Sorry my english, this is not my lenguage
and I know are there mistake in the writing, but you understand
anyway...
March
2009
To be or not to be: that is
Wikipedia.
Recently I have collaborated with the completion of my biography
for Wikipedia.
It has been an strong experience of trying to remember year after
year of my life and the events that marked part of my musical career
in the latter years. I realize that the years happen fastly!
To do a balance of the personal history in so little space is unjust.
There are in the life of all people situations, emotions and significant
facts that it must be overlooked in order to summarize briefly everything
in a paper. Nevertheless, and in spite of this, only I can say if
that I am proud of what I have had to live. I feel that I have been
lucky for the things that have happened, many of this product of
the effort, fortuity and other things product only of the circumstances
of the moment. If I had to live again, I would make it exactly the
same, even living through those things of which today I am remorseful.
I do not have the right to claim the perfection, and the mistake
is a part of the wise nature of this life.
Nevertheless there is something that I must say about Wikipedia:
when I read the biographies of other persons including mine, there
is a sensation that in this world you are just what it says there.
This leaves out a big number of persons who are not there, whose
"relevant" actions are not of interest for the rest.
But I believe that we "are not" only a relevant action
in Wikipedia, but also we "are" a Sunday at 3 p.m., a
rainig day, a decision in the life, we are a dignity, are the things
that are constructed silently and that nobody sees, we are affections,
the forgiveness, the love to other persons. We are more than “this
or that” important actions. People are more than this. We
all must write our biography in Wikipedia, because we all have some
thing interesting for other one.
If I could read in the biography of some person that one day he
decided to leave his work because he was not supporting his boss,
or that he dedicate his life to educating his children of such a
way, or that he decided to leave a wealths future for his own personal
philosophy, I would think " Wow, this person has made some
thing important ".
We all must write our biography in Wikipedia.
I have information but I haven’t time for write
it!
I write this lines faster just to tell you that we will playing
with our power trio Bao/Cides/Blavia in Barcelona, profiting we
are here recording some new stuff. A good opportunity to meet with
old friends and show them some of our new songs!
Please, check the “Conciertos” section to check the
place addresses.
best
GC
-------
Agost 2008
CCA Project released
We are receiving many orders of our new album CCA Project! Is great
to see that musicians don’t really need a label for to promote
and distribute our music.
Thanks.
A good friend sent me recently an article I wrotte for the argentinean
magazine “El Biombo in 1996 (!).
The article is about the “success”. Is curious for me
to read again that, a kind of window to my thinking in that time.
After many years of music, concerts, interviews, big or small stages,
travels, I still have the same sensation about the success I had
in 1996.
If I would have to live again, I would live in the same way. If
I should have to write an article about the success today, I would
write the same article.
>article< The article is in spanish. A possible trabslation
is below:
Magazine El Biombo, Argentina. 1996.
About the success.
by Guillermo Cides
When I have to answer if I have or not success, I go to the kitchen
to drink Mate (popular infusion in southamerica).
It is not because the answer is “not”, but because the
answer is not “yes”. And I say that ‘cause I am
convinced that success doesn’t exist for itself.
In an affluent society like we are, we often call “success”
to things that become “massive”, to the reproduction
1:1000. The success of others.
For any company - inclusive the goverment- is more easy to show
the success of one people than one millon. When Kurt Cobain kill
himself, he also kill the rule. To him, his frustration was clear,
so much than even his great music and popularity can’t save
him. Apparently the numbers of people that believe in us is never
enough for that.
But we assume for a moment that it is. So, what is the number of
“success-popularity”? 100 people buying a Cd? 200, 3000,
40000? The time seem to be changing with numbers togheter.
I met musicians they felt succesful and happy for to call 200 people
to their concert, in the same age where the Rolling Stones cancel
a tour in Southafrica due the low assitance of people in relation
with their costs. I also met story like Mahatma Gandhi than ever
with the frustration of his physical live (they kill him) he get
the success of his spiritual life. I met the story of Robbert Fripp
than in the center of sceptic critics he create his art-discipline
called Guitar craft. I met the story of people that they drop put
Buenos Aires and create their own small city called Aguas Claras,
based in energy come from sun and earth. I met the story of Albert
Einstein and his excellent studies wich derived in the construction
of the first atomic bomb.
And Lennon, and Jesus and so.
In some people the frustration is synonym of success and vice-versa,
the forgetfulness of memory, the popularity of loneliness.
In a deep room if the human soul must be a place where the success
- with all its goodness - let live happy to who have this, even
when other people don’t realized about that. This are the
few moment of success that finally give me the chance to keep me
in the way I am doing: music.
When I back from the kitchen with the Mate ready, I answer
to my occasional inquisitor: “...If I am succeful? Of course!”
G. C.
----
Agosto 2008
Hi all,
May be you listen about the tragic airplane crash that happened
last days in Madrid, Spain.
A terrible accident where 150 people died unfortunelly.
I am fine and my family too, but it is still a big tragedy for many
families in Spain.
Best,
Guillermo
--------
June 2008
After the tour with Jerry Marotta, my next musical
adventure is with two amazing players: Pepe Bao (bass) and Roger
Blavia (drum). There serious chance for to record an album of this
trio.
We will play in festivals next week (see our Concert seccion) specially
in the famous Guitar Festival of Cordoba, a classical festival in
the country of the guitar!
I have to say sincerily, that is a honor for me to play with this
guy that are really interested in music and worries for his instruments.
Mostly, audience believe that it is attributes for all musicians,
but here in my personal diary I have to say the secret: the enthusiasm
for the music live in just a few musicians. When it start a musical
carrer, most of this enthusiasm is overdone, but it seem to be that
after the years, musicians consider that be proffesional imply to
lost the enthusiasm, worry and hard work in the music they play.
Curious, because the great historic players in the history they
were “abducted” literally for the music. You don’t
need I say who are this musicians, we all know that.
