SamuelBLupowitz
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Posts posted by SamuelBLupowitz
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1 minute ago, jerrythek said:
I too hear a D#diminished chord, not a D7b9.
Agreed. The voice leading is taking us from D7 to Emi9.
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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.
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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?
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1 minute ago, Reezekeys said:
You ain't kidding. We're playing the "arts center" tonight. Got here yesterday around suppertime, took a stroll to the "village square" - is this a typical Tuesday night there?
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!
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1 hour ago, SMcD said:
My new band, Sassy Mellows, released our first single last week.
I normally try to improvise my solos whenever possible, but this take turned out so nice that I've decided to play this solo live (with slight variations) every time. 😜
Wicked track, friend! Loved your solo, too. Such a great party atmosphere on the whole thing.
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44 minutes ago, Delaware Dave said:
Wouldn't that be here (kind of)? https://www.genuinesoundware.com/?a=showproduct&b=53
Yes, I suppose an external sound source would be the way to go, I'm just being a wiseass.
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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! 🤣
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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!).
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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.
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Oh, man. Looks and sounds just idyllic. Glad you got a nice vacation!
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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.
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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.
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21 hours ago, MathOfInsects said:
This one’s Robinson.
HAHAHA. Oh man. I stepped right into that, didn’t I?
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This is surprising to me. I remember a lot of videos being flagged and taken down in the early days of YouTube (when videos were limited to ten minutes and there were NO ADVERTISEMENTS), but now when they flag copyrighted content they usually just funnel the ad money to the copyright holders, since the ads are inescapable whether you used to agree to have them in your channel or not.
I love how Google’s transformation of a once valuable, even priceless service into an increasingly horrible consumer experience still doesn’t stop giant corporations from wagging their digital finger at you, for performing a 50 year old song for your wife on your anniversary. Gross. Sorry that happened, OP.
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1 hour ago, MAJUSCULE said:
Jason Mraz? Ok there Mr. Big Gig!
On synthesizers, no less… and is that also *the* Robbie Robertson I see credited with the mix?
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32 minutes ago, konaboy said:
do drum thrones make decent keyboard stools? i've often wondered about using a keyboard bench for drums and vice-versa?
there's a lot more choice of sturdy high-quality drum stool than keyboard benches.
I’ve been using a Roc n Soc throne as a keyboard bench for almost ten years and it works great for me, but I’m not sure if it would meet the standards of OP’s chiropractor or not. Definitely more comfortable than my Hammond bench though.
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Honestly, I think those chaotic tempos and general roughness-around-the-edges is part of the charm that I fell in love with hearing live recordings of bands I loved from that era growing up. Sometimes a click is the right thing. And I have nothing but admiration for drummers who can play slow tempos and keep it energetic and funky (here's looking at you, Levon Helm). But 1970s live records were part of my education about "stage time" and how differently you perceive time while performing. Certainly it helped me understand why the recordings I heard of myself didn't quite match up with what I thought was happening when I was in the moment.
Though watching that 1977 TOP clip, I can only think: poor Rocco! 🤣
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42 minutes ago, EricBarker said:
You HAVE to be kidding me! This was 75% of the reason I *JUST* bought a Nord Stage, I needed a good AP. I've been waiting for years. OMG.
I'll buy the Nord Stage off ya cheap, Eric! 🤣
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51 minutes ago, yannis D said:
I like my Novation Ultranova. Lightweight, relatively cheap, comes with a bag and has many good sounds. It's mono timbral thought
Second the Ultranova. That was my Starter Synth. It’s never going to sound like a Minimoog, but it does a lot of different things well, has a ton of output routing and modulation options, and the vocoder is cool if impractical.
True that it can only play one voice at a time, though.
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13 minutes ago, Outkaster said:
Part me wonders if this is it for these guys? The last acoustic song was interesting. I am glad I went though, seeing smiling fans on their way out is something you don’t see at a lot of concerts. Things are so dreary and negative in the world lately and it’s nice to get uplifted once in awhile. The power of music can transcend peoples problems sometimes. I think we all need that boost in our lives.
This is one of the biggest reasons I wanted to make sure I caught at least one show on this tour, despite the astronomically high ticket prices. The decade since I saw him last just flew by, and my wife is a huge fan of Bruce's songwriting but has never seen him live. It's amazing to see McCartney and Elton John doing huge shows at their age, but neither of them put on shows with the sheer stamina and athleticism as Bruce, and you gotta see it while you still can.
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Eric Clapton (and associated projects)
Love it: Keep On Growing
Like It: The Cove
Hate It: I Wanna Make Love to You
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18 hours ago, Mitch Towne said:
Nice work on the pedals!
When it comes to pedals, it’s interesting that gospel organ and jazz organ have two totally different approaches.
Gospel players play their RH stuff on the bottom manual and their LH stuff on the top manual and cover most of the bass with their feet.
Jazz players play RH stuff on top, mostly because of the percussion I suppose, and play LH on the bottom manual. Most of the bass line work is done with the LH, while the pedals are used for emphasis. It’s a common misconception that Jimmy Smith was doing all
the bass with his feet. It was mostly LH. Joey D talked a lot about how it’s really the LH that does the work when playing jazz.
Which hand to use on which manual was one of the things that overwhelmed me the most when I first started playing a dual-manual organ. Eventually I figured top/right and lower/left was the way to go, if only because it made the associated drawbars more accessible to the non-playing hand (since the drawbars for the upper manual are on the left side of the console, and vice versa).
Does anyone know why and how these different approaches developed between jazz and gospel playing? Other than jazz players liking the percussion for the melodic work, that is.
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As long as we're discussing LH bass vs pedals, figured I'd do the prerequisite shoutout to my biggest inspiration in the world of keyboard players covering low end, Mr. John Paul Jones. He was always very clever about how to economically translate his very fluid, Motown-inspired bass guitar parts to his feet, but you can really cop his background as a church organist with his pedal work on this one. There's a nice close up around 22 seconds in.
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Just now, ProfD said:
IMO, Neal Evans (Soulive) is the best example of a modern LH bass player. He's an absolute monster in that area. Check him out.😎
Neal is one of those players who is right on the razor's edge between inspiring me to practice and making me want to quit music, hahaha.
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Pink Floyd "Breathe" - making sense of chord progression
in The Keyboard Corner
Posted
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... 😉