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#381177 - 01/11/14 01:47 PM
I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 12800
Loc: Penn Yan, NY
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Meaning: I played with that band of older fellas that teach me SO much each time I go out with them. I'm the baby of the group at 58 (by almost 20 years!), and I feel like I should be paying them for letting me study on the bandstand. I'm the token "Rocker" because of vocals (and SOME guitar stuff), and the set list, while standard ... is like taking a theory lesson every song. As a guitarist, I rarely played with a keyboard player over the years - lemme tell ya - it's a challenge to re-voice chords to stay out of his way! Add the facts that I'm transposing and trying to sing at the same time and you have another "sunny day in Philadelphia." I'm very grateful that they put up with my fumbling ... sometimes I feel like I'm playing with mittens on.  My standard approach to solo guitar has always been to fill up the spaces and make all the rhythm ... not so in the band scenario. I have to accent different beats, fill in little signature licks (Johnny B Goode, Rock around the Clock etc) and it's very challenging. After 40 years of mostly running the show, it's a pleasure to not have to drive the bus ... so to speak. I'm posting this to remind us all to step out of our comfort zone once in a while and experience the thrill of experimentation, and creativity in a new way. Whatever way that is - it's a task well worth the effort. Last night, 2 of the 4 of us had a digital harmonizer attached to our mics ... me and the keyboardist - MAN, was THAT FUN! We did some things that sounded like the cast of Les Miz was behind us. My harmonies were triggered by the guitar chords and the keyboard guy has a Korg PA1xPro with a TC built in. So ... let's count - 4 live singers, 2 in my pedalboard and 3 more in Paul's Korg. We had a nine piece vocal ensemble going at times! Fun, fun, fun ... and Daddy never took the T-Bird away.
_________________________
No longer monitoring this forum. Please visit www.daveboydmusic.com for contact info
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#381204 - 01/11/14 04:33 PM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 12800
Loc: Penn Yan, NY
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BTW - talking about gear ...
I might have posted this before, but it's worth repeating for the newcomers.
First, I have to tell you that this keyboard guy is the absolute BEST I know - plays beautiful chords, fantastic bass lines and he's the nicest guy you'll meet. With that said .... he's fussy and SLOW to change. His rig includes:
Korg PA1xpro on bottom - all piano and comping comes from this slab
Korg 13 on top (very BULKY, homemade steel rack, I might add) for organs, brass and other "color" sounds and triggers midi signal to one of 2 full size modules to his left
One is a Roland that is dedicated for bass, I think, and a Korg that must have some sentimental value, cuz it's older than the 1x, I think. It might even be an O1W.
AND - and i5m on top of the module stack for the very sparse drum beat/arranger pattern that they use on a few (very few) tunes.
3 volume pedals (HUGE Morley, metal ones), 2 sustain pedals, mic stand .... geeze.
With his chops ... almost any current arranger would sound fantastic, and even if he NEEDS the second slab for dexterity - he certainly doesn't need the THREE modular tone boxes that he carries. He plays all his sounds (including bass) through a stereo EV rig with a Mackie mixer that is a powerful full range PA in itself. It's SO overkill that I feel sorry for him every time I look at it. He's 78, and lugs all this bulk around. I MUST educate him to the newer, "more hip" ways of the force. He's such a great player ... he could do the job with his PA1x as the main chord source and buy a new "whatever" he likes to play all the other sounds, sequences and midi trigger parts.
He could leave all 3 modules home, scale down the mixer/rack and cut his setup/teardown time in half.
Paul might like the BK-9 piano sound and he'd be able to relinquish the tone modules and drum machines. Add a PA3x on top for great control of vocals and color sounds and he could streamline his rig into a major powerhouse. LIGHTER, prettier and better equipped than anything he's ever had. He has a pretty hard touch, wonder why he never got a weighted action 88 as his controller.
The more I think of it - I think he should get a PA3x76 for his "go to" axe and trigger vocals from it. Then, he could get the Roland for the extra sounds on top - better esthetics, and more control from the sliders on the Korg.