The others ones, they will live in the forgetfulness. But yes: in
a nice and expensive pantheon payed with all of this year of poor
music.
How somebody said: I can’t say two of three...
G
______
2 february 2008
Recently the Argentinian journalist, Sebastian Benedetti, was interested
in my history and work. After many e-mails, there is a resulting
interview that was released ......in 14 newspapers! The interview
is featured in the magazine, 'Rumbos,' that is included every Sunday
in the most popular newspaper in Argentina.
it is available here:
I feel a painter more than a musician.
A creator more than a composer.
An adventurer more than a professional.
I am garrulous more than I am cautious.
I’m a 'start again' more than a 'finally.'
I’m in the ashes more than in the glory.
I am poor after being rich.
Guilty before innocent.
Polemic before a strategist.
I’m a ridiculous man of words, before that a modernist.
That said, I am a painter, not a musician. I paint what I want when
I want, think every note keeping in mind the color of the next.
I build the image in my mind, seeing for hours the linen where the
note will be, I return days afterward to change an E instead to
a C, and I’m happy to see when the paint is balanced. I paint
histories with sounds, histories that speak because sounds are full
of many elements that document the time.
A painting of sounds and of silence that looks over the future where
it exists forever, longer than we do.
GC
-----------------
Febrero 2008
Yes, i know!
There is age I dont write in this place!
This year is so intense like last year was. In general, the “big
news” about my activities are the next:
- Finished the Electrik Consort album:
that is ready for to be released in next months. We will also play
some concerts in Spain with this unusual band.
-Finished the CCA album with Linda Cushma
and Tim Alexader: that will be released in next months.
-Almost finished mi own alnum!: Yes,
i am recording a new solo album. It is some...different material
in relation with my other solo albums. Surprise.
-We go on playing with trio Bao/Cides/Blavia:
may be the “higer point” is our participation in the
next edition of the Cordoba Guitar Festival, a reknowd festival
in Spain in relation with guitar. We don’t really play guitar,
but we have 14 strings on the stage with our Stick and bass!
-Tour Marotta/Cides 2008: again with
genial drummer Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney and
many others) we will be playing in Spain, Suiza and France. Check
the “Conciertos” section. Jerry is amazing!
-Festival Progsud, Francia: I was inviting
again to the french festival Progsud. Is a honour to me be a guest
again to this edition -i was playing there in 2007. It meant that
audience and organizators like the show I played last year! I will
try to do my best this year. >cartel<
-Theater performance La Infanticida:
I am working with the actrice Alicia Gonzalez. I will play live
the music of his performance. It is a kind of “film music
in real time” Fun, and a great new experience. >cartel<
Well, that and other are the things that keep me bussy this time.
I just would like to wish to ocassional reader to this “blog”,
to be happy. Life never forgive us if we don’t try it.
Tour with Jerry Marotta
in Spain
August 2007
by Guillermo Cides
After 25 concerts in Spain and some in Switzerland, France and Italy,
we have finished our tour.
It is not simple to describe a tour of 6 weeks in a couple of lines,
and finally when I look back, there is an impressive musical energy.
I believe that the natural state of musicians is playing every day.
Evidently this is not easy to do, and the organization of a tour
of this dimension required the effort of many people. But when finally
it happens and you play every day in a different place and the nervousness
from the beginning is transformed to calm and into good playing,
you can do nothing less than enjoy what you are doing.
Jerry Marotta is simply incredible. He is not the type of “demonstrative”
drummer as is expected by other drummers, on the contrary, Marotta
convinces by his incredible capacity of time keeping - almost perfect-
and also when he plays in concert “it seems that he is recording
a Cd," as commented our Pepe Bao. The prudence, the perfect
timing, the good taste in the choice of rhythms, his creativity
and finally his quality interpretation, finds in him a heart that
roars healthy and with force in a band.
Pepe Bao is a musician whom the people of each city in Spain love
and know. Pepe is our “Spanish famous musician” but
much more than that, is an excellent musician and a person of great
charisma and feelings. Pepe Bao gave a force to the band and captivated
all that were there to hear it.
Some shows in Spain also were with the Marotta/Cides duo, a pair
that transformed itself into a “power duo,” obtaining
some really interesting results. The audience requested Cds from
us which makes us raise the possibilty of a future recording of
this music.
The Marotta/Cides/Bao trio appeared in different cities, among them
Madrid and Barcelona in the Bikini Theater, with excellent response
from the public. The communication between the three was excellent
from the beginning. An incredible element was that Bao does not
speak English, and Jerry does not speak Spanish, but when heads
meet with this level of musicianship there is found no lack for
not being able to engage in dialog: music simply appears in the
moment.
Personally I will continue playing concerts with Pepe Bao - there
are already concerts scheduled for the following months. It is truly
an honor to be able to have made this long Spanish tour a reality.
It is always an honor to be a part of these types of tours which
now include those of Trey Gunn, California Guitar Trio, Oxygene
Eight with Linda Cushma and now with the ex-Peter Gabriel drummer
Jerry Marotta on his visit to Spain.
For the concerts of Switzerland, Italy and France we were joined
by the Israeli Stickista/singer Irene Orleansky. Spontaneous, sweet
and energetic, she gave a different point of view, with a calm musicality
that was complemented with our “masculine musical speed.”
Songs of old Israeli tradition, with tribal songs and songs from
her own repertoire allowed us to form a spontaneous trio with a
great musical diversity that the public enjoyed in the concerts
in which she participated.
In summary, 25 concerts, 4 countries, different languages and audiences
and one long list of anecdotes and experiences that will be not
only in our curriculum, but in our memories and hearts.
I just back from France, where I have been going to play to the
Prog Sud festival. Excellent! There is a very good organization,
quality of bands and musicians from different countries playing
4 days of music, in a very professional and totally full place of
people every day!
