I think Bernard Purdie is one of the most musical drummers there is. Even without the rest of the band his drumming sounds like a complete song. The man loves to play his drums!
While watching the following video clip, I couldn’t help but notice how similar Bernard Purdie sounds to Al Pacino. So, I’ve put a video clip of Al Pacino below so you can compare how Bernard and Al sound. It’s really pretty funny! (more…)
Every weekend I feature a set list for your live band to learn and play at gigs. You don’t have to learn all of these songs but it’s a good source for putting together specific types of set lists. At the end of each Weekend Set List I will put the genre that the set list falls into. This week the genre is “Patriotic” in celebration of our nations Independance Day.
These songs are all proven in clubs to get people dancing and showing some love for the good old U.S.A. so play them loud and proud! It’s a good idea to have all these songs on your iPod or other portable music player so you can at least play them while your band is taking a break.
I’m featuring download from Amazon.com MP3 service since they sound better than iTunes and they cost 33% less than iTunes. You can play Amazon.com MP3’s on any MP3 player including iPods and iPhones. They are also DRM free so you can put them on multiple players.
Just in time for the weekend, here’s another free Fender Cyber-Twin SE preset patch for you to check out and download. I call this preset “LMC Mid Grind ’66” and it’s very loosely based on a Fender Super Reverb ’66 amplifier. I’ve made quite a few tweaks to this preset and I use it all the time in my live band. In fact, I like this preset so much that I put it in preset number P01 so that it’s the first sound that comes up when I turn on my Cyber-Twin SE.
What I really love about the “LMC Mid Grind ’66” preset is how it lets the guitars true tone shine through. The sound of the guitar that you’re using will really determine how this preset patch will sound. It’s one of those special presets that will have guitarists naming the type of guitar you’re playing through the amplifier. A Stratocaster will sound like a Strat while a Les Paul will undeniably be a Les Paul. There are some presets that sound pretty much the same no matter what guitar you play through them but not “LMC Mid Grind ’66”.
(more…)I recently added a Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone compression pedal to my guitar rig that I use in my live band. I recently wrote a review of the Pigtronix Philosopher’s Tone pedal on Live Musician Central. I have been very well pleased with this compression pedal. (more…)
For today’s Musician Showcase I’m featuring one of my favorite songs by the great Michael Jackson. As you know, I play lead guitar in my live band so my favorite type of music features a lot of electric guitar. My favorite Michael Jackson songs naturally have the guitar mixed front and center.
The song “Dirty Diana” features the excellent guitar playing of Steve Stevens. Steve was at the height of his fame with Billy Idol at the time and Michael, being the genius marketer that he is, hired Steve to play on this song. I’m sure the decision was based on the great success Michael had using Eddie Van Halen to play on “Beat It”.
What I love about this song is the dark sexiness it evokes. The video shows Michael busting off some of his sexier stage moves and the whole thing just rocks. I hope you enjoy it! (more…)
In my live band, the guitar amp I use and love is the Fender Cyber-Twin SE amplifier. I’ve been using this amplifier for a couple years and it has never let me down. I program my own custom sound preset patches for the Cyber-Twin SE. The sounds the Cyber-Twin SE is capable of really are amazing!
I also love the MIDI capabilities the amp gives you with control over preset switching as well as control over many parameters in the amp controls and effects parameters. The MIDI controller I use is the Fender Cyber-Controller which has switches for controlling presets, the tuner, and effects on/off. The Cyber-Controller also has two controller pedals that I use to control various sound parameters such as Gain or effects levels. (more…)
One question I get asked all the time is “How come this Stratocaster costs so much more than that Stratocaster? Aren’t they both Fender Stratocasters?”. I get asked the same questions about various Gibson Les Paul guitars as well. As a matter of fact, every instrument that you find used in a live band such as drums, bass, guitar or keyboards have huge price ranges for instruments, that on the surface, appear very similar. (more…)
This is a great live video of Chritsopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer performing a collage of songs from their bands “Spinal Tap” and “The Folksmen”. It’s just funny to listen to how tight they are moving between singing folk songs and acoustic versions of Spinal Tap songs. These three guys are really talented musicians and performers. I got a good laugh at several parts of this video clip.
The music ends at about 4:40 and the rest of the clip is an interview. I suggest just watching the song unless you’re a really big fan! (more…)
What better way to celebrate the life of Michael Jackson than listen to some of his best music? I figured I’d put up his biggest selling albums and top singles. Just click on the albums below to listen to clips of the best Michael Jackson music.
The world has lost one of the greatest musical talents of the 20th century, the great Michael Jackson. There’s no way to underestimate the impact that Michael Jackson has had on popular music. If you have a career playing in a live band then you know that Michael Jackson was also one of the greatest live performers of all time.
Michael Jackson has been surrounded by weird stories and scandals for the last couple of decades. His ever-changing physical appearance only added to the strangeness. There’s no question that these things have tainted his legend and at times overshadowed his amazing accomplishments. I don’t want to talk about his eccentricity and bizarre behavior. I am a musician, and Michael Jackson was a musician so that’s what I will remember him for. (more…)