_________________________
No longer monitoring this forum. Please visit www.daveboydmusic.com for contact info
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#381251 - 01/12/14 08:54 AM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 15576
Loc: Forest Hill, MD USA
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From what I know of the backgrounds of many forum members, most of those that currently perform as OMB entertainers were band members playing individual instruments prior to toe advent of arranger keyboards. For various reasons, including financial, the chose to go the OMB route. I played a 12-string guitar, Don Mason played trumpet, Fran and DNJ played an accordion, Eddie Shoemaker played drums, those were fun times. We didn't make any money, at least not enough to live on, but we always had a lot of fun, and that why the vast majority of us still play. I would get together with my old band, but with the exception of the lead guitar player, the other three guys now reside in cemeteries. When they were alive, we got together once a year, had lots of fun, ate fattening food and drank booze. When I went back to being a solo player, which was about 25 years ago, I was still playing a guitar and singing. Then, some very creative genius invented an arranger keyboard - WOW! What an amazing device. Back then they didn't have many features, only a handful of styles and voices, but that didn't stop me, or others from purchasing one. Back then, which was about 20 years ago, what most of us knew about arranger keyboards could be written on the head of a match and left lots of room to write an encyclopedia. Fortunately, forums such as this one came along, thus providing us the ability to not only exchange information, but additionally to form friendships and bond with others with like interests. We exchanged ideas and learned from each other on a daily basis, despite not being in the same room with those individuals who so unselfishly shared their expertise. This is not a band forum, or a musicians forum, music writer forum - it's an arranger keyboard forum, and that's why the vast majority of us came here. We came to learn how to get more out of our individual arranger keyboards. So, just like when I played with a band, when I'm here I learn from those around me. I learn from people throughout the world who have incredible differences in background and experience. What more could anyone in this field of endeavor ask for? Cheers, Gary 
_________________________
PSR-S950, TC Helicon Harmony-M, Digitech VR, Samson Q7, Sennheiser E855, Custom Console, and lots of other silly stuff!
K+E=W (Knowledge Plus Experience = Wisdom.)
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#381254 - 01/12/14 10:40 AM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Senior Member
Registered: 07/27/05
Posts: 10606
Loc: Cape Breton Island, Canada
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Having the arranger keyboard not only lets me play as a solo act, but, if you want to jam with friends, or play on stage, and, depending on how many want to join in, auto-accompaniment can sub for whoever is missing.
I take my Tyros4 to all the jams we have and it sits on top of the B-3....sometimes I play it as just a source of great sounds, other times I use it in style mode, adding/removing parts as needed.
For me, the arranger is the Swiss Army Knife of keyboards, and today's arrangers sound so good and offer so many great (and realistic) styles and sounds, that it is a real pleasure to play one.
Like Gary and Donny, my first arranger had all of 32 styles, and roughly 64 sounds, with no fingering options other that single and fingered chords and sounds that were barely approximations of the instruments they were named after. Nowadays we have incredible styles and sounds.
Some pros scoffed at our instrument choice (some still do) and laughed at our early efforts, but, we laughed too...all the way to the bank.
I am grateful we have such a versatile tool in our kits.
Ian
_________________________
Yamaha Tyros4, Yamaha MS-60S Powered Monitors(2), Yamaha CS-01, Yamaha TQ-5, Yamaha PSR-S775.
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#381255 - 01/12/14 10:55 AM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/01/99
Posts: 12800
Loc: Penn Yan, NY
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Get a cup of tea before you start reading .... it's Looooong ...... I have loved every phase of my ever expanding musical career ... including this latest chapter - teaching. As I look back on the bands, large and small - they all had their ups and downs, but the common denominator has always been the music, and the audience. I've never been as happy as when I'm on stage. The studio is cool, but I need the reaction from the people to fully appreciate the process. Here's a brief timeline of how the music shaped my life, fed my family, and kept my accountant busy: 1955: born ... screaming at 2am. A night owl from the start 1959: singing my baby sister to sleep with a rousing rendition of "over the seas, let's go men" ... woke her up more than soothed her to sleep 1961: got a guitar for Christmas. A cheap, plastic Sears toy that I sat on and busted that same day. My hero (Dad) took it back to Sears and got it replaced. He failed to mention how his little fata$$ son was at fault, and not the manufacturer. 