28/December 2005
Greetings.
As you might expect, almost all of this newsletter is given
over to reports of the VdGG activity during 2005.
As for me, here and now.... At long last I'm getting on with
writing and recording the next solo studio cd. I hope to
complete this early in 2006 and will almost certainly do
solo shows thereafter. There will be another Fie! release
before this one comes out but I'm going to leave discussion
of that until the next time....
Until later, as ever...thanks for listening.
PETER HAMMILL
Here We Are, There We Went....
At long last I'm back on Terra Firma after various eccentric
orbits around Planet Van der Graaf during 2005. It's time to
give some kind of report in summation of the whole
story.
Convening once again in Pyworthy to rehearse for the Royal
Festival Hall show was something of a daunting experience
for all of us. Where the "Present" sessions had only the
self-imposed pressure of hope and expectation bearing down
upon them this time we knew that we had to get up to speed
both individually and collectively in something of a hurry.
(After all, we could have quietly walked away from "Present"
if we'd felt it hadn't worked and nobody would have been any
the wiser apart from our immediate families.)
We'd all done such homework as we could, having agreed the
basket of songs from which we intended to choose a set. But
- and it's an important one - we hadn't actually played any
of the old VdGG material together until this point. It was
time to discover once again quite how complicated much of it
was. (Actually, in some cases it was time to establish for
the first time ever exactly how some things were meant to
work!) I have to say that HB was an absolute tower of
strength throughout this process. He not only seemed to know
exactly what he was doing but also what the rest of us
should be up to as well....
We had allowed ourselves a week. Enough time, we thought,
but not too much. The hope (amply fulfilled) was that a lot
of edge would still be involved at the conclusion of
rehearsals. Just as in the old days, we weren't interested
in producing perfect arrangements which we would then recite
note for note; rather, more organic modern versions from
which we could explore and diverge. It was an intense
process in which the brain turned to blancmange on an almost
hourly basis. Finally, we managed to go through the list of
possibles and even had a couple of complete run-throughs of
sets by the end to prepare us for the rigours to come.
By this stage we'd also sorted out exactly what equipment
we'd be using as well; this had involved several crucial
decision paths, especially, of course, for David. His horns
no longer had "bugs", so he had to rely on mics and a mixer
to gain access to the world of FX. As for myself, I'd
already settled on a retro combo of (an original) DX7 and
Boss Chorus for electric piano/clavinet sounds. On guitar I
opted for Meurglys III and my latest purchase, also (just
about) a Guild and definitely related to the black one. All
in all, modest confidence infused us as we left Devon at the
end of the week.
Speaking for myself that confidence grew slightly shakier a
few days later when we met up for full-scale production
rehearsals. Having a stage layout and meeting up with the
crew for the first time made it pretty clear that, er, this
was really going to happen and was going to be in real time
to boot. The scribbled notes and crib sheets weren't going
to be enough to save us if the minds froze mid-song as
they'd often done even at the end of the Pyworthy
rehearsals. Over three days we went through the "difficult"
tunes several times, established our out front and
monitoring sound needs, chose the set...and then launched
into two or three full, "whatever happens we keep going",
renditions. Scary but energizing to say the least.
And so to the RFH. There was such a sense of purpose - and
so much to be concerned about on an individual level - that
from my perspective at least we seemed to be a pretty
nerve-free crew as the day drew on. Just quiet
concentration, then very, very suddenly we were on stage. It
was, of course, an extraordinary experience. It was
immediately clear that the audience was quite nervous enough
for all of us, but also hugely expectant and fantastically
warm and welcoming. (Incidentally, by all accounts there
were 27 different nationalities represented in the
crowd.)
The show itself went by in a flash. Far from error-free, of
course, but without any really significant car crashes. For
us as well as for everyone else present it was an incredible
experience, a real focusing-in of time and space. Absolutely
priceless.
At this point, in response to numerous questions , I can
report that yes, we did record the concert, in full
multitrack mode. To HB fell the dubious honour and/or
pleasure of the hours and hours of listening, mixing and
sorting which were required to bang it into shape. He's done
a fantastic job and we expect that an official release will
be forthcoming early next year. It will be a proper document
of what was a unique event; presented, naturally, absolutely
in real time (Meanwhile, of course, any audio or visual
stuff of this or any other concert which you may find on
Ebay (for instance) will be bootleg. Speaking personally I
have no problem with people trading bits of "evidence" from
this strange trip we've been on with each other; but I do
object, as ever, to people profiting from it. Enough
said...?)
