Category: 1. Live Musician Central

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Get A Band Prenup

Guns-N-Roses Before Things Went Horribly Wrong

Okay there’s not really such a thing as a band prenup so I’ll explain what I’m talking about with a couple stories. One of my good friends was in a band and that band needed a P.A. System. No single person in the band had enough money to pay for the P.A. so everybody in the band decided to chip in some money to pay for the P.A. system. Everyone couldn’t chip in the same amount so a couple of the guys put in more money than the rest of the band. After the P.A. was bought and paid for, the only person in the band that could store, transport and setup the P.A. was the person that had contributed the least amount of money in the band. I’m sure you know where I’m going with this, the band eventually broke up and they were left with the dilemma of “who owns the P.A.?” The way it ended up, was the guy that was storing and hauling the P.A. just kept it and moved to a different state, never to be heard from again. So everyone else that had contributed to the P.A. was out everything they had put into it.

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What Is The Typical Band Lineup

The Beatles – 4-piece perfection

So you’re a musician and you want to become a live performing musician. You want to start a band and you’re not sure what instruments you need to get a functional band together. The beautiful thing about playing in a band is the fact that you’re going to be playing with other people. You won’t be a solo artist anymore when you play in a band. In fact, the definition of band is “An unofficial association of people or groups.” So I guess technically you only need two people to start a band. The first thing you need to decide is what type of music you’re going to be playing. If you decide you want to play hard rock then the lineup requirements will be different than if you are playing bluegrass. How many people you have in your band can really affect your band chemistry as well. Musician’s tend to have large personalities and the more you add, the more interesting and challenging things can become. Let’s take a look at some typical band lineups.

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Improve Your Skills By Playing With Other People

Matt Rushton and Tom Warnick

I remember when I was starting to learn guitar, I wanted to be in a band so bad but I didn’t think I would ever be good enough to do it. I would practice in my room for hours and I finally got to a point where I was pretty good. The next logical step was to start playing with other people. I was nervous, but when the chance presented itself, I seized the opportunity. When I got together with other people to play music, my skills as a live musician increased more than I ever could have imagined. There’s just nothing like the interaction that you get playing with other musicians.

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Hiwatt Echo-Theremin

Hiwatt Echo-Theremin


   This weeks Offbeat Product from Music123 is such a cool device that I just had to post about it on Live Musician Central. It’s the Hiwatt Echo-Theremin. If you don’t know what a Theremin is it’s an extremely unique instrument. You’ve probably heard it in many old Sci-Fi movies making a ghostly whistling noise. Musically it was made famous in the Rock-N-Roll world when the Beach Boys played a Theremin solo on their song “Good Vibrations”, it’s that whistling, synth type sound. Yes the Theremin is cool and it’s a fun instrument to play around with.

   Here’s a little history, the theremin was invented in 1920 by a Russian physicist named Lev Sergeiyvich Termin, his name was later changed toe Leon Theremin. So the instrument has been around for a while and has assumed many forms over the years. The unique thing is you play the instrument without touching it. A theremin usually has an antenna that works by changing the pitch as you move your hand closer or further away from the antenna. As you move your hand closer, the pitch gets higher. Move your hand away and the pitch gets lower. If you practice you can play some real music on the Theremin.

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The Crowd At Your Gigs

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. (more…)
In Memoriam – Richard Wright of Pink Floyd

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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Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo At Canyon Inn Sept. 12-13, 2008

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. (more…)
Talent And Skill On The Ukulele – Jake Shimabukuro

   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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Choosing A Band Name

Butthole Surfers – Maybe not the best name

One of the funnest but most difficult things you’ll have to do as a band is decide on a band name. It can be extremely frustrating deciding on a name that everyone in the band agrees on. Instead of agreeing on a name that everyone loves, it almost always comes down to a name that everyone doesn’t hate. So how can you pick a name for your band?

The first thing you need to do is come up with a list of potential band names. How do you choose band names? There is really no rule as anything could be used as a band name. I would suggest looking at the type of music the band is playing, or the type of people in the band. Is there something that stands out about your band that you want to point out? In my band Shufflin’ Noah we had written a song called 40 Days And 40 Nights so one of the names suggested was Noah. We felt that was too generic so we decided to add the word Shufflin’ to the front of it. That was on a list that included names like Spoon Playin’ Noah, Street Rappin’ Noah as well as a bunch of others. We finally decided on Shufflin’ Noah because we wanted people to dance to our music. (more…)
The Delicate Art Of Playing Keyboards

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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