The Official Kevin Burnes Website

Excerpt from ORIGINAL SHAKE WEBSITE

Every once in a while in life you get a fresh chance to grab the wheel and take the bus out for a spin. Such is the case with Shake. This three piece instrumental group is brand spankin' new. Well to the public that is....

While drummer Kenny Ruyter was winding down his stay with the band Natural Distance he had begun working on a side project with guitarist Kevin Burnes. The two of them had begun the search for the sound that would ultimately be called Shake. Early in 2002, they ran across a bass player named Patrick Recob that made the trio complete and put the finishing touches on the bands signature sound.

The sound of Shake has been developing since early 2000. The concept has always been pretty simple: High quality instrumental music for the jamband scene. You see, the rock scene had been fruitful for both Kenny and Kevin, but these musicians had grown beyond the genre and were brought by fate to the jamband scene. Devoted to the cause of putting out original music, the sound of Shake found itself with a simple format: Jazz drums, Electric Guitar, and Fundamental Electric Bass.

There were a few bass players that had a lot to do with Shake's musical direction. Initially, a bassist by the name of Etu Dieng was in the group. Then Kenny and Kevin met a player named Mike Cykoski. They recorded the release entitled 'Shake'. This release was the defining moment for the sound of Shake. Due to circumstances beyond Mike's control, Mike had to move out of town. An ad campaign to find a bassist began, and that's how Patrick found us. We ran ads for a while, trying different wordings, and had a slue of players from every genre of music answer the call. We met a lot of real good players during that time, but the void didn't seem to be filled by the ads. Frustrated with the players who were responding to the ad, Kenny placed the following ad: "Blues bassist wanted for instrumental jazz group. Silly rabbit, slap is for kids" Shake only received one response from the ad: Patrick Recob. When we first had patrick over, the group's core construction was finally finished. Shake is now Kevin Burnes on Guitar, Kenny Ruyter on drums, and Patrick Recob on bass.

Kenny and guitarist Kevin Burnes met through a small music store in Gaithersburg, Maryland called Victor Litz Music Center. They both teach music lessons there. Kevin had recently ended a year and a half long relationship with the band Dokken with whom he had been playing and recording with. Upon his return to Maryland Kevin continued playing rigorously throughout the DC and Virginia scene with the group Ragdoll. Ragdoll was good to Kevin, but his knowledge of the Guitar was far beyond the format of the group. Kevin has been strongly influenced by jazz artists John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Jimi Hendrix, and many others. From those influences he has developed his original sound, comparable to none. You can bet that he's tried about every amp-speaker combination. The search has led to one solution: Bogner. Jackson. Vintage 30's.

Kenny Ruyter had been playing with the group Natural Distance for some time when Shake Began. Having studied with several well known area drummers, Kenny has developed a diverse influence of musical styles. Walter Salb's teachings gave the swing and big band influence, while Francis Thompson bred a Latin influence.

Bassist Patrick Recob had been playing the national Blues circuit when he answered the call to Shake. He'd been touring with big time names in the likes of Lee McBee and Gary Primich. His blues influences provide the fundamental backbone that is so important to Shake's sound. His tone is all Fender, warm and fuzzy, hi tone has body shaking frequencies that are mind numbing. You will dance.

During the recording of their self titled album, Shake was joined by several well known area musicians. Several of which may play at any of the shows. Bronson Lee (Jay Jay, Loa) mixes analog rhodes tones with modern sound modules. Dave Finnell (All Mighty Senators) played trumpet on the album. Terry Marshall played the piano parts. We were joined by sax players Frank Mitchell and Matt Belzer, both fantastic players. We also had bassist Zeljko Zuber play a couple tunes. The end result? An album of tremendous potential and caliber.

The final convergence of all of these elements is what brings Shake to the public today. It is all coming together right now and you are one of the first people to be witnessing a new dawn. The Birth of Shake.

Shake is going to be the region's next premiere instrumental group. It is imminent that Shake will take it's place in the mid Atlantic region among the other great established bands like Kelly Bell, All Mighty Senators, and Lake Trout. Shake will then fall among the ranks of national groups such as Galactic, Soulive, Medeski Martin and Wood. It will happen.

