I Advance Masked is a 1982 album by Andy Summers and Robert Fripp. The album consists of 13 instrumental tracks.

Track listing[link]

All tracks composed by Robert Fripp and Andy Summers

Side one[link]

1. "I Advance Masked" – 5:14
2. "Under Bridges of Silence" – 1:41
3. "China – Yellow Leader" – 7:09
4. "In the Cloud Forest" – 2:30
5. "New Marimba" – 3:38
6. "Girl on a Swing" – 2:03

Side two[link]

1. "Hardy Country" – 3:00
2. "The Truth of Skies" – 2:07
3. "Painting and Dance" – 3:24
4. "Still Point" – 3:08
5. "Lakeland/Aquarelle" – 1:43
6. "Seven on Seven" – 1:38
7. "Stultified" – 1:25

Personnel[link]

• Robert Fripp – electric guitars, synthesizers Roland, Moog, Roland Guitar Synthesizer, Fender bass, percussion
• Andy Summers – electric guitars, synthesizers Roland, Moog, Roland Guitar Synthesizer, Fender bass, percussion

Andrew James "Andy" Summers (born 31 December 1942) is an English guitarist born in Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire, England.^[2] Best known as the guitarist for rock band The Police, he has also recorded twelve solo albums, collaborated with many other artists, toured extensively under his own name, published several books, and composed several film scores.

Name[link]

His birth name is Andrew James Summers. For a brief two-year period, Summers spelled his name Somers, but subsequently reverted to using his real family name Summers.^{[citation needed]}

Early life[link]

During his early childhood, his family moved to Bournemouth in the county of Dorset. After years of piano lessons, he took up the guitar at the age of thirteen. By age sixteen he was playing in local clubs. By nineteen, he had moved to London with his friend Zoot Money to form Zoot Money's Big Roll Band.^[3]

Musical career[link]

Pre-Police career[link]

Summers' professional career began in the mid 1960s in London as the guitarist for the British rhythm and blues band Zoot Money's Big Roll Band, which eventually came under the influence of the spreading psychedelic scene and morphed into the acid rock group Dantalian's Chariot.^[4] After the demise of Dantalion's Chariot, Summers joined The Soft Machine for a period of six months and toured the United States. For a brief time in 1968, he was a member of The Animals, then known as Eric Burdon and the Animals, with whom he recorded one album, Love Is. The album features a recording of Traffic's "Coloured Rain", which includes a guitar solo by Summers that runs a full 4 minutes and 15 seconds.

After a period of five years in Los Angeles, mostly spent at California State University Northridge in the Los Angeles suburbs, he returned to London with his American girlfriend Kate Lunken. Back in London, Summers recorded and toured with a number of acts, including Kevin Coyne, Jon Lord, Tim Essex, Neil Sedaka and Kevin Ayers. In 1975 he participated in an orchestral rendition of Mike Oldfield seminal piece Tubular Bells.

In 1977, Summers was invited by ex-Gong bassist Mike Howlett to join his band Strontium 90, along with future Police mates Sting and Stewart Copeland.

The Police (1977-1984)[link]

Summers achieved international fame as the guitarist for The Police, which he joined in 1977. Emerging from London’s punk scene, the Police gained international fame with many hit songs, including "Message in a Bottle", "Roxanne", "Don't Stand So Close to Me", "Every Breath You Take", and "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic". During his tenure with the band, Summers twice won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Instrumental Performance, first with "Regatta de Blanc" (co-authored with Copeland and Sting in 1979), and then with his song "Behind My Camel" in 1980. Although Sting was the lead vocalist of the band, Summers occasionally contributed lead vocals, as with "Be My Girl - Sally" (1978), "Friends" (1980), "Mother" (1983) and "Someone to Talk to" (1983). Other notable Summers' compositions from this period are "Omega Man" (which would have been released as the debut single from the 1981 "Ghost in the Machine" album if Sting had not objected), "Shambelle" (1981) and "Murder by Numbers" (1983). In early 1984, after seven years and record sales around eighty million, the Police disbanded.^[5]

Post-Police (1984-2007)[link]

Summers' solo career has included touring, recording, composing for films (including 2010, Down and Out in Beverly Hills and Weekend at Bernie's), writing books, and exhibiting his photography. In 1992, he served a brief stint as Musical Director on the short-lived Dennis Miller Show.

Summers' solo debut, "XYZ" was released in 1986, and to this day is the only non-instrumental album in his entire catalogue. Although it featured some fine pop material, including the single "Love is the strangest Way", it failed to dent the charts, prompting Summers to move from MCA to Private Music and embrace a more experimental sound. In 1987 Sting invited Summers to perform on his second album "Nothing Like the Sun", a favor the singer returned by playing bass on "Charming Snakes" (1990) and later contributing vocals to "Round Midnight" in Summers' tribute album to Thelonious Monk "Green Chimneys" (1999). In the mid-1990s Summers briefly returned to a more rock-oriented sound with "Synathestesia" (1995) and "The Last Dance Of Mr X" (1997), before recording a string of jazz albums that highlighted his eclectic guitar talent.

