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Leo Kottke — When Shrimps Learn to Whistle
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Lazarus
(Bethany)
Posted: Mar 18, 2013 - 19:00
 
 Cynaera wrote:
Anything Leo Kottke plays is, to me, a ten. SUCH talent, and he doesn't go for the flash and dazzle - he just plays from the heart and soul, and that's what resonates with me. And he's a very modest, unassuming guy, too, which only makes me love his music more.
 

Well said...  I agree...

miss you...
 

oldsinger
(Wexford, PA)
Posted: Nov 13, 2012 - 08:06
 
Huge Leo fan.  Was lucky enough to see him several times in small venues before his fingers started giving him trouble.

Rockit
(Ottawa ON)
Posted: Sep 11, 2012 - 10:09
 
   Smokin!

Antigone
(A house, in a Virginian Valley)
Posted: Sep 11, 2012 - 10:09
 
 Antigone wrote:
I have a very specific memory associated with this music ... to the first comedy performance I saw by two friends of mine, years and years ago. They used this as music during one of the breaks between scenes. Hearing this takes me back, instantly to that time and venue.
 
And now it breaks my heart because one of those friends, the one I dated, committed suicide several years ago. Such a loss.

lily34
(lexvegas)
Posted: Jul 10, 2012 - 12:08
 
this is from the same guy who did a child should be a fish or something?

ziakut
(The Windy City)
Posted: Mar 05, 2012 - 14:09
 
Watching this genius play guitar is an amazing thing. So many sounds coming from ONE guitar. Yep amazing!Cool

StoneyG
(Just east of The Rockies; north of the 49th)
Posted: Feb 02, 2012 - 22:00
 
 Hannio wrote:
Is that Les Claypool on the cover with Leo?  I'm joking, of course.  Still, I gotta wonder.

 

Haha, nice.  Claypool and Kottke, now that would be an awesome combo.  Then again, the Mike Gordon/Kottke collaboration was pretty damn nifty.

mcYammer
(Beervana)
Posted: Dec 01, 2011 - 08:59
 
So good for the ear holes, Pandalus cochleanus

SinisterDexter
Posted: Aug 28, 2011 - 15:44
 
Reminds me a lot of Mike Oldfield - which is around the same time period.  I wonder if they ever collaborated?

Cynaera
(Kenneth's Frequency)
Posted: Aug 28, 2011 - 15:43
 
Anything Leo Kottke plays is, to me, a ten. SUCH talent, and he doesn't go for the flash and dazzle - he just plays from the heart and soul, and that's what resonates with me. And he's a very modest, unassuming guy, too, which only makes me love his music more.

(former member)
(hotel in Las Vegas)
Posted: Jun 26, 2011 - 20:11
 


absolutely incredible...



spacemoose
Posted: May 26, 2011 - 04:50
 
 DigitalJer wrote:
I wish I had half of this mans talent
 
While I don't deny that he has talent, what he really has in abundance is SKILL.  And that skill came from a hell of a lot of hard work and practice.  Dude worked his fingers to the point where he had to change his style due to RSI.  So I admire his hard work and dedication, as well as his creativity and musical aesthetics.


Hannio
(Austin, TX)
Posted: Nov 18, 2010 - 06:18
 
Is that Les Claypool on the cover with Leo?  I'm joking, of course.  Still, I gotta wonder.




DigitalJer
(Edmonton, Alberta, Canada)
Posted: Apr 09, 2010 - 13:19
 
I wish I had half of this mans talent

mcYammer
(Beervana)
Posted: Apr 09, 2010 - 13:18
 
Once I got past my fear of Oklahoma feedlot scary man, I too played the bejeezus outta this on vinyl, too!

Thanks, Leo


Businessgypsy
(Deepest, Darkest Florida)
Posted: Feb 05, 2010 - 10:50
 
Maybe shrimp can't whistle, but they're noisy as hell. The majority of natural ambient noise in shallow warm water has been attributed to shrimp in several published studies. Mostly popping and snapping. If I were a shrimp, I'd certainly be snapping to this!


FrankMc
Posted: Feb 05, 2010 - 10:43
 
I had this on vinyl way long ago. What an absolutely amazing album.

bwanab
(Somewhere in Boston)
Posted: Feb 05, 2010 - 10:35
 
 alux wrote:
Is this the highest rated acoustic guitar piece on RP?  It is certainly deserving.
Correction:  Michael Hedges' Aerial Boundaries is at 8.3, which is also very deserving.  
 


