Musicians on Political Forum?

I sing at the karoke at the local bar/restuarant sometimes, I make good tips on some good nights. I usually stick with pop music .

 

I'm one of your brother musicians, Jazzerman. Berklee Grad. Guitarist. Been doing this for a living most of my adult life. Influenced in jazz by John Scofield, Larry Carlton but others as well. Lots of Blues. Danny Gatton, and some great country players. These days it's acoustic finger-style guitar. Altered tunings. Celtic stuff. and mostly now original material in a contemporary folk/Americana genre. My age has kicked in and no more hauling amps around.

 

I find this thread the most refreshing thing on the forum. The politics get to me after a while. I thought I was the only musician here. Nice to know there are others. I've been teaching the instrument for the past 30 years, and gigging for 40. Just played last night. Three CD's and an instructional video. Took time to author two books, not on music but on Politics. Political Logic and Growing up White in Racist America. That one is sure to provoke some discussion. Composed another CD's worth of music in the Singer/Songwriter vein.

The last CD featured some great players and was produced by Will Ackerman, the founder of Windham Hill. Charlie Bisharat from Shaddowfax on violin, Eugene Friesen from Paul Winter Consort on Cello, Jeff Haynes of Pat Metheny on percussion, Steve Holley of Paul McCartney and Elton John on Drums, and the great Tony Levin on Bass.

 

I did something a few years back at an assisted living home. I went to play for the people there. A freebee just to do it. After playing for the retirement people, I went and played for the assisted living people. They were Alzheimer patients. I played a bunch of acoustic instrumental stuff, Celtic tunes. The just sat there looking into space. At the end, I played a version of Amazing Grace...and those people began to sing along. The nurses all looked stunned and I just kept playing. When I finished they all reverted back to wherever it is they are, and were wheeled back to their rooms. It was at a home in Alabama. I'll never forget it.

 

Here's a sample of a few things.

http://www.ourstage.com/media_items/AUELRKOHCLLQ-yosemite

http://youtu.be/lsJPHO9yh1s

This one is a tribute to Daniel Pearl, the journalist that was murdered in Pakistan by terrorists after 9/11
http://youtu.be/W-FysjZ4P_E

Hope you like them.

 

Guitarist and vocalist here...though out of practice and no longer in a band (seems Heavy Metal is no longer in vogue).....most of my family has the Jammin' Gene though.

Sisters for now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFcDdSTGUKk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou-jDUcKABM

[video=youtube;IFcDdSTGUKk]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFcDdSTGUKk[/video]

[video=youtube;Ou-jDUcKABM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ou-jDUcKABM[/video]

 

I play guitar in two bands. I also sing in one of them.
All very amateurish.

 

It's been many, many years since I was in a band and we performed but I still remember the dynamics of "the band" and it was quite an experience. We went from being very amateurish to quite professional in our sound and I attribute that to one thing. We recorded our practice sessions and then critiqued everything and improved it. Of course there was no substitute for practice, practice, practice.

One other piece of advice. Don't try to play beyond your capabilities. Try to be tight with what you're got. A simple tight arrangement is better than a complex arraignment that fails because it isn't tight.

 

You've got a pretty decent set of pipes. You project well.

 

Being a street musician is great experience and don't put down acoustical work when talking about "metal" music. Once again its' been many years since I was in a band that was, of course, all electric but much of our original work was hammered out at 2 o'clock in the morning on an acoustical guitar and anything our drummer could beat his drum sticks on. Our arraignments and songwriting was almost exclusively on acoustic and then adapted to electric.

Of course there are also very good examples of heavy metal based upon acoustic guitar....... and here's one of those.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlJuWCVkZ2g

 

I am by no means a musician. I once thought I could be, but I was wrong. Around 1975 with a fiddle given to me by a friend, I signed up to take lessons from country swing legend Hoyle Nix. After a few lessons I managed, by rote, to scratch out something which might be recognized as 'Faded Love'. After about six sessions, Mr. Nix sat me down for a heart to heart. "Son" he said. "It ain't gonna happen. You couldn't carry a tune in your ass pocket. Your playing upsets my wifes cat, and I can't keep taking your money." Mr. Nix then handed me a full refund and gave me an extra hundred for my fiddle.

[video=youtube;tN8wzoZdrTA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tN8wzoZdrTA[/video]

 

Kind of amazing to find out that some of the PF posters I've been talking to (and often arguing with) are musicians. OK, Cool. LOL. Well, in my case, I started out as a street corner a capella singer of 1950s rock with an amateur group. We were exceptionally good, bur never went pro. We should have.

