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PianoMan51

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But Ive become a huge fan of Brett Michaels the man. Watching him on The Apprentice was illuminating. The guy works hard, REAL hard. He misses no opportunity.

It seems that some people around here can't separate the man from the musician. Nor can they separate "hard work" in one aspect from musical hard work, talent or prowess. I appreciate that you can. :thu:

 

It works the other way too: The guy who wrote "The Ride of the Valkyries" was a consumate prick and a fairly despicable human. But that doesn't make Wagner a better or worse composer, he was a terrific composer. Another one was named Frederick Delius, he wrote some of the most gentile and serene music ever. By all accounts he was a complete prick. He was blind, why? He caught VD some some street hookers while married. :laugh:

 

I'm sure Tesh is very driven and works very hard. Good for him for working hard. So does Kate, the chick who has 1000 kids and does Dancing shows and write books. So does the Octomom. So does Bristol Palin, whose talent for getting knocked up as an unwed teen has made her eligible to be on a "Star" show.

 

I'm guessing that there is a website out there for serious dancers, and someone has a thread about how accomplished a dancer Bristol Palin is and how big her portfolio is, and how she's done things that YOU haven't done, and how YOU are jealous of her incredible talents and success, and how YOU will burn in Hell for even bringing up the idea that maybe she's not quite as gifted a dancer as it might appear. ;)

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How many keyboard players does it take to finish a joke?

 

 

 

 

:bor:

 

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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How many keyboard players does it take to finish a joke?

 

 

 

 

:bor:

 

When the premise of the joke wasn't solid to begin with, I'll say an infinite number.

Steve (Stevie Ray)

"Do the chickens have large talons?"

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When the premise of the joke wasn't solid to begin with, I'll say an infinite number.
:facepalm:

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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(Recent quote from the Wilmington Star News:)

 

John Tesh is a curious man who, by his own admission, can appear to have attention deficit disorder. He describes his stage show as something like public radio's A Prairie Home Companion blended with a concert by progressive '70s rockers Emerson, Lake and Palmer.

 

- fill in the punch-line -

 

Teshla. :laugh:

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I guess I'm not much of a "ranter and raver", except of course, when I am! LOL

I haven't liked John Tesh's new age music, what little I've heard, but that doesn't mean I begrudge him his success.

I don't like Kenny G's music either, but I don't think that eliminating him would necessarily improve the careers of up and coming bebop sax players. Nor do I hate the man - why shouldn't he play what he likes to play and sell lots of records if he can? No one's forcing me to listen to him if I don't want to - and we're not hearing "Songbird" everywhere we go anymore.....

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You could say this thread is about Tesh, but you could also say it's about the relationship between talent, hard work, and commercial success . . . a topic that seems to fascinate everyone, even if only in a staring-at-a-car-crash-on-the-highway sort of way. And so I don't assume that anyone really feels their time was wasted reading about it, regardless of their position on Tesh.

 

You could also say that this thread exhibits the tendency of most threads which is thesis-antithesis-synthesis. Someone says "Tesh is evil," followed by "I love all these things about Tesh," and eventually some admission that he's at least one of the lesser evils when compared to, say, the Taliban or rheumatoid arthritis. By the end of it, everybody seems pretty reasonable, or at least they can make that claim.

 

Tesh, Yanni, and Kenny G have been the favorite pinatas for most musicians for a long time. In the absence of evidence to the contrary, I just assume that they do what comes naturally to them. If that happens to make them popular, how can I hold that against them? The exception was Kenny G's recording himself over Louie Armstrong, which can never under any circumstances be forgiven, and puts the G-man in a class by himself.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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One thing I've learned in this biz: You don't achieve success by being a hack. You can rag on Tesh or Kenny G or Yanni all you want, but they can all play. And they are all driven, which is even more important when it comes to making it.

 

Oh I dont know about that. I have seen some hacks achieve a substantial amount of success. But what I will say is that there is NO substitute for hard work. I dont have to like someones art to respect them. (Is that weird?)