Mark these words.

AN INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN

The Interview with Kevin was conducted by Matt Crowner from Unsung Hero. Unsung Hero was a monthly publication for musicians that later became an online web magazine that featured Shake when the CD was originally released.

Recipe for Serious Jam

Ingredients:

1 Part Guitar

1 Part Bass

1 Part Drums

Directions

Combine with Serious Chops

Mix well

Let simmer and stew

The Result

Shake. The band.

Homepage excerpt from Unsung Hero Webpage

Kenny Ruyter (Natural Distance), Kevin Burnes (Ragdoll), and Patrick Recob (Gary Primich, Lee McBee) have combined forces to create Shake. This instrumental group, with a taste for improvisation, combines monster individual chops with a down-to business sensibility making you want to intellectualize their music while you shake your butt.

My first thought on hearing their music was that Shake manage to walk all over the conventional lines drawn when defining musical genres. Is Shake jazz, rock, fusion, or jamband? Why do we need to place a band into a genre anyway? And how does Dokken tie into all this? To answer this question and to get a better handle on the group as a whole, Unsung Hero recently got the chance to sit down and chat with Kevin Burnes about Shake, their sound, their new CD entitled Shake, and music in general.

UH: You all come from what seems as different backgrounds as related to the bands you played in prior to Shake (i.e.. Ragdoll / Natural Distance/ etc.) Give us a real quick overview of how you got together?

KB: Basically Kenny and I teach music lessons at the same store. Kenny and I both had conversations about getting together for a while and when we finally did things just seemed to click. Initially it was just Drums and Guitar for about a year and a half or so. While we were looking for bass players I think that we were trying to find ourselves and what it was that we wanted to say musically. I think that we both came to the conclusion of keeping freedom in our music...improvisation. Some of the best shows that I can remember going to were ones when the band was playing a song and went off into uncharted improv territory. It was the first time that the band had ever played what they were playing and it was the first time that the audience was hearing what was being played. Everyone was experiencing this thing for the first time together. It does not get much more intimate than that.

UH: How does your prior band experiences reflect on the sound of Shake? Or more specifically, is Shake an offshoot of the direction these bands were headed in? It almost seems to be a different format altogether. Is this intentional or happenstance?

KB: I have always had a strong need to say what I need to say musically. I think that most of my previous bands were there to help me find my voice. I think they were growing experiences then anything else. They all had a purpose of pushing me forward to be what I am now. In 1996 I sent an audition tape out to California to a band called DOKKEN. I got the audition and flew out there to be their new guitar player replacing George Lynch. We were scheduled to do a full-length CD and a 16 month tour. Everything looked great. It was a highlight in my musical career. Shortly after my arrival Sony Music began talks with the band about doing a reunion with all 4 original members and began offering more money for the project. Needless to say more time out there was growing short and the good experience was turning sour quickly. I remember saying to myself on the plane ride home that if I am to play guitar while confined to my room far the rest of my life than I will accept that as my calling. But I will not play another note unless it is saying something that I want to say.

Shake is the summation of all of that.

UH: Describe Shake's sound in your own words to someone unfamiliar with the band?

KB: I think the best description that I have heard was something like imagine what would happen if Jimi Hendrix and the Band of Gypsy's ran into John Coltrane and made music together.

UH: Do you mind being categorized as ....let's say..."jazz" or “instrumental rock"...or "jamband" - do any of these labels fit you in your own view?

KB: The CD is very eclectic. It is hard to put a label on it. "Jazz" or "Jamband" or "Instrumental" are all good labels but I feel that it says more than that. It is a very spiritual creation. It is alive to me.

UH: You guys have a background teaching music/guitar/drums? How has that affected your approach to playing music, particularly the improvisational

KB: I think that teaching has always kept me hungry to push myself and my playing into realms that I have not yet been to. Knowledge is one thing but to take it and produce music eventually leads to freedom of the soul of expression.

UH: How about the writing process - how do you as a band approach new material? Do you write out charts, or is it developed out of jams at practice or maybe a mix of both? Is it a formal process for one of you, or do all of you contribute to the songwriting process?