1964: February 9th, Sunday night with a million others in the USA watching Ed Sullivan .... saw the Beatles. Thought to myself .... "I could DO that!" 1965-69: formed small garage bands with schoolmates. I played 12 string acoustic, Mike Revak played lead guitar, George Shay on Bass and Mike Harkins on drums. We played our first paid gig as eighth graders at a college graduation party. We knew 7 songs, so we repeated them 2 or 3 times. $5 each, all we could eat and got to look (oogle) at the college girls. Life was good, and I was a professional, paid musician. 1969: Started High School: played Freshman football with buddies ... didn't realize the band was cooler than the jocks just yet. After weeks and weeks of hearing "Boyd - give me 20!" "Boyd, hit the dirt!" "Boyd, start runnin’!" ... I finally figured out that sports was not my love ... especially since on the other practice field, the marching band would practice and there were about a hundred girls in the band-front with batons and rifles .... oh, baby. I went to join the band - the director asked what do I play. I responded "Guitar" ... he said "We don't have a cord long enough to reach the football field .. play drums"... so I did. Well, the drummers were just a tad "too cool" for school ... smoking, drinking, didn't have to pick up their feet as high as the other players .... just a separate society within the band. So, I go back to Mr C, the director, and asked for something else. He handed me a small briefcase ... a clarinet. I took one look at it and said "This is a sissy instrument!" ... he looked back at me, and with ZERO emotion in his voice told me "This is MY instrument, son". (removed foot from mouth) I took it home and showed my Dad. He took out a few Pete Fountain records (remember RECORDS?) and said "listen to these" … I did, and fell in love with the sound. I began my quest to be the best clarinetist I could be. Over the next 3 years at HS, I reached 1st chair clarinet, played the solo from "Rhapsody in Blue" at Graduation, earned a scholarship to Temple as a music major, and still found time to act in plays, gig on the weekends (piano, bass, guitar and drums), and fall in love with my high school sweetheart (not a redhead) Marie, who is the mother of my son, Christopher, and someone I deeply admire and respect to this day. Our kids are friends, our lives still connect at family functions and I consider Mark (my husband-in-law) to be a Godsend to our family. So .... here I am entering Temple U as a clarinetist during the Disco years. Hmmmm ... what to DO with this instrument? If I am so bold to believe that I'm good enough, my options are: 1)local Philly/NY theater: ... naw - I could never play the SAME THING day after day for years on end. I'd go nuts. 2)Philadelphia Orchestra ... those guys pretty much have a job till they die ... tough breaking into THAT club. 3)teaching school ... NO WAY - all day long with a bunch of high school kids? I just LEFT that world. (sign of things to come, perhaps?) 4)form a top 40 band and play the circuit locally, marry Marie, make babies and music. 1975: I chose #4. After 2 years of college - I decided that full time music was more in the cards, so I left school, got married and kicked my career into high gear. Bass players who sang were not as common in our area, so I never had a problem finding a working band. We played the hits, stayed local and went home to our families every night. It was a living, and it provided 6-7 night of work each week for almost a decade. By 1978, the night shift, and the youth factor hit Marie and I pretty hard, and she was tired of going to sleep alone every night, and that led to our decision to separate. She went home to Mom, and I stayed in the house. Dad had lent us the money for the down payment, so it seemed fair. From 1975 till 1985, there were duos, trios, 14 pc swing bands, 10 pc funk/dance bands, and the occasional solo piano bar thing. Work was plentiful, I was single and the business was good to me. (at least, I thought it was) Mid 80s: DJs and drunk driving laws put a dent in the live scene, so the bands kept shrinking .... I figured, the last guy standing will be the keyboardist, so I concentrated on that for a while. Karaoke put the final nail in the coffin of many bands in the area, but the solo (power single, we were called) had no problem working the same rooms. I played rooms that 5 pc bands used to play, and got almost the same money. In some cases ... even more, because I had a great local following. Late 80s: Still hanging on to a few band scenarios, mostly me and a guitarist, or a sax ... drums were all electronic now. My go to rig was a Rhodes, a Moog bass, Clavinet, String machine and whatever "synth du jour" was making the scene. Big, bulky setups, with long setup times, and took loads of stage real-estate. Still, the work was there, and money kept coming. 