Introductions?

[Joe Muscara]

Welcome!

[ChrisE]

Welcome!

[vmoon]

Hi. My name is Vern. I took piano and alto sax lessons for many years, was in various piano competitions(was runner up in one,3rd place in one, honorable mention in another). I was a music major at the University of Minnesota in the BFA program but never finished because I got in a band and was making more money from that than people I knew who had PHD's in music. I continued making a living playing keyboards and sax in bands for about 15 years, but now just do it part time. I've played almost all styles including rock, jazz, pop, funk, disco, classical. I like Chick Corea, Kurt Wakeman, Keith Emmerson, Rod Argent, Supertramp, Yes, Kansas, Blood Sweat and Tears, Doobie Brothers, Steely Dan-almost any music that takes inventiveness and skill to create and to play. My keyboards, starting with the newest and going to the oldest, are:

 

Yamaha S-90

Yamaha P-80

Roland VK-1000

Roland D-50

Yamaha DX-7

 

Even though I'm a veteran musician with virtuoso chops and can read music and jazz charts with no problem I'm struggling to learn how to use things like computers and forums, so bear with me and please don't flame me if I do something wrong. I look forward to hangin out with you guys.

[DanS]

Hey I'm Tom. I didn't know this forum existed until today. I'm a composer (all sorts), in my free time I do lots of synth and electronic type stuff.

 

Saw your Phatty/Voyager clip, very cool!

[MoodyBluesKeys]

Welcome, Vern

 

Phd's in most things don't automatically make more money. Music probably even more so.

[non ce futuro]

Hi guys!

 

I'm a 35-year-old guy from Spain (but I'm half dutch), playing piano since I was 12 or so. I'm clasically trained but moved to jazz in my early twenties thanks to Jarrett's Köln Concert (as every pianist of my generation, I guess), Chick Corea's My Spanish Heart and (believe it or not) Earl Klugh & George Benson Collaboration (still love all those albums!)

I spent some years playing in R&B bands, and also a too long stint with a cover band, playing at big venues, big parties, and that kind of stuff - mostly crap songs, but good money-.

Now I play with a smooth jazz band and also a jazz piano trio, not giggin' too much, just enough to get rid of my "addiction-to-stage-performance"

I also play a little bass, guitar and alto sax (not good enough to play live).

As most of us, I guess, I have my real-life-job, and it's for Yamaha Music Europe (so not so far from my unreal-life job!). I may be able to help with some Yamaha questions, but I'm not in this forum as a Yamaha rep!!(unlike the nice guys from Kurz and Casio). I'm here just as a keyboard and piano player who just loved the ambient of this forum, the degree of knowledge and experience you all have, and because this place is really cool and I want to be a small part of it!

 

One last thought, English is not my mother language, so please forgive any mistake or strange expressions in advance!

 

Cheers,

 

Gear: Motif XF8, Roland FP7, EWI4000, Korg 01/w (too much history in it to get rid of it!), Yamaha Upright, some pedals and small stuff

[MoodyBluesKeys]

Welcome - English may not be your mother language, but you write it better than a good percentage of people here for whom it is their only language.

 

[non ce futuro]

thanks!!! ;-)

[BEMcCut]

Hi,everyone. I joined the forum a little while ago and have been lurking in the background reading all of the great posts. I am 59 years old on the outside. The inside never grew up. I started playing music at age 12 after seeing the Beatles play on TV. My first job was at a Junior High dance. I was the lead singer. We played out first song, She Was Just 17, in 30 seconds. I sang with various bands and quit high school at 17 to play full time. After several years, I decided to get a real job and continued to play weekends. Over the years I learned to play Bass, Guitar, Harmonica, Mandolin and Keyboards. On a good night I am mediocre on all of these. For about 30 years I settled into the nitch of Rhythm Guitar, Keys and Vocals. One year ago a Drummer friend talked me into coming to a practice with his country band to play Bass. Great guys, with no ego's, so I joined. We play newish country and classic and 80's Rock. Strange combination but it works. I have added keyboards with left handed bass to about half of our songs.

 

I started collecting gear 47 years ago and have way too much to list. My current live rig is a 1978 Fender P-bass with a Jazz pickup added,Motif ES6, Roland VR760 with all three running into an Eden Bass amp with 2-10 and 2-12 Cabinets. Sorry to go on for so long.

 

[Joe Muscara]

I started collecting gear 47 years ago and have way too much to list. ... Sorry to go on for so long.

You'll fit right in here. Welcome!

[John Tweed]

Hi to the forum,

 

I've spent years lurking here and on other keyboard forums, but never felt I had the time to get actively involved. So now that I've hit the ripe old age of 60 (yipe), I have got the time and here I am.

