Vinyl Wednesday: GRAHAM CENTRAL STATION - RELEASE YOURSELF
Graham Central Station is the band of bass player and singer Larry Graham. "Larry Graham, Jr. is an American baritone singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as both the bass guitar player in the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and front man of Graham Central Station. He is credited with the invention of the slapping technique, which radically expanded the tonal palette of the bass, although he himself refers to the technique as "Thumpin' and Pluckin'." (Bass Player magazine, Apr 07). So.. what about that slapping technique? According to Dutch wikipedia, in the 60's he played in a duo formation with his mother on piano and by the absence of drums he started to use the noises of the snares in a percussive way so it made a drum sound. There's a whole article on English wikipedia about slapping technique in general. Graham is mainly famous for using his thumb and index finger, while Mark King also paradiddles and performs the left hand slap... not to forget Victor Wooten with his more efficient technique plus index/middle finger plucking.. yes.
Back to this album: I think my favourite tune is "Tis your kind of music".
Horns of this album are performed by Tower Of Power plus Hershall "Happiness" Kennedy, Grahams' trumpet player. Funny enough, the Tower Of Power horns are not credited as such, but with their apart names.. Gregory Adams, Emilio Castillo, Michael Gilette, Stephen Kupka, Leonard Pickett. More credits: Produced by GOD Co-produced by Larry Graham. I was already wondering what kind of job God would do and how I could get in touch with him.. I can just meet him at the studio! The studio he used at the time: Record Plant, Sausalito, California. Enjoy listening.
My latest mix is now online. Venus Tunes Sessions is a monthly mix by Susanne Alt on Freak31, aired every first Sunday of the month at 19:00h. In addition, earlier Venus Tunes Sessions shows are repeated every Friday between 20:00-21:00 and Tuesday 21:00-22:00.Freak 31 has around 250 daily listeners (less during the week, more in the weekend) and a total of +10.000 listeners every month. In addition to Mixcloud and Hearthis, all mixes are also available as podcasts on Deezer and iTunes.It was in 2015 when I had my first official dj gig and since 2016 I started to perform regularly. This took place in Amsterdam's Skyybar, Floor17 and The Harbourclub Zuid... bit by bit, other places like Momo and W Amsterdam followed, leading to club bookings as a dj and festival bookings with Venus Tunes Live in the Netherlands and abroad. All of this in addition to my normal life as a musician. I love dj'ing as it adds another facet to my musicianship.Listen to all editions of the Venus Tunes Sessions where you like; choose your platform: Venus Tunes Sessions is a monthly guest mix by Susanne Alt on Freak31, aired every first Sunday of the month at 1900h. Streaming Dance, straight from Amsterdam. - Graham Central Station is the band of bass player and singer Larry Graham.Larry Graham, Jr. is an American baritone singer, musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as both the bass guitar player in the popular and influential psychedelic soul/funk band Sly & the Family Stone, and as the founder and front man of Graham Central Station. He is credited with the invention of the slapping technique, which radically expanded the tonal palette of the bass, although he himself refers to the technique as Thumpin' and Pluckin'. (Bass Player magazine, Apr 07).So.. what about that slapping technique?According to Dutch wikipedia, in the 60's he played in a duo formation with his mother on piano and by the absence of drums he started to use the noises of the snares in a percussive way so it made a drum sound. There's a whole article on English wikipedia about slapping technique in general. Graham is mainly famous for using his thumb and index finger, while Mark King also paradiddles and performs the left hand slap... not to forget Victor Wooten with his more efficient technique plus index/middle finger plucking.. yes.Back to this album: I think my favourite tune is Tis your kind of music.Horns of this album are performed by Tower Of Power plus Hershall Happiness Kennedy, Grahams' trumpet player. Funny enough, the Tower Of Power horns are not credited as such, but with their apart names.. Gregory Adams, Emilio Castillo, Michael Gilette, Stephen Kupka, Leonard Pickett. More credits:Produced by GOD Co-produced by Larry Graham.I was already wondering what kind of job God would do and how I could get in touch with him.. I can just meet him at the studio! The studio he used at the time: Record Plant, Sausalito, California.Enjoy listening.