In 1961, I got my first guitar. A cheapee ($15) acoustic that was hanging up in a pawn shop window. I played the hell out of it and learned as many songs as I could as the 60s went by. By 1970, I was pro level and joined a band playing all the songs my generation loved back then (you name it- Hendrix, Beatles, Stones, Cream, Dylan, Niel Young, etc) I still remember and can play lead & rythym on some of those old songs (Purple Haze, Crossroads, Day Tripper, Norwegien Wood, And I Love Her, 19th Nervous Breakdown, Dead Flowers, Wild Horses, Like a Rolling Stone, etc.

I also play the harmonica and play it with the guitar like Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Springsteen, et al. I still can do that on a few Dylan songs.

Besides the guitar and harmonica, I also play the fiddle and mandolin, and I played in a Bluegrass band for a few years too, and well as hundreds of jam sessions over the years (and decades). I really like fiddle tunes on both instruments, and it's easy to pick them up on the fiddle after first learning them on the mandolin (same tuning G-D-A-E).

Right now, as a getting old retired guy, I finally have some time to devote to this again, so I'm relearning my old songs + some I never played before. It's a lot easier to learn nowadays, with the you tube instructionals, guitar chords, words, and tabs from ultimate-guitar.com, and some nice DVDs they've come out with. I recently picked up a couple of those (Grateful Dead and Rolling Stones)

Now if I could just tear myself away from this computer more often, I just might make some progress. I'll see if I can put something in here photo and video soon. I'm not the most computer savvy person, but I'll work on it. I've also got a new recording studio box, which I have to learn how to use. Hoping the music store guy will give me a walk through on it.

Lastly, I've got 2 instruments on my guitar rack which I really don't know how to play yet, but I'll get around to learning them eventually (bass guitar & banjo). I also have 2 Fender amps + 2 solid body 6 string electrics, 2 acoustics, and one acoustic electric.

 

If it's been some time since you last recorded anything, you'll be surprised what can be done nowadays with a computer and a decent audio interface.
I also like threads like this one when i suddenly realize that the people I argue so hard with sometimes share the same passion as me and are humans in front of a computer screen.

 

As I've mentioned its been many years since I was a member of a rock-n-roll band in the 1960's but sometimes things come up that bring back those memories. In 1964 I purchased a '62 Fender Stratocaster to replace the Sears Silvertone guitar I'd learned to play on. I was in heaven (and wish I still had that Stratocaster obviously) but a recent "American Restoration" show reminded me of the guitar I really wanted. On that show they featured an early Mosrite Ventures Series Mark I and I remember that the Mosrite was the guitar of every guitar players dreams in the 1960's. The Mosrites were handmade in Bakersfield CA and they were unmatched. The Stratocaster had excellent action and sound but the Mosrite was far superior.... and also cost at least twice as much as the Stratocaster. I paid $200, a lot of money for a teenager in the 1960's, for my used Stratocaster and I couldn't have touched a Mosrite for even $800 at the time.



Today these early Mosrites are selling for simply outrageous amounts. On Ebay a 1963 Mosrite Ventures Series Mark I with S/N MOS0021 (i.e. the 21st of the Venture Series that started in 1963 and only ran until 1967) is currently for sale for over $21,000. Other examples are selling for about $3,000 to $4,000 but the early S/N's are obviously more expensive.

Even though I haven't play guitar in years I've been tempted to purchase one of these early Mosrite Mark I's and take it up again.... it was the guitar I always wanted to play...

 

For any musician I highly recommend recording everything. It is certainly easier today with computer technology but it's always been advised by me because it let's the person critique their own work and improve upon it.

I also love these types of thread because we are all humans and have so much in common. In fact we have far more in common than we have differences. We should always remember that when talking with others especially when we're sharing a very impersonal medium like the internet.

 

I used to play the saxophone a little bit. That was back in school. Everytime I had to play in front of the class I'd clam up. Sounded like absolute (*)(*)(*)(*) when I did that. Still have my saxophone though. She needs a little bit of body work done to her but nothing major.

 

I was gonna get girls and get famous so I took up playing the guitar over 40 years ago now. The 'career' didn't work out that well however, outside of a 10 year stint of NOT playing, I have come to the point that music is part of who I am. Still playing (have a gig Sunday). Shiva_TD is 100% correct. There is just no excuse for any half-way serious musician NOT to record themselves today.

