Black Cab Sessions

Last updated

The Black Cab Sessions is a series of one-song performances by musicians and poets recorded in the back of a black cab and filmed for an internet audience. A black cab is a type of hackney carriage (taxicab, An Austin FX4 or a Metrocab) common in Britain. The sessions are recorded while the black cab that serves as the studio travels through city streets, usually in London, England. Most of the performances feature rock bands, ranging from popular acts such as Death Cab for Cutie, The Kooks and My Morning Jacket to lesser known acts such as the Cave Singers. Other performances stray from the rock music scene, featuring poetry and beatboxing, for example.

Contents

The motto of the Black Cab Sessions is "one song, one take, one cab." These performances have gained a cult following of viewers both on their own website [1] and on YouTube.

Format

The Black Cab Sessions video clips begin with a screen showing the name of the artist and date the session was recorded. This is followed by a shot of the cab driver, who has just been informed that his cab will play host to the sessions, introducing the artist. The artists then give their performance.

During the performances, the artists often have to react to the unusual venue. For example, during the New Pornographers session, the two musicians can be seen bouncing up and down in their seats as the cab hits speed bumps. The performances are also shaped by the limited space afforded by the back of a black cab. The uploads of acoustic acts with a different premise is a very popular one, with different projects using different selling points, Acts Unsigned, Tea and Biscuit Sessions and many others using the niche to get views. Many of the bands that play are only represented by part of the band, for example. In at least one instance, when singer/harpist Joanna Newsom was invited to perform, the fact that her harp would not fit in the cab kept her from contributing at all. [2]

Production

The Black Cab Sessions were conceived by Jono Stevens and produced as a partnership between Hidden Fruit (Gen Stevens and Chris Pattinson) and Just So Films (Jonny Madderson and Will Evans).

One of the producers reports that about 10 percent of the cab drivers approached by the producers turns them down, thinking that the idea is weird, but that those who do participate enjoy it. [2]

Filming of the Black Cab Sessions began in May, 2007 and is ongoing.

Artists

The following artists have performed in the Black Cab Sessions:

Related Research Articles

Nirvana was an English pop rock band formed in London in 1966. Though the band achieved only limited commercial success, they were acclaimed both by music industry professionals and by critics. In 1985, the band reformed. The members of the band sued the American band Nirvana over the usage of the name, reaching an out-of-court settlement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Band</span> Canadian-American rock band

The Band was a Canadian-American rock band formed in Toronto, Ontario, in 1967. It consisted of Canadians Rick Danko, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel, Robbie Robertson, and American Levon Helm. The Band combined elements of Americana, folk, rock, jazz, country, and R&B, influencing musicians such as George Harrison, Elton John, the Grateful Dead, Eric Clapton and Wilco.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Note Records</span> American record label

Blue Note Records is an American jazz record label owned by Universal Music Group and operated under Capitol Music Group. Established in 1939 by Alfred Lion and Max Margulis, it derived its name from the blue notes of jazz and the blues. Originally dedicated to recording traditional jazz and small group swing, the label began to switch its attention to modern jazz around 1947. From there, Blue Note grew to become one of the most prolific, influential and respected jazz labels of the mid-20th century, noted for its role in facilitating the development of hard bop, post-bop and avant-garde jazz, as well as for its iconic modernist art direction.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Page</span> English guitarist (born 1944)

James Patrick Page is an English musician who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the rock band Led Zeppelin. Prolific in creating guitar riffs, Page’s style involves various alternative guitar tunings and melodic solos, coupled with aggressive, distorted guitar tones. It is also characterized by his folk and eastern-influenced acoustic work. He is noted for occasionally playing his guitar with a cello bow to create a droning sound texture to the music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cover version</span> Later version of a song already established with a different earlier performer

In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song released around the same time as the original in order to compete with it. Now, it refers to any subsequent version performed after the original.

This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Dickinson</span> American musician

James Luther Dickinson was an American record producer, pianist, and singer who fronted, among others, the band Mud Boy and the Neutrons, based in Memphis, Tennessee.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Session musician</span> Musician hired to perform in recording sessions or live performances

Session musicians are musicians that are hired to perform in recording sessions and/or live performances. The term sideman is also used in the case of live performances, such as accompanying a recording artist on a tour. Session musicians are usually not permanent or official members of a musical ensemble or band. They work behind the scenes and rarely achieve individual fame in their own right as soloists or bandleaders. However, top session musicians are well known within the music industry, and some have become publicly recognized, such as the Wrecking Crew, the Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and The Funk Brothers who worked with Motown Records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electric Lady Studios</span> Recording studio in New York City

