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I just don't get it (slip related you geeks)


Schwa.

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For me, its all about the world class rhythm section. Brad Barr being a fabulous guitar player and emotional singer is just icing on the cake. The first time I saw The Slip on the B stage (the green) at Phish Oswego '99, I turned to my buddy and said "this bass player makes Mike Gordon look like a chump". My buddy was not too impressed, and I certainly wouldn't say things like that anymore (P.S. I love Gordo), but the crazy sh!t that Marc and Andrew pull out keeps me mesmerized. However, you're not the only one who feels like you do; when we opened for the Breakfast in Hartford, there was about 800+ people there, and we heard that the night before there were under 200 for the Slip. It blows my mind in a sad way.

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i dont care if you dont like it, if you cant admit that these guys are serious players, than, well, i really dont know what to say, this whole thing is beyond pointless.

This was never about me not admitting their musicianship. Granted they are great musicians, how could so many people whose opinions i trust be wrong. It was me trying to understand the incredible popularity of a band that is equal to sooooo many other bands is style, quality and ability. why do they stand out? questions HAVE been answered, and new ones have been raised.

This thread is the perfect example of what music discussion is all about if i do say so myself.

Don't let your emotions catch on to this ride Quigs, just wanted to talk about music today.

thank you all.

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one thing i like about brad's playing/singing... and i actually like this when any musician does this, but we're talking about the slip here... i like the mimicking of voice and guitar. i dont write music or songs, so its kinda like the chicken and the egg for me, i dont know which comes first, is it the guitar mimicking the vocal delivery, or the vocal delivery mimicking the guitar... but either way, i like when people do that.

brad can make ya cry. marc can make ya say "fu©kin' right, man!!". and andrew is like the perfect bridge for that gap.

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hahaha, ok man, let me clarify... first of all you said they dont belong in a supergroup, and my retort was basically that i believe their musicianship does allow them to be put in the class of supergroup, at least in a band i would consider a supergroup. and i gave an example of where that is displayed. thats the gist of it. sorry if it came off as emotional, but that couldnt be further from the truth. hahaha. no ill emotions here towards you, man, dont worry about that. its just music, and like i've already said, it doesnt matter to me if you dont dig it.

Guigs (with a "G" ;))

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Just so Choix doesn't feel lonely I'll chime in. For me The Slip have always been somewhat hit-and-miss. I love songs like "6-Sided", "Love and Tears", "If One Of Us Should Fall", etc. They are obviously excellent players and personally I like Brad's voice, I think it's well suited for his songs. Now granted I've only seen them live once (El Mo last May or June I believe it was) and some of it was absolutely killer, but some I found a bit meander-y, particularly the jazzy stuff. I've downloaded a number of shows and found the same thing. I've heard real killer jazz musicians jam, and to me The Slip don't have the same "edge" when the go off in the direction. I usually find I want them to get back to one of their great songs.

In fairness, they are no more meander-y than the majority of jam bands, and they are better musicians than many so they pull it off a fair amount of the time. But ultimately from all I've heard I bet if I went to one of their shows, I'd be relatively bored for 25% of the set. That's not a lot more than if I was at the average Phish show, but I doubt strongly I'd be as over the top about them afterward as many folks here seem to. To me anyway, The Slip is certainly a really really good band, but not a transendently great band. My two-cents.

Peace,

Mr. M.

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The vocals may not be for everyone...

I tried to get Cosmic ChrisC into The Slip but she was immediately turned off by the vocals. But I kind of like them. Hopefully I can drag her to the show in Montreal and convince her.

I only have 2 live Slip shows that I listen to but I got into them pretty fast. It's hard to describe but what I like about them is that sometimes they actually sound like a band from the '70s, instead of a band trying to recapture the sound of the '70s. There's something organic about them that I really like. I imagine I'll like them even more after I see them live.

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Meander-y. nice word :)

sorry Guigsy, that looks like a q when its lower case.

I think Mr M made a good point, and a pertinent one for me and this band. I do like many of their songs but the edge isn't there. That cutting improv that makes bands like that stand out because lets face it, there are hundreds. There is a certain honesty in their music, a point that many of you made here, but the same can be said about bands like Spearhead, SKB or Ben Harper....three very different bands. This quality comes through, in my opinion, when the band truly knows and respects each other and most importantly is having fun.

I am going to be at the show in Hamilton to give these fellas another try because all bands are better live. There is more than just the music at shows, there's atmosphere. There's a connection between the band and the audience that you can't get from a CDr. I know this and so haven't written the band off yet....yet.

See you all there, i'm sure.

