Here’s a really cool live jam George, Paul and Ringo did in 1994 during the production of The Beatles Anthology. The beginning seems a bit uninspired but they really kick it on “Blue Moon Of Kentucky”. The best part is hearing Paul and George harmonize on “Blue Moon Of Kentucky” towards the end of the clip.
News, Reviews, and More!
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Beginner Electric Guitar Package – Fender Affinity Strat HSS With G-Dec Amp
Fender Affinity Strat HSS With G-DEC Junior Amplifier Once people find out that I’m a guitar player in a live band they will often start asking questions about how to get started playing guitar themselves. I usually tell them “You just gotta want it!” and then of course the practical questions start such as “What kind of guitar should I buy?”. I get a lot of people asking me what kind of guitar they should buy for their kids to learn on as well. I often have people tell me they already play acoustic guitar but want to get into playing electric guitar. My opinion is you just need to fork out the money and buy a really good instrument. I always recommend the Fender American Deluxe Stratocaster since it’s the guitar I use and you will have an excellent instrument that you can grow into. The problem is, most people don’t want to shell out that kind of money when they’re just starting out. So today I’m going to recommend a beginner package that will give you an excellent start into the wonderful world of electric guitar playing. I highly recommend the Fender Affinity Strat HSS with G-DEC Junior Amp package. Let me tell you why. (more…)
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Bruce Springsteen Superbowl XLIII Performance Review
Bruce Springsteen – Working On A Dream I was pretty excited to see one of the top live performers of all time, Bruce Springsteen a.k.a. The Boss play the Halftime show at Superbowl 34. I was prepared for the game with loads of delicious junk food and all the anticipation that comes with an expected win by the Pittsburgh Steelers. I sure didn’t think the Cardinals were going to prove to be much of a challenge for the Steelers but it turned out to be a pretty exciting game. You gotta love it when the win comes in the last two minutes of the game. But we’re here to talk about the music and The Boss’s live Halftime performance.
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Sunday Funnies – Bass Player Amp Test
Oh yeah, we musicians are always trying to show how cool we are when we play our rock and roll but sometimes it all goes horribly wrong. I’ve seen amps used as chairs, stands, door props, drum risers and of course climbing gyms. If you’ve been playing for long I’m sure you’ve probably seen similar things to what you’ll see in the following clip. Have a good laugh on this poor sod! (more…)
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Live Musician Central – Weekend Album Picks 1-31-09
Every week at Live Musician Central I pick some of the top new releases available for you to download from both iTunes and Amazon.com music service. These new release choices reflect the heaviest music industry marketing. There are two reasons I post up the most heavily music industry marketed albums. First, by checking out these releases you’ll be able to keep a finger on the pulse of the mainstream music industry. It’s still a very powerful business that heavily influences peoples buying choices. The second reason is that a large number of people are going to know these albums. So if your band is looking for new music to put in your bands setlist these would be good choices simply because your chance of people knowing the songs at your shows will be very high. You’ll also look very on top of things and current with your knowledge of music. So these albums are a great resource for your song selection. I will also post up links to top selling albums of all time for the reason of song selection as well.
I use links to both iTunes and Amazon.com. iTunes is now the top music retailer in the U.S. so it goes without saying that people are going to be downloading their recommended new releases. I put links up from Amazon.com because their music service is an incredible bargain and their MP3’s are DRM free. You can save a bundle downloading entire albums from Amazon.com over iTunes. Amazon.com MP3’s are also ripped at an excellent sounding 256kbps and since they’re DRM free you can play them on multiple MP3 players including iPods and iPhones. This week Bruce Springsteen releases his new album. It’s music industry marketing at its finest as he releases the album the same week he plays the Superbowl XLIII Halftime Show. Go Bruce, you’re the Boss!!!
