The Straits Charity in RAH?

[Slavi]

Slavi - You haven't answered my question.    As you are a huge fan of Chris, would you still be as enthusiastic about this event and travel from Bulgaria to attend, if Chris wasn't involved?  

I'm not sure Val...probaly not, because I can't afford to travel as much as I would wish. But he IS...so I don't need to think about  

LE, a bad prediction with small letters...if it would happen it would be a big disaster for my budget...are you happy now to predict it?    

Just read Guy's forum about the concert in RAH...the things there and the comments...some of them are really funny trying to make intrigues between Mark, Guy and the others...or to insist that MK must rule to the others. Is that the well known intelligent audience DS had in the past??

BTW, I thought my English is very bad...up to now:lol

[Love Expresso]

[
LE, a bad prediction with small letters...if it would happen it would be a big disaster for my budget...are you happy now to predict it?    

Just read Guy's forum about the concert in RAH...the things there and the comments...some of them are really funny trying to make intrigues between Mark, Guy and the others...or to insist that MK must rule to the others. Is that the well known inteligent audience DS had in the past??

BTW, I thought my English is very bad...since today 

Oh, no, Slavi, I had not in mind to spoil the event for you (and if it really would be cancelled, I am sure you would get your money back...) I had this feeling from the very first day I read the announcement. I just cannot imagine a full RAH, but as I said, it is great if I would shown the opposite - and it is for a good cause, too! So I wish you the best and good fun, and it is great to have some AMIT-people there (BBB will going, too) and have first hand reports about the "Straits". 

About bad English, I had started a thread about MK's songwriting the other day and since then I am not very confident in my writing anymore... so if you found some mistakes - the message matters - or am I lost in translation here... 

LE

[Slavi]

They don't give money back for unused plane tickets or hotel reservations  

About the English - I thought about mine, not yours!! 

[Geordieboy]

Ah...and Geordieboy...weren't you (or your friend?) who made a record of the concert of the guys in Gambassi Di Terme and promissed to send me a copy?

  What you're talking about. I never meet you...sorry.

[Slavi]

My mistake...Sorry!

[Geordieboy]

No problem.

[superval99]

Slavi - You haven't answered my question.    As you are a huge fan of Chris, would you still be as enthusiastic about this event and travel from Bulgaria to attend, if Chris wasn't involved?  

I'm not sure Val...probaly not, because I can't afford to travel as much as I would wish. But he IS...so I don't need to think about  

Thank you Slavi!    

[Waterline Man]

Lets be honest here,we are all big nuthead DS/MK fans who worship everything DS/MK stands for I think if you were to check the address of the people that are going to attend the gig you will find that they mostly live in the greater London area - I dont see too many people travelling from other countries to see three former members of DS perform,no matter what they promote it as - as I have said previously if I was in London I'd be up there in a shot as it would be an opportunity not to be missed & at the end of the day I listen to their music every day so why not go to see them live even if MK wasnt there.
I remember JI & Greg Pearle were on a tour of Ireland a few years ago & they played about a 3 hrs drive away from where I live.It would have been a pain in the arse to get there & back & I didnt go but I've a pain in my arse from kicking myself since - my point being that theres a certain distance people will travel for something like this.

Thats my 2 cents worth  

[dustyvalentino]

I read the whole topic some times carefully and felt that some of you are angry. OK! I can understand that and I even know very well why you are angry.

I can

[joanzimm]

If I lived near London, I would go .... mainly because they're playing all MK music, and I wouldn't mind seeing Phil Palmer.  I think it's quite a compliment to MK that they are devoting an entire concert to his songs.  At least I assume they are only playing his music.  

[jakehadlee]

Not sure what to think about this one - marketing is a bit cheeky, but essentially they are a very good tribute band with a legitimate connection to DS. As for calling themselves "The Straits" - well, they wouldn't have called themselves "The Dire"!!

I don't think I'd go - I don't really like tribute bands (despite being in one!), but as long as people know what to expect then I suspect it will be a good night.

But it does feel a bit like going to see Blondie without Deborah Harry, or Simon and Garfunkle without Simon. MK is/was Dire Straits and really this is just some of his backing musicians.

The guy standing in for him is obviously a very good guitarist, but to me the guitar in their version of MFN is more Richie Blackmore than Mark Knopfler. And the joy of Mark's voice was that he can't sing, but in the same way that Bob Dylan and Tom Waits can't sing - which is much cooler than the waaugghh!!! singing of your average rawk star, which is what this guy is doing.

