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Did you ever see a performance


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that made you want to quit playing?

 

I did. It was around 1979 or so, I was just getting started playing in a local party band. I thought my local band was the shit, we were getting big crowds in our home town and having a great time.

 

Then some friends took me to see the Dixie Dregs at the Roxy in Los Angeles. I was stunned, they blew me away. I very quickly realized I had very little skill, and that I would never be able to get anywhere close to this level of musical mastery. No matter how hard I practiced, no matter what I did, I would not get there. I thought about quitting after seeing this show.

 

I didn't quit, the local band kept playing. I learned along the way that having incredible technical chops was not a hard and fast requirement, that one could play out and have fun with music, even with more rudimentary skills. I kept going, and I'm glad I didn't quit. I was correct in my initial self-assessment - no chance to get that good, not in a million lifetimes. But man-o-man, that gig by the Dregs made me question my place in the universe!

Some music I've recorded and played over the years with a few different bands

Tommy Rude Soundcloud

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I didn't quit, the local band kept playing. I learned along the way that having incredible technical chops was not a hard and fast requirement, that one could play out and have fun with music, even with more rudimentary skills. I kept going, and I'm glad I didn't quit. I was correct in my initial self-assessment - no chance to get that good, not in a million lifetimes.

 

This :thu:

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Every time I hear a vocal chart by Gene Puerling (Singers Unlimited) or a big band chart by Thad Jones (the original Village Vanguard Big Band) I want to cut my fingers off at the elbow. Monsters of the musical art and leagues beyond anything I could attempt Im still in awe every time I hear anything by them.

 

I spent my college years at the Vanguard on Monday nights and the only significant issue I recall is when Lew Solof pissed on my leg in the mens room because he was too cooked to locate the urinal.

 

Jake

1967 B-3 w/(2) 122's, Nord C1w/Leslie 2101 top, Nord PedalKeys 27, Nord Electro 4D, IK B3X, QSC K12.2, Yamaha reface YC+CS+CP

 

"It needs a Hammond"

 

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Of course. A million times! :)

 

Hearing Rudolf Serkin playing Beethoven late Sonatas when I was a kid.

Watching the Ivory Coast National Ballet with its "Orchestra" of three percussionists.

All those jazz virtuosos in the 70s and 80s... Weather Repost, Corea, Jarrett...

Hearing and watching Gabriela Montero improvising.

 

etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. :D

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that made you want to quit playing?

 

I did. It was around 1979 or so, I was just getting started playing in a local party band. I thought my local band was the shit, we were getting big crowds in our home town and having a great time.

 

Then some friends took me to see the Dixie Dregs at the Roxy in Los Angeles. I was stunned, they blew me away. I very quickly realized I had very little skill, and that I would never be able to get anywhere close to this level of musical mastery. No matter how hard I practiced, no matter what I did, I would not get there. I thought about quitting after seeing this show.

 

I didn't quit, the local band kept playing. I learned along the way that having incredible technical chops was not a hard and fast requirement, that one could play out and have fun with music, even with more rudimentary skills. I kept going, and I'm glad I didn't quit. I was correct in my initial self-assessment - no chance to get that good, not in a million lifetimes. But man-o-man, that gig by the Dregs made me question my place in the universe!

 

Well, you're not going to be this, but back in the early 80's I was in a band that I thought was the real s**ts. Found out we were opening for this band called the Dixie Dregs in some local club. We played and did great, crowd loved us. I felt sorry for the headliners, thinking we just blew them off stage. I thought they were some sort of dixieland band and what in the hell were doing headlining. Literally, two minutes after the Dregs started playing, I said to myself, "I QUIT". Had no idea there were bands with that level of talent. They completely knocked my socks off and I learned a very important lesson that night. There's always somebody way friggin better than you.

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The Lew Solof of what goes up must come down... ?
You can have Spinning Wheel. The Solof solo that made my jaw drop -- and stay down for 40+ years -- was his solo on the reprise of Lucretia McEvil.

 

When I was in my teens / early twenties, I fear that my quick learning ability on keys inspired at least one local keyboardist to get out of the business when I subbed for him.

 

As for me, I've seen performances that I knew I would never equal, e.g., ELP, Ferrante and Teicher, Virgil Fox; but I can't really say that any of those made me want to quit.

-Tom Williams

{First Name} {at} AirNetworking {dot} com

PC4-7, PX-5S, AX-Edge, PC361

 

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The Lew Solof of what goes up must come down... ?

 

The same. Thads band had a lot of heavyweights: Sir Roland Hanna, Marvin Stamm, Jerome Richardson, Pepper Adams, Jerry Dodgion, and at that time a young newcomer named Jon Faddis.

Glorious Monday nights.

