GovernorSilver

If we consider the original version to be Kenny Loggins', which preceded the Doobies' release by a couple of months, then I must say the Queen Of Soul punched it up here. Having world class backing band helped. Louis Johnson on bass!

Based on my experience with Roland Cloud compatible products (MC-707, MC-101, etcs) I would guess the answer is no. I only need to connect to Roland Cloud to get firmware updates or buy a new preset pack for one of my Roland machine. Once I've downloaded what I needed from Roland Cloud, I can kill the Roland Cloud app, copy the files that I need to SD card, then move the SD card to the Roland machine. That's right, I can't download any Roland Cloud stuff directly to any of my Roland machines. I have to download to my computer, then manually move the files via SD card to the Roland machine. OTOH, this also means my Roland machines do not go online and therefore being online or not is irrelevant to them.

I forgot one counterexample - multi-instrumentalist Eric Johnson (best known as a guitarist) chose to cover a guitar-based tune on piano.

I did my cover set with a Roland MC-101 playing the backing parts and me playing the melody part on electric violin. I used the probability features so that the MC-101 didn't play exactly the same drum pattern on every bar. Nothing too fancy - an extra hit or two on the snare here, extra tom there, extra high hat here, etc. with probability for each hit set to about 30-40% range. One compromise I accepted was the MC-101 drums being sample based. If one doesn't like the drums, then one has to some editing of drum layers, envelopes, filter, etc. and/or load one's own samples and subject those to editing. All I learned from my attempts to customize drum sounds on the MC-101 and its big brother MC-707 - where I did the actual work of programming the drum parts and other sequences - was how little I enjoy working with sample based drum kits. I've been finding working with synthesized drums to be much more enjoyable. If I had a better singing voice, I'd consider doing gigs with just a mic and arranger keyboard as that is the type of keyboard that is well suited for one person band gigs. I do understand there are some cons to this approach, including obvious ones like you're a multi-instrumentalist and would rather play guitar for certain songs, but then you won't have enough hands free to rearrange the song on the fly which arranger keyboards are so well suited for.

Never heard this cover or the album it's on until a few days ago. Love it!

It's a business that has helped me choose which pianos to audition in person at regional stores. Stu does a great job of presenting the selling points of each piano without wasting too much time on rambling talk, which to me is the bane of certain other piano reviewing channels. No he will not go out of his way to point out negative aspects of any product, for reasons that should be obvious. I can get plenty of cons from reading this forum, Piano World, etc. anyway. Processing the information (selling points, negative points, etc.) with critical thinking and personal hands-on time on pianos is the work I have to do myself. I have to be my own Consumer Reports here 😎

I like Stu's reviews but I am also aware that his job is to sell pianos for Merriam Music. There are some comments on that video that he cannot be expected to respond to without losing his job. Nothing wrong in my view though with being a good employee for a business that needs revenue to survive. Stu's videos have been very helpful to me in my piano search.

"This next song is a frightening little number. Frightens me, and I hope it frightens you. It's not meant personally..." - intro to King Of The World

He said he's going to play an old Doobies song, then accidentally (I think) starts a techno dance beat 😀 ... then recovers smoothly like the pro he is... 😎

I did have a slight preference the RHIII of the ES-920 over the PHA-4 of the (probably worn in) PHA-4 of the FP-90X. I had to go back and forth between the two pianos a bunch of times before deciding which keybed I liked better. Both feel much better under my left hand than the keybed of my old Casio. My impression is that life will be better for my left hand with either keybed. The PHA-4 of the FP-90X probably got a workout from hundreds of hands before I laid my own hands on it. This is the kind of store where musos who audition pianos, organs, etc. will play them for quite some time - possibly hours if they run into a fellow muso, get into a chat about chord progressions/subs/voicings, and end up jamming. During my own mini-shootout, there were a couple of players who were jamming with each other on piano and organ (later 2 pianos) the whole time. So that PHA-4 was well broken in compared to how the FP-90X would have been fresh out of the box. I'm not ruling the ES-920 out - quite the opposite. But I'm not ready to make a final decision on a piano either. I need another round of piano auditioning in the store.

The RD-08 and RD-88 have the Supernatural E. Piano while the FP-E50 doesn't, nor is it available as a paid expansion. But maybe regular old sampled Rhodes and the like would be ok as the demos of those sounds on the FP-E50 seemed fine to me. Of course I'll figure this out with head to head comparisons in the shop. I'm not a gigging pianist/keyboardist. I'm just looking for a digital piano to practice stuff on, with a keybed that won't be as nasty to my left hand as my geriatric Casio. The FP-E50 could be the best fit for me. But again, maybe one of the more expensive DPs will draw me strongly enough to pull the extra $$$ out of my wallet.