Electric Lady Studios is a recording studio in Greenwich Village, New York City. It was commissioned by rock musician Jimi Hendrix in 1968 and designed by architect John Storyk and audio engineer Eddie Kramer by 1970. Hendrix spent only ten weeks recording in Electric Lady before his death that year, but it quickly became a famed studio used by many top-selling recording artists from the 1970s onwards, including Led Zeppelin, Stevie Wonder, and David Bowie.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jam session</span> Informal musical event

A jam session is a relatively informal musical event, process, or activity where musicians, typically instrumentalists, play improvised solos and vamp over tunes, drones, songs, and chord progressions. To "jam" is to improvise music without extensive preparation or predefined arrangements, except for when the group is playing well-known jazz standards or covers of existing popular songs. Original jam sessions, also called "free flow sessions," are often used by musicians to develop new material (music) and find suitable arrangements. Both styles can be used simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one participant, or may be wholly improvisational. Jam sessions can range from very loose gatherings of amateurs to evenings where a jam session coordinator or host acts as a "gatekeeper" so that appropriate-level performers take the stage to sophisticated improvised recording sessions by professionals which are intended to be broadcast live on radio or TV or edited and released to the public.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brian Ray</span> American session musician

Brian Thomas Ray is an American session musician, guitarist, bassist, singer–songwriter, and musical director. He is best known for his work as a bass, rhythm, and lead guitarist with Paul McCartney's touring band, though he has worked with an extensive list of artists in addition to his own solo career.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">B. J. Cole</span> British musician

Brian John Cole is an English pedal steel guitarist, who has long been active as a session and solo musician. Coming to prominence in the early 1970s with the band Cochise, Cole has played in many styles, ranging from mainstream pop and rock to jazz and eclectic experimental music, but has never forgotten the instrument's roots in country music. Cole plays lap steel and dobro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Will Follow You into the Dark</span> 2005 single by Death Cab for Cutie

"I Will Follow You into the Dark" is a song by American rock band Death Cab for Cutie, the third single from their fifth album, Plans, released on August 30, 2005.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gary Lightbody</span> Northern Irish musician

Gareth John Lightbody is a Northern Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the alternative rock band Snow Patrol. He has also founded the musical supergroups The Reindeer Section and Tired Pony.

The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section is a group of American session musicians based in the northern Alabama town of Muscle Shoals. One of the most prominent American studio house bands from the 1960s to the 1980s, these musicians, individually or as a group, have been associated with more than 500 recordings, including 75 gold and platinum hits. They were masters at creating a southern combination of R&B, soul and country music known as the "Muscle Shoals sound" to back up black artists, who were often in disbelief to learn that the studio musicians were white. Over the years from 1962 to 1969, there have been two successive groups under the name "Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section" and the common factor in the two was an association with Rick Hall at FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Music session</span>

A music session is a social gathering of musicians and singers who perform music in a relatively informal context. Much of the music performed at such events is traditional music for the area, popular songs and other well-known tunes. In sessions, the participants typically improvise the accompaniment, song arrangements and musical ornaments to the melodies of songs or tunes. The venue may be a public bar, tavern, village hall or a private home.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maida Vale Studios</span> Broadcasting facility in London, England

Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London.

Jerry Kirby Carrigan was an American drummer and record producer. Early in his career he was a member of the original Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section and later worked as a session musician in Nashville for over three decades. His style of drumming with a loose, deep-sounding snare drum melded country music with an R&B feel and helped develop a Nashville sound known as "Countrypolitan". His drumming is heard on many recordings which have become classics, some listed below. He recorded with Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Charley Pride, Jerry Lee Lewis, Ray Stevens, Kenny Rogers, George Jones and many others. He recorded with non-country artists as well, including Henry Mancini, Al Hirt, Johnny Mathis, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. In 2009 he was inducted into the "Nashville Cats", a cadre of top recording musicians chosen by the Country Music Hall of Fame. In 2010 he was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame. Carrigan was inducted into the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in 2019.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Katis</span> American musician and producer

Peter Katis is an American Grammy Award-winning record producer, audio engineer, mixer, and musician.

<i>Music from The American Epic Sessions: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack</i> 2017 soundtrack album by Various artists

Music from The American Epic Sessions: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack is the official 2017 soundtrack album of the award-winning film The American Epic Sessions. The album features twenty-three music acts recording songs live on the restored first electrical sound recording system from the 1920s. The artists participating include Nas, Alabama Shakes, Elton John, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard, Jack White, Taj Mahal, Ana Gabriel, Pokey LaFarge, Beck, Ashley Monroe, and Steve Martin. The album won a Grammy Award for Best American Roots Performance for the Alabama Shakes' performance of "Killer Diller".

References

  1. www.blackcabsessions.com
  2. 1 2 Smyth, David (30 May 2008). "Off the Record". The Evening Standard. Archived from the original on 5 June 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2008.