Rush, one of the greatest live bands of all time, is on tour this summer. The tour is called the “Time Machine” tour and I got the chance to catch their show at USANA Amphitheatre in Salt Lake City on August 5, 2010. I really hate the traffic and parking situation at USANA Amphitheatre and I avoid going to any concerts there because of that. It takes a special band like Rush to get me to brave the traffic nightmare of USANA Amphitheatre. (more…)
Hayseed Dixie is always good for a laugh with their bluegrass renditions of popular rock songs. The reason they’re making the Live Musician Central Sunday Funnies is because their video for the cover of Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody is truly hilarious. If you’ve ever seen the Queen video for Bohemian Rhapsody then you’ll get a kick out of all the great imagery in the Hayseed Dixie cover version. I hope you enjoy this week’s Sunday Funnies!
Hayseed Dixie – Bohemian Rhapsody
The top online music retailer is Apple’s iTunes but others such as Amazon.com MP3 service are rapidly catching up. In today’s music industry the old channels of music distribution are quickly being replaced by these digital distribution services. The good thing for us as independent musicians is that it’s easier than ever to get our music out there for sale with more of the profits going directly to us.
It’s pretty easy to become a content provider for iTunes and other digital distribution services. You usually just have to fill out an application and wait to be accepted into the program. But it can be a challenge to manage all your sales avenues. That’s why I’m recommending you give TuneCore a try for your music distribution. (more…)
For today’s Sunday Funnies I’m posting up a classic Saturday Night Live clip of Steve Martin singing his song King Tut. This is one of the great musical comedy moments on SNL and it’s still pretty funny even today. I remember back in High School, my live band learned this song and dressed up in toga’s to perform this song at an assembly. It got a great reaction and even made it into the yearbook. I hope you enjoy revisiting Steve Martin performing King Tut!
Steve Martin – King Tut
For as long as I’ve been playing live guitar I’ve had people come up to me and ask me who my favorite guitarist is. Ever since I began playing at age 13 my favorite guitarist has been Mr. Jeff Beck. I bring some of Jeff Beck’s influence with me into every live band that I’ve ever been a part of. I just love his phrasing and the adventurous way he coaxes a myriad of different and astonishing sounds out of his Fender Stratocaster. (more…)
Every live band wants to be the best band that they can be. I’ve seen so many bands that practice, practice, practice and never really feel ready to get out and play a gig. I’ve seen bands begin and end in the practice studio without ever getting out and playing a live show. The biggest reason for this is the fact that the band never feels ready to get out and play a gig. So they practice and practice until they’re bored and then they end up giving up. (more…)
I got some great laughs watching the incomperable Betty White on Saturday Night Live recently. Here’s the hilarious clip of the shows opening sketch. It’s a spoof of good old Lawrence Welk with Betty’s four daughters doing a Mother’s Day tribute. Enjoy! 😮
Betty White on SNL – Lawrence Welk
My live band Bonne Nuit played the Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides 5K walk in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday May 15, 2010. Bonne Nuit is my latest rock band that I’ve put together with myself, Matt Rushton and my three oldest sons Erik, Austin and Skyler Rushton. We’ve been landing a lot of gigs lately and I”m telling you that having a family band is a great marketing ploy. I do have to say that my sons can really play and we’re getting a lot of compliments on how good we sound. (more…)
I play in multiple live bands as well as record with these bands in the studio. One band I’m involved with is named Highway 6 and is headed up by my good friends Tom and Heidi Nedreberg. They are a Father-Daughter team who write and perform their own original music. I’ve been playing with Tom in various bands for the past 20 years or so. This past year they’ve recorded their debut album, Love Songs To The Desert. (more…)
The live band I have with my three oldest sons, Bonne Nuit, played a charity gig this past weekend. I’ve written in a previous post about how playing a gig at a charity function is an excellent way to get free exposure for your live band. Not only are you supporting a great cause but your band will get to play for people that normally wouldn’t come to your shows.
So Bonne Nuit played at the H2O For Mexico Benefit Concert on Saturday May 8th, 2010. We were one of nine bands slated to play and we got a time slot right in the middle of the festival lineup. We would be playing outside so we kept a close eye on the weather forecast all week. Fortunately the weather turned out to be beautiful and we were really excited to get to play outside. (more…)