Great for Mardi Gras...

Boo must be pulling his hair out ... not enough chords!

Shoot, Boo couldn't remember all the chords in Bo Diddly!
DonM

Great song to pull off on an arranger KB,.......
kool groove...love it!

Can't see DNJs following grooving to this!
Or mine either.
DonM

I have many different followings,...

The day they make an arranger that can sound like this, I'll be first in line for it...

Have a listen to that drummer... count how many different patterns and fills he puts together for it. That's what goes wrong with most arranger versions... just not enough variety, subtlety, too much being stuck in one pattern. That's just not how good drummers do it!

Our arrangers still have a VERY long way to go before they start to measure up to a real drummer, let alone any other instrument player.

Diki ... the sooner you embrace the limitations of the digital world and stop comparing to the "live" counterparts - you can start really enjoying the benefits that they offer. I can give you lots of reasons why I'm GLAD I don't have a live drummer. For ONE - there are rooms I work that won't ALLOW one because of the bad rep they created for themselves. Just sayin ...
I love my great musician friends too, but there are many, many instances where digital Ringo is the drummer of choice.

I could never sing that tune ... I'd fall asleep before the second Na Na. I like silly stuff, but that's downright awful as a lyric.

Ditto X2

Gary

No argument, Dave. For what they do best, digital drummers are pretty damn good.

This ain't one of them, though!

I had a drummer in the 80s before I ever had a machine (his name was Bruce) ... when I got my first beat box, I just HAD to call him ... yup, BRUCE! Made him crazy!

I had a drummer in the 70s, he was pretty damned good, if and when he decided to show up for the job, which sometimes wasn't the case. Additionally, he was way too loud for the restaurant jobs we had. I purchased a Roland, programmable, drum machine one day that really sounded great. I dumped the drummer the following day. No more problems with no shows, no more bull $hit excuses why he didn't show, no more problems with being too loud for the restaurant jobs. I guess if someone has a fixation for performing with a live drummer, then knock yourself out. I haven't needed one since the mid 1970s, and still don't.

Cheers,

Gary

Once again, the ugly specter of how everyone ELSE is always incompetent, late, unreliable...

Has it ever occurred to any of us that, if we can only attract the worst players to work with us, what does that say about US?

If only our drum machines, arrangers, sequencers could talk! I wonder what they would say about us? LOL

Got along great with our drummer - and the rest of the guys - for 26 years ... and no one ever missed a gig ...

So is anybody doing this song?

I've been playing regularly with live drummers (and bass + guitar players) for 25+ years, as well as playing as being an arranger player (solo, and as part of a duo) for 15+ years ... never had a drummer "not show up" ... often they show up early, I guess 'cause they know they have plenty of gear to set up?! I enjoy playing with my live band (5pc) as wella as my solo and duo "arranger" gigs ... Each has its pros and cons and I enjoy both ... Jim

I still get along with Abe, my ex-drummer. Nice guy, nice wife, and loves to fish. Until a few years ago we fished the lower reaches of Chesapeake Bay a couple dozen times a year aboard my boat. He no longer plays music, but he still catches a few fish now and then. Don't get to see him much anymore, I'm too busy playing music and sailing.

And, Donny, No, I don't do this song, and probably wouldn't for any number of reasons.

Gary

Gary this song is a New Orleans party thing!!..

Yeah, but I do others for Mardis Gras parties that seem to go over very well. Just not one I would be using for MY audiences.

Gary

Mine would say ... "thanks for all the work, Davey!"

Maybe it would say 'When do I get MY cut?!' LOL

Mine is probably going 'What? Can't find a REAL drummer again?!'

Hee, heee .... only had to pay him once, and he STILL shows up!
"Good little Brucie ..."

Ha...good one Dave.

We had a drummer named Jack who always managed to get drunk at the wrong times, and we lost a few gigs due to his rather nasty demeanor and sloppy playing when inebriated.

The bass player, Gary, bought a Roland drum machine (I forget which model) and we fired Jack.

At the next gig, Gary introduced the drum machine as "Jack in the Box".

Besides keeping nice steady time, it didn't drink, never came late, and never threw up in the van on the way home.

Ian

Pretty low expectations for the drums part if a machine was an acceptable substitute..!

