Recently my wife and I attended a local concert. We went to see "1964 The Tribute". 1964 is a Beatles tribute band that has been together for 25 years. They perform as The Beatles in the early years from about 1962 to 1966. They wear the same clothes, boots and haircuts as The Beatles in the early days. They also play authentic instruments such as those played by The Beatles in that time frame. This goes right down to the Hofner bass for Paul, the Gretsch and 12 string Rickenbacker guitars for George, the Gibson E160J and 6 string Ric for John, and the same drum kit and heads used by Ringo. They also have authentic looking Vox amps although I found out those are just for show. They actually use newer Vox solid state boxes that they plug right into the PA system.
The idea is to recreate the exact sound of the Beatles. Amazingly they do this incredibly well. They all have the mannerisms of their character down perfectly right down to the George foot stomp to keep time and the fact that John often sang while chewing gum. The bass player even plays left handed.
This is the third time we have seen these gentleman perform and it is truly a great show. They remain in character for the entire show and truly, at times, make you forget they are not The Beatles. They have a website 1964thetribute.com. Check it out sometime. You can listen to some of their music and also see where they will be performing next. If they are in your area I highly recommend you see them. You will not be disappointed.
If any of you have experience with any other Beatles tribute bands or other tribute bands please feel free to share them. Until next time keep on rockin.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Guitar Heros
Who is the best guitar player in the world? We could argue this for days, weeks and probably even years. Your opinion may be based on your favorite style of music whether that be rock, country, jazz or whatever. Personally I appreciate good guitar players from all music genres. Some of the all time greats are Chet Atkins, Scotty Moore, Glen Campbell (a noted session guitarist before hitting it big as a singer), Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, the Allman Brothers trio of Dickie Betts, Warren Haynes, and Derek Trucks, and a couple later day heroes Joe Satriani and Brad Paisley. I could go on and on. Feel free to contribute to the blog and add your own.
My friend Mike, referred to in an earlier blog and an incredible guitar player in his own right, has his favorite in Jeff Beck. Mike's style sort of mimics Beck's with use of the whammy bar and getting many "unusual" sounds from his guitar. I guess for my money I prefer Eric Clapton. I can't really tell you why I just like his sound and his phrasings. Another guitar playing friend, Eric, who also is an incredible guitarist and a string bending, bar chording, finger picking bastard like Mike (incidentally, they play in the same band Back on Earth) turned me on to Django Reinhardt. Django is a jazz guitarist from the 1920's, 30's, 40's and 50's. He was known as the "Gypsy Guitarist". The man is incredible. He was badly burned in a fire at about the age of 18 and lost the use of his ring and pinkie fingers. He had to relearn to play the guitar using mostly his index and middle fingers as his other fingers were curled in towards his palm. Go to You Tube and search for him. You will be amazed at his ability and the speed of his fingering. Check it out it is a real treat if you like good guitar playing.
If you would like to share your guitar hero or heroes please do so. Until next time.
My friend Mike, referred to in an earlier blog and an incredible guitar player in his own right, has his favorite in Jeff Beck. Mike's style sort of mimics Beck's with use of the whammy bar and getting many "unusual" sounds from his guitar. I guess for my money I prefer Eric Clapton. I can't really tell you why I just like his sound and his phrasings. Another guitar playing friend, Eric, who also is an incredible guitarist and a string bending, bar chording, finger picking bastard like Mike (incidentally, they play in the same band Back on Earth) turned me on to Django Reinhardt. Django is a jazz guitarist from the 1920's, 30's, 40's and 50's. He was known as the "Gypsy Guitarist". The man is incredible. He was badly burned in a fire at about the age of 18 and lost the use of his ring and pinkie fingers. He had to relearn to play the guitar using mostly his index and middle fingers as his other fingers were curled in towards his palm. Go to You Tube and search for him. You will be amazed at his ability and the speed of his fingering. Check it out it is a real treat if you like good guitar playing.
If you would like to share your guitar hero or heroes please do so. Until next time.
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Forget all about that macho shit, learn how to play guitar.
As the title suggests, thank you John Mellencamp, at the age of 50 I decided to learn how to play guitar. I have always wanted to play and decided I had nothing to lose by giving it a try, that is nothing but my sanity and self confidence.
