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THE PROCESS Release a Modern Masterpiece by Randy Chandler The Process with with their entertainment attorney Bruce Colfrin on 5th Avenue in New York City Over the course of the last thirteen years, the "Rock-Reggae Madmen" of The Process have continued to astound audiences in the furthest regions of our country, as well as their own stomping grounds, with an infectious blend of World Music (and World Commentary) played with an orchestral view and serious musical muscle. You know all that by now.
But, trust me on this, nothing you know about The Process can quite prepare you for what awaits a first-time listener to the group's latest effort, 'Blood & Bones'. Under layers of beautifully interweaving textures of horns and strings, and the incredible backup stylings of new discovery, Michelle Shaw, lies the very best essence of this venerable act-galvanized. It's like having an orchestra strapped to a flatbed truck and taking it down a rough backroad at about 60-mph. Not enough speed to derail it, but just enough to add that all-important urgency that most great works possesses. The Review recently caught up with David Asher, Garrick Owen and producer/engineer Gee Pierce at U-Be-U in Saginaw to discuss what, it seems to me, appears to be a major departure for The Process. Review: The strongest thing about 'Blood & Bones', for me, is that it brings the best elements of the group together in a tight focus, and yet it's all magnified. There's heaviness to this. Dave Asher: Alot of that has to do with our drummer, Sam Metropolis. His style of playing is a little more hard-hitting than our other drummer, (Arek Anesko), and it influenced the songwriting to be a bit heavier. Review: Is Arek still around? Asher: He flew out to L.A. for that gig with us. And, he was at our gig at Hollywood Nights, too. Sam and Arek alternate on drums and percussion. Review: How long did the recording take? Asher: About seven months over the course of a year. Gee had a flood, so the studio was down for about a month. Gee: We didn't do it everyday. It was like, once or twice a week. I was recording The Dayton Family at the same time. Asher: And that album went to #6 on the 'Billboard' chart.
Review: Vocally, Dave, you're all over the map on this one. I don't remember you rapping before. It's what distinguishes "Mist of Time". Elsewhere, you're conjuring ancient Egyptian melodies. Asher: Well, I was listening to a lot of Egyptian music when we were writing this. I can't do it as well as those people can. It's like throat singing. The Rap stuff, we did some of that on 'Baldhead Vex'. Gee: You've done it in little pieces here and there before, but you never put a 16 to 32 measure part in there before! Review: I am a total sucker for the black female voice. Where did you find Michelle Shaw? Asher: She's actually one of the artists in Gee's stable. She's got an album of her own coming out. She's fantastic. What she did on this CD, I would put along side Clare Torrey on Pink Floyd's "The Great Gig In The Sky", or on The Stone's "Gimme Shelter". I think it's that good. She's been at a few of the gigs. She's wonderful. Review: Dave, you and Garrick have been working together since 1989. What do you do to keep things interesting? Asher: Actually, a friend of mine listened to our CD the other night and said to me, "It sounds like you guys weren't screwing around- you came in, you laid it down hard, and you were outta there!" If anything, knowing each other as well as we do by now helps the creativity flow more freely between us, so it takes less time to get there and we can preserve some of that urgency. Review: The dark worldview of the CD is significant in the wake on September 11. Asher: And I wrote all these lyrics before that happened! In a way, some of the lyrics are prophetic in light of those events. There needs to be more understanding of different cultures, different religions. There's too much injustice in the world for the sake of money. Remember the Gulf War? That wasn't about freedom; that was about freedom to get cheaper oil. At one point, before we settled on the final cover art, we thought of having a praying Muslim on the cover. I'm kinda glad we didn't go with that one. I mean, they're God-fearing, God-loving Muslims, and I respect their faith, but a lot of people.... Review: Wouldn't understand? Asher: Right. Review: On a lighter note: I've always wanted to ask this. What does Willie (bassist/arranger Bill Heffelfinger) look like during the day? Asher: The same. And he pulls it off. He's a music teacher at a high school. When they have concerts or recitals, his hair goes up, like Beethoven. He does the whole conductor bit, because he's really good at it. He did an extraordinary amount of pre-production, sequencing horns and strings. Gee: But when he did his bass, he was dead on. He was finished with his bass tracks in two days. Review: Did he use the Chapman Stick, (the Chapman Stick is an innovative, multi-stringed instrument, offering a tonal range exceeding both guitar and bass), on this one? Asher: Not so much. It pops up here and there on a couple of things. He uses it a lot more live. Gee: Garrick used a lot of crazy stuff, too. Owen: Acoustics, Les Pauls, a sitar- Review: THAT'S what it was! Owen: Yeah, it's actually an authentic sitar from India. I got it from Dave's wife. There were two broken pegs on it, but we rigged it up and made it work. Review: How did you land those New York and L.A. gigs? Owen: The guy I know from "Guitar Player" magazine wanted to see us play out there, so he booked us a show. Asher: The law firm that represents us is based in New York, so we got to meet with our lawyers. We've done a lot of cool stuff in L.A.; some gigs, some live radio performances, and so on. We're going back out there soon, but we wanted to make sure that 'Blood & Bones' was finished the way we wanted it. You know, anybody can do these things. You just have to put yourself out there, every day. Doors get shut in your face. One door shuts, another opens. You just keep making contacts. Gee: And, that's what I really dig about these guys-they're getting their stuff out there, they're making sure it's getting into people's hands, and they're still out there at the same time, doing shows. They're always doing something, instead of sitting back and waiting. ___________________________ 'Blood and Bones' is now available at Sam Goody and Media Play in Saginaw, or direct from The Process Website at www.theprocessonline.com The Process will be in concert Saturday, August 10th at The Lantern, N. Water Street, Bay City for Lanternpalooza 2002.
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