[Casiotone S300 as really cheap travel keyboard?]

Regarding travel cases, Amazon features various photography stand cases that might serve your purpose for reasonable cost. You may have to add a little padding and get creative.

 

HERE is an example.

[Jimmy McGriff playing organ/piano simultaneously]

Jimmy McGriff had a great vibe. His recordings were outstanding and the accompanying musicians were always terrific. It was hard to sit still when listening to those tunes.

 

He lived in Philadelphia. In 1985, Jimmy learned that a local technology company created an affordable keyboard sampler and he bought one. After moving to Philly for the Ensoniq job, I was thrilled when Jimmy bought a Mirage. He phoned in a few times with questions and I even went to his house to help him. He was older and still interested in new innovations and staying relevant. A really nice guy.

[RIP Neil Peart]

Sad News. RIP.

[new ARP synth?!!]

2600

Agreed.

[Crumar Seven Live Demos]

Terrific sound and playing, Mitch. Nice setup too.

[The Musical Box is in SoCal!]

Saw them in Philly a few years ago. A fun night. Looking forward to the next time.

[Capricorn Sound Studios revived]

Fun news about Capricorn Studios. Can't wait to see what comes from this.

 

Macon is a terrific music town... Otis Redding, Little Richard, Allman Bros., R.E.M.

 

And the food ain't bad either... H&H Fried Chicken and Fincher's BBQ.

 

I drive through Macon every chance I get.

[So. The Poly D.]

I dunno, it didn't seem that hard to me when I was rocking a modular live. You just know your synth well enough that you program as much in advance as possible, and learn to twist the knobs with precision to do the rest.

Back then, we did what we did because there wasn't any alternative... we were all in the same boat in terms of having to tweak knobs between songs. My band knew which songs required an extra few seconds of preparation. Making synth adjustments between songs was an intrinsic skill and just as important as the notes we played.

 

And then there were songs that required knob tweaking, with a spare hand, while we were playing. It was just part of the job.

 

[Just got an unexpected Freebie - Wurlitzer 200]

Terrific find. Enjoy!

[Behringer Odyssey Officially Shipping...]

With the recent releases of so many synths, modules, mixers, etc., Behringer is in a unique position to gather marketing intelligence. The higher sales volume of lower-priced products should deliver granular customer preference metrics and also reveal which of their products are the winners and losers. It's interesting to watch this happen in real time.

 

Mike Kovins, may he rest in peace, was a genius at synth marketing. He is sadly missed - a terrific guy. In the early 1980s, when I started at KORG, Mike tracked every customer metric he could from sales, warranty cards, customer calls, etc.. Today's internet is whole new ball game.

[Behringer Warp Drive Teaser]

I am looking to see how the UB-Xa turns out it must be said.

Me too.

 

[Behringer Warp Drive Teaser]

Here we go again.....

 

[video:youtube]

[Rogue's Gallery of Tech Failures]

The BlackBerry PlayBook added quite a few nails in Blackberry's coffin. It diverted massive R & D away from Blackberry's smartphone innovation which allowed the competition to surpass them. The Playbook's ROI was nonexistent. It was the beginning of the end.

[Behringer - Beethoven's 5th, a W, 30...]

[video:youtube]

[Of course I Love YouTube!]

I enjoy YouTube for the same reason - it takes me back to a simpler and special time.

 

Prior to rock-n-roll becoming big business, there was just the music. Bands had fun and played their heart out. The fans loved it. So thankful a few of these early gems remain.

 

[video:youtube]

[Elton John announces tour will be his last]

just checked ticket prices in DC, American Express pre sale.

Pretty good seats are $250 plus taxes, fees, ect.

So $600.00 for 2 inc. cab fare or parking.

 

Seeing EJ live is priceless, but.....

 

...remember when concert tickets were $3.50, $4.50 and $5.50?

[Yamaha P121 73 key]

Thanks Joe, for the P-121 first impressions. Very informative. The P-121 is still on my radar (currently using a Casio PX-560M for piano gigs). A smaller, lighter keyboard becomes more attractive during senior years.

[Echo in the Canyon Documentary]

I'm psyched to see the Cameron Crowe-produced David Crosby documentary

Watched it twice last weekend (Amazon Prime). It was that good. Many candid moments. Great footage.

[Echo in the Canyon Documentary]

I saw it in the theater a few months ago. Mostly liked it. The historical footage and TP were good. The modern day performances and dialogue among Dylan, Beck, etc. were superfluous. The Mamas and the Papas footage was priceless - their sound and harmonies were so rich.

[Has anyone hear played in 5/4 time?]

A section of Jethro Tull's "Thick As A Brick" is in 5/4. The left hand bass riff is good counterpoint to the right hand organ melody. Great fun to play.

[Attack of the X-Stands]

Locked and loaded.

[Keith Emerson interview from 2004? Italy]

Really good. interview.

[Last Five Live Shows You've Seen]

1 - Rick Wakeman (last night)

2 - Straubs (this summer)

3 - Paula Cole (earlier this year)

4 - UK (a few years ago - w/Terry Bozzio)

5 - Rush (a few years before #4)

[RICK WAKEMAN To Embark On First Solo U.S. Tour In 13 Years]

Last night's Rick Wakeman concert was inspiring. Simplicity at its best - a man, a piano and talent. Also nice to hang with an entire audience in my age bracket - we related to Rick's anecdotes about aging, doctor visits, declining health and memories of loved ones lost.

 

The top photo was taken when I first arrived. My smartphone didn't do the second photo justice. I was in the third row and close enough to witness Rick's personality, signature story-telling and non-verbal nuance. Overall a fun night out.

 

 

[People Don�t Buy Products, But Better Versions of Themselves]

In 1969, I saw an advertisement for the Panasonic RQ-232S radio/cassette player and recorder. It was more expensive than the average player - I don't remember it's price. However, I knew that owning one would make me the complete version of myself. There was so much music happening and I wanted to take the music with me - EVERYWHERE. But I wanted a good radio/cassette player, not junk. I was only 15 and working part time so I saved my money, eventually bought one and it delivered on its promise.

 

Back then WNEW-FM broadcast wonderful rock music and I was able to tape the radio onto a cassette. The night the Fillmore East closed was a radio broadcast and I recorded the whole night of concerts (stayed up late) on numerous cassettes.

 

That product made me the music nerd I always wanted to be.