Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Showcase => Artists and Their Alembics => Topic started by: the_mule on April 08, 2005, 05:53:25 AM
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I've never seen pictures or video footage showing Tom Fowler with his Alembic until I purchased the Zappa DVD 'A Token Of His Extreme' last week. Various internet sources don't seem to agree about this being a legit or semi-bootleg title, but it's really entertaining.
Picture quality is typical VHS to DVD (= not very good but acceptable), sound is pretty good but in stereo. The DVD contains three different (parts of) shows by Zappa & The Mothers from the mid-seventies, with Tom Fowler grooving and mime-dancing (!) with what seems to be a standard point bodied walnut Series I. His bass is prominent in the mix and among the highlights are two performances of the 'One Size Fits All' classic 'Inca Roads'. Highly recommended!
P.S. Unfortunately I can't capture and show screenshots...
Wilfred
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Wilfred; thanks for this review! My initial search suggests that this is a PAL format DVD.
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The only picture I have seen is on the back of Jean-Luc Ponty's Aurora album (1976). You can see about the upper third of the bass. The scan is not the best but the orginal was never very good and has faded some over the years.
Keith
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/17655.jpg)
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YouTube.com has this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AC5cz1Kjj5A&search=frank%20zappa) perhaps from the same A Token Of His Extreme video (listed here (http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/videography/A_Token_Of_His_Extreme.html) as being from the 8/27/74 KCET-TV show. More notes here (http://globalia.net/donlope/fz/videography/Dub_Room_Special.html)) but it's Tom Fowler playing a Walnut SI on the '74 tour (George Duke, Chester Thompson), song is Florentine Pogen. Watch for Chester's go-rilla (Chester is menaced and groomed by a roadie in a gorilla suit wielding a comb and clock), and Ruth Underwood on Duck Call.
(http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/27212.jpg)
(http://alembic.com/club/messages/411/27213.jpg)
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Cool!! Loved it!! Thanks!
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That's also on The Dub Room Special by FZ, which is available on DVD currently in the US (I got my copy from Tower Records). and features materiel from this show as well as from a 1980s show with different personnel.
Mike
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Boy that brings back some memories. I always tried to catch Frank when he was in the Chicago area during this time period.
Keith
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Oh that's funny! I was just watching the Dub Room DVD and saw that bass...made me smile! (yes, that bass made me smile as much as the player). Frank was sooooo weird. Going to see Ahmet and Dewezil next month woo hoo!
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Tom Fowler seemed to get around a bit in the seventies. He appears on bass on the Steve Hackett solo album please dont touch and is pictured on the Lp's inner sleeve with his Alembic! His neat plectrum technique is well demonstated on the track racing in A...nice one Tom!!
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Didn't he have a Series bass on the SNL performance with Zappa? ...the one that has green slime flowing over the audience monitors.
I occasionally find myself on ebay shopping for a crown PZM mic to strap to my head.
cheers
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Fowler was gone from FZ's band by mid-1975. The bass players (yes, there were 2!) on the SNL gig were Patrick O'Hearn and Arthur Barrow. Arthur played a Ripper, which means he's ok in my book
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That was the tour that had GENTAL GIANT.Frank was definitely out played.Had a friend that did sound on that tour and Frank wouldn\t let them use his sound board.GIANT used a used and beat board that Chicago used for a few tours.What a talented and not so known because everyone thought they copied Yes\s sound.WRONG.
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Here's a cool pic of Tom Fowler with one of his two Alembics and Frank Zappa. As near as I can tell, Fowler had two Alembics... the zebrawood bass pictured at the top of this thread, and the plain brown (walnut?) bass used in the video clips.
(http://club.alembic.com/Images/411/208122.jpg)
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Cool pic. Thanks for sharing.
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Yeah - that's a great shot! I really love Tom Fowler's playing with Zappa - he backs up Zappa's solos so well. Montana, I Am The Slime - I was just listening to Dirty Love the other night on headphones - it's not my favorite Zappa song but the studio version solo - both guitar & bass - kills!
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A pic of Tom Fowler and his Alembic that is new to me.
(http://club.alembic.com/blob:http://club.alembic.com/c8e797df-8517-436d-8da1-f8eae440c461)
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Road Electronics equipment. That's a trip down memory lane. I had a pair of their two-way PA cabinets I used for small gigs or as side stage monitors for when I was using the big PA.
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Is that a 4x15 or even a 4x18 in the above pic? Wow!
Bill, tgo
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I think it's 2 2X18s.
Peter
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For the younger folk among us, back in ancient times instruments were not mic'd or DI'd through the mains. Your backline was all you had to get your sound out to the crowd. Hence, 4 18's, Acoustic rear loaded horns and the like were the rule. Not really the good old days for those of us without roadies!
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The days when my back was stronger than my brain. Two Acoustic 301's with two front loaded single 15's on top to be able to cut through the Marshal stacks.
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late 1970s - 4 Hard Trucker 1x15s (like the ones in the WoS, not the little ones), and 4 HT 2x12s. 2 of each on each side of the stage.
Very hard trucking. Oy, my back...
But man, did that sound good.
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"Not really the good old days for those of us without roadies!"
And for those of us who were roadies:
Early '80s, 1 18" folded horn; 1 SVT 8X10 converted to 3 interior spaces 2X2X10 & 1X1X15; rack with Furman Preamp, Ashley crossover (or maybe that was the other way around), & Yamaha 700w power amp (for 10s & 15); Acoustic head (don't recall the model) using just the power section for the 18.
I couldn't complain, as I helped plan it - and it sounded so good!
Peter (who suspects that rig may be as responsible as the S4s, piano, & B-3 for the likely impending 3rd back surgery......)