Nature of the Beast

Collection Contents

#		Title	Length
1		Super Duper Frogman	5:40	Play
2		Big AL's Groove	6:46	Play
3		Suzi	7:11	Play
4		55 Chevy	4:23	Play
5		Cowboy Boots and 501's	3:07	Play
6		SEAL House Rockin	6:08	Play
7		Me and Jim Beam	7:21	Play
8		She Lied, I Cried, She Died	3:48	Play
9		Pink Elephant/Elephante Rosado	4:44	Play
10		Granny Goes To Church	5:10	Play
11		Route 666	3:01	Play
12		Faleen	5:10	Play
13		Train	3:51	Play
14		Mullaituvu 10,000 Guns	4:28	Play

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Description

Inspired by the San Francisco Bay Area Music Scene Curt Campbell's influences come from bands such as Steve Miller, Elvin Bishop, Cold Blood, Tower of Power, Santana, The Doors, Elvis Presley and Vince Guaraldi. Mesmerized by the harmonica playing of front man Huey Lewis, Curt studied everything that was put out there before him. He says he learned more by studying 2nd and 3rd generation Harmonica players like James Harman, Norton Buffalo, Mark Ford, Charlie Musselwhite and Jimmy Wood from the Immortals. He studied these guys because he felt that they were what he had to measure up to. Curt Campbell became an accomplished harmonica player with impeccable timing. He is spectacular to watch. Over the years he became a specialist at manipulating his way on stage and ripping off the show. Virtually unrehearsed and totally improvisational, Curt Campbell (known to his friends as the Beast) would ultimately sit in with musicians from 37 different countries of the world, which has lead him to where he finds himself now. "I just want to get the music out there. I want to see how it holds up against the rest. There is a reason why I chased this thing around and I need to know how it will be regarded". Pooling together the best producer and mixing engineer possible (Larold Rebhun/ Glenwood Studios, Burbank, CA) and one of the best mastering engineers in the country (John Cuniberti/Plant Studios, Sausalito, CA), Curt Campbell put together the best sidemen in the recording industry to record this album, and he gives them all the credit. Garth Webber (on Guitar from Miles Davis), Dewayne Pate (on Bass from The Robben Ford Band), The Fabulous Bryant Mills (on Drums from the John Lee Hooker Band), Johnnie Bamont (on Sax from the Bands Elvin Bishop, Huey Lewis, Boz Scaggs, Tower of Power, and currently Howard Tate), Tony Lafrano (on Piano from Etta James and Bonnie Rait), Jeff Baxter (Accoustic Guitar/Doobie Bros. and Steely Dan), and the incomparable Carlos Reyes (on the Electrified Fiddle). This album was recorded "Live" at Red Rooster Studios in Berkley, California and is becoming one of the finest improvisational blues albums ever recorded. A breakout session of words and music, this recording is unlike any other, and literally breaks down all the barriers between Jazz, Blues and R & B. "These guys are so good that they can take whatever it is your humming and turn it into a piece of art. One of the things that I did on this album was to let these musicians do their thing. I didn't want to limit the possibilities by sticking with specific turn around times, because that would have kept them from reaching their potential. This album is for true music listeners. It's for people that can pick apart the instruments and really understand what's being played on this record.

BIOGRAPHY

In 1976 while watching a USO Concert, in Subic Bay, the Philippines, Curt Campbell reached up into the air and caught a Marine Band Harmonica that was thrown off the stage, by the lead singer of the band. Having made a feeble attempt at playing the new found instrument, Curt soon forgot about it. In 1990 having returned to the Philippines with his SEAL Platoon, Curt tells this story: "After coming in from the field, I was consolidating some special operations gear from one bag to the next, when much to my surprise the Harmonica fell out of a medical kit, where it had lodged itself, laying hidden for 14 years. Looking down at the Harmonica in the palm of my hand I realized that this was an omen and that it was my destiny to learn how to play". And play he did. He played so much that he started driving everyone around him crazy. "I really taught myself to play the Blues. I used to race the clock by trying to match up the Keys of the Harmonicas to the songs that were playing on the radio. There were times when I had the Harmonicas strung all over my truck. They would slide off the dash of the truck when I was driving around corners. I use to reach down on the passenger side, frantically trying to feel for one that got stuck between the door and the floor of the truck, while I was desperately trying to match up the song that was playing on the radio. Sometimes it would take me a whole song to figure out which Harmonicas was the right key. When I first started to play I didn't understand the dynamics of playing a Harmonica, nor do I read any music. However I was naturally playing across the grain of the music, which is primarily the Blues. Once I started to play I felt a deep connection in my soul like I had been playing this thing all along, and that I was sure that I played in a pre-existent state, or in a past life. I really went after it, as it made my spirit soar. I seemed to play the best when I was really down and of course that's the spirit of the blues. I must have blown out about 20 Harmonicas in the first few months. I think I went through about 100 Hohner Harmonicas in that first year, it was like a disease. Harmonicas are expensive. Little did I know that when I started playing how many keys there were. I started to buy Huangs for awhile, because they were only about $8 bucks a pop. But they were unpredictable, and the plates were screwed on badly. Eventually I switched to Lee Oskar Harmonicas because they hold up better and they breathe a lot easier. I've had the same set of Lee Oskar Harmonicas for about 5 or 6 years now, that's how well they're made. I found that one of the best places to practice playing a Harmonica are in a stair well. The echo and reverb are just right, and that kind of a chamber really helped me to develop my tone. The best method however, is to practice playing a Harmonica while listening to your favorite songs. That in itself will get you there much quicker. One day I realized I couldn't get much better. I had hit a plateau. I figured that I was as good as I was going to get. I wrote all these songs running down the beaches of Coronado, California, Tangalle, Sri Lanka and Arrote Point Guam and I knew in my heart that I was ready and that it was time. I hired the best players money could buy (for one day) and I went into Red Rooster Studios in Berkley, California to record. Well rehearsed in my mind's eye, I laid this thing down. This recording is the best I've got. It's what I'm about, and it's what I'm giving back to the Universe. I've tried to make light of my time here on earth (both good and bad) in my songs. If in this life I have never done anything else worthy of my time here in this world, I hope this will count for something".
Curt is a retired Navy SEAL living in Long Beach, California. After having spent 18 months as a Training Officer with the Federal Air Marshal program in Los Angeles, he is currently the Director of Maritime Security for SSA Terminals California based operations. He is dealing with issues spawned by the tragic events of September 11, 2001. A graduate of the Naval Explosive Ordnance Disposal School located at Indian head Maryland, Curt has found lots of work as a technical advisor and consultant and continues to operate as an Independent Contractor with his company "Security Group International", providing Protective Services World Wide. Fluent in Spanish he has recorded with Rueban Blades band members in Panama, and would like to take his record on the road to places like Cuba and in Northern Europe