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Your Live Band Must Have A Stable Core Group Of Musicians
The Core = Guitar, Bass and Drums Over the years I’ve played in a lot of various live band lineups. I’ve played in 3, 4, 5 and 6-piece rock bands as well as some 20 person Jazz bands. One thing I’ve noticed over the years is the bigger the band, the bigger the problems. I’m talking about scheduling problems, personality conflicts, incompatible work ethic, weak skill levels and mismatched goals for the band. It can be a real challenge in a band with a lot of people to keep it functioning. Fortunately there is an excellent solution to this problem. All you really have to do is have a compatible, stable group of core musicians.
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Build Your Set List With Live Musician Central’s Custom iMix
Live Musician Central Downloadable Set Lists Earlier on Live Musician Central I wrote a post detailing the benefits of using iTunes custom iMix feature to create set lists for your live band to learn. You can check out that article here: Creating A Setlist Using iTunes iMix. There are a lot of advantages to using the iMix feature to create your band set lists. The top reason to do it is so that all members of your band can get the same version of the song from the same place. That way you don’t have your bass player learning the live version of a song, your drummer learning a studio outtake and your guitarist learning the radio edit.
Today I want to point you to the Live Musician Central Downloadable Setlist page that has links to all the custom iMixes that I have created. These setlists were created using the Top 200 dance songs of all time. I created the setlists to have a flow to them that will work very well in a club. If you’re looking for a starting place to build up your band set list then these iMixes are a great place to start.
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Amazing Singers Paul Potts and Connie Talbot from Britains Got Talent
For today’s live artist spotlight I’m going to feature two amazingly talented singers that were discovered on the British television show titled “Britain’s Got Talent”. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you’ve already seen these video clips as they’ve had millions of views on the Internet. The clips are from the 2007 season of Britain’s Got Talent and the winner has already been decided. If you don’t know who won, I won’t spoil it for you. Although I will say the winner was chosen from one of the two singers that I’ve posted clips of below.
First up I have little Connie Talbot who is 6 years old. I am a jaded old musician and I’m extremely critical of other musicians. So it’s easy for me to write off this little girl since she doesn’t sing spot on, dead perfect. I have to remember she’s 6 years old!! So honestly, I am amazed at her skill. Second on the list is Mr. Paul Potts. A man who struggles with self confidence and who has the glamorous career of mobile phone salesman. So it’s a bit shocking to see such a boring old regular guy just kill it singing a very unexpected tune.
I’ve posted up the auditions of both singers as well as a couple more clips that show their progression through the show. In the last clip, you can find out who won the Britain’s Got Talent competition.
6 Year Old Connie Talbot Audition (fast-forward to :55 to see her sing)
Paul Potts BGT Audition
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Make Singing Practice Fun With SingStar The Video Game
SingStar PS3 Bundle I’m always looking for good ways to practice my live performance. You can only sing along in the car for so long before you’re bored to death and there’s really no way to practice your stage moves while driving. It’s also not a lot of fun to do boring old Karaoke especially at home without an audience. That’s where SingStar the video game comes in extremely handy.
If you’re not familiar with SingStar it’s a singing game that you can play on your Playstation 2 or Playstation 3. It’s a step up from Karaoke and it will help you work on your live performance in several different ways. The game basically has a selection of songs along with the original artists music video for the song. SingStar is much better than Karaoke simply because it uses the original artists music rather than a cover band playing the music. To play you just plug in the microphones, select a song and start singing. The lyrics appear onscreen with a pitch indicator that shows you how well you’re singing in tune. The game will score your performance which gives you a good idea about where you need to improve your singing. (more…)
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Playing Old Songs Versus New Songs With Your Live Band
In Stereo Playing To A Packed Dance Floor In my many years of playing in a live band I’ve made a lot of observations about what types of songs fill the dance floor and what types leave people sitting in their seats. One aspect that has always fascinated me is how an old, well known song will pack the floor while a new song will sometimes clear the floor. It’s been something that I’ve struggled to define over the years. Having a new song clear the floor isn’t something that happens every time but it happens enough that I’ve thought about it quite a bit. So why does an old song such as Sweet Home Alabama fill the dance floor every time you play it while a hot newer song like U2 – Vertigo is hit and miss? They’re both excellent songs and have a great danceable beat to them.
