Live Musician Central

Author: Live Musician Central

Music Equipment Rebates On AKG, JBL, Lexicon, dbx, Crown and Soundcraft

Get Rebates On The JBL JRX125 Speaker

   Until June 30, 2009 you can score up to $500 cash back with rebates offered on top of the line music equipment manufactured by Harman brand. I have owned many pieces of equipment manufactured by Harman over the years and I have always had excellent results. The best speakers I’ve ever used in my live band are my JBL JRX125 Dual 15″ 2-way speakers and they are made by Harman International.

   Harman manufactures the following brands which are all participating in this rebate offer: JBL, Crown, dbx, AKG, Lexicon and Soundcraft. This rebate offer can save you a ton of money if you’re in the process of building your P.A. system or your home studio rig. These are all premium brand names which make top level, professional music equipment. You can pick up speakers, amplifiers, compressors, equalizers, patchbays, microphones and many more products under the umbrella of this excellent offer.

   Music123 has created a special link directly to all the Harman products included in this rebate offer. As you know, I believe that Music123 has some of the best customer service of all the online music equipment retailers. Go ahead and follow the link below to start shopping for these excellent products offered by Harman International today:
Playing Cover Music Vs. Playing Original Music Part 2

George Thorogood Plays Original Music And Cover Music

The other day I wrote a post titled Playing Cover Music Vs. Playing Original Music Part 1 which covered the amount of creativity involved in playing cover music versus original music in a live band. Today I’m writing part two of that post to give you my view on another angle of the Cover Music Vs. Original Music debate. I’ve been seeing a lot of action in the online forums on this topic and I wanted to give you my view based on the fact the I play in both a cover band and an original band.

In my previous post I wrote about the amount of creativity involved in playing cover music vs. original music. I gave a slight edge to original music since it does take a bit more creativity to create a song from nothing. If you remember, I believe that playing cover music requires just about as much creativity as playing original music. Today I’m going to write about the skill level involved in playing Cover Music vs. Original Music. (more…)
Sunday Funnies – Worst Nirvana Cover Ever

Okay, it’s not fair to make fun of a live band trying to play a song so I want to point out a few positives here first. This song, “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is difficult to play because the recording that we’re all used to is so full sounding. But when you try to cover it in a live band, it is really tough to make two notes on the guitar sound rich and full like the recording.

These poor kids don’t even have a bass player and the guitarist doesn’t have his guitar in tune for the two-note riff. So really, all is lost before the singer begins to sing. After the singer starts…well, I’ll let you see for yourself. I will say this though, the drummer has potential! (more…)
Weekend Set List For Your Live Band To Play 5-16-09 – Dance 1

   I’m replacing the Weekend Album Picks feature with a new weekend MP3 download. The new feature is called Weekend Set List and it features proven set lists that your live band can play. The songs on these set lists are taken from the Mobile Beat Top 200 dance songs of all time. These songs are guaranteed to fill the floor every time they’re played. I will also take suggestions for set lists to post up as well.

   The type of set list will be shown at the end of the post title. For instance, today’s setlist is a Dance set list. I’ll also post other set lists such as country, hop-hop or classic metal. So check back here every weekend to see what the weekend set list will be and get a chance to download it. I am posting the Set List with Amazon.com MP3 downloads because they’re cheaper than iTunes, sound better than iTunes and you can listen to samples right here on the webpage.

   Whether you learn these song to play in your band or not, you should definitely have them on your MP3 player at the gig. These songs come in really handy filling peoples requests during your band breaks. Because really, what band wants to learn “The Chicken Dance”? So without further ado, here’s your Weekend Set List. Just press play to see all the songs and listen to clips.
Playing Cover Music Vs. Playing Original Music Part 1

Matt Levitates While Tapping The Creative Juices

I have been seeing a lot of action in the online forums on the topic of playing cover music (other people’s songs) versus playing your own original music. I feel I have a unique perspective on this because I actually play in two live bands. I play in both a cover band and an original band. I’ve played in both types of bands continuously over the course of my career as a live musician. Today I’m starting a series of articles that discuss the differences between playing cover music versus original music.

