Enchant's influences and some technical stuff

[The Stormbringer]

I've always thought it was a tad unfair to just describe Enchant as a band somewhere half way between Rush, Saga and Marillion, like it is written in so many reviews that didn't really get into the band all that much.
Sure, there are riffs in the vein of Ian Crichton (especially on ABOTW) here and gnarly rhythms as well as subtle, "dirty" guitar work à la Rush there, but there's MUCHO more to this band than that, don't you think?
For example, I can hear some Mindcrime-era Queensryche in the opening riff of "Sinking Sand" (compare the thumping bass, in sync with the drums), right next to the well-known inspration Doug & co. have drawn from Alternative Rock and Grunge - a thing no other Prog band I know has ever done - over the course of the years.

But now for my question and the actual intent of this topic... there are those sections in certain Enchant songs I would hardly be able to describe to somebody not familiar with the band. Where did the inspiration for the tight, busy, sometimes borderline out-of-control middle sections of tracks like "Enchanted", "Blind Sided" or "Unter the Sun" come from?
It's not some band I could put my finger on, that's for sure... those section don't quite sound like Rush, or Yes, or ANY OTHER band I know. What do you think?

Another question... this one's for you, Ed: I totally love your style of tapping on the bass, which is absolutely crucial to, say, the intro of "Under Fire", the outro of "Sinking Sand" or the middle section of "Hold The Wind".
However, if I'm not mistaken, "Under Fire" is the first Enchant song to actually feature bass tapping... when did you decide to implement this technique into your repertoire?

 

[slowhand]

As a matter of fact I do not see "Enchant" as the sum of other musical influences (as far this is possible). The tracks you mentioned for example are extremely special and "Enchanted". There IS no other band thats sounds like the guys. I know every single note from Queensryche and the other bands you mentioned and as far as I'm concerned there are some moments the remind you to other bands/songs...in another thread I mentioned "proctology" for example. But: The way (the melodylines) Ed is singing and the arrangement of the guitarwork is very unique for me. If I should mention one influence that is there over all the songs so I would say these are some guitartunes that remind me at Steve Rothery who has also those floating notes in the back...thats all..and that's one imortant point I like the music that much.

 

[ebass]

First off, thanks for the questions and the post guys. And good ones.

Hey let me take a shot at the first one. We have so many influences, all of us. I even goes beyond the main progressive players listed. Although these are some of the biggest influences. Middle sections have always been key with us, The trick is making it fit. Sometimes it might seem crazy and out of control, and a b@#$h to pull off, but we love it! A lot of those so called wild middle sections are guitar driven since Doug is the main writer. It keeps me busy big time!

In short I think it is the morphing of so many great influences that come togather.

OK the other question. Bass tapping, Stu Hamm was one of the first bassists
I saw using this style with Joe Satriani, although guitar players like Eddie Van Halen have been doing it for a long time. Being a guitartist originally I was already doing this long ago.

But in 97 on tour with Dream Theater John Myung had some amazing breaks I noticed using this style, you would never notice because he is so buried in the mix live. But sitting side stage every night I went to school on him.

The main man is Dave La Rue! he is my biggest influence in all styles! every bassist should see him live! His taps and slaps are amazing. Check out the Dregs Full Circle disc, the last track, Ionized, there is a tap break that is awesome. I have already had the pleasure of seeing it twice this year is SF and LA.

When we were writing Under Fire in the studio I just thought tapping the main lick Doug wrote might work? and it did? same thing with Sinking Sand. The part in Holding your Wind is a bit more fun and involved, hopefully we will play that live someday.

Hey I think you meant Ted vocals Slowhand man, I don,t sing I just play the bass :Spin:

Thanks guys for the questions and compliments! always!

NP that crazy setlist over and over!

 

[The Stormbringer]

Sometimes it might seem crazy and out of control, and a b@#$h to pull off, but we love it!

Don't we all...
The crazy, adventurous spots in certain songs of Enchant did contribute to me liking the band as much as I do, that's for sure, but one of the reasons I like your music as much as I do (which is about as much as Rush and a lot more than Dream Theater and their cohorts nowadays) is that there are no "WTF?! moments", at least not in a bad way.
Take "Nighttime Sky", for instance... the instrumental sections are right up there in terms of being epic and monumental, but they flow and progress so smoothly and naturally that you can't help but be submerged, for the lack of a better term, in the music.

About the tapping thing and your bass "idols" in general... I heard that Hamm probably is the most prominent player to endorse (or have endorsed? There's the Stu Hamm Urge bass by either Fender or Ibanez nowadays, I think) the Kubicki basses. Was it watching him live that you got to know those sexy beasts of a bass? God, I wish my tapping didn't suck that much... but it's quite a difficult technique to get down.

 

[slowhand]

Hey I think you meant Ted vocals Slowhand man, I don,t sing I just play the bass :Spin:

I thought you are the same person....come on it's just a "t"!

Shame on me...bytheway...what is the playlist about....come on....just tell us the songs in the right order...you need not to tell us how loud you will be playing them...
Clever question, what ya think?

 

[tornorphus]

lets not forget the "o"...

doug sings as well,
harmoneyezis well with ted.

as for playlist content, i believe all of the lyric from enchant is based
around actual happinings in the bands lives.

looking for a coord.