"NO NO NO" ...
(August 5, 2006) Vocalist ANGELA LUNA instructs the band before they play ...
"Creamy, Make it Real Creamy." It Is!
Doug and Will joined by Skip "Little Axe" McDonald at The Second Annual "Wimbash" at Sully's Pub near downtown Hartford, Connecticut.
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"TERRORISM" ...
A song written in 2003 by Doug while working on MOS DEF's "THE NEW DANGER," has since become a standard in both HEAD>>FAKE and LIVING COLOUR sets ... The time in which Doug takes an extended solo, showcasing his "LEAD" BASS TECHNIQUE.
(See a 2007 performance of the song in the right hand column. Check it out ... it's one of the most inspired Bass/Drum displays you'll ever see.)
"TERRORISM" ... EARLY DEMO (VIDEO)
Since this live recording of "Terrorism," made on a 2003 Winter Tour of Eastern Europe, the song has evolved dramatically. (See the 2007 performance in the right-hand column.)
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SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ...
HEAD>>FAKE is Doug Wimbish and Will Calhoun, the explosive rhythm section driving the Grammy-Winning hard rock band Living Colour. As a Bass & Drum Duo, Doug and Will step to the fore, and mezmerize audiences with their virtuosity as lead players.
Their signature sound is an exciting mix of trance inducing grooves, trip-hop atmospherics, psychotic bass romps, and bombastic drumming. In the hands of such masters, a combination of elements that create a musical alchemy known to have driven crowds into uncontrolled frenzies.
The birth of the HEAD>>FAKE monster came when Doug replaced Living Colour bassist Muzz Skillings who unexpectedly left the band in 1992. Doug’s influence on Living Colour was immediate, and unmistakeable, on the harder, darker, critically acclaimed “STAIN.” Many felt then, and still feel today, that “Stain” was Living Colour’s finest effort, and shifted well to fit the dominant GRUNGE sound eminating out of Seattle. But many of the longest-standing Living Colour fans resisted the change ... Sales suffered, and by the end of the year the band was no more.
But Will and Doug’s musical relationship was just getting started. Almost immediately they played on Mick Jagger’s “Wandering Spirt,” and began writing, recording, and playing as a Bass/Drum Duo. Pleased with the results, by 1995, they were confident to take the act out on the road. After joining with Los Angeles vocalist/percussionist Vinx, they rehearsed for a short European Tour.
Calling themselves JUNGLE FUNK, the trio played clubs in Germany and Czech Republic, the tapes from which were used to release a self-titled album for Zebra Records. Some consider 1996’s “JUNGLE FUNK” the first HEAD>>FAKE record.
From there they continued to guest on others’ records, most notably HERB ALPERT’s “COLORS,” released in 1999. That same year, using many of his and Will’s session recordings as a foundation, Doug brought in a number of his friends (including Will on drums) to produce and release “TRIPPY NOTES FOR BASS,” his first solo effort.
Being all instrumental, "Trippy Notes" could be supported without a vocalist. So to satisfy European requests to play live, he and Will decided to go it alone, OFFICIALLY DUBBED THEMSELVES THE HEAD>>FAKE SOUND SYSTEM, and played for appreciative audiences in Amsterdam, Berlin, and Prague.
Pleased with the tour, they released "IN THE AREA," a self-produced collection of a number of studio versions of tunes they had written both on the road, and back home in Doug's loft/studio in Hartford, Connecticut.
They continued to play as a Duo, but frequently invited guest vocalists to join them onstage. When booked to play CBGB's, the ALTERNATIVE/PUNK MECCA on the south end of Manhattan, it made perfect sense to invite COREY GLOVER to sit in. After all, CBGB's was the club where LIVING COLOUR played many of its first gigs ... and built its reputation, as one of the 80s and 90s best live acts.
"MEMORIES CAN'T WAIT" (CBGB's, Dec. 21, 2000)
An appropriate tune from the historic performance that inspired Living Colour to reunite for a successful 2001 tour. The band released "CollidOscope" in 2003, has continued to tour together, and has tentative plans to record a new record later this year?