KB: I think that writing is a combination of all of those things. It is a divine intervention of sorts. I have had many ideas that I brought into our rehearsal that then became something. I think that a lot of our material was produced from jam sessions that we went back to later and decided to develop further.

UH: Are you thinking about the improvisation sections of the songs when writing them, or does this come later in the process, I mean how do you structure the improvisational parts of the songs - are you playing across changes ala "Bop" era jazz tunes, or is it modal, or free? The reason I ask is it seems different tunes of yours seem to utilize different styles. "Wood" comes to mind as somewhat of a "looser" approach - where "Stride" is a little more standard in its approach.

KB: It is a wide variety of styles. I think that most of my improvisational approach is more modal than anything. "Wood" has very much a late Coltrane vibe to it. It is a series of melodic ideas that continue to circulate around one another and each time they get developed a little further. It is a bit dissonant but it was a very freeing song to produce. "Stride" is very different. The chord structure is very simple but it allows a bit more modal interplay and the song structure and melody are a little more cohesive. The improv that we do really tends to be similar to the styles of Miles and Coltrane. Coltrane was famous for taking a simplistic idea in the bass line and chord progression and really developing it with his soloing.

UH: The last question leads me to a specific comment about Kenny's style. Kenny seems to have a very light touch that seems to sort of bubble around. It almost seems like to have a melody line going along in his playing?

KB: It is interesting that you say that because I have always told Kenny that he is the first drummer that I have played with that plays the drums like a harmonic instrument.

UH: On to the Album specifically. Sonically speaking, great sound all the way around. Did you guys track it at Eastcoastbands?

KB: Everything was done at ECB.

UH: How did you hook up with Frank Marchand to mix it?

KB: Frank and I go back to 1991. He was the sound guy and studio guy for the band that I joined in on at the time. I looked so forward to have something one day to bring to him that I was proud of and I am so grateful that he decided to be a part of the Shake CD.

UH: How about all the guests - what a line-up of guest musicians (The Almighty Senators, etc.)! The thing I really like is the guest parts work with the songs - its not like you just throw them in the mix to have them there. Tell me a little bit about how you connected with all these great players and got them to sit in?

KB: They were all hand picked. Kenny had met the All Mighty Senator guys when he was playing in his last project. We thought that it would be a great idea to get them to come out and sit in and see what happened. A few of the guys were people that we knew from teaching over the years and the rest were guys that we had seen play at a show and knew that we needed them to interact with our music.

UH: Describe your relationship with Homegrown Music (A grassroots jamband distribution network - http://www.homegrownmusic.net/). How did you come to hook up with Homegrown - has it helped you all?

KB: Kenny and I have been talking with them for a while. They really dug the CD and the more we talked the more we just seemed to fit in with their line up. I am very thankful that they have brought us in to their family. I look forward to things to come.

UH: What can someone expect at one of your live shows? Lots of improv?

KB: Improv is definitely a reasonable expectation to have at one of our shows. I think that it is something I would like to develop further. The songs that we play are close to the CD versions with improv sections through out. I would like to take things a little further though. Our shows have a very intimate vibe.

UH: How do you pick tunes to cover - for example: A Love Supreme - what a tune - how do you begin to approach a song like that? I love it because it leaves so much room for the musician to wind it out - is that what you look for in a tune to cover?

KB: Freedom is something that I look for in a tune and a strong spiritual element. You can't get much better than "A Love Supreme". I am an avid Coltrane fanatic so there is no wrong anywhere in his music. Beyond that I think that the cover tunes should be just as original as the bands music.

UH: How about your funkier tunes - are these a conscious effort to wind the live crowd up a bit - or is it that it's so damn fun to play!?

KB: Yes. We wanted a few tunes that were a bit more tangible and they are fun to play. "Squash" is a fun song. It has a cool beat and a kind of Southern Twang to it. "Tumbleweed" is another that is a great song on the CD. It is a song that seemed to be around the whole time that we were getting things together. I think that every Bass player that we had come out played that song-hence the name "Tumbleweed".

UH: What music are you listening to these days?

