So I saw The Police in concert when they came through Salt Lake City last month. It was an excellent show and you can read my review here. The Police tour just ended in Madison Square Garden, New York and with the end of the tour the question has been raised. Should The Police record an album of all new material. I say Yes!
So here’s a poll, Do you think The Police should record a new album of all original material?
[poll id=”2″]
Today I’d like to introduce you to the Roland HPD-10 Handsonic Percussion Controller. This is really an amazing instrument. The Handsonic is a drum controller meant to be played with your hands. It has 10 highly sensitive individual pads that have both pressure and positional sensitivity. That means you’ll get different sounds when you hit the pad hard, soft or closer to the edges of the individual pads. The Handsonic has 400 high-quality instrument sounds built in including congas, bongos, tabla, djembe and cajon.
One of the coolest features of the Roland HPD-10 is the D Beam controller. The D Beam sends out a beam of infrared light which reflects off your hand or any other solid surface you put in front of it. (more…)
When I was learning guitar one of my most valuable learning aids was a chord book. I had a Beatles songbook that didn’t have chord diagrams but it did have chord names above the music notation. So I had to turn to the chord book to learn how to finger the chords I wanted to play. It was a good way to do it because I memorized chords faster that way. Later on I got in Jazz Band in high school and had to learn all kinds of jazz chords on the guitar. Needless to say I used that chord book until the covers were falling off.
I recently had the opportunity to play a ’59 Fender Bassman Reissue amplifier and I was really blown away with how amazing it sounded. As a guitarist you hear stories of the great amplifiers as you learn your craft and you hear the amplifiers on recordings. But there’s really nothing like playing the amps yourself and really being able to crank them all the way up. The thing about tube amplifiers is they give you more sweetness the harder you push them. Every tube amp I’ve played has had a sweet spot where the amplifier really sings.
So I got to really push the ’59 Fender Bassman Reissue and let me tell you, it’s loud. But it sounds so damn good that you don’t care how loud it is. It’s ecstasy because it’s a sound that you recognize from all the recordings that have been made with this amplifier. I love it when an amplifier roars when you really hit your guitar hard and then quiets down and softens as you play softer and roll down your guitar volume. (more…)
Well The Police played the last show on their reunion tour at New York’s Madison Square Garden on August 7th 2008. They played it at the Garden because they played their first U.S. show at CBGB’s in New York. The tour lasted for 15 months, 150 concerts and they played for 3.7 million people. Sting was quoted as saying “The real triumph of this tour is that we haven’t strangled each other. That’s not to say it hasn’t crossed my mind, or Stewart’s, or Andy’s.”
This is the wacky video that started the catch phrase “It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time!!!” which has since been featured on the television show “Family Guy”. This video cracks me up because it’s such aweful free style rap. That being said, it sticks in your brain just like peanut butter. Enjoy!
Every week here at Live Musician Central we pick the top current new releases as well as a few classic albums. This helps your band in many ways. It helps you stay on top of the most heavily promoted new music. The reason that’s good for your band is because you’ll have a higher chance of people in your audience being familiar with your music selections. You can learn to play these songs or you can simply have them on your iPod to play during your breaks. So here are this weeks picks. (more…)
One of the most important pieces of marketing material you will produce for your band is your demo recording. I’ve already discussed using a live recording in your marketing kit as opposed to a studio produced recording. Today I would like to discuss your song selection that you will be including on your demo. The songs you choose for your demo can sell your band in many different ways.
I guess it’s a no-brainer that you will want to put your best songs on the demo recording. What determines your best songs? A combination of different things. Obviously you want the songs that you actually play the best. These would be the songs that the band knows like the back of their hand. Songs that you play perfectly every time you play them. It’s very important that you give a great consistent performance of your demo songs so when you play them in another club you will sound like your demo. (more…)
As a musician I’ve wondered what my legacy will be. Will anyone remember or care that I worked so hard at music for so many years after I’ve gone? I’m hoping that at least my kids will remember and care about my musical legacy after I’m gone. So what is something concrete that you can leave behind? I believe that the recordings that you should be making over the course of your career will be the biggest evidence that you really gave music your best shot. A good body of recorded work will document your life as a musician in a way that nothing else will. It will show your progression from beginner to being the best you could possibly be. A good body of recorded work will bring you a lot of enjoyment as you get older and want to take a trip down memory lane to see where you’ve come from as well. I know listening to my old recordings makes me feel really good about where I am now.
My son is a drummer and every year we have to replenish his supply of back-to-school drumming items. If you have any kids in a percussion program I figured I’d save you some time searching for those essential back-to-school items that your student may need.
Our list for this year included SD1 General Sticks, SD2 General Sticks, Stick Bag and a Practice Pad. Here are some links to the essentials for your percussion student.
I have found all the links to buy the above products… (more…)