Shamanzarek

Since the root is moving chromatically from C up to D I would consider this to be a C#-7 with an augmented or #5. If you look up this chord you should find an example with at least the same upper three notes.

The "Orchestra Hit" or something close to it was originated by The Moody Blues on the song "Question". It wasn't digital as on a sampler but was a composite of Mellotron sounds.

I never paid much attention to timing until the mid-70s when I got into a band with twin brothers from Puerto Rico. One brother played drums and the other bass. They were experts at Latin rhythms and really got down on me about timing. Ever since then I have received many compliments about my timing especially on gigs where I played bass guitar.

The thing about most vitamins is that the source or how it was processed is almost never listed on the container. Unlike food vitamins seem to be exempt from listing the ingredients. That alone would put me off on using supplements because I always read the labels on anything I eat or drink. Instead of taking a pill I recommend using nutritional yeast. Yeast is usually grown on a medium like Sugar Beets. Since yeast is natural grown it contains almost all B vitamins in their balanced form along with some protein, and several trace minerals. Typically yeast contains B2, B2, B3 (not the organ), B6, and B12. B12 especially is rarely found outside of animal sources. Minerals in yeast include Zinc, Selenium, Manganese, and Molybdenum. It also contains all nine amino acids so is a non-animal complete protein source. There are different strains of yeast and each has a distinctive flavor if you want to use in it flake or powdered forms in smoothies or as an ingredient in other foods. It also can be found in capsule form for those who prefer to take pills. Yeast derived foods include Vegemite and Marmite which have long been popular in Australia/New Zealand and Britain respectively. Many people add yeast to their pet's food. Most dogs seem to like the taste and will often eat it alone. I've topped our cat's food with it and he eats it. Another natural supplement is kelp powder. Several types of seaweed are widely used in Japanese cuisine. Kelp is one of the few reliable sources of Iodine which is necessary for proper Thyroid function. Kelp is abundant in every known trace mineral including Iron, Calcium, Magnesium, and Potassium. It also provides vitamin B12, Omega 3 fatty acids, and anti- inflammatories. Kelp can be found in several forms but the most convenient is kelp powder which can be used unobtrusively in combination with many other foods. It is also available in capsule form. I have been using both yeast and kelp since the late 70s with no ill effects.

It's a Beautiful Day played in my home town of Salem, Oregon around 1971. I can't remember why I didn't go as I was a fan of the band at the time. My brother did go and waited outside the venue to meet Mitchell Holman. My brother played bass guitar at the time and had a 1957 P Bass that he took along to show to Mitchell. Mitchell offered to trade his bass for it but my brother didn't take him up on the offer. I did get to see them in Portland a bit later but by then Hal and Mitchell had left the band. Their replacements were Bill Gregory and Tom Fowler on guitar and bass respectively. The band seemed to be moving in a harder rock direction. I still liked them but I preferred the more melancholy sound of the earlier line-up. Several years I ago I purchased several autographed CDs that David was selling on eBay. I remember an interview where Justin Hayward was asked if there was any band he would like to play with other than the Moody Blues. He said they had done tour with It's a Beautiful Day and that they were so great that he wished he could have played in the band.

Over the years little has been heard from keyboardist Linda LaFlamme who was married to David from 1963-1969 and co-founded It's a Beautiful Day. Richie Unterberger tracked her down and interviewed her in October 2020. If you are a fan of It's a Beautiful Day and the 60's San Francisco music scene this may be of interest. https://pleasekillme.com/beautiful-day-linda-laflamme/

2009 in Vigo, Spain I played a room that had at least a ten foot high stage. There was a crane at one end of the stage to lift the band gear up and down. The band was barely visible from the bottom of the stage. We are playing and into the third song when the guitar player is in my face yelling at me to stop. I didn't see it happen but our singer had fallen off the stage backwards. We didn't know if he was going to survive but there happened to be someone there with medical training that checked him out. The singer was taken to the hospital and found to have brain hemorrhaging and some broken bones. That ended our tour and the singer spent a month in the Spanish hospital. He did recover but has some lingering minor problems. Shortly after that Steven Tyler and a couple others fell off stages so it seemed like a trend developing.

