Merry Christmas

I hope everyone had a great Christmas weekend, and Happy New Year to all. Please be safe when celebrating Friday night.

A Christmas Gift from me to You - Enjoy!

I'm not going to spend a lot of time typing, just hit play!

What does influential mean?

I read MSN's list of most influential men and women of 2009, and since this is a music blog, it struck me that they listed Michael Jackson and Taylor Swift to the list.  This got me to thinking: when you compose a list of influential people for a year, what do you mean by "influential"?  Did the person do something that took their area pf expertise in a new direction?  Or did they just capture a lot of attention for 12 months? 

When it comes to music there, seems to be a double standard.  For influential people in the area of politics, or finance, or science, ususally that person reveals something that was before unknown.  But with musicians, it seems that whoever captured the most attention gets the nod.  Michael Jackson did through his death, and Talow Swift because of the success she had as a young performer.  In my opinion, neither one did anything that hadn't been done before, so why are they considered influential?  I know Taylor did a lot of charity work this past year, but so do a lot of people, and you don't see them listed.

Genesis dances into the Hall of Fame with Abba

On March 15, the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame will welcome new members to its hallowed hall.  The 2010 class will include Genesis, ABBA, and others.  Now, Genesis I can understand; they've had a long, diverse career, but ABBA getting in puzzles me.  I mean, I'm not on this track because of the disco aspect, but their music just didn't seem to innovate.  To be in the Rock Hall of Fame, in my opinion, you need to be an innovator in music.  I just don't think ABBA fits into that category.

Brian Setzer is A-OK

According to the Associated Press, Brian Setzer is recovered from a brief hospital stay for dehydration and vertigo.  Playing in New Mexico must really be taxing.  He played three Christmas songs before leaving the stage.  But fear not, he plans to resume his current Tour tonight.

Brian Setzer is one of the few swing bands still going strong.  They were a group before the Swing craze of the 90s, and are still going strong today.  My family tried to get tickets to one of his Christmas shows but tickets sold out pretty much the second they went on sale.  Hopefully, he has many years of music left.

Be Kind to Your Sound Guy

Having played in quite a few bands, one thing I've noticed is that the guy who runs the sound board has a thankless job. When a band feels they sound good, the sound man gets no credit, but if they feel like they sound bad, he gets all of the blame. And the band is at the mercy of the sound man; you would think sound guys would get more respect.

The reason I mention this is that I usually try to keep from being a problem for sound guys. Being an acoustic instrument that uses my own wireless mic is easy to do. But this past Sunday, I wanted to play a special song in church with an accompanimnet track on my computer. I didn't tell them until I got there, which sent them into a frenzy of quick improvisation in hooking up my computer to the sound system. They handled like true pros.

So, next time you have to perform, make sure your sound guy gets extra thanks.

Tower of Power to get New Guitarist

I just read that Mark Harper, Tower of Power guitarist for the past 2 years, will be leaving the band at the end of this month.  Jerry Cortez will be taking his place.  While I never did hear the band with Mark, I wish him the best.

The last time I heard the band was when their original guitarist, Bruce Conte, had rejoined for a brief stint.  it was really cool to see the band with 3 out of 4 old-school rhythm section members playing.  Of course, If Chester Thompson ever re-ups with them, I may turn into a TOP roadie for life.

Best of luck to Mark and welcome Jerry.  Why don't you guys come out to the Midwest so I can hear you guys again?