The audience was very kind with me, and they made me feel very comfortable
during my performance, asking extra songs at the end of my concert.
Considering which I am a stranger for many people, it was a pleasure
to me to feel re-discovered by an audience plenty of desires to
listen to original music from different parts from the planet.
My good friend Linda Cushma was there with her band Oxygene Eight
and delighted to people with her personality and musicality.
Here some photos of the event. I hope to back sometimes to France
to this Festival.
I am now preparing myself for two months of tour with Jerry Marotta…
brrrr, what a nerves. We will play in Spain and also Swiss, Italy
and a festival in France.
More news soon!
GC
click to enlarge
--------------
April 2007
Playing with Jerry Marotta
I'm proud to announce that Jerry Marotta has invited me to tour
and record in his future projects. All of us Stickistas know that
Marotta is playing in a duo with talented musician Tom Griesgraber
and also with Stickista Tony Levin and his band.
For that reason, it is a triple honor for me to try a new adventure
with this great rummer. It is just an attempt to play new music
with the risk that this includes - a beautiful risk, I have to say.
The first step of this work starts in Spain in June 2007, with concerts
with the flamenco spanish bassist Pepe Bao like our guest, a well
known musician in this country. We will also play for a national
broadcast on TV2, the emission will be transmitted in all of Spain
and to other countries.
After June, we meet with Stickista Irene Orleansky from Israel for
to play in several european countries in the fall. After that...
destiny will say.
I provide this letter to also announce the soon to be released CCA
Project with drummer Tim Alexander (Primus band) and Linda Cushma
(Oxygene Eight). We three are joined together to record a special
album, with some songs played with Tony Levin, Trey Gunn, Steve
Parrish and others from different countries (Mexico, Argentina,
Spain) -- recording through internet. It seems to be a first album
of a series.
Destiny will also say.
best,
Guillermo
----------
10th September 2006
About the Art of the teaching by Guillermo Cides There are many people who have styles and techniques of playing
music.
Certain it is that there are ways that work better than others.
But it is impossible - really impossible - to pretend that any special
technique is the definitive one.
That would mean to finish the search, to make an arrival and therefore
end the desire and the necessity to create.
To try to be the connoisseur of a definitive technique is like trying
to be the owner of the fire -- just because at some time one saw
a fire that burned in front of his eyes, he thinks the fire belongs
to him.
The fire does not belong to us, just its search.
The instruction must be done in ignorant concepts, and not of definitive
wisdom.
One who says that one knows, does not really know.
The instruction has humility in common.
To teach somebody to play music is a delicate process, and it cannot
be done from the concept “I know and you don´t”
-- but from the concept, “I know this just before you know
it."
The knowledge is a time matter.
One who believes to be the owner of the fire, ignores that time
will extinguish it.
GC
---------------------
31 Juy
Hi friends
For a long time, I dont actualize my diary, but the truth is that
I have not much time for do that between the rehearsal, concerts,
recordings, to write in the spanish magazines Guitarra Actual, Bajista
y some time in Revista de Jazz, enswer emails, to coordinate the
shipping of new instruments to Spain, the last Stick Camp meeting
in Mallorca island, the presentation of the Electrik Consort trio
in Vendrell city and my beer while I give water to my plaints...
I have to say I still have the nice sensation of to had been living
a great time during the week of the Stick Camp meeting and the tour
Stick of 6 concerts we did with the Stickplayers. A great week with
friends and players. Much work and much music, we play all the days
every hours. We really did another step in the world of the Stick
seminars. More info here.
After I come back to Barcelona, we "lockup" in our rehearsal
room and start to work with Electrik Consort trio. three days after
we play in Vendrell city. was a important gig for all of us, was
there a lot of people waiting for us, and the stage, sound and light
was ready early in the day. We fun a lot playing there and we are
happy with what is happening with this trio.
Anyway, we have more important concert that put us in the obligation
of to work hardly. one of that is a festival with Trilok Gurtu in
the south of Spain.
The next concert is the presentation of Electrik Consort
in Barcelona, en the Jamboree theater.
Check the dates here.
For other side, we are finisging the mastering of
our album CCA Project with Linda Cushma and Tim Alexander. This
is a really interesting material, and will be there guest of luxe!
The first Stick Center Compilation of Stickistas is ready!!
I feel honored to present these 22 artists from Spain, Argentina,
Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Uruguay. It is a summary of musicians
that have something to say about the Stick.
Also I present a special song that Emmett Chapman and I recorded
together.
Personally, it is a historical moment for me, composing and recording
this song with the inventor of the Stick.
Many years have passed since the Stick came to be in my hands for
the first time, along with the passing of thousands of concerts,
many tours, songs, melodies and connections to people with this
instrument.
I have been to several parts of the world in bringing my music of
the Stick. So, you can imagine what it represents for me to record
this song with Emmett.
I am grateful to him for his confidence and enthusiasm in making
this collaboration together. Emmett has only one Cd recorded, and
several videos, but he has a musicality that is very special and
ingenious. So much so as the instrument that he invented.
GC
"We don't know more. We just know before".
---------------------------
28 February 2006
The first songs finished of our project Cushma - Cides - Alexander
are arrived! I can't wait for to present this new songs, are there
very special moments!
More news and mp3 soon...
GC
-----
22 February 2006
Today, after some weeks to fight agains this disease, my "fat
cat" has gone away for ever.
I will miss you, friend...
Me siento honrado en comunicar que he aceptado ser endorser de la
marca de plugins Wave Arts. Actualmente
trabajo en la masterizacion del disco Cushma-Cides-Alexander
y realmente estoy utilizando esto plugins en muchos de las canciones,
especialmente el nuevo paquete Wave Arts Power
Suit 5 que incluye una poderosa reverb y un muy interesante
Panoramic, un sistema de ubicacion del sonido 3D que ayuda mucho
a pensar el audio de una manera "espacial" (adelante-atras)
en vez del habitual "stereo" (izquierda-derecha).
