I really didn’t like Michael Jackson or his music. I left town for a camping trip and came back to find he’d died. Maybe I should go camping more often.
I felt sorry for the guy really. He never had the chance to be a kid when he grew up. He was thrown right into the spotlight and had to perform and tour at a very young age. Later in life he tried to be a kid, but had the hormones of an adult. Not a good combination.
He owned the rights to the Beatles and married Elvis’ daughter. He really tried to be the King of Pop and whatever else he could. Then he died, apparently just like Elvis, via a prescription drug overdose. You have to wonder if that was actually his plan.
I for one am glad that chapter of the freak show is over.
mediaguru Musicians, Random, Rants
My rock & roll band covers many Ventures tunes like “Hawaii Five-O” and “Walk Don’t Run,” “Wipeout,” “Penetration” etc. There are no tunes more fun to play than those classic Ventures surf tunes.
Tribute to Bob Bogle
Bob Bogle, guitarist for the Venutres, died yesterday at 75. Hats off, wine glasses up to you man. Your plunky, reverberant guitar style is classic and influenced many guitar players. And your sound with that Fender Jaguar guitar through a Fender Reverb Amp is one of the best guitar tones in the history of rock & roll.
My Ventures memory
Years ago my band opened for the ventures and the coolest club in town. The place was packed and we had a GREAT time. It was an honor to share the stage with such legends and to meet them.
It was hilarious during their rendition of Hawaii Five-O when the drummer was doing his solo on his gigantic kit with his black gloves. The bass player’s amp went down and they were trying to figure out how to get it running again. The drummer kept soloing and soloing. He’d anxiously look at the bass player, who would throw his arms up in the air. The drummer got the most classic looks on his face because he was shot but had to keep soloing… Classic.
During that show I didn’t sit in the audience. I sat on the stage, with Bob Bogle’s guitar amp sitting next to me. I absolutely loved it. Every time he’d do one of those plucky riffs where he slid down the neck of the guitar made me a giddy as an elementary school girl.
mediaguru Gigs, Musicians, Random
Got an email from a client today.
“Hey we recorded in your studio back in 1991. Do you still have our master tapes?”
Wow. And I can’t even find my car keys.
mediaguru Boneheads, Musicians, Recording
Got a nice note from the client who I did some drum tracks for last week.
“I was thinking I’d leave my Groove Agent drums, but your accents of stuff really increased the vibe, great job! I appreciate your talent.”
mediaguru Musicians, Recording
Until last night I hadn’t picked up a drum stick for at least eight months. Truly sad, but the lame gig situation in this town and my personal and business life have gotten in the way of bashing the skins.
Last night we had one opening band and they sucked. They really sucked. By the time they finished their overly long set, they’d chased half of the mediocre crowd away.
I was worried about my chops so I played pretty straight for the first few tunes. I still have some speed and abilities, but I definitely ran into situations where my brain would send commands to my limbs to do certain complex licks and my limbs would simply misfire or just plain gag and not do anything at all.
I ran into an endurance problem toward the end of the set as well. It was a good thing we only played one set, because in the last song my forearms started feeling like they were Popeye-ing. They were seizing up!
Despite being a fairly lame crowd I still had a really great time bashing the shit out of the drums.
No Smoking!
Perhaps the best thing about last night’s gig was the fact that I didn’t have to take a shower and discard my clothes in the laundry room when I got home. For years of playing in smoky bars I’ve gotten home completely covered with a smoky stench. Now that laws have changed and no smoking is allowed in clubs, I don’t have that disgusting smoke film on my body after the gig. I wish that law would have been enacted 25 years ago.
Studio Drumming Today
I’m off to the studio to play drums for some guitar player’s solo album, then another gig tonight.
mediaguru Gigs, Musicians
Now that it is officially over I’ve been reflecting on the big hell project of 2008. There were many “come to Jesus” moments during that period and I learned a lot about myself.
I’ll have my closing reflections soon…
mediaguru Boneheads, Musicians, Random, Recording
One of the biggest legends in drumming died a few days ago, Louie Bellson. Louie was one of the most incredible jazz drummers ever and gave Buddy Rich a run for his money on many occasions.
First double bass drum
Among may of the things Louie was known for was being the first guy to play two bass drums. Even today not many jazz cats do that.
Nice
I had the pleasure of seeing Louie play live several times and I have yet to see another musician on stage who enjoyed what he was doing more than him. Louie was well known for being a very nice gentleman, unlike the reputation that Buddy Rich had.
Louie, I’ll miss you man. Cheers to you. I’m sure you’re playing drums in drum heaven and still have that great smile on your face.
mediaguru Gear, Musicians, Random
I was saddened to hear that one of the most pioneering and best drummers of the 60’s and 70’s, Mitch Mitchell died. Mitchell was a bad ass drummer and laid down some of the coolest grooves I’ve ever heard on many Jimi Hendrix tunes.
I was even more surprised, and happy, to hear that it appears he died in a Portland hotel of natural causes. No drugs I hope.
Here’s to you Mitch. Thanks for all the great grooves and awesome fills. We all know you kicked John Bonham’s ass.
mediaguru Musicians
This post is nine days late, but I’d like to tip my hat and a glass of wine back to Richard Wright. Richard Wright, keyboard player and founder of Pink Floyd, died from cancer at 65.
Pink Floyd is one of the all time greatest bands in the history of rock & roll and produced, IMO, the best album in rock history in Dark Side Of The Moon. Wright co-wrote five of the songs on Dark Side Of The Moon, which was in the billboard top 200 for 14 years. Man I’d love to be collecting those royalty checks.
Cheers to you Richard. Many thanks for the enjoyment I’ve gotten from your music over the years.
mediaguru Musicians
A couple of posts back I wrote about the mouth breathing fiber eating drummer who shits all the time. He was to come in last week and “spend 30 minutes on a few tweaks” on the first song. He came and was very nice, offering me a king sized snickers bar (I don’t eat candy) and a starbucks vanilla frappuccino (I definitely do those). Nice gesture.
Problem
He was to come and sit in on the mix for 30 minutes to do a few tweaks. That 30 minutes ended up being over 4.5 hours. It never ends. Once again I pay in the ass for my big mistake of taking a flat fee. I don’t think I can forgive myself for that huge blunder. I never would have done that back in my full time engineering days.
mediaguru Musicians, Rants, Recording