Fripp's rules for Bill Bruford, 1981

Taken from the writings of Robert Fripp:

Bill is really getting to me, so I'm trying to understand how he works.

1. He's a very busy player, and doesn't enjoy playing sparsely;
2. His parts have lots of fills and major changes of textures;
3. His fills are dramatic; i.e., they shock.

  So I've been drawing up the following suggestions: 

1. Any existing solution to a problem is the wrong one: absolutum, obsoletum;
2. If you have an idea, don't play it;
3. When a change in the music needs emphasis, don't play it: the change in the music is emphasis enough;
4. Don't phrase with any other member of the band unless it's in the part;
5. Phrasing in the part should include no more than two people;
6. If the tension in the music needs emphasising, don't.  The tension is there because of what you're playing, not what you're about to play;
7. If you really have to change your part to build tension, don't add -- leave out;
8. The maximum tension you can add is by stopping completely;
9. If there is space for a fill which is demanded by the music, don't play it: there are three other people who would like to use the opportunity;
10. If the part you're playing is boring, stop listening with your head;
11. If this still bores you, listen to the interaction between all the parts;
12. If this still bores you, stop playing and wait until you are no longer bored;
13. Do not be dramatic;
14. Do not be afraid to repeat yourself;
15. Do not be afraid to take your time.

Wow, just let him do his thing, that's what works best.  It sounds like he's trying to turn him into a robot, or a square, or both.

That helps explain why King Crimson has never appealed to me.

I guess he didn't want one man's style or personality getting in the way either.

Man Overboard wrote: Heaven forbid a guy have an -aim-.

exactly!

No, not really, but I guess a good analogy might be:  KC was Fripp's child, and Bruford was taking it out back to the shed to roll some reefers, which I'm not saying is a bad thing per se, just not anything a parent would desire for their children.

Nahh, if Bruford didn't agree with Fripp, I'm sure he would have left, or wouldn't have come back later, plus he plenty of time to express himself fully on his solo albums, where his aims wouldn't distract from a cohesive jam.

I probably sound like a Fripp fanboy now

Fripp rules.  end of story.

Usually I would tell Fripp to let one of the greatest drummers born play what they want... but it's Fripp, arguably the greatest guitar player ever born, and when you put it into perspective, Fripp is better. WHAT FRIPP SAYS IS LAW!!!

"If this still bores you, stop playing and wait until you are no longer bored"

Is this turning into a thread of blatant Fripp-worship, or something?

After Bill Bruford left Crimso, he was quoted as saying: "I found my time with the band musically and intellectually stimulating; I remain grateful for its existence, and full of admiration for its leader, as its leader well knows. I, of all the group's members, was not the enemy, but I did have the thickest skin, well used to receiving the sharpest barbs" (Sid Smith, IN THE COURT OF KING CRIMSON p. 286)

Elsewhere, Bill has described Fripp as "a difficult bugger".

I'm not surprised!

Edited by fuxi - April 25 2007 at 04:30

pero wrote: The man is sick. No wonder that he spent time in monastery.

Wrong Crimso percussionist.  You're thinking of Jamie Muir, the second percussionist on Larks' Tongues in Aspic.  If I remember right, he broke his foot during a concert, quit the band, and ran off to a monastery.  Apparently, he's a painter now.

As far as the whole deal with Fripp and Bruford, they're probably two of my favorite musicians of all time, so I'm not sure quite what to think of it.  It does show the quirky dynamics of the two for certain, though.  Which is what made Crimso so great.

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