This is why Christopher cross is a better guitar player than you
- Thread starter DdBob
- Start date
dmn23
Duller than cardboard
"Well, the interesting thing about that tune is that we had a band and we’d play every night. We were doing this Paul McCartney tune called “Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five,” and we’d get into this big jam in the middle of it. It’s funny, I just saw McCartney and I didn’t tell him this, but in this big jam on “Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five,” in the middle of it I did that “ba da da da, da da, da da.” I did that part.
So I thought that felt really cool. I thought it felt like it had something, some magic, so I built the song around that. That was the first part of the song, and then I built the rest around it.
It didn’t have any words. We were living in Houston at the time, and on the way down to Austin to record the songs, it was just a beautiful Texas day. I took acid. So I wrote the words on the way down from Houston to Austin on acid.
And I grew up with a lot of cowboy movies. Serials and stuff, like The Lone Ranger and these cowboy serials where they were always chasing the bad guy. And I lived in San Antonio near Mexico, so there was always this anarchistic allure about if you could get to Mexico, you could escape the authority. Also, Mexico was a place where you could go down there and drink and do all this debauchery that as a kid, you think sounds really cool. So getting to the border in Mexico was a fascinating thing to me."
So I thought that felt really cool. I thought it felt like it had something, some magic, so I built the song around that. That was the first part of the song, and then I built the rest around it.
It didn’t have any words. We were living in Houston at the time, and on the way down to Austin to record the songs, it was just a beautiful Texas day. I took acid. So I wrote the words on the way down from Houston to Austin on acid.
And I grew up with a lot of cowboy movies. Serials and stuff, like The Lone Ranger and these cowboy serials where they were always chasing the bad guy. And I lived in San Antonio near Mexico, so there was always this anarchistic allure about if you could get to Mexico, you could escape the authority. Also, Mexico was a place where you could go down there and drink and do all this debauchery that as a kid, you think sounds really cool. So getting to the border in Mexico was a fascinating thing to me."
DdBob
Dogue in teh desert
Yeah that's a good one. I'm a child of the 80's (born 1970) and to me RLW and Sailing just ooze that early 80ness of 80-83. Those songs were HUGE ball over the radio so there's the nostalgia part for me but they're just well written and constructed songs. They were kinda in the eternal headspace radio station. Then I bought those two songs individually last year 9finally) and shortly after said screw it and bought the album and I gotta say it's easily one of my favorites just an awesome album start to finish ! I'll admit that part of what made me get the album was the 'cheesiness" factor but after like one listen I was thinking "one of the best music purchases in the last few years.
Anyway here's another RLW from 1980 where he plays a killer solo (starts around 3;30....dig the Houston oilers jersey)
and I found an interseting fact about him this morning....He actually filled in for Ritchie Blackmore with Deep Purple in 1970 so the bro has rawk cred
...from wiki :
- Cross filled in for guitarist Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple (who had fallen ill) by performing with the band in San Antonio, Texas in 1970[36]
and then here....
http://www.austinchronicle.com/music/2012-01-20/the-reluctant-celebrity/
"Deep Purple booked their first show in the U.S. at the JAM Factory," recalls Cross. "But Ritchie Blackmore had a reaction to the flu shot, and he got sick. The show was sold out, and Joe Miller suggested to Jon Lord he use me to sub, and Joe would issue refunds to anyone who wanted. Ian Gillan was not for it, but Jon Lord made the call, and they said okay.
"Eric Johnson was opening, so I used his Marshall and amp. I played the Deep Purple tunes I knew and some blues and got through it. I drove them to the airport, and when they left, I met Ritchie. He gave me his pick and was very nice.
and here.....
http://www.goldminemag.com/article/theres-singer-songwriter-christopher-cross-meets-eye
GM: True or false: You subbed for an ailing Ritchie Blackmore for a gig at the JAM Factory in San Antonio with Deep Purple in 1970.
CC: That’s true. Growing up in Austin with the guitarists here like Billy Gibbons and Stevie Ray (Vaughan) and Eric Johnson, that was part of my thing, but the songwriter thing kind of took over. I was working for this guy named Joe Miller, who had this company called JAM Productions. He was a promoter in San Antonio and was bringing a lot of big tours through. He had a thousand-seat venue called the JAM Factory, and he brought Deep Purple in for their first show ever in the U.S. The band had been advised to get flu shots and Ritchie had a bad reaction to the flu shot and got quite ill and couldn’t play the show. The show was sold out, and Joe didn’t want to cancel it, so he talked to Jon Lord and said, “I’ve got this kid who works for me doing production stuff. He’s a guitarist with a band and he’s a big fan of Ritchie’s. He could sub for Ritchie so you guys could play and not have to cancel the show.” The band discussed it. The singer Ian Gillan was not in favor of it; everyone else in the band was all for it, thinking it’s better to play than cancel their very first show. So basically they announced to the audience that Ritchie was sick but they were still gonna play and me, Chris Geppert — which is my real name — was gonna substitute for Ritchie. I was a local guy, people knew me, and I had some respect. I mean, the crowd was clearly disappointed, especially those that were Blackmore fans. But I got up and played with them. I had a Flying V, long hair and a big Marshall stack. I knew a lot of the tunes from the record, so we got up and played the tunes that I knew, and then we jammed some blues. It was incredible for me. It was an iconic moment. When they left, I went to the airport and I met Ritchie. He was very gracious and gave me a guitar pick. He said, “I hear you did a real good job covering for me.” I said, “Well, it was an honor.” It was brief, but it was nice. What’s really interesting is Eagle Rock Records in Europe, who released my last studio album, “Doctor Faith,” also have Deep Purple on their label. So I asked the head of the label to ask Jon Lord about this. So he asked Jon about it — he recently passed away — and Jon said, “That never happened.” So the label head said, “Well, Christopher said it did.” And he said, “Never happened.” So I started getting freaked out like, “Wow. Did I just imagine this whole thing?” Eric Johnson lives in Austin, too, and he’s a good friend of mine. His band, Mariani, opened the show for Deep Purple. I called up Eric and said, “Hey man, did that actually happen?” And he said, “Yeah it happened. I was there; I saw it. I don’t know what he’s talking about.” I told the head of the label, “This is something they want to forget and that I want to remember.”
But apparently jon lord said it never happened
http://www.progressiveears.org/forum/showthread.php/6153-Christopher-Cross-playing-for-Deep-Purple
Help!I'maRock!
Mediocringly Derivative
Yeah, but then you have to listen to Christopher Cross.
Grant Gross
Kick Henry Jackassowski
Millions of people are better guitar players than I am, so it doesn't really surprise me that Christopher Cross is one of them.
DdBob
Dogue in teh desert
Theodore
I gotta move
Thanks for insulting my music, bro.
I dig some soft rockin' but I don't even think CC is among the best at that.
