Seen many concerts but Gentle Giant and Renaissance was the best. GG has been my favorite band since octopus the power and the glory is at my top. I also always liked interview and inside out gives me the chills still today. Hope someday they will all get together to do a live song even if only for youtube. Thanks for the great interview thanks to Derek for taking the time. Yes I am an old man.
@@SOALNightLive seen most of the big prog groups with better stage production. If you were there for the music GG couldn't be touched and Renaissance Ann's voice it left you in a state euphoria. this performance was soon after playing the fool same set w/ winning in Chicago.
0:00 Intro 0:20 Your hosts look at the Gentle Giant catalog, album by album. 14:40 Derek Shulman arrives 16:00 Derek reflects on our look at the GG catalog and discusses/shows new vinyl flat transfers on 180mg vinyl of the first four GG albums- now available! 18:02 Derek's art behind him 19:57 Thoughts on George Underwood, Tony Visconti, David Bowie, T Rex & the first album's art and giant "logo". 21:30 How Derek has been spending his days as of late during the Covid era and thoughts on the new fan + band video of "Proclamation". 28:40 Noah Shulman arrives to discuss the "Proclamation" video. 28:88 Noah explains his inspiration for the "Proclamation" video and why that song was chosen. 31:42 The logistics of the video- how fans found out about the submission process, etc 32:20 Over 100 fan submissions from around the world + guests like Billy Sherwood of Yes, Jakko Jakszyk from King Crimson, Lee Pomeroy (ELO/ARW Yes) 33:10 How the track was built and adding each musical fan's parts and how much they offered 35:00 Mixing the track, courtesy of Ray Shulman 37:26 Derek discusses Noah's daily work at Sony and artists he works with, including Ozzy. 38:00 Ozzy's current condition (good) & filming the interview for his "See You On The Other Side" box. 38:40 Noah mentions to Ozzy that his Dad was in Gentle Giant + Ozzy's reaction 39:49 How long the "Proclamation" vid took from conception to completion & fan reactions to it 41:47 How GG didn't consider themselves a "prog rock" act and that revistionist, after-the-fact categorization in the post internet age. 42:49 Derek reflects on Noah's lifelong wish for a GG reunion and the reasons it wasn't feasible 44:18 The "mystique" associated with the band for calling it a day in 1980 and never looking back 45:25 Derek opines on what the band was all about, the need to end Simon Dupree and start GG + the progression of the band's albums and their diversity. 47:44 Noah takes off. Dinner awaits 48:00 But first, we take a look at Noah's one of a kind GG tee (that should be mass produced, asap, please!) 49:33 Derek discusses the singing he's done since GG disbanded, the state of his pipes and singing on the new vid + thoughts on aging as a singer and performer. 53:42 Taking care of one's self on the road 55:12 The possibility of an animated film for "Proclamation" and The Power and The Glory 58:10 Why didn't GG ever do side-long epics or even ones that were 10+ minutes- they never "noodled" + theme and variation 1:00:15 On being the frontman vs sharing the role with his brother Phil, early on 1:02:38 Does Derek miss performing & thoughts on when they called it a day and motivations towards the end 1:05:29 Thoughts on how their music was arranged, the element of surprise 1:08:04 How everything was arranged and how they never just jammed in hopes of ideas arriving. They were "no jam band" 1:08:45 Memories of Elton John playing with Simon Dupree and seeing him again a few years ago + a "lost song" from that era 1:12:57 How much time passed between the end of Simon Dupree and the beginning of GG and the process of finding Gary and Kerry 1:15:40 Who wrote the lyrics and what inspired them 1:16:39 The lyrical inspiration for the song "Free Hand" & the freedom they had when creating 1:17:45 A discussion of their album covers and the inspirations for each 1:21:50 The contents of the Unburied Treasure Box (UTB) + possibilities of some of it's contents becoming stand alone items 1:23:32 How the UTB box live shows offer a great look at how many songs evolved and changed on stage "they weren't just a recording band" 1:24:37 "the recordings were just sketches for the painting..." 