Jump to content


allan_evett

Member
  • Posts

    4,713
  • Joined

  • Last visited

Everything posted by allan_evett

  1. This one is rough... I've been a big fan since the mid 1970s. So many memories - from the Raspberries, "Go All The Way" to Eric's string of hits in the 80s. I remember wearing out the cassette copy of his album, 'Boats Against the Current'; lots of road time with that one in the car stereo. A song from that album is likely my favorite from Eric's catalog: "Love Is All That Matters". I've played that one for several weddings - for accompanying vocalists, and playing it as a background instrumental piece. Rest in Peace, Eric Carmen. It was an honor to play your songs.
  2. I often refer to this style of playing as, 'Concert piano'; or those who perform it, 'Concert pianists'. I had approximately 12 years of studying that, and it enventually became a tiresome grind. My first two post-high school years were spent at a local college, and thankfully I had a sensitive and highly observant piano teacher. She helped in further strengthening my technique, but understood my wish to not pursue further 'classical' study. Thankfully that college's music dept. was structured for simple recital performances and single-teacher evaluations, vs. the typical live 'Jury' exams - the idea of which terrified me. I eventually transferred to a more 'alternative' arts college - where my major emphasis was theory/composition and keyboard playing with the jazz ensemble. Columbia College, Chicago was a proverbial 'Godsend'. Granted, I can understand the value of juried exams for those pursuing live, concert careers; but I've had several piano students who considered majoring in music theory, composition or school district music teaching, then passed on the idea - due to having to slog through 4+ years of 'Jury' exams on their major instrument. I feel those exams should be recommended for those pursuing solo, 'concert' careers, not neccessarily other music majors. That former piano teacher was a big help in defining a musical path forward for me. I recall one conversation when she stated, "You should go to Nashville after college, or maybe attempt the commercial jingle scene in Chicago. But I'll likely see your name in lights with a band, someday" . Hey, at least she got me connected for a couple of faculty cocktail parties - even when I was still finding my way through a set of basic standards.
  3. Great memories from hearing this song, and several from the Michael McDonald catalog. And back to the original topic. I've always dug GP's playing. But the time I saw him in person was definitely a "Holy Something!" moment: NAMM 2011's Korg Kronos unveiling, then the resulting Greg Phillinganes rendition of Happy Birthday. His chord substitutions had their own substitutions flown in for the occasion. And then I made another discovery, from visiting page one of this thread: Mark Stephens. Yeah... From what planet are these previously unknown - at least to me - players coming from? Time to get off the computer and go practice .
  4. I can well-relate to this, Dave. I do have to keep up on Hanon, scales and arpeggios, mostly due to the church accompanying gig I fell into four years ago - when the pandemic caused the loss of my MD gig. When I sit down to improvise, I run out of inspiration quickly; then it just becomes somewhat mindless meandering. I think it's a combination of too much technique focus/lack of fun and annoying side-effects of a temporarily-high meds dosage (i'm still in a being-monitored phase from last October's brain bleed incident - hopefully back closer to normal by the end of April, the 6-month point). Found some pieces I'd written years back, but never recorded. So I started recording one of those into Logic the other day. That's helped some. But like you, I still feel off when sitting down to improv. Thinking I need to stay put more - 'grounded' harmony and voicings, less constant motion. The attempts seem kind of frantic, at times?
  5. I'd check out the CK88 again. The action is a well-weighted 88, but my hands don't experience fatigue from it. Compared to our Kawai upright, it's a nice break - especially when dealing with some mild carpal tunnel symptoms, also finger tip tingles - courtesy of the current med I'm taking (which will hopefully be reduced over the next several months). The CK is a well-designed instrument, with many thoughtful features. The variety of pianos are highly playable, and it works wonderfully as a controller for RV 275, Synthogy Ivory and the premium NI pianos.
  6. Great to read this! I always liked the XV series of rack modules. I had an XV-5080 for close to twenty years, and gigged it live from 2001 - 2010. Sold it a couple a couple years back, mostly due to a lack of replacement parts for some damage that had occurred. The guy that bought it wanted my XV mostly for the expansion cards, and planned to 'part out' the rest of it. Such a fun and versatile piece of gear, though. I'd definitely consider acquiring a gently used XV-3080, though have a few other $$ priorities right now - like medical bill remnants from last October, then a much-needed replacement Mac laptop for the teaching work space (currently using a 2012 MBP that's rather 'messy'.). Would be fun to have a vintage multi-timbral module again though.
  7. Yes, Jeff is a fellow NW Indiana keyboardist. Last summer my wife and a friend of ours caught Keytar Jeff live, at Leroy's Hot Stuff - which is all but a rock institution in this area. Regrettably I was on another gig, but Jeff was in top form that night.