KB: Coltane, MMW, Zappa and some guitar stuff to get my fix. Some Bartok and Stravinsky are always in my collection of listening as well.

UH: And finally Word Association time - first thing that comes to mind:

UH: Shake:

KB: Milk and ice cream

UH: Top 4 Guitar Players:

KB: Andres Segovia, Jimi Hendrix, Stave Vai and Joe Satriani the list could go on...

UH: Top 3 Bass Players:

KB: Jimmy Garrison, Noel Redding, Stu Hamm

UH: Top 3 Drummers:

KB: Elvin Jones, Mitch Mitchell, Kenny Ruyter

UH: Top 3 Albums of All time:

KB: John Coltrane: A Love Supreme, Frank Zappa: London Symphony,

Joe Satriani: Not of this Earth

UH: Desert Island Album (Pick 1)!:

KB: A Love Supreme

UH: Best Tone:

KB: Steve Vai: Tender Surrender, Jimi Hendrix: anything off of Band of Gypsys and his instrumental version of Born Under A Bad Sign, Joe Satriani: Memories, Rubina and Cool #9

KB: Indian any day of the week

KB: Amadeus, Cast Away, Joe Versus the Volcano and L.A. Story

UH: First Concert You went to!:
KB: KISS at the Capitol Center some time in the mid to late 70's. I was about 7 years old. It was so loud that my Father and I had to scream to one another to hear each other speak while on the ride home. I have never been to a louder concert to this day.

UH: Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us!
KB: Thank you!

The SHAKE Album has always been the most meaningful music that I have put out into the universe. The project itself, the personnel and of course the music. It completely changed my trajectory as a guitarist and human. A spiritual experience set to sound.

My friendship and partnership with Keny Ruyter made for the lifeblood of this album to have been created with. Quite honestly, it would not have ever come to fruition without him. Keny’s playing, untiring work ethic and willingness to share in a vision, as well as put up with my eccentricities, I am forever grateful for. We both were attempting to evoke something from within that not only had we never heard before but play it in a way that we had never played before. A Sonic-Brotherhood that still stands to this day.

Every song on the album had an event connected to it during the recording process. Some traumatic, some humorous, all causing a shift in what the music was before we recorded it and what it came to be after. All captured in an offering of 12 momentous tracks.

Full of confidence, we made a large run “first printing” of the CD. While you can find several iterations of these tracks in the digital domain, there are still a very small and limited number of these CD's available from the original run. If you have an interest in obtaining a physical copy please contact me directly. I will personally snail mail it right to your doorstep.

Get yourself a PHYSICAL COPY of the Classic Release directly from the source!

CLICK HERE

ONLINE

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As if that wasn’t enough, why not add more SHAKE music to the catalog. Alternate Takes from the original sessions and a LIVE RADIO performance of the entire album. You’ll find more music below to get your SHAKE ON.

MORE SHAKE

Shake - Deluxe Edition Keeping true to the original release, the "Deluxe Edition" of Shake features everything plus two additional tracks that were not included on the original release. The two songs feature Zeljko Zuber playing bass guitar on alternate versions of both "Stride" and "Birdsong". The Alternate Take versions were both recorded during the same recording sessions as the original album release. Both songs offer a very different color and attitude from the originals, as well as have received a fresh new mix and master from Kevin Burnes.

Mix by Frank Marchand Master by Grammy Award Winning Engineer Charlie Pilzer Additional Mix and Master by Kevin Burnes

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The Shake Trio The Shake Trio is a companion release to the original studio version of the album - Shake from Kevin Burnes. Newly remastered, the music was originally performed and recorded live for an "On-Air" internet broadcast. The music has a hint of flavorings from the "Old-School" recordings of Jimi Hendrix and the mid 1960's John Coltrane recordings. Being a live performance it keeps the songs and improvisations as honest as they can be. The music was recorded direct to 2-Track so there were no over-dubs or edits. Simply just the truth! It is Kevin and his music in a stripped down and honest trio package. It includes the bonus track "Spiritual Popcorn". Guitarist Kevin Burnes, drummer Keny Ruyter, and bass player Patrick Recob come together and create a very new and unique sound!

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