Interview: David Singleton

Robert Fripp is a guitarist best known as the driving force behind the mighty progressive rock band King Crimson. He has also collaborated with David Bowie (think of the heavenly sustained guitar in the song “Heroes”), Peter Gabriel, Daryl Hall, Andy Summers, and many others. And starting with his early recordings with Brian Eno, he also pioneered the tape looping system Frippertronics, creating ethereal soundscapes and ambient pieces. Fripp greatly expanded his audience during the pandemic in a series of quirky videos with his wife Toyah.

David Singleton is Fripp’s “reluctant manager”.

Well, of course, David Singleton is much more than this. He is also a producer for the music of King Crimson and for the recent acclaimed documentary “In the Court of the Crimson King”, an audio engineer, author of The Vicar Chronicles about the music business, co-founder of the Discipline Global Mobile music label, and a musician himself.

This interview was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for Fripp and Singleton’s talk “An Evening With Englishmen Abroad” at the New Vic Theatre in Santa Barbara on 3/1/24. It was done by phone on 2/14/24.

Interview: Bryan Ferry

Bryan Ferry has been making fantastic music for over four decades. It all started with Roxy Music’s 70’s art/glam rock period (“Virginia Plain”, “Do The Strand”, “Love is the Drug”), which evolved into the lushness of 1982’s Avalon album (“More Than This”, “Avalon”). Yes, Roxy Music is truly “For Your Pleasure”.

Along the way he also has had sexy solo hits (“Slave To Love”, “The Right Stuff”) and plenty of cool covers (“The ‘In’ Crowd”, “Jealous Guy”, “Let’s Stick Together”). And throughout, Ferry has been the epitome of the suave, stylish, and sophisticated rock star.

This interview was for a preview article for noozhawk.com for Ferry’s concert at the Santa Barbara Bowl on 8/19/17. It was done by email, with answers received on 8/4/17. (Simon Emmett photo)

Concert Review: Greg Lake

Review of Greg Lake at the Majestic Ventura Theater, 5/17/12.

Interview: Greg Lake

Greg Lake first made his mark as a founding member of King Crimson, for which he was lead singer and bass player. During Lake’s tenure, King Crimson released their debut album In the Court of the Crimson King, which is regularly hailed as one of the pioneering works of progressive rock, and included “21st Century Schizoid Man” and the title track. When this original line-up broke up, Lake joined with Keith Emerson and Carl Palmer to form the prog rock supergroup Emerson, Lake & Palmer (often abbreviated ELP), which became one of top bands in the genre. ELP’s albums included Tarkus and Brain Salad Surgery, and their best known songs include “Lucky Man”, “From The Beginning”, and “Karn Evil 9”, all of which were written or co-written by Lake. ELP broke up in 1978, but reunited in the 1990’s and beyond, most recently for a one-off 40th anniversary concert in London in 2010.

Lake is currently on a solo tour called “Songs of a Lifetime”, in which he performs songs and tells stories about his life in music. The following interview took place on 4/24/12 as Lake was on his way to a gig in Alexandria, Virginia, and served as the basis for a preview article for his 5/17/12 concert in Ventura, California.

Photo: Lee Millward

Concert Review: California Guitar Trio

Review of California Guitar Trio concert at Mercury Lounge, Goleta, 6/2/11.