B-52s: Classic or Dud.

Still, how do you measure up to the genius of "52 Girls"?

(See how I'm baiting a contrarian to come along and disagree?)

US/UK cultural equivalences: B-52s / Adam And The Ants??

No. I have no problem with the B-52s, but saying that is like saying "A Regular Ass Candy Wrapper / The Candy Wrapper With The Golden Ticket??"

In any event, I'm listening to Nude on the Moon right now, so REVIVE!

And look.....even Killing Joke approves! (check out Youth's shirt!)

http://www.an-irrational-domain.net/images/youth/youth15.JPG

CLASSIC

This description is so classic, it hurt my hips.

How's the new CD Box?

I haven't heard it, but I heard someone claim it wasn't remastered, it just brings all of their albums back into (physical) print and in one place.

(Possible they're wrong, but it doesn't sound like much effort was put into the box set. The band didn't even know about it.)

that's interesting! i'd always thought the ricky lore was he was playing open G with the middle two strings pulled. he basically created sonic youth looking at those tunings.

same thoughts! forget where i learned that ricky supposedly always had those 2 middle strings empty, but it’s awesome that he’d switch around the empty strings! also, “dead string”x2 whoa

yeah the dead strings are super cool

Genius. Edges out Sterling Morrison and Nilufer Yanya for my favourite rhythm guitarist

Buried in links in that Facebook page is this great piece from Keith Bennett (Ricky’s guitar tech, but also later Cindy’s husband.) It’s a lovely read:

What a special honor it was to have been Ricky’s first guitar tech. What he was doing was unique in concept, technique and execution and he had great patience with me as I had to learn, pretty much over night, the precise details of my duty in this regard.

It was no secret that I had signed on to the first US tour to preserve mine and Cindy’s on going courtship but my relationship with his sister in no way softened what Ricky required in order to perform on stage night after night in city after city for months on end. Nor did I want it to.

Looking back, believe my rookie status was actually a positive in Ricky’s mind. My ability to handle the learning curve presented to me was unencumbered by any past guitar tech experience; the unconventional ways of Ricky’s approach to the guitar did not run counter to some engrained standard methodology I might have harbored.

Ricky’s familiarity with me was perhaps a comforting factor in having a nomadic working relationship, given his profound reticence. I had experienced first hand the attitudes of some guitarists who were somehow offended by Ricky’s idiosyncratic approach to the instrument, as if an EADGBE tuning had been carved on stone tablets and six strings were a sacrament.

Of course the deep root of their being so tightly wound up about one man’s creative technique was bitterness over being technically proficient, excellent even, yet completely overlooked and left behind; one person’s excellence indistinguishable from that of the next.

I don’t know whether Ricky was ever bothered by such individuals.Their subset became smaller as the B-52’s became bigger. Who knows. Ricky and I didn’t talk much, his shyness often reflected in my own awkward social malfunctions and those misfires reflecting back off of his and so forth until a nervous feedback loop was formed. But there was no animosity, just chronic hesitation.

True to form, Ricky rarely said two words to me in the tuning room before the show, where he would come in each night to check the tunings of the freshly restrung and tuned guitars. I changed the strings, stretched the new ones and tuned and retuned six guitars every single night, one of them, a double neck. Although Ricky did not invent alternative tunings for the guitar, he certainly took it to an extreme.

In the tiny tuning room before the show, Ricky would sit in complete silence and check the tunings using a small Korg meter which the band had used from day one, all beat up and held together by gaffer’s tape and luck. This after I had already stretched the new strings and tuned them using the fancy new Conn strobe tuner, a technological marvel of its day. Fast, easy and spot on accurate, it was my best friend in my new world of daily string changing and nightly travel by rental truck.

Those moments alone in the tuning room, along with the chemical bond that he shared with Cindy, both in terms of family and on stage, inform my perception of Ricky and define those early years on the road working as his tech. I am confident that those shared moments of silence in the tuning room, the eye of each evening’s Hurricane, were a lot more relaxing to Ricky than they were to me as he began testing each string with meditative concentration.

He would sit and select a guitar, pluck a string and then stare straight ahead into the void as the vibration faded away into the silence of the room like a stone tossed into a sonic pond. Sometimes he would listen long after it seemed the sound had decayed. As he confirmed the validity of each string, he would occasionally raise an eyebrow ever so slightly or give the most subtle of shrugs. Body language that I learned to pick up on and which I lived for in those moments.

Then he would focus on certain strings on certain guitars, and using the little Korg analog tuner, he would throw those strings, which I had tuned to digital perfection, off of A440 ever so slightly. In other words, I had to get it perfect so he could then deviate from it to a place that only he could find.

