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Description
(December 23, 1949-)

Where do I begin with Adrian Belew? Well, how about this: he got the Zappa gig without being able to read music. And though his time with Frank was relatively brief, it saw the making and releases of Sheik Yerbouti (featuring one of Zappa’s more popular tracks in “Bobby Brown”), the Baby Snakes film, and the eventual Halloween 77 set. And I’ll say that the lineup with Adrian might be among my favorite bands that Frank ever had, which is no small feat. And though he wouldn’t be as prominent as he’d be in future gigs, he still got to have some shining moments like his lead vocal on “City of Tiny Lites” or the actually-pretty-decent Bob Dylan impression on “Flakes”.

From there, he’d be stolen by David Bowie and contribute to the tale end of the Berlin era, appearing on Lodger and the Stage live album. Following this was his work on Talking Heads’ Remain In Light (most notably the solo on “The Great Curve”) and the subsequent tour that served as the basis of The Name Of The Band Is Talking Heads, as well as Tom Tom Club’s debut and David Byrne’s The Catherine Wheel. Then you add his contributions to NIN records like The Downward Spiral and Fragile, Paul Simon’s Graceland, Laurie Anderson’s Mister Heartbreak, Herbie Hancock’s Magic Windows, and Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors. And finally his solo output and his work with his band The Bears.

But of course, the thing Adrian is best known for is King Crimson. Entering the band as it reformed and reinvented itself for a new era, Adrian proved the perfect person to help the band adapt to the early eighties scene. Not only possessing a keen ear for melody, Adrian also possessed a delightfully quirky and charismatic stage personality that allowed him to become arguably the first true frontman that King Crimson ever had. But the true home run was his guitar playing, giving Robert Fripp a perfect foil, becoming the Beefheart to Fripp’s Zappa. Whereas Fripp, like Zappa, has a very methodical and intense focus while still very much in search of new sounds, Adrian has a very colorful sense of controlled chaos. Even Bill Bruford has said the most fun he ever had in his years with King Crimson was when Adrian was in the band. Small wonder why Adrian remained for thirty two years (give or take).

Adrian is not so much a guitar hero as a guitar anti-hero, free from any conventional norm or standard. The sounds he creates out of his guitar, the landscapes and herds of animals that reside within his playing is something else. Expanding on the Beefheart comparison, Adrian approaches his guitar like a canvas, with his hand techniques and effects as the paintbrush and paint colors. He shows some influence from some of the masters like The Beatles and Hendrix, much as Beefheart showed the influence of Howlin Wolf among others, yet he is completely removed from any traditional approach to the guitar. His work appears simple and without thought, yet it’s anything but.

Listening to Adrian’s music brings me such a sense of joy. It’s so wonderfully quirky, unique, fresh, lovable, sincere, and eager for new discoveries. It’s able to enter so many style and realms-prog, new wave, hard rock and heavy metal, pop, avant garde, industrial, electronics, spoken word, and acoustic music, yet he can always remain so uniquely himself. It can be very thoughtful and heartfelt without ever losing that pure joy and sense of play.

He’s been a great inspiration to me not only in his music and art, but in who I can potentially be. He didn’t fit the mold and didn’t even try, yet he still managed to have a fantastic life and career. He didn’t get famous overnight-far from it, he was pushing 30 when he got the Zappa gig. But he got there, and he’s continued to enjoy a fruitful career all these years later. And he’s remained true to himself and has never forgotten where he came from.

Happy birthday to one of my heroes, may he enjoy a safe and happy holiday season and enjoy many more good years to come. Hopefully, I can see him one day.

Description
(December 23, 1949-)

Where do I begin with Adrian Belew? Well, how about this: he got the Zappa gig without being able to read music. And though his time with Frank was relatively brief, it saw the making and releases of Sheik Yerbouti (featuring one of Zappa’s more popular tracks in “Bobby Brown”), the Baby Snakes film, and the eventual Halloween 77 set. And I’ll say that the lineup with Adrian might be among my favorite bands that Frank ever had, which is no small feat. And though he wouldn’t be as prominent as he’d be in future gigs, he still got to have some shining moments like his lead vocal on “City of Tiny Lites” or the actually-pretty-decent Bob Dylan impression on “Flakes”.

From there, he’d be stolen by David Bowie and contribute to the tale end of the Berlin era, appearing on Lodger and the Stage live album. Following this was his work on Talking Heads’ Remain In Light (most notably the solo on “The Great Curve”) and the subsequent tour that served as the basis of The Name Of The Band Is Talking Heads, as well as Tom Tom Club’s debut and David Byrne’s The Catherine Wheel. Then you add his contributions to NIN records like The Downward Spiral and Fragile, Paul Simon’s Graceland, Laurie Anderson’s Mister Heartbreak, Herbie Hancock’s Magic Windows, and Cyndi Lauper’s True Colors. And finally his solo output and his work with his band The Bears.

But of course, the thing Adrian is best known for is King Crimson. Entering the band as it reformed and reinvented itself for a new era, Adrian proved the perfect person to help the band adapt to the early eighties scene. Not only possessing a keen ear for melody, Adrian also possessed a delightfully quirky and charismatic stage personality that allowed him to become arguably the first true frontman that King Crimson ever had. But the true home run was his guitar playing, giving Robert Fripp a perfect foil, becoming the Beefheart to Fripp’s Zappa. Whereas Fripp, like Zappa, has a very methodical and intense focus while still very much in search of new sounds, Adrian has a very colorful sense of controlled chaos. Even Bill Bruford has said the most fun he ever had in his years with King Crimson was when Adrian was in the band. Small wonder why Adrian remained for thirty two years (give or take).

Adrian is not so much a guitar hero as a guitar anti-hero, free from any conventional norm or standard. The sounds he creates out of his guitar, the landscapes and herds of animals that reside within his playing is something else. Expanding on the Beefheart comparison, Adrian approaches his guitar like a canvas, with his hand techniques and effects as the paintbrush and paint colors. He shows some influence from some of the masters like The Beatles and Hendrix, much as Beefheart showed the influence of Howlin Wolf among others, yet he is completely removed from any traditional approach to the guitar. His work appears simple and without thought, yet it’s anything but.

Listening to Adrian’s music brings me such a sense of joy. It’s so wonderfully quirky, unique, fresh, lovable, sincere, and eager for new discoveries. It’s able to enter so many style and realms-prog, new wave, hard rock and heavy metal, pop, avant garde, industrial, electronics, spoken word, and acoustic music, yet he can always remain so uniquely himself. It can be very thoughtful and heartfelt without ever losing that pure joy and sense of play.

He’s been a great inspiration to me not only in his music and art, but in who I can potentially be. He didn’t fit the mold and didn’t even try, yet he still managed to have a fantastic life and career. He didn’t get famous overnight-far from it, he was pushing 30 when he got the Zappa gig. But he got there, and he’s continued to enjoy a fruitful career all these years later. And he’s remained true to himself and has never forgotten where he came from.

Happy birthday to one of my heroes, may he enjoy a safe and happy holiday season and enjoy many more good years to come. Hopefully, I can see him one day.