Soundcheck 1
Soundcheck 2
Performance
CD single – no cat #
design.tourist
p + c 2002 Ride
First new Ride material for 6 years
Recorded 16/10/01 for the Channel 4 show ‘Pioneers’ (broadcast 5/12/01)
1000 copy only release, now sold out
The band’s 17/10/01 e-newsletter described the recording thus:
“So yesterday at the John Henry rehearsal complex in North London, Andy, Mark, Steve and Loz all turned up, set-up, plugged-in and put together about an hour’s worth of un-rehearsed sonic jamming to accompany the forthcoming series of Channel 4’s Pioneers.
The show is about the influence of Sonic Youth and is effectively “presented” by Andy and Mark. They talk about Sonic Youth’s influence generally to 90’s music and specifically the influence on the then-fledgling Ride. As part of the idea for the show, the producer had asked Mark and Andy to play 10-15 minutes of guitar-based feedback which they wanted to film and use as a backdrop to the programme. It was Andy’s idea that if he and Mark were going to get together to talk about Sonic Youth’s influence on Ride then any “performance” to accompany the programme should feature all 4 ex-Ride members.
Mark flew in from France for the day, Andy delayed his return to Sweden after the Oasis tour for a day and both Loz and Steve managed to juggle their existing commitments to make way for the day’s filming.
Everyone arrived about 11 and everything was set-up and ready to roll about Midday. Once the TV people had sorted their sound and camera positions out, the band started to work on a loose jam that they’d put together on the spot. It was a simple recording – one stereo mic for the drums, one bass mic and one each for Andy’s and Mark’s guitars. No vocals.
It was truly amazing how quickly the whole sound slotted into place, that old adage about riding a bicycle was never more appropriate. There was a break while the sound levels and the overall mix were checked: and also while the lighting team sorted out their part of the equation. After a spot of lunch the band started playing about 1:30 with the cameras and the tape rolling until it came to it’s natural conclusion about 2:15. Mark and Andy then filmed the interview and they all packed up and went their separate ways – Mark and Andy off to Heathrow for their respective flights, Steve back to Oxford and Loz back across London.
It was very strange to witnedd how natural the whole event was and also how enjoyable and inspirational it was too. They talked about whether to base the jam on perhaps Grasshopper or even the middle section of Drive Blind but in the end a completely new piece of music came out of the day. There will some snaps of the day and maybe some camcorder footage up on the Ride site in the next couple of weeks or so – don’t touch that dial.”
The original CD sold out almost immediately.
Image above was originally posted on the old rideox4.net official site
