Tune Tag #124 with Owen McTigue of ODEA: King Crimson, Elton John, Genesis, Wendy Waldman, Procol Harum, Belle Perez, Plastic Penny, Linda Ronstadt

The classical guy is hip to classic rock?😱What is this sorcery? Imagine if he caught on here: Might we see a periodic Tune Tag featuring Owen and calling it Tune Tigue?! Ha! Can you imagine?!🤯

Welcome, Owen McTigue of ODEA: Classical Music Concerts in NYC!

“I’ve been fascinated by music since I was a kid….”

Owen McTigue

Owen, a Big Apple resident, on his Substack entry: “I started ODEA to make classical and contemporary music feel approachable rather than exclusive. It’s meant as an entry point for people who want to broaden their cultural world and enjoy something worthwhile, whether or not they know the pieces or artists.”

“I started playing the clarinet at age 10, became a drummer in a scrappy middle school rock band, and picked up alto sax in high school to play in the jazz band. Through summer music programs and playing in orchestras, classical music became my main focus, leading me to study clarinet at a conservatory before realizing the professional musician’s life wasn’t for me.

“Now, I work in product management in the healthcare world, but my passion for classical music never left. Though the clarinet stays in its case here in NYC, I spend my time exploring the amazing concerts the city has to offer!”

Last week, we had the distinct sensation of being surrounded by Lavender Sound:

Tune Tag #123 with Max Freedman of Lavender Sound: Kate Bush, Charli XCX, Scritti Politti, Jay Som, Charlie, Roosevelt, Nara Leão, Hot Chip

Next week, join us in welcoming Nuno Babo of Needle in a Substack for his second Tune Tag!

👇Tune Tag #124, y’all!👇

Owen’s song #1 sent to Brad: King Crimson, “Frame by Frame,” 1981

King Crimson (l-r): Bill Bruford, Robert Fripp, Tony Levin, Adrian Belew.

Owen’s rationale: I was pulled into Brad’s orbit after perusing past Tune Tags and was fascinated by the selection of music -- mostly classic and progressive rock from the ‘60s through the ‘80s, with plenty of soul, R&B, and funk thrown in….a lot of stuff I hadn’t heard before! What struck me was how much classical music DNA runs through these genres even when it’s not obvious.

That curiosity led me to my opening move: King Crimson’s “Frame by Frame” from their 1981 Discipline album. Right from the opening, you get these metallic, shimmering guitar riffs, so distinctly ‘80s, layered over this crisp, driving drum beat with such clean fills. The two guitars (Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew) carve up the bar differently: One plays a fast, repeating pattern divided into threes, while the other locks into fours, creating this polyrhythmic tension that keeps building.

Then right at the precipice, the drums go dark and the two guitars lock together in 7/8—until one of them drops the last note in the second measure, essentially shifting to 13/8. You’ve got this asymmetrical layered pattern that keeps your ear guessing, and it took me a while to figure out what was going on here, but I had to find out. Then Belew’s vocals come in, sailing effortlessly over all these intricacies below. Quite a feat.

I picked a King Crimson song because of the heavy classical music influences guitarist Fripp has talked about, particularly Bartók’s String Quartets, which seem to be where the mixed meter inspiration comes from. The whole thing feels like Steve Reich’s minimalist phasing meeting Bartók’s rhythmic complexity, all dressed up in ‘80s rock.

Béla Bartók (1881-1945) is seen here with his son, Peter. Peter Bartók, the second son of Béla, was born in 1924 when his father was 43 years old. Peter was with his parents in New York City during much of the time they were living there, what turned out to be Bartók’s last years. Peter went on to become famous in his own right as a recording engineer and is currently living (and maintaining Bartók Records) in Florida. (dickstrawser.blogspot.com, 2011)

Tune Tag uncovers the improbable through-line from Bartók to Hendrix to Fripp: In a conversation at The City Winery in New York City on September 23rd 2022, Robert Fripp gives his answer to this audience-member question (published on DGMLive.com), “I read that Béla Bartók was an influence of yours. In Lark’s Tongues [Crimson’s 1973 album, their fifth], I hear what I think is “The Rite of Spring” by Stravinsky, and I was wondering if you could comment on the classical influences that may feed into King Crimson and your own conception of music”:

From RockandRollGarage.com, 2022: It was only in 1981 when Fripp talked with the sister of King Crimson drummer, Michael Giles, that she told him what was Hendrix’s opinion on his emerging prog rock band: “She said to me, ‘Do you remember the time Hendrix came to see King Crimson?’ And I said, ‘Of course I do; it’s my Hendrix story.’ And she said, ‘Do you know that I was sitting at the next table to Jimi Hendrix?’ I said ‘No.” And, she said he was jumping up and down, saying, ‘This is the best group in the world!’” “In all due modesty, this is one of the best calling cards any working musician is likely to be able to present!” Fripp said.

Fripp: “There is a learned musicological dissertation and analysis on Larks Tongue In Aspic Part Two, the name of which is the sound of Hendrix playing Bartók. And this is taken from a quote of myself where I am saying that what I was seeking is: What would it sound like if Hendrix were playing ‘The Bartók String Quartets’?

“And this goes back to Robert, age 20, in 1966 at Bournemouth College, doing A-levels. I was about to go on to London and take a degree in estate management and go into my father’s real estate firm as a partner. And then Hendrix came on the scene. And then there was [The Beatles’] Sergeant Pepper.

“And then at the same time, I began listening to the Bartók String Quartets and Judy Collins and Stravinsky and Elgar and a wide range of music. Duke Ellington had done the first set of two at the Winter Gardens in Bournemouth when I was working at the Majestic Hotel up the road. All these musicians, all these different forms of music.

“My experience of it was of one musician speaking in a variety of dialects. And I could not go back.”

Brad’s song #1 sent to Owen: Genesis, “The Cinema Show,” 1976 (live, Seconds Out)

Genesis, in concert in 1976, their first tour following lead singer, Peter Gabriel’s departure. To allow for new lead singer, Phil Collins, to step out from behind the drums to sing, they discovered that hiring a “touring drummer” would fill the bill for the ensuing decades! Former Zappa/Weather Report/Santana sideman, Chester Thompson, performed the task for decades, but this was the only tour for which the band hired Bill Bruford to man the kit! He and Collins would often do drum duets and drum “challenges” during the band’s frequent extended instrumental turns!