Singer/violinist/guitarist/producer of the late 60s/early 70s San Francisco band It's a Beautiful Day has passed away. He was one of the first to introduce the violin as a featured instrument in a rock band. Their recordings like "White Bird" often border on soft rock but they were a real jam band in live performance. Their jams were more structured than other San Francisco bands and always interesting. From the German Beat Club show in 1970 with David in a rare performance playing guitar. Tanglewood concert 1970.

An interesting thing about amino acids is they exist as L-aminos and D-aminos. The carbon and hydrogen building blocks of amino acids appear to be abundant throughout the universe. Amino acids have been found in meteorites and possibly in asteroids. Traces have been found in moon rock. None have been found on Mars yet. The L and D aminos are identical except they are mirror images of each other. L-amino is also known as left-handed due to the way it's inner structure is arranged and D amino is considered right-handed. The big mystery is why only the L-amino is found in life on Earth. Sugars are also found as mirror image forms being otherwise identical. What correlation this may have with amino acids is another mystery but only the so-called right-handed sugars are found in life on Earth.

The oldest known form of life on Earth is a bacteria-like organism called Archaea. These were discovered in the last fifty years or so but their significance has become more apparent in recent years. I believe info regarding Archaea has been suppressed for the time being as it could make all our current knowledge of evolutionary biology obsolete and require re-writing of textbooks on the subject. Up until recently life on Earth has been thought to have originated in the oceans. Archaea have been found near hydrothermal vents in the deepest parts of the ocean. They have also been found around geysers and volcanoes on the Earth's surface. It appears Archaea originate from deep below the Earth's surface. Some Archaea consume iron and and as it passes through their body it is converted to magnetite. Other Archaea break down and convert other substances but info regarding what they produce is sketchy at the present time. The discovery of Archaea is the main reason Mars missions since the late 90s have had a strong focus on digging down into the Martian soil in search of similar organisms. The discovery of the alleged Martian meteorite in Antarctica that appears to contain bacteria-like organisms is also a factor for searching below the Martian surface. Since Archaea are found in the most extreme environments on Earth it is speculated they could form on almost any body with significant internal nuclear forces. With their ability to breakdown and transform elements they may play a key role in creating a suitable environment for more complex lifeforms. In the 90s it was discovered that the human brain contains a significant amount of magnetite. It is also found in many other creatures. In the human brain there appears to be two types of magnetite. One type is speculated to come from pollution in the environment and the other is naturally occurring. Studies are ongoing so there is no definitive answer yet.

These days you don't have spend a thousand dollars or more to get a good playing guitar. Yamaha guitars are very good for beginners and entry level models start at around $200. Also brands such as Alvarez, Blueridge, Eastman, Epiphone, Seagull, A&L, and others make guitars that are relatively inexpensive but play as well as some higher end guitars.

A piece of rock history is up for sale on eBay. You can own this priceless collectible keyboard for only $2999.99. This one is probably an early version or prototype as it doesn't look like others I have seen. If anyone is interested they can have my rare RMI 300A Electra-Piano and Harpsichord for only $800. It can be seen on page 3 of the KC Classifieds. Also on eBay is an extremely rare RMI 600A Electra-Piano and Rock-Si-Chord in poor working condition and no Sustain/Volume pedal for $4275. https://www.ebay.com/itm/354546125123?hash=item528c988943:g:VBEAAOSwesdj1Eub&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwMxI86gYFpnKNmRJuMrdwd12uYBZtxMrGAobD3yuZ9uAtM9qajQK2xqkqMA1ZIqFAMWizf1sv0jlg16%2BlD0bMes7ccxtblAw6Wn3oGo4YAPT1AjfnMso%2FpTdfgq4OmP7%2BFYBCQ3caqjUIhsD04b4KiSzEd2Js%2FtRPg%2F%2Bm4by5zT8f9v8HwHr7jUYWBiB7rddix9obQz434o8ov9t0o73nXLB1K7rELrxYSyk%2Bcjqlyy%2FVDWiRDQcK%2FhXiNA2nFnvLA%3D%3D|tkp%3ABk9SR_KdpaGLYg