 

Brief bio: I was born and grew up in Tasmania (Australia) and now live in Sydney. I discovered the piano in the corner of the living room when I was 16 and found it made musical sense to me, more so than guitar which I had been playing for several years. Bought an organ and joined a band, and went on to enjoy a musical career thru the late 60's to early 80's working with some of Australia's top acts of the day. I got out of the music game full time and went to Uni for a few years and then onto a career in computers, although I never stopped gigging altogether (came close though). These days I play with some bands around Sydney, and whatever else comes my way. I sing a bit here and there (not very well) and like to play guitar too when I get the chance.

 

John

[Col.B.]

Hi, I am new here. From Northamptonshire, England. In my mid 40's. My day job is as a High School music teacher. I also had a spell as a military musician (trombone and keys) in the 1980's. Don't gig very much on keyboard - trombone is sexier . Exceptions are for playing when needed at school and I also occasionally play at church. I used to play digi pianos for years but I sold my Korg SP300 and currently use (courtesy of ebay):

 

• Viscount DB3 single manual organ (love the drawbars),
  
• Oberheim MC1000 Controller (too heavy - thinking of getting a Kurzweil sp4-7),
  
• Roland PK5 pedals (play very slowly) and
  
• 2 midi modules.
  
• too many trombones, a tuba and a french horn
  
• Akai EWI windsynth.
  
• I compose and arrange a fair amount for jazz ensemble and for brass using Sibelius.

[MAJUSCULE]

Welcome, John and Colin! You'll find several of your countrymen around KC. (Well, you might have to weed out a few americans first... )

[non ce futuro]

Welcome Colin, welcome John! Sure you will post some nice contributions!

There are people from everywhere around here, in fact, we should do a "keyboard-forum-members-distribution-around-the-globe-poll".

 

PS

No need to weed out our north-american friends, you're all usually nice people, Eric

[PicklesMahoney]

Hi everybody,

 

I just wanted to introduce myself, I've been lurking here off and on for about a year or so reading posts but had so much to say that I had to register and join in fun.

 

I am Pickles Mahoney. I play keys and am from Cut Off, Louisiana. Cut Off is located about an hour out side of New Orleans about halfway to Grand Isle on LA1 just north of the speed trap known as Golden Meadow. The most famous people from Cut Off are Bobby Hebert, The Saints QB under Jim Mora (also a QB for the Falcons and Panthers in the USFL), and Trish, the slut from Real World Las Vegas on MTV.

 

I grew up in Cut Off and studied piano with Mr. Melancon who also played at church. I played in rock bands in high school with an old Rhodes. After high school, I attended LSU (currently no. 1 in all polls) and graduated with a degree in petroleum engineering.

 

While working in New Orleans for Texaco, I attended the jazz studies program at UNO when Ellis Marsalis was director. I had to bail after two years due to work obligations.

 

After Texaco moved everything to Houston, I moved back to Cut Off and now am working as an engineer for ConocoPhillips on the Magnolia platform two weeks on, one week off.

 

I teach piano in Cut Off and currently have 8 students. I also front a Zydeco-Funk group down here called Pickles and the Krauts. We mostly play in dives in Golden Meadow, Grand Isle, Raceland and Westwego. A couple times a year I head up to New Orleans to visit friends and check out the music at Sweet Lorraine's and Snug. I haven't really been outside the south. Only going to LSU games in Tuscaloosa, Gainesville and Athens.

 

The band gigs out about two or three times a month. My rig consists of a new Hammond SK2 and a Yamaha FM tone generator for bass and whacked out leads. I also have an older Yamaha P-200 stage piano that I put out to pasture when the SK2 arrived.

 

I only use and endorse Monster Cable instrument cables and Peavey amplifiers. We've got a pretty big following down here but the money isn't too good. We're lucky to get 100 per man after drinks are factored in.

 

Anyway I just wanted to say hi and give a shout out to Josh from NOLA. I spoke to him a few times over the past couple years in the Quarter and he is the only cat on the forum that I actually have met, although that was before I registered here.

 

I understand that all the heat you've been giving is some sort of hazing given to new members and I can dig that. I was a DKE at LSU. Let me also give a shout out to Offnote and Mogut for being real friendly to me.

 

For non-music interests I am big into LSU and Saints football, Cadillac DeVilles, and have a collection of Admiral televisions. I am a dog lover and have three Catahoulas (Sharkey, Zigaboo, and Kermit).

 

 

[Mogut]

Welcome to the GROUP!!!

[Joe P]

Welcome to the cuckoo's nest, Mr. Mahoney!

 

Regards,

Joe

[MoodyBluesKeys]

Welcome to the group. I personally have learned quite a bit from the KC (and maybe helped a few others along the way).

 

Keep safe down there on that platform - I hear the winds and waves can get pretty high with some weather.

 

[PicklesMahoney]

Thanks everyone,

 

Moody, the rig work isn't too bad for me. I'm an engineer so am in the office most of the time. The deckhands and roughnecks have the dangerous work. The weather sure can change fast out there. The two good things about the job is the great food and fantastic pay. The downside is that I miss my dogs and little Pickles Jr. At least I have a little Yamaha PSR and some headphones to work on songs and practice a bit. As always I am scared of the helicopter ride to shore. I turn 40 next year and I think that I'll call it quits and move to Baton Rouge and get a normal office gig at a refinery. It is tough being away from Mrs. Pickles and the family for two weeks at a time.