 

Jake

1967 B-3 w/(2) 122's, Nord C1w/Leslie 2101 top, Nord PedalKeys 27, Nord Electro 4D, IK B3X, QSC K12.2, Yamaha reface YC+CS+CP

 

"It needs a Hammond"

 

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Yup. ELP at Madison Square Garden Nov. 1971. J.Geils opening. For a few minutes Emerson's superhuman performance left me thinking "What's the use?" Then I thought about the great Seth Justman being on the same bill and came to my senses. Seth's trick bag was way more approachable for me and I enjoyed his playing immensely. Kind of restored faith in myself. Thanks Seth.
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No, but Ive seen a lot of Registrations! :rimshot:

 

Ive never wanted to quit playing, but I think I understand, having given up songwriting at a very early age. Mostly because I dont believe anything I could create could express my feelings better than whats out there already.

 

Great playing only inspires me.

 

 

____________________________________
Rod

Here for the gear.

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never considered quitting

 

I know I will never quit no matter how much more mediocre I become on keys.

 

I don't see keyboard performance as some kind of NASCAR event. Heck , 99% of keyboard players are better. So I have little ego invested.

Why fit in, when you were born to stand out ?

My Soundcloud with many originals:

[70's Songwriter]

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No. I've seen performances that blew me away, that were so far beyond the skill level that I could ever hope to obtain in this lifetime. But that makes me want to play music more. If I'm enjoying making music, why would I stop? There are players in my local circle who are much better than me and who aren't famous or even known outside the area. They make me look forward to playing with them if and when i get the chance. As others said, it's not a competition and there's always lots of players much better than me. I get a little bit better each time I play. As long as that's happening, I'm good. And even those times where I kinda suck, at least I'm playing music. At this stage of my life, I'm grateful that I get to do that. I know some good musicians who can't do that any more. That's a damn shame.
These are only my opinions, not supported by any actual knowledge, experience, or expertise.
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I agree with El Lobo above--I have no illusions about being a great player, but I can do some things pretty well considering I'm a part-timer...if I see someone ripping it spurs me to try to improve.

 

Listening to high tenors sing is a bit discouraging though, since I'm a baritone and no amount of skill or practice would have ever let me hit those highs ;-)

 

Now that IEMs have solved my hearing issues (as in, I want to keep it), if there's one thing that would make me quit live playing it is this: that the trend for everyone to be fine with running tracks continues, and every band does it. At that point I'm out, both playing and listening to bands live. As it is there are very few live shows I'd bother seeing due to this.

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Not at all. I've seen quite a few that made me woodshed harder in different ways, but quitting would be the opposite of the proper reaction to being duly impressed by a pro. I could never have touched George Duke's shoe tops, but watching him do a trio gig with Stanley Clarke and Billy Cobham taught me a lesson in monosynth playing that you can't buy anywhere, period. I didn't feel like quitting; I felt like going home and making some of my patches sound more fluid. George taught me what single-triggering was all about in one swoop. :thu:

 

 "I want to be an intellectual, but I don't have the brainpower.
  The absent-mindedness, I've got that licked."
        ~ John Cleese

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The only player who still triggers my "What's the point, I might as well just give it up" reflex is Oscar.

I saw Oscar twice. Each time I felt discouraged and questioned what I was doing. I switched from calling myself a piano player to a piano owner for awhile.

 

My reaction to all others Ive seen has been inspiration.

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my situation is similar to the OP. Late 1977, I'm a senior in High School. I'm in the gym on a Saturday night at a dance. I didn't dance, just went to see what ever band was playing at any dance. That particular night I was to see a band called "Apricot Brandy". They had a very good reputation as an excellent cover band that also played some origionals. As the show started, the power went out. The band lighting was not hooked into 220, I guess. So while the power was down, which seemed like forever of course, the keyboard player was entertaining any who cared to listen on a Yamaha CP 70 in acoustic mode. This dude blew me away with his talent. I knew then and there that I would never be good enough to be a professional musician. As he stood up after the power came back on, I went up and introduced myself. "Hey man, my name is Dave. You are absolutely fantastic. Thanks, he said. My name is Jordan." That evening 42 years ago I met Jordan Rudess.

I've never stopped playing, but never quit the day job.

:nopity:
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From a technical point of view, mostly every professional player I see makes me realize how hopelessly untalented and amateurish I am.

 

But from a whole band perspective, the ones who completely changed my idea of what a band is able to do were Tower of Power in the Larry Braggs era.

Totally humbled and dumbfounded.

 

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When I go to see someone perform, I am expecting to be fully entertained and blown away, and that includes a rip-roaring performance of the level I could never pull off myself. That is why I'm willing to shell out the $$ for a good concert. It's not about ME. It's about that mega-wonder on stage.

 

Granted, when I was studying jazz at college, I would run into students who would make me look like a beginner. But those were students, not 'superstars'. They were my peers, not some already established pro that I could admire from a distance. So I would get those initial 'pangs' of envy when a student would 'take me to town' and show me how it's done. That's a lot harder to take than 'envy of a superstar', because it's ME that's competing with these other students, and I am supposed to be as good or better at it than them.

 

 

Kurzweil PC3, Yamaha MOX8, Alesis Ion, Kawai K3M
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In my late 60s, I realize my musical aesthetics have changed. I dont want to be schooled or amazed. I want to see a real person. Through their music. I crave human communication via music. Its no longer about being pretty, precocious , precise, or the parnassus.

 

The words through their music and real person imply that if you havent tuned your guitar or are an obvious dipshit then good luck to you.

