp Sci, Maths and Physics classes.. the chances are good he'd have worn a knackere d brown leather jacket that looked all shredded on the back where a ginger tomcat might have sat on his shoulders (like some pirates keep a parrot) and clawed the shoulders , some desimated jeans and a pair of german para-trooper boots.
I thought I posted this yesterday but it looks like the message has disappeared. My brother Alex Southgate also did those subjects at CCFE but was a year be low me. He remembers you and says have you heard from Colin???? By the way I'm sure Alex has played keyboards with Guthrie before at The Bassment in the past.
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How did all these unreal musicians end up congregating at the Bassment? You guys over there should consider yourselves 
Still, as you say, the whole band is greater than the sum of its parts, and like you say, the interplay between the musicians is incredible.
Knowing our luck though, it might be the day when Guthrie's visa for the US comes through. (Apparently, he'll be heading out there soon, but that's all I know for the moment....!)
