Cadence

[Vince Kargatis]

http://cadencebuilding.com/

Placeholder for any Cadence magazine discussion.

A short wish list for Cadence:
1) Index every issue - that would be useful in general, and really useful come poll time. Though it would be a bit more work, granted.
2) List authors at top of review, rather than the end. The end is a stupid place to note an author!! STUPID!! Especially when the review is multi-page.

I've already written in with those suggestions - feel free to follow suit if you happen to agree...hint hint.

[Vince Kargatis]

Originally posted by David Gitin
End of year index would be sufficient. And the 'record sale' is murder on the eyes...larger font anyone?

Actually, they provide both of those, available by special request. Your sub can include the index automatically, for $5 more.

End of the year's not good enough for me - first, it comes too late for the poll, and second, each issue is so 'randomized' it's hard to go back and find anything by picking it up.

[Gary Sisco]

You have to admire their obstinancy about the format.

Every time I think I'll let the sub go by because the mag is so hard to read, they publish an interview that kills me so I change my mind.

[Gary Sisco]

I subbed to begin with so as to get a break on their shipping charges, but with so many places on the web from which to buy music, that's no longer necessary, really. But in the end, I got hooked on the interviews and Vladmir's column.

[Captain Hate]

The initial appeal for me was that it reviewed so much material that most other publications (pre-Wire) wouldn't touch. Since I've been posting here I find that the time lag between releases and reviews at Cadence diminishes the value somewhat; although I still subscribe. In fact last night I sent an order off to Cadence that was based solely on recs here; that is a first.

[achilles]

with the exception of pieces written by colleagues here,
I found Cadence to be a complete bore and never understood why they have to print their whole damn catalogue in the middle of every issue. To me, it's no surprise that they have to get subscribers through shipping and handling blackmail. Would anyone ever buy it if it were on a newstand?

And the interviews? Last one I remembered being excited about reading was with Henry Threadgill, and if memory serves me, it was 12 years old by the time they ran it! Come on! The guy is still alive, get a new interview comissioned!

I no longer subscribe.

[Captain Hate]

Originally posted by achilles
with the exception of pieces written by colleagues here,
I found Cadence to be a complete bore and never understood why they have to print their whole damn catalogue in the middle of every issue.

This is just a guess, but I think Rusch wants his catalogue to be accessible to people that don't use pc's. Their online search engine for their catalogue isn't exactly state of the art; I've always used the center section for making an order.

[Gary Sisco]

Adam -- I hear you about the Threadgill interview (and commented at the time about the weirdness of publishing an ancient interview). The ones I love are the ones with the real bebop obscurities I'd otherwise not know about, and they also normally have some great stories to tell as well. I actually prefer the interviews with cats I'm unfamiliar with.

[Salvador Dali Lama]

I see Cadence on a newsstand and have always have a look at the new issue. After about 2 minutes I always say to myself "why does anyone like this shit?" and put it down. but I always flip through hoping for something to jump out at me. so far, nothing has.

[Gary Sisco]

Ain't any way with a format like that that anything's going to jump out at you, man. You have to read it.

[Salvador Dali Lama]

Yeah, I bet you're quite right. But to be totally honest with you, I can't swing 3 bucks on a gamble right now. Maybe next month's issue.

[Nate Dorward]

Yes, the really valuable interviews in Cadence are almost always the ones documenting little-known musicians, or odd corners of the music. Did you see the nice one with Soupy Sales in a recent issue? Or the multiparter with Earl Mays? Or the nice one with the tapdancer recently? -- The current issue has decent ones with Don Cherry & Lauren Newton, for instance. Much of the material in the Cherry is familiar, but he talks a lot about architecture & Rodia & so forth. & I hadn't read an interview with Newton before.

There are a couple of reviewers in its pages I methodically skip over (Rubolino & Bargebuhr) but the rest is always worth a taste, & it covers CDs that no-one else bothers with. One thing I like about reviewing for the magazine is Bob's determination to get the releases of even the obscurest label reviewed--this means one receives a certain amount of dreck from god knows where, but it means you get some amazing surprises in the mailbox, artists & labels you'd never hear of otherwise. I'd hope that readers enjoy being told about such finds, too.

[Captain Hate]

April 18!?!? Anybody see the back to back reviews of Professor Bivins in the August issue. The first one, by Jack McNally, pretty much panned Benthic, which is a reaction that I don't agree with; but free speech, yadda yadda... I don't think it was very specific in its criticisms and wasn't particularly well written; but I am biased. The second one was a much more glowing review by frequent poster Derek Taylor of Liturgy of Ghosts, which pretty much gave it the props that most JC'ers would agree with. In fact it was pretty lengthy and I thought very insightful.

Any other reactions?

[Jason Bivins]

Hate, thanks for the support yo. I was kind of surprised by Phil M's review actually. I don't know the guy at all, so didn't really have any basis for expectations; but Ian and I feel strongly about the record, it's received almost entirely very positive reviews, etc.

At any rate, if he don't like it he don't like it. But I was a bit disappointed with the way he expressed - or rather, failed to express - his take. He wrote that it all sounded the same, but then proceeded to note some of our music's stylistic variety or differences. Then he pretty much said we're not as good as the Art Ensemble of Chicago (which I'd agree with - duh). And that was it.