Over the years Summers has contributed with a number of fellow-guitarists, including Robert Fripp, John Etheridge, Victor Biglione and Benjamin Verdery. In December 2004 he and Copeland joined Incubus in Los Angeles and performed "Roxanne" and "Message in a Bottle". In March 2005, he made his debut at Carnegie Hall playing the premier of Dark Florescense, a concerto composed for him and Verdery. His 2006 biography One Train Later was voted music book of the year in the UK’s Mojo magazine, and is to be released as a documentary film in 2011 by Yari pictures.^[6]

The Police Reunion (2007–2008)[link]

On the 2007 Grammys Award show, The Police appeared playing "Roxanne" and subsequently announced that they would be going on tour. The Police Reunion tour began in Vancouver, Canada on 28 May 2007, and continued until August 2008 becoming the third highest grossing tour of all time.^[7]

Awards[link]

He was voted number one pop guitarist for five years in Guitar Player Magazine before being inducted into the Guitar Player Hall of Fame. In 2003, along with his band mates Sting and Stewart Copeland he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.^[8]

In 2008, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Bournemouth University.^[9]

Summers was appointed, by the French Government, a Chevalier of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres in 2007.

Producer career[link]

In 2012, Summers will produce the third solo album from Brazilian singer Fernanda Takai.^[10]

Equipment[link]

The Police years 1977–1984[link]

Guitars[link]

• Fender
  • 1963 Fender Telecaster either purchased from Eric Clapton and then customized by Andy after he bought it (as he stated in '97 to Guitar World Magazine),^[11] or purchased from a student with most of the customization already done (as he told Fender when they wanted to make a tribute guitar)^[12]
  • 1961 Fiesta Red Fender Stratocaster^[13]

• Gibson
  • 1958 Gibson ES-335
  • 1957 Gibson Les Paul

• Roland
  • Roland G-303 Guitar Synthesizer controller

Amps[link]

• Marshall Stack and Roland Jazz Chorus Combo

Pedalboards[link]

• A custom Pete Cornish Guitar pedalboard
• Roland GR-300 Guitar Synthesizer
• Moog Taurus 205A Synthesizer Pedals

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• I Advance Masked - 1982 (with Robert Fripp)
• Bewitched - 1984 (with Robert Fripp)
• XYZ - 1987
• Mysterious Barricades - 1988
• The Golden Wire - 1989
• Charming Snakes - 1990
• World Gone Strange - 1991
• Invisible Threads - 1993 (with John Etheridge)
• Synaesthesia - 1996
• The Last Dance of Mr. X - 1997
• Strings of Desire - 1998 (with Victor Biglione)
• A Windham Hill Retrospective - 1998
• Green Chimneys: The Music of Thelonious Monk - 1999 (with vocals by Sting on the track "'Round Midnight")
• Peggy's Blue Skylight - 2000 (with vocals by Deborah Harry on the track "Weird Nightmare")
• Earth + Sky - 2004
• Splendid Brazil - 2005 (with Victor Biglione)
• First You Build a Cloud - 2007 (with Ben Verdery)

Singles[link]

• "Parade" / "Train" - 1984 (with Robert Fripp)
• "2010" / "To Hal and Back" - 1984
• "Love is the Strangest Way" / "Nowhere" - 1987

With the Police[link]

• Outlandos d'Amour (1978)
• Reggatta de Blanc (1979)
• Zenyattà Mondatta (1980)
• Ghost in the Machine (1981)
• Synchronicity (1983)

Miscellaneous[link]

• Love Is - 1968 (with Eric Burdon & The Animals)
• Matching Head and Feet - 1975 (with Kevin Coyne)
• Sarabande - 1976 (with Jon Lord)
• Flashback - 1978 (with Eberhard Schoener)
• Video Magic - 1978 (with Eberhard Schoener)
• Video Flashback - 1979 (with Eberhard Schoener)
• Ataraxis - 2007 (with Deeyah)

Bibliography[link]

• Throb (William Morrow Pubs 1983)^[14]
• Light Strings (Chronicle 2005)^[15]
• One Train Later (St Martins Press 2006)^[16]
• I'll Be Watching You (Taschen 2007)^[17]
• Desirer Walks The Streets (Nazraeli Press 2008)^[18]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Andy Summers

• Official website
• Andy Summers Fender tribute Telecaster homepage
• BBC interview with Andy Summers including audio
• Andy Summers in Fender News
• Book Review of Andy Summers' One Train Later
• Contemporary interview with Andy Summers
• Andy Summers Detailed Discography, Timeline and Equipment List
• Andy Summers Play-/Sound-Alike (German instructions)

Robert Fripp
Background information
Born	(1946-05-16) 16 May 1946 (age 66) Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England
Genres	Progressive rock, jazz fusion, psychedelic rock, ambient, experimental rock, art rock, hard rock, new wave
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Guitar, keyboards
Years active	1968–present
Labels	E.G., Polydor, Discipline Global Mobile
Associated acts	King Crimson, Fripp & Eno, Brian Eno, David Bowie, Peter Gabriel, Blondie, David Sylvian, League of Gentlemen, Van der Graaf Generator, G3, Porcupine Tree, Toyah Willcox, Andy Summers, Trey Gunn, Theo Travis, Slow Music Project
Website	Robert Fripp's Diary
Notable instruments
Gibson Les Paul Roland Synth Guitar Ovation Guitar 1867 Legend[1] (Guitar Craft)[2][3] Robert Fripp Signature Guitars[4]

Robert Fripp (born 16 May 1946) is an English guitarist, composer and record producer. He was ranked 42nd on Rolling Stone magazine's 2003 list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time"^[5] and No. 47 on Gibson.com’s "Top 50 Guitarists of All Time".^[6] Among rock guitarists, Fripp is a master of crosspicking, a technique often associated with the banjo. His compositions often feature unusual time signatures, which have been influenced by classical and folk traditions. His innovations have included Frippertronics following collaboration with Brian Eno, soundscapes, and New Standard Tuning.

