SamuelBLupowitz

I'm pretty sure a lot of the keyboard gear you see in this video belongs to our own Jim Alfredson, is that right? Regardless, I'm a little bit, dare I say, offended. Some of the early publicity for this new album (this is the lead single and title track) involved claims of "live to tape, no edits," that sort of thing. There's definitely at least a couple of background vocal overdubs, and I thought the Hammond might be an overdub unless what we're hearing truly is that synthesizer through the Leslie. Beyond that, though, that sure looks like the vocal take that we're hearing. You know, sung into that ribbon mic. Which looks like it's also picking up the muted piano to the same track. With the drum kit five feet away. And no headphones. Are you KIDDING me? I find it hard enough to just book a session and get a record finished without adding extra challenges to the process... rude, Theo. Very rude. 😉

I've seen him do both, but more bass in recent years. He was playing bass in the Ten Summoner's Tales band in the 90s as well. Paul McCartney also switches it up with guitar and piano, but is primarily the bass player in his shows. Any other lead-singing bass players we want to debate whether or not their bass playing makes them more or less attractive? Or have we gone too far afield? 🤣

I'll second how useful a tablet or laptop-based rig would be for a gig like this, since "90s keyboard sounds" cover everything from the digital hardware boards of the era, to the resurgence of vintage electromechanicals like Hammond, Wurlitzer, and Mellotron that was happening in the alternative rock world (Blues Traveler, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Wallflowers, etc), to whatever crazy synthesized sounds they were cooking up in Max Martin's studio for the pop acts. You could get a cheap controller in the $100 zone, and then start out using something that's not too expensive to start out with like Mainstage (if you're a Mac person this is the best $29 you could possibly spend) or Camelot or Korg Module on an existing device... just brainstorming. All the kind of thing that's very upgradeable if you decide to dive in deeper. If you're more of a hardware guy, there are some great recs in this thread for solid breadth-over-depth, Swiss Army boards. I didn't see anyone mention the Nord Stage 3 Compact because that would definitely be on the higher end of your unstated budget, but if I had to pick up a board that could convincingly cover as many bases as possible, that's probably what I'd go with.

We do know what funk is! Vulfpeck and their offshoots like Cory Wong; The Main Squeeze; and the late, great Turkuaz come to mind as far as bands made up of people from my generation who play funk-influenced music. Lettuce and some of the associated jam bands are probably more Gen X, I guess? Most of the digital multipurpose boards have a clav sound, I think, usually as prominent or more so than the harpsichord, as far as I can tell. The problem is a lot of clav samples/actions they're triggered by kinda suck, relative to the real thing. Of course, I've never cared to track down a real harpsichord, so...

Every time I think I need to expand my harmonic vocabulary to make my solos more interesting and engaging, I hear Chuck Leavell take a solo with all these simple pentatonic licks that I play all the time, just ... he does it so much better than I do. And then I have to do some soul searching about what will actually improve my musicianship.

I think being a bassist AND a lead singer is a different game. Ask me how I know. Then ask me how oblivious I was to how well it was actually working for me as a teenager...

This is my favorite idiosyncratic pet peeve thread in awhile, Josh, thanks! Literally yesterday I was listening to Sgt. Pepper and remembering how useful it was that I had a nice harpischord patch on my Electro for a cover of Fixing a Hole I played a few years back. Out of sheer snark (but also enthusiasm), I present this killer tune by Offa Rex, a collaboration between folk performer Olivia Cheney and masters of folky quirk The Decemberists.

The researchers clearly didn't poll me about this. 🤣

As many are saying, it really depends on the vibe you're after. As another semi-frustrated multi-instrumentalist (with... uneven distribution of chops across those instruments), my ability vs. expectation is factored in from tune to tune. But whether I choose to do the "real" thing or a keyboard version of it, I try to embrace an aesthetic that feels good for the arrangement. If I'm playing synth bass, or programming/executing electronic drums, or doing a part that needs to feel like guitar (either rhythmically or as a lead), I look to recordings I enjoy that are loud and proud in their employment of synthetic instruments. Whether that's contemporary pop, or 80s studio productions, or what have you. No listener really cares about whether the instruments are "real" or not if they're played well and make sense in the arrangement. So why not make that keyboard bass sound like a Moog rather than a sampled "Pick Bass 01?" Or some drum machine plugins modeled after an 808 rather than Logic's "Surfer Kit?" Of course, there's a lot of middle ground here, and again, I think the song and the arrangement are big factors (you wouldn't want the sound of an old-school drum machine on a metal track, or a sloppy-but-"real" rhythm guitar part on a dance track -- unless you're trying to Make a Statement). A lot of samples and modeling are very, very good these days -- in ways that can sometimes reveal the lack of "proper" articulation and execution when they're triggered in ways the instruments couldn't be played organically. I think that's when you get into the "uncanny valley" stuff that some other folks have discussed here.

Oh, I 100% agree with you. Nigel just *is* Elton's drummer, much the way (with apologies to Chuck Burgi) Liberty Devitto "is" Billy Joel's. I often consider those "core sidemen" to be as much a part of an artist's sound as the artist themself. And even though people at Elton's level have the privilege of choosing from the best pros in the biz, when an individual musician's voice imprints on so much of your most beloved music, it's hard not to miss it. Hell, Bob Birch played with Elton for over two decades and was an absolutely killer player, and I still think of the late Dee Murray as "the guy" with him. I know this might not be how everyone feels, but I've always gotten attached to the sound of the ensemble around these big "solo" artists. We all have to adapt to change in this life, and just because an artist's sound changes doesn't mean they won't do wonderful work moving forward. But it's been great to hear Nigel in the drum throne for this later portion of Elton's touring and (to a lesser extent) recording career.

