2000 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRUCE HORNSBY FAQ 1.2 This is version 1.2 of the Bruce Hornsby Frequently Asked Questions file. It is intended as an introductory document for readers of the Hornsby mailing list or the newsgroup rec.music.artists.bruce-hornsby. It is available for FTP at gdead.berkeley.edu and will be occassionally posted to the newsgroup. TABLE OF CONTENTS: 1) Who is Bruce Hornsby? 2) What albums has he done? 3) Has he appeared on anyone else's albums? 4) Is it true he used to play with the Grateful Dead? 5) Did he have any formal musical training? 6) Is there sheet music available for his albums? 7) Are there other resources for learning to play his music? 8) Does he allow taping at his shows? 9) Are there live recordings of him available? 10) Who are the musicians who influenced him? 11) Who are the members of his band, past and present? 12) What kind of piano does he play? 13) What kind of synthesizers does he play? 14) How can I get in touch with his office and receive the newsletter? 15) Newsgroup and mailing list history. 16) Original newsgroup charter. 17) Acknowledgements, etc. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1) Who is Bruce Hornsby? Bruce Hornsby is an American popular and jazz pianist and songwriter. He has written and performed material with such diverse performers as the Grateful Dead, Leon Russell, Bob Dylan, Huey Lewis, Bonnie Raitt, Don Henley, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Bela Fleck, and Stevie Nicks. His career with his first band, The Range, contained such popular songs as "Mandolin Rain" and "The Way it Is"; he has since released a solo album with much success. He played piano on tour with the Grateful Dead for nearly 18 months from 1990-1992 and tours constantly with his own jazz/pop ensemble while writing and recording his own music. He was born on November 25, 1954 in Williamsburg, Virgina. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2) What albums has he done? He has released four albums. The first three were under the name Bruce Hornsby and the Range. They are, chronologically and with song lists: The Way It Is (1986; RCA AFK1-5904) On the Western Skyline Every Little Kiss Mandolin Rain The Long Race The Way It Is Down the Road Tonight The Wild Frontier The River Runs Low The Red Plains Scenes From the South Side (1988; RCA 6686-2-R) Look Out Any Window The Valley Road I Will Walk With You The Road Not Taken The Show Goes On The Old Playground Defenders of the Flag Jacob's Ladder Till the Dreaming's Done A Night on the Town (1990; RCA 2041-2-R) A Night on the Town Carry the Water Fire on the Cross Barren Ground Across the River Stranded on Easy Street Stander on the Mountain Lost Soul Another Day Special Night These Arms of Mine His last album was simply under the name Bruce Hornsby. It is: Harbor Lights (1993; RCA 07863 66114-2) Harbor Lights Talk of the Town Long Tall Cool One China Doll Fields of Gray Rainbow's Cadillac Passing Through The Tide Will Rise What a Time Pastures of Plenty --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 3) Has he appeared on anyone else's albums? Tons of them. Here, in no particular order, is a partial list of his guest appearances, including the artist's name, album name, which songs Bruce appeared on, and what he did. We don't have all his guest appearances cataloged yet, so if you know of any that were missed, send them along and they'll appear in the next version of the FAQ. The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band _Will the Circle Be Unbroken_ "The Valley Road," vocals, piano, writer Bela Fleck and the Flecktones _Three Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ "The Message," piano Bill Evans (the sax player, not the pianist) _Push_ "If Only In Your Dreams," piano "A Simple Life," piano, co-writer Bonnie Raitt _Luck of the Draw_ "I Can't Make You Love Me," piano Huey Lewis and the News _Fore_ "Jacob's Ladder," writer -Small World_ "Old Antone's," accordion Rob Wasserman _Trios_ "White Wheeled Limousine," vocals, piano, writer Leon Russell _Anything Can Happen_ all tracks: producer, various instruments, some writing Grateful Dead _Infrared Roses_ "Silver Apples of the Moon," piano Don Henley _The End of the Innocence_ "The End of the Innocence," piano, co-writer Jeff Lorber _Worth Waiting For_ "Yellowstone," piano various artists _Deadicated_ "Jack Straw," piano and vocals, with his whole band various artists _Two Rooms: Celebrating the Songs of Elton John and Bernie Taupin_ "Madman Across the Water," piano and vocals, with his whole band --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 