Calvin Sycamore

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Synth Symphony No 9.wav

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Released: Apr 1, 2011

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Synth Symphony No 9.wav
3:00
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Dance Of The Tulip King
2:10
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Paint in Black.mp3
6:03
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The Battle of Hank B Gilmour
3:07
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Into the Vortex.mp3
6:25
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Total Plays: 10,066 / Plays Today: 2See All Featured ►

General Info

Genre: Acoustic / Ambient / Rock
Location Brisbane, Queensland, Au
Profile Views: 10556
Last Login: 4/9/2012
Member Since 4/7/2008
Record Label Unsigned
Type of Label Unsigned
Bio
.............. I am a left-handed right-handed guitarist. A self-taught Leo (30th July), I picked up the guitar at the age of 14 around the time The Beatles put out "Rubber Soul" and The Stones, "Satisfaction". My first guitar was a Hofner acoustic with f holes and a bigsby-type tailpiece at the cost of fifteen guineas (fifteen pounds and fifteen shillings). Rather than wait four hours for the bus and being impulsive (I still am), I decided to carry it home under my arm from the city in its tatty cardboard box along the railway lines fourteen miles to where I lived in a small settlement on the outskirts of Gisborne, New Zealand. It never occured to me the consequences if a train had appeared out of the darkness while walking across the wide Waipaoa river bridge that would have been the end of the story but this was just the start of the journey. Between the ages of 18 – 29 I "grew a beard and drew a flask of weird" and lived as a hermit in a small dilapidated cottage in Tokoroa with a smokey coal range and two mushrooms growing up through a hole in the floor behind the sofa. In this shack I had two stereos and two quad speaker boxes chained to the ceiling in two separate rooms. For some reason I had two copies of "Best of Cream", Hendrix' "Are you experienced" and Led Zep II which I would play on each stereo simultaneously at high volume, running from room-to-room to spin or hold a finger on the side of the turntables to keep the records playing in unison. Ah, those were the days... double tracked stereos! While I was in Utopia, my neighbours were in hell! I won't even mention the drum set!!! At 22 I bought my first mode of transport which was a 750cc motorcycle with a rack over the back mudguard to carry my "axes" behind along the pillion seat and over the rear guard to the gigs. These included in different combinations at any one time: A Fender Strat, Gibson Les Paul (Black Beauty), Eko 12-string, Yanigasawa alto sax/tenor sax and in a coarse brown duffel bag on top, a flute, all stacked up on the back and tied down with those dodgy elastic straps. The downside was lack of protection and stability which became evident the night the battery was failing and in the dim light I didn't see the herd of cows that had escaped from their paddock as I rocketed around the corner heading into Arapuni and twenty head of cattle. As I ricocheted amongst the startled beasts and catapulted onto the road, the bike here, me there lying on my back staring at the constellations I considered the turn of events. I noticed the tenor sax case was standing up in the middle of the road, open with the plush yellow interior barely visible in the dim light and thought "Ok, which one of yous cows has got my saxophone?" It was lying on the roadside with an extra bend or two like the motorcycle but the cows and I were unscathed and wiser for the experience. Are you experienced, Jimi? Yes I am! Then there was the time I discovered the flute wasn't in the bag when I got home so I drove the 44 miles back tired and worn out scanning the road for a black flute case only to run clean over it before I could see it with the 500 pound motorcycle at 60 mph!. Outcome: Another U-shaped wind instrument! By the time when I was literally overtaken by the Les Paul skating along the road beside me in its case when I slowed for a corner I knew I had to get a car or something with a wheel on each corner at least. I won't even mention the eye injury from the metal end of the elastic strap or the 70 mph crash on a corner from sun blindness due to those cheap perspex goggles that with the leather coat, made me look like one of those pioneer aviators on the Led Zep II album. The seventies also heralded the acoustic styles of Paul Simon, James Taylor, Bert Jansch, The