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 Umberto "Gionni Chesc" Fracassi's Profile |
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Umberto "Gionni Chesc" Plays The Blues..! |
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| Location: | Roma, |
| Country: |  Italy |
| Last Login: | Aug 20, 2008 (1 days back) |
About Me |
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| Homemade Blues, by chance..
Here you find some attempts to face some great tunes, in part from Rev. Gary Davis' monumental work, from Bob Dylan's "The Freewheelin'..", from the Unplugged album by Eric Clapton - an attempt originally meant to listen to my own faulty technique and possibly straighten it out.. But then it turned out to be something unexpected for me.. Read on, if you're curious.. It’s clear by now, isn’t it? Of course, I am no professional musician – rather, and much more simply, an aficionado whose good lil’ heart always beats in 4/4 and 12 beats.. Since the good ol’ days, music has been underpinning my day, setting its pace and style and, not seldom, stressing some gestures, some dramatic moments.. I certainly listen to so much music but blues is the only thing I can try to grasp, with a carload of energy and passion. Were I objectively as capable a guitarist as I'd love to be, it would be all evident and I wouldn’t feel the urge to jot these lines to explain what the hell I am doing here in the Music channel of MySpace.. However, here comes to you a short story on how I ended up here. After all, all I wanted was just to play my guitar.. If numbers were crucial, in line of principle I’ve been strumming since I was 8 (I was born back in the days of the Apollo 11 landing on the Moon) but my “glory days” (shall we name them as such..?) date back to the early 1980’s.. I then suddenly halted it all – it can happen when you’re 16.. And it took a long while before I restarted with some determination, once I bought a new guitar – one of those rough yet trustworthy ones.. But the dramatic time came when I attended a concert by John Hammond in Porretta Terme, in the early 1990’s. When I looked for him in the backstage to know him and to let him know how his music had hit a chord within me, he shook my hand and said: “Blues is all my life, I wouldn’t know what else to do”.. Here you see what a glimpse of music can do to the eyes of that wrinkled boy I had in front of me. Here on MySpace I had the honor of thanking him for what he had unknowingly done for me. Long Live the Blues, John.. Back in the spring of 1997, during a memorable visit to that guitar temple of Andy’s Guitar Workshop on Denmark St. in London, I bought a beautiful Epiphone replica of the Gibson J200. The look was very close to the original and magnificent and, for those days, it was much more than enough. After all, a few steps from me, there you had an awkward Keith Richards strumming on some gem, worth at least ten times my new baby. Above all, there was an unparalleled Gibson J185 of 1969, original finish, its top creased by endless cracks (in a radial pattern, as if they were fingers of a hand) caused by the million notes that Queen must have played. That day became one of those you treasure and tell over and over, like I am doing right now.. In 2005, a double meeting, here in Rome, changes it all again. That replica of the J200 deserved to be changed.. I face my wallet and go to YourMusic shop.. and there I fish a gracious Taylor 310. A good guitar, yes, but there’s no feeling sparking – she’s too.. to the millimeter. With one more leap forward (money-wise too, but..), in September 2007, I revolve the full lot: style, outlook, attempts.. We were talking about Gibsons, remember? We were talking blues roots, weren’t we? Are we dealing or not with chain gang, long train coming, times they are a-changin’..? So, there were no alternatives. I got back to YourMusic – I knew she was there: a Gibson Advanced Jumbo , second-hand, a replica of the 1936 model. She’s a princess, yet one of those in the know of the third class: she’s got some scratches, some tracks of a raw usage, frets await some repair.. but she’s got a magnificent voice, she was conceived for anything happening among Route 66 and Memphis, a train and a slab of fried chicken, with Polk Salad Annie in the background (“..where the alligators live only”). And the sheer volume of this Gibson baby leads to Leadbelly and to Rev. Gary Davis. In this space you can find some tunes that, with a Mac laptop and a condenser microphone in the studio and in my living room, I have “recorded”, at first simply to listen back to my playing errors and wrong licks – all of them innumerable. I certainly had no idea I would have had the face to put them online – but several unexpected and tasty changes seem to take place, so it might be worth seeing what happens now.. Of course, the guitar you listen to is the same Gibson I was mentioning earlier on and that you can see pictured in this space. Needless to say - she outnumbers me by any respects.. In some other tunes, I am using a very good Tanglewood TW55-FPP . My only afterthought was - and still is - that these versions, somewhat “low, down & dirty” (that’s what my technique allows me as of today..), are light years away from giving due justice to the original tunes.. I started up with that beautiful album by Eric Clapton (Unplugged, of course).. and let’s hope Eric would graciously forgive me.. As I’ll finish some other tunes and “polish” these ones now online, I shall publish them here. Let me end this “open letter” with a consideration, on an entirely personal level. It makes quite an impression on me (and a tender one too, I have to say) to write openly about my “musical CV”.. as if these lines were a coming-of-age novel, as if they had been written by Cameron Crowe for “Almost Famous” – a guy who knows what Rock really is about since age 15.. Since September 2006 I have unexpectedly and surprisingly undergone a sudden leap forward on all that has to do with music and in which I am involved, at any length. In October 2007 I opened my private profile on MySpace for mere practical reasons (having a living calendar of the blues venues and keeping track of the concerts of some blues bands here in Rome).. and now, maybe unconsciously, here am I telling a story about Umberto the “musician”. And, are you wondering where the name of the “Umberto the musician” comes from? Simple and straight: the great Johnny Cash – spelled as we pronounce it and written as if it were an Italian name. My true one, rather unappealingly, is Umberto Fracassi. Have you ever heard of a wanna-be bluesman called Umberto? Come on, I needed some fancy name.. Gionni Chesc Plays The Blues! Contact Table Generated with MyWackoSpace |