Hey, mucha suerte en el 2006 para todos!
GC
-----
27th October2005
Electrik Consort Tour
Wow! Yesterday we completed our Electrik Consort Tour
of Argentina, a series of 12 shows, and it was fantastic! The audience
responded really well to our unusual proposal to mix unconventional
instruments -- the Zanfona (XIIth century) and the Stick (of this
century).
This map
reflects part of the tour that will end in Spain.
I must be grateful to all the people that were working with the
tour -- Carlos (the (driver who took us and brought us back safely
to our house), Guillermo Zuloaga (recording engineer of Tonica Records,
that was all the time taking care of our sounds in live concerts);
to the promoters of the Rio Cuarto city "Friends for the Music,"
a group of 6 people who privately organize concerts only for the
sheer love of the music, without lucrative gains for themselves,
and offer to the people of their city a series of artists who otherwise
would not perform there. Here I must add that it is incredible -
and fantastic - that the work that ordinarily would be done by the
Secretaries of Culture of every city, is done by these people. This
group takes on the work of the government officials, and the officials
might learn much from them.
The same case is in Patagonia, where a musician/promoter -- in addition
to being a really nice person, Mario Alvarez, has organized concerts
in several cities of the south of the country for 10 years! His
band, Wild Spirit, accompanied us in several of the shows -- excellent
people and musicians that opened their hearts so that we could be
there.
With regard to the last show in Patagonia, in the city called Las
Heras, it is hard to explain with words what it meant for us and
for them to be able to have made a reality a concert that had begun
to be planned several months ago.
I am not going to say too much here, but I cannot stop feeling the
following thing: personally I have been lucky to touch people in
big shows, referring to big production, and rapidly I remember three
concerts along with Jethro Tull for 15,000 people (5,000 every day),
or the tour along with Roger Hodgson for South America, where there
were approximately 50,000 between all the shows...but in Patagonia,
when the organization that gave the concert was in charge of a hundred
boys of a small city, who built the stage with their hands, the
cartels painted one by one, and made every detail of the concert
as if it was a part of themselves - it was one of the best concerts..........not
done with big production and illusion, not for the money, but for
the desire, which was even more special.... in the events and music
that occurred this wonderful night.
They congratulated us after our concert, and I could only say to
them that the concert was not ours, but it was theirs.........they
did it.
I also appreciate the musicians that were in the Electrik Consort
project : Linda Cushma, Pablo Bendov and Adria Grandia. I have luck
to play with these talented musicians.
Our tour included a concert with Trey Gunn and Joe Mendelson that
presented their new project, "Quodia," in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. As always, I am grateful to Trey and to Joe for believing
in my music and affording me the opportunity to be a part of their
shows, including those we did in Barcelona and Madrid. What they
do in "Quodia" is really special, and try to go to see
them when you can.
Now we are preparing the last two shows of the year in Spain --
two festivals -- Fira
de Manresa and the Festival
de Jazz de Lleida where we will share the stage along with Manhattan
Transfer and Mongrel Valdes.
5 Octubre: Junin
- Teatro Italiano - C/ Rivadavia 165 - 22hs. 6 Octubre: Rio Cuarto - Auditorio
Hotel Menossi - Avda España 41 - 22 hs. . 7 Octubre: Cordoba - Ruido de
Fondo, calle Fragueiro 1777. 21hs. 8 Octubre: Rafaela - Centro Cultural
Municipal - Sala de la sociedad Italiana -
Pueyrredón 262, 21.30 hs.- Rafaela - Santa Fe 9 Octubre: Rosario - Teatro Lavarden,
Calles Mendoza y Sarmiento, Rosario, Pcia. de Santa Fe. 10 Octubre: Venado Tuerto . Centro
Cultural Provincial Ideal - Pellegrini 961, Venado Tuerto, Pcia.
de Santa Fé CAMBIO de FECHA: 12 Octubre:
Junto a
Trey Gunn (K. Crimson) Teatro ND/Ateneo, calle Paraguay
918, Buenos Aires. 14 Octubre: Comodoro Rivadavia
- Centro teatro San Martin 1071, 21,30 hs.Chubut. 15 Octubre: Festival "10
años de conexion a la tierra", Auditorio Juan XXIII,
21 hs. - Pico Truncado-Santa Cruz. 16 Octubre: Los Antiguos-Santa
Cruz 19 Octubre: Las Heras-Santa Cruz 20 Noviembre:Festival
de Jazz de Lleida - Cafe del teatre de l'Escorxador. C/Carreró
Roca Labrador s/n - 20hs - Lleida - España. 5 Noviembre:Fira
de Manresa - Auditorio Conservatorio Municipal - 2 funciones:
19 hs y 23:30 hs - C/ Ignaci Blacells, 12 - Manresa, Catalunya -
España.
------------------------------------
16th September 2005
Blessed machines.
Two days ago something very interesting happened to me: one of my
machines stopped suddenly and all the sound pre-sets were lost.
This means hundreds of filed sounds that I continually use were
lost. For any motif of zeros and ones, I could not rescue the back-up
copy that I had made in the year 2004.
All this happened a week before a concert, the Festival of Guitar,
in the town of Gumiel de Izan, and also 8 days before the beginning
of my Tour Argentino where we will do 12 shows.
Incredible.
This means several working days to re-design much of my sound library,
to test the sounds in my system, etc.
The interesting part of the history is that for some reason, I could
rescue a back-up done in 1999 - or perhaps earlier.
In conclusion, I could load my machine with sounds that I had designed
in this era. What began as a computer accident, was transforming
within the step of the hours into memories of sounds and songs that
for a long time I no longer play.
Incredibly, every sound was transporting me to a situation of the
past; it reminded me of many persons that I had not seen for a long
time, and in these latter days, not only my machine returned to
the past, but I returned there too.