[Tonysounds]

It is tough being away from Mrs. Pickles and the family for two weeks at a time.

 

Funny...that's not what she said.

[Octopus]

Hello!!!

 

More swedes :-) Nice!!!!

 

can I have your mailadress please? Want to ask about NS2, when I planning to buy one (maybe).

 

Ha det gött ;-)

 

/Andreas from Nässjö in Sweden

 

 

[Avijeet]

Hi folks,

I'm Avijeet Satapathy,from Mumbai, India. 21 years old. Been playing the keyboard since I was 5. Gave my Trinity 6th grade in Electronic Keyboard when I was 13, then had to focus on school and college. Now dropped out of final year college to pursue a career in music. Have been reading at KC for over 8 months now. Trying to put together a Soft/Pop and Expt Rock band and another Indian Fusion band.

 

Regards.

[KingstonCrim]

Wow, wish I had time to read all 30 pages of this thread! I have to echo BEMcCut's post about 14 messages up, I'm 56 years old on the outside (inside never grew up), started playing everywhere I could after seeing the Beatles on TV too.

 

After Berklee in the 70's I started my own orig prog band for a few years. We were (mis-)managed out of existence so since then I've played new-wave techno rock (think Ultravox), was in a touring Beatles tribute band (where I was the off-stage "George Martin" equivalent). Even played disco for a while 'cuz the money was real good, top 40, played it all really.

 

Finally got burnt out of the constant road life, got a day job so now I'm playing less but enjoying it more since I can afford to be picky about the gigs I do. I don't HAVE to play to make ends meet... I play because I WANT to and use the gig money to pay for my toys like more gear, the motorcycle, pontoon boat, etc. and the new Ventilator.

 

Most of the last 20 years has been playing reggae, world beat, a few jazz big bands, and I'm currently music director at a pretty progressive church where we have freedom to play literally anything we feel can fit, from Bob Marley to Beatles to Stevie Wonder to the Dixie Chicks and hip-hop/dancehall versions of actual church tunes.

 

I coined my pseudonym on here (also used over at Aural Moon) "KingstonCrim" reflecting the passion for two of my favorite musical Bobs, i.e. Fripp and Marley.

 

Equipment past: Farfisa Combo Compact Deluxe, Farfisa Professional, Fender Rhodes 73 Stage, RMI piano, Arp Odyssey, CP-70B piano, ELKA Rhapsody.

 

Currently still own Yamaha CS-80, Rhodes Chroma (for sale!), Yamaha P-120 digital piano, Kurzweil K1000SE, Kurzweil 1000HX Horn Expander (for sale!), Proteus, Yamaha TX-81Z.

 

I doubt I can ever get rid of the CS-80, my fave axe of all time. Would love next to get a Nord! Working on that...

 

[Bobadohshe]

Because you have a CS80, you are already a rockstar here, and I bow down before you.

 

http://bobbycressey.files.wordpress.com/2011/11/bow_down.png

 

Welcome to the forum!

[KingstonCrim]

(Heh, alright you can get up now!) Made me laugh. But yeah, it is a nice rig. Whatever it took, I just had to get the CS80 when it first came out. There was nothing else that would satisfy me. And it was perfect for our fledgling prog band.

[NewImprov]

I coined my pseudonym on here (also used over at Aural Moon) "KingstonCrim" reflecting the passion for two of my favorite musical Bobs, i.e. Fripp and Marley.

 

 

Can't wait to hear the results of that particular set of inpiration:

In The Court of the Trenchtown King

3 of a Perfect Pimper's Paradise

Thela Hun Ganja

Starless and Natty Dread

dREaD

 

I'll stop there...Welcome to the forum!

[Sir Duke]

I guess I should introduce myself since I'm new to the forum. So here I am. I just recently started back in the keyboard world after an ill conceived journey into the guitar world. Now don't get me wrong I still like guitar but I've found that I like keyboards even more. Currently, I mostly play with our worship team at church which is made up of amatures (like me)and some pros. My setup is a little dated (also like me) as I have a Yamaha S80 that I bought in about 2000, a vintage Korg CX-3 and a 2010 Roland Stage. I'll be looking to upgrade my main board in the near future so I'll be looking at the forum for some feedback. I'm fortunate that the church has a super clean B2 with trek percussion added and a 147 that I use. I just recently received a EV ELX 112P so I'll let you know how I like it. Anyway I'm usually not so long winded so let me just say it's good to met everyone.

[Sven Golly]

I guess I should introduce myself since I'm new to the forum.

 

Welcome.

 

{edited to remove content that made sense before the thread was merged into the Introductions thread}

 

See you around! Always good to have more organ players taking part.

[ksoper]

Also good to have another Nashvillian in the ranks. Welcome.

[David Loving]

Welcome!