Then, once he had finished he would stand and with a shrug and a slight shadow of a smile, he would leave and head back to the dressing rooms as I began to transport the six or seven guitars to the stage area where I had earlier set up the station fat which I would alter the guitar tunings and string variations during the show, as per the set list dictate.

Ricky used only five strings on his guitars, sometimes only four, and always the heaviest gauge possible. During the show he would punish the strings with an extra heavy pick, staring intensely at some point on the stage floor or a million miles beyond, thrashing away as a constant rivulet of sweat dripped from the end of his nose like a waterfall.

He hit hard, holding nothing back, creating his unique chording with his thumb over the top of the fret board and hitting down while pulling up on the higher strings, usually tuned to exact unison. Pushing down and pulling up and pulling out dynamics like lava from a volcano. He gave the illusion of two guitarists in this way and combined with Keith Strickland’s painfully exact drumming, he produced an infectious rhythm. His was no wimpy sound and in fact his tone and rhythmic chops rivaled any guitarist, anywhere, in any type band - punk, metal or in between.

The fact that his contribution to the artistry of the instrument goes unsung in the compendiums and yearly collections of the “100 greatest guitarists” only serves to illuminate the limited scope and specious credibility of the so called experts responsible for these lists. But Ricky would be the first to tell you, or indicate in some manner anyway, that playing the guitar, (regardless of his genius in so doing,) was not all that he was about or even his main thing. He was engaged in so much more. Always reading, researching, traveling or seeking some new avenue of life experience.

But his relation to the guitar and of course to Cindy, now my wife of many years and the mother of my children, are the points of view by which I hold Ricky in my mind. And in those very kids, through whose wry smiles and natural flowing talent he indeed shines on. A gentle, bemused soul, Ricky brought his own customized standard to whatever he did.

Very private, Ricky was always somewhat enigmatic to me. But the one thing that was never obscured, always as crisp and bright as an October morning, was his love for his sister and the central role he played in her life. He will always be her wise, loyal and protective older brother in the vast timeless universe that is in her heart. And I will always be his guitar tech, striving for a glimpse of that slightly raised eyebrow.

<3

what does "dead string" mean regarding tuning/setup?

xp so cool, thanks for posting

re: dead string i am totally guessing but i think it just means a loose string, not tightened to resemble any particular note, but registering as a (very low) sound.

but i suppose ’dead string’ could also refer to other things, like a high tuned string that is has very tight action against the frets and is very muted. d’know!

I was thinking something jammed under the string at the bridge to mute it...

yeah I'd assume palmed/muted

This is the blue Mosrite from the first page in the tuning book, but note: it's not set-up in the CFxxFF tuning, it's in one of the 5 string tunings pairing bass strings and guitar strings.

https://i.imgur.com/RKGDx5V.png

i am not a guitar tech so "dead string" to me means an old string that's lost the shine, lustre and metallic brightness of a new string, but i wonder if according to the tech it's just a string that's untuned but semi-taut used for percussive effects.

I'm not sure what a dead string in the middle of the guitar would achieve, especially with weird tunings already. Maybe dead strings means ... no strings? That way the low strings would be for bass notes, high for skronk, and a moat meant no chance at hitting both high and low?

I am not a shredder but I can def play barre chords while muting strings, if the strings were removed it would be an 'X' like the rest of them

no idea what the goal was there sound-wise, though - maybe he wanted the strings for a different song

Well you’d get both an added “clack” to the strummed chord, but equally importantly you’d get mechanical resistance to the strum, which is a big part of rhythm playing and the reason the string gauges were clearly specified. Playing like that requires a well-tuned amount of “fight” from the strings.

check No #5 (5) on the first pic, the sunburst Mosrite:

X & dead string are both present... not the same thing!

ah thanks xp

when in doubt, i always defer to my favorite youtube note-for-note cover performers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-Sd7YuCKLw

around 2m10s the percussive element that Ricky is fond of comes in and I wonder if that's the kind of playing that would lend itself to dead string tunings.

But even a dead string would have a note/pitch that would sound out of tune, right? Maybe it worked with the other odd tunings.

https://gearspace.com/board/so-much-gear-so-little-time/365890-anyone-prefer-sound-dead-strings-guitar.html

so I guess it really does mean "worn out"?

I understand that concept when they are all dead strings, but why would just a couple be dead strings? Or unless I am reading that chart wrong, wouldn't a dead string still need a tuning? There is no such thing as just a "dead string," it's still going to have a pitch. Right? Like, a dead string tuned to E or whatever.

