Bill H.

I think there are more exceptions now than before. When you have a teen with Tourette's, a couple of homely guys with significant facial art, a +++ size black chick... They are top pop stars today - picked by their peers. They wouldn't have stood a chance under the old corporate A&R system. When you have something like Calm Down with minimal production and promotion which simmered in Northern Africa for a months, gradually made it's way into the world through social media, grabbed Selena Gomez by the coattails, and became the #6 single in the US for the year 2023... the chances of anything like that happening under the old system is dramatically less as well.

He seems to be a pretty high strung dude. I doubt if their relationship will survive the offseason.

Just watched this video. Quick thoughts: I think it's his version of what happened in his ball park - which appears to be Seattle's grunge scene. The bands he mentions are from that scene with the exception of Nickelback - which is just a stone's throw away in Vancouver. Red Hot Chili Peppers, Green Day, Smash Mouth, Rage Against The Machine, Blink 182, The Killers, etc... they all were hot post Telecommunications Act bands and don't sound anything alike to these ears. And a quick check showed they all had different producers. Each generation wants its own music, and different than the music of their parents. That's my opinion of what happened to rock - not that it all sounded the same courtesy of big brother.

Can you read the display from your playing position? I don't care about it being red (something they're going totally apoplectic about in the other forum) but I do care about it being legible without having to scoot over. Congrats! And keep us informed about any reliability issues that come up please.

I have to have something in front of me in order to hit the keys - even if it's just playing for a family get together. I never thought I'd feel this way when I was younger. I'd play just to play for hours back then. Anyway that's my motivation currently. I know I'll be called on to play something for my youngest son's family when I visit this spring. I'll be very interested in what others who aren't currently gigging or working on projects have to say.

I know you said you're working an Elks lodge, but if you want to do at least something from the last 25 years I'd suggest working up Rascal Flatt's Bless The Broken Road. They probably know it, it has a prominent piano part, and everyone of all ages dances when I've played it. It's something you'll keep beyond your gig next Wednesday.

Work next Wednesday night? Not me, but I think you're spot on for your target audience.

Agreed. And traditionalists today still have Chris Stapleton - although he's kinda rocking out now.

IIRC their marriage didn't last... something about him having an affair with one of her personal assistants. The debate over whether Shania (and Mutt) were appropriately country 30 years ago sounds so quaint now. When the #1 country song of 2023 (which spilled over into being the #1 single of all formats) was done over a trap beat loop, and the top new country artist has more ink than Post Malone and got his start in hip-hop... well things are changing.

FWIW the one time I've heard a guy using an EV Evolve in a club he was having feedback problems - a high pitched squeal he never got rid of while I was there. He did have it cranked though - and somewhat behind his mic rather than to the side.

My usual position for awards shows is sprawled out with a Chromebook in my lap but last night I was looking up a lot more than usual. The only real duds for me were Travis Scott (and I guess I'm just too old), and U2 - shot in Vegas with a bunch of drones buzzing the band.

It was a super cool moment when (unannounced I believe) the lights went up on Tracy Chapman. I was blown away, and to his credit Luke Combs didn't try to upstage her. I was not surprised that Flowers won a bunch of stuff - including best song. It was everywhere last year. With the exception of its implied message, it's a rather generic pop song that could have been released anytime during the last 40 years. So it got played a lot. Of course it's the implied message that made it so big. Nigeria's Burna Boy played it safe, and dialed it back a little too much for my liking. This guy is introducing fresh new rhythms to (now 50 year old) hip-hop, but you could hardly hear that in his performance. Stevie Wonder sounded like he was phoning it in until the song modulated to F#/Gb (was that ever decided?) and he started ripping off high C#s in full voice! Another blown away moment for me. Not televised was Killer MIke accepting his three Grammys, then arrested, cuffed, and led out of the venue by LAPD. It can't be the Grammys without some drama.

Gotta admit - I didn't dig this song at first. But it's that Grammy performance that made the song click. There's Billy Joel at the piano - no in ears, big ol' wedge monitor just off his bench, beat up SM57 mic, a bit tentative at first, but then forcefully singing "Did I wait too long? To turn the lights back on!" No you didn't Billy. We're good.

