….I love south Africa id rather live there than anywhere else on the planet…. but its in a bit of a tricky situation right now… Like the government is still finding its feet, theres the implimentation of  BEE(black economic empowerment) and there’s a lot of crime and yet the whites generally blame it on the blacks. In my opinion, it was the whites fault to begin with, if they’d released Mandela long before he was 80,or never imprisoned him at all he would’ve had many years to build the country into something better,but they didn’t.

If they hadn’t have treated the black people so terribly there would be no hate crime,there would be no resentment and anger,well there would be less.

South Africa is the closest to a first world country in the whole of Africa and yet there’s more murders there than the rest of Africa, its kind of like revenge. I mean its all about patience and if whites (or blacks) want to complain then they should just piss off anyway,no ones stopping them. I’m young I wasn’t even alive during apartheid, but i can see (not accept) why there’s hate towards whites, because if people treated my father or my grandfather like an absolute piece of shit and the rest of my family and my whole culture the same i think i would also be a bit pissed.

I mean these guys will complain and complain but they just have to wait, no country came out of such a big screw up and got back on their feet straight away, look at all the countries after the war, look at Iraq, look at turkeys past, it takes at least 50 years before things are forgiven and forgotten and you can see each other as equals.

I’m not gonna complain, and if i do complain then im proactive about it, im not gonna wait for the government to do something, ill raise money myself to build houses, raise aids awareness etc… thats why i live in england……its lovely

My name is Greg. I just finished a year of studying music at Thames Valley University in London and I hope to continue, you can’t stop studying music I suppose but you know what I mean. I have been playing bass and acoustic guitar for the past 8/9 years and music is a huge part of my life. I came to London because of music. I met my wife through music. I’m playing in about 5 bands, studying music and if you catch me not playing I’m probably talking about music in some way, shape or form.

I’m not trying to win any awards for grammar or my writing and deep inside I’m a beach hobo, but I hope that my passion for music shines through in what I write and that we all get something out of this.

SO with that said I’m going to be taking care of the music scene here on Moral Fibre. Everything music. I’m going to be reviewing albums, equipment, recording and instructional software, instructional books and CDs, musicians’ biographies etc.. We can chat about the latest tunes, albums, videos, whats happening in the charts. Discuss legends and musicians who are not so legendary, but may be to you.

Music is not about clothes, music is not about hair, and music is not about how many bands you know and how many others don’t, it’s not about forcing opinions, how many albums you have or any of that trash. Music is creating some sort of emotion whether it came from true inspiration or from a fat chick’s ass shaking while she walks down the road (look it up). Music is sound created by humans and their instruments, computers, turntables (whatever) and just because you don’t enjoy it doesn’t mean it’s not music.

Music was here before all of the trends and all of  the ‘’scenes” and in the words of the beast legend that is Rick Rubin. ”The music will outlive us all”.

Guitar Pro has existed for quite some time but with the new version, GP5.2 it’s more awesome than it has ever been. Basically Guitar Pro allows you to program songs in midi form by tabbing or notating them straight into your computer.

The whole band is at your fingertips and you can tab out just about any instrument in the world. This makes it easy to send your riffs to band members for learning purposes and swapping riffs. As well as that you could tab out songs straight into your computer without having to notate them on millions of sheets of boring old paper! You can listen to it all once you’ve programmed it in, and with the new R.S.E(realistic sound engine) it doesn’t sound too bad either. So basically if you want to practice your transcribing, save paper and learn some new tunes while playing along to the tabbed out, easy to read midi goodness then this is for you. You can slow the whole track down and loop sections with the click of a button so your practice is musical and useful. You can change the tuning of the track without altering the tab so you can play along with those down tuned doomcore bands that you all love so much.

guitarpro 5.2

With so many Guitar Pro nerds out there any song you can think of is available and a rating is shown next to each tab so you don’t end up choosing a newbies version of flight of the bumblebee .SO basically if you play an instrument you should have Guitar Pro or you’re a loser.

Sites to check out: www.911tabs.com
www.mxtabs.net
www.metaltabs.com

Well what can you say about John Coltrane? He is a genius and this album was the first album on which he composed all the songs. To me his Sax playing is the greatest in the jazz world and this album was a gateway for me to start understanding and enjoying jazz. Every song is easy to enjoy and for those of you who don’t really dig jazz then you should try checking this out.