The torture began with a basic instruction book and has progressed to taking lessons from a good friend who has been playing for over 40 years. More on that later. My first attempts at forming chords were humbling and painful. Fretting a guitar places your hand and arm in positions that nature did not intend for them to be placed. Also pressing on steel guitar strings to form the chord is very hard on your fingertips. After a while you build up callouses but until then it is a painful experience. Along with the fretting you also need to get used to an 8 pound slab of wood hanging from your shoulder. Electric solid body guitars are heavy! It looks very easy to play when you are watching an accomplished guitarist, I assure you it is not. As I attempted to fret basic open chords like C and G my frustration would mount as I continued to touch strings not part of the chord or not press hard enough on the proper strings. You feel like you will never be able to make the chord. Finally after much pain and anguish I began to see progress.
I think that learning to play at 50 is more difficult than learning to play as a child. I think children learn easier and your hands and fingers are more flexible and easily trained. I hope this is true because when I go to Guitar Center and see all these little ten year old bastards playing so much better than me it really pisses me off! I guess the moral of that story is stay out of Guitar Center.
As I said earlier I began taking lessons from my friend Mike. Mike has been playing since the age of ten which means he has played for over 40 years now. He has the advantages of learning at a young age and experience. He also has something else I do not have...talent. Mike is an extremely accomplished guitar player who spent his early twenties playing on the road in a traveling band. I feel he could play in any big name band you can think of and more than hold his own. I would bet he is better than 75% of the guitar players currently playing and making a great living from it. Some people are lucky and get their break and others do not. Mike has been a great help with the mechanics of playing and he tells me I can become a decent guitar player in time with the proper mechanics and practice. I am not so sure about that but I do like playing for my own enjoyment.
The downside of taking lessons from Mike is he is so good that it is sometimes very frustrating trying to emulate what he is doing. He makes it look so damn easy. The other thing that sucks is what I play never quite sounds the same as what he plays. Then of course he has to throw in some impossible lick and then just sit there and grin at me knowing there is no way in hell I can possibly repeat it. He is a string bending, bar chording, finger picking bastard and I hate him!!! Okay, I don't really hate him but I would give a great deal to play anywhere near as well as he plays. I have seen slow but steady improvement and I will keep on plugging away.
Until next time take care and keep on rocking.
The torture began with a basic instruction book and has progressed to taking lessons from a good friend who has been playing for over 40 years. More on that later. My first attempts at forming chords were humbling and painful. Fretting a guitar places your hand and arm in positions that nature did not intend for them to be placed. Also pressing on steel guitar strings to form the chord is very hard on your fingertips. After a while you build up callouses but until then it is a painful experience. Along with the fretting you also need to get used to an 8 pound slab of wood hanging from your shoulder. Electric solid body guitars are heavy! It looks very easy to play when you are watching an accomplished guitarist, I assure you it is not. As I attempted to fret basic open chords like C and G my frustration would mount as I continued to touch strings not part of the chord or not press hard enough on the proper strings. You feel like you will never be able to make the chord. Finally after much pain and anguish I began to see progress.
I think that learning to play at 50 is more difficult than learning to play as a child. I think children learn easier and your hands and fingers are more flexible and easily trained. I hope this is true because when I go to Guitar Center and see all these little ten year old bastards playing so much better than me it really pisses me off! I guess the moral of that story is stay out of Guitar Center.
As I said earlier I began taking lessons from my friend Mike. Mike has been playing since the age of ten which means he has played for over 40 years now. He has the advantages of learning at a young age and experience. He also has something else I do not have...talent. Mike is an extremely accomplished guitar player who spent his early twenties playing on the road in a traveling band. I feel he could play in any big name band you can think of and more than hold his own. I would bet he is better than 75% of the guitar players currently playing and making a great living from it. Some people are lucky and get their break and others do not. Mike has been a great help with the mechanics of playing and he tells me I can become a decent guitar player in time with the proper mechanics and practice. I am not so sure about that but I do like playing for my own enjoyment.
The downside of taking lessons from Mike is he is so good that it is sometimes very frustrating trying to emulate what he is doing. He makes it look so damn easy. The other thing that sucks is what I play never quite sounds the same as what he plays. Then of course he has to throw in some impossible lick and then just sit there and grin at me knowing there is no way in hell I can possibly repeat it. He is a string bending, bar chording, finger picking bastard and I hate him!!! Okay, I don't really hate him but I would give a great deal to play anywhere near as well as he plays. I have seen slow but steady improvement and I will keep on plugging away.
