Tag: Live Performance

Playing For Change -“Stand By Me” – Song Around The World

Playing For Change united musicians around the world in this beautiful rendition of the song “Stand By Me”.

   Playing for change is the ultimate in Live Band experiences! This video was compiled from performances by musicians around the world. They had never met and yet they created this beautiful version of “Stand By Me”. I have always loved the idea of music as the One World Language and this production goes a long way toward proving that point. I wholeheartedly support and applaud this tremendous effort and I hope this project brings us all a vision of a united world.

   There truly is peace in music and the Playing For Change project is a great example of peaceful creation. Check out the entire project at http://playingforchange.com

Playing For Change Explained

Playing For Change – Stand By Me – Song Around The World

Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo At Canyon Inn, July 24-25, 2009

Matt’s live band In Stereo played a gig at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah on July 24-24, 2009.

In Stereo - Laying Down The Groove
In Stereo - Laying Down The Groove

   My live band In Stereo played this past weekend at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah. Our drummer, Ted Townsend was back playing with us after a long battle with a staff infection in his ankle. If you remember, he got sick in April right before a gig. Ted had a rough time recovering but he’s one of the toughest people I’ve met and he’s back behind the drumset again.

   Naturally after that long of a layoff you worry about a players ability to hold up under the strain of two consecutive 4-hour nights of playing. Especially when it’s the drummer because drumming takes a lot of stamina. We did get together to practice a couple nights before the gig and Ted was feeling good so we went ahead and played the Canyon Inn.      Continue reading “Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo At Canyon Inn, July 24-25, 2009”

Being A Musician Playing In Multiple Bands

Playing in multiple bands can be a challenge but it also opens up some excellent performance opportunities.

Matt Rushton - Lead Guitarist
Matt Rushton - Lead Guitarist

   I’ve been playing in live bands since I was 15 years old and in that time I’ve been a member of many different types of bands. I’ve been in cover bands, original bands, wedding bands, jazz bands, country bands, rock bands and the occasional church group. I’ve been in some of these groups simultaneously and I’ve had some interesting times juggling multiple bands.

   There are a few different reasons I like to play in multiple bands. I know a lot of great musicians and I like to play music with all of them. Some of the musicians I know are more skilled at different types of music than others. So I spend time playing with different groups of musicians and I get to play different styles of music with different lineups of musicians. I personally like to play a lot of different types of music so playing in multiple groups allows me to play more varied music styles.     Continue reading “Being A Musician Playing In Multiple Bands”

Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo at Canyon Inn, May 29-30, 2009

Matt Rushton’s live band, In Stereo, played at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah on May 29-30, 2009. This is the write-up.

In Stereo Bass Drum Logo
In Stereo Bass Drum Logo

    My live band “In Stereo” played two nights at the Canyon Inn in Salt Lake City, Utah this past weekend. It was a very mixed bag as the two nights went down in very different ways. On Friday we had some definite problems but we recouped and Saturday we were back on top of our game.

   Our drummer, Ted Townsend is still recovering from a severe ankle infection that has left him unable to play drums. He is getting better but the date of  his return to the drumset with In Stereo is still unknown. Luckily, the very talented Frank Lee was able to fill in for Ted this weekend. Frank also plays drum in my original band, Shufflin’ Noah and Frank was a founding member of In Stereo before he went back to school to get his Masters degree.    Continue reading “Weekend Gig Report – In Stereo at Canyon Inn, May 29-30, 2009”

Negotiating Gig Payment For Your Live Band – Get A Signed Contract

Get a signed contract for your live band performance every time you play a gig. You can download a contract template from this post.

Download Live Band Performance Contract
Download Live Band Performance Contract

   How much should your live band be paid when you play a gig? That’s a very delicate question and the answer is going to be different for pretty much every gig you play. Some clubs pay a standard $350 per night. Some will give you a percentage of the door receipts. Some clubs pay less and some pay a lot more. The thing that you have to remember is that gig payment is always negotiable and it’s up to you to agree to a fee before you play the gig.

   The most important thing to remember when booking a gig is to negotiate payment in advance of the gig. Try to reduce any variables the venue may throw at you. If the venue tells you “we’ll decide on payment after we see how many people show up”  then that is a great big red flag and you should seriously consider not playing that venue. Don’t agree to any stipulations such as “payment based on food and drink sales”. Even payment based on door receipts is tricky because most clubs won’t let you audit their door receipts. The best thing to do when you’re booking your gig is to get all the payment details right up front.    Continue reading “Negotiating Gig Payment For Your Live Band – Get A Signed Contract”

Jeff Beck & Eric Clapton Playing Willie Dixon’s “You Need Love” Live At Ronnie Scott’s

Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton play their Stratocasters and trade solo licks on this incredible live performance.