As a guitarist for the progressive rock band King Crimson, Fripp has been the only member to have played in all of King Crimson's line-ups. As a studio musician, Fripp improvised the guitar solo to David Bowie's Heroes, and contributed sounds to the Windows Vista operating system. His complete discography lists more than seven hundred releases over four decades.^[7]

Career[link]

Early career[link]

Fripp was born in Wimborne Minster, Dorset, England. His earliest professional work began in 1967, when he responded to an ad looking for a singing organist for a band being formed by bassist Peter Giles and drummer Michael Giles, despite being neither a singer nor an organist. Though unsuccessful as a live act, Giles, Giles and Fripp released two singles, as well as an album, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles and Fripp.^{[citation needed]}

Early King Crimson[link]

Robert Fripp, on tour with King Crimson, in 1973.

Following the band's break-up, Fripp, along with drummer Michael Giles, made plans for the formation of King Crimson in 1968, with Greg Lake, Peter Sinfield and Ian McDonald. Their first album, In the Court of the Crimson King, was released in late 1969 to great success, and is now known as one of the most influential albums in the history of progressive rock. Because of musical differences with Giles and McDonald, King Crimson broke up shortly after the release of the first album, to be re-formed again several times over the years. Initially Fripp offered to leave the group; however, Giles and McDonald announced that they were going to leave regardless, and so Fripp remained instead in order to keep Crimson going. He has remained the only consistent member of the band since. Crimson went through a number of line-ups before Fripp disbanded the group for the first time in 1974.^{[citation needed]}

Side projects and collaborations[link]

During King Crimson's less active periods, Fripp has pursued a number of side-projects. He worked with Keith Tippett (and others who appeared on King Crimson records) on projects far from rock music, producing Centipede's Septober Energy in 1971 and Ovary Lodge in 1973. During this period he also worked with Van der Graaf Generator, playing on the 1970 album H to He, Who Am the Only One, and in 1971, on Pawn Hearts. He produced Matching Mole's 2nd LP Matching Mole's Little Red Record in 1972. Collaborating with Brian Eno, he recorded (No Pussyfooting) in 1972, and Evening Star in 1974. These two albums featured experimentation with several novel musical techniques, including a tape delay system utilising dual reel to reel Revox tape machines that would come to play a central role in Fripp's later work. This system came to be known as "Frippertronics". Also in 1974, Fripp performed the blistering guitar solo on "Baby's on Fire," perhaps the best-known track on Eno's debut solo album Here Come the Warm Jets. In 1975, Fripp and Eno played several live shows in Europe, and Fripp also contributed melodic and soaring guitar solos throughout Eno's groundbreaking Another Green World album.

Fripp spent some time away from the music industry in the later 1970s, during which he cultivated an interest in the teachings of Gurdjieff via J. G. Bennett (studies which would later be influential in his work with Guitar Craft). He returned to musical work as a studio guitarist on Peter Gabriel's first self-titled album in 1976, released the following year. Fripp toured with Gabriel to support the album, but remained out of sight (either in the wings or behind a curtain) and used the pseudonym "Dusty Rhodes."^[8] He produced and played on Gabriel's second album in 1978 (often called 'Scratch').

In 1977, Fripp received a phone call from Eno, who was working on David Bowie's album "Heroes". Fripp agreed to play guitar for the album, a move that initiated a series of collaborations with other musicians. Fripp soon contributed his musical and production talents to Peter Gabriel's second album, and collaborated with Daryl Hall on Sacred Songs. During this period, Fripp began working on solo material, with contributions from poet/lyricist Joanna Walton and several other musicians, including Eno, Gabriel, and Hall, as well as Peter Hammill, Jerry Marotta, Phil Collins, Tony Levin and Terre Roche. This material eventually became his first solo album, Exposure, released in 1979, followed by the Frippertronics tour in the same year. While living in New York, Fripp contributed to albums and live performances by Blondie (Parallel Lines) and Talking Heads (Fear of Music), and produced The Roches' first album, which featured several of Fripp's characteristic guitar solos. A second set of creative sessions with David Bowie produced distinctive guitar parts on Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) (1980).

Fripp's collaboration with bassist Busta Jones, drummer Paul Duskin, and vocals by David Byrne (Byrne credited as Absalm el Habib) produced God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners in the following year. He simultaneously assembled what he called a "second-division touring new wave instrumental dance band" under the name League of Gentlemen, with bassist Sara Lee, keyboardist Barry Andrews and drummer Johnny Toobad (later replaced by Kevin Wilkinson). The LOG toured for the duration of 1980.

