SamuelBLupowitz

Should I start calling you “Dad” now, Al?

Fun fact: Taylor Swift grew up in Wyomissing, PA, in the school district next door to mine. We graduated from high school the same year, both born in -- of course -- 1989. Never met her, but we had mutual acquaintances (by the time we were in high school she had already shipped out to Nashville to do the thing). It's an interesting thing being from the same nowhere town as someone who is leagues more famous and successful than you in your chosen field. I had a lot of bitterness and resentment towards her (and her wealthy parents) in my late teens into my early 20s, as I struggled to get my footing as a working musician and songwriter. That feeling is documented by a clever and unnecessarily nasty song I wrote in 2010. Ten or so years later, for my Pandemic Solo Album, I wrote a sort of sequel/apology song that I'm quite proud of. Both of the songs are really a lot more about me and my relationship with success, envy, and external validation. She was just a convenient scapegoat for my insecurity and dissatisfaction. Eventually, I listened to the re-recorded version of her Red album when it came out a few years ago and realized how much I'd been missing out on by hating on her. The new record, Midnights, is badass -- haunting, sparse, groovy, and raw. I don't have any prog versions of her songs in mind, but I have been tempted to do an all-talkbox version of I Knew You Were Trouble... I'll keep y'all posted as that seems in keeping with the vibe of this thread!

If you work retail in the US for more than ten minutes or so, it'll start to feel VERY negative. There is a very different culture of how service workers are treated here than in Europe, both by their employers and by many customers. That's the most I'll say here lest it drift into "politics."

...even if ... and bear with me here ... a fellow forumite wanted one of your extras...? 😉 I get sentimental about instruments, but then again, I get sentimental about everything (ask my wife what it's like trying to get me to get rid of ANYTHING). I finally sold my 12-year-old Casio Privia, to a friend who I knew would use it, after I got my CP88. My wife, and a drummer we play with, are both always trading up older gear for the next new thing. I don't replace -- I collect.

I have an older Seaboard Block; it’s very tiny, less than a foot across. I use a laptop stand with adjustable width grips to keep it snug. That way the height and the width can be adjusted separately. I think the Rise 25 is bigger but that might still be the ticket.

I've been having a blast doing one-man-band cover videos at home lately -- maybe I'll have to add this one to my list! Really fun bass part too. The trick is always whether or not I can manage the drums...

Somehow it never registered to me that you can do this with *more than one* note. Holding the E minor triad down while he plays piano during Runnin' Down a Dream is SO crafty.

Will confirm, I have done exactly this with my drummer’s XR18.

These are the two that I'm currently trying to decide between (the one your bass player has is in all likelihood the PM59). I'm trying to keep my rig from getting too big, so I don't want to add a rack mixer, but I'm tired of being forced to monitor my keys in mono when the PA doesn't have enough auxes, so I want to be able to monitor my keys in stereo straight out of my line mixer, and get everything else in mono from FOH. Anyone know of any units that have the stereo mic and monitor ins, AND a limiter? That would be ideal for me. If not, I'll probably with the pm55p. I'd rather only have a single XLR in than no limiter.

Elon Musk wouldn’t just buy one Leslie — he’d buy all of them and break them so nobody else could enjoy them. 😉

You really gotta hear it live, with the soaring organ solo and the audience choir finale. It’s a religious experience.

Keys 2 in a musical theater pit is a whole other kettle of fish from playing in a band, that’s for sure. That’s why I always stuck to bass for those gigs!

Yeah, I don't think Roger Waters or any of them were playing by any theoretical rules other than "ooh, that sounds cool." I definitely hear the song centered around E minor (or E Dorian in the verses, I guess, given the major IV chord, but we also have the flat sixth with the Cmaj7 and other chords in the chorus). But given that tonal center, there are deliberately unsettling, spacey harmonic progressions taking us through that chorus until we wind up back home... home again... 😉

Agreed. The voice leading is taking us from D7 to Emi9.

I’m right with you on the not overplaying! I’m trying to learn to think like a horn player or singer more, specifically when soloing — leaving space for breath, or separating my run-on “sentences” into phrases with “punctuation.” I hear you on the frustration of being able to hear yourself well enough without blowing away the rest of the band. It can be a real downward (upward?) spiral with the stage volume, especially when you don’t have your own monitor or FOH guy who knows the band (how often do we get so lucky?). Have you considered going the IEM route? Once I got a taste, I never wanted to go back.

