One of the main reasons Led Zeppelin was such a huge live band was because of the incredible drumming of John Bonham. His drumming style was huge and bombastic which really added to the entire feel of the Led Zeppelin experience. He also had a great feel for playing the proper drum fill in the perfect place in any song. (more…)
Category: 1. Live Musician Central
Welcome page for Live Musician Central
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Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone Guitar Compressor/Sustainer Review
Pigtronix Philosopher's Tone Pedal Last week I picked up the new effect pedal from Pigtronix called the Philosopher’s Tone. It’s an analog compressor/sustainer that gives you the ability to sustain your held notes for a very, very long time. I had the opportunity to use it in my live band at a gig this past weekend and figured I’d let you all know how the Philosopher’s Tone performed.
I picked up my Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone from a webstore called GuitarX. I worked with Gary and the customer service was excellent. E-mails were responded to very quickly, shipping was super fast and the pedal arrived in perfect condition. It was a very good buying experience. (more…)
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Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo at Canyon Inn, May 29-30, 2009
- In Stereo Bass Drum Logo
My live band “In Stereo” played two nights at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah this past weekend. It was a very mixed bag as the two nights went down in very different ways. On Friday we had some definite problems but we recouped and Saturday we were back on top of our game.
Our drummer, Ted Townsend is still recovering from a severe ankle infection that has left him unable to play drums. He is getting better but the date of his return to the drumset with In Stereo is still unknown. Luckily, the very talented Frank Lee was able to fill in for Ted this weekend. Frank also plays drum in my original band, Shufflin’ Noah and Frank was a founding member of In Stereo before he went back to school to get his Masters degree. (more…)
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Jeff Beck & Tal Wilkenfeld – Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers Live Video
Jeff Beck is my very favorite guitar player of all time. I love his playing style and the amazing sounds he gets out of his Fender Stratocaster. He has recently been playing with an excellent live band that features the very talented Tal Wilkenfeld on bass guitar. Tal is 23 years old and has already played bass with Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton and Jimmy Page.
In this video clip from the 2007 Crossroads Festival Jeff is performing his beautiful song “Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers” in which Tal takes and extended bass solo. You can see that she really knows how to play and is continuing to get better on the bass guitar. I hope you enjoy this clip as much as I did. (more…)
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Playing Cover Music Vs. Playing Original Music Part 3
Shufflin' Noah – Making Original Music Since The Mid 90's This is the 3rd and final (for now) part of my take on playing cover music versus playing original music in a live band. I’ve written two previous posts on this topic titled Playing Cover Music Vs. Playing Original Music Part1 and Part 2. I’ve played in live bands for 27 years and I’ve played original music as well as cover music the entire time. I have a unique perspective about playing both types of gigs. Today I’m going to talk about the difference between playing in an Original Music band and a Cover Band.
The biggest differences between playing in a cover band vs. playing in an original band become glaringly apparent when it comes to gigs. I have to say that playing original music gigs can be either the highest of highs or the lowest of lows. Playing cover music gigs are much more consistent as long as your band plays the songs well. Let me explain what I mean. (more…)
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Joe Satriani – Flying In A Blue Dream (Live In San Francisco)
What can I say about the amazing Joe Satriani. He is truly a guitar god and one of the finest live guitarists on the planet. This video clip is from his excellent live concert DVD “Live In San Francisco” which also features bass god Stuart Hamm.
This song, Flying In A Blue Dream, is the first song off the album of the same name. Flying In A Blue Dream is an album that changed my entire approach to the guitar and this song kicked off that album. I’ve always loved it and in this video clip, Joe is in his finest form. I hope you enjoy watching it as much as I did. (more…)
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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:
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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…)
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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…)
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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…)