In the early and mid 1990s Fripp contributed guitar/soundscapes to Lifeforms (1994) by The Future Sound of London and Cydonia (released 2001) by The Orb, as well as FFWD, a collaborative effort with the latter's members. In addition, Fripp worked with Brian Eno co-writing and supplying guitar to two tracks for a CD-ROM project released in 1994 entitled Headcandy created by Chris Juul and Doug Jipson. Eno thought the visual aspects of the disc (video feedback effects) were very disappointing upon completion, and regretted participation. During this period, Fripp also contributed to albums by No-Man (a band featuring Porcupine Tree's Steven Wilson) and The Beloved (1994's Flowermouth and 1996's X, respectively). He also contributed soundscapes and guitar to two albums by the UK band Iona: 1993's Beyond These Shores and 1996's Journey into the Morn. He also provided guitar and soundscapes for Porcupine Tree's album Fear of a Blank Planet.^{[citation needed]}

King Crimson again[link]

In the 1980s King Crimson featured (from left to right) lead-guitarists Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew, bassist Tony Levin, and percussionist Bill Bruford.

1981 saw the formation of King Crimson's fourth incarnation, along with complementary lead guitarist, lyricist, and singer Adrian Belew, percussionist Bill Bruford, and bassist Tony Levin, who contributed backing vocals. The group was conceptualised under the name Discipline, but it came to Fripp's attention that the other members thought the name King Crimson was more appropriate. For Fripp, King Crimson had always been a way of doing things, rather than a particular group of musicians, and the group felt that their music captured that methodology. After releasing three albums (Discipline, Beat, Three of a Perfect Pair), this new King Crimson broke up in 1984.

During this period Fripp made two records with his old friend Andy Summers of The Police. On I Advance Masked, Fripp and Summers played all the instruments. Bewitched was dominated more by Summers, who produced the record and collaborated with other musicians in addition to Fripp.

In 1982 Fripp produced and played guitar on Keep On Doing by The Roches. As in his previous guesting on David Bowie's Scary Monsters (which also boasted Pete Townshend and Chuck Hammer on infinite sustain guitar), the "skysaw" guitar style that characterised this period of Fripp's pedagogy is featured alongside the sisters' songs and harmony.^{[citation needed]}

Guitar Craft[link]

The first Guitar Craft course began 25 March 1985 at the Claymont Court site in Charles Town, West Virginia.^[9]

Fripp was offered a teaching position at the American Society for Continuous Education (ASCE) in Claymont Court, West Virginia in 1984. He had been involved with the ASCE since 1978, eventually serving on its board of directors, and had long been considering the idea of teaching guitar. His course, Guitar Craft, was begun in 1985, an offshoot of which was a performance group, "The League of Crafty Guitarists", which has released several albums. In 1986, he released the first of two collaborations with his wife, Toyah Willcox. The members of the California Guitar Trio are former members of The League of Crafty Guitarists, and Gitbox Rebellion includes several former Guitar Craft students. The California Guitar Trio has also toured with King Crimson. Fripp is the patron of the Guitar Circle of Europe, which was founded in 2007,^[10] and of the Seattle Circle Guitar School, which was founded in 2010.^[11]

In February 2009, Fripp recommended that Guitar Craft cease to exist on its 25th anniversary in 2010.^[12]

Soundscapes[link]

Fripp returned to recording solo in 1994, using an updated version of the Frippertronics technique that creates loops employing digital technology instead of analogue tapes. Fripp has released a number of records that he called "Soundscapes", including 1999, Radiophonics, A Blessing of Tears, That Which Passes, November Suite, The Gates of Paradise, Love Cannot Bear and At the End of Time, as well as numerous download-only live recordings. (The sampler Pie Jesu consists of material compiled from A Blessing of Tears and The Gates of Paradise.) On the Soundscapes recordings, the inner workings of the music are not as clearly laid bare as they are on Let the Power Fall, perhaps because of the greater possibilities offered by the new technology.^{[citation needed]}

Sylvian/Fripp[link]

Fripp's collaborations with David Sylvian feature some of his most exuberant guitar playing. Fripp contributed to Sylvian's twenty minute track "Steel Cathedrals" from his Alchemy: An Index of Possibilities album of 1985. Then Fripp performed on several tracks from Sylvian's 1986 release, Gone to Earth.

In late 1991, Fripp had asked Sylvian to join a re-forming King Crimson as a vocalist.^{[citation needed]} Sylvian declined the invitation, but proposed a possible collaboration between the two that would eventually become a tour of Japan and Italy in the spring of 1992. In July 1993, Sylvian and Fripp released the collaborative effort The First Day. Other contributors were soon-to-be King Crimson member Trey Gunn on stick and nearly-was King Crimson member Jerry Marotta on drums. When the group toured to promote the CD, future King Crimson member Pat Mastelotto took over the drumming spot. The live document Damage was released in 1994, as was the joint venture, Redemption – Approaching Silence, which featured Sylvian's ambient sound sculptures (Approaching Silence) accompanying Fripp reading his own text (Redemption).^{[citation needed]}

King Crimson redux[link]

In late 1994, Fripp re-formed the 1981 line-up of King Crimson for its fifth incarnation, adding Trey Gunn and drummer Pat Mastelotto in a configuration known as the "double trio" (the line-up included two guitars, two bass/Stick players and two drummers). This line-up released the VROOOM EP in 1994, and the Thrak full album in 1995; also in 1994 he supplied guitar textures on the track Flak on The Future Sound of London's album Lifeforms.

From 1997 to 1999, and again in 2006, the band King Crimson "fraKctalised" into five sub-groups known as ProjeKcts.

