Well, here's my ugly bass-playin' mug - 'black pants and Hawaiian shirt - (sax player missing...).
John
Well, here's my ugly bass-playin' mug - 'black pants and Hawaiian shirt - (sax player missing...).
John
I played drums and found I could not make a living at it. Put down my sticks. I have joined a community band for the 4th of July parade the last couple of years.
My 2 brothers are/were incredible sax players. Grant (little brother) is in the Air Force band at Wright-Patterson. He is OUTSTANDING with perfect pitch and all. Older brother Eric was the tenor sax playing guru! Bassoon, reeds everything! He played it all. Died a couple of years ago from brain tumor/cancer.
Mom still teaching piano in Fairbanks, with over 100 students a week! She is just doing great.
Dad was famous organ grinder.
I come from a very musical family. We were all in choir and band and musicals and the like.
I just realized one day that I didn't have what it took to be a professional musician like my parents and two brothers. I was the electronics wiz that kept dad's B-3 working at all times. He taught me all of the licks and tricks to the Hammond tone-wheel generators.
As you may know, I am not shy. Afterall, I am the middle child.
One step above: "Two Tin Cans and a String!"
Longtime Alaskan Low-Fi Guy - E=MC˛ ±3db
Greetings, All,
Well, what the heck! I have enjoyed hearing all the stories about those of you who play music, in whatever form, and now that photos are beginning to appear, I might as well share a few, too! Fun! A while back, we had a band reunion, and many players who had all worked together, at one time, or another, were invited. We setup in the back yard of one of the guys, and spent a very enjoyable afternoon and evening, jamming our way through whatever we could remember, and trying hard to read some charts that a few of the guys still had tucked away!! It was scary, fun, and in the end, extremely satisfying!! The only problem was that little thought had been given to logisitics, so we had to make do with an enemic PA, and just barely passable monitors. Oh, well.... we STILL have a wonderful time, playing music from Tower of Power, Blood-Sweat-And-Tears, Average White Band, Cold Blood, and many other great horn bands of "our time", who's tunes we used to cover! Some of the guys still play professionally, in famous bands, in symphony orchestras, and even some working club bands. In any case, it was a day and night well spent!! I'm the Old Fart that is playing the congas and singing most of the lead vocals!Thanks for checking it out, and God Bless!
Every Good Wish,
Doc
The only thing that can never be taken away from you, is your honor. Cherish it, in yourself, and in others.
I am very good to blow in the mic. Sounds like "a fart"
Sorry, could not resist.
Oh what I would give to see/hear Tower of Power!
They will be at Jazz Alley in Seattle in the first days of December.
Oh well.....
One step above: "Two Tin Cans and a String!"
Longtime Alaskan Low-Fi Guy - E=MC˛ ±3db
Hey, Rolf,Originally Posted by Rolf
I am very good to blow in the mic. Sounds like "a fart"
Sorry, could not resist.
Done that, myself, a time or two.
Doc
The only thing that can never be taken away from you, is your honor. Cherish it, in yourself, and in others.
Evening, Scott,
I've had the pleasure of hearing Tower of Power at least 6 times over the years! Long ago, when our group was the house band for Good Time Productions, who setup teen dances every week at the El Cortez Hotel, they also brought in TOP. We were thrilled, as we were then covering almost every tune they had recorded to date!! Then, the ante was even made better, because we were asked if we would like to help unload their trucks, and help carry in the gear for Tower of Power!! Did we go for it? You darned right, we did!!! That was quite an evening, I must tell you, and all ten member of our band were flying high that night, after hearing our Idols, and after having actually carried in and helped setup their gear!!
This past year, Sweet Bride and I went down to San Diego, to the Viejas Indian Casino, to hear Tower of Power again, with some of those same band members with whom we'd played all those years ago, and who were also a part of our reunion! Man, was that a fantastic evening! TOP sounds better than ever before, and their lead singer is the absolute best they've ever had!!! I know you will probably not be able to head down to Seattle to see them, but if you could possibly swing it, I guarantee you will be glad you did!!! They are a great band, and one of the true Icons of the good old days of great horn bands!! To quote one of them most popular songs: "What is hip? Can you tell me, if you think you know? If you're really hip, the passing years will show!" And in the case of Tower of Power, it has, indeed!!! Take care, and God Bless!
Every Good Wish,
Doc
The only thing that can never be taken away from you, is your honor. Cherish it, in yourself, and in others.
Yep, that old show band I was in did a number of TOP songs, too, when the singers took a break from all that sychronized dancing/singing a la The Temptations. TOP, IMHO, was a band's band back in the 70s. It was a bummer, though, that I never got to see them in person until the 90s, since eastern North Carolina didn't have any venues big enough to book them.
