[besson3c]

How many of you dudes have heard of the rock band "Chase"?

Probably not many. This group only put together two albums and was only together for a little while before the leader, Bill Chase, was killed in a plane crash in the 70s.

I was turned on to this band like many a band geek as a teenager. On a whim, I pulled out the albums today and just had to crank them up. This band f-ing smokes, and I still think this after all these years! I've listened to these albums for probably 12 years or so, off and on...

Moments of these albums scream 1970s in how they sound and were put together, but many tracks actually sound quite hip today. There most popular song at the time (that I think made the top 40, or whatever the equivalent was back then) was called Get it On, which you can check out here. I'm curious to hear what your impressions are.

Here are mine: even if this sort of thing isn't exactly your cup of tea, I think it is easy to appreciate the amazing talent in the band. Everybody is playing their asses off, the writing and horn parts are superb, and the band has a tremendous amount of energy and attitude. Many of the lyrics on these albums are very sexist (e.g. referring to a woman as "grade A inspected beef"), and this song I've made available above is all about getting it on... heh.

All songs were written completely by Chase, including the horn parts. He's the lead trumpet player and often soloist throughout the album, and for a band geek (especially a testosterone ridden teenage male), to be able to play like this in a band like this as a brass player would be a wet dream.

I hope you enjoy this group. Like I said, not many people know about this group since their formation was tragically so short lived. It's too bad that we don't have groups to replace Chase. Even without the trumpets, it is clear that the writing in this group has a lot of depth, there are a lot of things going on here musically that I really dig.

Like I said, I look forward to hearing what you think... I hope, if nothing more, you can appreciate this group.

[Dork.]

As I get older, I realize that there were a ton of 70's bands with loads of raw talent, but suffer from the fact that they sound like a 70's band. Maybe it's just that the synth technology of the time was very distinctive, I don't know. Generic 60's bands and even generic 80's bands are more tolerable to me. Perhaps the weed wasn't as good as it was in the 60's?

This particular track is pretty good, although I understand why the music could appeal to a testosterone-ridden teenage boy, since the lyrics sound like they were written by one. But it is a nice track, and I've always wondered why bands don't use more horn parts, horns can rock in the right songs....

[besson3c]

Dork., would you like to hear a couple more clips from the same band that sound to me to be less tethered to their era?

To answer your second question about horn parts, in part the answer is $

[Dork.]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

Dork., would you like to hear a couple more clips from the same band that sound to me to be less tethered to their era?

I'd love to, but the RIAA may have an opinion on that.

[besson3c]

I'm not worried... I think you can get this on CD now, but it'd probably be really hard to find. You can hear the cracks and pops from the original LP on the recording

I'll post something a little bit later tonight. Thanks for humoring me Dork.! It's great to be able to share...

[brassplayersrock²]

YouTube - Ghost Car Vanishes During Police Chase !!! wow !

[Kevin]

I think I know what both of you are referring to. Though there are songs I love to listen to that aren't really that guitar oriented that are wonderful compositions. I Robot from Alan Parsons Project is one of these songs I had gotten addicted to. Very 70s sound and groove. But it is addictive.

[alligator]

I was just thinking about finding some new music today. I don't know where to go to get an introduction to new music. I try songs on iTunes, but I don't really enjoy everything I hear. College was fun, it also exposed me to a lot of new music. Thanks for suggesting this.

[besson3c]

Dork.,

Weird Song.

The synths obviously are very 70s, but try to reimagine this song with modern gear. The musical content, I think, is pretty hip even today.

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by alligator 

I was just thinking about finding some new music today. I don't know where to go to get an introduction to new music. I try songs on iTunes, but I don't really enjoy everything I hear. College was fun, it also exposed me to a lot of new music. Thanks for suggesting this.

There is lots of stuff out there, and I'm convinced that the greatest gems are not things you'll find pushed at you today... You often have to go back a ways, or look under rocks, but there is a lot of creative stuff out there.

If you like jazz or jazz influenced fusion/funk, that's kind of my thing, although I'm also discovering a lot of classical music through my wife who is classically trained (I'm jazz trained). There is a *ton* of stuff in both of these respective areas that covers centuries of music.

