(TV) Steve Wynn Blog

[Graham Urquhart <gurquhart@madasafish.com>]

Interesting blog from Steve Wynn with a few worthy mentions:

"He wasn't all that interested in rock music but made exceptions for the 
Rolling Stones and Television, two of my favorite bands"

I'm particularly drawn into the third track which feels like an outtake 
from Television's "Adventure"

Cheers

Graham
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From Steve Wynn's MySpace blog-

    In Praise of Nels Cline

    If there was a university where I learned my degree in the musical 
knowledge and depth and sense of adventure that led me to the finishing 
school that was The Dream Syndicate it must have been the 18 months I 
worked behind the counter at Rhino Records in Los Angeles back in 1981 
and 1982. I already had a pretty strong knowledge of the history of rock 
and roll, garage rock, punk rock, new wave and other guitar-based music 
but the chance to hang out with people who had the same kind of 
encyclopediac knowledge of jazz, blues, reggae and other genres was the 
final breadth requirement that sent me out on the journey that I am 
still on to this very day.

    And most of my time at Rhino was spent side by side with Nels 
Cline, a jazz guitarist who was already leading his own combo and had 
recorded and toured with Anthony Braxton, something that really 
impressed me. My taste in jazz leaned towards the outside, the squeaky 
and squonky and Braxton was at the forefront of that movement. I felt 
that Nels was some older established veteran when he was most likely, in 
fact, no more than 25 at the time (I was 21). He wasn't all that 
interested in rock music but made exceptions for the Rolling Stones and 
Television, two of my favorite bands. I think I played a part in turning 
him on to other worthy rock music of the time (Gun Club and the Cramps 
come to mind) while he got me even more into Coltrane, Albert Ayler, 
Eric Dolphy and other jazz greats. We had a ball and were the kinder, 
gentler side of a store that was known for its wiseass, smart alecky 
approach to customer relations.

    I ended up buying some of Nels' records and seeing him play live 
around LA several times and I have remained both a fan to this day. And 
I couldn't be more proud and excited for him as he has become a rock 
super guitar hero as the driving force behind the recent tours and 
records with Wilco. I've got the band's latest "Sky Blue Sky" on the 
stereo right now and it's great. I'm digging the whole thing. But I'm 
particularly drawn into the third track which feels like an outtake from 
Television's "Adventure" and I can't help but grin as it all feels like 
something Nels might have put on the turntable back on Westwood 
Boulevard back in 1981. Go Nels go!

    Some other things that have been inspiring, bewildering and amusing 
me in recent weeks:

    Theme Time Radio Hour #49 (Death And Taxes)-Bob Dylan (satellite 
radio program)
    Season finale of "The Office" (TV)
    Invasion!-Poem Rocket (CD)
    Havana Central (NYC restaurant)
    The Parallax View (movie)
    Akful-Jaap Boots (CD)
    Ladies Man-Richard Price (book)
    Cruel Words-Johnny Dowd (CD)
    4th Season of "Entourage" (TV)

    Oh, I know there are a few other things as well but I just heard 
another guitar solo that made me want to go and practice my scales for a 
little while. Damn, Nels, did you have to go and raise the bar so high?
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