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I must side with the naysayers.

While they have some good songs, I classify their jamming style as "Berkeley wank".

In reality, it's just not my style or preference, buuuuuuut that's not gonna rile enough people up, so I'll say, I get the sense that they could play the most disjointed weird stuff, and a Slip fanatic would go absolutely goo goo and call it the most intense uber-jazz-jam ever....I'm just not hearing it!

In the same breath, I will continue to give them a chance, and am planning on hitting the Mtl. show. I have already seen them a couple times or something...

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Does anyone even read Hux's opinions when we know how discoloured they are?

I know I do, waiting to be surprised he will like something other than Bobby, Frampton, McCartney or Mitchel.

Heck, anything in the past 10 years would be mind-blowing. I think the only band in that period he liked was Dr. Huxtable. Wow, this irony may kill me.

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When I first saw the slip in 97 there was no singing. Just the instruments. In later years when Dickey Betts picked them up on flying frog records Dickey paid for Brad to get singing lessons (a little known fact) At first I did not like the unpolished voice but in time I have come to hear it in my dreams and whole ideas have come from his words. Thank god the still put out great instrumental music and have not entirely gone the way of most modern music with the addition of lyrics. The Slip is not for everyone if it were it would not be what it is. To all who love the slip I recomend listing to a band that grew up in the Berklee scean with them who in my oppinion blow the shingles of the slip. (also on flying frog records.) SCHLEIGHO. the recording live from the HO-down 2000 is great

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Just popped on Slip Radio and am already taken away by the first 4 minutes of this improv jam called "Lots of Socks". Such grace, dignity, class....... taste.

The Slip are the kind of jamband that give jambands a good name.

(But the truth is, they're not really that at all.)

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I'm not sure if i can describe why i like the slip's music so much withough sounding like either a) a new age freak or B) a bumbling idiot. but I'll try.

I didn't get the slip at all. Del played them all the time and I was like "this again?" I thought they were good musicians, just didn't get it. what the hell were all these people going on and on about. Even Del went through this phase.

Then I went to the montreal show in may. I don't know what it was but from the moment i opened the doors from the foyer and saw these 3 guys silhoutted in blue lights, heard this beginning of set bumbling that was like a pulse building, it was magical. i quickly got a beer and got as close as i could. it was like the band was this vortex pulling all the energy from the room into it and transforming it into this beautiful music and we the audience would feed off of it (this energy) that was coming back to us, and the circle would continue.

Now when i listen to them at home from live shows, I can feel this energy again. Now, i studied piano for a long time. I've listened to 1000's of hours of music in my lifetime. And usually listening to music just isn't enough to satisfy my senses. i need more sensory input, i'll watch tv, read or do computer stuff, something, anything! I never, ever, just sit and listen to music. one day i was reading this book that i was really into. I couldn't wait to get home and read it. I got home, got a beer, turned on the slip and started to read my book. then i stopped. i continued to sit there and listen to the music playing for oh, 45 mins before i realized what i was doing. That was when i knew for sure that there was something very special with that music for me. Not since hearing recordings of music i've performed myself have i been so encapsulated by what i'm listening to.

So, I'm glad everyone is willing to give them another chance. I suggest you go in, get as close as you can, and let down the barriers you keep up around your soul. Just feel the music and the energy around you, you'll feel the joy.

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I imagine I'll like them even more after I see them live.

oh sweet jesus. there's an understatement! :D

the first time i heard the slip was late '99 i think, and i only heard instrumental stuff too. man was it good! then i kinda forgot about them for some reason and when i re-heard about them last year [last year?] i was pretty surprised that this band i happened upon purely by chance was not only still kickin, but kickin major booty.[was that too cheesy? whatever i'm sick ::]

anyhoo. cheers to the slip.

edit: oh yeah! haven't talked to marc or andrew, but wow, brad barr was such a mellow guy, i was gushing [as we all were] after the montreal show and he just sat there all peaceful and friendly, putting everyone at ease, just one of us. that was very cool.

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Another thing I like about The Slip is the breadth of experience their music suggests, along with their general personas. I get the sense those three guys would be *very* interesting dudes to sit and have a beer with, that their attention to social welfare and politics, and their career travels around the world make them a very potent force to be reckoned with. They seem at once fully engaged and yet fully centred. And that's difficult. At least that's the feeling they portray through their music, art and words, to me anyway.

They make me want to eat miso soup.

