Some years ago, my wife accompanied me on a business trip out to California. The job was in Santa Cruz but we stayed in San Fran for a few days. One night walking the streets, we heard what sounded like a small jazz band. We followed the sound to a small crowd gathered near the street. Here was a lone gentleman by the name of Daniel Kane, the Stickman. He was playing what's called the Chapman Stick. A twelve string guitar that has 6 bass strings and 6 middle and lead strings. You play it by pressing on the frets, hammering and pulling off, giving the instrument a very unique sound. Kane's music he wrote himself and so captured the essence of the SF night we bought his CD. Last I heard he still plays out on the streets.
Anyway, if you've never heard Chapman Stick music, you owe it to yourself to play the video. I'm not familiar with the artist, but after listening to a few selections of Chapman Stick music on Youtube, I felt this one represented the instrument the best. It's also closest to the sound of Daniel Kane.
No comments:
Post a Comment