KIP WINGER, ORCHESTRAL COMPOSER
Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 2:00pm by Axl RosenbergThanks to reader Brett S. for sending us this tidbit…
Sometimes when I listen to metal, I think “Hey, this is awesome. I bet if there were no screaming or blast beats and an orchestra were playing the music instead of loud, crunchy guitars, people would actually give this the respect it deserves.” I mean, there’s a clear connection between metal and classical music, so it’s not really that big of a stretch.
But I’ve never, ever had that thought while listening to “Seventeen.”
And yet Kip Winger – leader and namesake of the band Winger (duh), a hair metal outfit so wussy even I don’t like them – has composed an orchestral piece, which will be debuted by the Tuscon Symphony Orchestra in November.
And, oh yeah, Kip’s name is “C.F. Winger” now.
The “C.F.” stands for Charles Frederick – “Kip” is Mr. Winger’s second middle name – although you wonder why the guy isn’t just going by “Charles Winger” or, since he’s not keeping it a secret that he and C.F. Winger are one and the same, just “Kip.” I mean, changing your name to some pretentious initials seems like a move designed to distance yourself from your AquaNet-suffused past, and yet there’s Winger’s most famous moniker, right there on TSO’s official website, which describes the ballerina-turned-cock rocker thusly:
In the early 1990s with his band, Winger, he released the platinum recordings Winger, In the Heart of the Young and Pull and led the quartet on sold-out world tours. London’s Classic Rock Magazine called him “one of the most gifted composers and arrangers in the rock genre” and praised his “compulsion to experiment.” While topping the charts, he continued to pursue his interest in composition.
“One of the most gifted composers and arrangers in the rock genre.” Sure. And I’m one of the most talented writers in the history of music criticism, and MetalSucks is going to change the world as we know it forever.
Anyway, if any of our Tuscon readers go to this thing, please let us know how it is. Seriously. We care.
-AR
Uh.. Didn’t they write that song about fucking an underage girl?
Yeah. Pedophilia for the win!
Naw, that wuz the BEATLES (”she wuz jus’ sevunteeen”)
Rock musicians don’t know shit about writing an ‘orchestral piece’ they don’t understand writing harmonies around tonally structured counterpoints, or the principles of voice leading, or the depth to how chord progressions affect modulations in and out of keys. Whatever, in the syle of music they’re writing they don’t need to, and I’m talking about Kip Winger here lol.
Many bands with Blasting and Screaming are more capable of writing orchestral pieces using their own style than some douche like Kip Winger. Just because you have the instrumentation of an orchestra doesn’t mean you’re gonna be a sick composer. It’s so stupid, It’s like a rapper trying to write a jazz chart if someone gave him an alto sax. However, bands like Beneath the Massacre (check out the modulation from 1st riff to 2nd riff in Condemned), Martyr (crazy progressions in all their songs) and Necrophagist are good examples of ‘orchestral’ writing in my opinion.
under what age? the song’s about women empowerment, right? about young women consenting to sexual intercourse and disregarding the law, because the law can’t keep putting them down!!!
…right?
Listening to that again (after a really long time), I noticed how similar the underlying guitar riffs, the various band accents, and so on, sound like they could have come from Extreme’s Pornograffiti, or at least have been written by Nuno.
Still, a really representative fusion of the main elements of that moment in metal history.
Not saying Kip or Reb ripped off anyone. I don’t care about that.
I’m the Assistant Concertmaster of the Orchestra (I’m a violinist). No lie, I was practicing the part (its pretty challenging) when I decided to take a break to make my daily visit to MS. We premiere it next week as part of whats called the “Masterworks Series” where we perform in smaller venues with whats called a Chamber Orchestra. Also on the concert is an overture by Mendelssohn and Haydn’s Symphony # 101 “the clock”. I hope Kip will be there, and I’ll send along a report if you like.
another TUS metal head. and one in the TSO. you must let us know how this goes.
I’ve just been told that Kip will be there…
I guess put Winger in my guilty pleasure category. I can’t stand their videos, and the only thing that would make them gayer is if there was a storm cloud raining cocks down into Kip Winger’s mouth.
But ridiculous videos and stage antics aside, they really are great musicians. Now I’m not exactly sure what credentials Kip himself has, but we’ve seen videos of Reb Beach posted on this site before, and the guy has amazing guitar chops. And if you don’t give credit to Rod Morgenstein, you’re a retard. Dude is an associate professor teaching percussion at Berklee.
They aren’t my favorite “hair band” by any means, but 99% of the people who hate on Winger do so because of Beavis and Butt-Head. Reb Beach is an incredible guitarist, Rod Morganstein is a phenomenal drummer (if you can’t stomach Winger, check out his work with Jordan Rudess, The Dixie Dregs, Platypus or the Jelly Jam), and Kip — shiny white teeth and all — is a classically-trained musician who probably was just smart enough to realize that talent alone doesn’t pay the bills.
Check out “Pull” and like it or hate it based on what you hear — not because Mike Judge made ‘em uncool 15+ years ago (and Lars Ulrich too, to a lesser degree…but who ever looked up to Lars, literally or otherwise?)
I’m not really a huge Winger fan either, but just listening to a few of their albums (not just their hits), it’s easy to hear that they’re talented musicians. I think that too many bands get shit simply because they’re trying to make a living, rather than impress the metal elite.
Talented musicians do not a good band make. I’ve *heard* Kip Winger is extremely talented outside of the band Winger, but I’ve never actually witnessed it.
Oh, I kinda like them…particularly the pull album. They have a new album out called karma…I’m probably going to buy it…yeah, I said it.
I will be conducting the concert; I chose Kip’s piece, based on the score and a studio recording. There’s no question Kip knows exactly what he’s doing; I put the piece on the program because it is a phenomenal piece.
A friend tipped me off to the piece, without referring to Kip’s background, using his new name. Before I had gotten to the last page, I sent an email committing to the premiere. I later realized I had actually played some of his rock stuff in one of several bands I was in, years ago.
If Kip had just recently graduated from a major conservatory and shopped this piece around, it would get played by many of the more adventurous major orchestras. He would be hailed in an article in Symphony Magazine as a hot new composer.
I’d offer the OP some comp tickets, but they’re going fast; you can order your own at tucsonsymphony.org
Good luck with your website! George Hanson
Let me just start by saying that Kip Winger is a rare and gifted talent…..extremely accomplished in his craft. You won’t find many artists that began a career in rock, who could, or would even attempt to, take the musical path that he has taken. much less be so successful at it. He’s an artist who has stayed true to his music and taken it to new levels, moving on to create some of the best music today….music that I refer to as art. Just take a listen to his solo material, not to mention, his Classical Piece Ghosts. If you can recognize and appreciate good music then you will see that he is a rare and gifted songwriter and composer. The music speaks for itself.
The best is yet to come from C.F Kip Winger and I, for one, will be anxiously awaiting.
The premiere of Ghosts last night was incredible. Bigger ovation for Kip than for Mendelssohn.
Truly a remarkable piece.
I enjoyed every moment conducting it.
Standing ovation at the third performance! If you missed it, come to San Francisco Ballet Feb 9-15 2010.