2000 saw the release of a studio album, The ConstruKction of Light, from a sixth line-up of King Crimson (Fripp, Adrian Belew, Trey Gunn, Pat Mastelotto) with The Power to Believe following in 2003. At the end of the year Gunn decided to leave the band. In March 2004, a seventh line-up had been formulated and practised with Tony Levin returning to replace Trey Gunn, although nothing happened beyond a few studio rehearsals and the band remained inactive again until 2007.

In 2007 Gavin Harrison joined the group to perform as a second drummer, and this new line-up played a short tour in the eastern US in August 2008. As yet there has been no definite word on anything further.^{[citation needed]}

Recent work[link]

During 2004, Fripp toured with Joe Satriani and Steve Vai as the guitar trio G3. Robert Fripp worked at Microsoft's studios to record new sounds and atmospheres for Windows Vista.^[13][14]

In late 2005 and early 2006, Fripp joined Bill Rieflin's improvisational Slow Music project, along with guitarist Peter Buck, Fred Chalenor (acoustic bass), Matt Chamberlain (drums) and Hector Zazou (electronics). This collective of musicians toured the west coast in May 2006. In October 2006, ProjeKct Six (Robert Fripp, Adrian Belew) played at select venues on the east coast of the U.S.,^[16] opening for Porcupine Tree. Throughout 2006, Fripp performed many solo concerts of soundscapes in intimate settings, especially in churches around the West Midlands in England, where he lives.^{[citation needed]}

Fripp has contributed soundscapes to two songs for Porcupine Tree's Fear of a Blank Planet. He is featured on the tracks "Way Out Of Here" and "Nil Recurring," the second of which was released in September 2007 as part of the "Nil Recurring" EP. Robert has also sporadically performed Soundscapes as an opening act for Porcupine Tree on various tours from 2006 through 2009. In 2008, he collaborated with Theo Travis on 'Thread', an album of guitar & flute or saxophone duets. They also did some live concerts in England in mid-2009 in support of that album. Fripp also played a 2009 concert with the band The Humans, which consists of his wife Toyah Willcox, Bill Rieflin and Chris Wong. The performance in Tartu marked the release of The Humans's first album We Are the Humans.^{[citation needed]}

Fripp (along with Pat Mastelotto and others) appears on Judy Dyble's (Giles, Giles & Fripp; Fairport Convention; Trader Horne) album Talking With Strangers released August 2009. Fripp also played on two tracks on Jakko M. Jakszyk's album The Bruised Romantic Glee Club and has been collaborating, casually, with Jakszyk and former Crimson member Mel Collins. Jakszyk is married to Michael Giles' younger daughter Amanda. Fripp also contributed with a guitar solo to an extended version of the song 'Heathen Child' by Grinderman in 2010, released as a B-side on the single under the title 'Super Heathen Child'.

In January 2010, Fripp began recording sessions for a full project with Jakko Jakszyk and Mel Collins (a former King Crimson member). The album, called A Scarcity of Miracles: A King Crimson ProjeKct, was released by Jakszyk, Fripp and Collins in May 2011 on the Panegyric label. It also features further contributions by Tony Levin and Gavin Harrison, two-thirds of the current King Crimson rhythm section.^{[citation needed]}

Equipment[link]

During the early years of King Crimson (1969–1974), Fripp used two Gibson Les Paul guitars from 1957 and 1959. The '57 guitar featured three humbucker pick-ups (with one volume control on the pickguard controlling the middle pick-up). A signature model named for the guitarist (Crimson Guitars Robert Fripp Signature)^[17] features Fernandes Sustainer and MIDI elements, with a Les Paul Model Body. Another difference from the Gibson Les Paul is that Fripp's guitar is built using a deep set neck tenon rather than a traditional set neck.

Fripp recommended that Guitar Craft students adopt the Ovation 1867 Legend steel-string guitar, which had a shallow body.^[2][3][18] "Fripp liked the way the Ovation 1867 fitted against his body, which made it possible for him to assume the right-arm picking position he had developed using electric guitars over the years; on deeper-bodied guitars, the Frippian arm position is impossible without uncomfortable contortions", according to Tamm.^[2] While the 1867 Legend is no longer manufactured, it influenced the design of the Guitar Craft Pro Model of Guitar Craft Guitars, which has been endorsed by Fripp.^[18]

Guitar technique[link]

The knotwork symbol of Guitar Craft (Courtesy of Steve Ball)

Fripp began playing guitar at the age of eleven.^[19] When he started, he was tone deaf and had no rhythmical sense, weaknesses which led him later to comment "Music so wishes to be heard that it sometimes calls on unlikely characters to give it voice."^[20]

While being taught guitar basics by his teacher Don Strike,^[21][22] Fripp began to develop the technique of crosspicking, which became one of his specialties.^[21] Fripp teaches crosspicking to his students in Guitar Craft.^[23]

In 1985, Fripp began using a tuning he called "New Standard tuning",^[24] which would also become popularised in Guitar Craft.^[25]

Fripp's guitar technique, unlike most rock guitarists of his era, is not blues-based but rather influenced by avant-garde jazz and European classical music, combining rapid alternate picking with motifs employing whole-tone or diminished pitch structures, continuous cross-picked (and polka-influenced) sixteenth-note patterns for long stretches in a form called moto perpetuo (perpetual motion).^[24]

Fripp is left-handed, but plays guitar right-handed.