Ill use Brett Michaels as an example. I really dislike Poison. I have seen them live (at the peak of their success), and I was appalled at how truly bad they were. But Ive become a huge fan of Brett Michaels the man. Watching him on The Apprentice was illuminating. The guy works hard, REAL hard. He misses no opportunity. (This is an art in itself, and if anything, is probably his true craft.) He is detail oriented, is a people person, and from what I could see, seems to be one of those uber-rare types who is driven, suffers no fools, and yet is generous at the same time. And watching him in action on that show made me realize that Poison got where they were because he is one hard working mutha. And you cannot NOT respect that.

KISS is another great example. I was a fan in 8th grade for about 6 months; it would have been about 6 weeks if my parents werent so disturbed by the posters I had hanging in my room. (I had been turned on to Kiss Alive in music class as every Friday the teacher let us bring in records to share; while the other kids brought in Kiss, I was bringing in Brain Salad Surgery and A Night At The Operayeah, I was real popular, even then!) Fast forward 30some years, and when my boys were 6 and 8, I took them and 2 of their friends to see KISS Psycho Circus tour (full makeup, original members, the whole deal). And while they thoroughly enjoyed themselves (as a dad, I cant tell you how endearing it is to watch 2 six year old boys watching a concert on the big screen with 3D glasses on, and to have the screen show some pretty gorgeous well-endowed women on the big screen exposing their quite wonderful breasts, and to watch those two boys eyes go saucer-wide and them turn to high-5 each otherit was a very twisted Norman Rockwell moment, but it is what it is). Anyway, it was shocking to me was how totally godawful they were. It was a spectacular presentation visually, but musicallyO.M.G. I couldnt believe that after almost 40 years, they could have marshaled some semblance of competency. SOMETHING would have had to rub off. But they were terrible. And when you see concerts of theirs on TV (MTV broadcasts a few every year), I cant make it more than 15/20 minutes because theyre so bad.musically. KISS is a band that when there are ringers in the band, its actually an improvement. But there is no denying that Gene and Paul work hard. Gene for sure is egotistical, narcissistic and pretty obnoxious, but again, he misses no opportunity, relishes the job of getting to it, and their success (like Bretts) is a testament that they were able to do so much with so little.

I know this sounds like left-handed complimenting, but the truth is, I am a fan of both those organizations, because they show what dedication and elbow grease can do, despite the odds.

I dont hate Tesh. Its worse: I am completely ambivalent about him. He doesnt even cross my radar. I just remember his head tilting all the time on E.T. But I really dont like his music, what Ive heard of it. Same for Yawni. Does that make me jealous or petty? REALLY?

 

I'll second Eric's comment: Very well stated, Tony. I agree with your main points. Also, John Tesh has not been a significant influence for me, musically. If some folks like his music, and respect his efforts, that's fine. But, I can't effectively comment on those things - as I'm not that familiar with his work.

'Someday, we'll look back on these days and laugh; likely a maniacal laugh from our padded cells, but a laugh nonetheless' - Mr. Boffo.

 

We need a barfing cat emoticon!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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In slight defense of Tesh, he was a musician long before he became a broadcaster. I recall him once saying that he got the broadcasting gigs because of his voice. It was just a gig to him, from what I recall him saying.

 

Here's a funny line from Wikipedia.

 

Radio personality Howard Stern has dubbed Tesh "Blond Frankenstein" for his height, lean build and blond locks.

Um, not exactly.

 

http://www.topnews.in/files/images/John-Tesh1.jpg

"I'm so crazy, I don't know this is impossible! Hoo hoo!" - Daffy Duck

 

"The good news is that once you start piano you never have to worry about getting laid again. More time to practice!" - MOI

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Sometimes, late late at night, driving home from gigs in my old car that had only radio for music, in my rural state with few stations, I would find the John Tesh Radio show. I had no idea he was a musician. He had this "Intelligence For Your Life" shtick that, while I'm sure it was well-meaning, struck me as simplistic dogma. It was actually a little bit creepy to me.

 

I'd never heard the guy's music until this thread. And I have exactly the same reaction to the music. It's a little bit creepy :D

 

BUT I can't help admire the guy's accomplishments. It's not like he's some gorgeous teenage popstar finding commercial success with sex-appeal. He seems to be genuinely hard-working, clever, and good-intentioned.

 

The joke here is not the guy's playing. The joke is the culture of celebrity worship (WTF is that Oprah article?).