THAT PARTICULAR NIGHT BECAME LEGENDARY when Vernon Reid joined the trio onstage, and the show became a complete LIVING COLOUR REUNION, the first time the band had played together in seven years and six days (Thanks to Sam for the EXACT time). So electrifying was the performance, that the band agreed to scheduled a U.S. tour for the Summer of 2001. They were interrupted by the 9-11 attack on the World Trade Center, but having already been so well received in California, decided to continue that Winter. The band made a week-after-Christmas run through Florida, up to Atlanta for a show, and PLAYED A NEW YEAR'S EVE FINALE BACK HOME IN NEW YORK CITY'S CENTRAL PARK.
THE BAND HAD COME FULL CIRCLE, both on the 2001 tour, and compared to Doug's unexpected arrival nearly 10 years earlier. ONCE AGAIN THE VIBE WAS GOOD, and THE BAND DECIDED TO MAKE A FOURTH LIVING COLOUR ALBUM. Now, with a decade-long collaboration behind them, Doug and Will's impact on "COLLIDEOSCOPE" was undeniable. There are plenty of Vernon's lightning-fast riffs, and Corey's soulful voice and thoughtful lyrics are significant (especially on "Flying," a sweet memorium for those who died on 9-11), but taken as a whole, the record is MORE GROOVY, AMBIENT, and BEAT-DRIVEN.
There's no doubt that THE NEW LIVING COLOUR HAS AT ITS HEART A TWO-PIECE RHYTHM SECTION OTHERWISE KNOWN AS HEAD>>FAKE.
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— photographs and video by dave hogerty (myspace.com/davehogerty)
The "GOSPEL" According to HeadFake
Doug and Will joined Bernie Worrell in New Orleans (July 9, 2008).
HEAD FAKE+ONE
The first two weeks in March (2008), Will and Doug will be joined by cellist Max Lilja for a series of shows in Europe and Scandanavia. Doug discussed the collaboration with Max after meeting him when both were playing in vocalist Tarja Turunen's solo band. Doug also played on Tarja's new record "My Winter Storm," her first since leaving the popular Finnish metal band, NIGHTWISH.
MAX LILJA, THE "ONE" — In 1995 while studying the cello under Prof. Noras at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Max Lilja and a group of colleges started jamming to heavy music. Together they formed the 1st cello metal band in the world, APOCALYPTICA. After recording 3 albums and playing roughly 500 live shows Max left the band. Since then he has been involed with many different styles of music ranging from Thrash Metal to Classical music. His current bands are: HEVEIN, TARJA TURUNEN, and TEKIJA TUNTEMATON.
For a sample of Tarja Turunen's "My Winter Storm," go to:
myspace.com/dougwimbishnovasound
"WE'RE NOT A BAND, WE'RE A SOUND SYSTEM."
Doug explaining HeadFake to a Czech Republic reporter before taking the stage in Prague.
"Cycles," one 15 songs captured at the Lucerna Music Club, a popular nightclub in downtown Prague.
Prague DVD produced by Petr Tomaides (myspace.com/tomato22)
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"TERRORISM" ...
(Dedicated to George W. Bush)
illustration by Linda Zacks (extra-oomph.com)
BERNIE WORRELL (guest keyboardist)
Doug and Will invited to the stage keyboardist Bernie Worell, who introduced "THE DYNAMIC DUO" as Doug struck the first few chords of "Terrorism."
"TERRORISM" (conclusion) ...
The last five minutes of what had been a raucous playing of Doug and Will's anti-war anthem at the 2007 National Association of Music Manufacturers (NAMM) convention in Anaheim, California.
Doug, Will, Bernie, and Bad Brains guitarist Dr. Know also play together as rapper MOS DEF's rock 'n' roll band called BLACK JACK JOHNSON. Although not included on the record, "Terrorism" was written by Doug for Black Jack Johnson's 2005 release, "The New Danger."
video by dave.
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MOS DEF ... "WAR PROPHET"
(NYC, July 2001)
"You're Goddamn right this War's gone on too long" Mos Def screams to introduce his performance of "War" at the Bowery Ballroom in New York City. It was just two months before the 911 attack on the World Trade Center, and Mos was playing with his Black Jack Johnson band (Doug Wimbish,bass; Will Calhoun, drums; Bernie Worell, keyboards; and Dr. Know, guitar) in support of their new record THE NEW DANGER. Haunting to think what happened so soon after ...
Doug and Will also anchor Mos Def's band, BLACK JACK JOHNSON.
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