Where:
El Paso, Illinois, USA
Who:
Lou Paradies (guitars, hammered
dulcimer, sound guy)
Kal Kumar (E. Africa djembe drum, Latin Percussion
bongos)
When:
"We started in earnest
on the 4th of July in 2002, though we have been
playing a year or two before that point. But the 4th of July was our
first recording session!"
Why:
It is more than just the music. It is a way
to bond on this planet and to bring together diverse talents in total
harmony.
What:
Jazz, Folk, Bossa, Latin, Rock ....... because
of the number of influences here we have called ourselves FUSION CROSSING.
It is the place
where it all comes together.
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Fusion
Crossing
by Alessandro
De Murtas
A
STORY IN TWO PARTS (Lou & Kal): |
LOU'S STORY: [..] I
should probably start with influences in my life. I grew up listening
to Ray Charles, BB King and Dave Mason. All quite different, and
all very powerful in their own ways. I've had the pleasure of
seeing all of them in concert, and was able to meet Dave Mason
after one performance he did with Jim Krueger, a phenomenal acoustic
guitarist. I have a lot of favorite bands from the 60s and 70s
era and somehow skipped over much of the 80s and 90s. The one
major exception here is being lucky enough to fall into the path
of a band called Patchouli
that is comprised of Julie and Bruce Hecksel. After seeing them
in a local concert, I now watch intently for any time they perform
in central Illinois. It is not just that their music is so very
much up my alley, but also that they are the spirit and sounds
of what Kal and I believe in. The beauty of this earth is amazing,
as are our responsibilities at trying to maintain it.
I started playing guitar in 1975 and remained strictly a rhythm
or finger picking guitarist until the past 5 years when I began
to explore a bit of lead and electric guitar work. I enjoy all
forms of guitar, but am still at home with my old 1975 acoustic
guitar, a Yamaha FG200. It is almost indestructible and holds
a deep bass sound. I've also got a Martin 000-28EC acoustic guitar
which is just wonderful for finger style guitar picking. It has
a very delicate and precise tone that I use much these days. Outside
of this I am learning to play a Griffin hammered dulcimer, which
really lends itself well to our style of music. We do Folk music,
but we venture out into other genres as well. Too many cool sounds
to limit our scope or goals!
Lou with his favorite teacher
(Mrs. Somers)
from his high school |
For now Kal and I are content to be performing regularly at the
Depot, in
El Paso, Illinois, a place that is just perfect for beginning
artists.
We enjoy most of all just recording music, and the ease with which
we can do this with N-Track. I use the latest version of N-Track
in combination with the following equipment:
KSM44 microphone, Mackie CFX12 mixer, my laptop computer, and
away we go ... even to the woods and outdoors! This combination
makes the perfect portable recording studio which allows us to
combine our music with nature, which we did last summer. If you
listen to our song "OutBack" on our site
you will notice nature is one of our instruments there. Kal and
I actually can discern a difference in the sounds of our instruments
when played in the open night air, and it is a wonderful experience
to partake in. The best thing N-Track gives me is a superb sound
when used in conjunction with our equipment, but it is also a
portable format which allows setup just about anywhere you can
think of. We have even run 1,000 feet of electrical cords to get
our system down to the pond last summer where we recorded "OutBack".
This is really cool stuff. I'll describe a bit of what it is like
at the campsite from an excerpt out of a story I'm writing:
"One of the things that will
allow this setting to be so in touch with nature is the fact
that a wide ridge or hill sits behind us which completely cuts
off from view even the lodge. The lodge of course provides electricity
via the power cords that I use, so it is a nice arrangement.
We have modern convenience at the top of the hill but nowhere
in view. On our present side of the hill we see only trees,
campsite and pond. The campfire is located just to the edge
of the twin oaks, two towering trees that shade our tents by
the side of the pond. Across the pond are more trees which become
the woods. Our campfire is made up of a circle of big rocks,
giving us a fireplace perhaps 5 feet in diameter. It is near
this campfire where I stack the wood. Some already split, some
not - the larger logs are good for later in the evening for
the long slow burning fires. This is nature, a place for us
to delight in His creation. It is the place of this fire, and
also the fire within our spirits. This setting will soon be
busy as others arrive to setup for our adventure and to join
in on new experiences tonight."
The last thing on N-Track I can say is to make use of the "Fade
In" and "Fade Out" features if you like that
sort of thing, since it works so easily here. Also, spend the
extra $20 and get the F.A.Soft Compressor DirectX plug-in if
you can. It really does a wonderful job of bringing up the volume
without any distortion or squelch. Flavio gives more of the
technical reasons to use this, I just know that it works and
does really enhance the sound of our recordings, and yes, I
love the "Soft Knee Compression", as he has recommended
for us.
Where do we go from here? Kal and I are happy campers just recording
our sounds and having fun. Our first CD "OutBack"
is more a labor of love than anything else. It is strictly a
home project done at our home studio, called "Pine View
Studios". We are giving another month to further song creation
and practice, and then plan to take our sounds on the road.
By the road I mean a few coffee houses and perhaps outdoor venues
this spring, summer and fall of 2003. Time is often a factor,
but when you are having fun that seems to make a way for itself.
Last, my compliments again to N-Track! I've used this for about
4 years and am very impressed with the latest version. Our best
regards and wishes to all fellow N-Track artists out here!
Kal playing djembe |
KAL'S STORY:
[..]
Percussion instruments always interested me since I was
young. Back in India where I am originally from I didn't
formally ever get a chance to learn them. After moving
to the U.S. and meeting Lou, I found this opportunity!
Lou was involved in a band, and also with playing and
recording music on his own. Lou had a great interest in
"acoustical" music which correlated beautifully
with my own interests. Lou has an array of musical instruments
from all over the world, and mentioned that he has a Djembe
and asked me if I would like to play for his band. I just
jumped on the opportunity and started playing ever since
with Lou. I have been playing the Djembe for two years
now.
I have listened to the West African
music and am quite familiar with the sounds that can be
produced from the Djembe. From the first moment of joining
the band I got a lot of encouragements from my friends
and since then I am playing the Djembe in my own way.
I have now also included the Latino Bongos adapting them
to my playing style. Some of our most recent songs include
these.
I still haven't had the chance to sign up for any formal
training in Djembe, but I hope to sometime in the future.
Basically, we just like to have fun playing at this point,
with no commercial interest. We are exploring our own
way of creating some neat music with Nature. That's our
primary motto!!!"
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