Live Musician Central

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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   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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Richard Wright or Elton John?

   I love playing keyboard instruments. The first instrument I learned to play was the trumpet but the first instrument I learned to love was the piano. The piano offers so much in the way of musical satisfaction when compared to other instruments. On what other instrument can you so richly play all the bass, harmony, melody and rhythm? Not to mention the technical complexity you can achieve on the piano. It’s a very satisfying instrument to play. Like most piano students I learned to play it as a solo instrument.

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Rainn Wilson in The Rocker

   I just went and watched the new movie “The Rocker” starring Rainn Wilson of “The Office” fame. A lot of people have been saying the movie is a “School Of Rock” ripoff and even though there are similarities, “The Rocker” has more adult laughs. So being a rocker myself and a fan of Rainn Wilson I was really excited to see the movie.

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Frampton Comes Alive

   It’s no secret that as a musician I just plain love music. I learned to love music from my father who used to sing with me when I was a little boy. We used to take road trips and sing a whole bunch of old classics. Then as I got older I sang in choir in grade school, then learned trumpet, piano, guitar and a bunch of other instruments. So my love of live performance began at an early age and has developed over the course of my life.

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The Police - Madison Square Garden August 1, 2007

   Well The Police played the last show on their reunion tour at New York’s Madison Square Garden on August 7th 2008. They played it at the Garden because they played their first U.S. show at CBGB’s in New York. The tour lasted for 15 months, 150 concerts and they played for 3.7 million people. Sting was quoted as saying “The real triumph of this tour is that we haven’t strangled each other. That’s not to say it hasn’t crossed my mind, or Stewart’s, or Andy’s.”

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Archive Those Tapes

   As a musician I’ve wondered what my legacy will be. Will anyone remember or care that I worked so hard at music for so many years after I’ve gone? I’m hoping that at least my kids will remember and care about my musical legacy after I’m gone. So what is something concrete that you can leave behind? I believe that the recordings that you should be making over the course of your career will be the biggest evidence that you really gave music your best shot. A good body of recorded work will document your life as a musician in a way that nothing else will. It will show your progression from beginner to being the best you could possibly be. A good body of recorded work will bring you a lot of enjoyment as you get older and want to take a trip down memory lane to see where you’ve come from as well. I know listening to my old recordings makes me feel really good about where I am now.

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Steinway Concert Grand

   My first step into my music career was learning to play the trumpet when I was 10 years old. It came naturally for me and I enjoyed the instrument. When I turned 11 years old my sister began taking piano lessons. One day I sat down at the piano and my sisters beginning piano book was on the piano. I opened it up and proceeded to play the entire book in one afternoon. That book was John Thompson’s - Teaching Little Fingers To Play. It was easy to read and learn from and my soul as a musician drank it all in. Naturally my parents had been listening to me working on that book and suggested that I may want to take piano lessons along with my sister. I did and from that point on the piano became the musical root of everything I have done musically since.

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Gibson Rocks The U.S.A.

   I hope everybody is having a great 4th of July! It’s my personal favorite summer holiday and my 2nd favorite after Christmas. I’ve played a lot of memorable 4th of July gigs over the years. I guess you could say my earliest 4th of July gigs were marching in parades from 5th grade to when I graduated High School. So I’ve played a lot of music on the 4th of July.

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Gas Price Chat

   Let’s face it, gas prices are taking a heavy toll on every industry in the U.S.. Musicians are no better off than any other travelling worker. I’ve been reading about a lot of music groups having to turn down gigs just because the amount of travel involved made it impossible to make any profit on a gig.

   The problem we face in terms of gas prices is all the equipment we have to haul. That makes it pretty much impossible for a band to carpool together. In my band it takes 4 vehicles to get everything to a show. Most of our gigs are within 45 miles of our house but one of our members always has to travel 100 miles or more to get to a gig. Needless to say, gas costs really add up when you’re having to travel that far.

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