It's kind of sad that the pool of quality players is so bad in our areas (or the pool of good drummers willing to play with US is so small!) that, rather than fire the bad drummer and hire a GOOD one, we'd go and get a machine!

You know, ever seen a live band use MIDI tracks for all the keyboard parts? No keyboard player... Ever thought it sounded good? I doubt it. Same with fake drums. Nobody without a vested interest would ever admit it sounded even a fraction as good as a good real drummer.

But if we can't get one to work with us (they are out there!), I still think that says far more about us than it does about the drummers...

Unfortunately, at the time, we were sort of forced into getting the drum machine, for the reason you stated above, which was, in our case, the lack of quality players available. The good ones were already working steady.

Even sadder was our old former drummer, Jack, wound up in a wheel chair and is presently on methadone.

Living in an area with a relatively small population does have it's disadvantages.

The next group I played with, a 6-piece, called Sir Edmund, was fortunate enough to have a fine drummer, and, of course, having that interaction was wonderful.

However, the experience with the drum machine was very helpful later on when I started playing/teaching using the Yamaha Electone and eventually,the arranger keyboard.

Ian

Sorry to see the subject hijacked but for the original question, No, I wouldn't try to do that song. I'd feel ridiculous sitting behind my keyboard singing Na Na endlessly. I can not imagine a situation where I would want to do it. Madi Gras party? Saints Go Marching and a few more that people recognize and then off to the same stuff they want all the time.
IE: Are we going to do the Cuban Shuffle ? AKA-- Cupid Shuffle ! HA ! JMHP

As for drummers. I had a great duo with a drummer who sang most of the songs. I took voice lessons and began to sing a bit and when he announced he was moving from NJ to Fla. I just switched to the Korg Drum Machine I had been fooling with at home. Took it to our regular Sunday night gig and no one blinked, just kept dancing. Never looked back. I kept upgrading machines up to the Roland CR80 and then started looking into arrangers. From two keyboards, bass pedals and drum machine to one board that does it all. Ain't technology great!
I am now also gigging with a 5 piece Blues Band and enjoy the "Live" playing but damn, the drummer is loud !

Hey, that's right, Bill...we have drifted from the topic.

I doubt if I'd do the tune either, although I must say, I like the beat.

Perhaps we could use a sample on our keyboards to do the "Hey, Na Na" part?

Ian

You guys need to get down here for Mardi Gras some time... Oh When the Saints? Please! Maybe at the game (Who dat?!)

Try some Professor Longhair, some Meters, some Galactic, some Dirty Dozen, the Nevilles, some Henry Butler...

The Saints Go Marching In? If that's what you think Mardi Gras is all about, better stick to senior homes!

In Donny's defense ... he has a loyal following of ballroom dancers who love to mix it up with new and old tunes. I'm sure someone made up a linedance to that dreadful NaNa song, and the crowd probably eats it up. It's no worse than the Electric Slide or the Cupid Shuffle, right? I just would never see an opportunity to introduce it to my clientele. Donny's crowd is different - they do whatever he tells them to do, and he gets right up on the floor WITH them - that's something I NEVER do!

almost every day for 45 years....

Sounds like you have a class act, Donny...audience involvement, no matter what the gig, is extremely important and usually means steady booking.

I envy those of you who can add "entertainer" to their keyboard/arranger skills. I'm more of a background player (even in groups), which is why restaurant gigs worked so well for me.

45 years? Time flies when you're having fun!

Ian

Diki

Point taken, I get it and appreciate all those true New Orleans styles but I was referring to the typical parties and dances we play here in NJ. The general public has certain expectations of hearing what they know and expect so we have to deliver. In a concert situation by all means play the real stuff and hopefully do it justice. Just saw on PBS Hugh Jackman ( Name? ) the TV actor, do a show with Professor Longhair, of the New Orleans music that he loved and it was quite good. In a specific situation like that it works because people knew beforehand what to expect.

Dave

Good piont, it is a perfect line dance tune, and it seems people want to line dance to anything

You guys definitely need to visit the Big Easy sometime... Line dancing to Galactic? The horror!

Come visit a city that defines the word 'cool'!

And, what city would that be,Diki?

Not sure you'd like NOLA... Only ever seen an arranger busking on the streets. Down here, they still make MUSIC.

That is an insult to everyone on this forum ...

Welcome home world traveler.

