Right now I'm listening to the musician Beck. All of my friends HATE his music, yet I love it. If you've never heard Beck, he's a very versatile instrumentalist/musician who plays his own unique style of folklike, technoish, expressive, beepy, weird music. It definitely ain't for everyone, but if you enjoy the music of The Beatles then I think you outta consider listening to Beck a bit.
I think that Beck and The Beatles are kind of similar. Both have songs with reflective, thought provoking lyrics that make less and less sense the more you think about them. Both are very creative with the ways they make statements with sound. My friends HATE the sound of Beck's voice, but I like it. It's a kind of whiny, sad voice. My favorite Beck songs are Sexx Laws, We Live Again, Soldier Girl, Rental Car, Cold Brains, Bottle of Blues, Tropicalia, Get Real Paid, Dead Melodies. Beck also has some extremely annoying material: Peaches & Cream, Hollywood Freaks, and 1000BPM are good expamples.
Monday, August 31, 2009
Friday, August 28, 2009
Back 2 School Bash
Back 2 School Bash was a concert/fundraiser at the Paynesville Food Shelf. It came about out of me wanting to play a concert since the very beginning of summer.
One day I walked to the house of my neighbor, Alison. Alison is the director of the town Food Shelf. I told her that I'd like to organize a free concert at the Food Shelf. She was enthusiastic about the idea. When discussion continued, I began to feel overwhelmed by all the rigmarole the idea would require.
Alison taught me how to organize an event:
1. Have a plan
2. Acquire your staff
3. Get sponsors
4. Advertise
5. Finalize
Through these steps setting up the concert was simplified. NOT THAT IT WAS EASY. I would like to say right now that COMMUNICATION is very important for making stuff like this happen. It seems to me that 25% of the time the other person doesn't understand what your saying and vise-versa.
Anywho, The concert was very successful. It brought in something like $600 for the Food Shelf along with a whole lotta school items. It was also a private success for me because I got to help out the community with the music that I love to play. This event is actually what finnally convinced me to become a proffessional musician..... I don't expect that to be all easy, but it is a path I will be proud and happy to take.
One day I walked to the house of my neighbor, Alison. Alison is the director of the town Food Shelf. I told her that I'd like to organize a free concert at the Food Shelf. She was enthusiastic about the idea. When discussion continued, I began to feel overwhelmed by all the rigmarole the idea would require.
Alison taught me how to organize an event:
1. Have a plan
2. Acquire your staff
3. Get sponsors
4. Advertise
5. Finalize
Through these steps setting up the concert was simplified. NOT THAT IT WAS EASY. I would like to say right now that COMMUNICATION is very important for making stuff like this happen. It seems to me that 25% of the time the other person doesn't understand what your saying and vise-versa.
Anywho, The concert was very successful. It brought in something like $600 for the Food Shelf along with a whole lotta school items. It was also a private success for me because I got to help out the community with the music that I love to play. This event is actually what finnally convinced me to become a proffessional musician..... I don't expect that to be all easy, but it is a path I will be proud and happy to take.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
A Primal Musician
The first musicians didn't have written music. They didn't think in terms of melody, harmony, notes, middle C, treble, bass, vibrato, etc. They had noise makers: rattles, sticks, stretched hides, drums, the voice, and to make music they drew from their feelings.
I absolutely love that idea. They were pioneers of music. Cool, hugh? They expressed themselves with sound and that is such a cool thing for a person to be able to do.
I love being a musician. I play piano, drum set, guitar, baritone, and kalimba. I love it. I read music (something that is very important to musicians now-a-days) and I practice. I will always play music and I intend to make a living off of my music.
I write and improvise music. I enjoy doing this. It connects me with musicians far into the past, present, and future. Singers, guitar twangers, drum beaters, people playing instruments we've never heard of, putting vibrations into the air that express and communicate emotion, stories, thoughts, peace. That's cool.
Its this love for making songs with noise that makes me a primal musician.
I absolutely love that idea. They were pioneers of music. Cool, hugh? They expressed themselves with sound and that is such a cool thing for a person to be able to do.
I love being a musician. I play piano, drum set, guitar, baritone, and kalimba. I love it. I read music (something that is very important to musicians now-a-days) and I practice. I will always play music and I intend to make a living off of my music.
I write and improvise music. I enjoy doing this. It connects me with musicians far into the past, present, and future. Singers, guitar twangers, drum beaters, people playing instruments we've never heard of, putting vibrations into the air that express and communicate emotion, stories, thoughts, peace. That's cool.
Its this love for making songs with noise that makes me a primal musician.
Mike Oldfield, Sunny Landreth, and Adrian Belew
Mike Oldfield, Sunny Landreth, and Adrian Belew.
Of these three guitarists my favorite is Rhino aka Adrian Belew for his incredible creativity and total awesomeness in the songs: Another Time, Ballet for a Blue Whale, Life Without a Cage, Of Bow and Drum, All Her Love Is Mine and On. Belew started on drums, and later when he heard The Beatles he was inspired to be the super awesome "twang bar king" that he is.
Mike Oldfield had used LSD. He wrote an interesting piece Tubular Bells to express what he went through in concurring his addictions and general problems. This masterpiece became the soundtrack to a movie called The Exorcist. Oldfield was very reclusive at first, but in time through himself performed in concerts (and he was good). I have a DVD of his concert at the Montreux in 1981 and he played like a god.
I have seen Sonny Landreth play and he created an incredible positive energy. And that positive energy is what makes his music great. Sonny is pretty cool and I'll always draw inspiration from the concert I saw him play.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)