  8. Common sense is rare, apparently... Many people do take of their pets, and surroundings; but a few miscreants spoil it for others. It's been my understanding that hotels, short/long term rentals need to see certification for service animals to allow pets - when no-pet policies are in place. I guess too many are taking advantage. We find lodging that allows pets for free, or for a small fee. My avatar critter could definitely pass as a service animal (she loves everybody), but her 'brother' would definitely not
  9. Fun! Now what I want to see is: All 'Everybody Loves Raymond' intros transcribed.
  10. I'd be all over this if it was available as an AU/VST for non-Montage owners. I'm a former Montage/MODX user; and while my CK88 is fine for stage work, it'd be great to have access to the extensive sounds and editing features from AWM history - and beyond. I've experimented with various versions of Halion Sonic over the past decade or so - trying it on a couple different Macs, but it's been somewhat messy: lots of issues with Steinberg's USB drivers and eLicensing. Lots of Motif/Montage history there, but it's never really worked smoothly here.
  11. Thanks, dB! I just checked out their site. I'm looking to replace a slightly underpowered pair of small, budget monitors in my teaching studio. The LP-UNF pair look to be a perfect upgrade for the space.
  12. The overhead 'drone' view made me think of an old, Twilight Zone episode.
  13. For church masses on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning: Steinway Model M grand. For gigging: Depending on the gig/rig size, either Yamaha CK88 or Nord Stage 4; sometimes both. And then depending on the song and/or mix of players: Yamaha CFX or S700 Preset, or Nord Imperial or Italian grand. I’ve created about a half dozen of so patches based on those tones - lots of EQ and FX variations.
  14. I bought this Yamaha CS-50 in mid-1979. Though I sold it in the late 1980s, it eventually found me again. This photo is from 2015, around the time it finally found a permanent home with a collector out in Colorado. I first saw a CS-50 in early 1979. A fellow keyboardist gave me a generous tour of his CS-50, and I was enamored with all the sounds - and the colorful front panel too! Other than playing a bandleader's Arp monosynth, my exposure to synths had been limited up to that point. Having access to 4-voice polyphony was a lot of fun, and I remember getting a lot of mileage from the ring modulator section; lots of 'special sauce' there.
  15. Big Roy Bittan fan here as well. Though your knowledge of his live playing with the E Street Band is much deeper than mine; my similar passion being the live piano work on Lyle Lovett and His Large Band tours, from 2004 til now. While his work with Bruce and Co. inspires me every time I hear recordings (live and studio), Roy's piano playing on Meatloaf's Bat Out of Hell 2 is riveting - especially, "I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That)".
  16. I came into music with certain 'leanings' burned in. I remember that back in 4th grade - after a little over two years of lessons - I could improvise a bit in a flowing, romantic era style of playing. Nothing fancy, but it just seemed natural - like something I had done in a previous life, so to speak. Fast forward to college years: I created a somewhat convoluted path to finishing a degree that reflected a majority of hours in music (Thank you, Columbia College!). The idea of being a piano major (or even traditional music school major) scared the BeeGees out of me. Juries? Run like hell, and I did! I've ended up covering, and occasionally faking my way through a lot of styles over the past 45 years; and likely going into some blind alleys I had no business being in . Rock/Pop, Blues, R&B, folk/alternative acoustic are styles I've managed to assimilate, to a greater or lesser degree individually. And covering multi-keys parts has developed along with that. Reggae and world beat material I've somewhat manage to fake my way through, though I'd have to live within that world/groove to get a real clue... I do strongly connect with Moonglow's observation about being asked to cover all the recorded keys parts, live... I ran into that absurdity when playing with a couple of country bands: "Uh, could you cover the piano and B3 part?". Okay, that can work. "Then there is that solo violin on the bridge.". Okay, think I can grab that short part. "Oh, but there's that banjo riff that happens throughout, and also a cool steel guitar line between the 2nd verse and bridge, and that full string orchestra on the final chorus.". Let me work on growing third and fourth arms, and in the meantime you can buy a backing track. Jason, I relate well to you about being a straight ahead jazz player. I can reasonably play cocktail piano, and there have been years when I've covered bunches of 'wallpaper' gigs, but hardcore, angular jazz? Well... I've worked through some crazy charts and sort of survived, but there are a lot of jazz players for whom I'd quickly vacate the bench. During the pandemic I did several group and a couple private online lessons with Matt Rollings. His evaluations and guidance echoed much of what Peter Saltzman - a fellow Chicago-area piano/keys guy with whom I shared a dual-keys band gig - observed. I still need work on seeing 'blocks', vs. 'flowing' lines. Seeing advanced 'block' voicings (beyond basic shells) and moving them efficiently (especially chromatically) is my Achilles Heel in Jazz playing. And the last lesson material Matt left me with focused on bee-bop lines and chromatic approaches - another Achilles Heel. I just started checking out a YT video about advanced chord substitutions. Some fun sounding ideas there!