It has been much like extracting an old shoe-box with ancient photos,
images of incredible moments of years behind, and memories of times
when a struggle for my music to ignite still existed.
I am grateful for having lost all my programs of my machine.
It has allowed me this time to remember.
I believe this occurrence wanted to leave with me the sensation
that Loss generates a Meeting.
Never is it too late to lose something and meet with it again.
Great news, we will be on tour with Electrik Consort
in Argentina.
11 shows wait for us there, in addition toplay with Trey Gunn and
his project Quodia in Buenos Aires. Then we return to Spain to play
iLinda and Tim in our CCA Project.
Is coming a time of concerts and activities, see you there!
I found a great placeduring my hollydays in an island. it is a special
place for compose songs!
Take a look.
Saludos
GC
_____________________
Monday, the 1st of August, 2005
Regarding my CDs: I constantly receive emails in which people ask
me about my albums and the ways of buying them. I have decided to
post my point of view in my diary to make clear what is going on
with my CDs, both the old ones and those I am recording now.
A few years ago , I first realized , and then got
convinced, that the best business for a musician is self-management
and self-publishing. I am not talking of recent years - now the
phrase "an independent artist" sounds natura,l hidden
under the shade of multinational recording labels. No. I am refering
to the period of 15 years ago, when the Internet was still an incipient
idea. It was then that I discovered that the recording market was
moving in an erroneous direction. For this reason, I never send
any of my discs, demos or samples, to any recording labels - be
it Sony, BMG or others.On the contrary, when the musicians were
dreaming of a contract with a label, I instead was dreaming of publishing
my own albums, and of being the copyrights owner of my discs. Apparently
the time has proven I was right, and the Internet appearance has
definitely done its work, giving to musicians the possibility that
we were looking for. It is a pity that many of the musicians who
then were dreaming of a recording contracts finally obtained it,
obtaining together with it IMPOSSIBILITY to handle their own business.
Today, many of those musicians complain about not being the owners
of their own discs, and can only watch silently how their old labels
publish again and again their discs.
During the last 4 years, my intuition has told me
that there going to arise a conflict between labels and musicians,
between prices for CD's and free Internet downloads, between authors'
associations, such as Sgae, Ascap, Sadaic, etc and self-publishing
artists, between selling CD's in music stores and in online stores.
For this reason, I have decided to take my discs away from the market,
since the market is still struggling with its own crisis. This crisis
is accentuated even more today, and I am in anticipation of a better
situation.
I have rejected the kind offer of David and Lynn from
London. I have also decided to break my contract with the label
Ventilador Music of Spain. They are good people, I cannot say anything,
except that their plans are outdated and not realistic. Recording
labels will have to revise their structure and the proposals that
they offer to musicians. We, musicians, will have to adopt to new
reality of availability of free music on the Internet. The authors'
rights associations will have to reconsider themselves and take
into account that we are not only musicians anymore but also self-publishers
- we produce and sell our own discs.
My professional activity has led me to handling by
myself with press, organizing concerts, recording my new songs,
producing my discs, and designing marketing policies for an artist.
That is exactly what recording labels used to deal with. Such policies
offered me great oportunities regarding TV and radio as well as
concerts with my favorites artists, such as E,L&P, Jethro Tull,
Rick Wakeman, Trey Gunn, Fish and others — many of of them
also self-publishing artists.
If I add to all that sales via the Internet, I have a feeling that
there is no need in labels anymore, at least unless they offer me
something new in return.
My discs are having a rest in a locker in my house.
They have deserved such
rest, and they will stay there until I decide to republish them
at my own
well-organized structure of selling online, or until some label
offers me
something more interesting than an outdated contract that is disconnected
with a reality which you can see as soon as you turn on your computer.
Meanwhile, I keep on recording and accumulating songs
that will see the light one day, may be even in the next century!,
when the music finds the place it really is deserves.
If you are interested in this topic, you can download
some articles that I wrote for the Spanish magazine Guitarra Actual.
(sorry, it is in spanish)
<download PDF>
On my recordings, I have begun to work with an interesting
software that allows me to record loops in my computer. This way,
I can retain excellent sounds for the the songs I regularly play
in my concerts!
Through a configuration of different programs, I can play and record
the loops simultaneously, or I can make a loop, save the files and
send it to my recording program. One of the problems that I have
experienced with software when doing loops, is that it did not have
recording capabilities on the same channel (overdub), as in equipment
such as Jam Man, Repeater and others. But the SooperLooper Program
makes this possible (It look like a promotion but is not!). I will
show photos here of the current configuration. I download the loops
to the Ableton Program -- it is not a program that I regularly use
to record in my computer, but on this occasion the SooperLooper-Ableton
duo works very well.
click para agrandar
click para agrandar
________________________
Abril 19, 2005
I would like to thank my friends at Art Rock of Poland,
for their amiable review of my CD, "The Bach Tribute"
presented on their web-site. Their words evoked memorable moments
for me while doing the recording.
An excerpt from the review :
"... it is very easy to fall into a deep hole with such experiments
impossible for realization or simply to expose yourself to ridicule...but
it
does not threaten Cides..."
This is certain..........that often during the creation of this
tribute to Bach, I coexisted with the sensation that I was doing
something that would possibly be criticized by purists and experts
of the works of Bach. The unique and solid element that remained
intact in my decision to do this tribute was my fearless respect
for the work, the melodies--the beautiful melodies of such porcelain
a quality that only time itself has the ability to define.
Each note of that work was really a tribute to that man called "Bach"
-- father of 20 children, not only a player of music, but a hero
of music, that died ignored by his contemporaries. But I imagine,
as I imagined while doing the recording, that this did not matter
to him.
Anybody can be concerned only with the making of a name, but there
are those that have given it forever in exchange for reaching to
the skies through the making of music.