Tracks such as Naima, Giant Steps, Cousin Mary, Countdown and Mr. P.C  are standout tracks for me and not only are they amazing to listen to but are now found in a lot of ‘’Real Books’’ and known to many musicians as Jazz Standards. The players on it are also incredible,bassist Paul Chambers makes me want to throw my bass in the Thames and is basically a virtuoso whose lines sound effortless but I can tell you they most definitely are not.

The album is also seen as a benchmark for jazz players to reach for when working on their improvisational technique. If you  can play over the Coltrane Changes you know you’re doing something right. For me Naima is the one though, such feel in a time when getting your chops out was the in thing and Coltrane would have been wanting to prove himself once again after the release of Soultrane, he went for a relaxed vibe and played so quietly and perfectly. A definite step away from the Bebop days.

For the listener it’s just an amazing album. His sax is so soothing in places but then he ‘’plays’’ and you basically got your ears so tight on your earphones because your just thinking this is insane! For musicians trying to understand jazz: Figure out the chords, transcribe his lines no matter what instrument you play, and one day my friend you will be ridiculous too.

John Coltrane’s – Giant Steps

D’ Angelo’s debut album  which was released in July 1995 is something that on first listen makes you want to go home and make sweet love to your lady. That should be enough reason to buy it, BUT wait there’s more. D’angelo mixed the old with the new, using new school beats and an old school way of singing with such soul that Marvin Gaye would  envy his pipes (no offence obviously) . He pushed the then small, but growing Neo-Soul genre into the mainstream and women everywhere were getting keen.

If you enjoy Hip/Hop, R n B, Jazz, Blues or Soul then you’re going to love this album. D’angelo is an incredible musician/songwriter/producer and this album was a true testament to all of those titles. Its production is slick and the grooves are insane. It’s DIRTY and original.

I’m listening to it while I’m writing this and wishing that I was D’angelo so I could be that damn cool. Brown Sugar, Jonz in my Bonz and Lady show you that music could be the sexiest thing in its purist form and without a Pussycat Dolls music video in sight.

Just good music with great beats, arrangements  and a voice that would turn Hugh Hefner gay. Just sit back and have a listen to what soul is.

What can I say after reading Charles Mingus’s ‘Beneath the Underdog’? I feel hurt... This is an Auto-biography written by one of the greatest Jazz musicians and composers that ever lived. How often can something as special as this come around? A genius lets you into their life and their mind.This is heavy.

Charles Mingus’s early life was difficult to say the least. In a time when racial tensions in America were high, here was a man of Chinese, Swedish and African American descent, not yet fighting for his place in society, just wanting to be accepted.

His father was a strict man and was not shy in giving him punishment. Not any closer to a white man than Charles was, he was always beating racism into him. Charles Mingus’s, who when judged by his classmates and community was too black to be white, had to deal with one of the most complex battles a young mind could try and comprehend.

After dealing with so much resentment and anger from the white people around him,including his father, Charles Mingus’s became a fighter, so passionate in his views, his music,his love and it was this that inspired him to write and compose such incredible music. The dark and the light all mixed into one great storm of work.

The recognition he gained gave him a voice and that voice led him to being an activist against racial injustice, a great thinker and an inspiration.

I’m not going to tell Charles Mingus’s life story because that would spoil the book and this is a review not a biography. But I’ll tell you again. Mingus was a genius. From being married to 2 women at the same time. From the most passionate love, the lowest of lows, Pimps, Drugs, playing with Charlie Parker and Miles Davis and the most sickening treatment of a man who was doing so much for music this book is potent to say the least.

The way it’s written is not straightforward. He refers to himself under many names and the language is old American slang mixed with some ”Jazz Talk” but that only adds to the authenticity. The book is so personal. I can’t believe someone could open up this much. After reading this you’ll want to hear the music or watch watch a documentary made about Charles Mingus released in 1998 that lets you see and hear him speak and play.

I feel bad because I dont know what else to say. There’s too much.

His life was so full, he composed so much, he played with so many. Just read the book.

Charles Mingus :

Charles Mingus

So been lving in london for 4 and a half years came here to start a death metal band.it all went pear shaped,then i got married started studying music and now im really into it, kind of happy with life..always room for improvement..you know how it goes.

But the good thing is :marriage is good,staring to study again hopefully in sep (18000 pounds is soooo cheap<stoked!!!), and the gay sauna pays the bills…

Yes i work at a gay sauna… its glorious,last night i dreamt about father christmas with mammaries giving another guy a bagpipe..for those of you who dont know what a bagpipe is …(deleted by admin)………..AJAAHAAHAAHHAH!!!! whatever.. 