The Welte-Mignon Reproducing Piano was introduced in 1904. Unlike earlier player pianos it recorded dynamic information and allowed for a more realistic rendition of what was played. https://www.min-on.org/the-welt-mignon-reproducing-piano/#:~:text=The first such instrument%2C manufactured,world-renowned pianists and composers.

In 1972 I went to see Deep Purple in Salem, Oregon. No opening act had been announced prior to the show and I was blown away when they introduced Curved Air. I had heard some of their songs on the radio and really liked them. They were the first band I ever saw with a synth of which they had an EMS VCS3. I was impressed with Francis and remember him running back and forth between keys and guitar. Here is a quote from Francis regarding the EMS: “I was fortunate enough to have had the use of a VCS3 since 1969, when my flat-mate Robin Thompson (who was in Intermodulation with Andrew Powell & Co) got hold of one of the first. My experience with Moogs has not been so good — I always thought the Minimoog far too limited after the VCS3, and even the big modular affairs fail to impress me, though it’s true Keith Emerson got a monster sound out of his.” Here he is on Top of the Pops with his band Sky: Here he is with Curved Air in 1972:

I had to sell my Hammonds and several other keyboards to make the move from New Jersey to South Carolina. I tried to sell several others but they were a hard sell so I brought along four Vox Continentals, a Super Continental, Gibson G101, Fender Rhodes Piano Bass, RMI 300A, Oberheim OB8, Matrix 12, Roland Jupiter 6, Prophet 5 rev. 2, Yamaha CS70M, and some newer keyboards I use on stage when a gig comes up. It was tough letting it all go but there is less room in the new place so I had to make some hard choices but I don't dwell on it too much.

Gordon Lightfoot is my all-time favorite singer/songwriter. Back in the 60s I heard Peter, Paul, and Mary's version of "For Lovin' Me" which I liked but knew nothing about who wrote it. Then I bought a 45 single by Chad and Jeremy called "Teenage Failure". On the flip side was a song called "Early Morning Rain" which I liked better than the A-side but didn't know anything about the writer. I really got hooked in the late 60s. In Portland, OR there was a radio station KINK that played lots of Gordon Lightfoot before he had any big hits. Also, a favorite album at the time Wheatfield Soul by The Guess Who has a homage to Gordon called "Lightfoot" that name drops several of his songs. Every time I sit down with an acoustic guitar I play some Gordon. Last week I added "Carefree Highway" to my repertoire.

Keith Emerson originally used a screwdriver for holding keys down. Here is a quote regarding his switch to daggers: Emerson's style of playing on the L-100 changed dramatically after he saw the virtually unknown organ player and entertainer, Don Shinn at the Marquee Club in August of 1966 (Emerson 2003:54). Shin would dress like a schoolboy and drink whisky from a teaspoon. During a performance, the back of his Hammond fell off and caused Shin to break out a screwdriver in an attempt to fix it. While the crowd was busy laughing, Emerson thought, “There’s something there” (Prasad 2015). Emerson notes: "I realized from watching Don that you could sustain notes on the Hammond by sticking things in the keyboard. At first, I started doing it with a screwdriver when I was with The Nice. Then I thought, rather than stick a screwdriver in it, I’ll get a knife. We had a roadie, who was none other than Lemmy from Motorhead. He said “If you’re going to use a knife, use a proper one.” He then gave me two Hitler Youth daggers. That was the start of that" (Prasad 2015). The knives were first used around November of 1967 while the Nice were opening up for Jimi Hendrix (Emerson 2003:79-80). The next task Emerson was faced with, was what to do with the knives after he finished using them. At first he would just drop them on the floor, but “that was a bit dangerous for the keyboardist” (Prasad 2015), so the inevitable thing to do was to learn knife throwing. Emerson wasn’t very good at first, as he ended up hitting the drummer, but eventually worked out the kinks. Both Emerson and Hendrix learned a lot from each other, and even considered working together when the Nice disbanded in 1970 (Milano 1977:24).