It can, but in this context I reckon it does mean “muted” or “untuned”. I have a Telecaster which has had the same strings for 9 years and while they are pretty stale, they don’t sound worlds away from a fresh set. Certainly nothing you would notice in the middle of a chord.

If you put e.g. a cardboard shim under the bridge saddle the string would make a “clunk” without a note to speak of. Same as if you muted it with the left hand.

or rather a felt shim, more effectively

The fact that we’re sitting around debating Ricky’s guitar secrets almost 50 years on fills me with so much joy.

Me too!

i would also put my money on mechanically muted somehow - so it adds some chunk and thickness to the sound but doesn’t contribute to the chord structure

Lotta discussion here:

https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/early-b-52s-guitar-tone.1701267/page-2

More importantly, it includes this video (Capitol Theatre, natch) that features a lot of views of his guitars and playing!!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVXfkG7q_0s

guys...

i did the unthinkable.

last night i listened to the song that is noted as featuring the "dead strings": "strobe light"

at 1m34s ricky's solo comes on: it's a reverby surfy chromatic solo played on the bottom two "dead strings"... but the strings sound totally normal! so who knows lol.

also to note in the above concert footage (1980 Capitol), Ricky's guitar solo is replaced with Cindy's wild Farfisa noise solo which is ... unfortunate for this thread diversion.

Dead Farfisa keys?

The audience member at 01:02:14 onwards is a lucky man. At 41:54 someone seems to wave their panties at Fred Schneider. Not a sentence I ever thought I would write, but here we are.

The black and white video quality of that concert makes it looks like an out-take from William Hartnell-era Doctor Who. In which he attempts to visit Athens but arrives in the wrong Athens, in 1980, in the midst of - urg! - a music war.

I think I've figured it out. Ricky insisted the solo on "Strobe Light" was his. Cindy felt she had more to say on the Farfisa, but Ricky wouldn't have it. So his guitar tech Keith Bennett - CINDY'S BOYFRIEND - changed out Ricky's strings for that song with dead strings, and the solo was hers at last.

ai- colorize the concert film in wacky tacky retro new wave style

I think I've figured it out. Ricky insisted the solo on "Strobe Light" was his. Cindy felt she had more to say on the Farfisa, but Ricky wouldn't have it. So his guitar tech Keith Bennett - CINDY'S BOYFRIEND - changed out Ricky's strings for that song with dead strings, and the solo was hers at last.

and then to top it all off, keith fabricates a guitar setup document and makes it look like ricky asked for all this. he dropped it off at an antique store and knew it was only a matter of time

“but you asked me to do that Ricky, it says right here!”

the perfect crime

Apparently some shitbag festival promoter in Tilloloy, France tried to push the B-52s into starting their set during some inclement weather - they were successful in getting the stage set up with all their gear, but the band's tour manager Alice Martin stepped up and refused to make the band go on, minutes before the weather went out of control.

Per Fred Schneider (with some typos cleaned up):

This is not my usual content. This is very serious. Last night was a total disaster. The promoter knew about the dangerous storm that was brewing and on its way to The C Trop Music Festival in Tilloloy, France.

First, there was lightning, but the promoter still had the crew set up the stage and told the band to get ready to perform. Luckily, our tour managers said to hold back 10 minutes because it’s not safe and we have to see what is going on with the storm. Then it was like a whirlwind hurricane force and heavy rain.

Most of our crew was caught and had to duck under where they could for shelter. The festival was evacuated. We could not even leave because it was too dangerous to drive. The power went out several times backstage.
We felt terrible for the fans that have waited in the heat all day for us to perform. And then get very little warning to no warning from the promoter that it wasn’t safe to stay out...there were lightning strikes before our set.

Scaffolding even fell from the stage and destroyed our equipment. Keyboards, mic stands, laptops, sound equipment. All destroyed.

Claudia, our mascot, tumbled off stage when the sides and back curtain of the stage blew off.

One silver lining was John’s guitars weren’t destroyed but were heavily soaked, and they can be dried out. I still haven’t found out what happened to Ken’s and Tracy‘s equipment and Sterling‘s drum kit. The drum kit was blown all over the stage.

I still don’t know the total assessment of the damage, but here are the photos.

As you see in the photo with the lightning, Fine Young Cannibals was on stage as lightning struck. This was extremely dangerous for them because the stage is loaded with large metal objects.

And then, while we’re in the dark, the people working for the promoter were walking around with flashlights asking us to sign posters, and well I won’t tell you what strong expletives words were used.

Our tour manager, Alice Martin handled everything in an incredibly great manner. We could’ve been stuck on stage if we didn’t hold for those 10 minutes. Our sound man Frank feared for his life. It was that dangerous. We were worried about the crew the entire time. No one was hurt thank goddess.