Until next time take care and keep on rocking.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Saturday, December 20, 2008
High School & College Years
I am continuing today with my early musical influences. In the early 1970’s, as I entered high school, the popularity of the “long play” album began to grow. Along with the album came liner notes and inserts. I really loved to read the inserts and the liner notes. It often gave insight into the making of the music on the album. There were some great albums that come out from 1970 to 1975. Aqualung, Machine Head, Can’t Buy a Thrill, Derek and the Dominos, Paranoid, Tapestry, Madman Across the Water; I could go on for hours. I really enjoyed how the songs fit together and began to appreciate the concept of developing an album.
When I went away to college the opportunity presented itself to be a DJ at the college radio station. That was a great experience! We had so many songs in our library and so much information about music and the performers at our fingertips. Two times per month all DJs were required to pull the midnight to 6 AM shift at the station. These were the only times we were on for 24 hours, normally we signed off at midnight. On these shifts we would play nothing but album sides. This would give you about one half hour at a time between album sides. I would take my school books and study but I also spent a great deal of time reading the album covers and liners. We also had large three ring notebooks filled with rock and roll trivia, facts and other information. I would often read these by the hour. By doing these things I learned not only the lyrics to songs but often the composer and other facts about the recording of the song. This knowledge has stayed with me through the years and I still enjoy learning the inside facts of rock and roll music.
If you would like to share your thoughts or experiences I would greatly appreciate it and love to hear them. Until next time, Merry Christmas and peace on earth.
When I went away to college the opportunity presented itself to be a DJ at the college radio station. That was a great experience! We had so many songs in our library and so much information about music and the performers at our fingertips. Two times per month all DJs were required to pull the midnight to 6 AM shift at the station. These were the only times we were on for 24 hours, normally we signed off at midnight. On these shifts we would play nothing but album sides. This would give you about one half hour at a time between album sides. I would take my school books and study but I also spent a great deal of time reading the album covers and liners. We also had large three ring notebooks filled with rock and roll trivia, facts and other information. I would often read these by the hour. By doing these things I learned not only the lyrics to songs but often the composer and other facts about the recording of the song. This knowledge has stayed with me through the years and I still enjoy learning the inside facts of rock and roll music.
If you would like to share your thoughts or experiences I would greatly appreciate it and love to hear them. Until next time, Merry Christmas and peace on earth.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Working Class Hero
Twenty eight years ago today the music world lost the genius of John Lennon to an assassin's bullets. It was a senseless killing perpetrated by an insane idiot. Earlier that day Lennon had signed an autograph for David Mark Chapman. I think this was a case of hero worship and stalking that went way too far and led to a tragic end.
John Lennon was far from a perfect person. The young John was cynical and angry and could be very cruel in his deeds and with his tongue. In listening to the song "Getting Better" from Sargent Pepper the line "I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her from the things she loved" always stood out to me. I think John was very cruel to Cynthia and it is well documented how cruel and mean he could be towards Brian Epstein and even his band mates. The mature John somehow found an inner peace with himself and the world. I have always blamed Yoko for being the catalyst that set in motion the break up of The Beatles. Now I wonder if that was the trade off for John metamorphosing into a good person and finding inner peace in his later life. Maybe it was just the fact of no longer having the pressure of being a Beatle. Perhaps it was the birth of Sean with an older and wiser John being more attuned to the gift of fatherhood. Whatever it was the John Lennon that died that fateful day twenty eight years ago was a very different person from the John of the early 1960's. He was not only a musical genius, he was a good man.
John Lennon was far from a perfect person. The young John was cynical and angry and could be very cruel in his deeds and with his tongue. In listening to the song "Getting Better" from Sargent Pepper the line "I used to be cruel to my woman, I beat her and kept her from the things she loved" always stood out to me. I think John was very cruel to Cynthia and it is well documented how cruel and mean he could be towards Brian Epstein and even his band mates. The mature John somehow found an inner peace with himself and the world. I have always blamed Yoko for being the catalyst that set in motion the break up of The Beatles. Now I wonder if that was the trade off for John metamorphosing into a good person and finding inner peace in his later life. Maybe it was just the fact of no longer having the pressure of being a Beatle. Perhaps it was the birth of Sean with an older and wiser John being more attuned to the gift of fatherhood. Whatever it was the John Lennon that died that fateful day twenty eight years ago was a very different person from the John of the early 1960's. He was not only a musical genius, he was a good man.
"A very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year let's hope its a good one without any fear".
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