Pentangle etc which I embraced completely. My interests took me beyond the realms of rock and acoustic music to jazz and classical music in their many forms. From 1974 I started writing and recording my own music with my instruments, a pair of bongos on a stand for snare and tom, a soft-soled sneaker on the vinyl floor for kick and a 4-track TEAC tape recorder. As time passed like water down a river, I finally met a girl and left my hermit shell behind in Tokoroa, moved to Te Awamutu to a house with carpet, a front door and no mushrooms inside! Through the 80's and 90's I played in various pub bands and soloed in restaurants, jack of all, master of none and father of two. At 44 I ran away with the circus and travelled extensively around New Zealand, Australia and South Korea with various shows and musicals. During the Grease tour in 2001 I suffered Unilateral Vocal Chord Paralysis from continual singing despite throat problems. You can hear the result of this on "Paint it Black" The show must go on. Composing was put on the backburner as I travelled about. Ten years later I resumed my musical calling with a short course on music production, a wall of music magazines and the transition from analogue to digital. I settled in Brisbane, Australia and set up a small studio to create. The motorbike has long gone to its rusty burial ground, the Strat was sold in two pieces to a shop in Bondi, Sydney in hard times, the Les Paul went to a better life, the flute is hanging on the wall in the music room at Te Awamutu and my two daughters have grown into two women I'm very proud of. The journey continues…
Members
Calvin Sycamore .... ...... .... .. ..ORDER ACOUSTIKA VOL. 22......
Influences
The framework for StreptoManiac, The Battle of Hank B Gilmour and Blue Nocturne (chronological order) were all written in the mid '70's during the Tokoroa hermit days and sat in a folder in various cupboards and shelves for thirty years. All had lyrics and a melody line totally unrelated to how they eventually evolved. Ray Sycamore is my elder brother (I have three) who died from the ravages of melanoma in early 2001 at the age I am now. He is laid to rest on the edge of the jungle near Medan in Indonesia where he lived and worked. Streptomania is a phat guitar jam over b7-I with a wayward marimba woodpecker tapping away. The Battle Of Hank B Gilmour features a guitarist who isn't sure if he's 'Floyd or a Shadowy figure but tips his hat to two cornerstones of our music. Blue Nocturne evolved from a ballad called "Cottage Girl" which made it to the short list of The Pacific Song Contest in 1976. Floating in a Dream appeared immediately from picking up the acoustic guitar and playing the backing chords and laying the track down in one take to the finished piece over two weeks. Inspired by the beauty of New Zealand. The thumbnail is a Fiordland sky over Mount Cook taken from a walking track. Jokers Wild evolved from a drum beat and two chords. R.I.P. (Rest in Peace) is a short solo guitar piece dedicated to my father, Stanley Campbell Sycamore, my brother, Ray Sycamore and my neice, Penelope Jensen: All taken before their time. Into the Vortex Has now been completed with a tip of the hat to Pink Floyd. On The Wings of My Guitar came out of Monsoon Bay with the inspiration of Jimi's Little Wing flying across my fretboard. Dance of the Tulip King is a sample of my "other side" from listening to and being inspired by other genres of our exciting world of music. Have a good day in the inside as well as the outside and don't be discouraged. Calvin Sycamore.
Sounds Like
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May 03

Calvin Sycamore

The MusicOz People's Choice Awards is still open for voting: http://lnk.ms/bjfnQ
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Apr 28

Calvin Sycamore

MusicOz competition is in full swing. Please vote for me here: http://lnk.ms/bjfnQ
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Apr 28

Calvin Sycamore

Posted a new photo: "On top of the world" http://lnk.ms/bjfHX
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Apr 10

Calvin Sycamore

Dance of the Tulip King is a sample of my "other side" from listening to and being inspired by other genres of our exciting world of music.

Dance Of The Tulip King by Calvin Sycamore

via myspace.com

Dance Of The Tulip King by Calvin Sycamore: Listen to, download, play and stream the song, Dance Of The Tulip King, on demand.
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Mar 01

Calvin Sycamore

Posted a new photo: ""To play or not to play?"" http://lnk.ms/ZfW6S
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