Thanks to this thread I learned quite a bit about the RD-88. The RD-08 (H8) not so much. 😀 I hope to try the Roland FP-E50 soon. I did a mini-shootout at the store between the Roland FP-90X and the Kawai ES-920 and found that I actually liked both Roland's PHA-4 keybed and Kawai's RHIII, even though they're quite different feeling keybeds. Both are vast improvements over my beat up old Casio Privia's. Now it could be the FP-90X had received enough wear and tear from visiting customers to break in its keybed as the PHA-4 is apparently notorious for an out-of-box stiff feel that loosens up after enough hours of playing. I'll definitely ask for the RD-88 next time I visit the shop. It'll be interesting to try that and compare with the FP-E50. Even though both have PHA-4, the RD-88 is more likely to be worn in by visiting customers, as the FP-E50 is a newer model.

Commanders signed another ex-Charger - this time CB Michael Davis. He's coming off of a rough 2023 but that was under Staley's head scratcher of a defensive system which confused even veteran players - eg one side playing man and the other side playing zone - and increasingly erratic playcalling. Davis might be able to bounce back in DC, depending on the system, coaching, etc. He should still have 4.3 speed to go with his size and legnth. Chargers will supposedly get a 6th round compensatory pick for Davis' departure.

I already have it: Prophet 5 Desktop Not the deepest sound design machine, but what sounds it can make are just so damn good.

Anthony Marinelli - in all likelihood the classiest synth Youtuber around. So much knowledge to share....

YESSSSS!!! More content coming!

Steelers have given up on Pickett, trading him to the Eagles. Wonder if they think Russell Wilson is still starter material. Their backup QB Mason Rudolph just joined the Titans.

Tried the OB-X8 and its double paddles for the first time last weekend. One of the paddles seemed to bend pitch in the opposite direction of what I expected. Then again I'm not used to how Obie paddles work.

Vikings now have 2 1st round picks after this trade with the Texans They still don't have a top 5 first round pick though for drafting a top QB prospect, so speculation is they'll trade those 2 1st round picks to move further up... unless they really think Sam Darnold is their new franchise QB. Some talk of the Chargers trading down from the #5 overall pick, especially if Marvin Harrison Jr. is off the board by pick 5. In that case I'm sure they'll pick up the phone if the Vikings come calling.

Also, Joey Bosa is restructuring his contract - and yes taking a pay cut - to stay a Charger, despite his mom's pleas for a trade to the Niners so he could join her other boy up there. Keenan Allen is a WR who had a good 2023 season but also missed games on injury, missed a good chuck of 2022 on injury and is 31 years old. Should such a WR fetch more than a 4th round pick in trade? We'll never know. Apparently Allen's refusal to take a pay cut like Joey Bosa led to this trade. Shame he had to go but such is business in the NFL. He'll probably be replaced by a veteran WR who cost less against the cap and is willing to block on running plays - shouldn't be hard to find one. Oh and Khalil Mack also took a pay cut. Housecleaning included LBs Murray and Kendrick. Don't miss either one really. Oh and one of Mahomes' latest moves is already being called "pulling a Tom Brady". In other words, he restructured his contract to help the Chiefs' salary cap. He really wants that 3-peat.

Yeah, coming off the ACL tear is the reason some Charger bloggers think he'll struggle to land a deal for what he or his agent think he is worth, then come back to the Chargers at a discount. Such talk smacks of wishful thinking to me though. Can't blame 'em for wanting a familiar skill player to stay - it's natural to fear the unknown as far as who might replace him on the roster. Somebody will make him an offer that he'll take. Might not be the Chargers.

As expected, the Chargers released a starting WR to free up cap space. Mike Williams' release frees up $20 million. After a career 2021 performance, Williams' 2022 and 2023 seasons were mostly lost to injury. Khalil Mack is restructuring his deal to free up more cap space and remain a Charger. Harbaugh vs. Staley as HC helps here.

Sorry to see Ekeler go but the writing was on the wall when he expressed his discontent last year over not getting a long term contract extension. He will apparently get paid less than if he had stayed with the Chargers but the Chargers' cap situation is forcing them into penny pinching mode. With the Commanders' Robinson as the established starter, Ekeler might enjoy some rejuvenation, coming off the bench for passing downs and not having as heavy a workload. Chargers did sign some agents today but this is sure to be followed by cuts of Bosa/Mack and Williams/Allen. The 2 new Chargers of the day are Gus Edwards and Will Dissly. Edwards was a solid workhorse with the Ravens, and fits the power running philosophy favored by Jim Harbaugh and Greg Roman. They seem to like Dissly's performance as a run blocking TE with the Seahawks - so he is another fit.

Thanks to the Beato interview, and subsequent listening to Jeff Baxter interviews, I'm on a Michael McDonald kick. Interview by Musiclab/Gerald Veasley, with fair amount of singing and playing, and even some Veasley on bass. Might be the last tour featuring Jeff Baxter, the guitarist who recruited McDonald into the Doobies - a fact I wasn't aware of until I listened to these interviews. Livin On The Fault Line was reportedly the least commercially successful of the McDonald era Doobie albums, while at the same time their most creative. Baxter got to show off his Roland GR-500 (or GS-500) guitar synth both on the album and on tour.

Now this interview features a LOT more playing by McDonald. I'm sure the difference here has a lot more to do with the format and setting (Musiclab hosted by Gerald Veasley vs. Rick Beato's operation).