Well I’ve been working there part time for 1 and a half years and so my mind is numb to all the activities that go on there,dont get me wrong,im grateful for the cash but getting a resounding grunt from a physically disabled guy,a midget and a pair of 90 year old corpses making sweet love as a thank you for putting a new porn on in the ”cinema” is a surreal experience..    It was one of those moments where you pause, take a deep breath and think how the f did i get here….. I blame Metallica…

Well ive been really practicing a lot and trying to save and work as much as i can to afford to study in september and life is pretty full with crazy work,a wife and music(gigs,rehearsals etc) so ive got a lot that id like to share and maybe 2 other people in the world might find it interesting. I hope they live in Yemen because I like saying yemen.. we could just chat about it all day on msn until my eyes bleed.

I play in a hip hop band..tunes are awesome,but members come and go…….,starting up covers band,but all of us are busy travelling or gigging or studying so will probably never happen,but in all honesty its looking up……….,and play in funky pop band which is pretty cool..got some good gigs coming up at ronnie scotts and madame jojos so that could get somewhere.. all good experience playing with some awesome friends and meeting the right people…

but really been getting into jazz lately, soooo complex and beautiful and a true reflection of the people who play it,,and im not talking about filtered down white wannabe assholes trying to steal jazz and make it suck,,, im talking about real jazz,  miles,trane,mingus,bird,monk etc…. just reading and listening and trying to get that feel down and they way they approach music..amazing ,,unbereavabel (in the words of kim jong ill ) so just trying to transcribe that stuff and hopefully will get inside my playing… eventually want to start composing my own stuff and get a trio going…    everyone check out joshua redman and robert glasper…….2 guys of our generation who fuse the real stuff but also a bit of hip/hop new vibes sometime…SOOOOOOOOOOOO POTENT!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well thats just a taster,, dont care bout spelling,grammar on these things so sorry if i made the geeks bummed….lol…wtf..ftw

Ps I miss the beach and sun and i hate london…..

(note to self: in next life be normal,never  go to  london.)

Love and kisses

JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA…

Well much has happened since my last post…  saw dave matthews band for my second time at brixton academy..was retardedlly potent…..one of the best gigs ive ever been too.they just have so many good tunes and they have fat jams so they ended up playing for almost 3 hours..3 hours of perfection..carter beauford 100% best drummer on the planet..they’re all just incredible……

as well as that i jammed a gig at ronnie scotts.not the main section just the upstairs but was still good…played with a black and white picture of miles staring straight at my satchel and it was awesome..got to watch a bit of stanley jordan and his band soundcheck which was super potent..beasts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ja well i’ve been working a lot at the sauna and then on the off days at the music school but its chilled out now so im tryi ng to get back into practicing again…i hate not playing for too long..when i say long  i mean 2 days of no real practicing.. coz you begin to feel out of touch with your instrument….well so today i did about 6 hours of jamming goodness,.,,also recorded a little something something for my myspace.. www.myspace.com/gregorihofmann    check it out and let me know what you think…

just getting inspired by a lot of young beasts these days,a lot of the young gospel players from the states just destroying everyone….so much feel and just shred beasts..they can just do anything..check out gospel chops on you tube…..

other than that getting ready to go to turkey for just under 2 weeks with my wife so thats gonna be awesomeeeee..just chilling on the beach all day…however im taking the bass coz you just have to you know…..

So just continue saving and trying to move out coz the place where we are living is not going down to well anymore..ive been in this house for 4 years and its time for our own place..so things are pretty tough right now but doesnt really effect the mood or the mentality..just staying positive and just stoked to be alive and make it this far with family,health and mates so all is good in the hood.

one tune thats really inspiring me right now is paradise road by joy….south african tune obviously based around the struggle and if you dig motown then that tune will just float your boat…..i remember hearing that song on the radio long ago back home so i downloaded it here and when youre old enough to understand what the people in sa went through and these artists that were just so talented not getting recognised..its disgusting and theres just so much hope in that tune and if you ask me that song is as good if not better than any motown tune and theres so much meaning behind it..makes the satchel heavy…..            

Ja wel its 1.15am here and im a tired panda but hope all is good with everyone and i shall write soon..

Latassssssssssssssssssss