1989: Full time soloist now ... the Rhodes and Clav are retired to home studio, and I'm using all arrangers now ... singing through the built in speakers in most. I had one of the earliest harmonizers, and became known for the vocal sound that I put out. I also started doing little dinner theater" shows ... Phantom of the Opera, Lez Miz, Oklahoma, South Pacific ... just 7-8 minute medleys (in costume) at a featured time each night. This became another "calling card" for me. It was something no one in the area was doing, so the crowds continued to come out. The 80s saw a second marriage (1984-2002), three daughters, loads of gear, but somehow ... I managed to find 4-5 nights each week to play and sing for my supper. There was also the advent of the Nursing Home jobs ... these were brand new back then, and a great source of income for the full timer who was off during the day. 1 hour job - 4 hour pay. Sweet. Add to that about 15-25 weddings, parties and corporate affairs each year, various studio sessions (making demos for friends) and you have a career. 2005: I turned 50 (gulp) ... I'm single (again), work is plentiful, but getting stale ... harder to find more than one night in a row in the clubs, and the every night setup/teardown is gettin’ old. One winter day, I get a random phone call from a singer I worked with in the 80s ... she says "come down to Florida for a few days and we can catch up" .... (big mistake) 3 days in the sun, too many gallons of wine to count, 2 nights in the hot tub and I was brainwashed into thinking I actually KNEW this woman, and wanted to be with her. (I shoulda bought a SPORTS CAR!) The attention was too much for this tired, chubby, lonely old man to handle, and since I still had young(ish) kids ... I didn't want them to see Daddy shacking up with the woman, now known as "The Miami hurricane" ... so (another gulp) I married her. (I know, I know ... shush) From that first phone call till the day I came home to an empty house after work one night was SEVEN MONTHS. What a whirlwind lesson in stupidity. There may even be a mark still on my forehead, where the "stupid stick" hit me. My fault for not finding a redhead, I guess. There was ONE redhead in this story, but that's a whole different book for another time. 2005 was like a Lifetime Movie - horrible marriage to the Wicked Witch of the South, I was carjacked, shot at, and almost broke from the left over bills from the "Miami hurricane" ... she left quite an impact on my wallet, but thankfully, my heart is unscathed. Just that silly "S" on my forehead is all that's left. I hope my furniture is happy in Miami, cuz I'll never go down there again! (shiver!) But, I digress ... the best part is about to happen! I read an ad in a music newsletter for a teacher in my area. "Non traditional school seeks full time, well rounded music teacher for multi-instrumental and vocal classes. DEGREE NOT REQUIRED. WOAH ..... did that have MY NAME on it? Am I ready to finally, set up house in one building and share the many years and stories of the biz with young musicians? I took the plunge and that's where I am today. It's my 8th year as a teacher, and I still find time to play all summer at my favorite places, I have a few monthly jobs during the school year in local eateries, and the band work, private parties and dances come in with surprising regularity. Don’t forget that we produce 2 plays and 3 concerts with school each year too – GREAT FUN! So, it's 44 years since that $5 graduation party I played on guitar, and after Friday night's job with the Topics ... I feel like I'm just learning the darn instrument! Sigh ... we're never too old to learn, and the thrill of the achievement is SO worth the effort. Sorry I rambled on so long, but I'm avoiding taking the Christmas tree down ... so may snowmen … so little time … Oh, GOODY! It's lunchtime ... it can wait another 30 minutes or so. Thanx for listening!
_________________________
No longer monitoring this forum. Please visit www.daveboydmusic.com for contact info
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#381274 - 01/12/14 03:08 PM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Member
Registered: 08/24/04
Posts: 666
Loc: City of Angels in the golden s...
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Get a cup of tea before you start reading .... it's Looooong ...... I have loved every phase of my ever expanding musical career ... including this latest chapter - teaching. As I look back on the bands, large and small - they all had their ups and downs, but the common denominator has always been the music, and the audience. I've never been as happy as when I'm on stage. The studio is cool, but I need the reaction from the people to fully appreciate the process. Here's a brief timeline of how the music shaped my life, fed my family, and kept my accountant busy: 1955: born ... screaming at 2am. A night owl from the start 1959: singing my baby sister to sleep with a rousing rendition of "over the seas, let's go men" ... woke her up more than soothed her to sleep 1961: got a guitar for Christmas. A cheap, plastic Sears toy that I sat on and busted that same day. My hero (Dad) took it back to Sears and got it replaced. He failed to mention how his little fata$$ son was at fault, and not the manufacturer. 1964: February 9th, Sunday night with a million others in the USA watching Ed Sullivan .... saw the Beatles. Thought to myself .... "I could DO that!" 1965-69: formed small garage bands with schoolmates. I played 12 string acoustic, Mike Revak played lead guitar, George Shay on Bass and Mike Harkins on drums. We played our first paid gig as eighth graders at a college graduation party. We knew 7 songs, so we repeated them 2 or 3 times. $5 each, all we could eat and got to look (oogle) at the college girls. Life was good, and I was a professional, paid musician. 