1:25:39 Live shows found after the UBT box was complete & the Steven Wilson 5.1 mix of Free Hand 1:26:50 Memories of Trident studios- Tony Visconti, Queen, Roy Thomas Baker, Marc Bolan, Neil Kernon, David Bowie 1:28:15 Derek living in Dallas post GG and his career as an A&R man for major labels 1:30:30 Working for the label & scouting for talent in the 80s musical landscape 1:32:50 Thoughts on signing Bon Jovi, Pantera, Dream Theater, etc "commerciality vs passion" 1:35:46 Working "hands on" with the artists once they were signed 1:37:00 Pantera winning him over after three songs 1:38:25 What classical composers had an influence on GG's writing and arranging 1:40:09 Any favorite prog bands from back in the day? 1:43:00 Opening for big groups in the 70s (some of which were assholes) 1:44:23 Thoughts on the resurgence of vinyl and listening at home 1:45:30 The infamous tale of opening for Black Sabbath at the Hollywood Bowl 1:49:52 The Shulberry- it's birth and demise 1:50:52 Kevin Gilbert's "Suite Fugue" & being free of record company demands 1:51:54 Thoughts on musical plagiarism. Also, hip hop sampling 1:54:55 Going on stage despite not always feeling well 1:55:40 How many roadies did they have to tend to 35+ instruments & fun on stage 1:56:46 Was there eeeever any talk to reunite the band in the last 40 years 1:57:16 Self producing the third album, sans Tony. Any trepidation? 1:59:40 Martin Smith's departure 2:00:50 The dynamics of having three brothers in the band and the occasional struggles 2:02:46 Has Civilian ever had a stand alone release? Thoughts on Civilian... Geoff Emerick 2:04:35 Lee Abrahms role with Civilian - airplay, AOR worries 2:06:35 The song "The Power and the Glory"- reasons for it's creation 2:08:00 A stand alone release for the 5.1 Blu-Ray edition of the debut album and uncovering the remains of it 2:09:40 Recent Steven Wilson remixes and 5.1 surround mixes of Free Hand, Interview and The Missing Piece - when will they be released and should they be in a box or separate? Derek asks the fans for their preference 2:10:54 Did the punk and pop of the late 70s have a bearing on the direction of the Giant For A Day album 2:12:35 How did widespread commercial success elude GG? 2:15:17 Why the two different covers for Three Friends and Octopus? 2:16:26 What was the genesis of the Gentle Giant name? 2:17:50 Were any of the acts Derek signed in the 80s GG fans? 2:19:34 Was "Memories of Old Days" based on Orwell's "Coming of Age?" 2:20:40 Thoughts on the instrumental "Tallybont"- a theme for a movie never made 2:21:28 Why didn't anyone from GG do solo albums? 2:23:00 How did they decide who would sing lead on each song + thoughts on Kerry's vocals 2:24:14 Who were Derek's vocal influences? 2:24:39 Earliest musical memories around the house 2:27:17 How did Mike Vickers (Manfred Mann) come to 'play' on Octopus? 2:28:28 What's GG's view on the sharing of bootleg recordings? 2:29:22 Does Derek still play sax? 2:29:59 Who's idea was it to "play" Pong on "Time To Kill"? 2:31:19 Why wasn't "Words From The Wise" ever played live? Onstage monitoring and vocals... 2:32:37 What did they play in soundchecks? 2:33:58 Actor Sherman Hemsley (aka George Jefferson) meeting GG and bearing 'gifts'... + dancing to GG on the Dinah Shore show... 2:39:00 Mellotron/gear breakdowns and closing comments
One thing. I attended both concerts in Sweden -75 and -76. Ray did his violinsolo on both. 75 was a concert in a rather small venue, "Kårhuset" and he also did it the year later in the "Stockholm Concerthall", wich was much bigger. He had 3 speakers around the hall where he pointed to one by one and let the solo surround the hall. It was fantastic, he just pointed to the corner he wanted and just let it flow around. It worked perfect in the small venue, not that great in the concerthall. But that solo, how he just pointed with the bow, echoing around the room. It was amazing. Where did that disappear?