Embryonic Journey is the highest rated acoustic guitar piece if I'm not mistaken

(former member)
(hotel in Las Vegas)
Posted: Feb 05, 2010 - 10:30
 


very groovy slide...



alux
(atop the pyramid)
Posted: Dec 04, 2009 - 15:10
 
Is this the highest rated acoustic guitar piece on RP?  It is certainly deserving.
Correction:  Michael Hedges' Aerial Boundaries is at 8.3, which is also very deserving.  

Dave_Mack
(Five bus, Jive bus!)
Posted: Oct 02, 2009 - 16:02
 
 Frater_Kork wrote:
Memories...

I remember that album cover from my dads vinyl collection, we used to play the dog out that record (and the others as well of course).
Kottke drove dad into buying an acoustic guitar, pretty much like everyone else back in the 70:s I guess. The sounds he wrenced from that poor instrument were pretty horrid... He got over it after a few years and picked up photography instead wich was easier on the ears but created interesting chemical stenches from the cellar darkroom instead.

Thanks for playing that record Bill. Time to visit dad, raid his old vinyls and share a beer.
 
That's great {#Bananajam}

robco1
(Chicago, IL)
Posted: Jul 31, 2009 - 15:09
 
Personally my favorite is Maryland blue crab, but shrimp are right up there!


Frater_Kork
(Uppsala, Sweden)
Posted: May 29, 2009 - 02:15
 
Memories...

I remember that album cover from my dads vinyl collection, we used to play the dog out that record (and the others as well of course).
Kottke drove dad into buying an acoustic guitar, pretty much like everyone else back in the 70:s I guess. The sounds he wrenced from that poor instrument were pretty horrid... He got over it after a few years and picked up photography instead wich was easier on the ears but created interesting chemical stenches from the cellar darkroom instead.

Thanks for playing that record Bill. Time to visit dad, raid his old vinyls and share a beer.

shayde
(Natick, MA)
Posted: Feb 23, 2009 - 08:18
 
 forge wrote:
Kottke is such a god. I hear he's been suffering carpal tunnel from all these years of mind-bogglingly great guitar playing, which is probably one of the great injustices in all the Universe.
 
There was a great interview with him and Mike Gordon on NPR where he talked about it.  It wasn't the carpal tunnel stuff so much as he the fingering style he was using ended up really damaging his hands, and he couldn't play for something like a year.  He came back and learned how to work around it and is now playing like crazy (again :)

See the section on the wikipedia page related to this:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Kottke#Injury_and_new_playing_style



i4niblind
(Vancouver, BC)
Posted: Jan 22, 2009 - 18:57
 
jayhawks to the shins to leo kottke...  this is why they call you mix-master-bill.  i love it..


fredriley
(Nottingham, UK)
Posted: Dec 22, 2008 - 04:33
 
 sunnysideandy wrote:
When my avocados learn to salsa, then I will expect shrimps to whistle.
 
LOL! Ah well, at least you can get bananas to dance - {#Bananajam}

So, which one's Leo on the album cover? ;-)

Pretty damn good on the ol' gittar, in't he? 7 from the Nottingham jury.

islander
(Seattle)
Posted: Dec 22, 2008 - 04:31
 
 ick wrote:
I had endless shrimp last night, some Cajun, some scampi, some were coconut but none of them knew how to whistle.
 
It is hard to tell at that point.

forge
(Boynton Beach, FL)
Posted: Nov 20, 2008 - 14:28
 
Kottke is such a god. I hear he's been suffering carpal tunnel from all these years of mind-bogglingly great guitar playing, which is probably one of the great injustices in all the Universe.



sunnysideandy
(Redmond, WA)
Posted: Nov 20, 2008 - 14:22
 
When my avocados learn to salsa, then I will expect shrimps to whistle.

ick
(San Diego, CA)
Posted: Sep 18, 2008 - 10:09
 
I had endless shrimp last night, some Cajun, some scampi, some were coconut but none of them knew how to whistle.

Ericac
(Lakeville, MN)
Posted: Sep 18, 2008 - 10:04
 
This guy sure can pick a guitar.  Signature voice as well.

