Shamanczarek

Hank Marvin - Not a technical player but a huge influence on nearly every 60s British guitarist including David Gilmour, Ritchie Blackmore, Peter Green, Brian May, Tony Iommi, etc. The early Beatles instrumental "Cry for a Shadow" was named after his band The Shadows who backed Cliff Richard from the late 50s and on into the 70s. April Lawton - She was the first female to play lead guitar at an extraordinarily high level of speed and fluidity. The drummer in her band Ramatam was none other than Mitch Mitchell fresh out of the Jimi Hendrix Experience. http://www.aprillawton.com/images/April-Bill_King.jpg

Alert: John Mayer on Jimmy Kimmel tonight.

My first was a Stella that cost about $25 new. Hard to play but I didn't know any better at the time. First electric was a Kawai single pickup solid body that cost about $40 new in 1966. Had a thick neck but wasn't too bad for a beginner guitar. The tube amp I got with it had no brand name and was only $19.50.

Here is The Mandrake Memorial (Craig Anderton on guitar) with one of the earliest Rock-Si-Chords. [video:youtube] This is Country Joe and the Fish with a rare RMI Calliope known as the Band Organ. [video:youtube] RMI was a featured instrument in the music of Sparks. [video:youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x29_lhRjuuw

Many Keyboards typically have nine slide controllers the number required for tonewheel organ drawbar settings. These controllers can often be assigned to control separate instrument sounds which would allow you to immediately select several instruments in any combination as needed. Kurzweil Keyboards are particularly good at doing this and have a wide selection of orchestral sounds onboard. Nord Keyboards although their pipe organ section isn't bad aren't very flexible with splits, layers, and having several sounds available simultaneously.

If you need a Cow Bell Tractor Supply has a pretty good selection although they had a lot more including Swiss Cow Bells when I looked a few weeks ago. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/search/cow%20%20bell? Harbor Freight only carries one model. A friend of mine has one these and says it sounds good for recording. https://www.harborfreight.com/search?q=cow%20bell

That looks like an RMI Rocksichord. The were a few variations of this model, the original extremely rare 100 model followed by the 100A and 200. I'm pretty sure a 200 is used for the Ed Sullivan performance. The 100 and 100A only had an 8' rank and the 200 model added a 4' rank. The 100A and 200 had all-blue covering and the earlier 100 had gray covering. The unique thing about these instruments and the later Electra-Piano and Harpsichord is that no divider circuits were used which made them heavy and fairly complex since there was a separate tunable oscillator for each key. The first Electra-Piano and Harpsichord model 300A can be recognized by the upper part being covered in blue and the bottom covered in black. These and later Electra-Piano 300B models had a combination Volume/Sustain pedal while the Rocksichord only had a Volume pedal. The Volume/Sustain pedal has two cables one with a standard 1/4" plug and the other with a slightly smaller obsolete plug size so you can't plug them in incorrectly. The same type of legs found on the RMI although likely heavier duty were used on Keyboard Products Hammond chops. RMI Rocksichord 200 RMI 100A

I have played most of these as a bass guitarist and they stand out as some of the most fun bass lines. Living in the Past - Jethro Tull Bourée - Jethro Tull To Cry You a Song - Jethro Tull Nothing is Easy - Jethro Tull The Lemon Song - Led Zeppelin What Is and What Should Never Be - Led Zeppelin Moondance - Van Morrison Teen Town - Weather Report All My Loving - The Beatles Eight Days a Week - The Beatles Lost Woman - The Yardbirds Fairies Wear Boots - Black Sabbath American Pie - Don McClean

I've been on the T-Mobile Prepaid Plan for over a year. It's a flat $15.00 + .99 tax per month with unlimited calls/text and 2.5GB high speed data. There is also a $25.00 + tax plan that increases data to 5.5GB. Data automatically upgrades by 500MB per year through 2025. Was able to use the iPhone I had from my previous carrier.

The Hohner Piano on "Venus" is credited to Cees Schrama. Singer Mariska Veres could play Piano but only sang with the band. "Venus" was inspired by "The Banjo Song" by The Big 3 with Mama Cass Elliot. The opening suspended guitar chord was taken from The Who's "Pinball Wizard" and other elements of the song are said to have been inspired by The Beatles' "Get Back". [video:youtube]

Before joining The Cars Greg had an arsenal of Saxophones, Clarinets, and Flutes playing with Martin Mull. He studied at Berklee College majoring in Flute. On his solo recordings he has experimented with creating symphonic sounds with multi-tracked Ukelele. [video:youtube]

Chuck Berry's "Havana Moon" inspired Richard Berry to write "Louie Louie". [video:youtube]

Paul Revere and the Raiders version of "Louie Louie" was recorded at the same studio, Northwestern Recording, Inc. as The Kingsmen's but nobody seems to know which version was recorded first although it was within a few days of each other in April 1963. The Kingsmen were managed by Ken Chase from KISN radio which was Portland's hot top 40 station. He also owned a teen club called The Chase in nearby Milwaukie and hired The Kingsmen as house band. Paul Revere and the Raiders were managed by another KISN radio personality Gary Hart. I and all of my friends preferred the Paul Revere version but really it was Rockin' Robin Roberts and the Fabulous Wailers version that first gained popularity in the Northwest and The Kingsmen pretty much copied that version with a rawer sound and a mistake or two. Paul Revere's version was a more refined original arrangement with a Sax intro, an arguably hotter Guitar solo, a short breakdown, and I consider Mark Lindsay to be a far better vocalist. Still The Kingsmen version is the undisputed classic. Gary Hart turned out to be the better manager signing The Raiders to a deal with Dick Clark and getting a contract as the first rock band on Columbia Records while The Kingsmen remained on the regional Wand label. Far more Northwest bands modeled themselves after the Raiders with names like The Nightraiders, The Redcoats, Grant's Blue Boys, George Washington and the Cherry Bombs, etc.