Today I’m going to address one of the misconceptions that I’m seeing in the online forums. The misconception that there is no creativity involved in playing cover music. To me, that’s just crazy talk! There is a ton of room for creativity when you play cover music in a live band. There are hundreds of ways to approach playing a cover song. From keeping only the lyrics and melody while re-writing every instrument part to playing the cover song note for note just like the recording. There is a massive amount of room for creativity with any approach to a cover song including a note-for-note rendition of the original. (more…)
Video Demonstration Of The Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker Pickup

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker Pickup

   The other day I talked about my experience using the Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker in my custom made Stratocaster. I truly have been happy with the SH-4 JB and I highly recommend it for your guitar as well.

   Today I’m posting a couple videos from YouTube that were posted by user “walkintheseshoes”. He is demonstrating the Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB pickup in the bridge position and the Seymour Duncan SH-2 in the neck position. It’s a very well done demo video because he plays the same riff with the pickups set in their various configurations so you can really guage how the pickup sounds.

   In the video he demonstrates each pickup alone, then combined and finally with the coil tap engaged. This is really an excellent example of how the Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB pickup sounds. It’s also a great demonstration of how versatile this pickup is.   (more…)
Stuart Hamm – Bass Guitar Master Playing Bass Solo

   Stuart Hamm is one of the finest bass players I have ever heard. He is amazingly skilled on the bass guitar and he also has mad skills as a live musician as well. The thing I like most about Stuart Hamm is his ability to play the bass with such great feeling. He has the flashy licks and can play as fast as anyone but I believe his strength is in his ability to inject true emotion into his bass playing.

   In this video clip you can hear a perfect example of what I’m talking about at the beginning of the clip. The little piece he plays moves and swells with great feeling. Then of course he starts horsing around but to his credit, it makes for a great show.

   This video clip is from a concert Stuart did with Joe Satriani and is from the “Joe Satriani – Live In San Francisco 2001” DVD. Stuart plays bass in Joe’s backing band when he’s not doing studio work or performing with his own band. If you listen to the audience it may sound like they’re booing but they’re really saying “Stuuuuu!!!” because they enjoy it so much.     (more…)
Upgrade Your Guitar’s Pickup With The Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker

Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB Humbucker Pickup

One of the best (if not THE best) humbucker pickups I have ever owned is my Seymour Duncan SH-4 JB pickup. I have been playing in my live band using the SH-4 in my custom built Stratocaster for quite a few years now. I have had this pickup in my guitar since 1986 and I have always loved the way it sounds. (more…)
How To Make It As A Professional Musician

Madonna - Top Of The Promotional Heap

   Ask any musician that you know if they would like to make a living playing music full time in a live band or even as a studio musician and I’m pretty sure their answer will always be an emphatic “yes”. Every guitarist I know dreams of making their living playing guitar. The thing is, great musicians are a dime a dozen. You can find excellent musicians living on every block. So how come so few of them are doing any professional playing?

   The answer is incredibly simple, it’s because they have failed at self promotion. So how do you self promote? Again, the answer is a simple one. All you have to do is get out of your practice room and go talk to people! Musicians are notorious for staying in their own little world and dreaming about making a living playing music. All it takes to get out there and make it playing music is to get speaking to anyone and everyone that can possibly help you in your quest.

   So where can you find people that will help you with your quest to play professionally? The first place is your local music store. Get down there and start talking to the salespeople. Find out who the top players in your area are. Try to find out where you can meet the best players and highest level musicians in your area. Maybe they come into the local music store regularly. If so, see if you can find a time to talk to them while they’re at the store.    (more…)
Sunday Funnies – Star Trek Meets Monty Python

In honor of the new Star Trek movie we’re bringing you this fun little clip of classic Star Trek – The Original Series clips set to music from Monty Python’s Holy Grail movie. Now, when you see the new Star Trek movie you can imagine them growing up into the clowns seen in this clip. (more…)