   On Live Musician Central this week we’re celebrating the realease of Jeff Beck’s fabulous live concert titled “Jeff Beck Performing This Week: Live At Ronnie Scott’s”. This is truly a monumental live release for Jeff Beck as live concert footage of this quality has been extremely rare for him. The performance has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray with the Blu-Ray version having additional bonus features as well as DTS HD 5.1 sound. You can pick up the DVD from for a mere $9.99 and the Blu-Ray for $18.99 in the Live Musician Central store.     Continue reading “Jeff Beck & Eric Clapton Playing Willie Dixon’s “You Need Love” Live At Ronnie Scott’s”

Jeff Beck Performing This Week: Live At Ronnie Scott’s – Released on Blu-Ray

Jeff Beck Live At Ronnie Scott’s was released on Blu-Ray today March 31, 2009. Get a copy of this amazing concert.

   Today, one of the greatest guitar players in the history of Rock-N-Roll releases his landmark Live performance on DVD and Blu-Ray. Jeff Beck releases “Jeff Beck Performing This Week: Live At Ronnie Scott’s” and it is a must-have for your music collection. This concert was put together from a series of concerts at Ronnie Scott’s club in London. The concert is comprised of the best performances from various nights and the performances are outstanding! I’d like to talk about the Blu-Ray version of this amazing concert. The Blu-Ray disc has some features that you won’t get on the DVD.    Continue reading “Jeff Beck Performing This Week: Live At Ronnie Scott’s – Released on Blu-Ray”

Jeff Beck Video – Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club 2007 – Angel (Footsteps)

Live video of the great Jeff Beck performing the song ‘Angel (Footsteps)’ at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz club in 2007.

Jeff Beck Live At Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club
Jeff Beck Live At Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club

   What can I say about the great Jeff Beck? Of all the guitarists in history, he’s my personal favorite. If you listen to his recordings it’s easy to believe that he uses a lot of studio wizardry on his guitar. The truth is, he doesn’t. He uses very little in the way of effects. He’ll have a Wah-Wah, echo and a distortion pedal in his signal chain and that’s usually it. He doesn’t usually use a guitar pick because he prefers to use his fingers to create his amazing sound although I have seen him employ the use of a plectrum when he’s after a certain attack. The big question is, can he create what he does live? The answer is a great big YES! He’s simply an amazing guitar player and everytime I see a video of him perform I just can’t stop watching it.    Continue reading “Jeff Beck Video – Jeff Beck at Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club 2007 – Angel (Footsteps)”

Live Musicians In New York City

There are some great places to play and make a living as a musician in New York City.

The Ebony Hillbillies at NYC Subway
The Ebony Hillbillies at NYC Subway

  I took a 3-day trip to New York City last week just to hang out, take in the sights and get a feel for how live musicians worked in the Big Apple. It was a great trip and I had a lot of fun seeing the usual tourist attractions like the Statue Of Liberty, Empire State Building and, of course, the Hard Rock Cafe. I also took in a couple of Broadway shows seeing “Wicked” as well as “Phantom Of The Opera”, both were truly excellent. As I made my way around the city I took particular notice of all the live musicians everywhere I went. There really seem to be a lot of places to play music in New York City so today I’m going to talk about a couple.

Continue reading “Live Musicians In New York City”

Oscar Awards Show 2009 Review

The 2009 Oscar Awards Show had some funny moments, some sad moments and very little live musical performances.

Kate Winslet, Sean Penn, Penelope Cruz
Kate Winslet, Sean Penn, Penelope Cruz

   So why am I reviewing the Oscar Awards Show on Live Musician Central? For the live musical performances of course! That and the fact that many musicians have great careers in the movie-making industry. This years awards had quite a few musical numbers in it. In fact the show started off with Hugh Jackman singing a full musical number doing a spoof of all the years movies that was really funny. Hugh has a surprisingly good voice and it looked like he was carrying it live. As you know, I just can’t stand to watch lip syncing. Anne Hathaway got up there with him and did quite a good job singing as well. Hugh was the real surprise though and I liked his finishing line of the opening number, “I’m Wolverine!” that was classic.

Continue reading “Oscar Awards Show 2009 Review”

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