Personal life[link]

He married Toyah Willcox in 1986 in Poole, Dorset.^[26] From December 1987 until July 1999 they lived at and renovated Reddish House, the former home of Cecil Beaton, in Broad Chalke Wiltshire.^[27][28] At present his home is in Pershore, Worcestershire.^[29] Fripp is the patron of the Seattle Circle Guitar School and the Shallal Dance Theatre in Penzance, England.^[11] He also has had engagements as a motivational speaker, often at events with his sister Patricia,^[30] who is a keynote speaker and speech coach.^[31]

Discipline Global Mobile[link]

In 1992 Fripp founded Discipline Global Mobile (DGM) as an independent music label. DGM releases music by Fripp, KC, related acts, and other artists in CDs and in downloadable files. A 1998 Billboard profile stated that DGM had ten staff-members in Salisbury (England) and Los Angeles (USA). DGM has an aim "to be a model of ethical business in an industry founded on exploitation, oiled by deceit, riven with theft and fueled by greed."^[32] DGM insists that its artists retain all copyrights; consequently, even DGM's "knotwork" corporate-logo (pictured above) is owned by its designer,^[33] Steve Ball;^[34] the "knotwork" logo appeared earlier on the cover of later versions of the Discipline album. DGM's aims were called "exemplary" by Martin (1997), who wrote that "Fripp has done something very important for the possibilities of experimental music" in creating DGM, which "has played a major role in creating favorable conditions for" King Crimson.^[35]

DGM publishes an on-line diary by Robert Fripp, who often comments on performances and on relations with fans. A moderated forum allows fans to ask questions or to leave comments. Together, Fripp's diary and the fan forum display delayed dialogs in which Fripp and fans discuss diary-entries and forum-postings. Fripp's public writing of his diary has challenged his readers to become more active listeners and intelligent participants in performances of music.^[36]

Copyright complaints against Grooveshark[link]

In 2011, Fripp complained that the music-distribution service Grooveshark continued to stream his music despite his having repeatedly delivered takedown notices. Fripp and Grooveshark's correspondence was published by Digital Music News^[37][38][39] and in his diaries,^[40] which appear on the website of Discipline Global Mobile.^[36]

Fripp's published exchange was included in a suit against Grooveshark by Universal Music Group, which was filed in November 2011.^[41][37] UMG cited internal documents revealing that Grooveshark employees uploaded thousands of illegal copies of UMG-owned recordings.^[41]

Fripp had previous experience protecting his music in litigation with music companies.^[42]

Discography[link]

Over 45 years, Robert Fripp has been extremely active as a recording musician and a producer. He has contributed to more than 700 official releases. The Robert Fripp Discography Summary, compliled by John Relph, also lists 120 compilations and 315 unauthorised releases (such as bootlegs). This means that more than 1100 releases (including both official and unofficial ones, as well as both studio and live recordings) can be found with Robert Fripp participating. A full list can be found at the location provided above. Studio releases are listed here (see also King Crimson discography).

Studio albums

• Exposure (1979)
• God Save the Queen/Under Heavy Manners (1980)
• Let the Power Fall: An Album of Frippertronics (1981)
• The Gates of Paradise (1998)

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Hegarty, Paul; Halliwell, Martin (25 August 2011). Beyond and before: Progressive rock since the 1960s. Continuum. pp. xii+328. ISBN 978-0-8264-4075-4, ISBN 978-0-8264-2332-0 (paperback). 
• Martin, Bill (1997). Listening to the future: The time of progressive rock, 1968–1978. Open Court. pp. 376. ISBN 0-8126-9368-X. 
• Tamm, Eric (2003) [1990], Robert Fripp: From crimson king to crafty master (Progressive Ears ed.), Faber and Faber (1990), ISBN 0-571-16289-4, Zipped Microsoft Word Document, http://www.progressiveears.com/frippbook/ch10.htm, retrieved 26 October 2011 

Further reading[link]

• Fripp, Robert (2011). Pozzo, Horacio. ed. Seven Guitar Craft themes: Definitive scores for guitar ensemble. "Original transcriptions by Curt Golden", "Layout scores and tablatures: Ariel Rzezak and Theo Morresi" (First limited ed.). Partitas Music. ISMN 979-0-9016791-7-7. DGM Sku partitas001. http://partitasmusic.com/. 
• Smith, Sid (2001). In the court of King Crimson. Helter Skelter Publishing. ISBN 1-900924-26-9. 

External links[link]

• Discipline Global Mobile, DGM (2012). "Welcome to DGM Live". Discipline Global Mobile. DGM is an independent music and merchandise label that was founded by Fripp; DGM features the music of Fripp and King Crimson amid other artists. It also contains tour information, Robert Fripp's diary, and more. http://www.dgmlive.com. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 
• Fripp, Patricia (2012). "Robert Fripp speaking engagements". San Francisco, CA: A Speaker for All Reasons. http://robertfrippspeaks.com/. Retrieved 25 February 2012. 

The Edge
Background information
Birth name	David Howell Evans
Born	(1961-08-08) 8 August 1961 (age 50) Barking, Essex, England, United Kingdom
Origin	County Dublin, Ireland
Genres	Rock, post-punk, alternative rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, activist
Instruments	Guitar, vocals, keyboards, piano, bass guitar
Years active	1976–present
Labels	Island, Mercury
Associated acts	U2, Passengers
Website	www.u2.com
Notable instruments
Gibson Explorer Fender Stratocaster Gibson Les Paul Fender Telecaster Gretsch Country Gentleman Gretsch White Falcon Rickenbacker 330/12

David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), more widely known by his stage name The Edge (or just Edge),^[1] is a musician best known as the guitarist, backing vocalist, and keyboardist of the Irish rock band U2. A member of the group since its inception, he has recorded 12 studio albums with the band and has released one solo record. As a guitarist, The Edge has crafted a minimalistic and textural style of playing. His use of a rhythmic delay effect yields a distinctive ambient, chiming sound that has become a signature of U2's music.

