Category: 1. Live Musician Central

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Stewart Copeland Live Drum Recording Of “So Lonely” Mid 80’s

   This is a live recording of The Police performing the song “So Lonely” during the 1980’s. This clip focuses on the drumming of Stewart Copeland. It’s no secret that The Police are a very high energy live band and this clip is a perfect example of them in their prime.

   What I like about this clip is that it shows just how fast and powerful Stewart’s drumming was back in the 80’s. I saw them on their last reunion tour and he is a much more disciplined and accurate drummer now. But, there is a fantastic energy to his drumming in this clip. It may not be the most accurate but it’s incredibly full of raw power and drive. That’s what makes live rock-n-roll so much fun is when that energy is spilling from the stage.

   I hope you enjoy this classic clip of The Police and their fabulous drummer, Stewart Copeland.    (more…)
Should You Stay In The Band If You’re “Forcing It”?

Nobody "Forcing It" here!

There comes a point in every musician’s life when playing in a live band becomes a grind. Things start to lose their newness after awhile and the band just doesn’t seem like much fun anymore. You start to notice that learning new songs isn’t much fun anymore and the practices become a drag and a burden. Even having to pack all your equipment up and head to the gig seems like more work than it’s worth. It’s at that point that you may ask yourself “should I quit this band?”.

As I’ve said before, playing in a live band is work more often than playing. Sometimes the constant work that goes into making your live band be the best it can be gets to be a real drag. It’s easy to get caught up in hating the non-playing aspect of being in a live band. But, you keep working and grinding it out because of the the feeling of stepping out in front of a live audience which is giving you a lot of love for your great effort. (more…)
Playing For Change -“Stand By Me” – Song Around The World

Playing for change is the ultimate in Live Band experiences! This video was compiled from performances by musicians around the world. They had never met and yet they created this beautiful version of “Stand By Me”. I have always loved the idea of music as the One World Language and this production goes a long way toward proving that point. I wholeheartedly support and applaud this tremendous effort and I hope this project brings us all a vision of a united world.

There truly is peace in music and the Playing For Change project is a great example of peaceful creation. Check out the entire project at http://playingforchange.com

Playing For Change Explained

Playing For Change – Stand By Me – Song Around The World
Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo At Canyon Inn, July 24-25, 2009

In Stereo – Laying Down The Groove

My live band In Stereo played this past weekend at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our drummer, Ted Townsend was back playing with us after a long battle with a staff infection in his ankle. If you remember, he got sick in April right before a gig. Ted had a rough time recovering but he’s one of the toughest people I’ve met and he’s back behind the drumset again.

Naturally after that long of a layoff you worry about a players ability to hold up under the strain of two consecutive 4-hour nights of playing. Especially when it’s the drummer because drumming takes a lot of stamina. We did get together to practice a couple nights before the gig and Ted was feeling good so we went ahead and played the Canyon Inn. (more…)
Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie – Hot House (Live Video)

There are some players who make an instrument speak in ways that are so beautiful and so unique that it just can’t be described with words. Charlie Parker is one of those special players that come along only once in a great while. He was simply an amazing Jazz saxophone player who excelled when playing with any live band.

I haven’t seen a lot of video of Charlie Parker playing even though I’ve heard a lot of his recordings. I found this video on YouTube and was impressed with not only the quality of the video but with how well the band is playing. Charlie nails it as does the great trumpet player Dizzie Gillespie. I’m not sure who that is on bass and drums but they are also playing extremely well. This is from a 1952 television broadcast. (more…)
Being A Musician Playing In Multiple Bands

Matt Rushton – Lead Guitarist

I’ve been playing in live bands since I was 15 years old and in that time I’ve been a member of many different types of bands. I’ve been in cover bands, original bands, wedding bands, jazz bands, country bands, rock bands and the occasional church group. I’ve been in some of these groups simultaneously and I’ve had some interesting times juggling multiple bands.

There are a few different reasons I like to play in multiple bands. I know a lot of great musicians and I like to play music with all of them. Some of the musicians I know are more skilled at different types of music than others. So I spend time playing with different groups of musicians and I get to play different styles of music with different lineups of musicians. I personally like to play a lot of different types of music so playing in multiple groups allows me to play more varied music styles. (more…)
Chickenfoot – “Oh Yeah” Music Video

   I’ve been enjoying the Chickenfoot album more and more now that I’ve listened to it a few times. I did a Chickenfoot album review when the album came out and I’ve decided that it’s actually quite good. It’s just good to hear a group of great musicians that you know will make all of us that play in a live band proud when they get onstage. There’s nothing canned about good, hard Rock-N-Roll.

   Today I’m posting up the first music video from the Chickenfoot album. This song is titled “Oh Yeah” and has some good Led Zeppelin type vibes to it. That could be because the Chickenfoot album was produced by legendary producer Andy Johns who also produced Led Zeppelin albums.

   This is a pretty basic music video but it shows the band having a good time and the audio quality is excellent!     (more…)
Dealing With Unreliable Equipment
Leatherman New Wave Multi-Tool

One thing you’ll have to deal with all the time in your live band is equipment breakdowns. You’ll have to deal with everything from shorted out cables to outright electrical failures in your amplifiers, keyboards, microphones and mixers. You can deal with them with a little bit of preventative maintenance and a handy toolkit to take to your gigs.

Dealing with problems on the fly is something that you will have to do at gigs and at practice. That’s why you want to have some basic tools in your equipment bag. The following list is a good list of basic items you should have at every gig:
- Pocket Knife
- Philips and Flat blade screwdrivers
- Allen Wrenches
- Electrical Tape
- Duct Tape
- Flashlight
- Leatherman Multi-Tool with Pliers (more…)
Joe Morello Drum Solo Circa 1961

   This is for all you drummers out there playing and working in a live band. This is a video clip of Jazz drum legend Joe Morello from around 1961. Joe is famous for his control of accents and rebounds. He played for many years with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and he’s featured on over 60 albums recorded by Dave Brubeck.

   Joe Morello’s album count is very impressive as he’s played on over 120 albums. He’s also written many top selling books about drumming inluding his book “Master Studies”. He is also included in Modern Drummer Magazine’s Hall Of Fame.

   What I like about this clip is the way Joe is using his hands to play his drumset at the beginning of the solo. It really makes me wonder if John Bonham had seen Joe Morello play like this at some point. As I’m sure you’re aware, John Bonham has a nice section in his “Moby Dick” solo where he plays with his hands. I guess we all learn from our heroes.     (more…)
Seize The Moment If You’ve Got A Large Crowd

Shufflin' Noah Rockin' The 90's

I’ve played to audiences of 1 person and I’ve played to audiences of 10,000 people over the course of my career in a live band. I’ve made some basic mistakes over the years and I’ve learned some good lessons from them. One mistake that I made early on in my career was not seizing the moment and giving an over-the-top show when I’ve played in front of very large audiences.

I consider a large crowd to be anything over 1000 people. I have played to audiences of 1000 or more quite a few times over the course of my career as a live musician. It’s such a great feeling to look out and see a big crowd but it can also be quite intimidating and I’ve blown it a couple times. (more…)