It reminds of a review I read of the Notting Hillbillies album where the reviewer complained how few songs MK sang on saying his under-use was like "being superman and then choosing to take the bus to work".

Good luck to them all the same, like I say it'll probably be a great night out and the standard of musicianship will be high even without the inimitable MK voice/guitar.

[Fletch]

Hey Jake, nice to hear you here. Very good comments. I do like the superman analogy, lol!

[jakehadlee]

Hey Fletch! How do - I've only just discovered this forum, thanks to your post on MK Guitar Style about the Walk of Life tracks. Looks like a lively community!

[dustyvalentino]

Hi Jake, welcome to the self-proclaimed best Mark Knopfler forum in the world!

It reminds of a review I read of the Notting Hillbillies album where the reviewer complained how few songs MK sang on saying his under-use was like "being superman and then choosing to take the bus to work".

Like it. Similar to some Steely Dan fans saying that getting MK in and then mixing him right down was like getting Picaso to paint your garden fence.

[dustyvalentino]

Well, to avoid being accused of being "rude" or "prejudiced" I'm just going to post this and keep my thoughts to myself.

http://www.timeslive.co.za/entertainment/article988979.ece/SA-musician-gets-call-from-Dire-Straits

SA musician gets call from Dire Straits
Guitarist 'burst out laughing' when famous band made offer
Mar 26, 2011 11:42 PM | By PREGA GOVENDER

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When British rock band Dire Straits found themselves without a front man they called up renowned Johannesburg musician Terence Reis.

 
SULTAN OF SWING: Terence Reis will front for Dire Straits at a London charity event

Reis, from Northcliff, Johannesburg, will be making his first appearance with the band when they play at a charity event at London's Royal Albert Hall in May - their first gig in 20 years.

Reis, 48, who returned to South Africa last year after spending seven years in the UK, said the band's keyboard player, Alan Clark, called him in November to inquire whether he would be interested in working with them.

"I was reading (Rolling Stones legend) Keith Richard's autobiography, a book I got for my birthday. My guitar was on my bed and the sun was streaming through the window when the phone rang.

"This guy asked me a couple of questions to check whether he was talking to the right person. Then he said, 'I am Alan Clark and I'm the keyboard player from Dire Straits.' I thought it was a joke. He asked me if I was interested in fronting for the band and I burst out laughing."

The band's most popular hits in the '80s and '90s included Sultans of Swing, Romeo and Juliet, Money For Nothing and Tunnel of Love. Their album Brothers in Arms sold 30-million copies worldwide.

The band's original front man and lead guitarist, Mark Knopfler, who has gone solo, dissolved it in 1995.

Other founding members were Knopfler's younger brother, David, John Illsley and Pick Withers.

Reis was asked to send a demo recording of his music and, after a month, Clark told him he could join the gig. "It sounds almost unbelievable but it really was that simple."

Reis, who starred in the South African TV series The Game and the miniseries Homeland, as well as in the hit musical Buddy that toured the country in the mid-'90s, suspected that Clark had watched footage of his band, Waterhorse, on the internet.

Reis, who went to the UK to take a break from acting, ended up playing for Waterhorse, which was based in Canterbury.

While there he met and married occupational therapist Joanna. They have a two-year-old son, Junot. Reis also has a 16-year-old daughter, Dancya, from a previous marriage.

Other band members include session guitarist Phil Palmer, saxophonist Chris White, drummer Steve Ferrone, second keyboard player Jamie Squire and Mick Feat on bass.

"Dire Straits is still a solid rock band and it has an instantly recognisable thumbprint," said Reis, who returned from rehearsals with band members last month.

He was born in Durban but grew up in what was then Lourenco Marques in Mozambique. His mother was English while his father, who was involved in import and export, was Portuguese-Welsh.

Reis completed his primary school education in Mozambique before becoming a boarder and matriculating at Kearsney College, KwaZulu-Natal. It was while at Kearsney that he discovered Dire Straits.

"That's the first time I heard Sultans of Swing. It was also the first time I picked up a guitar."

Going to Wits to do a BA in drama, he began to take a serious interest in the guitar . "I had a black Fernandes. I remember getting up early in the morning to play for an hour before lectures ."

He said he was encouraged by a roommate to play at "the Dev" - the Devonshire Hotel in Braamfontein, a popular student haunt at the time.

Said Reis, who will be leaving for London in May for more rehearsals: "It's exhilarating; it's an enormous amount of work and I have a very, very short time to catch up."