4) Is it true he used to play with the Grateful Dead? Yes, and he still sits in with them occassionally. Hornsby was introduced to the Dead early on by his brother who had a Dead cover band called Bobby Hi-Test and the Octane Kids and by a concert he attended at William & Mary College (9/11/73) in Williamsburg. He learned many of their tunes playing in his brother's band, and when he became an overnight headliner with The Range in 1986, he began playing Dead covers to fill out his sets and provide another channel for improvision. Apparently Phil Lesh and Jerry Garcia heard about him, and invited his band to open for them with Ry Cooder in 1987. Year by year, he would be invited back to be an opener, and then he'd normally stick around to sit in for a few songs with them. After the sad death of Dead keyboardist Brent Mydland, Bruce was asked to assist them on piano while they broke in their new keyboardist, Vince Welnick. A few months turned into nearly two years, and Bruce made history playing with the Grateful Dead. Because the Dead have a long-established tapers section at all of their concerts, all of these memorable performances have been immortalize on tape. Deadheads, a very diverse group of people amongst themselves, had mixed reactions to his playing with the Dead. Many fans who had been with the band for 20+ years thought that his playing stuck out too much, that he didn't try to blend in as much as he should. Others would groan when he'd reach to the floor by his piano for his accordian, which he would play on many songs. However, the majority of concert-goers and tape collectors agree that his years with the Dead were some of their best ever. He helped bring new life into some old favorites such as Dark Star and Playin' in the Band, and he would often stay onstage during Space, a purely instrumental and improvisional piece of music the Dead would do towards the middle of every second set they played. Jerry Garcia considers Hornsby a "floating member" of the band, and Bruce shows up 3-6 times a year with them on accordian. Garcia has also played on Bruce's last two albums. Many experienced tape collectors consider the 1991 Dead recordings with Hornsby to be the best tapes of the band since the early seventies. These tapes are readily available through tapers on the Internet. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5) Did he have any formal musical training? He went to the Berklee College of Music in Boston for two semesters, following which he finished his degree in Studio Music and Jazz at the University of Miami. Vince Maggio, his piano teacher at Miami, said, "When he first got here he was just some kid wearing overalls and no shoes, playing nothing but country music." By the time he graduated, however, he had grown into a serious jazz player. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Is t 2000 here sheet music available for his albums? Yes. The music for his first three albums was published by Cherry Lane Music Company, and the last one was published by Warner Bros. I think some of the earlier ones are out of print, but last I heard there was an anthology in the works, containing his first three albums plus "The End of the Innocence." The books aren't 100% accurate, but they're MUCH better than most published sheet music out there; they actually write out most of the solos instead of using the old cop-out saying "3rd verse: instrumental solo." --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 7) Are there other resources for learning to play his music? There was a two-part article called "Bruce Hornsby: A Private Lesson" published in the June 1993 and November 1993 issues of _Keyboard_ magazine. This contains many examples of Bruce's playing, as well as his own explanations of his approach to chord voicing, songwriting, improvising, and accompanying. I highly recommend it to anyone interested in learning how Bruce plays the way he does. Not quite as in depth but still useful are: an interview and transcription of his solo piano piece "Song A" in the November/December 1993 issue of _Piano & Keyboard_ magazine (not the same magazine as _Keyboard_); an interview and transcription of the piano solo from "Special Night" (more accurate than the one in the published sheet music) in the September 1990 _Keyboard_; and an interview in the July 1987 _Keyboard_. