Blog: My Trip to Nashville for Secret Chiefs 3

Found on http://www.stringsavvy.com

On Sunday I drove with one of my friends [from Chicago] to Nashville, Tennessee to catch a performance by Secret Chiefs 3 on Monday. Secret Chiefs 3 has been around for quite a few years now, as I have grown up listening to them. The group consists of musicians from all over including bands such as Mr. Bungle and Estradasphere.

Since we had to get back by Tuesday morning for school and work we drove out late Sunday night, got a motel at 4AM after snagging Waffle House (non-existent in Chicago), slept until 12, then got up to get ready for the day. It was 74º degrees outside! We were in celebration after breaking a sweat, something we haven’t done in months due to our crazy winter weather.

We had fun exploring some of the areas of Nashville, and found gigantic mansions EVERYWHERE of all shapes and sizes! One of them even had this crazy bridge that went over the driveway and to the house! We even spotted a humongous hill and decided to make our way up it.

As always, just click the thumbnails for a fullsize view!

Here is a video of the way back down that hill. You really can’t tell from the video just how steep this road was! The camera makes it seem like its just straight with some slight gradients but really some parts HAD to be at least 45º or more of an incline. The video ends halfway down the hill, our ears popped twice the whole way down! This is a huge change for some one living in Illinois where it is all flat plains!

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When we pulled up to the venue we saw that people were already beginning to gather, and the door was open! I was able to hear Les Claypool’s group sound checking. After parking and rushing back to the line, we were disappointed to find the doors now closed. While waiting in line we met a few Les Claypool fans from Tennessee and Kentucky, none of which had heard of SC3. Being a fan I was happy to tell them some background info about the group and how they play a fusion of middle eastern folk, rock, metal, and jazz. When we heard SC3′s sound check all the people around me were now growing excited to hear something very new.

The show was amazing, the group played out much harder and confident than when I saw them last year, and they had definitely won over the Claypool crowd. One person next to me had commented how he had goosebumps! None of them were expecting to see a lineup including violin, viola, electric saz, and sarangi.

I brought a camera to record pictures and video, but I was too busy enjoying the show that I didn’t think to take longer/more videos!

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Fast Forward home: its 30º, windy and cold. I can’t wait for some Spring weather!

If you’re curious, check out their myspace and website (each has song samples) to learn more about Secret Chiefs 3!

Lineup:
Trey Spruance – Electric Saz, Guitar Variations
Timb Harris – Violin, Guitar
Anonymous 13 – Viola
Peijman Kouretchian – Drums
Jason Schimmel – Bass
Adam Stacey – Keyboard
Rich Doucette – Sorangi, Esraj

Edit:

I managed to find a great video (from March 11, 2007) of that second song I have posted above. Fantastic sound quality, no distortion. Violin solo starts at about 1:50, the entire song is intense! Enjoy!

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