World War II likely put an end to Novachord production as American manufacturing was redirected to the war effort. Since the Novachord wasn't a commercial success production wasn't revived after the the war. It seems a couple of Novachords were shipped to the UK before World War II. Here is Vera Lynn singing "We'll Meet Again" backed by a Novachord.

I recently came across an interview with a famous guitarist (whose name escapes me at the moment) who uses a RAT as more of a boost pedal. If I read it right he keeps the distortion setting all the way down and adjusts the level and tone. I will try this with my early 80s RAT next time I have need to get my electric out. I also have a 65 Twin RI which I have been using for keys but will try it with the RAT.

Lucky Hank - Sounds like a Farfisa doing the melody. Like it better than the show maybe.

John Sebastian can barely croak out a song anymore. He began losing his voice in the 80s. Ian Anderson started sounding different in the 80s. He can still hit the notes and in concert I can get used to the way he sounds after a few songs. John Lodge was never a great lead singer and was better known for his falsetto harmony singing. The last time I heard him his voice was pretty ragged and they ran recorded vocal tracks on some songs. Billy Joel sounds okay but he sings a lot of songs a step lower than recorded. Bob Seger still sounds good but he was also transposing some songs down a step. Brian Wilson doesn't always sing perfectly on pitch but he gets by all right with all the backup singers he has.. Eddie Brigati still sounds pretty good but struggles with the high notes. Robert Plant has trouble singing the high notes so some of his old repertoire is avoided. Elton John still sounds good. Some of his later material is sung in a lower range but that was his producer's idea according to his autobiography. Had an operation for cysts on his vocal cords. Phil Collins is in bad shape and can't stand up on stage let alone sing as strong as he once did. Ringo sings about as well as he ever did. The songs were written for his limited range. John Fogerty still sounds great like he did in the 60s. Ozzy Osborne has Parkinson's which has a negative effect on his vocal performance. Linda Ronstadt also has Parkin's which forced her to retire. Neil Diamond is also retiring due to Parkinson's. Maurice White also has Parkinson's but is still able to sing well. Celine Dion has lost some of her vocal strength due to viral infection. John Mayer had vocal granuloma which required surgery and a two year break from performing. Roger Daltrey had an operation for a pre-cancerous growth which affected his vocal cords. Rod Stewart had nodules removed. Other singers who had nodules include: Adele Mariah Carey Shirley Manson Justin Timberlake Björk

Dave Smith didn't invent the polyphonic synthesizer. Yamaha and Oberheim preceded Sequential. What Smith did was develop the first fully programmable polysynth. The analog synth section of the Prophet 5 was designed by Dave Rossum of E-mu who was also involved in the design of the SSM sound chips used in the rev. 1 and rev. 2 Prophets. Rossum's scanning keyboard design was licensed for use in Oberheim polysynths prior to his involvement with Sequential.

I just got this Crosley stand today. The record storage feature was a big factor in the decision as I have over 600 albums. Holds an Audio-Technica turntable and Sherwood receiver nicely. Will need to get stands for my Wharfdale speakers.

I was at a furniture and appliance store in Beaufort, SC today. They had Crosley electric and gas ranges, washers and dryers, and refrigerators. On the Crosley website there are some vintage ads showing refrigerators as well as radios and other items. https://www.crosley.com

I recently passed on joining a band mainly because this and a few other Little Feat songs were on the list. Although it is a great piano piece I didn't feel the hours of effort vs. questionable financial reward would be worth it.