IDLE DREAMS AND IMPROVISATION

Last night I dreamt I was giving a speech and realised I had forgotten my notes. Unperturbed, I decided to make something up … improvise! 

Improvisation was something all the pop groups did in the 60s, we were being progressive and had so much to say that we just couldn’t stop improvising! I can vividly remember improvising on guitar in the Grobs when after half an hour or so, Paul Skinner decided to turn my amp off. I reckoned at the time it was some kind of shock art statement by him, (what else could it have been?) a bit like Yoko Ono having her clothes cut off, that sort of thing. However, being the wacky, crazy guitarist I was, I turned my amp back on! At which point, Paul turned it off again! Were we living the dream or what? We loved improvising!  I read somewhere that a good indication that jazz is being played is when the musicians are enjoying it more than the audience. Those jazz hepcats can't get enough of it!

Even Toads can Improv

Of course at that time, Toad, by the Cream was terribly popular. It gave drummers the chance to show off and took up at least half the second half of the set. Brilliant! Pete Thomas seemed to enjoy playing it although I remember that during a performance at the school dance, he had to recruit a young boy, I think nowadays you might refer to them as a child, to crawl under his drum kit and hold on to the bass drum with both hands. Pete's rhythmic thumping meant the drum kit kept sliding forward and backwards. I thought at first as I watched Pete chug around that this was all part of the act, good old Pete, he’s come up with the idea of actually ‘driving’ his drums on stage. A drum driver! Fab!  Wooah! 

This is what the fuss is all about

Anyway, what was I saying, ah yes, why am I here? (serious health warning bit) I’m here because I’m promoting my new song, ‘This is What the Fuss is All About.’  by Goo-Q.  Weirdly enough Goo-Q was also a name that came to me in a dream in 1980 and which I used to promote my song, I'm a Computer, which although of the non-hit variety, was played on Radio 1.  Please listen out for my new track and follow me, as at the moment I think I have about 4 fans!  3 or 4, maybe 3, I can’t remember.

To finish up, I once saw the Ukulele Orchestra on TV who addressed the audience, all aspiring ukulele players, (clutching their instruments) to improvise. The audience were told, ‘and if you don’t know how to improvise, just make something up,’ Very funny I thought, a bit like this blog. 

PS Sorry about all the exclamation marks!! It seems we can't have enough of them!!!!