HW: Hawkwind press release

[Doug Pearson]

On Fri, 15 Sep 2000 09:30:03 +0100, Jon Jarrett
<jjarrett at CHIARK.GREENEND.ORG.UK> wrote:
>On Thu, 14 Sep 2000, Doug Pearson wrote:
>> And while we're on the subject, the guy playing keyboards & synths with
>> Gong on the current tour did a very good job ...
>
>        Gwyo Zepix (for such is the name under which he trades) is
>talented to the point where I don't understand. At Canterbury he was
>playing Tim's parts on one synth and a pseudo-saxophone line (because of
>there being no Bloomdido Bad de Grasse) on another, which he was
>modulating with a mouth controller. And it was all done extremely
>well. How he can concentrate on all three things and what's going round
>him as well I simply cannot understand - it seems impossible to me.

It's not impossible, since I've come close.  As the lead singer and
keyboard/synth player in Ad Hawk, I've done songs like "Assault & Battery"
and "Ejection" with my right hand playing chords/melodies, my left hand
turning knobs to make synth noises, and my foot controlling another synth
with a CV (control voltage) pedal, all while singing.  Hardly impossible,
but certainly not easy!  And, in all fairness, it must be stated that Gong
songs are *definitely* more difficult than Hawkwind songs - I'd have
trouble doing anything more than trying to keep up with Tim's parts during
some of those jumping 6/8-rhythm songs.

That's too bad that you had to see Gong without a sax player (even if Gwyo
did a good job of covering); the guy they have with them on this tour (I
don't recall his name) is very, very good.

        -Doug
         ceres at sirius.com