1969: Started High School: played Freshman football with buddies ... didn't realize the band was cooler than the jocks just yet. After weeks and weeks of hearing "Boyd - give me 20!" "Boyd, hit the dirt!" "Boyd, start runnin’!" ... I finally figured out that sports was not my love ... especially since on the other practice field, the marching band would practice and there were about a hundred girls in the band-front with batons and rifles .... oh, baby. I went to join the band - the director asked what do I play. I responded "Guitar" ... he said "We don't have a cord long enough to reach the football field .. play drums"... so I did. Well, the drummers were just a tad "too cool" for school ... smoking, drinking, didn't have to pick up their feet as high as the other players .... just a separate society within the band. So, I go back to Mr C, the director, and asked for something else. He handed me a small briefcase ... a clarinet. I took one look at it and said "This is a sissy instrument!" ... he looked back at me, and with ZERO emotion in his voice told me "This is MY instrument, son". (removed foot from mouth) I took it home and showed my Dad. He took out a few Pete Fountain records (remember RECORDS?) and said "listen to these" … I did, and fell in love with the sound. I began my quest to be the best clarinetist I could be. Over the next 3 years at HS, I reached 1st chair clarinet, played the solo from "Rhapsody in Blue" at Graduation, earned a scholarship to Temple as a music major, and still found time to act in plays, gig on the weekends (piano, bass, guitar and drums), and fall in love with my high school sweetheart (not a redhead) Marie, who is the mother of my son, Christopher, and someone I deeply admire and respect to this day. Our kids are friends, our lives still connect at family functions and I consider Mark (my husband-in-law) to be a Godsend to our family. So .... here I am entering Temple U as a clarinetist during the Disco years. Hmmmm ... what to DO with this instrument? If I am so bold to believe that I'm good enough, my options are: 1)local Philly/NY theater: ... naw - I could never play the SAME THING day after day for years on end. I'd go nuts. 2)Philadelphia Orchestra ... those guys pretty much have a job till they die ... tough breaking into THAT club. 3)teaching school ... NO WAY - all day long with a bunch of high school kids? I just LEFT that world. (sign of things to come, perhaps?) 4)form a top 40 band and play the circuit locally, marry Marie, make babies and music. 1975: I chose #4. After 2 years of college - I decided that full time music was more in the cards, so I left school, got married and kicked my career into high gear. Bass players who sang were not as common in our area, so I never had a problem finding a working band. We played the hits, stayed local and went home to our families every night. It was a living, and it provided 6-7 night of work each week for almost a decade. By 1978, the night shift, and the youth factor hit Marie and I pretty hard, and she was tired of going to sleep alone every night, and that led to our decision to separate. She went home to Mom, and I stayed in the house. Dad had lent us the money for the down payment, so it seemed fair. From 1975 till 1985, there were duos, trios, 14 pc swing bands, 10 pc funk/dance bands, and the occasional solo piano bar thing. Work was plentiful, I was single and the business was good to me. (at least, I thought it was) Mid 80s: DJs and drunk driving laws put a dent in the live scene, so the bands kept shrinking .... I figured, the last guy standing will be the keyboardist, so I concentrated on that for a while. Karaoke put the final nail in the coffin of many bands in the area, but the solo (power single, we were called) had no problem working the same rooms. I played rooms that 5 pc bands used to play, and got almost the same money. In some cases ... even more, because I had a great local following. Late 80s: Still hanging on to a few band scenarios, mostly me and a guitarist, or a sax ... drums were all electronic now. My go to rig was a Rhodes, a Moog bass, Clavinet, String machine and whatever "synth du jour" was making the scene. Big, bulky setups, with long setup times, and took loads of stage real-estate. Still, the work was there, and money kept coming. 1989: Full time soloist now ... the Rhodes and Clav are retired to home studio, and I'm using all arrangers now ... singing through the built in speakers in most. I had one of the earliest harmonizers, and became known for the vocal sound that I put out. I also started doing little dinner theater" shows ... Phantom of the Opera, Lez Miz, Oklahoma, South Pacific ... just 7-8 minute medleys (in costume) at a featured time each night. This became another "calling card" for me. It was something no one in the area was doing, so the crowds continued to come out. The 80s saw a second marriage (1984-2002), three daughters, loads of gear, but somehow ... I managed to find 4-5 nights each week to play and sing for my supper. There was also the advent of the Nursing Home jobs ... these were brand new back then, and a great source of income for the full timer who was off during the day. 1 hour job - 4 hour pay. Sweet. Add to that about 15-25 weddings, parties and corporate affairs each year, various studio sessions (making demos for friends) and you have a career. 