Sunship: Difference between revisions
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So to Soft Machine and Gong. Given Allan Holdsworth's links with Nucleus, with the musicians in Sunship, and later with Bruford, I long ago came to the conclusion that here was a musician very much aware of the dynasty of bands and musicians which can be traced right back to the mid-Sixties with the Wilde Flowers. Surely it wasn't a coincidence that Allan Holdsworth first played in the Soft Machine and then Gong. And yet: "In both cases I had no prior knowledge of the bands. In Gong I knew nothing about Daevid Allen or anything else that had gone before. I don't mean that in a bad way - I'd never heard it. Same with Soft Machine - I hadn't heard what had happened before, which may be a good thing, because then you're not trying to keep something alive. But there was a guy who was also a huge help to me starting out called Brian Blain, who works for the Musicians Union. He was absolutely wonderful - he helped me a lot. I think he really liked me and tried to put me in different situations. I remember we did some clinics - that's how I met John Marshall. I guess John told the rest of the band about me, and then Brian Blain hooked up a couple of clinics with the Soft Machine, but they added a guitar player because at that time they didn't have a guitar player. | So to Soft Machine and Gong. Given Allan Holdsworth's links with Nucleus, with the musicians in Sunship, and later with Bruford, I long ago came to the conclusion that here was a musician very much aware of the dynasty of bands and musicians which can be traced right back to the mid-Sixties with the Wilde Flowers. Surely it wasn't a coincidence that Allan Holdsworth first played in the Soft Machine and then Gong. And yet: "In both cases I had no prior knowledge of the bands. In Gong I knew nothing about Daevid Allen or anything else that had gone before. I don't mean that in a bad way - I'd never heard it. Same with Soft Machine - I hadn't heard what had happened before, which may be a good thing, because then you're not trying to keep something alive. But there was a guy who was also a huge help to me starting out called Brian Blain, who works for the Musicians Union. He was absolutely wonderful - he helped me a lot. I think he really liked me and tried to put me in different situations. I remember we did some clinics - that's how I met John Marshall. I guess John told the rest of the band about me, and then Brian Blain hooked up a couple of clinics with the Soft Machine, but they added a guitar player because at that time they didn't have a guitar player. | ||
==Interview with Jamie Muir in Ptloemaic Terrascope== | |||
The Talking Drum - An Interview With Jamie Muir | |||
Ptolemaic Terrascope Magazine | |||
Autumn/August 1991 | |||
By David Teledu | |||
''[Ed. note: Jamie Muir is best known for his work as a percussionist in King Crimson in 1972 and 1973. Just previous to this, he played together with Allan in a group known as “Sunship”, that never went further than rehearsing at Jamie’s house. Here are a few excerpts from an interview with Jamie in Ptolemaic Terrascope Magazine, issued in August 1991.]'' | |||
Under the Terrascope's ever-widening lens, one fascinating field of music yet to be covered is that of the avant-garde percussive improvisationalist. Who better to talk to than former King Crimson member and one of its foremost British exponents JAMIE MUIR, who our correspondent David Teledu recently tracked down for a suitably broad question and answer session. | |||
PT: After Boris split up in late 1970 you were a member of the Afro-rock band Assagei for a while? | |||
JM: That was pretty awful! The leader of Assagei had been in Osibisa. He was kind of strange... there were all sorts of weird hassles and mind games. It was a nightmare, actually. | |||
PT: And then you went on to form the provisionally titled 'Sunship' which included Alan Gowen and Allan Holdsworth? | |||
JM: Alan Gowen was the keyboard player in Assagei actually, that's how I met him. He was a really nice guy and a good keyboard player. There wasn't much work around at the time, I think I found a bit in Germany or something, but we played together and somehow the bassist Laurie Baker got involved as well - I can't remember exactly how. Allan Holdsworth had just come down from the North where he'd been doing commercial work. We had a rehearsal group in my house. I remember, that was the year of the electricity strikes. Laurie's wife would be making great vegetarian concoctions in the kitchen downstairs by candlelight, while we'd be upstairs rehearsing. Allan had come down wanting to do some sort of crucial music and I'd been involved in so-called Art Music and wanted to explore other areas - we were approaching it in some quite tongue-in-cheek ways and we had a lot of fun - we spent more time laughing than playing music. Laurie Baker was very much into art music on the intellectual side but in the right mood he could play some monstrous bass. | |||
PT: And in the summer of 1972 you got the offer to join King Crimson? | |||
JM: Robert Fripp was looking for a new band and I got a 'phone call from him. I think it was Richard Williams from Melody Maker who suggested me to him. I was rehearsing with Alan Gowen and others at the time. They were rather upset with me for leaving, actually… | |||
Source: | |||
https://www.terrascope.co.uk/Archives/Archives.htm | |||
https://issuu.com/terrascope/docs/ptolemaic_terrascope_issue_8 | |||
https://www.elephant-talk.com/wiki/Interview_with_Jamie_Muir_in_Ptloemaic_Terrascope | |||
[[Category:Musicians]] | [[Category:Musicians]] | ||