@@SOALNightLive Oh, It so was. Memories just coming back. They started with "The Runaway". Someone missed the output level or thought, let´s make this glass shattering earshattering... The first two rows flew up from their seats and just run... Three JBL 075 in each stack... I sat in the sixth and my ears was ringing...
I had the pleasure of interviewing Derek on my radio show at CKCU-FM in Ottawa , Canada in March 2019. One of the things he said to me was , GG were quirky musically and wanted to experiment and didn't want to lend itself as being like any other band for the exception of Frank Zappa , who GG admired , as Frank did of them as well. The UK being their home country , really didn't except GG when they started out, yet places such as Italy, Germany , Sweden , and most parts of Europe, as well as Canada were great markets for the band to tour . Thank God I saw them twice in the 70's and Derek looks great and the Proclamation video is outstanding. well done Noah. Brilliant interview guys.
A had the honor and privilege to attend a GG show at a small club in Tempe Arizona in '78 or '79. The opening act was a juggler and was billed as Chris Bliss and his balls of fire
Seen many concerts but Gentle Giant and Renaissance was the best. GG has been my favorite band since octopus the power and the glory is at my top.
I also always liked interview and inside out gives me the chills still today. Hope someday they will all get together to do a live song even if only for youtube.
Thanks for the great interview thanks to Derek for taking the time. Yes I am an old man.
Our pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it. Renaissance and GG seem like a perfect double bill!
@@SOALNightLive seen most of the big prog groups with better stage production. If you were there for the music GG couldn't be touched
and Renaissance Ann's voice it left you in a state euphoria. this performance was soon after playing the fool same set w/ winning in Chicago.
0:00 Intro
0:20 Your hosts look at the Gentle Giant catalog, album by album.
14:40 Derek Shulman arrives
16:00 Derek reflects on our look at the GG catalog and discusses/shows new vinyl flat transfers on 180mg vinyl of the first four GG albums- now available!
18:02 Derek's art behind him
19:57 Thoughts on George Underwood, Tony Visconti, David Bowie, T Rex & the first album's art and giant "logo".
21:30 How Derek has been spending his days as of late during the Covid era and thoughts on the new fan + band video of "Proclamation".
28:40 Noah Shulman arrives to discuss the "Proclamation" video.
28:88 Noah explains his inspiration for the "Proclamation" video and why that song was chosen.
31:42 The logistics of the video- how fans found out about the submission process, etc
32:20 Over 100 fan submissions from around the world + guests like Billy Sherwood of Yes, Jakko Jakszyk from King Crimson, Lee Pomeroy (ELO/ARW Yes)
33:10 How the track was built and adding each musical fan's parts and how much they offered
35:00 Mixing the track, courtesy of Ray Shulman
37:26 Derek discusses Noah's daily work at Sony and artists he works with, including Ozzy.
38:00 Ozzy's current condition (good) & filming the interview for his "See You On The Other Side" box.
38:40 Noah mentions to Ozzy that his Dad was in Gentle Giant + Ozzy's reaction
39:49 How long the "Proclamation" vid took from conception to completion & fan reactions to it
41:47 How GG didn't consider themselves a "prog rock" act and that revistionist, after-the-fact categorization in the post internet age.
42:49 Derek reflects on Noah's lifelong wish for a GG reunion and the reasons it wasn't feasible
44:18 The "mystique" associated with the band for calling it a day in 1980 and never looking back
45:25 Derek opines on what the band was all about, the need to end Simon Dupree and start GG + the progression of the band's albums and their diversity.