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A summary from what a few others have said:

1. They are musician's musicians. Their appeal isn't limited to those that play an instrument but they draw respect and really sincere interest from those that do

2. They're humble and downright nice guys...even that creepy marc friedman. I've only spoken a few words here and there but have enjoyed the brief conversations. Especially Marc...when Le Swimming was on fire last year I said "I really hope your bass isn't burning"..he looked at me dumbfounded and said "Oh it billows, it billows" :)

3. two years since first seeng them at Evolve, and I'm still waiting for someone to hit the wrong note, miss the beat or generally make a mistake.

Having said that I take issue with someone thinking that a slip fan would love everything they do. I don't apply that standard to any band I enjoy and that includes the Slip. Outside of the musical world I wouldn't recommend lying to your friends and telling them you love your wife if you actually hate her...'tis not the same principled honesty?

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The First time saw The Slip was Evolve 3 Friday night. I went to bed half way threw there set.

Second show Evolve 3 Saturday, I realized that there was something going on but I didn't get it.

Third show The Plant in Halifax Evolve after party, and a smack in the face, my mind was blown. it was the first time I had ever felt that way at a show. I was looking around the bar to 10+ people with tears rolling down there face do to the intense emotion that was coming from the stage.

Still haven't seen that happen at any show snice!!!!

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Get yer plugs outta here and go back to the show at The Planet for a second. I was one of the teary-eyed people, standing and swaying with my eyes closed thinking "This is perfect music". Good thing I drove straight to Temagami after that show...I needed some serious recovery time.

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Funny that all this should come up, as this whole thing has been one that I have been thinking about quite a bit as of late.

The Slip are one of those bands that makes you wonder, why are they still playing small clubs-ie. Pepperjacks(?) when they are clearly a theater caliber band. They'll never be selling out hockey arenas or anything like that but still it seems that they are lacking in comparison to a number of other current bands in the popularity department.

As I see it, the reason for this is that these guys do not deliver the straight ahead style X or Y or Z type of music, drifting effortlessly from Jazz to Rock to more folky ballad type stuff, to a more ravey sound and everywhere in between within the course of a 2 hour show. Because of this vast scope, it seems that the accessability of this music is far less than a band like moe. or Yonder Mountain who go at a given style of music every night and give their crowds exactly what they expect to hear.

"Genre Bending" would be the best way to describe this and it does not stand to reason that if you like Jambands in general, that you will also like The Slip. In fact, it would seem that other than the fanbase and other related associations of who they play with etc. that these guys really have created a style of their own which defies categorization. This, above all else is what I love about these guys, they do their own thing, and are unafraid to explore at will.

Now, with regards to the vocals, I am in full agreement with the fact that Brad's vocals are the weakest link in this band. From one night to the next, the vocals seem to have considerable variation from great to poor and very much off key. You cannot deny that Brad sings with incredible conviction and this is what makes the vocals great, but it seems that his voice can be strained easily, throwing the sound off in a very different direction.

I feel that in many instances, the vocals may very well be weak not so much because Brad's voice is sh!t, but rather that he cannot properly hear himself in the crude settings that these guys often play in. With all the caucophony going on around with the music must make it very difficult at times for Brad to really hear himself properly. I have heard that Donna Jean Godchaux's vocals with the dead often suffered from poor monitoring, this often being the reason that she sounded so BAD at times. Lots of people still hate her period and thought that she didn't belong with the dead, but when she was actually on key, she could be great at times.

When I listen to the Angels Come On Time disc, it really makes me think that this guy has an amazing voice, and the potential that these guys really have when they're "on". Could it be that Brad can't properly hear himself? No idea, but I am hoping that if these guys can get to the point where they are given proper respect for their talents, that they will be able to afford a monitor guy, or some in ears or something like that which could help a great deal.

At any rate, to each their own and all that but I think it's plain to see that these guys miss with alot of people due to the fact that they are all over the place musically which is something that makes them less palatable than other bands. If this be their weakness, it also becomes a part of their success as I think for alot of people they are sick of the same ol' jamalama ding dong type sh!t and are looking for something more on the verge and out of the ordinary, but still with the intensity that comes with live "jam" style music.

Anyhoo, clearly The Slip are not for everyone and their lack of achieving any great success is if nothing else, a testament to this. Not to say that they are not successful, but rather that they are a band that should be staying at the Sheraton every night and travel in a full on bus etc. Kudos for staying the course they want and not moulding their sound to what they feel the kids want to hear.

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i feel like i could say so much about this band, and yet not enough.. anyways, here's another thought i have about them... there's a relationship between lost and found that i have with their music. and what that is for me, is that i have found the most beautiful things about myself, and people, and the world while i've been lost in their music.

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