  17. I started reading this thread shortly after juggling a Time Machine back-up from my 2012 MacBook Pro to a Macally FireWire800/USB 2.0 portable HD. This 2012 MBP is still operating well (I use it in a private lesson space), though it's been 'hot-rodded' a bit: 1 TB Internal HD and maxed-out operating RAM. But apparently now the Time Machine back-up exceeds the Macally drives capacity. So, got to sort that out now. Late last month my computer guru nephew discovered a way to run Ventura on this mid-2012 MBP, so I could run Logic Pro X 10.8 on it. That way my M2 Mac Mini and apparently 'ancient' MBP could swap Projects, etc. I used a basic, PreSonus FW interface back around 2010; then switched over to USB-based interfaces after that. But I can understand the frustration that high-end FW interface users feel after this announcement by Apple. It's aggravating to have a stable, working studio space - with no small amount of investment - then have Core Audio connectivity discontinued.
  18. Early DX7 owner here; sold mine in the early 90s. Though I played the often overused EP sound (so much cover material essentially required that), I bought some 3rd-party sounds that emulated Wurlitzer EP and even acoustic piano capably (for the time, anyway...). It sure beat hauling extremely heavy hardware to gigs. Except for rock gigs - especially with a long-term originals act, I left my CP70 in a friend's studio. My jobbing rig for several years was a DX7 with a Korg DW-8000 above. I preferred the DW for synth leads, strings, brassy stabs and so forth. And there were a handful of songs on which the DW's EP sound had more soul and warmth, at least to my ears. I was enamored by the 'doubled-up' sound capabilities of the DX7 II FD, but by that time had started using a 76-key Roland JX-10 on the bottom tier - MIDI'ing that to a Yamaha TX-1P piano module (which I still own). So I opted for a TX802, and ran it through Lexicon LXP1 and LXP5 effects modules. It was my much-simpler version of the TX816 rack system run through higher-end Lexicon gear, something that I'd seen popping up in Chicago A-list session player's rigs. Still sounded great though; and I kept that combination til at least 2006. Got some insanely big sounds layering the TX802 with the JX-10, and later with a Roland MKS-80 (Super Jupiter module) and Emu Proteus rack - among other goodies. It was truly the age of massive gear, between stacks of keyboards and racks that almost looked like telephone booths. But moving forward 20+ years, I recall when Tears for Fears went out on tour, a decade or so ago. Cj Vanston - a former 1980's Chicago session guy who was super helpful to me in learning synths - got the call to cover keys. Many of us were curious as to the contents of the gear rack(s) he might be taking out for that gig. IIRC, the rig turned out to be a Yamaha S90ES and Korg CX-3, both running into a pair of MacBook Pros that were set up to be virtual racks (via MainStage).
  19. Just updated my MiniFreak and started exploring what's new. I call this one my little synth that sounds anything but little. It's quite the monster! I'd be sorely tempted by a full-sized keys 'Freak, though the medical bills - even with decent health health insurance - will likely curtail any GAS ventures for at least the first half of 2024 . Meanwhile it's fun to have the wavetable engine onboard - among lots of other goodies. Have been missing that since selling my MicroFreak.
  20. This is from early 1980, at a band rehearsal. It's somewhere in Ohio; I was on the back half of an almost year long road gig with a top-40/variety band. Bottom-to-top: RMI, Rhodes Mk 1 73, Yamaha CS-50. I owned the CS-50, the company owned the rest - including a not-pictured Yamaha YC drawbar organ and Leslie 760. I also added a CP-70, shortly after that photo was taken. We hauled a lot of gear that year...
  21. Back in the early-to-mid 1990s I schlepped a Fatar Studio 1100R (with Yamaha P50 module on it), O1-W Pro, and sometimes an OB-Xa 8-voice. Ofen an original DX7 made it into the rig as well; so double stack, L-shaped craziness. The OB was a beast in its Anvil case. The others were in hardshell ATA cases, so not super-light either. Though I started limiting my live rig to two keyboards around 2001 (sometimes with a module or two), a Kurzweil K2500XS was briefly a part of that; then it stayed home for good, until being sold around 2008. With some variations between then and now, I pretty much stick with one or two 'boards live. And the current rig is downright svelte: A CK88 and Stage 4 Compact. My Fantom 7 now seems massive, in comparison. And this past Saturday I went strictly wih the Stage 4 Compact. Though I can still lift reaonably well, I have felt slightly off balance, post-stroke, mostly due to the drug combination I'm on. So Stage 4 Compact it was, along with a small, powered Mackie cabinet. Wish I'd brought my powered EV wedge though; it's not much heavier. I was in reasonable shape for years, though not in the work-out level of shape I used to be in. Along with some highly recommended dietary changes, I've started fast walking again. Have been taking the dogs on long walks, then dropping them at home and doing a round of fast walking - but building back up carefully. Want to also work back into resistance training; the free YMCA membership I can get through Medicare Advantage will help with that. While I'm not planning extensive dual-gig weekends with country bar bands again, I'd still like to gig out again a few times a month, and be able to move a light-to-medium weight rig on my own.