I've seen them since a number of times, though, and they are as tight as I remember their recordings. Doc, you've lived one of my dreams!
BTW, Cold Blood actually showed up at an afternoon concert in Monterey, CA, this summer. I learned about it too late to get there while visiting out there. It was billed as a reunion. Bummer.....
Just a bit OT: Speaking of 70s recordings, here's an interesting tidbit of the restoration of the console used to make Neil Young's Harvest recording. I worked at Universal Audio for a while last year. These are great folks.
Cheers,
David
Yeah I have keyboard took me weeks to memorized a few simple notes from one of Beethoven’s piano’s hits.
I forget which piece it was that one that goes I know I have to play a white key then black key followed by another white each one had different note and going onto another set of notes. I also misplaced the (music notation) sheet that came with my Casio keyboard.
To be honest I like (sound effects) when I was doing this (music and technology course) many years-ago I discovered I had more of an ear for (sound effects) over music even thou some music is in way sound effects with these computers today. It’s all generated in or crated and then shoved onto the computer to be manipulated later on.
You really can’t tell what is Real anymore in regards to music unless its (Jean Michael Jarre) sure I can buy what he creates it’s the other junk that makes my want to throw-up that you hear on BBC Radio1 or the local crappy radio stations today with blonde bimbos like (Gwen Stefani
!!!” this crap is enough to make an sane person swing from chandelier!
“Round up all the usual suspects”!
From right to left we have look-alikes!
Jack Black
John Ratzenberger
Robert Stack
Sean Connery
Morning, David,
It's outstanding that you got to see Tower of Power, and that your group used to cover some of their tunes! Yes, it was great for our group to be able to see them from their beginnings, and it's been very interesting to see what's happened in the band since those old days. Though they were very good back then, they are truly world-class today!! So, what you saw and heard is actually better than it was back in their beginnings, in many ways!
One of the most understandable is that the band is free of the millstone that drugs and excess drink hung around their necks back then! Some of them, like David Garibaldi, their monster drummer, have always been free of that albatross. But, for others, it's ruined their lives, ala Rick Stevens, one of their first lead vocalists, doing hard time for murder, and other bad things! Stevens actually STOLE the band's PA, once, to sell for drug money!! HOLY MOLY, how much worse could it get??!!
Also, back in the old days, TOP suffered from an excess of competing egos, and a lack of common goals. Since then, they've had many different lead singers, and the horn section and rhythm sections have turned over quite a few times, too, mainly because the guys argued all the time, and spent energy doing that, instead of trying to work together. Emilio Castillo has actually been the glue that's held the basic band together since those days, and he's very open about their early problems, and the fact that they no longer tread those dark paths! Several of their old original members are now back with TOP, and they work much better together, now. God Bless him, and the rest of the guys, for their hard work and devotion to their music, and especially for getting off the bad things that made their path so rocky back then! When you see them today, it's quite obvious that they are enjoying themselves much more than they used to, and that they are happy to be working together, and grateful for their successes and longevity.
On a related note, no pun intended, back in 1991, Sweet Bride and I backpacked 850 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail, here in CA. It was a grand trip, but we carried way too much weight, and eventually hurt our feet and knees. In the end, that kept us from being able to complete our entire hike, which would have taken us from Mexico to Canada, and entailed 2,650 trail miles. But, on our way back home, we stopped off in Lake Tahoe, and stopped in at one of the Hotel/Casinos, to see an old piano-playing friend of our's, who was working there. Dressed as we were, you should have seen the look on the Head Waiter's face, when he saw us standing in the doorway of that posh place!!!
Every Good Wish,
Doc
The only thing that can never be taken away from you, is your honor. Cherish it, in yourself, and in others.
Greetings, All,
This has been a very enjoyable thread for me, and I hope for you, too! Our LH member, "Indycraft" (Bart), used to play music, too, and in horn bands, just like some of the rest of us. He very kindly sent me a wav file of his band, playing the old "Chicago" tune, "Make Me Smile"!! It did, indeed, friends.... it, did, indeed!! Well done, Indycraft, and thanks for sharing a bit of your music with me!!Take care, and God Bless!
Every Good Wish,
Doc
The only thing that can never be taken away from you, is your honor. Cherish it, in yourself, and in others.
Ashley - you DO crack me up!!!“Round up all the usual suspects”!
From right to left we have look-alikes!
Jack Black
John Ratzenberger
Robert Stack
Sean Connery
John
Rock - N - Roll Drums...
Tom
Two Time "Kidney Transplant Recipient"
I hope I didn’t offend you, John.Ashley - you DO crack me up!!!
John
If you think that was funny about 17 or so years ago someone said I looked like Michael J. Fox LOL.
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