I got "The Way It Is" down by ear several years to teach a student who I taught from age 7 through high school. I could get most of the left-hand tenths but had to roll the D to F#. Shortly after this student wanted to learn "Root Beer Rag" by Billy Joel. He gave me a transcription but I found so many inaccuracies that I just learned it by ear. There was one demanding part that at the time I wasn't able to figure out correctly. Then that same student wanted to learn the ragtime-style section on ELP's "The Sheriff" which I spent hours on and think I really nailed it. My student gave up on it after a couple of lessons. That student really made me work for my money but he was very talented and I'm sure he has continued with music. Around that time I had a talented high school age student who had previous teachers and wanted to learn "The Spider" by Kansas which I wasn't familiar with at the time. I think I got all of the prominent Hammond parts correct but the sections with ensemble playing were difficult to fathom accurately. When you get to music on this level it is sometimes difficult to find any transcription let alone one that is accurate so your ear is really the best approach.

When I was in college in the early 70s I worked out of a book called First Elements of Organ Technic by Arthur B. Jennings. It has many pedal exercises using heel and toe with both feet. Since it was intended for classical training the exercises cover the full AGO 32-note range. This book has a permanent home on my C3 music rack and I still find it valuable for pedal practice. It may be out of print but used copies should be available with some searches.

Guitarist Mike Mitchell, who co-founded The Kingsmen in 1959 has passed at age 77. He had kept the band going with various members for nearly 60 years. The Kingsmen were nationally known for their hits "Louie Louie" and "Jolly Green Giant". In the Pacific Northwest they were also known for their version of "Money", "Death of an Angel" and other songs. https://www.guitarworld.com/news/mike-mitchell-the-kingsmen-co-founder-and-louie-louie-guitarist-dies-aged-77 The Kingsmen were the first rock band I ever saw in person. A couple of neighbor kids and I walked into a local Salem, Oregon supermarket where a band was playing just inside the entrance. We listened to a couple of songs and then went on to check out the comic books. I wasn't into listening to rock music yet but The Kingsmen did make a lasting impression. Another co-founder of The Kingsmen, Lynn Easton, who played drums on "Louie Louie" and then took over lead vocals until 1967 died last year. More about him and the band's history can be found here: https://www.louielouie.net/blog/?p=11519

I never considered that is was anything other than a Rhodes because the Rhodes sound on my Casio WK-3800 sounds exactly like the recording. I also have a very good Wurly sound on the Casio. This video shows a Wurly so time to try Wurly sounds. [video:youtube]

Hadn't played this song in years and then it showed up on the list for an upcoming gig. Went over it last night and am ready to go with it. My Casio's and Nord S3C are all good for getting that classic Rhodes sound.

I first tried picking out songs from records on guitar even though I had been taking Piano lessons for a couple of years. One of the first Organ parts I remember trying to learn was "House of the Rising Sun" though it was somewhat beyond me at 15 years old. Many years later I got to play it a few times with Animals guitarist Hilton Valentine.

There is an Elton John tribute band here in New Jersey that uses a huge Piano shell mainly for outdoor concerts. They use a trailer to transport it but it really adds an authentic look. [video:youtube]

In the early 80s I stopped moving my C3 and two Leslie 147's. I got a Vox Super Continental and used one of the Leslies with it for a while. It sounded good but it got to be too much to move the Leslie so I started using a Boss Chorus pedal. Within a year or so I had little use for organ sounds when polysynths took over. I still have the Super Continental and just finished getting it back into good working order after not being used in over 30 years.

I have been doing Keyboard and Guitar since the early 70s. In the early 90s I started doing left-hand Bass along with Bass Guitar when no Keys were needed. These days I play some gigs that are all Keys, some that are Keys and Guitar, and Bass-only gigs. I can also do occasional Flute when the need arises. I have a few Guitars for different gigs. If I only need to do rhythm I bring a Rickenbacker 320. When lead Guitar is required I use a Fender Strat. I also have a Rick 12-string if the situation calls for it. My main Guitar amp is a Vox AC15 but also have a Fender 65 Twin Reissue and a blonde Music Man 112RD One Hundred with E-V speaker.

I started on drums about five years ago when a friend gave me a set that was left at her house by her deceased ex-husband. It was mostly Cosmic Percussion with a 1964 Slingerland snare. After practicing for a couple of years I felt I was making enough progress to get a better kit so I bought a new Ludwig Classic Maple Mod Orange Downbeat set. Even though I started late in life I've gotten good enough to hold down some fairly complex grooves for home recording. It's also great to have a decent drum set in the house for the occasional band rehearsal. I only wish I had started playing many years earlier.

I don't really set a weight limit though I can occasionally gig with Keyboards that each weigh between 20 and 30 pounds. For almost thirty years I've been mainly gigging with a Gibson G101 which weighs about 65 lbs. I also carry a Fender Rhodes Piano Bass which weighs around 50 lbs. Since there is no modern equivalent I have no other choice except for a Vox Continental which weighs less but requires carrying a separate case containing the stand. Up until the early 80s I carried a Hammond C-3, two Leslies, Wurlitzer 200A, and some guitar equipment.

This was shown on the All-Arts Channel a couple of days ago. Joey did a concert of originals for the employees at the Steinway & Sons factory in Queens, NY.. https://www.pbs.org/video/the-set-list-joey-alexander-at-the-steinway-sons-factory-fasp44/