I remember when I was starting to learn guitar, I wanted to be in a band so bad but I didn’t think I would ever be good enough to do it. I would practice in my room for hours and I finally got to a point where I was pretty good. The next logical step was to start playing with other people. I was nervous, but when the chance presented itself, I seized the opportunity. When I got together with other people to play music, my skills as a live musician increased more than I ever could have imagined. There’s just nothing like the interaction that you get playing with other musicians.
This weeks Offbeat Product from Music123 is such a cool device that I just had to post about it on Live Musician Central. It’s the Hiwatt Echo-Theremin. If you don’t know what a Theremin is it’s an extremely unique instrument. You’ve probably heard it in many old Sci-Fi movies making a ghostly whistling noise. Musically it was made famous in the Rock-N-Roll world when the Beach Boys played a Theremin solo on their song “Good Vibrations”, it’s that whistling, synth type sound. Yes the Theremin is cool and it’s a fun instrument to play around with.
Here’s a little history, the theremin was invented in 1920 by a Russian physicist named Lev Sergeiyvich Termin, his name was later changed toe Leon Theremin. So the instrument has been around for a while and has assumed many forms over the years. The unique thing is you play the instrument without touching it. A theremin usually has an antenna that works by changing the pitch as you move your hand closer or further away from the antenna. As you move your hand closer, the pitch gets higher. Move your hand away and the pitch gets lower. If you practice you can play some real music on the Theremin.
One of the biggest challenges you’ll face as a band is getting people to come out and see you when you play. It’s not as big of a problem when you’re in a cover band that’s playing in clubs where there’s a regular crowd every weekend that enjoys music by live musician‘s. If you’re playing original music, it can be difficult to fill up a room consistently. Whatever type of band you’re in, there are a few methods you can use to get people out to your shows.
The first thing you need to do of course is network all of the bands friends and family. They’ll be your biggest source of quality audience because they should already like you, at least personally. In a lot of clubs you can set up a guest list to get family members in for free. It’s always nice when you can tell your family that you’ll get them in to see you for free and it’s a way to encourage them to show up knowing that they’ll be expected at the door. (more…)
If you got to see world famous “Rush” on their latest tour then you got to enjoy the South Park gang introducing the classic Rush song, Tom Sawyer. It’s a hilarious intro to one of Rush’s greatest songs. I hope you get a good laugh at the South Park gang as Lil’ Rush!
Every weekend I pick several albums to post on Live Musician Central. The albums I put up are determined by a couple factors. I usually put up a couple that are being heavily promoted by the music industry. These may not be albums that I particularly like but they are albums that are going to be prominent in the public conscience. It’s good for us as musicians to stay current with what’s being promoted by the industry. We can gauge what we’re doing with what is being pushed out there. It’s also a good source to choose new music for your band to learn and play live or to have on the iPod to play during band breaks. The reasoning here is that you want to play music that people will know and since the albums I post on Live Musician Central are being so heavily promoted, your chances of people knowing the music at your shows is very high.
The rest of the albums that I post are either personal favorites or they are certified classic albums that have sold millions of copies and are familiar to a lot of people. I also like to post a few links to iTunes and a few links to Amazon’s music service. Amazon has DRM free MP3’s that are ripped at 256kbps which is excellent quality at a killer price. So make sure you check them out! (more…)
The other day I came across a really funny cartoon which depicts the type of crowds that come out to see a rock show. You can check it out here: The Crowd At A Rock Show. It’s really funny because it’s so accurate in it’s depiction of the makeup of a typical rock show audience. Being a live musician up there onstage, I’ve made a lot of observations about the crowd at our gigs. (more…)
This is a really good YouTube video of famous guitarist Carl Verheyen discussing what he looks for in a Stratocaster and why the Stratocaster is his favorite guitar. I agree with Carl that the Stratocaster is the best electric guitar ever designed. Carl is not only a world famous session player but is also a very accomplished live musician who has been a member of Supertramp as well as his own live performing groups. This video lets you see Carl in action.
If you’ve read up on electronic tuners then I’m sure you know that strobe tuners are the most accurate tuners in the world. You can’t get any closer to perfect tuning electronically than with a strobe tuner. I have an excellent Peterson 490-ST Strobe Tuner that cost me around $750.00 to buy. I use that tuner at home to tune my piano and setup my guitars. I certainly don’t haul it around to gigs with me. What if I told you you could get a strobe tuner for $14.95?
Pink Floyd – David Gilmour, Nick Mason, Richard Wright
I was extremely saddened to hear the Richard Wright of Pink Floyd had passed away on Monday. Pink Floyd is one of my biggest musical influences and their music has touched me on so many levels. I have always been so impressed with Richard Wright’s ability to play the perfect keyboard part at the perfect moment to make Pink Floyd’s music become greater than the band.
In Stereo had a great weekend at the Canyon Inn. We have been playing a lot of shows lately so the band was very tight and our voices were strong. Friday night we had a full house and the people were up and dancing early. Friday was another night where we didn’t play very many slow songs. The crowd just wanted to dance and party all night long. There were a couple birthdays and the mood was really good in the room. Kyle had some family show up and it’s always good to see them out there in the audience. It was just a good solid show and we put a lot of energy into it. By the end of the night our fingers were sore and so were our throats. (more…)