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My Interests |
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Music:Member Since: 11/5/2007Band Website: http://www.myspace.com/gionnichesc"MySpace: myspace.com/gionnichesc Band Members: Me and Bobby McGee (well, approximately..) .. ..reharsing at the Stex Sound studio, Rome (photos by Davide Citrolo) WOW!!! Elena Spagnuolo singing along Umberto's finally relaxed rendition of "Before You Accuse Me", at Gli Argonauti, 10 July 2008, guests of Davide Citrolo's gig..! It was truly a beautiful, sweaty night! .. Live at Gli Argonauti, 10 July 2008 - such a night, The Band would have sung! .. Live at Antica Roma - Salotto degli Artisti, 30 July 2008 - a beautiful gig, hosted by Davide Citrolo, with Luca Vaglica! .. With Davide Citrolo and Angelo Blu, guest of the Blues Corner at the sweet La Grotta dei Germogli (Calcata), 26 July 2008 - a beautiful blues night! Thank you so much, Luca and Blues Corner!! .. Live at Parco S. Onofrio, 28 June 2008 - what a great venue! (photos by Gabriele Marcelli - thank you, GAb friend!) Playing "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" live at Gli Argonauti, in Rome, on 5 June 2008, guest of Davide Citrolo, a great night of blues, roots and fingerpicking! Thank you so much, CitrolCaster! (video by Fabio Villani - thank you, Fabio!) .. Live at Gli Argonauti, 5 June 2008, the first gig together with Elena, as guests of Davide Citrolo (photos by Gabriele Marcelli - thank you, GAb friend!) (photos by Gabriele Marcelli - thank you, GAb friend!) Influences: I was there, 21-25 May 2008, Sarzana (SP), Italy! Beautiful!! YES! With Diane Ponzio, at Sarzana, in the Eko-Martin room! (photo by Max Varini) Allman Brothers Band, Johnny Cash, Jim Croce, CSNY, Neil Young, Lightnin' Hopkins, Stephen Stills, Rolling Stones, Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Rev. Gary Davis, Buffalo Springfield, Cream, Blind Faith, Eric Clapton, Janis Joplin, Paul Butterfield Blues Band, Elvis, Bob Dylan, George benson (pre'80), SRV, James Taylor, Jethro Tull, Steve Howe, Traffic, Joni Mitchell, Jorma Kaukonen, Hot Tuna, Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin, Muddy Waters, Wes Montgomery, Jimmy Smith.. Good ol' Lightnin' Hopkins playing..an old Gibson (a Dove, maybe?) in 1970, "Shining Moon" - He's the Lord of Ol' Texas Blues! Now, HE's the one.. A wise man, a sweet player, a great entertainer, and a compelling legend of American music - Doc Watson playing "Deep River Blues" ..and can you imagine? Steve Howe playing "The clap", close to the version recorded in the Yes album from 1970.. Well, I bought the tablature for this song.. but will I ever be able to play it..? Oh, man.. Yes! The good Jorma Kaukonen, one of my heroes.. Live on the Italian TV, twenty something years ago, with "Police Dog Blues".. .. Shall I ever master this magnificent song? "Hear my train a-comin'", the one Jimi Hendrix played during the hotel interview with his 12-string and open tuining.. Here comes to you, The Man In Black: Johnny Cash, Live at S. Quentin, 1968, playing "Folsom Prison Blues". No other words are needed. Yes, as they say.. "Acoustic music in your face".. He's unreachable at any extent, but Tommy Emmanuel is titanic ispiration for us all earthbound guitar lovers, rocking upon "Guitar Boogie"! Type of Label: None |
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My Background and Lifestyle |
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| Occupation: | Music Artist (Blues / Folk / Acoustic) |
My Friends |
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Mississippi Mood, GINA, EMILIANO BEGNI, Awa Ly, BOOGIE CLUB, Bruno Marinucci, 23:09, GAb, Bruno D'Ercole, Anna, DAVIDE CITROLO, ALESSANDRO CARFI uno come n’antro, PapaLeg Acoustic Blues Duo, Axe Masterson, Resonator Ghost, Davide Facchini, MarcoDeLillis, Blues Corner, Toby Bonar, Dissidanses, Movidazouk Roma, tumbler, Tim Sparks, Eric Clapton, Johnny Cash, John Hammond, TOMMY EMMANUEL, noGospel, skin, Princess of my Boots, SJ Duchess, kopioma, LOWLANDS, Hideous Creations, Davide Marcone, Steve Tallis and The Holy Ghosts, Patrizia Scascitelli, Joe Caruso, Two Piece Root, blueslinks.nl (the mother of all blueslinks), Bianca(mrs White), Odessa, Bob McCarthy with James Montgomery, Maria, Anita Camarella & Davide Facchini Duo, Federico Accardo, Paola, Acoustic Music Festival, Ghita, Germano Del Mastro, Stefan Ragge Wretman - The Ragdoll Blues Project, Fabio Testaferrata
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Tags |
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Umberto "Gionni Chesc" Fracassi's profile has been tagged with the following keywords. Click a tag to search for profiles with the same tags. apollo 11 landing on the moon, apollo 11 landing, bob dylans, good ol days, lil heart, landing on the moon, professional musician, dramatic time, rev gary davis, dramatic moments, unplugged album, freewheelin, much music, monumental work, guitar one, carload, blues music, john hammond, music channel, new guitar |
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