SamuelBLupowitz

Just want to say how helpful this thread has been for me emotionally. Having a community I'm a part of discuss the sacrifices they're all making to their holiday plans has made it easier for me to feel confident in mine.

I agree that half-pedaling goes a long way to creating that subtle illusion that you're playing a giant resonating block of wood and metal, instead of triggering a lot of individual samples. I feel like the quality of the notes themselves are for the audience, but those idiosyncratic details of the instrument are for the player (which, ultimately, makes it for the audience too, of course).

I'm now imagining this as a John Henry-esque competition wherein an emotive player triumphs over said computer, but dies from the effort. Somehow "The Way It Is" is a very funny song to be at the center of a life-or-death scenario.

Thanks so much, Adan! Even though my approach to the piano is largely shaped by Elton and this record in particular, I definitely learned a few new tricks during the deep dive. But I also got to apply a few things I learned from other sources to the material, which kept the improvisational spirit of the thing. As far as the vocals, I'm lucky to be married to a professional vocal coach. Any of the individual songs are challenging to sing -- rangey, wordy, full of little runs and licks -- but doing the whole show straight through definitely required some prep, like running a race or something. Elton was in his early 20s when he played that show and I'm, um, not, but I'm also a more experienced singer now than I was when I was in my early 20s, so I was quite proud of the results.

Tuning in to this tribute right now: CLONK Jeff Kazee (piano/vocals) and John Conte (bass/vocals) from Southside Johnny and the Asbury Jukes, plus Rich Pagano (drums/vocals) from the Fab Faux and various studio sessions... they do a great jam band-y take on this era of the material, but I haven't seen any of their stuff for close to ten years. Enjoying it so far!

Yes, I'll second this. If the goal is to play it Like the Recording, I'll start by drilling the recording, but I almost always seek out live performance video both for visual cues and for insight into how an artist approaches a song outside of the widely-known and accepted "text" of a hit recording. Often, there are nuances we may obsess over in a recorded version that the artist doesn't consider essential to the song. Just as often, a live performance will highlight nuances of chord voicing or technical approach that are obscured but present in the studio version, and help unlock that je ne sais quois in the part that gains the nod of recognition from bandmates and/or audience. And yes, in the specific instance of Hornsby, a live performance is unlikely to reveal the exact approach from the recorded version because he's such a dedicated improviser.

I applaud your positive attitude, my friend. Trying to get there myself. Had to officially cancel the planned family Thanksgiving today, and while everyone was on the same page with it being "disappointing but necessary," I'm feeling a little bummed out. Maybe it's time to start tracking that solo record...

Maybe Black Friday instead? That might keep me from buying gear I don't need. Hah. Haha. Hahahahahahaha.

who,in the absolute fuck, is going to enforce who of your family you have in your private home? I don't think it's about whether it's going to be enforced, because that would be impractical and unlikely. I think it's just the sad reality of what it takes to reduce transmission risk and adhere to health and safety guidelines right now.

Yeah, I'm starting to see the writing is on the wall, unfortunately. My wife has been trying to ease me into the realization for a few weeks but I was in denial, hoping we'd get to have a scaled back but somewhat normal holiday season. My brother and his partner already put the kibosh on traveling earlier this week, but I'm not looking forward to the conversation with my parents.

One of my favorite records of all time. It"s shaped everything I"ve done since first hearing it. Coincidentally... is it in poor taste to share this here too? If so I submit myself to mod nukage. [video:youtube]

Only in the sense that if you take it out onstage, you'll be arrested.

Sorry Eric, I for one enjoy when a moderately-to-barely funny joke is driven deep into the ground. Jury's still out on if my wife and I are going to have kids, but it's definitely a check in the "pro" column for fatherhood. :wink:

This turns out to be slightly OT, but I didn't realize until I went to look it up that Reverb's LP-centric offshoot had been shuttered. I had purchased a few items in my collection from there (though not many, since I have a great indie record store in town).

I was about to talk about how sweet this is, then saw Jason's post and realized the thread is ten years old. Hope he found a swell pedal that worked!

Back at it with my second of three track releases/videos/podcasts before the end of the month. If you haven't tried watching these 360 videos on a phone in the YouTube app yet, it's a lot of fun to stand in one place and move your phone around like you're in the middle of the recording studio. My wife wrote this tune, I play some white boy reggae organ and sing some of the backgrounds (and mixed the track). This one's a lot of fun... and no politics this time. :wink: [video:youtube] [video:youtube]

[sound of nail being hit on the head] Just as a follow-up, I had a conversation today with a former coworker who I always liked. I knew we disagreed on a least a few points politically, but I was horrified when she said "I am anti-mask and don't believe we're in a pandemic." I've been reeling from it all day. How does one reason with that? I know we all have different risk assessment with this virus, but it's one thing for you to be less afraid of going out in public or playing a bar gig than I am, and quite another to deny what is happening despite the sacrifices so many of us are making and the toll it has taken on our communities. My stomach is churning thinking about it.

Joe, why"d you break the light bulb?

OT, but it"s always nice to be reminded that Eric and I aren"t the youngest ones on the forum. :grin:

It's a scary time when so much information is spread so quickly with such ill intent to a populus that, in many cases through no fault of its own (rather through decades of disenfranchisement), has not been given the tools to properly decode media. I've witnessed it at both the macro and micro levels. I hope for a day in the future when more people are able to interpret critically and act in the best interests of everyone. I look forward to a federal response to Covid that takes it seriously. Thanks, Craig, Chip, and Bob, for your thoughts.

Okay friends, time for me to admit something that may shock you: outside of "Lucky Man" and the radio version of "Karn Evil 9," I have listened to very, very little ELP. Which album would you recommend as a starting place for a newbie?

Capturing the moment for sure! Former Philly boy here. It's sure been a journey the last couple of days.

I only remember listening to Uriah Heep once, on a two-CD live album that my uncle (a man of few words who bonded with me over music he loved as I got older) brought over to the house at some holiday or something. I think I listened to it on the floor of my parents' house with my Walkman, if memory serves. Don't remember much about it other than that I really dug the sound -- rocking, proggy, cool keyboards and harmonies. Sorry to hear we've lost another artist, but appreciative for the memory your post brought back to me.

This is all very useful to hear, thanks. In the hypothetical scenario where I'm gigging again and need a new weighted board, this is now on the potential list with the CP88 for me.

This is part of the push/pull for me, too -- finding the balance between "behold my awesome sonic palette" and "how creative can I be, how many roles can I fill, with the capabilities of just one instrument?" The needs of my projects, and my own preferences and enthusiasm at any given time, push me back and forth on this. It's not dissimilar from the choice between one board or many for me, since covering four sounds on four different keyboards is a very different experience for me creatively than covering those same sounds on one board loaded with the equivalent samples. Definitely something I'm taking stock of for when I return to gigging post-Covid (there's going to be a post-Covid one day, right?) since I was getting a little burned out on my load-in/load-out myself.