Page 35 - the NOISE September 2014

>> DRIP, DRIP, DRIP ...
CONTINUED FROM 29 >>
such bastards? It wasn’t right or natural what they were doing to their daughter. When she and he started a family (and he had every in- tention of marrying her as soon as possible), they would be tolerant and understanding of their children’s needs.
The faucet seemed to be dripping angrily now. He honed in on its robotic beat.
Why hadn’t she called?
drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip drip DRIP DRIP DRIP DRIP DRIP DRIP DRIP DRIP
He vaulted out of the sink. He dashed on wobbly legs to where his guitar and practice amp lie in a corner. He strapped on the in- strument and turned the little speaker up to 10 (the old couple next door were deaf anyway). He tore at the strings, the staccato chords chopping in time with the metro- nomic drip drip drip of the leaky tap. Sweat ran from his brow and it felt cathartic and good. The frustration poured out of him in a rush, then ebbed, then rose again. Quiet/ Loud, Quiet/Loud, Quiet/Loud ...
... and finally Quiet. Exhausted, he scratched out a few remaining chords. The dripping faucet mocked him.
DRIP
Why
DRIP
hadn’t
DRIP
she
DRIP
called ...
He hit the final note and let it sustain. At that precise moment, the tap ceased its steady pulse. He froze in place. As the gui- tar chimed and faded through the room, he watched one last drop dangle from the fau- cet. An eternity passed, then it finally fell.
DRIP
?
The phone rang. It made him jump.
[This story was inspired by the song “10:15 Saturday Night” by The Cure, c. 1979 lyrics by Robert Smith, music by Smith/Dempsey/ Tolhurst]
| Tony Ballz is thought of as a plumber of another vain. music@thenoise.us
RECOLLECTIONS OF PHIL “MUDHARK MEMORIES”
8/16/14 ORPHEUM THEATER
STORY BY CLAIR ANNA ROSE PHOTOS BY RENE R. RIVAS
I t’s a July afternoon in downtown Flag- staff when Tony Norris pays me a visit at work. He’s just received the news that his good friend Philip Gall has passed away. A few days later, over coffee, Mr. Norris tells me about his friend and pivotal figure in the
Flagstaff musical community.
“Phil had a recording studio in Baderville
in his home,” Mr. Norris tells me. “He pur- chased an A-frame when there weren’t a lot of houses out there. He constructed what was at the time a state of the art analog stu- dio that he would update through the years. At that time Phil Gall’s Mudshark Studios was the only place a musician or band could go to record an album.”
“Phil was wonderful to work with because first of all, he listened,” Mr. Norris shares. “He found out what you wanted to do and what your project looked like to you and he set about helping you achieve your goals.”
Mr. Norris reflects on recording with Phil. “Phil made you feel as though you were the only person in the world,” he says. “He would focus on you; he would take instruction from you, although he realized we knew nothing about what we were doing. He would make suggestions very diplomatically. Once the tape was rolling he didn’t hesitate to stop if we made a mistake that would not make us happy in a final recording. He would ask if we would like to try it again, that he thought we could do better. We would listen back and there would be a plane in the distance
that I could never hear, but Phil could hear it. He had exceptional ears.”
“It was a wonderful adventure recording with Phil,” Mr. Norris continues. “As Phil got to know you he’d always ask you about your
FROM LEFT & DESCENDING: Phil Gall making the Limbs Akimbo movie; Phil at the studio with two unidentified musical pioneers; Jimmy Deblois show- ing old photographs of Phil; Phil’s sister Debbie Phillips blows bubbles to remember her brother; Aaron Norris opens the main stage; Yarrow Trail plays early in the evening; and Tony Norris talks with us backstage. Photos of Phil were generously gathered by family & friends.
family and your experiences. He told about his travels and he remembered every detail and the next time you saw Phil, on the music stand would be some little toy or a magazine picture or article that related to something you had exchanged with each other. He was very playful and loved to joke about what you shared.”
Mr. Norris shares a special memory from the many years of his friendship with Phil Gall. “It was about 15 years ago on one New Years Eve Phil came out to my house and brought a little one-watt transmitter and a big spool of antenna wire,” Mr. Norris says.
“We strung an antenna through the giant pine trees in my yard and hooked it up to Phil’s transmitter. We hooked that up to my stereo system and we set up microphones and for about 4 hours we broadcast live over Doney Park. He said that it would probably reach about a mile and a half. We sang songs, and played records and tapes. We were our own K-1 radio station for 4 hours.”
“The whole Flagstaff community of musi- cians, music teachers, symphony, working musicians, bluesmen, folkies, classical — all came together in a little studio out in Bader- ville that this very gentle, kind man operated. He became a musical focal point for North- ern Arizona. Some of them became profes- sionals that went out into the bigger world and they would come back and record with Phil. He was so unassuming, and yet so very important at the heart of music scene of this area — people just don’t know that,” Mr. Nor- ris says. “He was right at the heartbeat of our musical lives and I think that’s something important about him. He didn’t just have a job as a recording engineer, music flowed
through him into his very skilled, talented ears and he made the songs bigger than it was as it came out. He was a great man and very kind and loving. Things aren’t going to sound right without Phil.”
On Saturday, August 16 many who cared for Philip Gall gathered at the Orpheum The- ater for “Mudshark Memories,” an evening of music by bands and artists that recorded with him over the years. A bittersweet eve- ning, musicians shared their songs and friend and families shared their memories.
I had a chance to talk with some of his friends who were in attendance. David Lee tells me of his humorous nature, “He was fun- ny! He’d write letters on the back of the APS bill and send it to you. The one he sent to me when I finished my project I have framed at my house, it’s so cool.”
Outside the Orpheum I talk with Jimmy Deblois. “When Phil was working he was very focused on what he was doing. When you got to know Phil was after the session when you were relaxing and he wasn’t work- ing anymore. What he liked to do was blow bubbles.” He says and opens a small contain- er of bubbles and blows a few into the sunset lit sky. “At the memorial I brought three cases of these and that is one of my fondest mem- ories of Phil. When he’d blow a really good one he’d a get a big smile on his face.”
| Clair Anna Rose has her own affinity for bubbles. music@thenoise.us
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