They parted ways for a couple of stretches in the late 70s as well as the mid-80s through 90s. You know how it goes with big artists and their sidemen sometimes. Nigel rejoined the band around 2000 for good.

Makes me think of the time I saw Leon Russell in 2012 or 2013 or thereabouts. He ended almost every single song with the slowed down "blues cliche" ending -- regardless of the initial tempo or style. Felt like the band was having a laugh at our expense. I loved it.

Thought I wouldn't be the only one who enjoyed these behind-the-scenes snippets from the rehearsals for "The One" tour, followed by a full performance of Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me (enhanced by some truly dreadful early 90s synth brass and organ sounds). Very cool to see some folks who would form the core of his latter-era band for many years very early in their tenure... and of course, the incomparable Davey Johnstone holding it all together on guitar.

You just blew my mind and shamed my R&B cover band days, Josh. How did I never pick up on the fact that there's no descending lick leading into the B section?! Lord knows what a dork I was about how James Jamerson plays an A natural under the Eb chord in the B section, because nobody told James Jamerson what to do, that's why (something something tritone substitution).

I'm planning on getting Sensaphonics to make some custom sleeves for my Shure SE215s in the next month or two, so keep me posted on your experience. I have tiny little ear canals and it's *very* difficult to keep the generic ear pieces to stay in, and I've been very happy with my custom Westone earplugs for years. Crossing my fingers.

I was hoping someone might ask. The color theme for the show was orange and gold, so in addition to my stage wear, I just grabbed anything I could find that was gold to deck out my little amp area with. The drummer who shared my side of the stage is also really into Zelda, and he's been playing through that particular title for the first time, so it was a nod to him as much as anyone in the audience. Always satisfying, other than the schlep! I've mostly retired it from gigging now that I have a home studio, but this was exactly the right gig for it. I love how Wurli blends with acoustic guitars. Also, even if I had wanted to play a digital piano, 88 keys would not have fit on the stage with two drummers!

Well, it's a fantastic interview, and the effervescence she gives off onstage (which I always think is a wonderful counterpoint to Colin Meloy's more reserved, snarky, sardonic stage banter) is VERY apparent in the conversation. I love hearing about all of her prog rock influences! Watching the conversation has certainly not done anything to *reduce* the crush I've had on her for years. 🤣

If you could see the look on my face you would know how incredibly excited I am. So excited that I forgive you for not inviting me to the interview. 😆

I wonder who has posted on this thread the most? I definitely don't want to be That Guy™, but it is fun to share with all y'all when I put together a rig for an Unusual Gig. A local singer I often play with had a 40th birthday concert with an "unplugged" theme a la 90s MTV (yes, we did do a Nirvana cover, and adding keyboards was really fun). It wasn't fully acoustic per se, but an unusual, more organic instrumentation with acoustic guitars, pedal steel, electric bass, two (!) drummers (which we were skeptical about but worked beautifully; both players were extremely sensitive to the room as well as each other), harmonica, mandolin, a bunch of voices, and... The Wurli/glockenspiel combo was a lot of fun (we covered Kate Bush's "Running Up That Hill" with the glock replacing the synth lines), and my first real swing at doubling accordion in a set was a blast, though I still have to sort out my amplification a little bit. A fun night! Not sure if these Facebook audience videos are public, but here are a few clips: https://www.facebook.com/612176802/videos/pcb.10161201667296803/1114626509231901 https://www.facebook.com/612176802/videos/pcb.10161201667296803/699247311592880

I can't imagine this is the demographic they were thinking of, but the other use case I can see for this is a lower-midlevel touring artist where Playing the Piano is a big part of the performer's identity and showmanship, but using a full-size grand is out of the question. ...or you can just do what a lot of other acts do and have a shell made, I guess!

dB, I used that same MXR talkbox on a borrowed MiniMoog while I was making my solo record during lockdown. You will not be disappointed.

I got a talkbox (the MXR pedal) in 2017 and I use it all the time! Usually I just run whatever synth is in my rig through it, and I have a mono saw lead programmed specifically for running through the box. It gets a great response on a gig as long as you don't overuse it.

So interesting to see so many strong feelings about this -- my only reaction is I get annoyed when I see bands with the logos covered on the keyboards, because I want to know what they're playing! I suppose that's not the typical audience member reaction...

I hadn't realized they'd discontinued the Block. I love mine; it definitely took some getting used to but it was a big part of my rig for two or three years leading up to the pandemic. I'd toyed with getting a second one to expand the range; I did get a set of the Lumi keys to supplement it with another lightweight bluetooth controller (so I'd have one with "regular" keys) but it didn't get too much play time. I ditched the Mainstage portion of my rig after the Covid pause and just felt like my life was easier going hardware-only, so my Seaboard has been seeing a lot less action. I have been getting a TON of ads for the Rise 2 though, that's for sure.

I always loved how The Band would set up sort of like this, with Levon's drum kit stage left and the two keyboard rigs (piano facing in, organ behind it facing out) stage right, with the bass and guitar between them. Levon mentioned in his memoir that they figured out this staging because it gave them the best lines of sight to one another. Tried it once, at the behest of the drummer, for the release show for one of my solo albums. But the venue had a narrow stage and an immovable drum riser taking up a big chunk of it (the horn section stood on it instead of the drums at this show). The drummer wound up regretting the suggestion, because it just turned into there being a wall of people between him and me and limiting our ability to look at each other. On a different stage, I think it would have worked nicely.