2005: I turned 50 (gulp) ... I'm single (again), work is plentiful, but getting stale ... harder to find more than one night in a row in the clubs, and the every night setup/teardown is gettin’ old. One winter day, I get a random phone call from a singer I worked with in the 80s ... she says "come down to Florida for a few days and we can catch up" .... (big mistake) 3 days in the sun, too many gallons of wine to count, 2 nights in the hot tub and I was brainwashed into thinking I actually KNEW this woman, and wanted to be with her. (I shoulda bought a SPORTS CAR!) The attention was too much for this tired, chubby, lonely old man to handle, and since I still had young(ish) kids ... I didn't want them to see Daddy shacking up with the woman, now known as "The Miami hurricane" ... so (another gulp) I married her. (I know, I know ... shush) From that first phone call till the day I came home to an empty house after work one night was SEVEN MONTHS. What a whirlwind lesson in stupidity. There may even be a mark still on my forehead, where the "stupid stick" hit me. My fault for not finding a redhead, I guess. There was ONE redhead in this story, but that's a whole different book for another time. 2005 was like a Lifetime Movie - horrible marriage to the Wicked Witch of the South, I was carjacked, shot at, and almost broke from the left over bills from the "Miami hurricane" ... she left quite an impact on my wallet, but thankfully, my heart is unscathed. Just that silly "S" on my forehead is all that's left. I hope my furniture is happy in Miami, cuz I'll never go down there again! (shiver!) But, I digress ... the best part is about to happen! I read an ad in a music newsletter for a teacher in my area. "Non traditional school seeks full time, well rounded music teacher for multi-instrumental and vocal classes. DEGREE NOT REQUIRED. WOAH ..... did that have MY NAME on it? Am I ready to finally, set up house in one building and share the many years and stories of the biz with young musicians? I took the plunge and that's where I am today. It's my 8th year as a teacher, and I still find time to play all summer at my favorite places, I have a few monthly jobs during the school year in local eateries, and the band work, private parties and dances come in with surprising regularity. Don’t forget that we produce 2 plays and 3 concerts with school each year too – GREAT FUN! So, it's 44 years since that $5 graduation party I played on guitar, and after Friday night's job with the Topics ... I feel like I'm just learning the darn instrument! Sigh ... we're never too old to learn, and the thrill of the achievement is SO worth the effort. Sorry I rambled on so long, but I'm avoiding taking the Christmas tree down ... so may snowmen … so little time … Oh, GOODY! It's lunchtime ... it can wait another 30 minutes or so. Thanx for listening! Great post UD.One of the great reasons to visit this forum is reading such honest and informative posts.thanks for sharing.
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#381303 - 01/13/14 07:31 AM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Member
Registered: 09/07/12
Posts: 322
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UD,
Man your life sounds a lot like mine except mine started a lot earlier than your and was in the evening, but I am a night owl anyway.
Glenn Miller was still the popular style band when I was in high school and my first band was in that style, but I found out being a band leader less fun than a band player. Buying the sheets, stands, getting folks to practice, renting the dance hall, hiring guards, ticket sales, on and on was more than this kid could handle.
My folks sent me to the University of Michigan as a music major - when I found out that the curriculum was to make me a high school band director, I quit and enlisted because the Korean "Police Action" was nipping at my heals - stayed in through Vietnam.
Bill G
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#381309 - 01/13/14 08:09 AM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: billyhank]
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Senior Member
Registered: 10/20/09
Posts: 3230
Loc: Dallas, Texas
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UD,
I found out being a band leader less fun than a band player. Buying the sheets, stands, getting folks to practice, renting the dance hall, hiring guards, ticket sales, on and on was more than this kid could handle.
Bill G
I hear you Bill. Even running your OMB act is a lot more work than being a side man in a band. I love to play in bands and I'm glad I get called occasionally to sub for different bands. I also love the flexibility that the arranger keyboard allows me. I can play out as a solo, duo, trio,... My preference is to work with at least another vocalist and maybe another instrumentalist however the majority of my work is solo.
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#381314 - 01/13/14 09:39 AM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: montunoman]
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Senior Member
Registered: 01/02/04
Posts: 7305
Loc: Lexington, Ky, USA
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Less than 25% of my "live play" income comes from playing arrangers.
Less than 35% of my total playing income comes from live play.
I will ALWAYS include interaction/play with other musicians.