CALIFORNIA GUITAR TRIO / CIDES & ELECTRIK
CONSORT
During the last weeks we were touring with the CALIFORNIA GUITAR
TRIO. We played a live concert on TV and radio. In the few days
we shared together, the music gave us nice memories for the future.
The CGT was recording for Spanish television and they invited me
to play on one of their songs, which was very nice for me. Soon
the broadcast will be released on TV and we can announce the information
for the broadcast through the internet. This broadcast will also
be available in South America. The journalist, Jose Miguel Lopez
from Radio3 invited us to the radio station and CGT played live
and unplugged at the studio. We did live interviews the entire time
we were at Radio3. I also had the opportunity there to play music
of my new band, ELECTRIK CONSORT. Thanks, Jose Miguel, for your
time!
The concert in Madrid was special for me because it was the third
performance of the ELECTRIK CONSORT. With my friend Adria and Cidao,
we came to the conclusion that this performance had great energy
for all of us and the audience responded very positively. We premiered
at this concert a version of the Led Zeppelin song, ¨Cabsha¨
and we included the Hurdy Gurdy in our version of this song. For
more information on this new project, you can visit this trio´s
section here.
Afterwards, CGT played an incredible concert and once again showed
their mastery of their guitars and the audience loved them. Paul,
Bert and Idayo played their new CD and also many well-known material
from their previous albums. At the conclusion of their show, CGT
invited me on-stage to play with them and for me, this will be an
unforgettable moment.
click to enlarge
After the Madrid performance, the Spanish tour for
CGT took them to Burgos, Cantavria and Gerona, and took me to Cantabria
where I played with special guest, American singer, Linda Cushma.
We are actually working together on a new project. More information
on this on the page below.
click to enlarge
In relation to Burgos and Gerona, I have received
several e-mails concerning the announcements of my performances
there and to answer these questions :
A new tour manager is now organizing concerts in these cities and
others, so I will be there soon with the ELECTRIK CONSORT and thanks
for waiting!
click to enlarge
LINDA CUSHMA
My friend Linda Cushma flew to Barcelona several weeks ago and we
have been working hard on a new CD project with Tim Alexander. He
is an incredible musician and is the drummer for PRIMUS. We are
all recording a CD together and we already have some songs that
are really starting to come together. Most of the drum tracks were
recorded at Tim´s studio in California and now Linda and I
are working on vocals and I am also enjoying recording my Stick
on all the tracks. The evenings past quickly working with Linda
in the studio. We exchange ideas and opionions concerning the direction
for her songs. This part of the composition of the music is one
of my favorite things. Linda is an excellent singer with something
special in the sound of her voice and I promise to soon present
some of the new material we are working on through this web-site.
This is one of my favorite songs, -Heart
to weep from her last CD with the Oxygene8 band.
click para agrandar
regrads
GC
______________
February 7, 2005
Hey, how are you?
So much work here!!! -- and I am excitedly awaiting two important
events in the next weeks -- the presentation of the new Guillermo
Cides Project and the arrival of my friends Paul, Bert and Hideyo
of California Guitar Trio. Both trios will be touring around several
cities of Spain -- it sounds great, doesn’t it?
I will also be playing with the CGT on three songs: Punta Patri,
Red Iguana y Cosmo Calypso. Good songs full of good music! Especially
Punta Patri, for it has an excellent bass line played by Tony Levin.
On Tuesday, February 22nd, CGT we will record on National TV2; on
the evening on Tues., Feb. 22nd, you can listen to the CGT and Guillermo
Cides on a national radio interview--PROGRAM DISCOPOLIS w/Jose Miguel
Lopez.
All tour and interview information can be found on this web
page.
Each morning we have rehearsal with our new trio; it is a very special
project, with really different instruments that comprise its sound
-- Viola de Roda de Adrá Grandía, a very old instrument
with which we have incorporated different modern sounds, and Brazilian
percussionist, Cidaô, presenting a very special percussion
set and stylistic sound.
We play music that allows us to walk through space. You don’t
believe that? See our promotional
photo!
See you at the shows!
GC
____________________
December 29, 2004
My heart is with the disappeared souls of more than
120,000 peoples in Asia.
G.C.
__________________
December 24, 2004
A few days ago I lost my cat.
Yes, I already know that there are more important things than my
cat in the world. The newspapers talk about really serious things,
of wars, and countries that fight for oil.
That is serious.
But to lose to my cat was my personal tragedy. He is not a common
cat: he does not know to walk in the streets like others cat, he
is fat -obese- and a little silly. But it is my cat.
I have always believed that this world changes in the same way ,
and not another way. We, poeple, do not have another way to change
the things, except through the ballot boxes, through mobilizations,
through the actions, through the culture created by each one.
Aren't all those things perhaps the product of a deprived reasoning,
intimate and personal? Have you heard of someone whose changing
has begun first in himself and then the rest has come? Then my cat
vindicates me with this policy. If I can be touched with the loss
of my cat, I can be touched with the loss of people in another part
of the world. If it is in me to love at least my cat, then can I
try to love other people?
There are great reasons for one Christmas to be sad, and those reasons
exist today - I talk about the wars, the unjust distribution of
the food in the world, the excessive power of mad presidents, cancer,
AIDS, the badly called "third world" -a strange rank invented
by the perverse capitalism.
Yes. There are many more reasons for the sad Christmas.
Even though, the Christmas will be a little less sad for me: my
cat has returned home this morning.
"There are a good many people of the same kind
as Harry. Many artists are of his kind. These persons all have two
souls, two beings within them. There is god and the devil in them;
the mother's blood and the father's; the capacity for happiness
and the capacity for suffering; and in just such a state of enmity
and entanglement towards and within each other as were the wolf
and man in Harry. And these men, for whom life has no repose, live
at times in their rare moments of happiness with such strength and
indescribable beauty, the spray of their moment's happiness is flung
so high and dazzlingly over the wide sea of suffering, that the
light of it, spreading its radiance touches others too with its
enchantment."
