[Johnnyo]

This is a new topic, as far as I’m aware, which has been sparked by a conversation that I had with romanelli today.

I posted

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Sunday 8PM by Faithless

As the album that I was playing at that moment. Romanelli posted that the cover photo is of the bluebird theatre in denver, where he lives, and has been to loads of gigs at that venue.

I then posted that I have spent a considerable amount of my life in and around Berwick street in London which is the street depicted on the cover of

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(What's The Story) Morning Glory? by Oasis

So do any of you have a personal attachment to an album or a song. You may have been at the recording of a gig which was subsequently released as an album or even played on a track. Do you appear in an album cover or maybe worked on the production of a cover.

It can be anything, those are just a few examples. Any stories around your connection would help flesh out the post. You might even find others who were involved in it as well.

[Johnnyo]

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Live Through The Past, Darkly by The Dream Syndicate

It’s a small thing but I was in the audience for the recording of the final track on this live compilation, John Coltrane stereo blues, which was recorded at a great little venue called the Lexington, here in London, in 2023. A great evening as it always is with dream syndicate and, as I recall, this was the final song of the night.

[Johnnyo]

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Live At The N.E.C. by Status Quo

From 1980 - 1982 I worked on a Princes Trust project in Birmingham (UK).

As a young person i was a general assistant and it was one of the best jobs I’ve ever had.

During that time there was a Princes Trust gig at the N.E.C. In Birmingham and I was part of the team that worked on the day at the gig setting up yeh graph design boards and other stuff so I feel really connected, in a very small way, to this album.

[II]

I like the idea of this topic So I'll try to approach it my way:

I'm grateful I could discover a lot of great music on BEA, so in the early days of my journey I was amazed by:
Radiohead, since they have many songs rated over 91 etc.
Then I liked Agaetis Byrjun by Sigur Ros because of its classical influences and how the songs are long but feel shorter.
And I considered Ween and/or Queens of the Stone Age as my favorite bands ever due to how many songs of them I kept liking.

I held my trust in /mu/ pretty much early on because I believed there are many reasons these artists are rated the way they are, of course I liked some of them more and some less, and I still believe in these opinions because some of this rated music is exceptional in comparison with other music, however, things were still missing...
I needed music that could fit more of my needs, perhaps something virtuosic, at least melodic, consonant and beautiful. So in order to that, I had to probably put /mu/ aside and listen to music that has less recognition in /mu/ or even no recognition at all.

Eventually, I've found many of that music: It's mostly instrumental, but it could be in many genres: perhaps something like Neoclassical Metal? Or at least Power Metal...
The musical project Sword of Justice has successfully held my interest for Power Metal music for the first time, and it is along with the man behind it - Toshinori Hiramatsu, is currently my favorite artist of all time! I like his music that much, I went to check every musical piece he has ever composed or arranged by using VGMdb, and there are quite many stuff.

But hold on! I'm not done yet. What about other music I like? Well, let's go back to the beginnings. Once upon a time, I had been interested in video-games, so I played them and watched walkthroughs of them on YouTube, hence, I discovered their music, and the music is great! So great it ranges in many styles! Eventually, the VGM that has stuck with me the most even to this day is some soundtracks of Technosoft games. Under the company there were three legendary composers: Tomomi Otani who was a master of his craft which was his unique style of the early days sounding-like FM Synthesized compositions (by using Yamaha chips) back in the late 80s while he was still a university student! Eventually, he retired in 1990 working on the game Thunder Force III, which was 18-year old Toshiharu Yamanishi's debut, which included one-of-their-kind FM Synthesized compositions that have never been replicated. Before leaving Technosoft, he would also work on Thunder Force IV which its FM Synthesized soundtrack attempts to sound close to Metal and Japanese Jazz Fusion (or what I succinctly call: "J-Jazz", which many Japanese composers were influenced by, and is the recipe for their amazing sound!), leading them to hire Hyakutaro Tsukumo, who would eventually learn a new technology of music as the future marched on: Using a Roland SC-88 Pro, Tsukumo would invent his unique Synth-Metal style, which would create a whole new soundscape for the last episode: "Thunder Force V", earning him a well-received status.

I kept researching their music on VGMdb, thanks to that, I discovered more tracks by them I like, and also discovered music by other composers and arrangers.
Listening to a great arrangement of a known track from Valis is how I discovered Hiramatsu-san!

But I could go on typing about Paganini's caprices 4&5, more and more VGM, Casiopea's J-Jazz debut album, maybe the two guitar instrumentalists Buckethead and Tony Macalpine who I want to listen more, and all the other music I like, but this is the music I'm personally attached as they are all an important part in my musical journey.

Thank you for reading! And may we discover more great music and share it with everyone!

[Romanelli]

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At The Lighthouse by The Jazz Crusaders

The Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, CA was one of the top jazz venues in the country in the 1950's and 1960's. This album was recorded live there in 1962, as were many others. The Lighthouse during this time hosted the likes of Miles Davis and Cannonball Adderley and Art Blakey and so many others. It's a historical club less than a block from the Hermosa Beach Pier. The Lighthouse still exists today, and although it's no longer exclusively a jazz club, they do still have Sunday morning jazz shows.

My connection? I've been on that very stage. Numerous times. Sitting in with various bands. Playing with different groups in the nineties and early 2000's. But also, when I released my solo album in 2001, The Lighthouse became a kind of home base. I lived close by, and my band played several shows there. It was always pretty cool to take in the stage, from across the room and standing on it. Knowing that some of the greatest jazz artists of all time had stood right where I was, and played right where I was playing.

These pictures of The Lighthouse were taken, I'm guessing, during that time in the 50's and 60's. But it's still in that same building. Also...in the nineties, I lived in that hotel next to The Lighthouse. On the second floor, my window faced the street, and I could sit and talk to people who were waiting in line to get into The Lighthouse. Lived there for about 4 years...it was pretty cool to be playing one of the many clubs right there and be able to easily walk home after a show.

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_________________
I'm leaning on the threshold
Of her mystery
And crashing through the walls
Of dying history

[Johnnyo]

[Johnnyo]

[II]