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I sort of think as Tesh's music as utilitarian rather than artistic. For example, the piece he wrote that became a sports theme song. It totally works for that purpose: just this energetic, grandiose sounding piece of music used to introduce a basketball game. It's not something I would ever sit down and purposefully listen to as "music" though. But I guess some people enjoy it or we wouldn't be talking about him. To each his own.
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One thing I've learned in this biz: You don't achieve success by being a hack. You can rag on Tesh or Kenny G or Yanni all you want, but they can all play. And they are all driven, which is even more important when it comes to making it.

 

Finally words of wisdom from the guy I consider the best player here. Time now for a new thread.

 

I don't know about that (the best player part).

 

I agree with what tonysounds said, too. But I still say longevity doesn't come from having no talent. There's gotta be something there to build upon.

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I agree with what tonysounds said, too. But I still say longevity doesn't come from having no talent. There's gotta be something there to build upon.

 

This is absolutely true. And sometimes, like McDonalds, people really like things that intrinsically not very good. In the case of Poison and Kiss, they are buying the total packagein Poisons case, that package may be the party vibe, four good looking/tranny looking (take your pick) dudes with really big hair, with Kiss, the utter spectacle, and in both cases, some decent songs and of course nostalgia. And there is nothing wrong with that as far as Im concerned. I dont get the idea that any of those guys consider themselves musicians above entertainers. Their talent was necessarily on their instruments, but it was definitely in promotion, hard work, and knowing what their audience/customer base wanted.

Hitting "Play" does NOT constitute live performance. -Me.
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Yes, I don't think that Kiss ever claimed to be great musicians. They made no bones about being entertainers.

I actually enjoyed Gene Simmon's autobiography - not that he's one of my heroes - but he openly stated that he was in it for the money and the sex. Refreshing honesty.

And it was funny, his take on the "Knights In Satan's Service" thing that some religious groups said about them at the time. I don't remember the details, but he said basically that all of that was news to HIM!

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But I still say longevity doesn't come from having no talent.

There's a difference between "having no talent" and having no or questionable musical talent. Being a public figure takes a certain amount of chutzpah, being an entertainer takes talent. Having people fork over dough to you in any way, shape or form takes talent. Building a touring outfit and finding the right people to run it, to do your arrangements, book your hotels, run the lights, etc takes a good deal of effort and as many of us know is not as easy as it looks. Lots of different issues in putting on shows.

 

Then there's musical talent. As we've talked about many times here on this site, there are fabulous musicians sitting at home while crappy ones are playing the gigs. They lack the above, the chutzpah and the go-getter mentality. But music is music. I know guys 50 zillion times as talented as Tesh that nobody has ever heard of, we all do. I guess I've never equated "success" in the financial regard with music and musical ability, and certainly not musical quality.

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I have gotten way more invested in this thread than is reasonable. But this far in, I had to follow through and read the article . . .

 

You're assuming an awful lot if you conclude he's comparing himself to Emerson. That sentence isn't even a direct quote, it's the writer's version of what Tesh said his show is like. His show, not his playing.

 

I was surprised to read that he got kicked out of school for fraudulently signing a teacher's name, then kicked out of his house. Hmm, maybe he's got more edge than we thought . . .

 

Slamming Tesh has been easy sport for about two decades now. But if a there was a guy who looked and sounded just like Tesh playing on a street corner for change, would we try to take him down? I don't think so. And if the difference-maker is merely his level of success, then that makes us rather petty.

 

A bit of verbal sparring doesn't qualify as a heavy investment, IMO. I don't know what level of emotion you have invested here, but if that's the issue, I suggest having a couple cold ones and relaxing before you reply. ;)

 

I don't think it's ever level of success. If someone as good as John Tesh were banging on a streetcorner and berating the guy playing the upside-down plastic bucket alongside him for not keeping the proper beat, yeah, I think we'd all have as much derision for him as we do Tesh.

 

Character doesn't define talent, but it certainly affects how we perceive talented individuals. At the end of the day, everyone hated Barry Bonds, even though he was quite possibly one of the best to ever play the game even before he started using steroids. But he was still an asshole, so we all hated him.

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Dude, I'm a long-haired California surfer, and if there's anyone on this planet more relaxed than me, I've yet to meet them. But certainly my investment of time in this thread, has been highly questionable.

