Hangman Live

[foal30]

Dux de Lux Christchurch 1 October

pretty good turn out especially for a Thursday night
probably not enough enthusiastic dancers sadly. Might be due to age of most punters

55 minute set which seemed to cover tunes of all the different recordings/releases I have heard from this band. Which http://www.hangmanmusic.co.nz or http://www.amplifier.co.nz can help you with

Hangman are clearly rehearsed, not just tight, but "proper" syncopation and a drummer confident enough in his cohorts to both turn the beat over and *BANNED* with the time. Had to laugh with Brent stepping up to the mic for lead vox duty... the cuts intro is in 5/4... as you manage the band Brent you can be a bit easier on yourself I reckon

Good guitar tones and he has his Jimmy Nolen scratch style down, and a bit of John Fruscentie wah styling too. Singer is enthusiastic, which is appropriate for the style but he needs a tambourine . If your singing shake something... Prince taught me that, there is something in that for all of us.
Drummer is a mother, not just hitting hard but hitting well. Shallow snare cuts well, but I probably prefer more body. Not particularly fill based set but far more important is the musicality of his parts, he's playing the tunes not the drums IYKWIM

as for the Bass Player. Moves well Sings too, always (well often) a plus for any band. Clearly groove orientated, well in the pocket, enjoyed the walking line in a bridge to a rocking number, and seemed to enjoy himself. Interacted well with audience, this is IMO important. Way cool hat.

best tunes for me were
from "A to B"
"Stuck"
and the new hit single "Do It"

gig/set list was pretty well paced, no huge shifts in either momentum or style. FFS check this band out, even if it's not your bag their well worth a bo-peep to see a band that cares enough about their own music to present a logical, coherent and organized musical performance.

yours sincerely,
foal30-

here you go for local content 30% action.

[Terexgeek]

+1

Maybe I just drove the other dancers away

[sgt mukuzi]

your right about the Gat player, he does ape John Fruscentie, I had an audition with HM but couldnt tell the difference between the guitar parts. there mostly in the same key etc. i wish they just auditioned me as me and not him

[foal30]

? never said ape
I was citing JF as a potential influence on his playing
this is neither good or bad or potentially even accurate
just attempting to convey a commonly known Guitarist reference for those who have not heard the band.

[sgt mukuzi]

sorry I said ape, hopefully not to be taken in the wrong way, i dont mean it as a slagoff.

narr i spent a month or so trying to learn the hangman guitar parts only to realise there mostly the same chords and devices and telling them apart without the cd playing was allmost impossible.
imo the bass and drums hold it together and they are super tight, as you say, even the fills are played together, pretty amazing in my opinion. i wanted to create new parts for the tunes, obviously not somthing the guys in hangman wanted but again in my opinion they need a new guitarist with a seperate feel to the bass and drums, to create a new part not just scratch along with the bass player. the tunes are great, great players and all but i felt like they were pretty closed minded when it came to auditioning people, at least in my experience. i felt like the parts on the CD were not finished, the CD i had wasnt mixed and there were two or three guitars on every track, often playing different things, to aproatch this I figured the parts were not finished as i said and I could have had the oppertunity to create new parts with the wealth of knowlidge and experience i have, but no. they wanted me to play what was on the CD, when i played two parts to one tune at the same time they said that wasnt the part, confusing as hell it was believe me, and the joint i had prior didnt help.
it was the worst audition ive ever had, not because of them but because i didnt realise what exactually was going on. if i were H-Man I would just stop playing Gigs at take the time to get the right guitarist, re do the guitar parts because the guy is leaving... i hope you get what i`m trying to say Ruben.

[dayl]

Funny you should say that Sgt.

I went and had a jam with them and the dudes were sweet as. They were quite clear that they were not looking for a clone of their prev guitarist and endorsed a few changes here and there in the interest of getting the 'unit' together.

Pretty much fluffed the verse part of spinning which cracked me aup a fair bit but all in all good sesh. Rhythm section = Tight.

[foal30]

yes it can be a difficult process if there is a gap between concepts of ;

a) joining a band
b) replacing a previous band member

IMO it is best to be quite clear about this. I have brought people in to play what they feel because I have watched them live and listened to their recordings. But this is not a requirement of all bands at all times. In fact it can be quite contrary to what is wanted for a particular gig.

[foal30]

and FWIW I think I'd sooner go a funky Keys man in the line up
I realize I am on thin ice saying this here of all places

[dayl]

and FWIW I think I'd sooner go a funky Keys man in the line up
I realize I am on thin ice saying this here of all places

Nothing wrong with the funky keys. My vote would be a cross between that and someone who knows their way around a sampler

[sgt mukuzi]

yea for sure they were straight up about everything, i reckon there good people for sure. i guess what i`m thinking is: Tom Morello, for example Vrs John F
I tend to look at the guitar as a seperate instrument to the bass, not just an octave up, hitting seperate beats and adding to the overall feel.
i found the HM guys wanted a definate feel they were used too sorta like everything to be hit at once.
a kind of syncopation but all at the same time navigating complicated half bar fills worked out well in advance.
Bootsy Collins is by far the most miss-quoted musican and when he said the "one! everything on the one" i take that a different way to most people.
jazz walking bass is slightly before the beat, the time is on the ride not on the kick. but funk guitar is directly on or before the beat and I like to play a fraction before the beat, if you relaly listen to people like tower of power and Andy Summers etc they devide the beat the same way. gat befoer the beat, drums on the beat, bass behind the beat, any combination will work.
i believe there are three places to play, in-front of the beat, on the beat and behind the beat. and its possible to create guitar parts where you can use all three.
HM wanted me to play behind the beat in a way more relaxed style than what i was playing. I attack the beat like its a beer on a sunny day, i dont laze about looking at the back of the beat. i reckon each member of a band has a dfferent job to do in regards to creating a feel. anyway and thats where it didnt gel.

[sgt mukuzi]

Funny you should say that Sgt.

I went and had a jam with them and the dudes were sweet as. They were quite clear that they were not looking for a clone of their prev guitarist and endorsed a few changes here and there in the interest of getting the 'unit' together.

Pretty much fluffed the verse part of spinning which cracked me aup a fair bit but all in all good sesh. Rhythm section = Tight.

i would have loved it if they gave me a load of chord charts and just said work out what to play

[HANGMAN]

interesting...

[sgt mukuzi]

interesting...

I would also like to add that on the day in question i played like a retarded turd