The guys in my band, The Reverse Engineers, have been fans of The Fixx for a long, long time. In fact, when we're asked about our influences, The Fixx inevitably come up. Which would probably make most musicians scratch their heads. "Aren't they the group with that song "One Thing Leads to Another?" Yup. But they weren't a one-hit wonder. They were one of the few bands to come out of the 80's that not only had tons of style, they had something to say. And they could play their instruments, too! Take a listen to any of Dan K. Brown's basslines and you'll wonder why more bassists don't mention him alongside the other 80's bassists who always get mentioned (Mark King, John Taylor, Mick Karn, etc.) Jamie West-Oram is one of my guitar heros for the way he crafts his inventive parts. And Cy's got one of the best pop/rock voices ever.
Their CDs Reach the Beach, Phantoms, Walkabout and Calm Animals were a staple of my Friday-night-college-dorm-room, dance-like-a-fool sessions. Anyway, we're big fans and it probably shows in our music (our tune, Sunshine with the Shade is definitely a big nod to those guys).
Well the 80's may be long behind us, but the Fixx are still going strong. The crowds have diminished, but the shows are only getting better. Weed out all the lukewarm fans, and you get a smaller, more appreciative audience who get deep into the music. And thankfully, for this tour The Fixx delved deeper (and deeper) into their collection of pop/rock gems to put together their current setlist. After attending a few tours that primarily focused on the hits, this tour had the band dusting off some amazing, little known songs including Camphor, Letter to Both Sides and Yesterday, Tomorrow.
Anyway, thanks for letting me gush about one of my favorite groups. I always wanted these guys to get more press or get a mention in Guitar Player or Bass Player mag, and now that I'm the writer, I want to tell everyone how cool they are! But I'll stop. So without further ado, here's a few video clips from the awesome show Wednesday night at a tiny place called the Largo Cultural Center where about 250 fans got treated to a very cool collection of music courtesy of Cy Curnin and the gents.
(Thanks to Tricia and her dancing girlfriend (aka, "Woman on a Plane") for inspiring me to get up, get some exercise and relive my dorm-room dancing days.)
-- Bill Cote
p.s. To watch these clips in full-screen mode, click on the button with the four arrows in the lower right of the video player.
Hi my name is Bill Cote. I'm a writer, guitar player and singer. When I'm not writing grant proposals for forensic science research, you'll find me writing and recording music, volunteering at my Church... and blogging.