The Edge was born in England to a Welsh family, but was raised in Ireland after moving there as an infant. In 1976, at Mount Temple Comprehensive School, he formed U2 with his fellow students and his older brother Dik. Inspired by the ethos of punk rock and its basic arrangements, the group began to write its own material. They eventually became one of the most popular acts in popular music, with successful albums such as 1987's The Joshua Tree and 1991's Achtung Baby. Over the years, The Edge has experimented with various guitar effects and introduced influences from several genres of music into his own style, including American roots music, industrial music, and alternative rock. With U2, The Edge has also played keyboards, co-produced their 1993 record Zooropa, and occasionally contributed lyrics. The Edge met his second and current wife, Morleigh Steinberg, through her collaborations with the band.

As a member of U2 and as an individual, The Edge has campaigned for human rights and philanthropic causes. He co-founded Music Rising, a charity to support musicians affected by Hurricane Katrina. He has collaborated with U2 bandmate Bono on several projects, including songs for Roy Orbison and Tina Turner, and the soundtracks to the musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark and the Royal Shakespeare Company's London stage adaptation of A Clockwork Orange. In 2011, Rolling Stone magazine placed him at number 38 on its list of "The 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time".

Personal life[link]

The Edge at a U2 concert in Anaheim (2005)

David Howell Evans was born at the Barking Maternity Hospital,^[2] Essex, England to Welsh parents Garvin and Gwenda Evans.^[1] When he was one, his family moved to County Dublin, Ireland where he attended St Andrew's National School. He received piano and guitar lessons and often performed with his brother Dik Evans before they both answered an advertisement posted by Larry Mullen, Jr. at their school, Mount Temple Comprehensive School, seeking musicians to form a band.^[3] The band accepted both of them. This band went through several incarnations before emerging as U2 in March 1978 (Dik Evans left the band just before the name change).^[3] U2 began performing in various venues in Ireland and eventually began developing a following. Their debut album, Boy, was released in 1980.

In 1981, leading up to the October tour, Evans came very close to leaving U2 for religious reasons, but he decided to stay.^[3] During this period, he became involved with a group called Shalom Tigers, in which bandmates Bono and Larry Mullen Jr. were also involved.^[4] Shortly after deciding to remain with the band, he wrote a piece of music that later became "Sunday Bloody Sunday".^[3] The Edge married his high school girlfriend Aislinn O'Sullivan on 12 July 1983.^[5] The couple had three daughters together: Hollie in 1984, Arran in 1985 and Blue Angel in 1989.^[4] The couple separated in 1990, but were unable to get officially divorced because of Irish laws regarding marriage annulment; divorce was legalised in 1995 and the couple were legally divorced in 1996.^[4]

In 1993, The Edge began dating Morleigh Steinberg, a professional dancer and choreographer employed by the band as a belly dancer during the Zoo TV Tour. They had a daughter, Sian (born 1997), and a son, Levi (born 25 October 1999),^[4] before marrying on 22 June 2002.^[4] He appeared in the 2009 music documentary film It Might Get Loud.^[6] The Edge has been criticized for his efforts to build five luxury mansions on a 156 acre plot of land in Malibu, California.^[7] The California Coastal Commission voted 8-4 against the plans, with the project described by the commission's executive director, Peter Douglas, as "In 38 years...one of the three worst projects that I've seen in terms of environmental devastation...It's a contradiction in terms – you can't be serious about being an environmentalist and pick this location."^[7] The Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy agreed to remain neutral on the issue following a $1 million donation from The Edge and a commitment from The Edge to designate 100 acres of the land as open space for public footpaths.^[7]

Music style[link]

Guitar playing[link]

As a guitar player, The Edge has a sound typified by a low-key playing style, a chiming, shimmering sound (thanks in part to the sound of VOX AC-30s) that he achieves with extensive use of delay effects and reverb. The feedback delay is often set to a dotted eighth note (3/16 of a measure), and the feedback gain is adjusted until a note played repeats two or three times.^{[citation needed]}

On 1987's The Joshua Tree, The Edge often contributes just a few simple lead lines given depth and richness by an ever-present delay. For example, the introduction to "Where the Streets Have No Name" is simply a repeated six-note arpeggio, broadened by a modulated delay effect. The Edge has said that he views musical notes as "expensive", in that he prefers to play as few notes as possible. He said in 1982 of his style,

"I like a nice ringing sound on guitar, and most of my chords I find two strings and make them ring the same note, so it's almost like a 12-string sound. So for E I might play a B, E, E and B and make it ring. It works very well with the Gibson Explorer. It's funny because the bass end of the Explorer was so awful that I used to stay away from the low strings, and a lot of the chords I played were very trebly, on the first four, or even three strings. I discovered that through using this one area of the fretboard I was developing a very stylized way of doing something that someone else would play in a normal way."^[9]

Many different influences have shaped The Edge's guitar technique.^{[citation needed]} His first guitar was an old acoustic guitar that his mother bought him at a local flea market for only a few pounds; he was nine at the time. He and his brother Dik Evans both experimented with this instrument.^[9] He said in 1982 of this early experimentation, "I suppose the first link in the chain was a visit to the local jumble sale where I purchased a guitar for a pound. That was my first instrument. It was an acoustic guitar and me and my elder brother Dik both played it, plonking away, all very rudimentary stuff, open chords and all that."^[9] The Edge has stated that many of his guitar parts are based around guitar effects. This is especially true from the Achtung Baby era onwards, although much of the band's 1980s material made heavy use of echos.