Sure I know it's my record, and that my response to the review should be taken with a grain of salt, but I'd have liked at least a wee bit more description than that.

Ah well . . .

Derek, man, if you read this thanks a lot for that very WELL written and detailed review (I'm glad you liked the UE record, of course, but we all really appreciate your attention and consideration too).

[walto]

"One thing I like about reviewing for the magazine is Bob's determination to get the releases of even the obscurest label reviewed..."

No review of "Sadhana" there, though Alan Lawrence assures me he sent them copies years ago.

Mr. Rosenstein did review "Screwdriver" in "Cadence"--he said, I believe, that it sounded like we just turned the mic on and played. True dat. Free stuff is often free. Mike also said it didn't gel. I bet Mr. Rusch liked that.

It was the only unfavorable review we got in any language.

[Derek Taylor]

Thanks for the kind words Cap’n- it’s an honor to count you as a reader.

Jason-- my pleasure, man. I tries to call em’ like I hears em’. Thank you for the music. Sorry a Twin Cities gig didn’t materialize, but I’m hoping the cream of the tour finds release soon.

Walt-- fwiw Bob’s personal beef with you seems pretty damn petty to me.

[Captain Hate]

Mutual admiration society, Derek; you've never misled me on a review. Same goes for Nate and that Blivins character (although in Montreal I let other JC'ers coax me into getting Bang's Vietnam). That's all I want from a reviewer: Let me spend my jack effectively!!

Walter, I don't care what Rusch's toadies say; anybody that recorded Hurricane Elroy has been in the zone of greatness. Plus you were a good reviewer also.

[Gary Sisco]

I'm conflicted. One more issue and my sub expires. I don't really want to spend thirty clams on a renewal (cutting back spending) but I'd miss being able to read Derek, Jason, and Nate's reviews. It's also getting harder to read as I, gulp, age.

[Nate Dorward]

Yeah that juxtaposition of the two reviews of discs with Jason on it is kinda nifty in a way! The pan, though, is silly: I say this without even having heard the disc, for all I know I'd not like it. But to say that it doesn't sound as strong as the Art Ensemble in their prime....this is a criticism??

By the way, an update to the review I did of John Stevens's [i]Application Interaction And...[i] in that issue. I corresponded a bit with Martin Davidson later on & he tells me the audio problems derive from the folks at Hi4Head's failing to understand how to handle old tapes: I gather that due to manufacturing problems in 1970s tapes they now need to be "baked" (gently heated) to be usable. The ugly results if you don't do this are clear on the recording from the weird electronic distortion that's present on the last track, for instance. I rather wish Nick Dart of Hi4Head would stop messing around with fragile old tapes until he figures out how to remaster them properly..... it's a darn shame as the music itself would be great if it were issued properly.

[Squaredancecalling Steve]

Originally posted by walto
It was the only unfavorable review we got in any language.[/FONT]

I'm working up a satirical pan in Unangan.

[Gary Sisco]

A few years ago a movie reviewer, reviewing a gangster flick, used the line "but it's not as good as 'The Godfather.'"

We've been cracking up over that ever since. Fuckin' right. I'm not going to see any movie that's not at least as good as "The Godfather."

[walto]

"I'm working up a satirical pan in Unangan."

Try to get the word "fartish" in there, will you? (Great word in Unangan, I'm told.)

[Nate Dorward]

A good new issue of Cadence with, among other things a long feature interview with Sal Mosca--worth a look. (There's also a short interview with Joe Morris but those aren't exactly in short supply--does the man ever stop talking?) -- I thought I'd also make a couple corrections to one piece of mine in there:

(1) the band name is "49 Degrees Nord" (49º Nord) not "49S Nord"--some computer translation problem lost the degree sign here.

(2) There's a little editorial fiddling with one sentence that reverses its meaning: the correct sentence is:

The excellent studio sound brings out every detail of the music - no small bonus, given that so many free-improv CD releases even nowadays are sonically below-par.

rather than what appears:

...no small bonus, given that so many free-improv CD releases nowadays are sonically below-par.

[mke]

Originally posted by Nate Dorward
(There's also a short interview with Joe Morris but those aren't exactly in short supply--does the man ever stop talking?)

Isn't the real question: "Do journalists ever stop calling him up for interviews and do editors ever stop publishing them?"

[stonemonkts]

Speaking of Cadence, is it their practice to include an old issue whenever they send you a shipment? My Jimmy Lyons box arrived today, together with a Cadence from Feb. 1986.

[Nate Dorward]

I think it's sometimes so the packet can be classified as "printed matter" for the purposes of foiling Customs. Not that it worked on my end, since Canada Customs is happy to tax books & magazines too.

[Gary Sisco]

It's probably a way to get rid of stacks of back issues, more likely.

My sub has expired and I'm still conflicted about renewing. I like reading the reviews and interviews and stuff, especially those by bbs friends, but it's getting harder to deal with their stubborn insistence on format style as my eyes age, and I rarely order from them, which was my original reason for subbing. Still thinking about it.

[Vince Kargatis]

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