Rudi

Thank for putting up the link Mike. He is everything you say he is.

Well I have only heard back from the keyboard player so far. He wants to keep in touch. He and the drummer in particular make fantastic bandmates, both musically and personally. I like everyone else too, but its not about that. The music has to be fulfilling. Thanks John

Some of you might know I joined a jazz band last year. A jazz band that played a little pop too. It was hard work. The jazz tunes are complex, dense pieces of music. The balance of music has shifted in the band. More pop. Ok its easy, but I dont really like it. Also, I have just finished a recording session with them that was a miserable experience. Speed was the main driver. I recorded 5 tunes in about 2 hours (actually more like 60 minutes if you remove the faffing about). I wasnt in control of my sound and was expected to try my damnedest do everything in one take. It was not a studio recording but one of the band in his house trying to learn the software as we worked. Because there were 6 other tracks playing on his PC, buffering lag became a problem. Tracks were drifting out of sync! He was reduced to 'dragging' the misaligned track into place with the mouse as a best guess. I heard the tunes last night. Everyone else in the band are saying how great it is. I dont understand this. It sounds ukicfng awful! The tunes are now being made into CDs. There are advanced copies for all of us. I dont want mine. I dont even want my name on the credits. Its embarrassing. Just minutes ago I composed this e-mail & sent it out to the other six band members. Hi all, Today I have decided to go ahead with something that’s been on my mind for at least two months. I need to quit V. I will of course fulfil all gig obligations and (where I can) further ones that occur. I will however, in the fullness of time, be undertaking other musical projects that will demand my attention. R****** at least will not be entirely surprised as he will recall that I never fully committed to the band following the debut gig last year. As it is, I should certainly have prepared for some our practices better than I have. Instead I have over relied on being able to ‘wing it’ too often. I have reproached myself for this, but to be perfectly honest, the core problem is that my heart is not in it, and you all deserve better than that. I had undertaken the challenge of learning some mainstream jazz, because it was the one major music form where I felt inadequate musically. While I have gained some insight from that, the pop music has been neither challenging nor very interesting to me. I like live music for the opportunity it provides to improvise solos. More pop tunes isn’t going to further that opportunity. That is what I foresee ahead. I had also hoped that in the fullness of time I might be able to contribute more of what I have to offer than has actually transpired. Our different musical methods of working has inhibited that. It’s not anybody’s fault. It was just my misunderstanding. I know better now. I hope you understand. Rudi

I have a couple of Gibsons, but I am realising that this does not make me a Gibson player. (all that follows only concerns soloing, not chords) I plugged in the Les Paul last night & played for a couple of hours. My regular alternating pick technique didn’t sound as good as it should. It has something to do with the sound (and definitely the sustain) of the guitar. So I concentrated more of hammer-ons & pull-offs. This made it sound much better. There was less pick noise and made the decay of the notes sound much sweeter. The sound of a guitar has always influenced how I play it, and for 44 years I never owned a Gibson. I’ve had my 339 & Les Paul for less than a year. I always loved the sound of a Les Paul, but knew from the earliest days that ‘my’ sound was something else; essentially more of a Fender sound. When I gigged the 339 last year I even felt there was less of me in the performance. I played fine and enjoyed the gig but I felt as if I was acting the role of different guitarist. Try and imagine a machinist who has used his lathe to turn metal for 45 years, now suddenly working with wood. He has to change the speed of the spindle and the feed rate of the cutting tool. He’s the same fellow with the same experience using the same machine, yet everything has changed. I could change the sound of the LP with my signal processor, but it would be inhibiting the natural sound of the guitar. The main reason for buying a different guitar is to experience a different voice. So it’s me that needs to adapt to the guitar, not the other way ‘round.

Uncle Tom Cobley's not bad

Moby Dick - Led Zeppelin

I listened to most of it. The last link didnt work. Yes very good. I enjoyed it. I was not able to relate any of it to country music though. Thanks Farah

Country music in the uk is very under appreciated. I am in two 7 piece bands and I am the only one among the remaining 12 that has any interest in country at all. Some of these people are very experienced, include music teachers and are open minded in most every other respects. This is why Elvis Costello made that apologist type statement when he wrote on the cover of Almost Blue "WARNING: This album contains country & western music and may cause offence to narrow minded listeners" I was led gently into country by country rock artists I suppose. Beginning with the Byrds, through to Poco, NRPS, Marshall Tucker Band etc. Its sad about the uk's blind spot for country, but as the saying goes, 'there's no accounting for taste'

That very interesting Farah. Perhaps you would post a link to such an example for us? Yes?

Spirits In the Material World - The Police The last shout of a great and original band.

Substitute - The Who (its a bit tenuous but valid)

Monkey Man - Rolling Stones (Not the ska song) I'd forgotten how much I liked this song. I last had it on vinyl. Namely the 'Let It Bleed' album

Born Under A Bad Sign : Albert King

I tried belligerent and jock Pretty impressive! Those are not easy words.

Ask Me Why - Beatles

Hey, thanks for that Rob. That's an important connection. Most importantly it is now shared. Maybe we could try to find ways to add these personalised accounts when we post here. I missed seeing Zeppelin, and a bunch of others of course. So its good to hear about your link to that period/song/event. Likewise to Moz's Boss thing above too.

Fly Me Courageous - Drivin & Crying https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HaBSZL-F58

That's a plan all the same. Sounds good.

never heard that zeplin song before. anyway The Blimp - Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band featuring Antenna Jimmy Semens

I should have kept a few marbles back. Everyone kept telling me to.

Looks like you condensed a whole week into that day. Great going man!

Dancing with Myself - Billy Idol https://video.search.yahoo.com/video/play;_ylt=A2KLqIBy1dZW_xgAavQsnIlQ;_ylu=X3oDMTByZWc0dGJtBHNlYwNzcgRzbGsDdmlkBHZ0aWQDBGdwb3MDMQ--?p=billy+idol&vid=0b2f9ee1267435398ec025b1c8a098bf&turl=http%3A%2F%2Ftse4.mm.bing.net%2Fth%3Fid%3DOVP.V6073dba51b20a896dcaf151f0f3bd877%26pid%3D15.1%26h%3D360%26w%3D480%26c%3D7%26rs%3D1&rurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DFG1NrQYXjLU&tit=Billy+Idol+-+Dancing+With+Myself&c=0&h=360&w=480&l=203&sigr=11b8v7r5j&sigt=110cmtkj5&sigi=131usnqo0&age=1236662232&fr2=p%3As%2Cv%3Av&fr=yhs-mozilla-004&hsimp=yhs-004&hspart=mozilla&tt=b

No Exit - Pentangle

Not to Rearrange - Mick Abrahams Band