 

I'm really not interested in Tesh, per se, but I am interested in why so many musicians have been trashing him for so long. If it's because he's a jerk, that's new information to me. We have one person on this forum who had a couple unfavorable encounters with him, from a distance. OK, that's credible evidence, but that doesn't mean we know him. 20 years of derision didn't happen because word got around that this stand-offish to his backup musicians.

 

By the way, I think there's more than one credible view of Barry Bonds. The media seems to fall in line with the "jerk" story, but from what I've read, there's alot of people in the game -- players and coaches -- who liked him and still do.

Gigging: Crumar Mojo 61, Hammond SKPro

Home: Vintage Vibe 64

 

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There have been times over the past few days when I've regretted posting the original subject. My thoughts didn't go beyond reading the first paragraph of the newspaper article and thinking 'Oh John, you didn't really say that, did you?' Given the sometimes hilarious posts in this forum (I'm thinking of floating B3s behind a canoe) I thought I could induce some more. I guess not.

 

Since I was the OP, let me ask, can we put this to bed? We musos (and I use this word including all the negative connotations) tend to rag on other musicians who make it big with mainstream listeners, but who haven't captured OUR interest: Yanni, John Tesh, Phil Collins, that guy with the hideous warbling soprano sax, etc. But that's more our issue than theirs. We are the uncommon listeners.

 

John, if you ever google yourself and read this mess, I apologize. You've made far more of your talent than I ever did. Bravo. I hope you notice that a lot of forumites here refused to take the bait and stood up for you and your accomplishments.

 

I'll shut up now.

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Dude, I'm a long-haired California surfer, and if there's anyone on this planet more relaxed than me, I've yet to meet them. But certainly my investment of time in this thread, has been highly questionable.

 

I'm really not interested in Tesh, per se, but I am interested in why so many musicians have been trashing him for so long. If it's because he's a jerk, that's new information to me. We have one person on this forum who had a couple unfavorable encounters with him, from a distance. OK, that's credible evidence, but that doesn't mean we know him.

 

I think that we "feel" celebrities, based on the image they present. Some negative feelings may be justified and some not. I doubt there are many threads in cyberspace talking negatively about Tom Hanks or Ron Howard. John Tesh is bringing some of this on himself by the way he presents himself, and we could be right or wrong. Years ago I played with two sitcom actresses, Nell Carter and Bebe Neuwirth (Lilith!). My impression of them on the TV was that they would be difficult. Nope, they were both very nice and Nell Carter was incredibly cool, I loved her. So it's easy to be wrong.

 

For the record, Tesh did nothing wrong. He didn't go Diva, he didn't scream or do anything negative in rehearsals. My opinion of him as a human is inconclusive. He wasn't friendly nor unfriendly.

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One thing I've learned in this biz: You don't achieve success by being a hack. You can rag on Tesh or Kenny G or Yanni all you want, but they can all play. And they are all driven, which is even more important when it comes to making it.

 

Finally words of wisdom from the guy I consider the best player here. Time now for a new thread.

 

I don't know about that (the best player part).

 

Well, it's true brother! You are the best player here from what I can tell. Accept your crown!

Steve (Stevie Ray)

"Do the chickens have large talons?"

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I agree with what tonysounds said, too. But I still say longevity doesn't come from having no talent. There's gotta be something there to build upon.

 

This is absolutely true. And sometimes, like McDonalds, people really like things that intrinsically not very good. In the case of Poison and Kiss, they are buying the total packagein Poisons case, that package may be the party vibe, four good looking/tranny looking (take your pick) dudes with really big hair, with Kiss, the utter spectacle, and in both cases, some decent songs and of course nostalgia. And there is nothing wrong with that as far as Im concerned. I dont get the idea that any of those guys consider themselves musicians above entertainers. Their talent was necessarily on their instruments, but it was definitely in promotion, hard work, and knowing what their audience/customer base wanted.

 

The McDonald's comparison doesn't hold water. McDonald's is BAD for you, but it tastes GOOD (especially if you've ever worked there and made your own burger and ate it right away...man, AWESOME). There's no way to know if Tesh's music is BAD for you, and to some it is very good. I don't really put myself into the category of liking his music, but music is subjective...I don't like lots of music from people who are crazily talented. I wouldn't make fun of any of them though.

Steve (Stevie Ray)

"Do the chickens have large talons?"

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