This is a great demonstration for making sure your practice studio has enough room to do what you need to do in it. Enjoy! (more…)
Author: Live Musician Central
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Live Musician Central – Weekend Album Picks 11-15-08
Every week here at Live Musician Central we post up several albums for you to check out and download. We feature some of the most heavily marketed new releases every week. These albums are a good example of what the music industry is marketing and you can use them as a guide for building your bands songlist. You always want to play songs the people will be familiar with and there’s an excellent chance that the albums featured in our weekend album picks will have a lot of songs that people will know. It’s a good idea to have them on your MP3 player at gigs so you can test them out on an audience before you spend the time learning them. The album picks can make great break music.
We feature downloads from iTunes as well as MP3 downloads from Amazon.com music service. The Amazon.com MP3’s are ripped at 256kbps and are DRM free so you can copy them to as many music players as you like. They’re priced very low when you download entire albums. With the Amazon widgets below you can preview the album right here on Live Musician Central. I’m also posting a link to the iTunes $4.99 Album Of The Week. You can bet that people will be knowing those songs as well and it’s a great deal on a full album. The new David Archuleta album is out so check ’em out!
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Hot Deals For Christmas From Musician’s Friend
Yup, it’s that time of year again and the best music equipment always sells out early around Christmas. Musician’s Friend has a Hot Deal for every live musician out there no matter what you play. Here are some links to help you find the best deals at Musician’s Friend.
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In Memoriam – Mitch Mitchell Of The Jimi Hendrix Experience
John "Mitch" Mitchell, July 9, 1947 – November 12, 2008 The world lost another legendary live musician and rock pioneer on November 12, 2008 when Jimi Hendrix Experience drummer Mitch Mitchell was found deceased in his room at the Benson Hotel in downtown Portland, Oregon. He was 62 years old which still seems far too young to die. It’s a sad day indeed as Mitchell was an integral part of the music behind the great Jimi Hendrix.
Mitch Mitchell was one third of the great rock trio that made up the Jimi Hendrix Experience. His drumming style was a great example of jazz/rock fusion. He would switch between a traditional jazz drum grip and a matched rock style grip when he played. His playing was very active and he had a great feel for filling the space around Jimi’s lead guitar and vocal work. When Jimi would take a guitar solo Mitch would have a very active interplay with the guitar on the drums. It’s really a pleasure to listen to Mitch and Jimi play music together. (more…)
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My Favorite Guitarist, Jeff Beck, Plays ‘A Day In The Life’
Jeff Beck People always ask me who my favorite guitar player is. Well my favorite guitar player is Jeff Beck and he’s been my favorite since I was a teenager. He is a supreme musician both live and in the studio. I just love the way he gets so much expression out of his Fender Stratocaster. He plays with his fingers almost exclusively although I’ve seen him grab a pick a time or two. His skill with the whammy bar is unparalleled for musicality.
This clip is Jeff performing the classic Lennon/McCartney tune ‘A Day In The Life’. The way Jeff Beck interprets this song is absolutely stunning in its beauty. The emotion that Jeff gets out of his guitar really defies description, you just have to listen to understand. It also shows what a beautiful melody John Lennon wrote in ‘A Day In The Life’. I hope you enjoy this rendition as much as I do. (more…)
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My Stage Amp – The Fender Cyber-Twin SE
Fender Cyber-Twin SE Front My main onstage guitar amplifier for the last couple years is the Fender Cyber-Twin SE. As a live guitarist this amplifier has been invaluable to me. Because I play in a cover band as well as an original band, I needed an amplifier/effects setup that could cover a wide range of different guitar sounds. At a gig I will use sounds ranging from a country twang to hard rocking Marshall type distortion to full on saturated mid-scooped distortion.
I used to use a Digitech 2120 Valve Guitar System but it just didn’t have the punch and presence of an actual amplifier and it’s sound always left me wanting more power. When I was searching for a new amplifier I played a bunch of modeling effects units and amplifiers including the Line 6 POD, Boss GT-8 Effects Processor and the Line 6 Vetta 2 among others. None of those modeling devices gave me the playing response that the Fender Cyber-Twin SE did.
The biggest thing I noticed was on the other modeling devices, whether I played light or heavy, or when I turned the guitar down or up, the sound stayed the same. The Fender Cyber-Twin SE responded to my playing touch, guitar volume adjustments and my picking attack. It simply breathes more than a standard DSP modeling amplifier. There’s a secret to how Fender achieved this with the Cyber-Twin SE.
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Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo at Canyon Inn, November 7-8, 2008
In Stereo Bass Drum Logo We had a really excellent gig at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City this last weekend. In Stereo hadn’t played any shows for about a month and half so we were all rested, charged up and ready to rock! Let’s face it, live musicians are meant to play in front of live audiences and we were really stoked to be playing again. Because we had taken some time off we got together on Thursday and ran through a few songs to knock the rust off before the weekend. The extra practice really paid off because we played great all weekend long.
Friday night when we arrived at the Canyon Inn it was pretty dead. We were a little worried that the crowd would be small. We shouldn’t have worried because right before we hit the stage people came rolling in. The club filled up really nicely and the crowd was lively and ready to have some fun. (more…)
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Sunday Funnies – George Harrison Sings “The Pirate Song”
Of all the Beatles, George Harrison had the most “English” humor of the bunch. He had a dry wit that a lot of people missed when he spoke. It would sound like he was being serious but he was really making a joke.
In todays Sunday Funnies, George Harrison sings “The Pirate Song” on the BBC program Rutland Weekend Television 1975. Enjoy! (more…)
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Live Musician Central – Weekend Album Picks 11-8-08
Every week here at Live Musician Central we post up several albums for you to check out and download. We feature some of the most heavily marketed new releases every week. These albums are a good example of what the music industry is marketing and you can use them as a guide for building your bands songlist. You always want to play songs the people will be familiar with and there’s an excellent chance that the albums featured in our weekend album picks will have a lot of songs that people will know.
We feature downloads from iTunes as well as MP3 downloads from Amazon.com music service. The Amazon.com MP3’s are ripped at 256kbps and are DRM free so you can copy them to as many music players as you like. They’re priced very low when you download entire albums. I’m also posting a link to the iTunes Free Music Video Of The Week. You can bet that people will be knowing that song as well. So check ’em out!
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Getting Along Is More Important Than Musicianship
In Stereo Gets Along That’s right, getting along is more important than musicianship. This is band chemistry 101 for all you live musicians out there. I’ve played with some of the most incredible musicians I’ve ever heard and I’ve also seen them not able to function in a band for more than a year. The musicians I play with now are all excellent. Maybe not the best in the world, but excellent players. My two bands have been together for 18 years and 14 years respectively. Let me tell you why we’ve been together for so long.