Jack_Jefferson
(Columbus, OH)
Posted: Jul 17, 2008 - 05:08
 
Follow this one with John Prine's Fish and Whistle.
Just a suggestion.
Baby_M
(a 100-year old building in downtown Akron, Ohio)
Posted: May 15, 2008 - 06:06
 
Mmmmmm . . . shrimp!
sharkartist
Posted: Feb 10, 2008 - 18:58
 
Just saw Leo two nights ago (2/7/08, 3rd row center) and I believe this was the best I've ever seen him play. He was so on that night! What a genius of his instrument. I just sat slack jawed at his complex chord structures, his phrasing and his ability to find and squeeze in all those amazing notes. It's nice to know that in this day and age, that there's still something we Americans can be proud of. Kottke is certainly an American original. Absolutely amazing performer/musician.

Oh yeah, and his twisted sense of the world, let us not forget his storytelling.
ed
(FL)
Posted: Jan 10, 2008 - 07:54
 
greenplato wrote:


From the liner notes in a compilation CD, the title is a reference to something Nikita Khrushchev had said: "Those who wait for the Soviet Union to abandon Communism will wait until shrimp learn to whistle."


Khruschev from a speeech on detante, "I will remove our ships from the Black Sea when shrimps learn to whistle.:


Hannio
(Austin, TX)
Posted: Jan 10, 2008 - 07:30
 
pkimbrel wrote:


It's Matt Damon and Chuck E. Cheese after a shave, isn't it?


The guy on the right is Les Claypool, I think.
pkimbrel
(Normal, IL)
Posted: Dec 09, 2007 - 22:05
 
Wizzuvv_oz wrote:
LOL
I'm sorry Kentucky, but I've seen that face there


It's Matt Damon and Chuck E. Cheese after a shave, isn't it?
danimal3114u
(San Diego, CA)
Posted: Nov 08, 2007 - 12:35
 
My favorite Kottke track. Just amazing, and a 10.
Antigone
(A house, in a valley, Virginia)
Posted: Nov 08, 2007 - 12:35
 
I have a very specific memory associated with this music ... to the first comedy performance I saw by two friends of mine, years and years ago. They used this as music during one of the breaks between scenes. Hearing this takes me back, instantly to that time and venue.
Wizzuvvoz
(Land of Nod. East of Eden on Route 66.)
Posted: Nov 08, 2007 - 12:34
 
cc_rider wrote:


Those aren't masks.
LOL
I'm sorry Kentucky, but I've seen that face there
nagsheadlocal
(North Carolina, the new New Jersey)
Posted: Nov 08, 2007 - 12:34
 
Wow, haven't heard this in ages. It was such a departure from "My Feet Are Smiling" and "Ice Water."
cc_rider
(Austin Texas. Y'all.)
Posted: Nov 08, 2007 - 12:34
 
Just the title gets a 7. Kind of cool, a little different than what I expect from Mr. Kottke. In a good way.

c.
cc_rider
(Austin Texas. Y'all.)
Posted: Nov 08, 2007 - 12:33
 
MojoJojo wrote:


Kentucky. They're everywhere.


Those aren't masks.
siandbeth
(Santa Cruz California)
Posted: Sep 06, 2007 - 16:12
 
prairiedogj wrote:
Great album cover. Great music.
and great song title.
healyf52
(Lower Manhattan)
Posted: Aug 06, 2007 - 06:01
 
WonderLizard wrote:
Ever wonder what Kottke and Hedges would have sounded like together live?


I saw them both live @ the "Count Basie" theater in Red Bank, NJ. It was in the early 90's.

Hedges came on first, then Leo came on. They did a couple of songs together.

The concert venue was packed with recording devices - recording was encouraged by the artists and people brought all kinds of rigs. I wish I had known.

It was an amazing evening, to say the least.
MojoJojo
(Indianapolis, IN USA)
Posted: Jun 04, 2007 - 09:28
 
mojoman wrote:
...by the way, where can I get that cool mask?


Kentucky. They're everywhere.
Zep
(Third one out.)
Posted: Apr 17, 2006 - 10:27
 
prairiedogj wrote:
Great album cover. Great music.


Monument Valley.



WonderLizard
(2,755.46 mi. due east of Paradise)
Posted: Apr 17, 2006 - 10:22
 
Ever wonder what Kottke and Hedges would have sounded like together live?
prairiedogj
(An Igloo in Canada)
Posted: Apr 17, 2006 - 10:21
 
Great album cover. Great music.
zipper
Posted: Dec 06, 2005 - 17:34
 
Pearhead wrote:
:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)


Thanks, Pear.