Elvis Presley really is the King Of Rock-N-Roll and this classic video of Elvis performing “Heartbreak Hotel” live in the 50’s shows what a dynamic performer he was. It’s really fun watching him put on his best stage moves of the era and get the girls all screaming every time he busts a move! (more…)
News, Reviews, and More!
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More Music Equipment Specials For Music123 – August, 2009
I promised some more great new offers from Music123 so today I’m posting up some more. Music123 has an incredibly wide selection of music equipment to outfit your live band with everything you need to get ready for the stage. It’s my personal opinion the Music123 has some of the best customer service on the Internet and I’ve had many positive experiences buying from them.
The following specials are in effect until August 31, 2009.
Music123.com is giving away more than $3,300 worth of BOSS effects pedals (exp: 8/31)
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Weekend Gig Report – Distant Thunder At The Summit County Fair
Distant Thunder Rocks The Summit County Fair (L.-R. Matt Rushton, Frank Lee, Erik Rushton, Kent Rushton) This weekend I had a chance to play with my cousin Kent’s live band, Distant Thunder. We played at the Summit County Fair in Coalville, Utah as the last act on the main stage before the big rodeo! We had some challenges in getting set up and playing which made it a very interesting gig.
I don’t mind playing at county fairs because there’s usually a pretty good crowd there. Another thing that I’ve found to be true about county fairs is that if your band is the headline act, they pay pretty darn well. We make a lot more playing at fairs than we do playing in bars. The Summit County Fair was no exception. (more…)
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Sympathy For The Devil by Belly Bongo Bo
Okay, it’s kinda sick but it’s funny as hell too. Belly Bongo Bo uses an instrument he grew on his body, his belly, as a bongo drum. So there’s hope for all the fat guys that can’t seem to find an instrument to play in the band. Watch and learn fella’s…. (more…)
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August, 2009 Specials And Coupon Codes For Music123
As you know, Music123 is one of the largest online music retailers in the world. I have used them a lot over the years and have always been very impressed with their outstanding customer service. They have treated me very well whenever I’ve had to return a product or had problems with a product I’ve purchased from Music123.
There are some incredible deals going on right now at Music123 that I want to make you aware of. The following links will get you to the correct pages to check out the listed specials. All these specials run until August 31, 2009. The coupon codes are listed with the links so be sure you use them. (more…)
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What To Do When People Are Complaining About Your Volume Level
Solve Volume Problems With A Decibel Meter Having played in live bands for so long I’ve been in plenty of situations where I’ve had comments about the bands volume level. Some people complain that the band’s too loud. Some people complain that the band’s too quiet. I’ve even had cases when there have been people commenting both ways right after one another at the very same gig!
Here’s a funny story for you. One night we were playing a gig at a local Elks Lodge. There was an incredibly diverse range of ages and people there that night. An older lady came up and complained that the band was too loud. We turned down just a little bit and a younger girl came up and demanded we turn the band up louder! We told this girl “The lady over there complained that we were too loud, so we turned down.” Immediately the younger girl marched over to the older lady and got right in her face saying that the older lady wasn’t the lodge manager and that the band was way too quiet. It turned into a full scale fight and somebody had to actually separate these two women! (more…)
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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…)
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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…)
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Sunday Funnies – Funny Street Musicians in New York City
There’s some funny moments in this video clip. Enough to make me watch the whole thing anyway which is saying something for a 9-minute clip! (more…)
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Using Backing Tracks In Your Live Band
This 15 year old laptop runs our keyboard sequencer. I’ve played in a lot of different types of live bands over the years. I’ve played solo with just my guitar, as a duo, as a trio all the way up to playing in a full on 40 piece Big Band. As you know, it’s great to have more musician’s to create more of a musical soundscape but it also comes with a lot more logistical problems.
Right now I’m playing in a 4-piece band that has bass, drums, guitar and keyboards. We are able to cover a lot of music with this lineup. We also do a lot of songs that would take many times more musicians to pull off live by using a computer sequencer to play the extra parts on a synthesizer module. This gives us the ability to cover tunes that there would be no way to do live with just a 4-piece band. It solves a lot of the problems associated with using a lot of musicians in the band.
We are able to play songs by Nine Inch Nails, Santana, Sting and many other artists that use large groups of musicians or layers of synthesizers to create their music. It really helps us to flesh out our live sound by using these sequenced backing tracks. Having this tool at our disposal has helped to set us apart from the local bands that don’t use a sequencer live. (more…)
