For as long as I’ve been playing live guitar I’ve had people come up to me and ask me who my favorite guitarist is. Ever since I began playing at age 13 my favorite guitarist has been Mr. Jeff Beck. I bring some of Jeff Beck’s influence with me into every live band that I’ve ever been a part of. I just love his phrasing and the adventurous way he coaxes a myriad of different and astonishing sounds out of his Fender Stratocaster. (more…)
Every live band wants to be the best band that they can be. I’ve seen so many bands that practice, practice, practice and never really feel ready to get out and play a gig. I’ve seen bands begin and end in the practice studio without ever getting out and playing a live show. The biggest reason for this is the fact that the band never feels ready to get out and play a gig. So they practice and practice until they’re bored and then they end up giving up. (more…)
I got some great laughs watching the incomperable Betty White on Saturday Night Live recently. Here’s the hilarious clip of the shows opening sketch. It’s a spoof of good old Lawrence Welk with Betty’s four daughters doing a Mother’s Day tribute. Enjoy! 😮
Betty White on SNL – Lawrence Welk
My live band Bonne Nuit played the Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides 5K walk in Salt Lake City, Utah on Saturday May 15, 2010. Bonne Nuit is my latest rock band that I’ve put together with myself, Matt Rushton and my three oldest sons Erik, Austin and Skyler Rushton. We’ve been landing a lot of gigs lately and I”m telling you that having a family band is a great marketing ploy. I do have to say that my sons can really play and we’re getting a lot of compliments on how good we sound. (more…)
I play in multiple live bands as well as record with these bands in the studio. One band I’m involved with is named Highway 6 and is headed up by my good friends Tom and Heidi Nedreberg. They are a Father-Daughter team who write and perform their own original music. I’ve been playing with Tom in various bands for the past 20 years or so. This past year they’ve recorded their debut album, Love Songs To The Desert. (more…)
The live band I have with my three oldest sons, Bonne Nuit, played a charity gig this past weekend. I’ve written in a previous post about how playing a gig at a charity function is an excellent way to get free exposure for your live band. Not only are you supporting a great cause but your band will get to play for people that normally wouldn’t come to your shows.
So Bonne Nuit played at the H2O For Mexico Benefit Concert on Saturday May 8th, 2010. We were one of nine bands slated to play and we got a time slot right in the middle of the festival lineup. We would be playing outside so we kept a close eye on the weather forecast all week. Fortunately the weather turned out to be beautiful and we were really excited to get to play outside. (more…)
Hey everyone that lives in Utah. Me and my sons will be playing with our band Bonne Nuit in Provo on Saturday May 8, 2010. We are part of the Utah Valley University charity concert called H2O For Mexico. There will be 9 bands playing from 12:00-9:00 PM. We are slated to play from 4:00-5:00 PM.
For details on this event including the address, check out the event page on Facebook: Bonne Nuit @ H2O For Mexico Benefit Concert.
We hope to see you all there! 🙂
Hey everyone, it’s been 2 years since Live Musician Central went online. I’ve been posting information to help you improve your live band for two solid years and Live Musician Central has gotten a very good response. We’ve had 86,945 page views and have been averaging around 5,000 visits per month. That’s pretty good traffic for a non-commercial Blog/Website.
I’ve put up 603 posts including this one and you readers have responded with 445 comments. I thank you for that because the comments you leave let me know that you’re actually reading Live Musician Central. Leave as many comments as often as you want! I’ve also put up 18 pages such as the Fender Cyber-Twin SE preset patch download page and the Live Musician’s Special Offers And Discounts page. (more…)
I’ve been playing in live bands for years now and have seen their popularity swell and recede at various times over the years. I remember when I was going to High School in the 80’s that we rarely had a big dance without a live band. Live band’s were the best and it was always a special occasion when we had one. I ask my kids if they ever have live bands play dances at their school and they don’t.
When I started playing in clubs there were dozens of them for our band to play at. Over the years and especially recently I’ve seen a lot of clubs switching over to using DJ’s. It seems like a lot of gigs that bands used to get are now going to DJ’s. I personally haven’t played a High School Prom in years because all the schools are using DJ’s in my area. (more…)
I got me a good laugh out of this one. This is fair warning, if you’re easily offended you may not want to listen to this song! The lyrics lead you to make assumptions that may not be the most family oriented. So, that being said, the lyrics are mostly non-explicit except for one beeped out word at the end.
The song is called “The Assumption Song” and is performed by The Arrogant Worms. I hope you enjoy it! 🙂 (more…)