Said tour manager Alice has her own post about it -- worth it for the photos and video there -- but here's the text (the detail about the church and the singing children kills me, on top of everything else):

Retro C Trop, Tilloloy France. Had a hellish time when I was here a few years back but this year just tops it. Your team are not fit to be running events. There have been extreme heat warnings ALL DAY which were repeatedly ignored despite our queries. All the audience sitting under trees trying to get some shade meanwhile an hour away in Paris all outdoors events cancelled. To make matters worse the storm warnings started coming in. Around 4pm today I knew the storm was hitting the area of Tilloloy right when we were due onstage 11pm. Once onsite at 10pm the lightening was already fierce and the thunder getting closer and closer but STILL the promoter wanted us to go on. I was checking weather radar and knew it wasn’t looking good. 15 mins before we were due to leave for stage I went to their office (no communication from them or care towards our concerns by the way, just in their office hoping no one would notice and just carry on) I went in and told them it was unsafe and that I am not putting the B52s onstage until we see an improvement in the weather. I said I will hold for 10 mins and then we will assess again. They told me ‘no it’s worse to hold. Go on now and hopefully by the time you’re almost finished the storm will hit’ so I asked what the protocol is if it hits whilst everyone’s onstage and what about our gear and our crew!! He said eveyone would go from the stage to the cars and wait for the storm to pass and then would they consider going back onstage after’ 😂😂😂😂 what???? I said absolutely not. I then turns to the police and said ‘do you think it’s safe for not only our band and crew but the audience to be out in this?’ The policeman muttered something in French and the promoter rushed out the room in a huff. Next this I know he’s run to the stage not even communicating with me what he was doing and announced he was sorry but they have to cancel please evacuate.’ He was in no rush by all accounts from our crew, sort of saunters onstage looking sad and disappointed’ no sooner had he finished the announcement the storm let rip! And he of course RAN offstage leaving all our crew with no choice but to follow.

Meanwhile I tell the band to stay inside and Kerry and I just naturally ran toward the stage to make sure all our crew knew to come inside. Absolutely soaked through and nearly knocked out by tarpaulins and twigs we were manhandled into

A nearby church where we had no phone service and wasn’t allows to leave. The power went out and then a bunch of young kids started group singing which made me and Kerry wish we had been sucked up by a twister instead of being saved.

Absolutely disgraceful from the organisers.

Not only is our gear ruined, I’m very suprised nobody is dead. Chunks of metal were falling from the stage roof and some of our instruments were in the audience!!!! Claudia the lobster somehow managed to survive but parts of her were spewed all over the stage and she’s gonna need a bit of TLC to get back on her feet again.

The festival should have been pulled the second they knew a storm was coming.

I am absolutely appalled. Had we of not delayed we would have all been caught up on stage in a complete and utter disaster. Should have been cancelled hours ago!!!
Not to mention - no care and attention to any of us. Site woman comes to try tell us the crew van can’t stay onsite for too long and then there was no buggy drivers and one buggy with a missing key. So everyone has to drag their cases across the the carpark through water logged grass to get offsite. Not one welfare check and not one person offering assistance to get offsite. They just kept saying you can’t leave. So we walked to the cars and got offsite ourselves.

I hope Retro C Trop never sees the light of day again I have never known anything like it. Moronic!!! 🤬

This festival do not give a damn about you. All they want is for the show to go on and you to not accept your full contracted rider either. To stuff you in rooms at 35 degree heat with no air conditioning and then leave you with no assistance or check in on us after the storm. Most, not all, of the staff absolutely USELESS like they’ve never seen an event in their lives. The audacity, AUDACITY for a member of their team to come into the band afterwards and start asking for posters to be signed on a show they never even got to play. Tasteless, clueless.
Respect to the crew for documenting the damage and salvaging as much of the gear as possible amongst the smell of electrical fire! ❤️

Crazy stuff

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ta13XAms3d0

lets get back to positive B-52s energy levels

that video is locked down unfortunately. I couldn't watch it using Opera VPN anywhere, although when I picked the Americas it put me in the Caribbean somewhere so maybe it's USA only?

shame what happened in France, I saw them weekend before last in London (with Devo, the Rezillos and Lene Lovich) and they were fantastic (although Devo stole the show for me)

One Song podcast hosted Don Was on the show to break down Love Shack a couple weeks ago.

https://open.spotify.com/episode/5k6io2NEeW0Xchw2TUX2rs?si=gKFYeVUvRhyYiZ_Tu8G4jQ

xp The Rezillos! What kind of lineup do they have these days?

that US Festival video is great

I thought about getting the DVD just to have a physical copy - it’s really cheap anyway.