When I saw them live in 1987, 1988 and 1992, it was a different situation. Most of their mid and late 80s studio recordings did not call for the use of horns beyond what Jay plays. So, with the exception of songs like Freetime and Old San Juan, there was very little, if anything, that was missed by not having horn sounds. It figures that they would reintroduce the horns into their studio mix AFTER my last bonafide chance to see them live. Just kidding. Either way, they put on a great show.

Dave. Lack of SG shows in Chicago is a mystery to me too. If you look at the booking info. address on all the cd booklets it has a Chicago address so you would think that may be one of the more frequent stops. The February show is scheduled for Schaumburg, Il. which is about an hour west of the city. That too is kind of odd with all the great venues downtown. Great for me though being a far northwest suburbanite. Another strange note. In the summer of 1997 they did a free show at Woodfield Shopping Center, also in Schaumburg. Not in a theater in the mall but literally in the center of the mall. What is with that? I did not attend but that would be strange seeing a show in a mall. I know Marc Antoine and Peter White have played there as well. Then in the summer of 1998 they cancelled one week before showtime at The Chicago Theater, a great place to see a show. I already had tickets. Why? Lack of ticket sales? That would seem odd since they rarely are around as it is. Out of sight, out of mind? Who knows. I'll have a fit if the Feb. show in cancelled.

Steve, I too must wonder what is going on but I think some of it must be WNUA who are not all that big on Spyro Gyra and they are a force behind many of shows in Chicago. They only play 'Morning Dance" and for those not familar with the band that is not much to build a new group of concert goers on. By the way are the tickets on sale for the show in Feb. I would sure like to catch the guys if all possible. I driving down to Indy to catch Steve Reid also in Feb. Maybe I just make it my smmoth jazz month of travel.

Dave-I don't think tickets are on sale yet for the Feb. show. I will inquire in another month. Won't be a bad seat in the house though, the place is small. I too am a big Steve Reid fan. Did you see him at the Cubby Bear Lounge a couple months back? I was out of town. I have heard he's only playing about an hour though. To drive 5-6 hours roundtrip to Indy for a 1 hour show...that's a tough call.

Dave-Well I nearly screwed up. The tickets for the Feb.19 show have been on sale since August. I called to inquire about ticket purchases and was shocked to learn they went on sale 6 months before the show. Even more shocked to learn the venue only holds 442 seats and tickets are still available? Get your tickets while you can.
Okay everyone, help me out here. Tickets have been sale for 3 months for the only Chicago SG appearence in 2 years and they have yet to sell even 400 tickets??? How much money could it cost to advertise or promote a little bit. That's pathetic!!! Chicago radio plays virtually no Ripps music and very little SG but somehow I would have to say Ripps are slightly more popular (They will sell more tickets faster, still with no promoting). My best guess as the reason for this is I would say there are many more female fans for the Ripps. Do you guys (and gals) agree?

SteveH: BF's last show in Indianapolis in May was at least 2 hours. I believe their playing time is reduced when they are appearing in conjunction with another band. We have them all to ourselves at the Roof.

Rachel.

And what a weekend that will be! We're driving down from North Dakota to see the Yellowjackets in Macomb, then Spyro the next day in Schaumburg.

Matt . . .

You'll have to let us know how the Yellowjackets' concert goes. Now that Peter Erskine has replaced the great Will kennedy, I'm interested in the sound of what they themselves are calling themselves, the "new" Yellowjackets.

I'll be seeing both the YJ's and Spyro Gyra at the upcoming Berks JazzFest in March of 2000.

Hey everybody!
I had some time on my hands so I decided to check this board out. I'm so fatter, I mean flattered that you all take such an in depth interest in the band. I must correct Mr. Eril on one point though. I play all the horn parts live without the use of sequencers. I use a Roland D-50 midied to my Emu ESI-4000 sampler. The Korg Prophecy provides me with the baritone sax sound on Breakfast at Igor's for example. The only time I used a sequencer in the past few years was on Del Corazon. The 7/8 counterpoint lines that underpin the intros was played by my Korg M1 sequencer with vibes and harp sounds. If you have anymore questions as to the mechanics of how I perform live with Spyro, please don't hesitate to submit. I will be checking this bulletin board out more frequently now that I'm off the road. Thank you all for your support!

Tom....You're the man!!! Thanks a lot for checking in. It means a lot to us too. Hopefully we won't bombard you with too many questions. I have one more question and I'll leave you alone for awhile. What would you say is the most difficult or complex keyboard piece you play in the SG library?