First of all, if this post belongs in Shameless Plugs or the Let's Hear It thread, please let me know or go ahead and move it. Most of you know me by now and I do try to play by the rules around here. I so appreciated everyone's kind, thoughtful responses when I posted a few weeks ago about feeling directionless and stuck. I had been having a really rough few months, and the support of this community really meant a lot to me. Not long after I wrote that post, I spoke with a couple of folks on the forum about a long shot opportunity that came up. One of my favorite bands in the world, Dawes (which I slept on until the pandemic and quickly became obsessed with; one of those artists whose catalog is exactly what your soul needs at the time you find it), was saying farewell to their founding bassist following their spring tour. I know all y'all know me as a keyboard player, but I'm a pretty accomplished bass player, too -- all the bands in middle school and high school needed one, and I had the edge of being a Dedicated Bassist instead of "the worst guitar player." So over the years I've had a lot of experience playing bass in rock bands, jazz ensembles, pit orchestras. And I thought ... the guys in Dawes don't know me from Adam, and they're based on the other side of the country, but ... what if I could just get my foot in the door? I was encouraged to shoot my shot, because why not, right? An e-mail to the band's management returned a polite response that the band already had "a few ideas" but they would pass my name along and follow up if there's interest. A very kind way to brush me off, but it told me they hadn't already handed someone the gig. A few of you suggested I film myself playing, post it on social media, and tag the band. "Hey, can I be your new bass player?" So I decided I might as well go for it. Thing is, great players are everywhere. I didn't want to half-ass it if I was swinging big. So I thought, how can I show off the breadth of what I have to offer musically to this band, which operates at a higher level professionally than I've ever quite reached playing music? So here's me playing all the instruments and performing all the vocals for the 8-minute finale from the band's most recent record, Misadventures of Doomscroller. I figured it was worth showing off not just my multi-instrumental chops, but that I can sing while playing. All the vocals you hear were tracked while also laying down the instruments you see. No miming here. I'm really psyched to put this out there. Even if I don't get the band's attention, this was so much fun to put together, it was worth it -- so liberating to have a musical project I was excited about again. I hope y'all enjoy. And if any of you have any connection to Dawes or their circle... do put in a good word for me, would you?

Most of my dad's generation and older on his side of the family have migrated down there over the past 25 years. It's where sex, (prescription) drugs, and rock 'n' roll go to live out their last days in comfort!

Wicked track, friend! Loved your solo, too. Such a great party atmosphere on the whole thing.

Yes, I suppose an external sound source would be the way to go, I'm just being a wiseass.

Awesome, now if anyone can just tell me how to get that (and the clav) onto my Mojo XT, I will be unstoppable and never need to buy a keyboard again! 🤣

So, in January of 2020, the prog-funk band I play in, a 7-piece beast called Thru Spectrums (led by the brother/sister duo of guitarist Joe Massa and vocalist Amanda Massa), put the finishing touches on its fourth LP. I've been in the band for nearly a decade now, but at the time it was the first record that I had a full hand in helping write all the material, and the first time the same lineup worked on a project from conception to finished product. We were all set to release the album in summer or fall of 2020. And then, um, some unexpected events occurred... and we thought it would be good to wait until it blew over... little did we know. Anyway, finally, more than four years after we hit the studio to start tracking, we released Choose Your Own Adventure today. I hope you all dig it. It's whatever the opposite of a minimalist production is, and it's been really fun for me to listen back to where my head was at before All This happened (I was really going for it with the layered synths and Seaboard, I guess!).

I'll fight to use my in-ears if I possibly can, but I will second the recommendation to have a pair of custom molded ear plugs with a 10 or 15 dB filter -- they're so much clearer than the universal fit foam plugs, and the noise reduction is very helpful for hearing what's happening onstage and through your wedge without being overwhelmed by all the frequencies bouncing around. I have a pair of Westones that I've used for years at rehearsals and gigs with less-than-ideal PA setups. They're also great for wearing as an audience member at loud shows and concerts.

Oh, man. Looks and sounds just idyllic. Glad you got a nice vacation!

I think I'm a little late what with the time zones being what they are, but many hapy returns to you, dB. Thanks for helping cultivate such a great community, and for being so welcoming to those of us who came into the fold later.

Piano at 8, drums at 10 or 11, bass at 12. Didn’t really start learning organ properly until my 20s. I’m 33 now, just picking up accordion. I don’t think I’d call myself a virtuoso on any of those instruments, but I get by and I have fun. if you’re looking for inspiration, Bruce Hornsby didn’t start playing the piano until he was 18. Still young from where I’m standing, but not “childhood prodigy” territory.