47:44 Noah takes off. Dinner awaits
48:00 But first, we take a look at Noah's one of a kind GG tee (that should be mass produced, asap, please!)
49:33 Derek discusses the singing he's done since GG disbanded, the state of his pipes and singing on the new vid + thoughts on aging as a singer and performer.
53:42 Taking care of one's self on the road
55:12 The possibility of an animated film for "Proclamation" and The Power and The Glory
58:10 Why didn't GG ever do side-long epics or even ones that were 10+ minutes- they never "noodled" + theme and variation
1:00:15 On being the frontman vs sharing the role with his brother Phil, early on
1:02:38 Does Derek miss performing & thoughts on when they called it a day and motivations towards the end
1:05:29 Thoughts on how their music was arranged, the element of surprise
1:08:04 How everything was arranged and how they never just jammed in hopes of ideas arriving. They were "no jam band"
1:08:45 Memories of Elton John playing with Simon Dupree and seeing him again a few years ago + a "lost song" from that era
1:12:57 How much time passed between the end of Simon Dupree and the beginning of GG and the process of finding Gary and Kerry
1:15:40 Who wrote the lyrics and what inspired them
1:16:39 The lyrical inspiration for the song "Free Hand" & the freedom they had when creating
1:17:45 A discussion of their album covers and the inspirations for each
1:21:50 The contents of the Unburied Treasure Box (UTB) + possibilities of some of it's contents becoming stand alone items
1:23:32 How the UTB box live shows offer a great look at how many songs evolved and changed on stage "they weren't just a recording band"
1:24:37 "the recordings were just sketches for the painting..."
1:25:39 Live shows found after the UBT box was complete & the Steven Wilson 5.1 mix of Free Hand
1:26:50 Memories of Trident studios- Tony Visconti, Queen, Roy Thomas Baker, Marc Bolan, Neil Kernon, David Bowie
1:28:15 Derek living in Dallas post GG and his career as an A&R man for major labels
1:30:30 Working for the label & scouting for talent in the 80s musical landscape
1:32:50 Thoughts on signing Bon Jovi, Pantera, Dream Theater, etc "commerciality vs passion"
1:35:46 Working "hands on" with the artists once they were signed
1:37:00 Pantera winning him over after three songs
1:38:25 What classical composers had an influence on GG's writing and arranging
1:40:09 Any favorite prog bands from back in the day?
1:43:00 Opening for big groups in the 70s (some of which were assholes)
1:44:23 Thoughts on the resurgence of vinyl and listening at home
1:45:30 The infamous tale of opening for Black Sabbath at the Hollywood Bowl
1:49:52 The Shulberry- it's birth and demise
1:50:52 Kevin Gilbert's "Suite Fugue" & being free of record company demands
1:51:54 Thoughts on musical plagiarism. Also, hip hop sampling
1:54:55 Going on stage despite not always feeling well
1:55:40 How many roadies did they have to tend to 35+ instruments & fun on stage
1:56:46 Was there eeeever any talk to reunite the band in the last 40 years
1:57:16 Self producing the third album, sans Tony. Any trepidation?
1:59:40 Martin Smith's departure
2:00:50 The dynamics of having three brothers in the band and the occasional struggles
2:02:46 Has Civilian ever had a stand alone release? Thoughts on Civilian... Geoff Emerick
2:04:35 Lee Abrahms role with Civilian - airplay, AOR worries
2:06:35 The song "The Power and the Glory"- reasons for it's creation
2:08:00 A stand alone release for the 5.1 Blu-Ray edition of the debut album and uncovering the remains of it
2:09:40 Recent Steven Wilson remixes and 5.1 surround mixes of Free Hand, Interview and The Missing Piece - when will they be released and should they be in a box or separate? Derek asks the fans for their preference
2:10:54 Did the punk and pop of the late 70s have a bearing on the direction of the Giant For A Day album
2:12:35 How did widespread commercial success elude GG?
