slg1013

That was pretty awesome Thanks for sharing...

My son forwarded me this link since he knew I'd drool over the collection of synths. I'd had never heard of Mike Dean before but he's apparently quite the heavyweight session player... Enjoy...

Nice job. I've always really liked that intro, but never got around to learning it. Nice collection of analog boards as well. I'm envious...

The Chopin Etude in Am was *the* piece I aspired to play as I continued taking classical lessons. Never really got close - could never get anywhere close to the tempo required. I had never heard of Jacob Gimpel prior to this thread and I hadn't really thought about that Chopin Etude in a number of years. Watching the video above, it's amazing how easy he makes playing that piece look. Thanks for sharing. I always learn so much on this forum. I definitely need to spend more time here...

Also, for those who are fans of Jason Falkner, you should check out the album by "The Greys" which is another pop super-group with Falkner and Jon Brion. Terrific stuff...

Huge fan. Have the now fairly rare, Box Set, which includes demos of all the songs from both CDs as well as a bunch of live material. Got to see them live on the Spilt Milk tour (1993 or 94). They were absolutely amazing. Nailed all those vocal harmonies. Interesting that you bring them up as I've just started listening them again. They did a pretty cool mini-version of "Hold your head up" that led into a never-released song called "Hello". Great power-pop stuff. Having a hard time getting that song out of my head now. Also a big fan of Jason Falkner...

I'd love to be included in the drawing. Thanks, Steve

I've worn Oticon minis for about 6 years now; I think they were around $4000 and this was the least expensive model (had the fewest frequency bands). They took me a while to get used to and had to be adjusted multiple times before I was happy with them. That said, they've made a huge difference. I still don't hear anywhere near as well as people with no hearing loss, but I can have a normal conversation without having to say "What?" if there was any change in volume or I couldn't see the other person's lips moving. Another thing that's nice is that when I have the aids in my tinnitus is significantly reduced (which is huge). The one down side is the dependency factor. My hearing hasn't gotten significantly worse since I started wearing the aids, but my brain tells me that I can't hear anything when I don't have them in. I recommend getting a hearing test from a good audiologist because they can use the results to properly program the hearing aids. I don't have any experience with the OTC aids, but (not surprisingly) my audiologist says they will not work well for me. I do trust her, but I think she really wants me to buy another set... Anyway, hope this helps. Feel free to ask me any questions and good luck.

So much great advice on this thread... When I was in my 20s I worked with several songwriters with the hope that one would hit it big and I'd be a rock star, but I was always far too practical to not have a day job and the stability it provided; I was also fortunate that I really enjoyed the work I did. This made a huge difference, so I agree with the other members that say not to give up your day gig. When I got married and we had our first son, I was working 70 hours/week for my day job (this was during the internet bubble) and trying to gig on the weekends. It didn't take long before I completely burned out and stopped playing gigs entirely. It was a difficult, but liberating decision; I got to spend my little free time nurturing my relationships with my wife and son. I continued to play and enjoy music just without the additional stress of playing in a band. Looking back on it, my advice would be to stop doing everything except your day gig. As the time passes, you'll be able to tell what you miss and what you don't. When you start to feel the pull in one direction, talk it through with your wife and decide what will be best for both of you. As others have said, as a singing keyboardist, you'll always be able to find work if you're "jonesing" for a gig. I wish you the best and I thank you and all the other members of this community for sharing your thoughts and giving such great advice.

Ha! My bad. Thanks for the correction...

Yes. Huge fan of Greg. Saw him play years ago with Eric Clapton, Nathan West and Phil Collins. Absolutely amazing show. He always looks like he's having so much fun while playing just the right part/groove...

I wish I played it like this...

That was awesome. Thanks for sharing.

The Crumar Bit One was absolutely the worst synth I ever bought. I guess there was a good reason it was as cheap as it was. Horrible sounding, keyboard trigger problems. After two weeks of frustration, I took it back to West LA Music and they let me exchange it for an Ensoniq ESQ-1. The ESQ-1 was several hundred dollars more expensive, but they did give me a full refund on the Bit One. Had lots of fun with the ESQ-1...

Grey, I can't even begin to imagine what you're experiencing. Just terrible. I'm so sorry for you loss. Steve