Missionaria Protectiva

        As drummer for surrealist boogie band Little Feat, Richie Hayward tended to play over, under and around the beat. After answering Lowell George's  L.A. Free Press  ad ("Drummer wanted — must be freaky"), Hayward stuck out the Feat's critical success and commercial failures. As the band's prime mover, he made Little Feat the colorful, swinging and fun dancehall version of the Band's serious, sepia-toned proto-Americana. According to Phish drummer Jon Fishman, "The easiest way to predict what he might play on the set at any given point was to listen to the phrasing of the lyrics." Hayward navigated the Feat's discombobulated prog-boogie and unorthodox song structures on his drums while adding high vocal harmonies. He brought a swampy Louisiana slide to their sound, instigating the second-line funk that would make fans of future employers like Robert Plant and Bob Dylan. LITTLE FEAT Little Feat WB,1971 https://www.sendspace.com/file/q9j1al

        Flea’s aggressive, slap-heavy style with the Red Hot Chili Peppers lit up the mid-’80s L.A. scene, exemplified by their cover of Stevie Wonder’s Higher Ground (1989).        By ’91, Flea had emerged with a refined style, largely trading in his slapping for muscular melodic statements, such as the back-and-forth ostinato on the hit Give It Away. Through the ’90s and beyond, Flea has remained one of the most visible and admired representatives of rock bass. RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS Higher Ground (12") EMI America,1989 https://www.sendspace.com/file/1ethi2

        If you asked Frank Zappa what his chief skill as an artist was, he would probably have said “composer.” While his career as a composer was notable and groundbreaking, his guitar work was just as formidable. It’s easy to imagine that he likely worked out some of his more complex and innovative pieces on the axe. His dozens of recordings ranged from psychedelic rock to minimalist compositions, but at each phase you can hear his precision and experimentation and sense his ease with the fretboard. His style was frenetic yet accurate, and distinct enough that several have found him worthy of imitation and tribute, including his sons.       His legacy can be heard in the guitarists he mentored and shared the stage with, such as Steve Vai and Adrian Belew. Others, such as John Frusciante and Trey Anastasio, cite Zappa as a major influence. Still none of them and no one could quite approach his seamless combination of improvisation and craftwork. Despite his innovation and variety, Zap