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On the Road with Robert Fripp
So - I have recently been touring with Robert Fripp.
We did a week in Spain at the end of April/beginning of May 2010 and we are doing a few select dates in the UK too. I think if I charged £1 every time someone asked "What is it like playing with Robert Fripp?" I would be doing quite well by now! I once spent a very pleasant train ride with someone from London to Belgium and when we met the person we were meeting there - the first thing they said was "So - what is it like working with Robert Fripp?", upon which the train ride friend said "I wanted to ask that the whole ride, but I tried hard not to, so stopped myself...!" In his excellent recent autobiography, drummer Bill Bruford has a whole chapter which is sub-headed "What is it like working with Robert Fripp?" On the recent tour of Spain I did a press conference in Madrid for various journalists, and the inevitable question came up..."So - what is it like working with Robert Fripp? (the only other question that I have encountered in a band with such inevitable regularity is with Soft Machine Legacy - which is "So - what's Mike Ratledge doing these days?")
So in answer to the question in the Spanish press conference - I told the truth......which is.......Actually very nice. He's great to work with and a lovely man, and a wonderful musician. I have to say, that when I related this story to Robert, his response was " Well that is going to make really interesting reading, how dull...!" It is, however, true. Sorry! I should say that the tour was very well organised, so there were no intrusions on privacy, no photographing during the concerts, accomodation was great, catering good and we were treated very well generally. This does not happen automatically, but the team who were tour managing did a stunning job. Thank you Hernan and to the Crafties!
Yes - the gigs and Spanish tour did go very well. We started in Madrid where we played a beautiful old theatre and apparently sold as many seats as Pat Metheney. Amazing! This was our first non-sacred space concert and it did feel quite different. The music we play is largely improvised. Certain areas or soundworlds or harmonic ideas are agreed beforehand (for most but not all of the pieces) and then it is very careful listening and what you might call sponateous composition, or playing by the seat of your pants.... There are times when one or other of us plays a "solo" over what is going on, but often we are improvising together, jointly trying to create something. Different pieces have different "agendas". The music is heavily influenced by the surroundings - the audience, building, atmosphere, and so this was going to be something different from the church performances. This was to be the case even more so in Barcelona, where the venue was the closest we have come to a rock club. The wonderful Spiegeltent at the Bath Festival Fringe also had a vibe that seemed to encourage us to play "out" a bit more - to step on it and make more of a roar....We had no choice guv', it just happened...
So Madrid went well and next was two nights in Malaga. Malaga has a beautiful town centre and it was full of the beautiful people parading on holiday. The audience on the first night seemed to have its fair share of people who either thought they should be there (but didn't really want to be), or wives and mother in laws of fans who dutifully went along - but it was not for them. So some seemed bemused or less, but there was still a large contingent of fans who wanted what they got, or at least seemed to enjoy the concert a lot. Fine by me. The second night in Malaga seemed to take off. We both came offstage and there was no question of "Was it good tonight?" It felt great and others in the team agreed it had been a very strong gig. I am looking forward to hearing the recording of that one. Alicante was next and that was good, but I think Robert had some technical problems with his guitar that night. Barcelona was the rock venue. It was very nice that night to see the one and only Sid Smith and his sister who had flown from the UK to Barcelona for a short break and to see the gig. The next day was a torrential downpour and terribel traffic jam, but just managed to get to the airport in time for the flight home. Actually I heard the day I returned home that Icelandic volcanic ash was stopping flights again and Spain was one of the first countries affected. Before the tour this had been a worry as airports were closed till a few days before the tour started and we had not known whether we were going to be able to go at all (and whether the gear was going to get there). Luckily we did get there and home without disruption. Phew.
Next stop - Cheltenham. Hope you can make it!
Current playlist -
Herbie Hancock - Headhunters
Led Zeppelin - The BBC Sessions
Eliza Carthy - Angels and Cigarettes
I'm Sorry I haven't a Clue - Series 10.
Debussy - Images for Solo Piano
Cheers 
P.S. Do come and say "Hi" if you come to a gig and also feel free to contact me about anything and nothing if you feel like it. I manage to reply to just about all personal e-mails and it is always good to get feedback.