Off: The Reality of Gong

[DRider]

The Reality of Gong
(The best band you've never heard of)

By Aly Constine mailto:aly at pauserecord.com

A genre has been created, an essence released that has yet to be
defined. Loosely, psychedelic rock. On the tighter side, vibes imbued with
elements of techno, funk, disco, Klezmer, jazz, and heavy metal intermingled
with dreamlike trance grooves. Gong sooths, seduces, shocks, and frightens
the unsuspecting listener all at once.

The Gong vibration has been intriguing audiences for over thirty
years. Clad in an array of intergalactic costumes, Gong continues to take
the
stage to set free thoughtful, though often silly, verses for devoted
audiences who rave over their unique style of intense and electrifying
music.
A lasting cult phenomenon in Europe, fans are addicted to the band's
seamless
mixture of hard rock with gracefully shaped soothing/horrific vocals, flashy
sax solos, and rhythm heavy jams. The clincher is the grace and precision
with which this group of experimental, experienced, and talent-heavy
musicians execute their musical ideas.

Gong is lead by eccentric founder Daevid Allen, a white haired wizard
who takes command of the stage with his absurd sense of humor and his
freakish, mind-bending surges on lead and "glissando" guitar. The later
technique is an eerie style of slide improvisation the Australian allegedly
gathered from watching Syd Barrett playing with Pink Floyd at the Ally
Pally.
A visionary with a passion for poetry, Allen inspires and mystifies
audiences
with lyrics ranging from the ridiculous to the transcendental. Bringing
performance art and rock music together in each show, Allen at once
enthralls, inspires, and entertains. He is a true proponent of uninhibited
self-expression and individuality.

Gilli Smyth strengthens Gong's uncommon sound with her gorgeous and
mystical voice. Her unique vocalizations have been named "space whispers,"
due to their soft and smooth, haunted and freakish nature. With them she
takes you on a journey through her dreams and yours. This English gal dons
shimmery gowns, pussy ears, and multi-colored muumuus while presenting her
poetic verse. She is both the fairy queen of your fantasies and the wicked
witch of your nightmares. Both child and mother, sex goddess and interpreter
of myth.

Mike Howlett and Chris Taylor embody the breathtakingly skilled
rhythm section of Gong's 2000 North American tour incarnation. Offering
strong, intense, fire-powered beats, they are not the background but the
essential layer of foundation that give Gong their musical strength.
Howlett,
electrifying on bass and Taylor, master of techno and heavy metals beats
take
control of the voiceless jams that allow Gong to soar into musical
excellence.

Theo Travis adds a fantastic element on the saxophone and flute
topping the mixtures of sound with strong yet peaceful Pink Floydesque
melodies. Jazzy yet haunting virtuoso solos comes forth among Allen's
psychedelic interweavings. On keyboard, Gwyo Zepix brings yet another layer
to Gong's complex sound.

Gong has transformed audiences since its inception in France in 1968.
Almost continuously tied to the nucleus of Allen and Gilli Smyth, the band's
makeup has undergone a multitude of metamorphoses allowing a number of
musicians' creativity to take the band on a variety of intergalactic
journeys. More than thirty albums make up the library of Gong's studio
excursions. During live performance, Allen tends to pull songs from many
periods of Gong's existence allowing the essence to live on as a whole, not
only in its most recent configuration.

Born during an era of creativity and freethinking, a time that
nurtured and supported new ideas, Gong's sum and substance was founded on
exploration. Exposure to the political and philosophical theories of
anarchy,
beat poetry, ritual theatre, and a variety of ethnic musical traditions all
helped to shape the Gong entity. Celebration of both the individual and the
individual's connection to the whole are also important to Gong's energy, as
is the possibility of spiritual regeneration through music.

Many of Gong's songs reference Gong mythology. Filled with radio
gnomes, pot-head pixies, and flying teapots there is no end to the visions
that abound in the mind of Daevid Allen and his cohorts. It begins with
Planet Gong, a transparent greenish planet unknown to astronomers, situated
in the seventh sky, which function in accordance with the Laws of the Music
of the Spheres. Here, social rules and norms have been turned upside-down.
The planet is equipped with Radio Gnome Invisible, a telepathic radio
network
operating between the brains of its inhabitants. The explorations of Zero
the
Hero, prodigal son of the hippies, have been the focus of Gong's more recent
albums.

While Allen is Gong's main scribe, Smyth also brings to light her
mind tinkerings as do many of the musicians who've joined along the way.
Filled with social commentary, humor, and poetry, Gong's lyrics touch down
on
a variety of emotions.

Shaping entire genres of music and schooling musicians in the art of
ambient and techno, Gong influence can be heard in hundreds of bands.
Numerous European collaborations including the Moodswings, The Shamen,
Youth,
and Total Eclipse list them as inspiration, as do Phish, the Ozric
Tentacles,
and the Orb. Their unique conception of rock 'n roll was long awaited by
many. "Gong was a cheesecake in a world seemingly filled only with baked
beans!" said Grant Showbiz of the Moodswings. In the words of record
producer
Stephen Budd, "Planet Gong first manifested to me at London, Hammersmith
Palais in 1974, and I realized then that I had been born on the wrong planet
and they had arrived to take me home."

Gong continues to re-invent itself, keeping their sound enticing
through constant evolution. And the albums are still emerging with Zero to
Infinity (Snapper Music) out this past winter. Try them out while the
opportunity is still within reach with seven dates left in their North
American tour. But a warning. Full contact with Gong is not recommended for
the weak-minded, those who waver on reality as it is. Gong's essence takes
you to the edge and leaves you there. Prepare for them grab your soul and
take you on a trip through their reality.