The Steppenwolf
Hermann Hesse. 1955.
_________________________
November 23, 2004
The recent months I have been working on several projects
with different musicians, and currently I am working with some others.
Here is a resume of my activities activities
in the News section.
All the best
G.C.
______________________
November 8, 2004
An anecdote:
A long time ago, I was at a Robert Fripp‚s seminar in Argentina
called Guitar Craft Seminars.
This was in a monastery; we were 30 people living togheter for 10
days.
One day, during the lunch, two musicians and me rushed in with the
song we had prepared with our guitars.
All the people were having lunch, and we appeared surprisingly.
Mr. Fripp asked us: -Great, music! But, what is the band‚s
name?
We looked at each other and said: -Well...we have no name...
He said: -No name! Go out! Come back when you have a name!
And we had to go outside.
Outside, we looked for a name. We chose the name „Trust‰.
We came back to the room again, and then we said: -Hello, we are
"Trust‰...
And he said: „This doesn‚t matter to me! Play the music!"
In the evening, he spoke about how important the name is for us.
Not what it means for other people, just what the name means for
ourselves.
It's interesting, isn't it?
all the best
G.
______________________________
30 of October 2004
Hello again.
The last weeks I was on tour with Trey Gunn.
I must say that it was an historical fact in two ways:
1) Personally, I got to know Trey Gunn
in Argentina when King Crimson got together for the first time after
many years. The gathering took place in Buenos Aires where they
were rehearsing and living for a few weeks. After that they played
in several concerts in a big city theater. The rest is already the
history well-known by everybody. One of those nights I had luck
to play for all of them at a dinner. Can you imagine being a novice
with the Stick and going to the stage in the restaurant and in front
of you there are sitting Gunn, Masteloto, Belew, Bruford ... and
all the staff of engineers of King Crimson?
That was how i met them!
That night I gave a present to the musicians that was a tape with
the first recordings of my still non-existing "El Mundo interior
de los planetas".
I remember that the last one to whom I gave the tape was Adrian
Belew and the dialog was more or less like that:
G.: Adrian, I would like to give you also my music...
Adrian: Oh! thanks, that is good, because I have asked a copy of
it from Trey...
G: Ah! You wanted to make an illegal copy of my tape! (laughing)
Adrian: (laughting)... the time of each of us comes!
Adrian was right!
Finally, and after many years and stories, Trey and I met again
on the stage stage, this time in Spain (Barcelona and Madrid).
For me it meant to close a circle in my history.
Thank you very much Trey Gunn for letting my music sound in your
show.
2) It has been the first time, after
so many controversies (Stick vs. Warr, Music vs. Music, bands vs.
bands)... the first time that a Stickist related to the spreading
of the instrument Stick, the organizer of the Center of Stickistas
in Argentina and the Stick Center in Spain as it is my case, plays
in a concert together with Trey Gunn, now one of the main spreaders
of the Warr Guitar.
This time the music has won.
It has won in an attempt to create art, each one from his small
world, with the desire to make something valuable that will really
endure time.
It has been an attempt of two people who both decided to offer with
our artistic actions what after all we came to offer to this world:
Music.
It was a weekend of much adrenalin for everybody, including the
producers of the shows, with laughter and also with moments of speed.
My final summary: other music is possible.
Play it!
Today my boys will be playing in Buenos Aires, Argentina
in a Concert of Stickistas that they organized themselves.
I'm sending them from Barcelona my best wishes and I hope the music
will appear in the theater where they will play tonight.
One of the most emotional moments of a show are the moments which
come before it. This nervousness and this state of emotional acuteness
are probably one of the best pleasures that a musician experiences
during his artistic life
I hope they have the best "nervous moments" before the
show, and "the best discharge" during the show.
I hope that the participants - the musicians, the companions and
the public - will be caught by the magic of music that they will
offer to the audience.
Good luck and much music!
G.C.
______________________________
3 september
Strange world it is that calls onus to live.
Tonight I want to write something to all of you: there is no much
time left to try it.
This it is the moment to try to be happy.
And the only way is to let ourselves go off where we are holding
tight to remain on our feet.
In music it is the same as in life, or you try it definitively,
or you leave it forever.
It is worth trying.
Try it.
Hugs
G.C.
___________
September 1
Good day, world...
Here I am again.
There is too much work.
-) The Concert of Stickistas in Buenos Aires organized by the Stick
Center and 8 excelent musicians such as Gustavo Vidal, Bernardo
Dominguez, Dirseus, Jose Albarracin, Daniel Mastrorilli, Daniel
Sánchez, Matias Betti, and Miguel Lopez.
How many Stick Nights have we already had, my friends? 25? 28? 30?
I don't remember yet, and I'm happy to know that we'll have one
more. But what I do remember is the first Concert of Stick held
in Argentina. I remember it because I went mad in a bar called Nativo
downtown Buenos Aires! Then there was only one little cutting in
a newspaper telling about that historical event - it was only I
who new it would become historical, the rest of the world went its
own way!
Later the Stick bacame popular in Argentina thanks to hard promotional/artistic
work of the Center of Stickistas in Argentina, but basically thanks
to the benevolence of the musicians who were always at those events,
and thanks to the public that was willing to attend those "Concerts
with no history" - here I'd like to call them the shows that
never existed before in the history of music. That is true. Good
luck, boys, I know you'll have a great concert once again.
Info
--) Guitarra Actual Magazine: we keep on writing the Stick Pages
of the Stick Center in the Spanish magazine, providing information
on the Stick, its artists, equipment, history etc... You can see
it at Stickcenter.com/Magazine
---) Recording with Diego Blanco on Mallorca: the stickistas Xavi
Oró, Diego Blanco and I were combining our days of the sun
and the sea with recordings for the album of Diego. Very interesting
moments.