[besson3c]

Forgot to add... Dork., I think you'll appreciate my baseball comparison here (below)...

What I meant by teenage male testosterone is basically the last two notes of Weird Song. When a lot of teenagers and college kids play music, they have this sort of attraction to very raw, unrestrained, full-tilt intensity. In rock bands, this is generally established by turning up the volume on the guitars and playing the drum kit really loud. With bands compromised of wind instruments, many kids insist on playing as loud as they can and trying to create intensity with sheer volume, or in playing in the upper register on the trumpet (which produces an extremely loud and intense sound when done properly), or in playing really fast. This is often referred to as "louder, faster, higher" syndrome.

What takes time to learn is that effective intensity is not generated this way. Effective intensity has a real focus and efficiency to it. What Bill Chase is doing is actually very easy for him. A lot of younger players will try to reproduce this by flailing at the notes with brute strength and force. This doesn't work.

A home run hitter does not hit home runs by flailing at the ball as hard as he (or she) can. The same can be said of a golfer that can drive the ball really hard, etc. A part of the recipe is some strength, good equipment can help, but really you cannot do any of this without the basic technique, and that technique involves a lot of very carefully focused energy, but it is not about brute strength and force. I'd be willing to bet that the bulkiest man alive using the fanciest, most expensive gear could not hit a home run without knowing how to swing the bat properly.

The same applies to this style of lead trumpet/high note playing. Many male high school and college aged students are very infatuated with the physical challenges and demands of playing like that.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by besson3c 

The same applies to this style of lead trumpet/high note playing. Many male high school and college aged students are very infatuated with the physical challenges and demands of playing like that.

I am not so sure about that.

But I understand what you are saying. I can go down to the local guitar store and there is always this 14 year old kid that sits down and plays sweeping arpeggios all day real fast, and tap. Technically he is decent with his technique. But put him in a situations with other musicians, or get him to try to keep a rhythmic pattern and he is lost. I tried to talk to him about the importance esp when first learning to play with a metronome. He just shrugged and said "I'm past that already"

Well obviously he wasn't. He really didn't know much about music at all. But he had the physical ability down. The latter is easy to learn because it's just repetition.

[Dork.]

I believe that what you're describing is common to any activity that involves a skill that can be refined over time. It's part of the classic struggle between youth and experience. Young people with talent try to emulate their older idols, and can duplicate the technique without capturing the emotion that drives it. Youth must be raw and full-tilt, because young people haven't encountered enough things yet in their lives to put their current life in context and mitigate their actions. I believe that as you get older and your tastes and abilities get more refined, you lose something that you had back then. If nothing else, there are certain stupid things you wouldn't do now because yo know better, which is not fun at all! There is simply no substitute for inexperience!

BTW, that Weird Song was neat. It reminds me of the 70's Prog Rock bands like Yes, but without the pretentiousness. If they have more stuff like that, I'd look for it!

[besson3c]

Dork., perhaps your theory explains why our musical tastes seem to mellow a bit as we age? I mean, this Chase stuff is rather loud, but there are also some more subdued numbers on both albums... Still, a little goes a long way for me now. Plus, compared to some punk rock I've heard, this is rather tame... I've yet to meet somebody of our parent's generation that was into punk.

[SpaceMonkey]

I like it! Thanks for sharing, Besson. I'll have to try to find them on CD. Amazon has the first album for $37 as an import, but maybe something will turn up on Half.com/eBay.

Wikipedia/Allmusic.com indicate they actually had three albums (the third released in the same year as the crash). "Weird Song No. 1" turns out to be from that third album, Pure Music.

[SeSawaya]

nice 9/8 feel

[besson3c]

Here is a YouTube clip of the band doing Weird Song:

YouTube - Bill Chase "Live" "Weird Song"'74


Not the greatest quality, but this is the only known recording of the band. The albums sound *way* better than these YouTube videos, just providing them for your amusement.

[MacosNerd]

Wow that''s really some 70's music - not quite my style but very interesting.

[Railroader]

THAT was ROCK music?!?!

what the hell have I been listening to for the last 36 years? Country? I thought Pink Floyd or Black Sabbath was rock music.


And for fun: YouTube - BILL CHASE LIVE AT WAL MART IN JOPLIN MO