11.11.11

i knew this girl back in high school that would get uber excited when the clock hit 11:11.  she would always tell me "make a wish" and i would always think "i wish you would get your feet off the dashboard.  they look disgusting".  for the record, she was a sweetheart with some jacked up digits from doing too much en pointe ballet.  somehow, her plea for me to share in her numerical dreamtime has remained stuck in my head ever since.  well guess what angie - today is your lucky day. instead of wishing that we would stay together forever despite all types of weather even a hurricane, i've opted to assemble my dream band.  this fantasy ensemble of mine will play original material that we organize collectively. the criteria - everybody needs to still be alive and willing to rehearse.

prince - guitar

okay, so he's probably the busiest and most recluse of all these guys.  he's a terrific guitarist and can definitely solo.  plus, i like where his ears are.  the shape of his tunes, the breadth of his compositions, and his collaborations with clare fischer set him apart from all other pop stars. how great would it be to have him in the band as a player!?!?

craig taborn - keyboards

he's got both the acoustic and electronic bags together.  i especially like his stuff with tim berne and can't get enough of his album junk magic.  he's got that groove thing figured out with potter's underground band.  his time is deep and his ideas all encompassing.  plus, he plays celeste.

ikue mori - electronics

i learned of ikue through her extensive discography on tzadik and collaborations with john zorn, dave douglas, and evan parker.  i haven't the foggiest idea how she creates and manipulates her sounds, but am taken by their inimitability.

mark turner - tenor saxophone

his sound is wholesome, absorbent.  i'd be willing to part with my eye teeth to spend a moment inside of mark turner's musical voice.  my favorite records include in this world and the stuff he did with kurt.  i got lost driving to a jazz festival that i was supposed to adjudicate, literally because i was entranced by one of his solos on an enrico rava album.
i missed the first band, but nourished my soul.

cuong vu - trumpet

my first exposure to cuong was through his work with chris speed.  he has this jekyll & hide act down pat, luring you close with a pure sound, then smacking you up sideways with an aggressive and angst-riddled burst.  i love the quartet, admire the compositional use of the electronics, and saw a great show at the walker with he & the lovely myra melford. two points to sonja for sitting through that.

me'shell ndegeocello - bass

she's got great tunes, most featuring a killer bass vibe and this irresistible sprechstimme.  her songs have a certain poignancy that i can't refute, and my favorite is her duo effort with marcus miller.  rush over is the chestnut on the soundtrack to love jones, a movie i've never seen but an album i've spun a million times.  and that bald head ... whew

dave king - drums

what can i say... king is the man with the midas touch.  very inspirational, a glorious musician, hilarious, approachable, the real deal holyfield.  i am infatuated with bands like the bad plus, love cars, gang font, dave king trucking company, happy apple, and halloween, alaska.  he's my first call for this dream band, and we don't play if he can't do the date.

mike patton - vocals

he is capable of blowing your wildest imagination to smithereens.  my roommate at the university of iowa, round one, hipped me to mr. bungle. i love hemophiliac, am thrilled with his solo musical circus on adult themes for voice, can't get enough of his grit on bjork's medulla, and crank the home stereo when peeping tom hits the rotation.