----) A new Stick Project with the English Stickist Jim Lampi has
been born. Soon there will be news regarding it.
-----) More rehearsals with Electrik
Consort , sounds very good, I'm very happy with this Project.
------) Interviews in some newspapers of Argentina and Spain. Soon
I will send the material to the webmaster to make it available on
this web site.
------) If you are reading this, that's because you are alive. Besides
of its being great news, isn't it luck? Hugs..
G
_' )
___________________
6 Agost 2004
My webmaster has shown me today the statistics of
downloads of this web site and Stickcenter.com. A nice surprise
- for me at least- was that the video recorded at the concert in
France had been downloaded 584 times in only 15 days (39 downloads
per day).
I must be thankful to all of you for your interest in my music.
It has inspired me to work with more energy on my DVD and we are
thinking about putting new videos online.
Thanks
G.C.
________
5 of August 2003
The days pass fast in Barcelona, and soon I will take vacation -
the islands of Mallorca are my favorites. I will take advantage
of my stay there to play some shows. The Russian Israeli stickista
Irene Orleansky has asked me to record in her new album. It has
been a very pleasant experience, we have recorded through Internet,
because she was in a recording studio in Russia and I was here in
Barcelona!. Her interpretation is very good and the album will be
available in the near future. Her way of playing the bass part of
the Stick is really interesting, and she has been playing only for
a few months. A woman with the Stick will give a little fresh air
to this universe where male Stickistas are in majority. Soon we
will offer some mp3s to you, keep in contact. You will find something
of her music in the section of Stickistas of Stickcenter.com
G.C.
________
July 21 again
I have replied several mails that contained the same
question: what does the theme "The days to come" mean?
(the song in the summary of the concert with Jethro Tull )
I composed this song some time ago. In fact, this is a song of self-encouragement
that was supposed to lift my spirits at the moments of being tired.
It is still managing to do that, because it lets me think that nothing
is lost yet, that there are still days to come, and that it is possible
to do what you want to do The song does not have lyrics, but it
says with its chords: "- go!, jump up to the Sun..., the world
is still beautiful, do the best to be happy ". It is one of
those songs that your compose for yourself, and for some strange
reason of communication, when you play it, people feel something
similar, as if in its notes reflected the sense that gave origin
to it.
best
G.C.
__________
July 21, 2004
This morning my webmaster showed me a new video optimized
for the Internet.This video is a part of a DVD on which we worked
together with my friend and stickista Pierre de Boismenu days ago
and which shows the concert that I gave in France. It will be probably
the DVD of this live concert that we will publish in the near future.
I remember well how I participated in Allaire Festival in France,
one of a few tapping festivals in the world, where the Artistic
is prevailing over the Demonstrative. This is also my first video
distributed on the Internet. After the years of ostracism and confinement
in my own music, the moment has come to share a part of it with
the audience through the Internet. I must say that I hadn't believed
in this way of communication until my webmaster showed me the statistics
of visits of the site.
The Stick Center has been transformed into a place frequented by
hundreds of people, possibly in search of music: that is what I
want to imagine. So I offer you a complete song in video format.
Enjoy it.
G.C.
________
Juliy 12 . 2004
Good morning,
Many people ask me about the Cd of Bach Tribute.
I have to say that it will not be available for a while. The reason
for its absence is purely political. I have decided to keep my CDs
in a drawer with the hope that a label with good intentions will
give it new life. We all know of the "Fall of the iceberg"
- that is how I call the collapse of major labels - the act that
we are observing day by day.
Finally, after mistreating the music in all the possible ways, it
seems like the situation has reversed for them. The best way for
a musician is concerts, it has always been like that and will always
be. Now companies want a "slice" of shows and copyright
of CDs . I have decided to break contracts with my label, and now
I am the only one who can take decisions about them.For this, I
had decided to put my energy into live concerts. The result of this
is the Stick Projects that you will be able to see and listen to
on this web site.
Anyway, the good news occured on Friday, the 2nd of July at 14 o'clock,
when I had lunch with two English producers in Barcelona. They are
interested in releasing all my CDs on conditions favouring firstly
music . If this lunch brings fruit, the CDs will be available again
soon in greater number.
____________________________
July 7, 2004
Good morning, and excuse my english.
Finally we have a more organized Web site...
These days, the joke on the matter was that the old "Stickcenter.com"
ended up being called "Scriptcenter.com"! (a joke for
webmasters...)
A couple of days ago, Stick.com has published in its page Web an
article that I have written about Artists or Demonstrator.
You can read it in www.stick.com/articles
or the spanish version in stickcenter.com/articulos.
Possibly, it has generated some controversy on the matter expressed
in forums and mails sent.
That's good.
From always I have thought that in the forums of musicians, the
items of discussion are about things that are not too fundamental
to the fact to make music - for me at least-; to the early reason
by which we decided to have one Stick.
For that reason I tried to collaborate with my article.
When I entered the Internet world, I imagined to the musicians interchanging
his mp3, and telling each to others about the reason of his compositions;
what its meaning; and this types of things. I had thought about
the forums like an exit for us for to feel not so along in the world
of the Stick and its music, where the executants are not many -
at least not in your district area.
Nevertheless, it seemed to be more worrisome a screw of the bridge
of the Stick, that its possible songs - without being inferior the
screws of the bridge of the Stick.
I do not mean that forums are not necessary, I only make notice
the absence of which I understand important, for not to say fundamental.
It also was one of the reasons by which we made the biggest data
base of mp3 in Internet of musica played with Stick -see MP3
Collection.
At least now, which I imagined in the beginning is now partly reality.
I have written a review of my experience with Jethro Tull that
you will find in the News of this Web. I only can add that for me
it was a great experience, much more of which can to aim an unknowed
musician with an unknowed instrument