A month later we all had real nerves in Milan for the start
of the touring phase. The mere fact that we'd managed to
pull it off in London meant there was more, rather than
less, pressure for the second show. But things went pretty
swimmingly for this and, indeed, all the subsequent efforts.
Not without event, naturally; a fair bit of equipment
melt-down happened along the way and I dare say we all lost
a few brain cells as well. Pretty sprightly, though,
nonetheless.
Every show and every audience was different but all were
experiences to treasure. We managed to play all the tunes
we'd rehearsed at least once. (Apologies for a low score on
"La Rossa" and "Theme 1", but both seemed a tad thrashy to
us when compared with other, more dynamic pieces.)
Shepherd's Bush, of course happened the day after the London
bombings; if anything this made us all the more determined
to "play for our lives". The show in Leverkusen was filmed
for the "Rockpalast" TV show and this will be broadcast in
January 2006. Thereafter it may or may not eventually emerge
for sale in DVD form.....
My - and our - thanks to everyone who organised things,
everyone who attended. Most significantly of all, we were
indebted to a fantastically dedicated crew who were also
totally good-humored and, above all, fun. Very much in the
VdGG crew tradition, in other words. We would not have made
it through this without them.
And now we've come to the end of this particular chapter of
the band's history.
..And?
At present there are no plans for any further shows or
recordings for this incarnation of Van der Graaf Generator.
After the experiences of the last couple of years I'm
reluctant to utter the word "never" in the context of the
group but it does seem unlikely that this line-up will
attempt anything else in the immediate future. A fascinating
ride it's been but time's up. In due course I expect we'll
explain things further.
Of course we didn't manage to play in a numbers of cities
and countries which - in an ideal world - would have been on
our agenda and that's a matter for some regret. Remember,
though, that this was always a reunion rather than a
reformation. As evidenced by all I've written above we feel
that we have done good and honest work in the course of it -
that in itself is a cause for celebration.
Hopefully the legacy of the RFH CD (and the possibility of a
DVD) will bear testimony to what we managed to achieve in
any case....
VdGG The Book
Some of you will be aware that Phil Smart and Jim
Christopulos have been working away on a biography of VdGG
for a number of years. This has now finally been published.
Their research for this project has been diligent and
wide-ranging and they've come up with a fascinating
collection of interviewees and an even more fascinating
range of photographs and other pieces of documentary
evidence of all the lives and times of the band(s).
For myself, I decided not to do any in-depth interviews for
the book, though I did do a certain amount of confirming or
denying on specific subjects from time to time and am also
quoted from previously published interviews. This is not to
say that I was antipathetic to the work; rather that I have
my own impression of the VdGG story and, rightly or wrongly,
I'd like to i) keep that to myself and ii) not compare it
with anyone else's. Not that I'm saying my take on things is
the definitive objective truth, of course....which in VdGG's
case barely exists in any case.
Thus far I've only skimmed through the book, dipping in and
out of the text - and naturally having a few "no, it wasn't
like that" moments while doing so - and being amazed by the
wealth of pictorial material. I'm not quite ready for a
straight-through read!
I don't mean to put you off. It's an honest and thorough
piece of work and virtually everyone involved contributes a
say or so, along with quite a few "celebrity" enthusiasts
and commentators. It's an expensive purchase, but an
interesting one. You can get it by going to
www.vandergraafgenerator.co.uk on the web. (Sorry, we've no
terrestrial address.)
VdGG the DVD
On the other hand, an expensive and (to my mind)
unrewarding item is Classic Rock's "Inside VdGG" DVD. This
purports to be a "critical review" but is in reality a
sub-cable TV talking heads type show which will reveal
nothing new to anyone who knows anything about the group.
Mysteriously it comes to a grinding halt after "Godbluff";
doubtless this was in order to get it out in time to cash in
on the reunion. The interview DVD is coupled with - yet
again - the Belgian TV and "Godbluff" footage. They also put
on stuff from "Beat Club" and this was clearly the carrot
with which they hoped to lure the punters in. This move was
both cynical and a breach of their (retrospective from
release) agreement with us relating to the other video
material. To be avoided by all but the most avid
completists, I would say....
Judge
Finally - and admittedly some time after its
release - I should point you in the direction of Judge
Smith's latest CD, "The Full English", featuring a tight
little band including John Ellis, songs both new and old and
available from www.lol-records.com.