So... just reading through everyone's comments... what we have here is a song sung by Billy Joel, but not written, produced, or played by Billy Joel? A song designed to give him exposure in advance of an upcoming worldwide tour? I guess I'm OK with it, but I think lumping it with his past works is doing them a disservice.

If this is "We Will Rock You" (the only Queen musical I'm aware of) I don't think any of us could do it under the conditions you describe. Work up over 20 Queen songs in an ensemble that's a mixture of high school students and adults in less than two months? We all get pitched crazy projects, and after awhile you just kinda learn to say no when things seem unreasonable. If I could give any advice to your drummer, it would be to learn two or three Queen songs well, and have the cast perform the rest to tracks.

I thought so, and for real 😀 An all star band only someone like Dick Clark could dream up - just chuggin' along over 30 years ago. Bo could still hit high "A"s back then... of course he's gone now. So is Gregg, James Ingram, John Entwistle, probably others. Kind of a wistful way to end a Sunday evening.

My feelings about this one are somewhat different than - say - the UB-Xa. Roland is a fairly large corporation with access to cost effective overseas manufacturing. And they have been given every chance to do it themselves. But their attitude has always been "Oh you don't want that anymore." Well for those of us who want to just tweak and play analog without breaking a sweat, yeah... we kinda do. I'm unsure if that's me at this point in my life, but the door is open.

There must be several hundred well heeled collectors world wide who would consider this a must add. My guess? 500.

I think that's whats going on with some. The song has moved into general usage - but often for just a few seconds before a voice-over announces some NYC event. It's kind of taken the same space as Ol' Blue Eyes at times. But if you weren't familiar with the song as a pop hit, it might not register. The video reminds me of what we used to do when younger - screwing around and throwing heavy blues riffs over a pop song in rehearsal for fun. And that's what this is - for fun.

The most astonishing thing to me? This was the first time Jordan Rudess had heard Empire State Of Mind! This track was absolutely huge when it came out around 15 years ago, and lives on as aural backdrop for many things NYC. I don't know how anyone could have avoided it all these years. I thought his first funky comps were cool, but once he tried to impose his will on it I was out. No Jordan Rudess bashing here though - he's just screwing around and having fun.

Cut the 32 bar break towards the end in half. Or more. Keep an eye on the floor, and when they start to get restless bring the band back in with those octave As. This will be your call. I'm no help with setting this up on an SK. I used to play it on an Arp Omni - letting the LFO sweep the filter and playing the rhythm by hand. We tried playing to a click, but there was no way the drummer could pull that off when he was letting out his inner Keith Moon. Maybe yours will be better at it. Best of luck with this monster track!

Yeah I've seen 'em, played 'em. Never owned one. They were around for a hot minute between the end of the British pop invasion and the emergence of bluesier and more experimental music featuring electric pianos, Hammonds, Minimoogs, Odysseys... In other words, not long. By the late 1960s I'd spot them languishing in the back of the keyboard section of music stores - unloved. That Grateful Dead pic has been floating around a lot lately. FB keeps putting it in my news feed... I guess they know how old I am. It must have been before Pigpen moved on to his Vox Continental.

I'm assuming Korg has done its market research. But just a rhetorical question: Does anyone here want this? At $1099??? Maybe it's targeted for overseas.

IIRC (and it's been a long time guys) The ban Seattle Local 76 had in the late 60s-early 70s not on synthesizers per se, but keyboards that played recordings of musical instruments. The studio I was involved with had their Mellotron hidden away in a closet, and they were very careful about who was around when it was used. I can't recall any legal problems recording our synths though, and there definitely wasn't a problem using them on stage. Washington was a closed shop state back then. If you wanted to work you had to be a member of the union. Union reps checked all clubs, and if they used non-union entertainment they might not see their liquor and kitchen supplies delivered the following week. Once those laws were repealed things started to loosen up, but I kept my membership active for a few years more because it was often required for touring. When that changed in the 80s I was done with the union.

I like this solution.