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 8) Does he allow taping at his shows? Yes, Bruce is very open to people taping his concerts. This probably stems from his years with the Dead and an early bootleg of Joe Cocker which is rumored to have influenced him. The problem is that many times the venue management and security may not know that taping is permissible; often times the management is left with the option whether or not to allow it at their concert hall. A trial run of shows in 1993 issued special taper tickets available through the box office of the venue; however, a permanent taper section never materialized. It is recommended that if you'd like to tape an upcoming show you should contact the venue management and explain your situation with them. Many times you will be accomodated, but if they don't want to hassle with it then you're out of luck. It is common knowledge that people who are taping unobtrusively (stealth) are usually not bothered by security unless they are being obnoxious with their equipment. I have never heard of a person getting busted for binaural taping. If you use a microphone stand, you should be behind the soundboard in the designated tapers area. It is common courtesy not to bother the sound engineers before the performance or during intermission unless you know somebody working there and you have priorly attained permission. If Bruce is the opening act for another artist, taping is not allowed and you are at the mercy of the headlining artist's security if you get caught. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 9) Are there live recordings of him available? Yes. For starters, there's a Japanese import CD (legitimate release, not a bootleg) called _Bruce Hornsby and the Range Live: The Way It Is Tour 1986-87_. Bruce has had several concerts recorded for radio shows like Westwood One and King Biscuit Flower Hour, which are available on CD and vinyl through places like _Goldmine_ and _Discoveries_ magazines. There is one bootleg disc that I've seen, called _Piano_, but it's just one of the Westwood One shows that are available through other, legitimate sources. The best way to get live recordings is by trading with tapers and tape collectors. This is facilitated on the Internet by tape trees, vines, and personal email. The newsgroup is a friendly environment for beginning tape collectors, and grovels for tapes are a common occurence. A few standardized suggestions for tape trading on the net are: * Use high-bias cassettes, Maxell XL-II and TDK SA series tapes are overwhelmingly the most common. * If you are a beginner, you might want to consider sending someone blanks until you build up your collection. If you send blanks, be sure to include return postage and a note with your address & what tapes you'd like made. * If you are trading, make sure that you specify your Dolby noise reduction preferences and note those of your partner. * For high-bias cassettes, never set recording level peaks above +5dB. Most seasoned traders prefer only occassional peaks around +3dB because sustained peaks at this level cause audible distortion. * If you have a dual-cassette deck, never use the high-speed dubbing function unless your machines are professionally syncronized. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 10) Who are the musicians who influenced him? I'll divide this into two categories: songwriting and piano. His songwriting was influenced by bands he heard growing up, like Steely Dan (to hear the influence, check out "Long Tall Cool One"), Bob Dylan ("The Way It Is"), The Band, Marvin Gaye ("Carry the Water"), The Dead ("Pastures of Plenty"), Leon Russell ("Another Day"), James Taylor, and Elton John. Also, many of his harmonics are inspired by jazz composers like Keith Jarrett and McCoy Tyner, and, especially in his more dissonant moments, by the classical compositions of Charles Ives. His piano style. The pianists I've heard him cite as influences include Leon Russell, McCoy Tyner, Keith Jarrett, Bill Evans, Elton John, Chick Corea, Doctor John, Professor Longhair, Otis Span, Bud Powell, Red Garland, Fats Waller, and Jelly Roll Morton (if you've never heard of any of these people except Elton John and Leon Russell, turn off the computer and go check out the jazz and blues sections of your local record store). As a pianist, I personally hear more of Leon Russell, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, and Keith Jarrett than anyone else (keep in mind he named his sons Keith and Leon, so you know they're safe bets). This is a gross oversimplification; but in general, his rock-gospel stuff comes from Leon, his soul-gospel stuff comes from Keith, his pretty, lyrical stuff comes from Bill, and his outside, quartal stuff comes from McCoy (if you don't know what I mean by "outside, quartal stuff," listen to the end of "China Doll" and the insane jamming sections