To me, that's what it's all about.
But again, that's because I'm not an entertainer.
The sacrifices have been major. But, this is what I've chosen, and life has been pretty good for the 58 years I've been involved in music.
But, I'm not Donny, who, I'm sure is a showstopper.
More power to him and others who get their satisfaction from pleasing customers live.
The point is: PLAY AND ENJOY IT!
Be well, folk,
Russ
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#381315 - 01/13/14 09:55 AM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: captain Russ]
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Senior Member
Registered: 09/21/00
Posts: 43703
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Less than 25% of my "live play" income comes from playing arrangers.
Less than 35% of my total playing income comes from live play.
I will ALWAYS include interaction/play with other musicians.
To me, that's what it's all about.
But again, that's because I'm not an entertainer.
The sacrifices have been major. But, this is what I've chosen, and life has been pretty good for the 58 years I've been involved in music.
But, I'm not Donny, who, I'm sure is a showstopper.
More power to him and others who get their satisfaction from pleasing customers live.
The point is: PLAY AND ENJOY IT!
Be well, folk,
Russ Russ a wise man once told me after a show..... "God gave you a talent,do you know why he gave it to you?..." I said no,......and he replied...." "So you can Share it with the world".. 
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#381319 - 01/13/14 11:27 AM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 15576
Loc: Forest Hill, MD USA
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Other than Social Security 100-percent of my income comes from performing with an arranger keyboard. The print media outdoor writing business dried up a few years ago, which ended my 35-plus year career as a freelance writer. Oh well, all good things eventually come to an end. There's a country song there somewhere. Ah yes, Turn Out The Lights, The Party's Over. Gary
_________________________
PSR-S950, TC Helicon Harmony-M, Digitech VR, Samson Q7, Sennheiser E855, Custom Console, and lots of other silly stuff!
K+E=W (Knowledge Plus Experience = Wisdom.)
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#381352 - 01/13/14 06:26 PM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 15576
Loc: Forest Hill, MD USA
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Dave, I'm old, so I can make as much as I want. Of course, I keep impeccable records, do all my bookkeeping with Quick Books, integrate that information into Turbo Tax, and use every legal deductible I legally can, which lowers my adjusted gross income by a huge margin. Plus, I also contribute the maximum into my retirement program every year, which also brings down the gross. Yes, they do care how much you make, and they'll do their best to take as much as they can from you. However, if you are diligent you get to keep a lot more. Then you can really piss a lot of it away on a sailboat. Gary
_________________________
PSR-S950, TC Helicon Harmony-M, Digitech VR, Samson Q7, Sennheiser E855, Custom Console, and lots of other silly stuff!
K+E=W (Knowledge Plus Experience = Wisdom.)
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#381354 - 01/13/14 07:49 PM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 15576
Loc: Forest Hill, MD USA
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Yep, a sailboat. This was me headed to work in the tiki bar one afternoon. I dropped off the music gear earlier, then moved the boat back to the mooring field, and was headed back to work via my inflatable dinghy. Work was just a short distance up Boot Key Harbor from where the boat was moored.  This was at Wednesday night's Happy Hour at Sombrero Resort. Had a ball, the tips were great, but the pay scale is about the same as Baltimore's night club circuit - $100 for 3 hour job.  I think you would really love it down there, Dave. Gary
_________________________
PSR-S950, TC Helicon Harmony-M, Digitech VR, Samson Q7, Sennheiser E855, Custom Console, and lots of other silly stuff!
K+E=W (Knowledge Plus Experience = Wisdom.)