Gary

Post an arranger demo with a FRACTION of the groove and passion of this video.

Look, arrangers are great... I use them myself, remember..? What I don't try to do is convince myself or anyone else that they make music as well as a good band.

We need to reconnect with whatever we USED to be like before arrangers came out... With those younger versions of ourselves, that CARED about a groove, about fun, about making music. THEN bring that commitment back to the arranger, and see what a poor substitute it is.

There are lots of things that could be added to arranger OS's to help mitigate the rote beatbox they are... more Variations, more fills, breaks, Parts that voice lead better, Parts that change depending on surrounding chords, or note density, or velocity, things like that. And even if those get added, we are still a long way from what a good band can do.

What you have to understand about NOLA and other cities like Austin that pride themselves on being live music destinations is that a beatbox just ain't going to cut it there. People come with an expectation of seeing music made the old fashioned way, you know, by 'musicians'! I guess, if they want to see someone hold down a chord and play a one finger melody, they can stay where they are!

I don't believe I am insulting the entire forum. But I believe that a few here might take offense, if they no longer recognize great music when they hear it, and prefer their arrangers!

Yes, your are too insulting in a lot of your posts. Your not in our world and we're not in yours. Sort of like going to Washington and expecting to see the Lincoln Memorial. Nothing else will suffice on your trip. Yours is a very specific tourist destination where real live band 's are the norm and expected. Ours is a business where regular people just want to have a good time and don't care how it is being presented. We didn't make the rules, we just play the game. Reconnect with a band, and play where ?
If I could have a real band and get gigs I would but it ain't gonna happen and I do know great music. Been there, done that like many on this forum.
I'm with a Blues Band now with limited expectations of gigs and money but we are doing it for the love of playing. The rehearsals are their own reward with a great groove, fun and making real music.
Will I ever revert to Mp3 back rounds, I doubt it, but then again, I said I'd never do DJ work. The times are changing.
Get over it and look at the whole picture. The negativity is getting boring.

Only those feeling guilty should feel any insult, Bill. If your conscience is clear, what do my words matter?



It seems that at least you can tell the difference. Some here, apparently, cannot.

Please remember... I am one of your number... I use an arranger, to do solo or duo gigs from time to time. The only difference I can see is that, while I use them, it is reluctantly, when I can't get a full band gig, and I don't EVER try to convince myself or anyone else that it is actually BETTER. I'd rather have real musicians any day, warts and all.

The truth is, if money is the sole object of life, pretty much any of us could make a better living than playing music. Most of us do, actually! So, if we do decide to make our livelihoods making music, let us not lose sight of what music IS. That by circumstance or even choice, we choose to use machines is one thing. But conferring on them the ability to be better than a live band, in any respect other than how cheap they are to work strikes me as a bit desperate.

In any major city, there is at LEAST as many live bands playing any night as there are round my little area. The opportunities are out there. But most of them require rather more in the way of chops than I have heard here on the whole, with notable exceptions.

This thread has been quite enlightening, for me at least. The first post puts up a song with a groove and a joy that no arranger has ever captured, and asks the question 'Anyone doing this song.....?' as if anyone here has even HEARD of Galactic, let alone covers anything by them! Then says it would be great for Mardi Gras (which the song doesn't mention), as if that is the only reason anyone would want to play a song by a band from New Orleans...

All I'm trying to point out is that NOLA is MUCH, much more than Mardi Gras, and that great music, infectious grooves, and great players abound every night of the year. Mardi Gras is such a tiny part of it! And, sadly, these kind of grooves seem to be the LAST thing you'll find in a modern arranger. I have long asked for more of this kind of stuff, but arranger's ROM's (and 3rd party styles too), if they do anything NOLA at all, merely trot out hoary dixieland or styles you can play 'O when the Saints' with.

If you are a lover of the Big Easy's laid back, funky gumbo of grooves, sadly, you are pretty much out of luck! That is a city of exceptional musicians, and there are so many great drummers there, it blows your mind... Trying to do anything from that city on an arranger is an uphill battle!

... not yet !!! wi fi - SOMETIMES !!!

Wow, I feel off-topic for going back to the original topic... Galactic is one hell of a groovin' band! Their drummer, Staton Moore, has a deep knowledge the of New Orleans second line drumming tradition. A true keeper of the flame.