Live Musician Central

   Every weekend I pick several albums to post on Live Musician Central. The albums I put up are determined by a couple factors. I usually put up a couple that are being heavily promoted by the music industry. These may not be albums that I particularly like but they are albums that are going to be prominent in the public conscience. It’s good for us as musicians to stay current with what’s being promoted by the industry. We can gauge what we’re doing with what is being pushed out there. It’s also a good source to choose new music for your band to learn and play live or to have on the iPod to play during band breaks. The reasoning here is that you want to play music that people will know and since the albums I post on Live Musician Central are being so heavily promoted, your chances of people knowing the music at your shows is very high.

   The rest of the albums that I post are either personal favorites or they are certified classic albums that have sold millions of copies and are familiar to a lot of people. I also like to post a few links to iTunes and a few links to Amazon’s music service. Amazon has DRM free MP3’s that are ripped at 256kbps which is excellent quality at a killer price. So make sure you check them out!
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Crowd View Of In Stereo Band

   The other day I came across a really funny cartoon which depicts the type of crowds that come out to see a rock show. You can check it out here: The Crowd At A Rock Show. It’s really funny because it’s so accurate in it’s depiction of the makeup of a typical rock show audience. Being a live musician up there onstage, I’ve made a lot of observations about the crowd at our gigs.    Read more »

Fender American Stratocaster

   This is a really good YouTube video of famous guitarist Carl Verheyen discussing what he looks for in a Stratocaster and why the Stratocaster is his favorite guitar. I agree with Carl that the Stratocaster is the best electric guitar ever designed. Carl is not only a world famous session player but is also a very accomplished live musician who has been a member of Supertramp as well as his own live performing groups. This video lets you see Carl in action.

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Planet Waves S.O.S. Strobe Tuner

   If you’ve read up on electronic tuners then I’m sure you know that strobe tuners are the most accurate tuners in the world. You can’t get any closer to perfect tuning electronically than with a strobe tuner. I have an excellent Peterson 490-ST Strobe Tuner that cost me around $750.00 to buy. I use that tuner at home to tune my piano and setup my guitars. I certainly don’t haul it around to gigs with me. What if I told you you could get a strobe tuner for $14.95?

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Pink Floyd - David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright

   I was extremely saddened to hear the Richard Wright of Pink Floyd had passed away on Monday. Pink Floyd is one of my biggest musical influences and their music has touched me on so many levels. I have always been so impressed with Richard Wright’s ability to play the perfect keyboard part at the perfect moment to make Pink Floyd’s music become greater than the band.

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In Stereo Bass Drum Logo

   In Stereo had a great weekend at the Canyon Inn. We have been playing a lot of shows lately so the band was very tight and our voices were strong. Friday night we had a full house and the people were up and dancing early. Friday was another night where we didn’t play very many slow songs. The crowd just wanted to dance and party all night long. There were a couple birthdays and the mood was really good in the room. Kyle had some family show up and it’s always good to see them out there in the audience. It was just a good solid show and we put a lot of energy into it. By the end of the night our fingers were sore and so were our throats.         Read more »

   Live Musician Central presents the sunday funnies!

   I believe this is from one of the outtakes from the Season 3 Star Trek episode “The Way To Eden”. By season 3 Star Trek was living on borrowed time and the budget was tight so scenes from previous episodes were often re-used. But they were still trying to break new ground by giving us a glimpse of the future. This scene was eventually replaced with the scene where Spock plays the Vulcan Harp. I think they should re-insert this original “DJ Spock” scene which was filmed long before DJ’ing became so popular.

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   Every weekend I pick several albums to post on Live Musician Central. The albums I put up are determined by a couple factors. I usually put up a couple that are being heavily promoted by the music industry. These may not be albums that I particularly like but they are albums that are going to be prominent in the public conscience. It’s good for us as musicians to stay current with what’s being promoted by the industry. We can gauge what we’re doing with what is being pushed out there. It’s also a good source to choose new music for your band to learn and play live or to have on the iPod to play during band breaks. The reasoning here is that you want to play music that people will know and since the albums I post on Live Musician Central are being so heavily promoted, your chances of people knowing the music at your shows is very high.

   The rest of the albums that I post are either personal favorites or they are certified classic albums that have sold millions of copies and are familiar to a lot of people. I also like to post a few links to iTunes and a few links to Amazon’s music service. Amazon has DRM free MP3’s that are ripped at 256kbps which is excellent quality at a killer price. So make sure you check them out!
Read more »

Elvis Presley Covers Blue Suede Shoes

   A cover song is a song that has been recorded by another artist and that your band will be playing. Some famous artists that have played cover songs are Elvis Presley, The Beatles, Van Halen, The Rolling Stones. A lot of current artists will play cover songs as well and go on to have big hits playing them. The good thing about playing cover songs is that the song has already been marketed to the masses and has been proven to be a well loved hit. So your chances of having success playing the song is very high. There are a couple ways you can approach playing a cover song.

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   I have to admit that I never really considered the Ukulele a very serious instrument. It seems so limited with only four strings and a two octave range. Of course, whenever an instrument can make music, it seems like someone comes along and masters it.

   I gained  a new appreciation for the Ukulele when I saw an amazing YouTube video by Ukulele virtuoso Jake Shimabukuro. His skill on the instrument is truly amazing and he has a rare talent for creating very moving arrangements of well loved songs. The video I have added to this post is of Jake playing “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” written by George Harrison of The Beatles. It’s an amazing video to watch and Jake performed this same version on the Conan O’Brien show. His performance of “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” was a huge hit on the Conan O’Brien show and prompted Conan to get up out of his chair and declare the performance as one of the best things he’s ever seen on the show.

   So enjoy the video of Jake Shimabukuro, I’ve also included a link to his website.

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