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#381359 - 01/13/14 09:27 PM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 15576
Loc: Forest Hill, MD USA
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I sailed my boat to the resort's dock, and loaded it back onboard. After the job ended, the resort manager allowed me to store my gear in her office. Nice lady. She allowed me to leave my boat there for the night on Wednesdays after that first job. That allowed me to load my gear back aboard the boat after the job, plus I had electrical hookup at the dock so I could fire up the AC unit and dry all the humidity from the keyboard and amp that settled during the performance. Some nights were very humid after sundown, which had me worried, but the equipment handled it better than I anticipated. Only one time did I haul the gear to the job on the dinghy. It was too much for one trip, therefore, it took several trips from the boat to the job to offload the equipment. After just one performance at each location, the managers allowed me to dock my boat at the venue, which made life a lot easier. While at the City Marina I was docked at the sea wall, which made loading and unloading a snap. Well, kinda a snap. Still had to lug the stuff out of the boat's cabin to the cockpit, then heft it out of the boat and on to the sea wall pier and load it on the rock and roller cart. Then I pushed the cart loaded with gear a couple hundred yards to the Tiki Hut and went to work. As you can see, the sea wall dock was just about level with the boat deck and the tidal change here is only about 2 feet at most.  The City Marina Tiki Hut, which is where the Saturday night shows were held, was really close, and measured about 30 X 50 feet. We had some fantastic crowds there, up to 300 people at times, they didn't want me to go home and in reality, I didn't really want to leave, but I had to.  I met a lot of very nice, wonderful people there, folks from all walks of life, millionaires to people who drove garbage trucks, all of which I really miss. I still manage to keep in touch with many of them, and with luck, hope to see them again in the next couple years. I really want Carol to meet them - they were all just fantastic individuals. They were cruisers, many of which that had lived aboard their sailboats and trawlers for decades. Some had pets onboard, some had children that were home schooled, some had children that attended the local schools and their school bus was essentially an inflatable dinghy that took them to where their bicycles were locked to a massive bicycle rack that held several hundred bikes. Some of the bikes had side carts, the parents would pedal and the youngsters rode in the side carts. The world of cruisers is very unique, unlike anything most people here have encountered. Their connection with old friends and outside world is via cellular telephone and Internet, skype, email, blogs, etc... Overall, the weather there was excellent. Warm summer breezes pretty much year round, not too hot, mostly 70s and low 80s during the day, a bit cooler, sometimes in the upper 50s at night. Summertime weather is usually in the low 90s during the day, but cools to the upper 70s at night, so not much different there here in Maryland. Unfortunately, the music jobs dry up fairly quickly, usually in early April when the snowbirds head for the Bahamas in their boats, then head north a month later. From the end of April till the first of November, you could shoot a cannonball down U.S. Route 1 in Marathon and not hit anything other than a stray pelican. Consequently, most small businesses only have about 4 to 5 months to make their entire year's income. Cheers, Gary
_________________________
PSR-S950, TC Helicon Harmony-M, Digitech VR, Samson Q7, Sennheiser E855, Custom Console, and lots of other silly stuff!
K+E=W (Knowledge Plus Experience = Wisdom.)
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#381536 - 01/15/14 05:33 PM
Re: I had my guitar theory lesson last night ...
[Re: Uncle Dave]
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Senior Member
Registered: 12/08/02
Posts: 15576
Loc: Forest Hill, MD USA
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When I left for Florida last October, it was the coldest October on record - though I would damned well freeze to death before I got out of Chesapeake Bay. A lot of days the temperature was in the low to mid 40s, which on the water really feels a lot colder. Then the rain hit. Keep in mind that you don't really have any protection from the elements while in the cockpit of a sailboat - even a larger one. When I finally arrived in Miami, the temperature was a brisk 62 degrees during the day - still too damned cold for this old man. Fortunately, just 110 miles to the southwest, in Marathon, the temperature the day I arrived was a balmy 78 degrees, the humidity was relatively low, I tied up to the mooring ball in Boot Key Harbor, mixed an ice cold Margaretta, looked the palm trees in the sunset and said, damned, this is how the rich folks must live. Donny, there were NO bugs, there was always a nice breeze, and I loved performing outdoors - and the audiences loved the wonderful tropical atmosphere of music under a million stars, while sipping on a cold drink and loving life. I had the place filled with people dancing to just about everything I played, the tip jar quickly filled, and they never wanted the music to stop. When it came time to go home, they didn't want me to leave, and in reality, I didn't want to leave as well - but I had to do so in order to preserve my marital status - yep, she woulda shot me right between the eyes with that .357 mag. So, I'm glad you enjoy shelling out lots of money to the power companies, shoveling snow, slipping around on ice covered roads, stuff like that. You can have my share as well. Come 2015, if I still have most of the body parts I current have, I'm gonna point that boat's bow south again and like this past time, I'm not gonna stop till the temperature and my age are equal. I envy Diki being able to make a living in Paradise. And, there's an old saying among the locals from South Florida - "I never knew anyone that retired and moved north." Gary
_________________________
PSR-S950, TC Helicon Harmony-M, Digitech VR, Samson Q7, Sennheiser E855, Custom Console, and lots of other silly stuff!
K+E=W (Knowledge Plus Experience = Wisdom.)
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oh yeah did I mention you get payed too? 
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