2:15:17 Why the two different covers for Three Friends and Octopus?
2:16:26 What was the genesis of the Gentle Giant name?
2:17:50 Were any of the acts Derek signed in the 80s GG fans?
2:19:34 Was "Memories of Old Days" based on Orwell's "Coming of Age?"
2:20:40 Thoughts on the instrumental "Tallybont"- a theme for a movie never made
2:21:28 Why didn't anyone from GG do solo albums?
2:23:00 How did they decide who would sing lead on each song + thoughts on Kerry's vocals
2:24:14 Who were Derek's vocal influences?
2:24:39 Earliest musical memories around the house
2:27:17 How did Mike Vickers (Manfred Mann) come to 'play' on Octopus?
2:28:28 What's GG's view on the sharing of bootleg recordings?
2:29:22 Does Derek still play sax?
2:29:59 Who's idea was it to "play" Pong on "Time To Kill"?
2:31:19 Why wasn't "Words From The Wise" ever played live? Onstage monitoring and vocals...
2:32:37 What did they play in soundchecks?
2:33:58 Actor Sherman Hemsley (aka George Jefferson) meeting GG and bearing 'gifts'... + dancing to GG on the Dinah Shore show...
2:39:00 Mellotron/gear breakdowns and closing comments
What a great 2hs and half of talking. Love GG and Derek is awesome. Great interview. Thank you
My pleasure!
Fantastic and insightful interview.
Thanks for posting
It was a real honor to chat at length with Derek (and Noah)! Glad to share!
The greatest most criminally underated band ever
You can say that again!
One thing. I attended both concerts in Sweden -75 and -76. Ray did his violinsolo on both. 75 was a concert in a rather small venue, "Kårhuset" and he also did it the year later in the "Stockholm Concerthall", wich was much bigger. He had 3 speakers around the hall where he pointed to one by one and let the solo surround the hall. It was fantastic, he just pointed to the corner he wanted and just let it flow around. It worked perfect in the small venue, not that great in the concerthall. But that solo, how he just pointed with the bow, echoing around the room. It was amazing. Where did that disappear?
Sounds amazing!
Stockholm 1976. One of the best concerts I have seen. It was amazing! Most of "Playing the fool" was recorded there.
Lucky you! I bet that was MAGIC!
@@SOALNightLive Oh, It so was. Memories just coming back. They started with "The Runaway". Someone missed the output level or thought, let´s make this glass shattering earshattering... The first two rows flew up from their seats and just run... Three JBL 075 in each stack... I sat in the sixth and my ears was ringing...
great interview! thank you very much and stay healthy :)
Same to you! Thank you for listening to the show!
Great Show! I think this has been my favorite episode so far.
It was pretty magical, if I do say so.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Derek on my radio show at CKCU-FM in Ottawa , Canada in March 2019. One of the things he said to me was , GG were quirky musically and wanted to experiment and didn't want to lend itself as being like any other band for the exception of Frank Zappa , who GG admired , as Frank did of them as well. The UK being their home country , really didn't except GG when they started out, yet places such as Italy, Germany , Sweden , and most parts of Europe, as well as Canada were great markets for the band to tour . Thank God I saw them twice in the 70's and Derek looks great and the Proclamation video is outstanding. well done Noah. Brilliant interview guys.
Bobby, thank you so much for the kind words!
Gave this another watch. Xlent :)))
Thanks for the visit
Great interview,Noah I want one of those shirts :)
Us too! Got mine ordered! Neat how this interview planted the seed, isn't it?
A had the honor and privilege to attend a GG show at a small club in Tempe Arizona in '78 or '79.
The opening act was a juggler and was billed as Chris Bliss and his balls of fire
Italian band PFM has an album(Jet Lag) that sounds alot like GG.
I'm curious if the 2 bands performed together in Italy.
Excellent!