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Yup. ELP at Madison Square Garden Nov. 1971. J.Geils opening. For a few minutes Emerson's superhuman performance left me thinking "What's the use?" Then I thought about the great Seth Justman being on the same bill and came to my senses. Seth's trick bag was way more approachable for me and I enjoyed his playing immensely. Kind of restored faith in myself. Thanks Seth.

 

Seth Justman is a DEEPLY underrated player in that genre. One of my personal favorites.

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Seth is really good. J Giels blew away Yes years ago here locally when they were opening. Sal Azzarelli told me about it. Anyway I want to quit a lot. I think it stems from playing or plugging away for so long you want to think that your up there in talent, it's a tough thing to accept that your only so good.

"Danny, ci manchi a tutti. La E-Street Band non e' la stessa senza di te. Riposa in pace, fratello"

 

 

noblevibes.com

 

 

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Yeah, many. Two that really stand out were Makoto Ozone in the late '80s, and Benny Green about 8 years ago, both at masterclasses here at the university.

 

But the post workshop conversation with Green was one of the most encouraging short chats I've had in my music career and what he said has kept me going up til now. Sometimes it's little things that turn the whole thing around.

..
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But the post workshop conversation with Green was one of the most encouraging short chats I've had in my music career and what he said has kept me going up til now. Sometimes it's little things that turn the whole thing around.
Care to share what he said, Tim?

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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that made you want to quit playing?

 

I did. It was around 1979 or so, I was just getting started playing in a local party band. I thought my local band was the shit, we were getting big crowds in our home town and having a great time.

 

Then some friends took me to see the Dixie Dregs at the Roxy in Los Angeles. I was stunned, they blew me away. I very quickly realized I had very little skill, and that I would never be able to get anywhere close to this level of musical mastery. No matter how hard I practiced, no matter what I did, I would not get there. I thought about quitting after seeing this show.

 

I didn't quit, the local band kept playing. I learned along the way that having incredible technical chops was not a hard and fast requirement, that one could play out and have fun with music, even with more rudimentary skills. I kept going, and I'm glad I didn't quit. I was correct in my initial self-assessment - no chance to get that good, not in a million lifetimes. But man-o-man, that gig by the Dregs made me question my place in the universe!

 

Well, you're not going to be this, but back in the early 80's I was in a band that I thought was the real s**ts. Found out we were opening for this band called the Dixie Dregs in some local club. We played and did great, crowd loved us. I felt sorry for the headliners, thinking we just blew them off stage. I thought they were some sort of dixieland band and what in the hell were doing headlining. Literally, two minutes after the Dregs started playing, I said to myself, "I QUIT". Had no idea there were bands with that level of talent. They completely knocked my socks off and I learned a very important lesson that night. There's always somebody way friggin better than you.

 

Lets make it 3 for the Dregs. For me it was early 1980s in Atlanta at the Agora Ballroom, across from the Fox Theatre. T Lavitz and Andy West just blew me away.

The fact there's a Highway To Hell and only a Stairway To Heaven says a lot about anticipated traffic numbers

 

People only say "It's a free country" when they're doing something shitty-Demetri Martin

 

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that made you want to quit playing?

 

I did. It was around 1979 or so, I was just getting started playing in a local party band. I thought my local band was the shit, we were getting big crowds in our home town and having a great time.

 

Then some friends took me to see the Dixie Dregs at the Roxy in Los Angeles. I was stunned, they blew me away. I very quickly realized I had very little skill, and that I would never be able to get anywhere close to this level of musical mastery. No matter how hard I practiced, no matter what I did, I would not get there. I thought about quitting after seeing this show.

 

I didn't quit, the local band kept playing. I learned along the way that having incredible technical chops was not a hard and fast requirement, that one could play out and have fun with music, even with more rudimentary skills. I kept going, and I'm glad I didn't quit. I was correct in my initial self-assessment - no chance to get that good, not in a million lifetimes. But man-o-man, that gig by the Dregs made me question my place in the universe!

 

Well, you're not going to be this, but back in the early 80's I was in a band that I thought was the real s**ts. Found out we were opening for this band called the Dixie Dregs in some local club. We played and did great, crowd loved us. I felt sorry for the headliners, thinking we just blew them off stage. I thought they were some sort of dixieland band and what in the hell were doing headlining. Literally, two minutes after the Dregs started playing, I said to myself, "I QUIT". Had no idea there were bands with that level of talent. They completely knocked my socks off and I learned a very important lesson that night. There's always somebody way friggin better than you.

 

Lets make it 3 for the Dregs. For me it was early 1980s in Atlanta at the Agora Ballroom, across from the Fox Theatre. T Lavitz and Andy West just blew me away.

 

Wow Atlanta I remember the Agora Ballroom!

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I very quickly realized I had very little skill, and that I would never be able to get anywhere close to this level of musical mastery. I thought about quitting after seeing this show ....

I didn't quit, But man-o-man, that gig by the Dregs made me question my place in the universe!

All this sounds like the best kind of education: revelatory, humbling, leads to questioning, and is inspiring.

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