In the 'old days' we saved our pennies and bought an Akai 4 channel. We 'bounced' tracks, etc. We SAVED those tapes and I HAVE them all. When I got the mixing equipment (a few years ago) I was able to go through those tapes and digitize them into an editing program. We'd have KILLED to have the capability available today!

 

We had a Teac sound-on-sound reel to reel. Unfortunately the member that had the tape recorder and tapes later committed suicide and the tapes were lost. I wish I had those tapes. Some were really awesome recordings where the band was very "tight" and the recording excellent. We actually became quite good at recording considering how primitive the equipment was. With the full band in practice we ran the music through a soundboard and recorded using that except late at night for our "acoustic" sessions where we recorded to a cassette tape on a cheap-o recorder.

- - - Updated - - -

To hell with the body work. Get that reed wet again!!! I always loved the sound of a tenor sax. What a great sound. Never played one but always wanted to learn.

 

Well the cork on there needs to be replaced. Unfortunately I neglected that and let it go to ruin. And I need a new mouth piece for it. It's not a priority but I would love to get her fixed up again. Show the proper respect due to her and treat her right this time around. And my girl's an alto, not a tenor. Although they do make a lovely sound.

 

A few dollars and that girl can make sweet sounds again. Remember that to be respected she must be used and as much as you might have forgotten with a little practice you'll both fall in love with each other again.

 

I was extremely stupid back then. Not that I'm much smarter now but I am a little bit. Just priced the replacement parts that I'll need and it'll end up costing me close to 400 dollars. I'll still get her fixed up, it's just going to take a little while for it to happen. Right now 400. is my entire paycheck.

 

HA!! I still have a 4-channel Teac tape recorder!! My buddy (and band member) has an Apple based recording program (Logic Pro X) with all the 'bells and whistles.' We have been scratching our heads trying to get a good recording of the drums. There was an article about using a multi-channel tape recorder to take in the initial signal and then immediately output that signal into the digital system. We found an old professional 1/2" tape 8 channel tape recorder on E-Bay for a decent price and bought it. Apparently the tape recorder has better signal-saturation. You don't actually use the tape, but you have to have it running. Works great! The drums are now 'alive' and have the punch you expect.

Good advice.

 

NEW TOY

FADADGBe


And just because it is cool.

 

I have played various instruments on and off throughout my life, never excelling in any of them. In school I was a third chair trumpet player. Throughout my life I have played around with both the guitar (acoustic) and the piano. I would do ok with them but they just never “clicked” with me.

Awhile back, though, I finally decided to give a different instrument a try. Some will laugh when I say what it is but I don’t care. I LOVE the ukulele. From the moment I held a tenor ukulele in my hands I knew I had found the perfect instrument for me. I know some guitar players will scoff at it. I used to. I just assumed it was a toy or a gimmick instrument for goofy comedians. I assumed uke players were just want-to-be guitar players. But uke players are no more want-to-be guitar players than guitar players are want-to-be lute players.

I like playing ALL types of music on it. And my inspiration is Jake Shimabukuro. This was the first video I ever saw of him and the first video that made me say “I didn’t know a ukulele could do THAT.” I will never be as good as him, of course. He started when he was 4 and I started in my late 30s. But it is fun to strive for it.

[video=youtube;puSkP3uym5k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puSkP3uym5k[/video]

 

I always loved the lyrics from the song My Back Pages (written by Bob Dylan) where it states, "But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now."

We all thought we were so smart when we were younger but it turns out we weren't quite as smart as we thought.

The costs of repairing or restoring something are often quite high but what's important is the commitment to make it happen in the future. It is a goal that can be planned and achieved in a surprisingly short period of time. A few dollars a week put away will eventually reach that $400 cost and what a beautiful instrument it will be when that's done. When the day that sax is perfect again you'll think, "That really took no time at all" and you'll be very, very happy. We know this to be a fact. And while we loose the mechanics of playing over time we can still appreciate the pure sound of a musical instrument even if it's just one perfect note the first time. I've never been an actual sax player but I've blown a few notes and even I could manage to pump out one that would make my heart sing. I know you'll do much better. Ahhhhh a sax, any sax, has such a sweet voice IMHO.

Quick story, I was in a night club one night and heard a sax playing down the hall and I was compelled to investigate. A guy was in the men's restroom just sitting there all by himself playing and the acoustics of the room were perfect. I stayed there with him just listening for about half an hour. Sweet memory.