Vocals[link]

The Edge in June 2005

The Edge also supplies the backing vocals for U2. U2's 1983 live album and video release, Under a Blood Red Sky and Live at Red Rocks: Under a Blood Red Sky are good reference points for his singing (as are the live DVDs from the Elevation Tour, U2 Go Home: Live from Slane Castle and Elevation 2001: Live from Boston). For example, he sings the chorus to "Sunday Bloody Sunday" (Bono harmonizes on the final 'Sunday'). U2 used this tradeoff technique later in "Bullet the Blue Sky" as well. His backing vocals are sometimes in the form of a repeated cry; examples of songs that use this approach include "Beautiful Day", "New Year's Day" and "Stay (Faraway, So Close!)". Another technique he uses in his backing vocals is the falsetto, in songs such as "Stuck in a Moment You Can't Get Out Of", "Sometimes You Can't Make It on Your Own", "A Man and a Woman", "The Wanderer", live versions of "The Fly", and "Window in the Skies".

The Edge sings the lead vocal on "Van Diemen's Land" and "Numb", the first half of the song "Seconds", dual vocals with Bono in "Discotheque", and the bridge in the song "Miracle Drug".^[4] He also sings the occasional lead vocal in live renditions of other songs (such as "Sunday Bloody Sunday" during the PopMart Tour and "Party Girl" during the Rotterdam Zoo TV show when it was Bono's birthday).^[10] He also plays a solo acoustic version of the song "Love is Blindness" that is featured in the documentary film From the Sky Down.

Other instruments[link]

He has played piano and keyboards on many of the band's songs, including "I Fall Down", "October", "So Cruel", "New Year's Day", "Running to Stand Still", "Miss Sarajevo", "The Hands that Built America", and "Original of the Species" and others. He plays the organ on "Please". In live versions of "New Year's Day", "The Unforgettable Fire", "Your Blue Room", and "Moment of Surrender", he plays both the piano and guitar parts alternately. In most live versions of "Original of the Species," piano is the only instrument played during the song. Although The Edge is the band's lead guitarist, he occasionally plays bass guitar, including the live performances of the song "40" where The Edge and bassist Adam Clayton switch instruments.

Solo recordings[link]

In addition to his regular role within U2, The Edge has also recorded with such artists as Johnny Cash, B. B. King, Tina Turner, Ronnie Wood, Jay-Z, and Rihanna. The Edge connected with Brian Eno and Lanois collaborator Michael Brook (the creator of the infinite guitar, which he regularly uses), working with him on the score to the film Captive (1986). From this soundtrack the song "Heroine", the vocal of which was sung by a young Sinéad O'Connor was released as a single.

He also created the theme song for season one and two of The Batman. He and fellow U2 member, Bono, wrote the lyrics to the theme of the 1995 James Bond film GoldenEye. The Edge, along with bandmate Bono, recently composed a musical adaptation of Spider-Man. On May 25, 2011, a single titled Rise Above 1: Reeve Carney Featuring Bono and The Edge was released digitally.^[11] The music video was released on July 28, 2011.^[12]

Musical equipment[link]

Edge's 1964 Vox AC30 on stage in Foxborough for the U2 360° Tour.

The Edge plays electric guitar, acoustic guitar, keyboards, piano, bass guitar (on "40" and "Race Against Time") and lap steel guitar. Compared to many lead guitarists, The Edge is known for using many more guitars during a show. According to his guitar tech Dallas Schoo, a typical lead guitarist uses four or five different guitars in one night, whereas The Edge takes 45 on the road, and uses 17 to 19 in one 2.5-hour concert. He is estimated to have more than 200 guitars in the studio.^{[citation needed]}

Philanthropy[link]

In 2005, The Edge along with Bob Ezrin and Henry Juszkiewicz co-founded Music Rising, a charity that helped provide replacement instruments for those that were lost in Hurricane Katrina. The instruments were originally only replaced for professional musicians but they soon realized the community churches and schools needed instruments as well. The charity's slogan is "Rebuilding the Gulf Region note by note" and has so far helped over a hundred musicians who were affected by Hurricane Katrina. The Edge also serves on the board of the Angiogenesis Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to improving global health by advancing angiogenesis-based medicine, diets, and lifestyle.^[13]

See also[link]

• Timeline of U2
• List of people on stamps of Ireland

References[link]

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links[link]

This article's use of external links may not follow Wikipedia's policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links, and converting useful links where appropriate into footnote references. (October 2011)

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: The Edge

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: The Edge

• U2.com, official U2 site
• Music Rising
• The Edge at the Internet Movie Database
• The Edge – Album Credits
• A Study of The Edge's Guitar Delay
• The Edge: 'It's all about the vision'
• Food Bank For New York City public service announcement
• Comment on the mathematical analysis of The Edge's guitar sound