  22. Well, this has been weird. Early morning, October 20, I fell out in the hallway next to my home studio. I'd been awake a short while, feeling somewhat 'off'. My wife suggested a hospital trip, but I thought it was an anxiety attack. And that's the last thing I remember...Until fully coming to during the the ambulance ride to the ER at South Bend Memorial Hospital - which has an outstanding neurological staff. I vaguely recall the Dr. at our local ER choosing to send me there, apparently due to the possibility of surgery. None was needed, as the brain bleed began to re-absorb and heal. I did spend four days in South Bend though: lots of testing, poking and prodding, etc., and a well-guided start to recovery. After effects have been amazingly minimal, though energy levels are still returning. I do wear corrective lenses - for long distance blended with close-up magnification, and I did notice some slight vision impact at first, but that has been correcting by itself - though an eye Dr. appointment is due, and planned. I went back to my church accompanying gig right away - one mass per week at first, but will be back to all three right after the US Thanksgiving week. Teaching has been entirely virtual for a few weeks, but I will be going back to the studio in-person - starting the last week in November. The state of Indiana issues an immediate 6-mo driving restriction in cases like mine, so my general physician and neuro team will be consulting to eventually approve driving. Meanwhile my wife's very flexible work schedule and awesome boss will allow for her to drive me to most of my work. So I had a hemorrhagic stroke, with an apparent accompanying seizure; the 'smoking gun' being high blood pressure. While I'd been diagnosed with that approx. 25 years previous, the meds given then caused extreme hypotension (all but passing out when rising from a seated position). My doctor at the time suggested naturally controlling BP - supplementing calcium/magnesium, eating potassium rich foods... I 'rode' with that idea for close to three decades; meanwhile BP climbed back up, which I chose to ignore... But as my wife stated at the hospital, " Your days of blood pressure denial are now over ". Meanwhile, lots of follow-up well into next year and new drugs! Last week's CT scan was good, but they want to do a follow-up MRI (which I'd had at the hospital) in two months - to assure that there aren't any co-causes lurking in my brain. The neurosurgeon explained that while there was no sign of a major disturbance, i.e. expanding mass, there was a very-unlikely possibility of a small cyst/tumor lurking - and if so they'd want to address it right away. I told them this triggered the hypochondria of my youth, but they assured me they were all but certain the cause was high blood pressure. I have a buddy who survived cancer in his brain, and he's been a big help in squelching my resulting nervousness. Lotsa helpful knowledge there! Takeaway from all this: Watch. Your. Blood. Pressure. I'm very fortunate to have survived with very little affectation. The stroke happened in the left side of my brain, which could've seriously impacted playing keys. The guitarist I worked with this past Saturday had a major stroke several years back; it severely damage his right side mobility and function. He had to re-learn a lot, and did months of inpatient and outpatient therapy. He called me, 'very lucky'. I agree!
  23. Good advice! I spent too much energy and time looking for deeper, drawbar 'secrets'; a few notes on simple settings did help at first, though. Finally started using my ears when the singer/songwriter on an album date started 'digging in' with me on a few drawbar organ parts. I hadn't yet done a session on a drawbar organ, but there was a BC/Leslie 147 in the studio and the guy thought it would be fun to add a few organ parts around the piano tracks I'd done. The experiment stretched my ears in a very good way, and got me another date at that studio. Learned a lot about the Hammond BC variant from the owner/engineer as well. From what I understood, the metal push/pull bar makes use of a second set of de-tuned tonewheels that would match the drawbar, C/V and percussion choices, but create chorusing. From that session, 677612123 has become one of my starting points for clonewheel use. I normally tweak the top three, plus varying uses of percussion and C/V. Though pulling back the top five or six is a useful diversion from going with 888000000 or 888800000. Here's an mp3 of a brief solo on the BC from that session, using 677612123. Can't recall the other settings I used, as it was done in 1996. First 10 or so seconds, then the rest is a rough home-studio Demo-B3_Up North 21.mp3 original idea from the same era.
×
×
  • Create New...