of "Pastures of Plenty"). --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) Who are the members of his band, past and present? This is tricky. His band personnel has always fluctuated, and the people who played on the albums weren't always the same people in the touring bands, and the people who were supposedly on the albums weren't always really there to begin with (his first two albums, despite what the liner notes say, were mostly just Bruce playing synthesizers and drum machines, with the "band" only doing occasional fill-in parts). Here's a quick rundown of his band members, for albums and tours, including what they did and when: Joe Puerta - bass; TWII through ANOTT. George Marinelli - guitar; TWII through ANOTT. John Molo - drums; forever, from their music school days to the present. David Mansfield - mandolin, violin, guitar; TWII and ANOTT. Peter Harris - guitar; TWII through SFTSS. John "J.T." Thomas - additional keyboards; ANOTT to present. Laura Creamer - backup vocals; ANOTT. Shaun Murphy - backup vocals; ANOTT. Jimmy Haslip - bass; HL. Debbi Henry - backup vocals; HL to present. John D'Earth - trumpet; HL to present. Bobby Reid - sax; HL to present. J.V. Collier - bass; current/recent tour with Bonnie Raitt. His albums have also featured many guest musicians. They include: Huey Lewis - backup vocals and harmonica; TWII and SFTTS. Jeff Gerson - pe e01 rcussion; SFTSS. Bela Fleck - banjo; ANOTT. Wayne Shorter - sax; ANOTT. Shawn Colvin - backup vocals; ANOTT. Jerry Garcia - guitar; ANOTT and HL. Jimmy Wood - harmonica; ANOTT. Charlie Haden - acoustic bass; ANOTT. Pat Metheny - guitar; HL. Jeff Bigham - guitar; HL. Jeff Lorber - drum programming; HL. Branford Marsalis - sax; HL. Will Ross - guitar; HL. Phil Collins - bongos and backup vocals; HL. Bonnie Raitt - backup vocals; HL. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 12) What kind of piano does he play? For his first two albums Bruce played a Yamaha grand. Since the third album, he's been playing a Baldwin. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 13) What kind of synthesizers does he play? His main ax is a Korg M1. That's what's sitting on top of his piano on his concerts, and it's all he plays in concert besides the piano (the piano, incidentally, is MIDIed to the M1). I've seen JT play various combinations of the Korg M1, Korg Wavestation, Hammond XB-2 organ, Korg CX-3 organ, and if memory serves, some sort of Kawai synth. In the studio Bruce has used all those, plus a Minimoog for bass sounds. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 14) How can I get in touch with his office and receive the newsletter? You can write for a subscription to the newsletter and send your personal comments to: Bruce Hornsby PO Box 3545 Williamsburg, VA 23187 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15) Newsgroup and mailing list history. In the beginning, conversation was situated on Usenet in rec.music.bluenote and rec.music.gdead. As interest in Bruce's music grew, Steve Harris began a mailing list sometime in 1993. A few tape trees and discussions later, Kenneth Drew took over the adminstration of the list, pending the passage of an initiative to create a newsgroup for Hornsby similar to other single-artist recreational Usenet groups. Campaigning began in the summer of 1994, and by November of that year rec.music.artists.bruce-hornsby was established by a margin of 279 YES to 90 NO votes. This effort was spearheaded by nethead Michael Witt, who was the central proponent of the newsgroup. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 16) Original newgroup charter. The newsgroup will be open to discussions on all topics related to Bruce Hornsby and his music. This includes, but is not limited to: * Tour information and discussion * Musicians he is playing and recording with, and other artists with which he has been involved * Album releases * Audience recording and tape tree distributions (Hornsby allows audience taping and the trading of live recordings for recreational use) * Concert reviews * Any other conversation related to Bruce Hornsby or his music Political comments and commercial advertising will be discouraged. There is no moderator. Changes to the charter can be made by a majority opinion of active r.m.a.bruce-hornsby participants. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 17) Acknowledgements, etc. If you have any information that you would like to contribute to the FAQ, please email Josh Paxton (JQPMU@jazz.ucc.uno.edu) or Michael Witt (mwitt@opie.bgsu.edu) with your suggestions. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- . 0