Everything is running a bit late this year, so my recap of the NHIC gig is also late. Short of it: it was a very cool night of music.
nhic:atlas (Bob Gorry pronounces “NHIC” as “NICK”… go figure) was a blast to play with, and was in the odd position of having a CD release show with 50% new lineup and 80% new material. But hey, this isn’t a commercial thing, so no worries. We had Mike Paolucci (Sandy knows him as “octopus boy” due to his fluid style behind the kit) on drums and he was a swingin’ rock of funky rhythm. Gabriel Kastelle is always a joy to play with as well. I love an in-tune violin or viola, and he has great pitch. The Gorry-Asetta-Matlock front end from the original Atlas lineup was intact, and sounded great. The swingin’ new rhythm section, and new blood in the violin-family chair brough a totally different feel to the group. Where the original nhic:atlas was leaning toward a formal chamber-jass feel, the new lineup was more funky and leaning more toward a propulsive feel. On my end, I was playing my Tacoma acoustic bass guitar in place of the original upright bass, and it filled that role like a champ. No feedback issues, and the deep, resonant sound fit the arrangements like a glove.
NHIC Electric was the new kid in town, bringing a familiar two-guitar NHIC setup to the stage, but we had Peter Riccio on drums. One thig is for sure, among his many talents, he has a very deep knowledge of jazz, and especially free jazz and hard bop. I know, because most of the stuff I heard as a kid, I heard out of the record collection at his house. That one factor gave the group a feel that I haven’t heard in the past. Not that Peter doesn’t know world music, or prog, or polyrhythmic complexity, but he brought some strong jazz drumming to the party. My rig was fretless Zon Sonus 5, Line6 M5, and Radial Tonebone handling the switching and fx loop for the M5. I also ran loops off my iPhone to handle some synthy noises. It has been a while since I have run effects at a show… and it was a weird feeling, but it was a reminder that I *can* do it if I want to deal with it. The simplicity of playing bass-cable-amp (and often not running an amp) can be seductive. I did enjoy blasting some delay and some phaser action in small doses. I can’t wait to hear some rough mixes of this band. Should be a hoot.
Thanks to NHIC, firehouse12, and the folks who came out to support the gig. It was very cool. I hope to be sharing soem audio and video in the coming months.
nhic:atlas is bob gorry, guitar; steve asetta, saxes; adam matlock, clarinet, accordion; gabriel kastelle, viola, erhu; michael paolucci, drum kit; pete brunelli, acoustic bass guitar
NHIC Electric is: bob gorry, guitar; jeff cedrone, guitar; paul mcguire, soprano sax; peter riccio, drum kit; pete brunelli, fretless electric bass
petebrunelli 