Robert Fripp's Diary

DGM HQ This morning I

DGM HQ.

This morning I collected Uncle Bill, now aged 89, from Bear Wood, half-way between Wimbrone & Bournemouth. Uncle is emigrating to Spain in November with his two daughters. I drove him from Bear Wood > Corfe Mullen > Wimborne > Witchampton > Crichel > Middlehill > Charminster > Bear Wood. Uncle is telling me stories of family history while I drive him around the landscape where the memories originated. Uncle Bill says he is unlikely to make this journey again, so I am absorbing as much as I am able. For me, this is a pilgrimage with a small P.

My Sister & I were both born at Bear Wood;
We lived at Corfe Mullen (1946) until 1949, which is where we first met Uncle Bill when he returned from Germany & over 5 years as a POW;
Wimborne is where we grew up & where Bill's mother Emily was buried in 1948 - she died of dropsy at age 52;
Witchampton is the Fripp family village, where Grandfather & his children lived in a rented cottage by the church before having a house built in Wimborne; Crichel, close by Witchampton, is more properly the Fripp family village, where Great Grandfather Abraham had a cottage at Manswood and where Cousin Eileen lived in The Buildings (the longest thatched roof building in England) behind The Drum & Monkey pub (now a cottage);
Middlehill is where my grandfather rented a property for several months, on returning from 22 years as a Royal Marine in Gosport, before moving to Witchampton;
Charminster is where Grandfather was cremated and his ashes spread in the rose garden, and where Bill's wife's ashes were also spread three or four years ago.

Then back to Bear Wood and tea with Uncle & his daughters, cousins Sue & Ann, and on to Don Hardyman, wonder homeopath & more, tea with Cathy & Udo nearby in Parkstone, and then to DGM HQ.

A DGM problem: how did the stereo on the KC DVD get reversed? DGM sound files have Adrian on the left, Grumpy on the right. If the reversal didn't happen here in DGM SoundWorld, then was it at the authoring or manufacturing stages?

Anyone interested in seeing Grumpy playing guitar has sufficient opportunities on the BootlegTV disc of Shepherd's Bush. The right hand seems to deviate from the "orthodox" GC right hand position with the first fingers & thumb (holding the pick) rising from the other fingers. This is primarily because the others fingers are damping strings not being played. But I found it useful to see this character playing: when he walks onstage he directs his attention to musical concerns. Notions of technical propriety are subject to a musical mistress. If Grumpy hasn't got his chops together by the time he's playing, it's too late & he needs more practice. Onstage, technique is not a governing concern.

What I saw was a very busy & physically active player. Probably, in the conventions of contemporary performance, he would be considered relatively quiescent. For me, he needs to do more about doing less. Do nothing - as much as you can.

And then, the upcoming KC tour -- five days before I get on a 'plane and fly off to Los Angeles, I have been on the 'phone dealing with a tour problem that I addressed 3 or 4 weeks ago. When I express an important position, and it is not acted upon, I lose confidence in the planning of the tour. In one city we have been booked on a stage that is just large enough for Crimson. There is no possibility of playing the show with another band & making a smooth changeover. This is a purely practical issue: I love the venue, love the other band & look forward to working with them. And the stage isn't big enough.

Our Crimson mobile production team are superb and, presented with a difficulty, would deal with it. But there are some difficulties that should not be presented to a team on the ground because the planners haven't got the plan right. My sympathy is more with the troops that dig a trench, climb in & fight the battle, than the character who plans the campaign at a safe distance from the action & awards posthumous medals.

Nevertheless here I am, just before leaving to tour, concerning myself with details that should not, properly, be demanding my attention. So, I called the agent and said I don't make threats, but if this show goes ahead as booked, Crimson will be a three-piece.